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Hot Rod (G1)

2017-04-24T02:35:52Z

Shockwave 75: /* Generation 1 cartoon continuity */

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{{Disambigm|Hot Rod (disambiguation)|Rodimus (disambiguation)}}
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:''Hot Rod is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
[[File:DVDbox3d1.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|And yet he still gets carded.]]
'''Hot Rod''' is brash and headstrong, with an overwhelming self-confidence that borders on arrogance. [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] has assumed the role of mentor and advisor to the impetuous young Hot Rod, offering him wisdom and advice when he needs it (though Hot Rod rarely feels that he does, much to Kup's annoyance). [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] also serves as a calming influence on Hot Rod, and tends to either worry about him when he is not around, or deride and tease him when he is. Their relationship is antagonistic, but friendly. Exactly how deep Hot Rod's feelings for Arcee might run is unknown.

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

One thing that both sides of this Autobot's identity have in common is their impatience—neither Hot Rod nor Rodimus Prime can stand to wait around when they could be doing something instead. He is also very self-reliant, rarely sending others to do anything when he could be doing it himself. His [[Targetmaster (technology)|Targetmaster]] partner is [[Firebolt (G1)|Firebolt]], who sometimes becomes his head as a [[Titan Master]]. Sometimes he combines with other Autobots as part of [[Optimus Maximus (G1)|Optimus Maximus]]. As Rodimus Prime, his vehicle sometimes splits between his robot and [[Mobile Defense Bay]].

He has also been known as '''Rodimus''', '''Rodimus Major''', '''Hot Rodimus''', and '''Imhotep Rodimus'''.

{{bigquote|I ''knew'' you had potential, lad.|[[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] on Hot Rod's transformation into Rodimus Prime|''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''}}

==Fiction==
===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
[[File:Fightorflee Rodimus explosion.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
{{main|Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity}}
At some point before [[2005]], Hot Rod became stationed at [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]] and so was present during the [[Battle of Autobot City]]. This was a turning point in the life of the turbo-revving young punk, because he became Autobot leader after gaining the [[Matrix of Leadership]] following the death of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]]. As Rodimus Prime, his first accomplishments were the defeat of [[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]] and the return of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to the Autobots.

During his time as [[Prime (rank)|Prime]], Rodimus not only had to deal with the Decepticons and [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|their new leader]], but also the political complexities of the planetary alliance Cybertron joined, the return of the Transformers' cruel masters from long ago, the [[Quintesson]]s, the possible revival of Unicron and the arrival of Unicron's "little brother" [[Tornedron]].

During the [[Hate Plague]] outbreak in [[2006]], Optimus Prime was brought back to life and Rodimus gave up his rank of Prime, becoming Hot Rod once more. He would live to see the next Cybertronian [[Golden Age]].
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===Marvel Comics continuity===
[[File:Hoverscooter.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Wheeeee....]]
{{main|Hot Rod (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity}}
Initially serving under [[Fortress Maximus (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Fortress Maximus]] on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Hot Rod travelled to [[Nebulos]] where he became a [[Targetmaster (technology)|Targetmaster]] and then on to [[Earth]] where he joined [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]]'s forces aboard the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]]. Returning to Cybertron, he survived the battle against [[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]] and formed part of the shaky Autobot-Decepticon alliance under the leadership of Prime's successor [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]]. Betrayed by [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]]'s Decepticons, Hot Rod was killed during the ambush on [[Klo]] but revived shortly afterwards by the power of the [[Last Autobot]].

In some [[splinter timeline]]s Hot Rod went on to become Rodimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, and took part in further battles against Unicron and his minion [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], albeit with mixed results. In others, he has yet to fulfil this part of his destiny.
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===S.T.A.R.S. pack-in flyers===
[[File:PackIn RodimusPrimeRemembers Front.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|Just like he remembers Woodstock.]]
Unicron just might consume the universe, and the Autobots need to determine who the Chosen One is so that he may rise from their ranks, unlock the Matrix of Power, and save all from Unicron! Unfortunately, not even the Chosen One himself knows his identity, and his discovery may come too late. {{storylink|The Autobots Have a Special Mission for:}}

There was a legendary conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons when Optimus Prime led Rodimus Prime and a large team of Autobots in a search for the future site of [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]]. They were ambushed by Megatron and [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]], and this became known as the Transformers' greatest battle on Earth. Rodimus Prime dubbed it "[[Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction (G1)|Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction]]." {{storylink|Rodimus Prime remembers the Transformers greatest battle on Earth.|Rodimus Prime remembers the Transformers greatest battle on Earth.}} Some of the Autobots were forced to retreat due to Thundercracker's "force shield," and Optimus Prime told Rodimus and the others that their only hope was to call in for additional troops. {{storylink|Transformers Combat Data}}

Later, Rodimus Prime remembered the Transformers' greatest battle on Earth. {{storylink|Rodimus Prime remembers the Transformers greatest battle on Earth.|Rodimus Prime remembers the Transformers greatest battle on Earth.}}
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===Battle Beneath the Ice===
[[File:BBTI-RunaboutandRodimus.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.3]]
Hot Rod had a run in with the Battlechargers when they tried to destroy the golden gate bridge. The altercation was caught on television.

A couple of weeks later, Hot Rod was part of an expedition to the Antarctic along with Slingshot and Skydive to investigate the discovery of a highly advanced underground city. He was parked in the cargo bay of a troop-carrier aero-plane when he met the young human [[Jeff Grey]]. Together, they watched Hot Rod’s battle with the Battlechargers on Jeff’s [[chronovid wristwatch]]. Some time later, their plane was caught in a blizzard, and shot down by an energy beam. Though many humans perished in the crash, Hot Rod attempted to keep the survivors warm by increasing the current through his temperature control unit to emit heat. Hot Rod and his group of humans were then met by three inhabitants of the subterranean city, who invited them into their futuristic world.

[[File:BBTI-JeffGrey+HotRod.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|left]]
The [[Watcher]], leader of the underground civilization, explained that they possessed technology far surpassing the surface world, save for their weaponry, as they were a peaceful people. The Watcher offered the humans a tour of the city while he and Hot Rod talked. Impressed by the technological wonders The Watcher’s people possessed, Hot Rod became convinced of their altruistic nature. He then met up with Skydive and Slingshot, who had gone on to rendezvous with the drilling team after being unable to locate the downed troop-carrier in the blizzard. The Watcher then showed them an image from the surface: Brawl, Vortex and Blast Off, the Decepticons the Watcher said were responsible for shooting down the troop-carrier. Skydive and Slingshot then took off to battle the Decepticons and draw them away from the city, leaving Hot Rod in charge of protecting the humans.

Hot Rod's group continued their tour of the city. They were shown a hologram chamber, where they encountered Ravage. Hot Rod warned the Decepticon to stay back from the humans, but Ravage assured him he wasn’t here as their enemy. Ravage informed Hot Rod that it wasn’t the Decepticons, but the city-dwellers that had shot down the plane. One of the city-dwellers entered the room with a weapon, intending to attack Ravage. Hot Rod accidentally shot him while aiming for Ravage, who had lept for the city-dweller's throat. Hot Rod was shocked to see the guide fall to the ground, seeing as his weapon only affected other robots. They came to the conclusion that Ravage was telling the truth; the city-dwellers were robots. They were after the warrior-factor encoded in both the Autobots and the Decepticons in order to turn themselves into a powerful army. Hot Rod and Ravage formed a temporary alliance to combat the city-dwellers. Jeff and Ravage then worked together to overwrite the city-dwellers’ programming with the cartoon antics of Gus Gopher that had been recorded by Jeff’s [[chronovid wristwatch]]. With the city-dwellers behaving like cartoon characters, Hot Rod made contact with the Aerialbots, and told them to stop fighting with the Combaticons, and to instead return to the city. The Autobots and Decepticons then went their separate ways on peaceful terms… for the moment being, at least. {{storylink|Battle Beneath the Ice}}
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===Big Looker Storybook continuity===
[[File:CarShowBlowup-AutobotCity.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.1|Hot Rod clearly does not pass emissions standards.]]
Kup and Hot Rod traveled to the coliseum to check out a robot car the [[human]]s had built that could respond to voice commands. They heard about it on their car radios! But when they arrived at the coliseum, Kup spotted Decepticons flying about. As some entered the back door, Kup shooed Hot Rod away, telling him to warn the others. If Hot Rod stayed, he would just get into trouble!

[[File:Wildboyofquintessonbattle.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb]]
When Hot Rod returned with the Autobots, Kup had been captured and held prisoner, so the others entered the coliseum in vehicle mode. Meanwhile, Hot Rod snuck up behind Kup and freed him. Yelling "Geronimo!" they jumped from the control room onto the coliseum floor, taking the Decepticons by surprise. Galvatron and the others escaped, but Kup and Hot Rod agreed that they'd be ready for him when he returned. {{storylink|Car Show Blow Up}}

Later, Kup led Hot Rod, [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] on a special mission to take supplies from Earth to a space station on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]'s second moon. Despite Kup's warnings, the Dinobots loaded too many supplies onto the ship, and in the middle of their journey, the ship began to have problems. Hot Rod reassured Arcee that everything would be okay, but the ship was going down! It crashed on a planet which Kup recognized. It was the planet [[Quintessa|Quintesson]]! They were interrupted by a tribal scream and a flurry of firestones. However, the boy who made his presence known was not aiming at them, but at the Quintessons behind them. The boy's name was [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], and he had been abandoned on the planet when his ship crashed their earlier.

Wheelie led them through the jungle, battling Quintessons along the way, until they reached Wheelie's crashed ship. Hot Rod was able to fix it, and everyone left the planet Quintesson, Wheelie included! {{storylink|The Story of Wheelie, the Wild Boy of Quintesson}}
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===Marvel coloring books===
Visiting [[Oil Valley]] with Daniel one day, Hot Rod spotted a group of Decepticons lurking nearby. Taking Daniel into his car mode, he headed back to Autobot City to report back to Ultra Magnus. The Decepticons noticed Hot Rod driving away, and gave chase. As Hot Rod neared Autobot City, he ran into Grimlock and the Dinobots. He quickly informed them of the situation before continuing on his way into the city, while the Dinobots stayed back to fend off the Decepticons. Once Hot Rod informed Ultra Magnus of the situation, Hot Rod stayed behind in Autobot City with Daniel while Ultra Magnus assembled a strike team to head out and help the Dinobots fight the Decepticons. {{storylink|Battle at Oil Valley}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|The Invasion of the Decepticon Camp}}}}

Hot Rod was returning from a road trip with Daniel, Hound and Kup, Bumblebee, Blurr, Wheelie, Springer and Sunstreaker when the group paused to eat at a rest stop. As the Autobots ingested Energon Cubes, Hot Rod asked Kup to tell a story. Kup told the others the story of how, upon first crash landing in Mt. St. Hillary, the Ark had lost an enormous shipment of Energon Cubes that remained lost to the day. Enthralled by Kup's story, the rest of the group were all eager to go looking for this lost treasure. When they realized that Laserbeak had been spying on them the whole time, and would soon inform Galvatron about the lost Energon shipment, Hot Rod and the others rushed back to Metroplex to inform Ultra Magnus on the situation. Hot Rod made a quick stop first, however, dropping Daniel off at his parents; house. After a brief conference, Ultra Magnus led his troops to the Ark's crash site. Finding the Decepticons there already, the two factions began to fight. When the Energon stash was uncovered, it was completely gobbled up by Starscream who proclaimed himself the most powerful Decepticon. With nothing left to fight over, Hot Rod and the Autobots left Galvatron and Starscream to their squabble. As they headed back for Autobot City, Hot Rod asked Kup for another story. {{storylink|The Lost Treasure of Cybertron}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Hot Rod's Escape}}}}
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===Ladybird Books continuity===
{{voiceactor|[[Blain Fairman]] (English)}}
[[File:DecepticonsatthePole-HotRodSparks.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.85|Say I'm badly drawn to my face, pal!]]
Hot Rod was one of several troops stationed on Earth when [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] was in charge and the Transformers' war was still a secret one. After a scrape with the Decepticons, he found himself in the Autobots' infirmary, impatiently telling Ratchet and Wheeljack to patch him up quickly so he could get going. Due to a shortage of [[cybernite]], however, Hot Rod's repairs took awhile. {{storylink|Galvatron's Air Attack}} He got along well with [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]], the two spending their downtime looking at car magazines together, and was quite pleased to receive some snazzy gold wheel-trims from the boy. {{storylink|Decepticon Hideout}}

In the time following this campaign, Hot Rod would mature into a more sensible warrior and even a team leader. During the early stages of the war on [[Nebulos]], Hot Rod was Autobot commander against [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]]'s Decepticons before the return of Optimus Prime. At one point, he prevented the Decepticons causing Nebulos' destruction via cosmic radiation. {{storylink|Decepticons at the Pole}} He also orchestrated a search for a new source of lubricant when the Autobots were running dry, and led the construction of a pipeline bringing the oil reservoir's contents to Autobot base.
{{storylink|Autobots Strike Oil}}
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===Sticker Adventures books===
Out searching for a missing shuttle, Hot Rod and Kup spied it crashed on the Junk planet. They landed to find their friends engaged in battle with the natives, but Kup cautioned Hot Rod not to rashly jump in and join them. Kup's use of the Universal Autobot Greeting resulted in the Junkions abandoning the fight and making friends with the newcomers, and causing Hot Rod to exclaim "Holy cow!" The Junkions helped repair the damaged shuttle before the Autobots left. {{storylink|Battle on the Junk Planet}}
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Galvatron Attacks}}}}
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===Desert of Danger===
{{notemultipath}}
[[File:Wolf at the door desert of danger.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|When you're weary, feelin' small...]]
Hot Rod had himself delivered by freight to the planet of Nebulos, where he and his Targetmaster partner Professor Sparks suspected the Decepticons were attempting reinforce their position in spite of a treaty in place to limit their numbers. With [[you]]r help they traced the Decepticons to the [[Wolf at the Door]] nightclub, an [[oil]] bar for Nebulan miners run by [[Monzo]], and discovered that [[Weirdwolf (G1)|Weirdwolf]], [[Skullcruncher (G1)|Skullcruncher]] and [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] were importing [[Attack Squad robot]]s from Cybertron and awakening them from cryogenic suspension with a catalytic stimulant disguised as [[Sirian brandy]].

After a confrontation with the Decepticons that left Skullcruncher and Mindwipe out of action, Hot Rod faced off against Weirdwolf and Monzo. Weirdwolf was defiant, but Monzo wasn't feeling lucky and surrendered to the Autobot. Though the Headmasters had to be released under the terms of the treaty, the Attack Squad robots were destroyed. {{storylink|Desert of Danger}}
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===''Transformers PD Type'' comic===
[[File:Pdtype rodimus manga.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb]]
Clutching a [[Blackball]], Rodimus Prime found himself being attacked by Galvatron. As the Decepticon leader attempted to throttle him, a light shone from Rodimus's chest, making Galvatron think it was the power of the Blackball. After Galvatron had fled, Rodimus revealed it was just a flashlight, and reflected on what an idiot his foe was. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##11 "Take a Stand! Rodimus Prime!"|Take a Stand! Rodimus Prime!}}

As Fortress Maximus and Mega Zarak clashed violently, Rodimus reminded Optimus that he had said never to let those two fight. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##14 "Watch Out! Mega Zarak!"|Watch Out! Mega Zarak!}}

Ultra Magnus and Rodimus Prime enjoyed many victories against the Decepticons, but [[Greatshot|who was that in the background?]] {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##15 "No One Knows When he's Come or Gone. Greatshot..."|No One Knows When he's Come or Gone. Greatshot...}}

Together with Ultra Magnus, Rodimus engaged in battle against [[Sixshot]], but was terrified when the Decepticon ninja unleashed the fury of his "Six Shadow Selves"! Luckily for Rodimus, Sixshot's doppelgangers were actually other Decepticons whom he'd painted black (and weren't very happy about it). {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##18|The Ninja of Space, Sixshot!!}}

In a later altercation with Sixshot, Rodimus attempted to use his Photon Eliminator gun to strike down the fleeing ninja. Though he managed to shoot ''every other'' Decepticon on the battlefield, he failed to hit his intended target. Rodimus sat pouting in the corner as the other Autobots convened to register their disappointment that Rodimus let Sixshot get away. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##21|Photon Eliminator}}

Joining [[Ginrai (human)|God Ginrai]] and Ultra Magnus in an assault on Mega Zarak, Rodimus was terrified when the mammoth Decepticon unleashed his titanic Anti-Gravity Rifle. Fortunately for the Autobots, the gun jammed and Mega Zarak was left fiddling with it while they opened fire. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##24|Anti-Gravity Rifle}}
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===''Transformers in 3-D''===
[[File:WarAgainstDestructions-HotRodApeface.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|GRONK yourself!]]
As Ultra Magnus left for a mission to find an Energon source, Hot Rod assured him that everything would be fine on Cybertron, and if there was any hint of trouble "Rodimus" would pop up and save the day. When Magnus later checked in, Hot Rod reported that they'd made some process on Headmaster technology. Though Magnus was more concerned about the threat of war, Hot Rod told him not to worry, unaware that [[Sixshot]] was planning to throw him a surprise. {{storylink|The Test (issue)|The Test}}

Hot Rod was pleased to have [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] back. Then [[Monitorus]] arrived with the news that [[Tau-Ursa]] had been attacked and leveled by Decepticons, and Hot Rod got to point out that the Tau-Ursans had refused the Autobots permission to build a defense base there. He shortly took part in an attempt to repel a Decepticon attack on Cybertron, finding himself fighting against Sixshot, who seemed more interested in goading him than fighting. This turned out to be a diversion, while [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] used his new [[Nullification Cannon]] on the planet's Energon supplies.

Hot Rod and Blurr next visited Tau-Ursa to check for Decepticons, and encountered [[Apeface|Ape Face]], who had found a [[Logicon]] warning beacon. The two Autobots wrestled it from him and returned to Cybertron, where the beacon was found to hold the coordinates to [[Metascan Alpha]], a major Energon storehouse. Prime placed Hot Rod in charge of one of two teams to search for the planet, though the operation was hampered slightly by the discovery of the two Decepticon [[Clone (subgroup)|Clone]]s spying on them. {{storylink|The War Against the Destructons, Chapter 1 of 3}}

{{Note|At this point [[Blackthorne Publishing]] went bankrupt and the storyline was never completed}}
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===Toy pack-in material===
Both Hot Rod and Rodimus fought side-by-side during a tumultuous battle on a moon base. While Rodimus charged [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]] alongside [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] and [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]], Hot Rod received a punch to the face, courtesy of [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]]. {{storylink|Decipher the Decepticon}}

The Decepticons having stolen the Matrix of Creation, Hot Rod was called up by Ultra Magnus to help retrieve it. The Autobots used an army of [[decoy]]s to distract the Decepticons, while Hot Rod, Blurr, Kup and Ultra Magnus infiltrated their base. Hot Rod told Blurr of all people to hurry up and blast the Matrix out of same sort of crystal structure. The Autobots then made their getaway with the Matrix in hand. {{storylink|Start Your Own Decoy Collection}}

When Optimus became stranded on Cybertron's hemisphere of darkness with his memory damaged, Hot Rod joined a small strike force of Autobots called H.O.P.E. ([[Help Optimus Prime Escape]]) to retrieve him. {{Storylink|Optimus Prime Is Back}}
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===Find Your Fate Junior===
{{notemultipath}}
====Autobot Alert!====
[[File:AutobotAlertKupandHotRod.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]
While on a midnight spin, Hot Rod spotted Beachcomber, Springer and Blurr leaving Metroplex on a secret mission. The next day, after coming home from his karate lessons, Hot Rod began pestering Kup in order to glean more information on the nature of his fellow Autobots’ assignment. Before he learned anything of substance, an Autobot Alert sounded across the Autobots’ headquarters. The Autobots learned that the Decepticons were taking over Earth’s communication satellites. Shortly afterwards, Blurr returned prematurely from the aforementioned secret mission to deliver more bad news. The Decepticons had gotten their hands on an important coded message.

If Ultra Magnus decided to prioritize the Decepticons’ orbital attack, Hot Rod became frustrated after once again being overlooked for a mission. Catching him sulking, Bumblebee approached Hot Rod and informed him that he had spotted Astrotrain skulking about nearby the previous night. Deducing that Astrotrain might have something to do with the ongoing Decepticon plot, the two Autobots decided to go on their own clandestine mission to investigate. They brought along a supply of “laser-ignited explosives” and went on their way. Soon happening upon the Decepticons’ control centre, the pair set out to sabotage the Decepticons’ operation. While Bumblebee wanted to sabotage the Decepticons’ communication centre on Earth, Hot Rod was in favour of sneaking aboard Astrotrain before he launched, and sabotage the Decepticons out in space.

If Hot Rod convinced Bumblebee to go along with his plan, the pair snuck aboard Astrotrain by concealing themselves within a trailer filled with bombs. As Astrotrain launched, Hot Rod happened upon a room filled with Decepticon space gear. The two Autobots donned the suits in order to disguise themselves. The disguises proved effective as Thrust and Starscream walked past the pair, none the wiser. As Hot Rod continued to explore Astrotrain, he spotted the giant Decepticon Cyclonus out of a nearby window, as well as the Autobot shuttle obliviously heading into a trap. Hot Rod had to then decide on two options. He could risk commandeering Astrotrain’s military command post, despite the Decepticons guarding the door, and warn the incoming Autobot shuttle about the Decepticons. Alternatively, he could find a hiding place from which he could attack Cyclonus himself.

If Hot Rod decided to commandeer the military commands, his disguise managed to fool the guards, but not Scourge, who happened upon them as Hot Rod was inspecting the commands. Bumblebee urged Hot Rod to go through with his plan quickly as Scourge approached them. Hot Rod succeeded in firing Astrotrain’s weapons at Cyclonus, warning the Autobot shuttle of the Decepticons, but was quickly overpowered by Scourge. Alongside Bumblebee, Hot Rod was flung out into the blackness of space by Scourge, stranded in zero-gravity, waiting for a rescue that might never come.

If instead Hot Rod and Bumblebee decided to find themselves a hiding spot, the pair snuck into a room labelled “Dirty Tricks Department” in order to dodge the incoming Laserbeak. Finding a hatch to the space shuttle’s exterior, Hot Rod trained one of Perceptor’s inventions, a “rapid-fire, high-intensity rifle cannon” towards Cyclonus and fired. Having successfully blown a massive hole into Cyclonus, Hot Rod and Bumblebee hid out for the rest of the mission inside the Dirty Tricks department room, finding a way to escape later when it docked.

If instead of boarding Astrotrain, Hot Rod and Bumblebee decided to infiltrate the Decepticons’ command centre on Earth, the two used Astrotrain’s take-off as cover for sneaking into the facility. The pair soon found themselves overhearing Galvatron’s latest pirate broadcast. As the nearby Decepticons troops were busy bowing to their leader’s image, Bumblebee and Hot Rod managed to find the Decepticons’ main computer room. Now in a position to thoroughly sabotage the Decepticons’ operation, Hot Rod spotted a button labelled “TOP SECURITY/DESTRUCT SYSTEM!” and was eager to press it. Bumblebee suggested instead that they use a code he had learned in Advanced Espionage that would scramble the Decepticons’ computer program.

If Hot Rod allowed Bumblebee to use his code, the Decepticons’ plan fell into disarray, and Bumblebee and Hot Rod made their way back to the Autobots’ base safely as the command centre blew itself apart behind them.

If Hot Rod went ahead and pressed the button, he soon discovered that it was a Decepticon trap, as sirens began blaring across the Decepticon base and iron bars prevented them from escaping. Galvatron’s image appeared on a nearby monitor, explaining that both Hot Rod and Bumblebee would be used as hostages in order to secure a Decepticon victory. Hot Rod could do nothing but cover his face in shame in shame.

In a completely different possible series of events, wherein Ultra Magnus agreed to prioritize theft of the coded message, over the Decepticons’ signal hijacking, Hot Rod was part of the captive audience that listened to Kup divulge information about an ancient Autobot formula. Hot Rod took off towards the Autobots’ desert research centre along with a number of other Autobots. Once there, they learned from Springer that the Cybertite sphere had been discovered by humans during the 16th century. If the Decepticons had decoded Springer's message, they would be searching off the coast of California, where the ship containing the sphere had sunk. If they hadn’t decoded the message, the Decepticons would still be digging in the nearby crater.

If the Autobots decided to head for the crater, Hot Rod raced Blurr to the site, only to find it void of any Decepticon activity. Finding Beachcomber tied to an explosive device, the two Autobots worked together to free their comrade. Once freed, Beachcomber informed the pair that the Decepticons had long ago broken the code and were already en-route to retrieve the cybertite sphere. It would now be much to late to catch up to the Decepticons, and all hope to retrieve the orb before them was lost.

If Ultra Magnus decided to assume that the Decepticons had already decrypted the message, he ordered his forces to split up to more efficiently address the situation. Hot Rod was part of the main Autobot force that headed for the California coast. Arriving at the scene, Ultra Magnus’s troops were informed by Powerglide (who had flown ahead of the land-bound group) that he had discovered the location of the sunken ship containing the cybertite sphere. Simultaneously, Blurr caught up with the group to inform them that the Decepticons were quickly approaching.

In one of the possible plans that Ultra Magnus concocted, Hot Rod was tasked with searching the ship once Sludge had used his titanic strength to haul it from the deep. Hot Rod tore through the wrecked vessel, and found the sphere in a timely fashion. He then hid alongside his fellow Autobots, and ambushed the Decepticons as they arrived on-scene.

If Ultra Magnus decided to execute a different plan, wherein Hot Rod, Bumblebee and Grapple had to work together to fetch the sphere, the Autobots did not find the sphere before the Decepticons reached the coast. While Hot Rod searched the ship, dangling from Grapple’s hook over a nearby cliffside, Galvatron and his troops swooped in and blew both the ship and the sphere to smithereens. With the sphere destroyed and the Autobots being pummelled by the Decepticons’ superior firepower, the Autobots’ only hope rested with Hot Rod, dangling on the coast-side in a literal and figurative cliff-hanger!

In yet another possible scenario, where Hot Rod was not involved at all in the actual retrieval of the sphere, the ancient Autobot formula was safely retrieved and taken back to Metroplex. Hot Rod then watched on as Perceptor produced the first batch of power-booster. {{storylink|Autobot Alert!}}
{{-}}

====Project Brain Drain====
[[File:ProjectBrainDrainAutobotsCelebrate.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1]]
In one possible scenario, upon hearing that the Decepticons were planning to use a “[[Brain Drain device]]” to syphon the intelligence of nearly 500, 000 concert goers, Ultra Magnus ordered his troops, Hot Rod included, to head for the concert to foil Galvatron’s plot. Rodimus and the other Autobots were told to hide themselves amidst the parked vehicles surrounding the concert, and lie in wait for the Decepticons. Once the Decepticons had shown themselves, Ultra Magnus ordered his troops to transform in unison and open fire on their enemies. But Galvatron had planned to light afire the parking lot in which the Autobots were standing in order to trap the humans. Being drenched from above by Decepticon jets dumping gasoline upon them, Ultra Magnus needed to decide whether the Autobots needed to retreat, or to keep on fighting and hope that they could defeat the Decepticons before the fire consumed them.

If Ultra Magnus decided on a retreat, Hot Rod was more than happy to rush out of the blazing inferno and move in closer to the humans in order to protect them. Hot Rod and the others fended off the airborne Decepticons who swooped down, unaffected by the blazing barrier encircling the concert.

In another possible scenario, wherein the Autobots stayed in the parking lot to battle at close-quarters the Decepticons, both he and Bumblebee noticed Soundwave pass the Brain Drain device to Galvatron after the latter had been able to fling Ultra Magnus away. If Hot Rod attempted to stop Galvatron, he successfully plucked the device out of the Decepticons’ hands and barrelled through the nearby circle of flames to make his escape. Just as he reached the other rim of the ring of fire, all four of his tires burst from the flames. He nonetheless skidded to safety, but found himself temporarily out of commission. Nonetheless, the Autobots managed to destroy the Brain Drain device, and Hot Rod was able to enjoy the concert-goers giving the Autobots a standing ovation as the Decepticons retreated.

In a completely different possible scenario, Hot Rod was out on patrol with Kup and Jazz when the three of them heard nearby commotion and went to investigate. Finding Wreck-Gar and Sparkplug being attacked by Thrust and Laserbeak, the Autobots moved in to rescue them and fended off the Decepticons. Hot Rod, Kup and Jazz were informed of the situation as it were; the Decepticons were going to drain the minds of the concert-goers with their Brain Drain device. The Autobots then decided whether they would launch a counter-attack on the Decepticons’ lab, or if they would send Hot Rod for reinforcements while the rest of them headed directly to the concert.

If the group settled on launching a counter-attack, the lot of them stormed the lab with such ferocity and suddenness that the Decepticons were caught completely unawares. Though most of the Decepticons’ forces scattered with the Autobots’ initial assault, Hot Rod and company still had to beat back a small contingency of Decepticons too afraid of Galvatron to desert their posts. Hot Rod and the others successfully beat them back, until Soundwave attempted to escape with the Brain Drain device in hand.

If Hot Rod attempted to shoot the device out of Soundwave’s hands, Soundwave tripped at the last moment over the fallen body of a Decepticon. Hot Rod’s blast his Soundwave’s shoulder, causing him to fling the Brain Drain device up in the air. Laserbeak then managed to snatch the device in mid-air, and flew off to rendezvous with Galvatron. Unable to follow, the Autobots realized that the concert-goers were doomed to all become incredibly stupid very soon. If Jazz attempted to stop him however, he was successful in doing so and the Autobots successfully destroyed the Brain Drain device.

Alternatively, if Hot Rod agreed to head off to Metroplex while the rest of the Autobots headed for the rock concert, he promised that he was soon meet up with them, backed up by an entire army of Autobots, and then sped off.

Some time later, Hot Rod finally arrived at the concert accompanied by Ultra Magnus and numerous other Autobots.

If Sparkplug was able to signal them, Hot Rod pinpointed the location at which his friends were fending off the Decepticons, and sped to meet them as Galvatron was beginning to active the Brain Drain device. Thanks to Ultra Magnus’s timely interference, the Brain Drain device was destroyed and the Autobots were victorious that day.

Otherwise, Hot Rod and the Autobots arrived just in time to congratulate Wreck-Gar, who had already destroyed the Brain Drain device. {{storylink|Project Brain Drain}}
{{-}}

====The Invisibility Factor====
[[File:InvisibilityFactorHotRodKupmeetSarah.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]
Hot Rod accompanied Kup on a night drive in the desert, when he noticed a spacecraft barreling down from the heavens towards them. As it landed, Hot Rod perceived that it would alternate between being visible and invisible. Curious, he prompted Kup to come with him to investigate.

If Kup agreed to look into the spacecraft right away, the two Autobots were surprised to spot a young woman emerge from the craft. Though Hot Rod startled her at first, the woman was reassured that the Autobots were friendly beings by Kup. Hot Rod learned that her name was [[Sarah Sanders]], and that she was a scientist working to perfect her latest invention, an “[[Invisibility Device]].”

In one possible scenario, Hot Rod, unable to control himself, snatched the device away from Sarah. Despite Sarah’s protests, Hot Rod insisted that the device would be put at its best use in the hands of the Autobots, keeping the world safe from the Decepticons. As Hot Rod daydreamed of glory while driving towards the Autobots’ base, he accidentally triggered the Invisibility Device’s self-destruct mechanism. The ensuing explosion blew him to bits.

If Hot Rod and Kup attempted to politely coax Sarah into giving them the Invisibility Device willingly, Sarah informed the Autobots that she had a strong stance against her invention being used for warfare. As the three of them stood conversing in the open, they soon heard the Decepticons approaching. As the evil robots began to fire upon them, Hot Rod whisked Sarah away to safety. Upon realizing that the Decepticons weren’t pursuing them, and that the Invisibility Device had been left behind, the trio hid behind some nearby rocks to spy upon the Decepticons, who were busy inspecting Sarah’s ship and her Invisibility Device.

If Hot Rod and Kup decided to attack immediately, they were easily defeated and destroyed by the Decepticons.

If Hot Rod and Kup decided to lay low in an attempt to steal the device back from the Decepticons, they first told Sarah to wait for them here, then the pair sneakily followed the Decepticons as they left for their headquarters. As the Decepticons descended into a canyon, Hot Rod was eager to follow them in, but was stopped by Kup. Kup told the young Autobot of how he defeated the Decepticons on Renerian, and the two of them put into action a similar plan. Driving back and forth atop the canyon’s edge, firing from all angles while remaining hidden in the dark, they tricked the Decepticons into thinking a whole team of Autobots had ambushed them. Hot Rod the snuck down into the canyon to retrieve the Invisibility Device. As he crept closer to Shockwave, clutching the device in his robotic arms, Hot Rod noticed that Galvatron was nearby, with his back turned to him.

If Hot Rod forewent attaining the Invisibility Device and attempted to take out Galvatron instead, Starscream spotted him before he could do so, and Hot Rod was promptly dispatched.

If Hot Rod went through with his plan to steal the device back from the Decepticons, he successfully snatched Sarah’s invention from Shockwave’s grasp and took off. Though the Decepticons gave chase, If they were unable to catch him before Kup fired down onto the canyon’s walls, causing it to collapse and burying the Decepticons under an avalanche of earth and rocks. Convinced that Sarah Sanders would now allow the Autobots to use her device now that she had seen how evil the Decepticons were, Hot Rod and Kup drove back to meet up with her.

In a different possible scenario, the Decepticons took off in Sarah’s spaceship upon finding it, forcing Kup and Hot Rod to head back to Metroplex city for reinforcements and a ship of their own. Hot Rod and Kup were joined by Ultra Magnus, Prowl, Jazz and Springer, and blasted off. Once in space, however, they found it difficult to locate the Decepticons. The ship’s crew had to decided where to look next for the Decepticons.

If the Autobots decided to investigate the dark side of the moon, they found themselves unable to see anything on the satellite’s shadowy surface. Hot Rod suggested that they fire down laser blasts, in the hopes of making the Decepticons fire back, making them reveal their position. Jazz dismissed Hot Rod’s plan as being too risky.

If Ultra Magnus decided to go through with Hot Rod’s plan, the Autobots succeeded only in making themselves an easy target for the Decepticons, who blasted their shuttle to bits. Hot Rod and his friends were reduced to space junk.

If Ultra Magnus listened to Jazz’s plan, he ordered his Autobots to remain silent, and to shut off all of the shuttle’s lights and mechanisms. Launching a probe as a decoy, the Autobots successfully tricked the Decepticons into revealing their position when they mistook the probe as their shuttle and opened fire upon it. Firing back, the Autobots began crippling the Decepticons’ ship, until a lucky shot rocked their own shuttle. Though the Decepticons attempted to escape while the Autobots were off-balance, the Autobots were able to deliver the finishing blow, ending the Decepticons’ menace as the evil robots' ship exploded.

In an alternate scenario wherein the Autobots listened to Prowl’s suggested and searched the Asteroid Belt beyond Mars, they soon found themselves struggling to get through the maze of floating rocks. Hot Rod was in favour of retreating from the asteroid field when it proved increasingly difficult to navigate it.

If the Autobots pushed on their search in the Asteroid Belt, they soon found themselves on a collision course with two enormous asteroids. If they only managed to blast one of asteroids, the Autobots were forced to retreat back to Earth after their shuttle took substantial damage. If the Autobots managed to blast neither of the Asteroids, they were all crushed between the giant pieces of space debris.

If they managed to blast away both asteroids, they reached a vast, empty expanse of space within the asteroid belt. Despite no longer being in danger of being crushed, Hot Rod announced that he had a horrible sense of foreboding about their situation. His feelings of being watched were confirmed when the Decepticons, now invisible, began firing upon them. The Autobots considered retreating, but Kup reminded them that Sarah Sanders had not perfected her device yet, and the Decepticons’ invisibility may yet wear off.

If the Autobots attempted to flee from the Decepticons’ attack, they found themselves at too much of a disadvantage to successfully make it out of the Asteroid Belt. They were blown into space junk before they could reach Earth.

If the Autobots held their ground, they were instructed by Ultra Magnus not to open fire upon the Decepticons until ordered to do so. Though things were tense as the Autobots were hit over and over again by their invisible opponents, soon the enemy ship came into view, just as Kup had predicted. The Autobots opened fire on the flimsier vessel, blowing it and the Decepticons within to smithereens. Hot Rod noted that it was a shame the invisibility device had been lost in the process, but Ultra Magnus comforted him, noting that at least the Decepticons had been taken care of, once and for all.

If the Autobots did retreat out of the Asteroid Belt, they convinced one another that the Decepticons most likely perished within it. Then, a few days later, when the invisible Decepticons attacked Metroplex city, Hot Rod and the rest of the Autobots were reduced to scrap metal, unable to fight the unseen enemy.

In a completely different scenario, wherein Hot Rod and Kup returned to Autobot headquarters for reinforcements after seeing the spaceship land, the two of them reported to Ultra Magnus directly, who agreed the situation necessitated further investigation. Hot Rod and Kup returned to the ship’s landing site accompanied by Jazz, Sunstreaker, Prowl and Springer. When they arrived, the ship in question was nowhere to be found, prompting Jazz and Springer to second-guess the veracity of Hot Rod and Kup’s story.

If Jazz and Springer convinced Hot Rod and Kup to return to Metroplex city to make sure they didn’t have a few wires loose, Ratchet found nothing wrong with the pair, but the incident was forgotten nonetheless. That is, until Galvatron returned with a fleet of identical ships, and destroyed both Metroplex and all of its inhabitants.

If Hot Rod and Kup convinced the other Autobots to keep on looking, Hot Rod eventually found trail marks, indicating that a heavy object the size of their spacecraft had indeed landed and had been dragged away. Hot Rod and the others followed the trail to a more rocky terrain, where tracking the ship would become more difficult. The trail seemingly lost, the Autobots then heard someone incoming, and took cover. From their hiding places, they saw the Decepticons Scavenger, a human captive within the grasp of his steam-shovel.

If the Autobots decided to rescue Sarah immediately, Scavenger dropped the woman, and cried for help while attempting to flee.

If the Autobots pursued Scavenger, they found him rejoining a whole squadron of Decepticons. Fighting the Decepticons immediately would cost them their lives. Otherwise, if the Autobots decided on a retreat when faced by the whole squadron of Decepticons, they managed to do so by blinding their enemies by their high beams and then splitting off into different direction. They later regrouped and found Sarah Sanders wandering in the desert.

If the Autobots paused a moment to listen to Sarah, she informed them of her spacecraft and its invisibility capabilities.

If the Autobots asked Sarah to build them their own Invisibility Device, Sarah refused, stating she would not build weapons for war. Running away from the group Sarah was almost killed when Dirge passed overhead and dropped a missile on her position. After rescuing her from the Decepticon attack, Hot Rod and the others brought Sarah to safety within Metroplex. Grateful for the rescue, Sarah showed the Autobots how to create an [[Invisibility Scrambler]] to counteract the Decepticons’ Invisibility Device. Anticipating the Decepticons’ attack, the Autobots successfully defeated the evil robots when they came. As Starscream, having been taking prisoner, was being escorted to his cell Hot Rod made a quip about seeing “right through the Decepticons’ plans.”

If instead of asking Sarah to build them an Invisibility Device, Hot Rod and the others attempted once more to retrieve her ship, the whole group snuck over to where the Decepticons were stationed. Once there, Hot Rod and Prowl argued over which plan of action would be the smartest to undertake next.

If the Autobots agreed with Hot Rod to try and take the Decepticons by surprise with a head-on attack, the Autobots manage to stun the Decepticons by dazzling them with their headlights. While the Decepticons were distracted, Hot Rod raced down, snatched the Invisibility Device out of the hands, and retreated while the rest of the group provided cover fire. The Autobots then successfully peeled back, congratulating one another on a job well done.

If the Autobots agreed with Prowl to take a moment to come up with a more detailed plan, Prowl instructed Hot Rod to taunt the Decepticons into following him. The plan worked, and the bulk of the Decepticons took off after the young Autobot. Though Hot Rod encountered a canyon that blocked off his escape route, by keeping his wits about him, he managed to come out on top. In one scenario, Hot Rod even discovered a secret Decepticon base, which the Autobots managed to destroy thanks to him. In another, Hot Rod watched on as Sarah left in her spaceship in order to destroy it, vowing it would never be used to bring destruction.

In an alternate scenario where the Autobots silently trailed Scavenger while the Decepticon held Sarah Sanders captive, Hot Rod and the others followed him all the way to the Decepticons’ secret desert base. Inside, they spied upon Galvatron telling Sarah Sanders that the Decepticons would use Cerebro-Shells to control her mind, so that she would reveal to them to secret of invisibility. At this point, the Autobots decided to step in. A direct attack would only end in the Autobots’ defeat. In order to rescue Sarah, the Autobots would need to employ trickery. Using Jazz’s special abilities, the Autobots could do just that. In this scenario, the Autobots grabbed Sarah while the Decepticons were too dazzled by the illusions that Jazz projected. Sarah directed the Autobots towards where the Decepticons had stored her ship. Upon following her directions, Hot Rod and the others came upon two doors, unable to tell behind which one they would find their means of escape. If the Autobots happened upon Sarah’s ship as they were, they would be destroyed by the droids guarding it. However, if the Autobots first opened the door which led to a closet filled with Decepticon spare parts, they found a pile of spare Decepticon emblems. Donning them, Hot Rod and the rest of his team were able to fool the Decepticon Droids guarding Sarah’s ship. Escaping in the ship, despite the Decepticons best efforts to stop them, the Autobots returned to Metroplex. Sarah then gave the Autobots the secret to her Invisibility Device, ensuring the Autobots their victory in their war against the Decepticons. {{storylink|The Invisibility Factor}}
{{-}}

===St. Michael ''The Transformers'' Sticker Book===
{{notemultipath}}
Hot Rod served on an alien spacecraft with the Autobots [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]], [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], and [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] under the command of Ultra Magnus. While fighting Decepticons, their spaceship took heavy damage and crash-landed on the planet [[Barrenikon]]. There, he met [[you]], having just emerged from the Vortex, a portal through space and time contained within the planet. Together, you went on an adventure, fighting Decepticons, braving Barrenikon's barren desert or its putrid swamp, and trying to find a way to get the Autobots space-bound once more. {{storylink|The Transformers Sticker Book (St. Michael)|The Transformers Sticker Book}}
{{-}}

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

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

As Prime and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] battled Shockwave within the citadel, Hot Rod and [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] took down [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] and [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]]. Immediately afterward, they were confronted with the looming threat of a remaining Guardian robot—a threat that was soon neutralized by the arrival of the [[Wrecker]]s, the [[Autobot High Council]], and [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]]. The unified Autobot group soon breached the citadel, and successfully brought to an end Shockwave's reign. {{storylink|Revelation (War and Peace)|Revelation}}

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

Optimus Prime once experienced a vision showing, at some unknown point in the future, Hot Rod had become a [[Targetmaster (technology)|Targetmaster]].{{storylink|The War Within issue 5|The War Within #5}}

{{note|[[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]] went then went out of business, putting a premature end to its ongoing stories. The following would have taken place in [[Unreleased Dreamwave issues|unreleased issues]].}}

After looking upon the still-recovering Optimus Prime with Wheelie and Gnaw, Hot Rod was accosted by several "[[Female Autobots|Transformer-like warriors]]," and knocked off-line. {{storylink|Unreleased Dreamwave issues#Issue 11|Generation 1 #11}}
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===3H comics===
[[File:Skidswreckers2.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|It's funny because Rodimus sucked at everything.]]
A few months after he destroyed [[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]] in 2005, {{storylink|Herald, Covenant, Schism, Paradox|Covenant}} Rodimus Prime spearheaded an effort to establish multiple recon posts to watch for advancing threats... even though some of his scientists said he shouldn't. When only two of the five launched ships were ever heard from again. {{storylink|Betrayal}}

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

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

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

[[File:Arceedisclosure.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|Except you're the size of my arm now.]]
Rodimus recognized the homing beacon emitting from [[Akalo|Archa Nine]] as one of those missing exploration parties mentioned before. When the shuttle landed, Rodimus stayed behind to help repair the damage the ship had suffered. The entire Wrecker team later gathered in an [[Akalouthan]] village, where Rodimus was reunited with [[Glyph (Universe)|Glyph]], who took them to see the artifact known as the [[Divine Light]]. The Wreckers' analysis of the item was cut short, as it was stolen by the traitor [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]]. Rodimus saw the back-in-his-old-body [[Devcon (G1)|Devcon]] off, who was sent to chase after Cyclonus, while the Wreckers made for their next destination... even though several of them were now leery of the visions Primal Prime had been getting. Because they'd really done ''so well'' by the Wreckers so far. {{storylink|Betrayal}}

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

[[File:WreckersFinaleII-RodimusCyclonus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|If Optimus can die, so can I!]]
...Cybertron. As Primal Prime took some Wreckers after their true foe, [[Cryotek (Universe)|Cryotek]], Rodimus tried to get their injured to a safe place. Unfortunately, the planet was under a full scale Quintesson invasion, and some anti-aircraft fire inevitably clipped the ship and sent them plummeting downwards. After they made it to safe ground, Rodimus and the crew hooked up with his fellow [[Matrix Templar]], [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]], and followed his insight to the battle. They confronted Cryotek's underling, Cyclonus, and his purloined squad of [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]]s. With casualties mounting on both sides, Cyclonus beat a safe retreat, collapsing the tunnel behind him to prevent pursuit. Rodimus was quick enough to dive through the falling debris, however, leaving the two old enemies alone to do battle. Centuries of bad blood carried them through the conflict, until both drew their weapons at point blank range, and fired.

Horribly damaged by this last attack, Rodimus struggled to keep up with the other Wreckers and the running conflict between [[Sentinel Maximus]] and Cryotek. The fighting came to an end at a Quintesson banishing chamber, where the treacherous Al-Badur had attempted to toss Sentinel and Cryotek into a formless void. The two warriors were trapped behind an energy dome, barely able to fight off the portal's pull using their flight systems. Once [[Fractyl]] pointed out that Cryotek was empowered by the Divine Light, a fraction of Primus's own power, Rodimus realized that as Matrix Templars he and Cheetor could drain that power away from the Predacon. They managed to extract most of it before Cryotek cut off their siphoning effect. In the end, Sentinel Maximus sacrificed himself to pull Cryotek into the void with him. Rodimus finally expired from his wounds from fighting Cyclonus, quietly passing on into the Matrix. {{storylink|Wreckers: Finale Part II}}
{{-}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
[[File:GIJoeTFHotRod70s.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|"That bumperchest really doesn't feel right. How do Prowl and Jazz live with it?"]]
Hot Rod was one of [[Teletran 3]]'s unfortunate victims when the computer malfunctioned and transported a random number of Transformers to random points in Earth's timeline. Along with [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], Hot Rod ended up in mid-1970's [[San Francisco]], where he was locked into the form of a Ford Mustang muscle car. The dormant Autobot was soon stolen by a car thief, but was chased down by a group of [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joes]] and [[Cobra]] members sent to retrieve the Transformers. Discovering [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] in the process, the humans equipped both vehicles with [[disruption unit]] that awakened the Transformers and sent them back to present-day Cybertron seconds after Hot Rod commented about feeling "really weird." {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 1|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #1}} Back on Cybertron, they were stuck waiting inside the force field Ultra Magnus had erected to prevent [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] from capturing Teletran 3. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 2|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #2}}

Some time after his time travel adventure, Hot Rod reported to Optimus Prime that [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]'s team on Earth had been sidetracked by a Cobra attack. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 2|The Art of War #2}} When said team ended up disappearing in Cybertron's [[Gladiator Zone]], Hot Rod convinced Optimus to stay behind and take care of an Autobot peace ceremony instead of going out and searching for them. Hot Rod then assembled his own search party, but they failed to find the missing Autobots. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 3|The Art of War #3}} Unfortunately, [[Serpentor|Serpent O.R.]]'s forces attacked the peace ceremony and captured Optimus Prime, leading to Hot Rod assembling a new team intent on rescuing him. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 4|The Art of War #4}} [[File:Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus BlackHorizon1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.9]] They fought Serpent O.R.'s Decepticon army together with reinforcements from G.I. Joe, and during the battle, Hot Rod paused in horror as he saw the light of the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] being opened inside the Decepticon base. The Decepticon army eventually defeated, and by the time Hot Rod reached inside their base, Serpent O.R. had been killed as well. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 5|The Art of War #5}}

A few months later, Hot Rod questioned Optimus Prime's choice to go to Earth again, accusing his leader of feeling guilty about [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]'s death at Serpent O.R.'s hands and doing everything by himself just to prevent more people from dying. Prime just looked at him sadly before leaving, causing Ultra Magnus to tell Hot Rod that he really needed to learn when to stop talking. {{storylink|Black Horizon, Part 1 of 2}}
{{-}}

===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{main|Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity}}
[[File:SpotlightHotRod-HotRodcvrAexcerpt.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|left|As much as anything else, this was to troll [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]].]]
Originating from the city-state of [[Nyon]], Hot Rod destroyed it to keep its population from being painfully, fatally drained to fuel the corrupt [[Zeta Prime]]'s war machines.

Years later, Hot Rod held a fairly high rank in the Autobot army, equivalent to [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]], and was sent on a mission to [[Ki-Aleta]] to retrieve the [[Magnificence]] which turned into a only technically-successful disaster, with himself the only apparent survivor. When he found out [[Doubledealer|Dealer]] had also survived, he rescued him from a Decepticon prison, unaware that he was the traitor who had caused things to go so wrong. Soon after, he was called to Earth to aid [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]], but briefly returned to retrieve the Magnificence to gain information on the [[Expansion]], during which he discovered Dealer's treachery and killed him. Thereafter, he returned to his information-gathering task on the [[Machination]], and though was badly beaten by [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], he still aided in the Decepticon's defeat.

After surviving the [[Surge (event)|Surge]] and watching Optimus surrender to [[Skywatch]], he led a group of Autobots to make an alliance with [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] to get off Earth, with the capitalist Decepticon buttering him up by dubbing him "Rodimus Prime", a name he adopted and continued to use even after Swindle's inevitable betrayal. Flying off in a stolen shuttle to retrieve the Matrix from the Decepticons, he was blasted into space by [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] after taking it from [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]], leading to a trip that involved the discovery of [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron's]] army-building. Returning the Matrix and this information to Optimus, he was permanently redubbed Rodimus and joined him in facing Galvatron, convincing Optimus that only the Matrix could undo the [[Darkness (G1)|Heart of Darkness]]' contamination of Vector Sigma.

After the Chaos War was done, he was given half of the now-empty Matrix by Optimus, and led a two-hundred strong crew into space aboard the ''[[Lost Light]]'' to seek the [[Knights of Cybertron]], leaving Cybertron and its returned, hostile, population of [[NAIL|neutral Transformers]].

{{--}}

===''Q-Robo Transformer''===
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Q-Robo Transformer}}}}
{{-}}
===''Mini Mayhem!''===
When a surprise party was thrown for Optimus in honor of the 20th anniversary of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', Hot Rod didn't wind up getting invited. He bemoaned that no one ever remembered ''his'' anniversary.

Later, Optimus told a couple of humans that the Transformers were in the midst of doing something really interesting... and showed them Hot Rod and Sunstreaker eating a pie! {{storylink|Mini Mayhem!}}

===''Henkei! Henkei!'' pack-in manga===
[[File:Henkei manga rodimus.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9]]
While the other Autobots were busy dealing with a rampaging [[Astrotrain (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! pack-in manga|Astrotrain]], Rodimus disrupted [[Megatron (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! pack-in manga|Megatron]] and the other Decepticons' attack on a power plant by engaging them solo. {{storylink|Henkei! Henkei! volume 2}} Unable to tackle Megatron in hand-to-hand combat, he was able to get [[Starscream (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! pack-in manga|Starscream]] to accidentally blast his leader instead, but this did little more than annoy Megatron, who flattened Rodimus with a [[fusion cannon]] blast. With Rodimus defeated, the Decepticons pulled out, but the Autobot cavalier didn't let the defeat get him down, and he sped off to join the other Autobots in battling Astrotrain. {{storylink|Henkei! Henkei! volume 3}} Soon after, Rodimus helped defend another power plant against a Decepticon attack, shielding the human workers from Starscream's blasts with his own body. {{storylink|Henkei! Henkei! volume 4}}

When the mysterious new Decepticon warrior [[Cyclonus (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! pack-in comic|Cyclonus]] provided Megatron with the means to transform himself into the monstrous [[Galvatron (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! pack-in comic|Galvatron]], Rodimus, [[Ironhide (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! pack-in manga|Ironhide]] and [[Mirage (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! pack-in manga|Mirage]] trailed Cyclonus's Targetmaster partner [[Nightstick (G1)|Nightstick]] to the volcano in which Megatron was carrying out his transformation. Despite resistance from Starscream and Cyclonus, Rodimus and his team were able to collapse the volcano's cone in on itself. They believed they had sealed Megatron within, and were about to focus their attack on Starscream when they were sent scattering by the explosive emergence of Galvatron from the remains of the caldera. {{storylink|Henkei! Henkei! volume 9}}

===''Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun'' manga===
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Kingdom of Giants}}}}

Following the defeat of [[Galvatron (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun manga|Galvatron]] on [[Earth]], Rodimus was among the Autobots that [[Optimus Prime (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun manga|Optimus Prime]] summoned to the planet. Together with [[Ironhide (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun manga|Ironhide]], [[Hound (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun manga|Hound]] and [[Jetfire (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun manga|Skyfire]], Rodimus was to protect the planet while Optimus's team set off for Cybertron in pursuit of the fleeing Galvatron. {{storylink|To the Sea of Stars}}
{{-}}
===''Henkei! Henkei! Transformers -Visualize-''===
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Visualize Shot 3}} {{storylink|Visualize Shot 4}} {{storylink|Visualize Shot 6}}}}

===Fire Rodimus===
{{note|Fire Rodimus is based on an unproduced toy concept. For information about the toy concept, see [[Hot Rod (G1)/toys#Notes|here]].}}
[[File:TFGRodimus.jpg|upright=0.7|thumb|New Rodimus, not to be confused with New Coke.]]

====Ask Vector Prime====
In [[Primax 092.0 Beta]], Rodimus (in his [[Micromaster]] body) was severely injured defending [[Micro|Zone]] from a [[Galaman|Great Galaman]] invasion. Subsequently, Rodimus's essence was transferred into [[Duke Fire]], [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Star Convoy]]'s power-up being, and Rodimus became known as Fire Rodimus. Star Convoy and Fire Rodimus's powerful combined form, Supernova Convoy, defeated [[Dark Nova|Star Giant]] and [[Megatron (G1)|Ultra Megatron]]. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/15}}

====''Regeneration One''====
Fire Rodimus was among the many alternate universe incarnations glimpsed by [[Primax 512.5 Gamma]]'s [[Hot Rod (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Hot Rod]] {{storylink|Destiny, Part Three}} and was also summoned to Primax 512.5 Gamma to fight the [[Dark Matrix (G1)|Dark Matrix]] creature. {{storylink|The War to End All Wars, Part 5}}
{{-}}

===''Kre-O'' online comic===
After being asked to by [[Megatron (Kre-O)|Megatron]], the [[Autobot]]s, including Rodimus, attacked the Decepticon Base and chased away [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]]. {{Storylink|A Reliable Warrior!? Vortex the Lookout from Hell}} After Megatron transformed into [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], Rodimus helped stop Galvatron's rampage by distracting him long enough for [[Optimus Prime (Kre-O)|Optimus Prime]] to take Galvatron's helmet off, returning him to normal. {{storylink|Enter the New Emperor of Destruction!? Stop Galvatron's Rampage!}}

===''Cloud''===
[[File:Cloud Hot Rodimus.jpg|thumb|"Let me ask before I grab your purse; Why do I look like the [[Springer (G1)|Green guy]]?]]
'''Hot Rodimus''' was a young knight among the [[Autobot]]s, the space-time guardians who resided in [[Cloud World]]'s [[Metropolis]]. He was a powerful warrior with a strong sense of justice, but had a rather brash and immature attitude because of his youth.

Hot Rodimus was dispatched by [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] to deal with an energy surge at the 24-BW Spacetime. {{storylink|Uprising (Cloud)|Uprising}} Returning after the appointed time, Hot Rodimus explained to Optimus that a space-time disturbance delayed his return with the energy for [[SARA]]. As they spoke, the Decepticon uprising began with a devastating level of destruction levelled against Metropolis. Though overcome with emotion, Hot Rodimus was pacified by Optimus, who dispatched him to prepare their district's defenses. {{storylink|Raid}}

The Autobots fought back against the Decepticon invaders, but little did they suspect that the destruction being wrought was little nothing more than a distractio. While the bulk of their forces had been drawn away from their base of operations, a group of Decepticons forced their way in and abducted [[SARA]] before returning to the Underground. When the Autobots reconvened to discuss their next course of action, Hot Rodimus bemoaned their foolishness and inability to see through the Decepticons' ruse. The Autobots began to lose hope when it became clear that they would have to venture into the vast, dangerous, and unmapped Decepticon territory to retrieve SARA. Though Optimus, taking full blame of the situation onto himself, suggested that he venture into the Underground alone, Hot Rodimus refused to allow Optimus to go on such a dangerous venture. He declared that all the Autobots would join him. His comrades, though scared at first, agreed with Hot Rodimus's sentiment. Optimus thanked Hot Rodimus for preventing him from making another foolish decision, and then gave the order... ROLL OUT! {{storylink|Resolve}}

After zeroing in on SARA's energy signature, a decrepit old building, Hot Rodimus, Optimus Prime and [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] headed underground. While a team headed by Jazz blitzed the Decepticons on the building's main floor, Hot Rodimus's team infiltrated its basement covertly. They reached the inner sanctum were SARA was being kept only to find that Megatron had already wired her into his own body. The Decepticon leader revealed the extent of his megalomania, declaring that he would rule all of space-time, even if it meant destroying his home dimension in the process. Though they tried to stop him, both Hot Rodimus and Brawn were shoved away effortlessly by the newly empowered Megatron. Hot Rodimus was knocked unconscious by the attack. His back-up disabled, Optimus Prime rammed Megatron, causing a disruption in SARA's energy and sending the combatants across dimensions. {{storylink|Leap}}

When a close friend of Hot Rodimus was injured by [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], the righteous anger burning within him awakened the power of [[SARA]], granting him a second [[alternate mode]] in the form of a helicopter.

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Rampage (Cloud)|Rampage}} {{storylink|Crisis (Cloud)|Crisis}} {{storylink|Showdown (Cloud)|Showdown}} {{storylink|Return}} {{storylink|Awakening (Cloud)|Awakening}} {{storylink|Wandering}} {{storylink|Shock (Cloud)|Shock}} {{storylink|Wild (Cloud)|Wild}} {{storylink|Eagerness}} {{storylink|Lightwave}} {{storylink|Metamorphosis (Cloud)|Metamorphosis}} {{storylink|Overwhelm}} {{storylink|Concealment}} {{storylink|Struggle}} {{storylink|Fury (Cloud)|Fury}} {{storylink|Transcendence}}{{storylink|TFC-A01}} {{storylink|TFC-A03}} {{storylink|TFC-A04}} {{storylink|Transformers Cloud (issue)|Transformers Cloud}}}}

====''Transformers Legends'' comic====
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. EX (Deadlock)|Bonus Edition Vol. EX}}}}

===''Transformers vs. G.I. Joe''===
{{ongoing}}
[[File:TFvsJoe4 hotrod.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Flame deco now available with Kirby Krackle!]]
Polymath warrior prince '''Imhotep Rodimus''' was Optimus Prime's chosen successor as Autobot leader. Unfortunately for Rodimus, when Optimus disappeared and Megatron seized control of Cybertron, Dinobot leader Grimlock objected to the "chosen one" taking leadership and defeated him in combat, casting him out of [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]. Fallen and dejected, with no fight left in him, the young 'bot became a cog in Megatron's great machine, and wound with a lowly job in reactor maintenance, cleaning up vermin droppings and ferrying around the tubular [[energon]] containers from which he took his new name: Hot Rod.

On a routine collection of [[turborat]] traps, Hot Rod was puzzled to find that one trap contained not the robotic pests he was used to, but small, organic beings: unfortunate members of [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]], who had recently arrived on the planet. Tossing them in with the rest of his cargo and going on his weary way past the [[smelting pool]]s, he was suddenly confronted by Autobot revolutionary Blaster, who despised him for his defection and opened fire on him. A G.I. Joe [[G.I.Rocket|missile bombardment]] subsequently took Blaster out, but when Decepticons [[Apeface]] and [[Demolisher]] arrived, they assumed Hot Rod was responsible and congratulated him. Praise from these low-lifes was the last straw for Hot Rod, and he threw the pair into one of the furnaces, loaded up the unconscious Blaster, and roared off back to Metroplex, unintentionally providing the Joes with an escape from their own missiles in the process. {{storylink|Form Follows Function}}

Hot Rod returned to Metroplex just as it was coming under attack from both [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] and a mind-controlled [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]. He managed to get inside the Autobot city anyways, and brought Blaster to Ratchet, urging the medic to save the brave Autobot to whom he owed his reawakening. Hot Rod then made his way to Metroplex's control room and ordered him to convert to his battle mode. Before he could convince the traumatized city to do so, Grimlock happened by. The Dinobot tried to chase off Hot Rod as he had done so in the past, but with a solid left hook Rodimus challenged Grimlock for leadership once more. Whatever the outcome of the duel, Grimlock expired shortly thereafter at the hands of Megatron. {{storylink|Everybody Hates Metroplex}} Afterwards, Rodimus, Brawn, and Mirage found that [[Bazooka (G.I. Joe)|Bazooka]], while in a trance, had drawn a map to the Chamber of Primus on Metroplex's floor. Following the map, the three Autobots, Bazooka, Cover Girl, and Duke found the face of the dormant Cybertronian god whispering: "No will but Megatron's"... Decepticobra guards, posted at a nearby Megatronian temple, caught sight of them, and a firefight began between both sides. {{storylink|Expelled from the Garden}}

The group's pilgrimage took them deep beneath the surface of Cybertron, where they encountered the mysterious [[Keeper (Transformer)|Keeper]]. The Keeper told the group about the creation of Cybertron from its progenitor [[Daiakuron]]. {{storylink|Earth: R.I.P.}} Their tour of the netherworld was cut short by tremors from above, and the team made a break for it. Rodimus made up to the surface safely, where he dispatched Springer and some Joes to rescue the individuals who hadn't made it out. {{storylink|Escape from Primus}} As the maddened Primus drew closer to the sun, both sides prepared for the final confrontation. Rodimus rallied the shellshocked Metroplex, convincing him to transform into his robot form for the first time in millennia. As the Jotobots attacked Trypticon, Rodimus rode Sky Lynx into the battle. {{storylink|Transformers vs. G.I. Joe issue 12|Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #12}}

Rodimus was one of the many Autobots forced to combine with Megatron to form "Mega-Megatron". After the resurrection of Optimus Prime and the end of the war, Optimus departed Cybertron aboard the ''Ark-2'', once again offering Rodimus a second chance to rule Cybertron. Rodimus gratefully accepted the opportunity. As a peacetime "philosopher-king", he and Wreck-Gar frequently visited [[Uranus]] to contemplate. {{storylink|The War Never Ends}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers: All Spark''===
{{charstubfiction}}
{{storylink|Ray of Hope}} {{storylink|Great Aspirations}} {{storylink|Conclusion}}

===''Q-Transformers'' cartoon===
{{voiceactor|[[Kenshō Ono]] (Japanese)}}
{{Charstubfiction|{{storylink|Mystery of Mystery of Convoy}} {{storylink|Mystery of Return of Convoy}}}}

===''Beast Wars: Uprising''===
[[File:Micro-Aggressions HotRodGrimlock.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.4]]
During the original Great War, Hot Rod fought on Earth and once tore off [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]]'s wing in a parking garage. {{storylink|Derailment}}

When the [[Builder of Cybertron|Builders of Cybertron]] came into power, Hot Rod quickly became aware of how oppressive their rule was. He believed he could work within their system however, and set about implementing gradual change without resorting to violence. To this end, he downsized his body and became a [[Micromaster]], even though doing so meant he lost much of his status in the government's hierarchy. Hot Rod worked the system for seventy years, along the way getting posted as the head of [[Micropolis]]. Then, in the late 24th century, [[Lio Convoy]] sparked a revolution among the [[Maximal]] and [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] populace, calling for an aggressive societal reform. Hot Rod and his team, [[Drillbuster]], [[Blackout (G1)|Blackout]], [[Spaceshot]], and [[Countdown (G1)|Countdown]], were assigned to deal with and counter the [[Resistance]]'s [[Grand Uprising]].

In energy-starved times, Hot Rod, like most other members of society, was privy to a very limited amount of fuel. It surprised him then when he was given a full tank in preparation for an upcoming mission. The severity of the situation cleared up why he had been allowed more than his usual ration: the Resistance had managed to steal the [[G-Virus]]. This potent weapon had been reverse-engineered from [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]'s remains, and would replicate the process that transformed [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] into the mad scion of [[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]] in anyone that was infected with it. Hot Rod was furious to learn that the one who had orchestrated the theft was none other than [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]; his former teammate had previously transplanted his spark into a Maximal body and then led many violent attacks against the government. Hot Rod did find solace in the fact that Grimlock was a predictable opponent though. He quickly puzzled out that the Resistance's next target would be the first [[Games|gladiatorial game]] to be hosted since Lio Convoy's call to arms. Hot Rod called in every favor owed to him to secure two hundred extra guards for [[Tesarus (polity)|Tesarus Arena]], with an extra three-hundred [[Maximal Command Security Force|MCSF]] officers to patrol the stadium's crowd.

Despite these precautions, Grimlock's cell managed to come dangerously close to the crowd before Hot Rod was alerted to their presence. He went to deal with the intruders in person, leaving most of his troops in place in case Grimlock was merely creating a diversion for another attack. Hitching a ride atop of Blackout and Spaceshot's combined vehicle mode, he managed to reach the Resistance fighters before they were in position to infect the Builders enjoying the Game. While his subordinates dealt with The [[Manterror|Man Terror]] and [[Snapper]], two Predacons operating under Grimlock, Hot Rod took on the former [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]] himself. The battle that ensued left both Hot Rod and his opponent gravely wounded. Many verbal attacks were also traded between them, with Grimlock accusing Hot Rod of spitting on everything the Autobot badge once stood for by siding with the Builders. Hot Rod countered that though he hated what their world had become, he was leading by example, unlike Grimlock who had remained a violent brute. Their brawl eventually led to both 'bots tumbling out into the arena crowd. Grimlock's remaining allies came to his aid, and Hot Rod was tossed aside as Snapper prepared to unleash a virulent payload on the unsuspecting crowd. Hot Rod pleaded with him not to, explaining to the Predacon what the virus actually did; Grimlock had neglected to inform his underlings of this particular detail. Snapper was swayed to not unleash a thousand more mad tyrants on Cybertron, and destroyed the virus. Though Hot Rod had been specifically instructed to retrieve the G-Virus, he was simply content with the fact that it had not been unleashed. In thanks for his cooperation, Hot Rod promised Snapper that he would be treated fairly as he was taken into custody. {{storylink|Micro-Aggressions}}

===''Of Masters and Mayhem''===
In one universe, Rodimus fought alongside his fellow Autobots against Megatron's Decepticons until the Cybertronian civil war led to the creation of the monstrous combiner, [[Thunder Mayhem]]. Thunder Mayhem turned on his masters, ultimately leading to him rampaging across Cybertron. Rodimus presumably perished during the reckoning of his homeworld. {{storylink|History}}

===''Combiner Wars'' cartoon===
{{voiceactor|[[Ben Pronsky]]}}
{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Prelude to Transformers: Combiner Wars - Starscream}} {{storylink|Prelude to Transformers: Combiner Wars - Windblade}} {{storylink|The Council}} {{storylink|Homecoming (CW)|Homecoming}} {{storylink|A War of Giants}} {{storylink|Darkest Hour (CW)|Darkest Hour}} {{storylink|Destruction's Dawn}}}}

==Commercial appearances==
*Hot Rod, [[Kup (G1)|Kup]], and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] came to [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]'s aid when the Autobot leader was fighting against [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]], [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. Hot Rod taunted the Decepticons, telling them to "watch my smoke!" {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, Cyclonus, Scourge, Rodimus Prime|Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, Cyclonus, Scourge, and Rodimus Prime commercial}}
*Hot Rod and Kup found themselves stranded on the planet [[Quintessa]]. The two Autobots drove up to the edge of a greenish pool, from which a pile of Sharkticons emerged and attacked. The duo fist-fighted their way through the enemy 'bots, with the help of an intervening [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]]. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Sharkticon|Sharkticon commercial}}
*A stone sculpture of Rodimus was savaged by Weirdwolf as part of his training. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Decepticon Headmasters|Decepticon Headmasters commercial}}
*Rodimus Prime charged into battle with Kup, Blurr, and Wheelie against Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Scourge. Then [[Sixshot]] joined the scuffle. Rodimus took the brunt of many of the Six-Changer's attacks, getting fired upon while Sixshot was in his jet fighter mode, pounced onto when Sixshot assumed his "wheeled wolf" mode, and blasted once more by the Decepticon's "laser pistol" mode. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Sixshot|Sixshot commercial}}
*Rodimus handed his totally trustworthy agent [[Punch (G1)|Punch]] an important device, and saluted him as he drove off. Unbeknownst to Rodimus, Punch would meet with the Decepticons under his "Counterpunch" guise and hand the device over to Galvatron himself! {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Punch and Clones|Punch/Counterpunch and Clones commercial}}
*Rodimus and Blurr drove to an Autobot laboratory, only to be informed by a distressed Kup that there had been an accident; the newest Autobots were monsters! Thankfully, they were still Autobots nonetheless, and helped ward off a Decepticon attack. After seeing how viciously the [[Monsterbot]]s dealt with the Decepticons, Rodimus expressed relief that these new 'bots were on his side. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Monsterbots|Monsterbots commercial}}
*The Autobots were caught by surprise when it seemed at first that a tank and jet were about to crash into one another on the battlefield, only for them to transform together into the Decepticon [[Flywheels]]! Rodimus was unfazed by this turn of events, and pounced onto this new combatant. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Duocons and Throttlebots|Duocons and Throttlebots commercial}}
*Rodimus Prime fought next to Blurr against Galvatron and his cronies while Transformers from both factions prepared to leave Cybertron and expand their war to the planet [[Nebulos]]. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Headmaster comic book|Headmaster comic book commercial}}
*Hot Rod's voice narrated a handful of commercials, including:
**The [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]] {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Headmasters|Headmasters commercial}}
**The [[Technobot (G1)|Technobots]] and [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcons]] {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Technobots and Terrorcons|Technobots and Terrorcons commercial}}

==Games==
===3D Battle-Card Game===
Hot Rod was one of [[Optimus Primal]]'s many Autobot allies in a fight against [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]'s Decepticon forces. {{storylink|3D Battle-Card Game#Energon Wars expansion|Energon Wars Expansion Set}}

===''The Transformers: Battle to Save the Earth''===
[[File:C64RodimusPrimeAndHotRod.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
Along with their fellow Autobots, Hotrod{{sic}} and Rodimus Prime protected Earth from the menace of the Decepticons. Hotrod was ostensibly under the command of Rodimus Prime. {{storylink|The Transformers: Battle to Save the Earth}}

{{note|In this game, "Hotrod" and Rodimus Prime are separate characters who can be in the same place at the same time. Don't try to think about this too hard.}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers: Mystery of Convoy''===
[[File:Mysteryofconvoy rodimus.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4]]
When Optimus Prime went missing under mysterious circumstances, Ultra Magnus was given the task of battling hordes of Decepticons in order to solve the mystery of his whereabouts. The Decepticons had also stolen a collection of seven energon cubes belonging to Rodimus Prime, which Magnus strove to recover during his fight. When all seven were successfully obtained and the battle was won, a new challenge rose its head, but with his energon cubes back, Rodimus was able to take up the fight! He had a funny habit of looking like an orange Ultra Magnus if you looked at him sideways. {{storylink|Transformers: Mystery of Convoy}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers: The Headmasters''===
Rodimus Prime was kidnapped by the Decepticons and held captive on Cybertron by [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. He was rescued by [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] and his other comrades, and in turn helped rescue those who were still imprisoned. Once they had reunited, Rodimus Prime and the others met with [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] for the last battle against [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]. {{storylink|Transformers: The Headmasters (video game)|Transformers: The Headmasters}}

===''The Transformers'' (PS2)===
{{voiceactor|[[Peter von Gomm]] (English)}}
====Autobot story====
[[File:Callofthefuture rodimus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"I am from the future and know a lot about history!"]]

When [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] gained the incredible power of the [[Zel Quartz]] in the year 2010 and began cutting a swath of destruction across the galaxy, Rodimus Prime, [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] and [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] resolved to prevent this devastation by traveling back in time and eliminating the quartz in the past, thereby altering their future. Using a [[Transwarp]]-equipped ship supplied by the [[Quintesson]]s, they traveled to the world of [[Zel Samine]] in the year 2003, where they ran across teams of present-day Autobots and Decepticons led by [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], who were carrying out investigations on their own on the planet.

Making matters worse, [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] also followed them back in time, and the two teams allied themselves with their respective present-day factions in order to locate the Zel Quartz. It wasn't necessarily an easy alliance to make: Rodimus was barely able to keep his cool when [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], not believing that he and his team were really Autobots, demanded to know if Rodimus was Autobot leader in the future, what happened to Optimus? Fortunately, Optimus calmed his lieutenant down and welcomed the trio of future Autobots into his forces.

Working with the present day Autobots was not easy for Rodimus, as he was well aware of the fate that awaited them. On a number of occasions, he struggled with his knowledge of the future, knowing he could prevent a [[Battle of Autobot City|great tragedy]] but could also cause untold damage to the timestream by doing so. He also showed some interest in Arcee when he attempted to give her a precious stone he'd found during a mission to a mine, only for the female Autobot to scold him for taking something that didn't belong to him. Luckily for him, Optimus stepped in and settled things by ordering Rodimus and Arcee to return the stone. That Optimus makes one heck of a wingman.

After several false leads, the quartz was eventually located, serving as the power source of the [[ELTA]] power transmission array. After fighting their way through the likes of Cyclonus, Scourge, [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] and both [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] and his future counterpart Soundblaster, Rodimus and Optimus engaged Megatron and Galvatron in a two-on-two battle over ELTA, using the power of their twin Matrices to stop the computer from self-destructing. Once the dust from the fight had settled, Starscream reemerged and snatched up the Zel Quartz, only to promptly take it off-planet, where it disintegrated without Zel Samine's atmosphere and electromagnetic properties to sustain it. With their future thus averted, Rodimus and his Autobots began fading away to rejoin the timestream. Before they disappeared, Rodimus attempted to warn Optimus of the coming dangers in the future, including his Optimus's death (for which Rodimus continued to blame himself), but Optimus silenced him, telling him that he did not need to know what the future held. Rodimus told Optimus that he would always be the greatest leader in Autobot history, but Optimus told him that he was merely a soldier who loved justice, and that that was all Rodimus needed to be too.

====Decepticon story====
Megatron, Starscream, and Soundwave encountered Rodimus Prime while investigating the presence of unknown craft over Zel Samine. Rodimus was stunned to see the Decepticon [[Emperor of Destruction]] before reminding himself of the era he was in. For his part, Megatron thought he was facing Hot Rod, but quickly realised his mistake. After a short, sharp fight that saw Rodimus defeated, Megatron was distracted enough by the appearance of Galvatron to allow the future Autobot to escape.

Rodimus would again battle Megatron as well as Galvatron at the ELTA power transmission array, this time alongside his hero Optimus Prime. He was shocked that despite the fact the two Primes were working together, they were still defeated. When Megatron and Galvatron resolved to destroy the ELTA array Rodimus pleaded with them to stop, pointing out that the array generated a massive amount of energy, the same energy the Decepticons so loved. Sadly, the two Emperors of Destruction felt that with the Zel Quartz now in their possession, they no longer needed the array and proceeded to destroy it with their combined power. The wounded Rodimus barely escaped.

He presumably returned to the future alongside all the future Transformers when Starscream unwittingly rendered the Zel Quartz powerless. {{storylink|The Transformers (PS2)|The Transformers}}

===''Transformers Battle Circuit''===
Rodimus, one of the "greatest Transformers of all time," was part of an Autobot team that participated in a tournament on Cybertron. He faced off against a team of Decepticons in a series of one-on-one matches. If he managed to defeat Menasor, Trypticon, Astrotrain, Starscream, and Megatron, Rodimus was declared to be the tournament's champion! {{storylink|Transformers Battle Circuit}}

===''Transformers: Battle Masters''===
Rodimus arrived in the city for a decent battle, and though he was defeated by local fighters, he decided not to leave the town. {{storylink|Transformers: Battle Masters (mobile game)|Battle Masters}}

===''Transformers Legends''===
Following [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s rebirth as [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], Rodimus led the Autobots to a decisive victory over the Decepticon forces. {{storylink|All Hail Galvatron}} When Galvatron summoned [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] to the battlefield, Rodimus attempted to block the Decepticon advance with [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]], though unsuccessfully. {{storylink|The Colossus War}}

Rodimus and [[Kup (G1)|Sergeant Kup]] were put on trial by the [[Quintesson]]s. They faced death by [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]] until [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] organized a well-timed coup. {{storylink|Mockery of Justice}} The Autobots subsequently found themselves up against [[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]]. Rodimus defeated the monster by opening the [[Matrix of Leadership]], saving [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] and becoming the new Autobot leader in the process. {{storylink|'Til All Are One (Legends)|'Til All Are One}}

When [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], [[Kup (G1)|Kup]], and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] were abducted by [[Skuxxoid]]s during the [[Galactic Olympics|Galactic Games]], [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] and Rodimus Prime traveled to [[Chaar]] to see if the Decepticons were responsible. Damaged in an attack, he had a vision revealing the Quintessons were behind the kidnapping. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness: Part 1}} He almost sacrificed himself on the planet Goo to save the rest of his team. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness: Part 2}} Rodimus traveled into the Matrix to learn the origin of the Transformer race. Following an attack on Cybertron, Galvatron was only prevented from fighting with Rodimus by [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]]. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness: Part 3}}

Following an Decepticon assault led by [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], Rodimus, alongside Spike, [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], and Ultra Magnus were forced into taking cover within the [[Autobot Mausoleum]]. This did little to improve their situation, however, as the Decepticons continued their advance. Unexpectedly, [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] rose from his tomb, providing hope that the tide may yet turn in the Autobots' favour. Rodimus returned the Matrix of Leadership to the resurrected Autobot leader, reverting to Hot Rod in the process. Once in possession of the Matrix, however, Optimus fled for Cybertron, leaving the other Autobots stranded. The Matrix was returned to Hot Rod when Optimus regained his senses, who sacrificed himself once more to undo the Quintessons' trap, much to the chagrin of the Autobots. {{storylink|Dark Awakening (Legends)|Dark Awakening}}

Arcee, Rodimus, Ultra Magnus, and Springer were trapped in human bodies by [[Victor Drath]] and [[Cobra Commander|Old Snake]], but still managed to foil the pair's plan to destroy Autobot City. They were later successfully returned to their robot bodies. {{storylink|Only Human (Legends)|Only Human}}

Rodimus attempted to defend an experimental space bridge from Galvatron and his forces, only for a stray shot to hit the space bridge, sending all nearby combatants hurtling back in time. Finding themselves in a time where Primus and Unicron were battling one another, shaking the very cosmos with their blows, Rodimus and his troops allied themselves with their creator, while the mad Galvatron ordered his troops to help the Chaos Bringer. Despite the superior amount of beings that Unicron was able to will into being, the Autobots prevailed. Unicron was sent into a retreat, and the time-displaced Transformers were sent back to their proper place in the timestream by Primus. {{storylink|Battle of the Brothers}}

===''Transformers: Battle Tactics''===
[[File:Battle-Tactics-Rodimus-(CW).jpg|thumb|400px|We've got to get a new travel agent.]]
Rodimus (CW) participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was a Super Rare character who could be acquired as a reward in the "Optimus Maximus Awakes!" event. {{storylink|Transformers: Battle Tactics}}
{{--}}

===''Transformers: Frontiers''===
{{Charstubgames|{{Storylink|Transformers: Frontiers}}}}

===''Transformers Operation Omega''===
{{charstubgames|{{storylink|Transformers Operation Omega}}}}

===''Transformers: Earth Wars''===
[[File:RodimusEarthWars.jpg|thumb|upright=1.75|wHY Do mY PipES BeNd??]]
Rodimus encounters [[Nemesis Prime (G1)#Transformers:Earth Wars|Nemesis Prime]].
{{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars|Light our Darkest Hour event}}

*'''Class:''' Special
*'''Lowest Star Rating:''' 2 star
*'''Weapons:''' Rodimus wields two blasters. ''And'' he can also throw a hand grenade from a distance and set a building on fire!
*'''Ability: Blessing of the Matrix:''' Makes a friendly bot invulnerable to damage and stun effects for 8 seconds. Upgrading this ability increases duration.
**'''Cost''': 6 ability points +2 for reuses.

[http://wiki.transformersearthwars.com/character:rodimus| Rodimus at Transformers: Earth Wars Wiki]

{{charstubgame|{{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars|Image and story from all three cutscenes upon obtaining him, and after Researching twice.}}}}

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

==Notes==
[[File:RodimusPrime-earlymodel.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"Hey, ladies. Look at your G1 Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime toys, now back to us, now back at your toys, now back to us."]]
*According to earliest materials (also the source of the earliest Hot Rod head seen in this section's first image), Rodimus Prime's original name was '''Hot Rodimus'''.
*Like the rest of the 1986 movie's original characters, Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime had early designs by [[Floro Dery]] which the toys were based on, only for the designs to then be refined over time into their finalized form. The early models were used for the characters' Marvel Comics appearances, and would occasionally erroneously appear in [[AKOM]]-animated episodes of the cartoon. Rodimus's early design is one of the mostly commonly-seen in the series, popping in and out of episodes from scene to scene quite literally at random; it features curving shoulders and a spoiler that flares outward, and lacks an additional trapezoid in the centre of his pelvis that is part of his finalized model. Notably, Rodimus's final character model has never actually been found—only his early design is published in character model compendiums like ''[[Transformers Generations]]'' or ''[[Transformers: The Ark]]''.
**While AKOM bounced back and forth between early and finished designs for Rodimus, they ''always'' used the ''color scheme'' of the early design. This scheme colors the indentations on his shoulders burgundy-red instead of white; the "windscreen" details on his pelvis (see below) white instead of light-burgundy; the aforementioned trapezoid the same burgundy as the rest of his pelvis instead of the same light burgundy the windscreen is supposed to be; and finally, his his tyres black (the finalized model is the odd one here, as it made them burgundy).
**Additionally, Rodimus also has an even ''older'' design, seen at right, which is substantially more different. Here, he appears to carry the trailer of the truck on his back, plus additional [[kibble]] on the back of his forearms. If only there were art of the back of this design. We'd plotz.
**Meanwhile, on Hot Rod's early character model, both sets of wheels are on his arms, as they are intended to span the entire length of the vehicle; his wrist-cuffs are intended to become the vehicle's taillights. Unsurprisingly, this has never been duplicated on any toy.
*As mentioned above, both Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime's character models suggest that the windshield and roof of their respective vehicles form the pelvic area, including little side windows on their hips. This was highlighted by on both characters' early color model, used by AKOM, which colored that area white, as if it were a window, but was downplayed on their finalized models, which recolored those sections in a lighter shade than the surrounding area. The sheer physical impossibility of this has, again, meant it has never been duplicated on any toy, although the Masterpiece version makes a nod to it with a transparent groin plate with indentations underneath denoting two seats and a steering wheel.
[[File:Hotrodrodimuscharactermodels.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Rodimus is always embarrassed by his yearbook photos.<br>(Early AKOM Rodimus model pictured, colored like the finished Toei Rodimus model.]]
*Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime look very similar in fiction, but there are ways to distinguish them by sight.
**Rodimus Prime's character model has extra lines on his face that go from the bottom of his nose and connect to another line forming a triangle shape. Hot Rod's cheeks are more clear and youthful.
**Despite their toys being the same color of red, the cartoon series rendered Hot Rod as magenta, and Rodimus a dark shade of burgundy (the movie, however, made Rodimus the same color as Hot Rod). In addition to repeatedly getting the two character models mixed up, sometimes the animation would depict one model colored as the other.
**In Marvel stories, Hot Rod was also colored almost entirely magenta, with a yellow spoiler and flame deco, but with silver thighs instead of orange. Whoever did the Marvel deco sheet seems to have been looking at the [[:File:G1catalog86-PinkHotRod.jpg|original toy photos]] and colored the thighs like the toy's silver stickers. While Marvel Hot Rod was stark magenta, Marvel Rodimus was colored in the reds, oranges and yellows of his toy. Future comics and toys would often ignore any differences in color between the character's two forms, presenting them both in the original toy colors (see the image at the head of the article for a good example).
**The Japanese ''[[Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|The Headmasters]]'' cartoon, in addition to featuring the coloration differences of the American Generation 1 cartoon, also added some extra lines around the perimeter of Rodimus's eyes to further distinguish him from Hot Rod. These odd-looking lines appeared only intermittently, thankfully so—they made Rodimus look like he was wearing robo-mascara. The ''Headmasters'' Rodimus Prime character model also moved the wheel kibble from the back of the arms to the front, to better approximate their position on the toy.
[[File:RodimusPrimeG1-trailermanagement.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Maybe his Mobile Defense Bay is just an extra set of legs!]]
*Rodimus Prime's toy followed the model set by Optimus Prime before him by having a trailer that disconnected and transformed into a battle station (in this case, called the "[[Mobile Defense Bay]]"). Unlike Prime's [[Combat Deck (G1)|Combat Deck]], however, Rodimus's Defense Bay failed to make the leap to fiction, with the cartoon simply depicting his trailer as somewhat unfeasibly folding up into his legs and body <ref>[http://www.allspark.com/content/stories/tfpulp/8704TVM/k.gif Image of Rodimus Prime's animated transformation scheme from TV Magazine]</ref> (barring a few animation errors that depicted it as a separate unit). This [[Transformation|transformation scheme]] was realized in toy form with Rodimus's [[Hot Rod (G1)/toys#Titanium Series|6" ''Titanium Series'' action figure]].
*A lot of early secondary material uses Hot Rod and Rodimus in ways that don't fit the main Movie-established dynamic. As with stories from the same era that portrayed Megatron and Galvatron as separate beings, this was likely to avoid spoiling the Movie's ending.
*Hot Rod's 1986 tech specs figures are ''extremely'' high (six 10/10s, one 9/10, one 7/10). They are actually higher than both Ultra Magnus and Galvatron's stats. None of the other movie characters have such inflated tech specs, so this was possibly an attempt (albeit small) to convince the kids of the time how awesome their new hero was. Rodimus Prime's tech specs are only every so slightly higher than Hot Rod's, but as the latter was near maximum anyway that isn't saying much. One year later, for his Targetmaster release, Hot Rod's stats have been reduced to slightly more sensible figures (which leads to the amusing situation where his "Firepower" stat actually goes ''down'' from 10 to 7 when he becomes a Targetmaster. Also his top speed has changed from 120 mph to 330 mph. Maybe Firebolt weighs less than his old gun?)
*Hot Rod might be the ''Transformers'' character with the most names in the US. From "Hot Rod" to "Rodimus Prime", to "Rodimus Major" to just plain "Rodimus". Varieties of "Rodimus" appeared to be how he would be named for a while, but his [[Hot Rod (G1)/toys#Titans Return|Titans Return]] figure is back to being "(Autobot) Hot Rod", suggesting that Hasbro has somehow reclaimed the [[trademark]] on the name.
*[[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]]'s powered up form has a color scheme which resembles Hot Rod's. The reference came full circle with [[Side Burn (RID)|G1 Side Burn]], who was a redeco of a Rodimus toy.
*Aside from the ''[[Transformers: Energon (franchise)|Energon]]'' [[Rodimus (Energon)|namesake character]], Hot Rod has also been [[homage]]d twice (or possibly thrice depending on how you look at it) in the [[Unicron Trilogy]]. For ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'', the "[[Powerlinx]]" upgrade of [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] was given a very Hot-Rod-inspired deco. In ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]]'', [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] made a redeco of Hot Shot (well, "Exillion"), who already had some Hot Rod homage elements in his toy design, with Hot Rod deco as a DVD-pack-in [[exclusive]]. [[Hasbro]] then took this deco, altered it, and released it in the US line at mass retail as the new character [[Excellion (Cybertron)|Excellion]].
*This Rodimus Prime, along with the original [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], and [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] makes a cameo appearance as one of the four elders who began the [[space bridge]] project in the ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (cartoon)|Cybertron]]'' episode "[[Balance]]".

===Foreign names===
====Hot Rod====
*''Japanese:'' '''Hot Rodimus''' (ホットロディマス ''Hotto Rodimasu''), '''Hot Rod''' (ホットロッド ''Hotto Roddo'')
*''English:'' '''Roadimus Prime''' ([[Omni Productions]] dub)
*''French:'' '''Météorite''' (Canada)
*''Hungarian:'' '''Nagyágyú''' ("Hot Shot"), '''Peca''' (''The Movie'', "Fisher")
*''Italian:'' '''Folgore'''
*''Mandarin:'' '''Rod''' (Taiwan, 羅德 ''Lúo Dé''), '''Rè Pò''' (China, 热破, "Hot Break")
*''Portuguese:'' '''Roda Quente''' (Portugal comic)
*''Russian:'' '''Patron''' (cartoon, Патрон, "Cartridge")

====Rodimus Prime====
*''Japanese:'' '''Rodimus Convoy''' (ロディマスコンボイ ''Rodimasu Konboi''), '''Rodimus Prime''' (ロディマスプライム ''Rodimasu Puraimu'')
*''French:'' '''Rodimus Primo''' (Canada toy, "Rodimus First"), '''Rodimus Primus''' (Canada cartoon)
*''German:'' '''Rodius Prime''' ([[Condor Verlag]] comics)
*''Hungarian:'' '''Rodimusz Fővezér''' ("Prime Commander Rodimus")
*''Italian:'' '''Captain'''
*''Mandarin:'' '''Rhodie Jr-tsūn''' (Taiwan, 羅迪至尊, "Rodimus Prime"), '''Bǔ Tīan Shì''' (China, 补天士, "Gentleman Who [[Wikipedia:Nüwa|Repairs the Sky]]")
*''Portuguese:'' '''Rodimus Supremo''' (Portugal comic)
*''Russian:'' '''Rodimes Prime''' (cartoon, Родаймес Прайм)
*''Ukrainian:'' '''Rodimus Najkrashhyj''' (cartoon, Родімус Найкращий, "Rodimus The Best")

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Autobot leaders]]
[[Category:Battle Masters Autobots]]
[[Category:Beast Machines Autobots]]
[[Category:Beast Wars: Uprising Autobots]]
[[Category:Classics Autobots]]
[[Category:Cloud Autobots]]
[[Category:Dreamwave Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 2 Autobots]]
[[Category:Hall of Fame characters]]
[[Category:Henkei! Henkei! Autobots]]
[[Category:Kiss Players Autobots]]
[[Category:Knights]]
[[Category:Kre-O Autobots]]
[[Category:Kreons]]
[[Category:Ladybird Books Autobots]]
[[Category:Matrix bearers]]
[[Category:Micromasters]]
[[Category:Primes]]
[[Category:Return of Convoy Autobots]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]
[[Category:Targetmasters]]
[[Category:The Headmasters Autobots]]
[[Category:Triple Changers]]
[[Category:United Autobots]]
[[Category:Universe Autobots]]
[[Category:Wreckers]]

Chris Latta

2015-05-04T14:53:10Z

Shockwave 75:

{{disambig3|Chris}}
{{factions|hofgold}}
[[File:ChrisLatta1.jpg|right|upright=1.67|thumb|Not pictured: Patrick Swayze.]]
'''Christopher Collins''', a.k.a. '''Chris Latta''' ([[August 30]], [[1949]] - [[June 12]], [[1994]]) was an American screen actor and voice actor. Though typically credited under his stage name '''Chris Latta''', he was occasionally credited under his given name. Some of his non-Transformers roles include [[Cobra Commander]] and [[Gung-Ho]] from ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero]]'', Darkstorm and Cravex from ''[[Visionaries]]'', Sergeant Knox and General Dire from ''Star Blazers'', D'Compose and Tendril from ''[[Inhumanoids]]'', the Beetle and the Sandman from ''[[Spider-Man|Spider-Man & his Amazing Friends]]'' and as the first voice of Mr. Burns and Moe the bartender on ''The Simpsons''.

Latta led something of a checkered lifestyle, the details of which are not fully known, but which anecdotes and stories by members of the ''Transformers'' cast and crew have hinted at. [[Flint Dille]] has claimed that he and other members of the production staff had to frequently bail Latta out of jail; on at least one occasion Latta claimed that he had simply been jaywalking. Latta died in Ventura, California, his cause of death officially recorded as a cerebral hemorrhage following a long illness. Although his contemporaries speak fondly of him when asked at various [[BotCon]]s, there have been several cryptic comments made that suggest there is more to the story of his death — [[Peter Cullen]] remarked that he was a victim of [[Hollywood]]'s tendency to "devour its young",<ref>[http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/52d429f6c677ba9c?hl=en alt.toys.transformers]</ref> [[Susan Blu]] said that Latta was "a sweet guy who had his demons",<ref>[http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/f89a8cbaeef0f4ae?hl=en alt.toys.transformers]</ref> and Flint Dille noted that Latta "died, and we never really found out how."

{{bigquote|Everyone else here is a comedian, but that's not what I am... What I am is a psychotic who's learned to market his problem.|An eerily prophetic line from Latta's stand-up routine.}}

==Roles==

===''The Transformers''===
* [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]]
* [[Furg]]
* [[Krunk]]
* [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]]
* [[Cobra Commander|Old Snake]]
* [[Sparkplug Witwicky]]
* [[Slammer]]
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]]
* [[Sweep]]
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0490383/ Chris Latta at the Internet Movie Database]
*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8087155 Chris Latta at Find-A-Grave]
*[http://vitals.rootsweb.com/ca/death/search.cgi?surname=Collins&given=Christopher&flast=Latta California Death Records]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Latta, Chris}}
[[Category:English voice actors]]
[[Category:Hall of Fame creators]]

Bludgeon (Prime)

2014-11-05T20:41:08Z

Shockwave 75:

{{factions|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Bludgeon}}
:''Bludgeon is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Aligned continuity family]].''
[[File:PrimeBHToy Cyberverse Bludgeon.jpg|upright=2.5|thumb|Who cares about Metallikato? Look at how cool my weapons are!]]

'''Bludgeon''' probably knows some sweet [[Metallikato|martial-arts]] techniques.

==Toys==
===Beast Hunters===
{{anchor|Cyberverse}}
*'''Decepticon Bludgeon''' (Cyberverse Commander, 2014)
**''Series / Number:'' '''3 / 012'''
**''Accessories:'' red sword, missile

: Part of the last known wave of Cyberverse Commanders in the ''[[Beast Hunters]]'' toyline, Bludgeon is a [[retool]] of Cyberverse [[Shockwave (WFC)#Cyberverse|Shockwave]]. He's retooled to have Bludgeon's distinctive skull-face. His chest is also retooled to look like a skull, evoking [[Bludgeon (ROTF)|ROTF Bludgeon's]] skull-chest. As with Shockwave's Cyberverse toy, his left arm has a pressure-launching missile. His sword is a red version of [[Optimus Prime (WFC)/toys#TBHCyberverse|Optimus Prime]]'s [[Star Saber (Prima)|Star Saber]].

:Due to being released after the Christmas season and before the launching of the [[Transformers: Age of Extinction (toyline)|''Age of Extinction'' toy line]], Bludgeon and the other figures of his [[wave]] were ultimately only available in Hong Kong, Canada and Europe.

==Notes==
- Bludgeon's instructions show that the sword can be pegged onto the side of the cannon in tank mode, but the actual toy lacks the necessary hole to do so.
[[Category:Prime Decepticons]]
[[Category:Toy-only characters]]

Bludgeon (Prime)

2014-11-05T20:40:45Z

Shockwave 75:

{{factions|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Bludgeon}}
:''Bludgeon is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Aligned continuity family]].''
[[File:PrimeBHToy Cyberverse Bludgeon.jpg|upright=2.5|thumb|Who cares about Metallikato? Look at how cool my weapons are!]]

'''Bludgeon''' probably knows some sweet [[Metallikato|martial-arts]] techniques.

==Toys==
===Beast Hunters===
{{anchor|Cyberverse}}
*'''Decepticon Bludgeon''' (Cyberverse Commander, 2014)
**''Series / Number:'' '''3 / 012'''
**''Accessories:'' red sword, missile

: Part of the last known wave of Cyberverse Commanders in the ''[[Beast Hunters]]'' toyline, Bludgeon is a [[retool]] of Cyberverse [[Shockwave (WFC)#Cyberverse|Shockwave]]. He's retooled to have Bludgeon's distinctive skull-face. His chest is also retooled to look like a skull, evoking [[Bludgeon (ROTF)|ROTF Bludgeon's]] skull-chest. As with Shockwave's Cyberverse toy, his left arm has a pressure-launching missile. His sword is a red version of [[Optimus Prime (WFC)/toys#TBHCyberverse|Optimus Prime]]'s [[Star Saber (Prima)|Star Saber]].

:Due to being released after the Christmas season and before the launching of the [[Transformers: Age of Extinction (toyline)|''Age of Extinction'' toy line]], Bludgeon and the other figures of his [[wave]] were ultimately only available in Hong Kong, Canada and Europe.

==Notes==
-Bludgeon's instructions show that the sword can be pegged onto the side of the cannon in tank mode, but the actual toy lacks the necessary hole to do so.
[[Category:Prime Decepticons]]
[[Category:Toy-only characters]]

Rhinox (BW)

2014-07-05T23:42:36Z

Shockwave 75:

{{factions|maximal|predacon|vehicon}}
{{disambig3|Rhinox}}
:''Rhinox is a [[Maximal]] (and occasionally a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] or [[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicon]]) from the [[Beast Era]] portion of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:Rhinoxbw.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"I will usher in a new age of technological perfecti — er, I mean, yay, pretty flowers."]]
[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] was on the mark when he said that '''Rhinox''' was the best of them. He's a Renaissance Bot. Intelligent, massive, strong, and stalwart, there are few Maximals one could depend on more. Rhinox is of a rare breed — he's incredibly tech savvy, but mystically-inclined... without coming off as a burnt-out technohippie. He's quick and decisive in a crisis, with spectacular results, but is slow and steady. He loves to sniff the flowers. A behind-the-scenes charismatic and an on-his-feet strategist, he could lead the Maximals if he wanted to, but he doesn't.

If he sounds too good to be true, it's because he just might be. At times he can be borderline obsessive and single-minded, but his strong moral center keeps it from getting out of hand. The Maximals are glad for that, because if he ever lost his ethical restraint, woe be to them. No, woe be to the ''galaxy''.

Still, you can't help but love a bot who can fight Megatron to a standstill without breaking a sweat yet would rather take a nap in a patch of daisies. Rhinox considers [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] to be his best friend, though he also has a close friendship with [[Optimus Primal]]. He appears to have some "older sibling/parental" emotions toward [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] due to his role in bringing her online.

Rhinox's only weapons—besides his intimidating strength and brilliant mind—are his twin chainguns, affectionately named "[[Machine gun|Chainguns of Doom]]" by the fans.

Rhinox's core was an integral part of the evil [[Vehicon general]] [[Tankor (BM)|Tankor]].

{{bigquote|Make a device to extract molecular structure from an alien probe... man, I gotta be a miracle worker!|Rhinox|"[[Chain of Command (BW)|Chain of Command]]"}}

==Fiction==
===First wave toy bios===
Rhinox is a territorial warrior who stampedes his way through the jungle whenever Predacons draw near, crushing everything in his path. Although he is known to be courageous and cunning, what makes him stand out from other warriors is that he has never been injured. EVER. Even though he has never backed down from a fight, his triple-thick, steel-plated skin protects him from all harm, even double-barreled laser cannons (which are presumably very powerful weapons). {{storylink|Rhinox (BW)#Toys|Rhinox bio}}

{{note|The on-package [[bio]]s of the first wave of Beast Wars toys, predate the development of the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon and its backstory. They seem to present the characters as a direct continuation of the previous Autobot/Decepticon conflict, with Optimus Primal actually being a new form of Optimus Prime and Megatron being his Generation 1 counterpart, and their battles taking place on present day, [[human]]-inhabited Earth, rather than in the distant past. Once the cartoon launched, the toyline adjusted itself to match that continuity instead, relegating this one to an aborted [[micro-continuity]].}}

===Cartoon continuity===
====Dawn of Future's Past====

During the prep for the Axalon's launch, the crew spent weeks on a space station getting everything ready. Rhinox assisted with the loading process as Protoform X's statis pod was brought on board. As they launched, the bridge crew received word from Maximal High Command about the theft of the Golden Disk.

Mere moments after receiving their mission directive, the Axalon was attacked by a small assault craft piloted by [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]] and [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]]. Rhinox attempted some emergency repairs of their damaged systems, but they would have been destroyed if the [[Chromia 10]] hadn't appeared in time to draw fire. Tragically, their rescuers were heavily damaged before Rhinox got everything back on-line in time to help. With leave from Optimus, he brought the two-mech crew's damaged bodies inside and stowed their sparks in blank protoforms to preserve them for later.

In pursuit of the Darksyde, the Axalon came under fire from the Predacon ship. Rhinox kept the ship together as they pursued the Darksyde through transwarp space and then... {{storylink|Dawn of Future's Past}}

====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
{{voiceactor|[[Richard Newman]] (English), [[Daiki Nakamura]] (Japanese)|[[Felipe D'inardo]] (Portuguese), [[Hervé Joly]] (French), [[Maurizio Trombini]] (Italian), [[Gerhard Marcel]] (German), [[Miguel Ángel Ghigliazza]] (Latin American Spanish), [[Vicente Gisbert]] (Castilian Spanish)}}
[[File:BeastWarsPt1 Primal and Rattrap ride Rhinox.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|"Right, I've changed my mind: Optimus, become a damn truck."]]

Rhinox was a crewmember of the exploration ship ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'' when captain [[Optimus Primal/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] got word that the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] criminal [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] had stolen the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] and a [[Darksyde|ship]] with [[transwarp]] capabilities. The ''Axalon'' was the closest vessel that also possessed a transwarp drive, so Rhinox's ship was sent to engage them. After following the Predacons through a transwarp portal and appearing above a mysterious planet, both ships were damaged in the ensuing space battle, and before both ships crashed into the planet's surface below, the [[stasis pod]]s carrying the rest of Rhinox's crew were ejected into orbit.

The planet was rich with [[energon]]—so much so that prolonged exposure would short out their bodies, so the Maximals and Predacons were forced to take organic forms from the local creatures. Rhinox took the form of a rhinoceros. He soon took part in a rescue mission to retrieve [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] after the young Maximal ran into the Predacons, and forced [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] to give Primal cover. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 1)}}

During Optimus's battle with [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]], Rhinox pulled the pair to safety after they almost plunged off a ledge. The Maximals subsequently were forced to tail the Predacons, and when Dinobot almost accidentally slagged Rhinox, it caused the ex-Predacon and Rattrap to come to blows. The two factions eventually reached the mountain topped with energon and fought over it while in their beast modes, until Megatron ended up destroying it. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 2)}}

[[File:TheWeb Rhinox closeup.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|"Bah, stuck in the base ''again''! To get more scenes, I need some sort of ''weapon''... a really ''impressive'' one..."]]
Being the handyman of the crew, Rhinox quickly developed a new comlink to overcome the problems with energon interference. After Cheetor got into trouble while testing it, Rattrap gave the cat a hard time, causing him to race off, and Rhinox pointed out that Cheetor was about to do something stupid. He ordered Rattrap to go after Cheetor. {{storylink|The Web}} Rhinox's next developments were some energon monitoring devices, though Optimus initially scrubbed the mission to install them. After Cheetor went anyway, and a series of events almost destroyed the Maximal base, Rhinox and the other Maximals thanked Cheetor for preventing the explosion. {{storylink|Equal Measures}}

[[File:ChainofCommand Rhinox with chaingun.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.34|-OF DOOM.]]
Rhinox had to dive for safety during a battle at the [[Standing Stones]], after [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] blew up the energon cache at its center. After Primal went missing, Rhinox had to break up a fight between Dinobot and Rattrap over who would lead, insisting on a secret ballot. The ballot ended in a deadlock, but they were then contacted by Primal, who'd become trapped in an [[Vok probe|alien probe]] at the Standing Stones. Rattrap was placed in charge during the bossmonkey's absence, and his command to Rhinox was to build a device to extract Optimus from the probe. Whether or not this device would actually have worked is unknown, as shortly before he had a chance to use it, Rhinox was ambushed by [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]], but turned the tables by blasting the Predacon with his chaingun. Waspinator stumbled into a stone, and Rhinox realized the whole structure was a mechanism as it caused the probe to disgorge Optimus Primal. {{storylink|Chain of Command (BW)|Chain of Command}}

When Cheetor reported that [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] had found a [[flying mountain]], Rhinox theorized that the high concentration of energon on the top of it might be responsible for the strange gravity-warping effect. {{storylink|Power Surge}} After Primal was taken out by a Predacon sneak attack, Rhinox, Cheetor and Rattrap headed for a crashed stasis pod. The trio were delayed further, and beaten to the pod, however the [[protoform]] had already been awakened as [[Tigatron]]. {{storylink|Fallen Comrades}} Like the other Maximals, Rhinox was shocked by Rattrap's apparent defection to the Predacons, but as it turned out, it was a ploy to discover how the Predacons had been spying on the Maximals, and they were soon rescuing their comrade. {{storylink|Double Jeopardy}}

Rhinox later developed [[Sentinel (BW)|Sentinel]], a hi-tech security system for the Axalon, which unfortunately went berserk when its control panel was damaged in a struggle between Dinobot and Rattrap, forcing the Maximals from their own base. Rattrap however, was able to infiltrate the now-heavily guarded ship and deactivate Sentinel, which was then repaired and made fully-functional by Rhinox. {{storylink|A Better Mousetrap}} The Maximals were forced to restrain Optimus after he was infected by a rage virus in a [[cyberbee]] developed by [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] and Rhinox was unable to work out how to remove it. After Primal undertook a one-bot assault on the Predacon base, Rhinox took part in the mission to rescue their leader, laying down suppressing fire to allow Cheetor to slip inside the base. {{storylink|Gorilla Warfare}}

[[File:Victory Rhinox sit down.jpg|thumb|260px]]
He was unsuccessful in contacting a Maximal [[temporal probe]] which flew past the planet. Though he blamed himself, he and the other Maximals rallied themselves to build a communications array on Predacon soil. Unfortunately while they were doing so, [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]]'s latest invention the [[transformation lock lens]], prevented them from sending the signal before Megatron destroyed the array. {{storylink|The Probe}} When a Predacon plan to fake a Maximal victory was exposed, Rhinox was dismayed when Optimus and Cheetor insisted on leaving the ''Axalon'' with liftoff imminent in order to rescue Dinobot. Tigatron attempted to go as well, leading Rhinox to order him to sit down. Liftoff eventually occurred without Primal, however Megatron got on board and damaged the controls. Rhinox attempted to control the ship and, with some assistance from Optimus, managed to get it down at least in one piece, though it would never fly again. {{storylink|Victory (episode)|Victory}}

[[File:DarkDesigns Rhinox monologues.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|Evil has silver detailing. Who knew?]]
Some time later, when the Maximals found themselves cornered by a Predacon ambush, Rhinox was able to take out their attackers with a carefully aimed spray of chaingun fire. Megatron was so impressed that he decided to make Rhinox a member of his merry band of thieves, by force. Rhinox was captured by Tarantulas and then reprogrammed into a Predacon by a device designed by Megatron called a "[[Transmuter (BW)|Transmuter]]". However, the newly malevolent Rhinox proved to be too much for Megatron to handle, as Optimus Primal had correctly predicted. He quickly dispatched most of the Predacons, working his way up to Megatron himself in an attempted coup. Rhinox very nearly succeeded, but fortunately, Megatron was able to revert him back into a Maximal using the Transmuter, and Rhinox escaped to rejoin his Maximal comrades and smell some flowers. {{storylink|Dark Designs}}

The Maximals arrived back at base after being sent on wild goose chases by Megatron's [[Clone One|clone of Dinobot]], only to find that the clone had already been dealt with by the real Dinobot. {{storylink|Double Dinobot}} Later, a stasis pod crash landed in a barren wasteland. Rhinox intercepted it and, with [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]]'s help, managed to save the protoform Maximal's [[spark]]. The protoform then became [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]], who repaid the favor by saving the weakened Rhinox from Terrorsaur. {{storylink|The Spark}}

While Rhinox was communicating long distance with Tigatron, his fellow Maximal was attacked by Waspinator and Terrorsaur, leading the Maximals to discover the existence of a [[Brigadoon|flying island]]. {{storylink|The Trigger, Part 1}} [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] took control of the island and piloted it towards the ''Axalon'', forcing Rhinox, Cheetor and Dinobot to evacuate the base. The only thing Rhinox took with him was a potted plant. When the island's destruction sent a beam into space, the Maximals wondered who received the signal and what they'd do next. {{storylink|The Trigger, Part 2}}

At one point, a [[magna pulse]] triggered by Tarantulas knocked out the power in the Maximal base, and Optimus Primal left Rhinox struggling to get things working again. {{storylink|Spider's Game}} The loss of the ''Axalon''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> [[rectifier coil]] forced the Maximals to stay in their beast forms at all times, which resulted in their beast instincts taking over and sending them off to wander the jungle. It was only with Tigatron's help that they deleted the programming blocks separating their core programming, and they were able to fight the Predacons who were hunting them. {{storylink|Call of the Wild}}

[[File:Dark Voyage Rhinox listening.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Rhinox's Yoga phase]]
When Scorponok detonated a pile of energon near a group of Maximals, rendering them blind, it was Rhinox who led the group on the dangerous trek back to the Axalon, teaching them how to use their other senses. They were able to overcome the obstacles both nature and the Predacons could throw at them, and succeeded in reaching safety. Afterwards, Rhinox again went off to smell some flowers. {{storylink|Dark Voyage}} After the Maximals were ousted from their base by the Predacons assisted by a [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]-possessed Waspinator, they attempted a ruse to get the ''Axalon'' back, resulting in Rhinox and the others mounting an assault on the Predacon base. {{storylink|Possession}}

Later, Tarantulas infected Rhinox with an [[energon discharge virus]], which made him expel his energon reserves via his nasal passages in bursts powerful enough to tear through the hull of the Axalon, threatening both to destroy the Maximals' base and completely drain Rhinox of energy. Rattrap and Dinobot were dispatched to acquire a countervirus, while Rhinox ate some wild bean vines to keep his strength up. When the bickering duo nearly failed in their mission, the other Maximals, including Rhinox, showed up, and the rhinoceros blew away the Predacons with a massive energon... *ahem* "derriere-based"... discharge which was caused by his ingestion of wild beans; Megatron would remember this moment as the most humiliating defeat in his entire career. Rhinox was later cured by the countervirus via a Cybertronic beer hat. {{storylink|The Low Road}}

After Megatron called a truce, Rhinox assisted "non-violently" in helping Tigatron escape after infiltrating the Predacon base to find out more information. He non-violently held up a sheet of metal for Terrorsaur to crash into, and then non-violently sat on him. Tigatron reported that the aliens were coming. {{storylink|Before the Storm}} Indeed, an alien construct appeared and, while the other Maximals were investigating it, Rhinox and Dinobot were bushwhacked in the Maximal base by Tarantulas and Blackarachnia. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 1}} The rest of the Maximals found their two comrades webbed to the ceiling, and placed them in [[CR chamber]]s. Rhinox stirred in his chamber as he sensed Primal's impending destruction. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 2}}

[[File:ComingFuzors2 Rhinox searches for Primal.jpg|thumb|left|240px|They warned us to not to take the brown acid!]]
Protected by the CR chamber, Rhinox avoided being upgraded into a [[Transmetal]] by the [[quantum surge]]. After recovering, he took leadership of the Maximals to forestall any bickering and sent Rattrap and Cheetor out to protect the base against Megatron. Unfortunately Inferno was already loose in the base, and managed to blast Rhinox before fighting Dinobot. Rhinox quickly recovered, throwing a badly-battered Inferno out and forcing Megatron to retreat. {{storylink|Aftermath}} Rhinox later initiated a dangerous plan to bring the recently deceased Optimus Primal back to life by using the hole in space-time caused by the destruction of the Planet Buster to astrally project his spark into the [[Allspark|Matrix]]. {{storylink|Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1)}} Rhinox followed the transition left by Primal's spark and led it back to the land of the living, where it was reborn as Transmetal Optimus Primal. Primal was able to come to the aid of the Maximals right when they were on the verge of defeat. {{storylink|Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)}}

[[File:OtherVisits2 Rhinox emerges from chamber.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"Ohhhhhh... What ''had'' I been taking in that last screencap?"]]
Rhinox conducted tests on Optimus Primal to attempt to determine what the new Transmetal forms were capable of, with limited results. {{storylink|Tangled Web}} His research into the alien sites predicted that there would be one located in an area Tigatron and Airazor were patrolling, however a Predacon jamming tower prevented the Maximals from warning the pair, who were shot into space by some sort of alien planet device. While the others were off the base, Rhinox was attacked by Megatron, Blackarachnia and [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]], who made off with the [[Golden Disk (Vok)|Golden Disk]]. After repairs, Rhinox and the other Maximals went to the alien site, only to be blasted by the alien construct that appeared. {{storylink|Other Visits (Part 1)}} The Transmetaled Maximals recovered quickly, and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] and Cheetor took Rhinox and Dinobot back to base for repairs. Rhinox was barely recovered when he was again pressed into action, attacking the [[Metal Hunter|alien construct]] which Megatron had taken over, to allow Rattrap and Tarantulas to slip inside. {{storylink|Other Visits (Part 2)}}

When [[Rampage (BW)|Protoform X]]'s stasis pod was discovered, Rhinox worried that its contents had survived the crash. {{storylink|Bad Spark}} Rhinox calculated that the [[transwarp wavefront]] from the Planet Buster explosion would soon be reaching [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], though the good news was tempered a short time later when Dinobot perished saving a group of [[protohuman]]s from the Predacons. {{storylink|Code of Hero}} Rhinox's tests on [[Transmutate (character)|Transmutate]] were not promising, and he suggested putting the creature in stasis. Silverbolt wasn't happy with the suggestion. {{storylink|Transmutate (episode)|Transmutate}}

[[File:Agenda3 Rhinox forcing door.jpg|left|upright=1.3|thumb|"Hey Rhinox, we just found the garage door opener after all... never mind."]]
Continuing to track the transwarp wavefront, Rhinox and the other Maximals celebrated their impending rescue, however instead they got Predacon agent [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]. After fighting off the Predacons, Ravage helped the Maximals storm the ''Darksyde'' and arrest Megatron. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 1)}} With Ravage's defection, Rhinox and Rattrap found themselves under heavy assault in the ''Axalon''. Some daring-do on Rattrap's part saved the day, but the Maximals had to chase Megatron. Rhinox was forced to ride on Primal's surfboard, much to his visible discomfort at the height. They tracked Megatron to [[Mount St. Hilary]], where the Predacon leader had located the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] and attempted to reach the ship first. Though Rhinox physically forced the ship's doors open, they were too late — Megatron had blasted [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], causing a [[time storm]] as history began to change. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part III)}}

With Blackarachnia's help, the Maximals stabilized Prime ad Rhinox stayed to supervise the repairs while the others went to defend the ''Axalon''. His work was interrupted by Silverbolt's "situation" — Blackarachnia had been shot by Megatron during the conflict, but as Rhinox pointed out, she just needed repairs. The ''Axalon'', on the other hand, was lost, and the Maximals were forced to set up base in the cavern housing the Ark. {{storylink|Optimal Situation}}

Rhinox had difficulties interfacing Maximal and [[Autobot]] technology, and expressed doubts that help was still on the way, though it did turn up in the form of [[Depth Charge (BW)|Depth Charge]], who'd come looking for [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]]. {{storylink|Deep Metal}} An attempt by Rhinox to rig up [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]]'s force field to protect the base failed, forcing the Maximals to attempt to salvage Sentinel. He later had to restrain Rattrap from trying to attack Depth Charge, who had caused the mission to fail. {{storylink|Changing of the Guard}}

[[File:CuttingEdge Rhinox chainguns.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|You wouldn't like him when he's angry.]]
Analysing the [[cyber raptor]] which Primal had encountered, Rhinox reported that it was fused with Transmetal technology. Once the others had all left the base, he and Rattrap found themselves under siege from Megatron and a group of Predacons. Rhinox finally made a desperate attempt to see them off with a barrage of chaingun fire, only to be blasted backwards. Depth Charge fortunately came to the rescue and saved them both. {{storylink|Cutting Edge}}

When the Maximals thought that Cheetor had been killed, Rhinox told Primal not to give up hope, and went to get the long-range sensors online. As it turned out, his optimism was correct, as Cheetor later turned up outside the base. {{storylink|Feral Scream Part 1}} After Cheetor was apparently spirited away overnight by a strange creature, Silverbolt and Blackarachnia went out looking, but to Rhinox's surprise, didn't find anything. {{storylink|Feral Scream Part 2}}

[[File:CrossingtheRubicon Rhinox operating.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.34|"Everyone, shut up! I'm finally gonna beat the first level of ''[[Transformers: Mystery of Convoy|Mystery of Convoy]]!''"]]
Rhinox scanned Blackarachnia's internals, with a view to extracting her Predacon [[shell program]] and restoring her to a Maximal state. Some time later, he and Primal discovered that she had overheard their conversation about the concept, and fled in the belief they'd force her to go through with it. {{storylink|Proving Grounds}} A huge buildup of energy on a mountain top caused alarm for the Maximals, who braced for a possible attack, but all that happened was that the top of the mountain exploded. How odd. {{storylink|Go with the Flow}}

When Blackarachnia's attempts to become a Transmetal caused her shell program to deteriorate, threatening to erase her [[core consciousness]], Rhinox carried out a very delicate procedure to surgically remove the shell program directly. Unfortunately, certain failsafes installed by Tarantulas, combined with a Predacon attack, caused the operation to fail. Fortunately, Blackarachnia was mysteriously resurrected anyway by the [[Transmetal driver]]. {{storylink|Crossing the Rubicon}} Megatron's next gambit involved [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] remote controlling Optimus Primal. Once this was achieved, the subverted Primal's first order was for Rhinox to order everyone back to base, where Quickstrike was able to knock them out and stick them in a cage. Fortunately Blackarachnia was able to free Primal and the others and they fought off Megatron, who had upgraded himself using the original [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s spark. {{storylink|Master Blaster}}

[[File:Nemesis2 Rhinox yelling in shuttle.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|'''I AM NOT GETTING AGGRESSIVE!!!!''']]
Detecting an alien signature inbound to Earth, Rhinox realised that it meant that Tigatron and Airazor were coming back. Indeed, the Predacon base was soon destroyed by [[Tigerhawk]], the emissary the [[Vok]] had created using the two Maximal sparks, though Rhinox wasn't in the mood for celebrating. {{storylink|Other Victories}} Once the situation was sorted out, the Maximals began searching for Megatron and his scattered forces. Rhinox monitored the situation from base, as the others discovered that Megatron was attempting to raise the [[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]. He and Rattrap were overjoyed when Primal reported that Depth Charge had taken out the warship, but it turned out the news was a little too premature. {{storylink|Nemesis Part 1}}

Rhinox was ordered by Optimus Primal to execute [[Operation Eternity]], which apparently only Primal and he knew about. The purpose of the operation was to "move the Ark" by activating its engines and taking off; little is know beyond that, because the Maximals failed when the Ark's engines proved beyond repair. However, [[Dinobot II]] downloaded emergency data to the Ark about an [[Autobot Shuttle Omega Delta|Autobot shuttle]] hidden within the Ark. Rhinox piloted the shuttle and flew it directly into the bridge of the Nemesis, taking down Megatron and causing the warship to spiral out of control and crash somewhere beyond the horizon. Thus, the Beast Wars were won. Rhinox and the other Maximals left prehistoric Earth aboard the aforementioned Autobot shuttle and began the voyage home to Cybertron. {{storylink|Nemesis Part 2}}
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====The Razor's Edge====
After [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] was reborn on [[Earth]], Rhinox fought the Predacons during a plot to launch an orbital weapon. The launching pad was destroyed by Airazor. {{storylink|The Razor's Edge}}

====Beast Wars Diorama Story====

{{note|This fiction takes place shortly after the events of ''[[Possession]]''.}}

Rhinox eventually met up with several [[Autobot]]s and [[Decepticon]]s from [[Transformers (film)|another dimension]]. A battle broke out between the Maximals, Predacons, Autobots and Decepticons. Rhinox, incidentally, found himself challenged by the mysterious new Predacon [[Wolfang (Predacon)|Wolfang]].

The other-dimensional Transformers eventually returned to their place of origin and the Beast Wars continued as they were. {{storylink|Transformers: Beast Wars Diorama Story|Beast Wars Diorama Story}}

====''Tales of the Beast Wars''====

Rhinox was trying to teach Cheetor the value of peace and quiet when a firefight broke out in the Badlands. Finding the normally skittish [[Packrat]] trading heavy firepower with Inferno, Rhinox realized something was up. Although cautious at first, he listened to the Predacon geologist [[Fractyl]]'s explanation that Packrat had stolen some experimental energon armor, which was slowly degenerating into the unstable anti-energon. Rhinox convinced Packrat that the respect he craved would not come from power, but from giving up power when it was necessary. After Fractyl neutralized the armor, Rhinox threw the geeky Predacon scientist a bone and pretened to run in terror from the "might of Fractyl" so that the arriving Megatron would give his underling some respect. {{storylink|Ground Zero}}
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====Transmetal Toy Bio====
Following the quantum surge, Rhinox found himself in a new Transmetal body, and couldn't be happier; thanks to his new vehicle mode, his new body is a lot faster then his previous one. One of his new battle moves involves pulling off wheelies on the battlefield. Furthermore, the semi-organic nature of his robot mode granted him additional fluidity and skill in combat.{{storylink|Rhinox (BW)#Toys|Transmetal Rhinox Bio}}
{{note|The on-package [[bio]]s of the Transmetal sub-line presented a micro-continuity where all of the characters receiving a new toy were transmetalized due to the initial quantum surge, instead of a select few.}}
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====IDW ''Beast Wars'' comics====
[[File:BWGatherRhinox.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Realising that he is functionally invisible to those around him, Razorbeast takes a moment to moon Rhinox.]]
As Magmatron surveyed the timeline, he witnessed Rhinox standing over a stasis pod, while Cheetor and Terrorsaur battled some distance away. {{storylink|The Gathering issue 1|The Gathering #1}}

Rhinox stood outside the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] as [[Razorbeast]]'s [[Chronal phase|chronically dispaced]] Maximals passed by. Although Optimus Primal could vaguely sense their presence, Rhinox theorized that the sensation was just a side-effect of Primal's recent upgrades. {{storylink|The Gathering issue 3|The Gathering #3}}

After his (very) later death, Rhinox was reborn by the [[Vok]] and traveled the multiverse. He was supposedly fighting [[Unicron]]'s chaos, but knows the Vok really want him to manipulate Cybertronian history; however, out of guilt for his actions as Tankor, he still helped any Cybertronian he comes across. He was probably [[Rhinox (Armada)|some other guy]]. {{storylink|Transformers: Beast Wars Sourcebook|Beast Wars Sourcebook 3}}
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====''Transformers Legends'' anthology====
{{Note|The following takes place after the events of "[[Master Blaster]]"}}
Not long after Megatron combined his spark with that of the original Megatron, he had Quickstrike plant a device in the Maximal base. The device magnified the Maximals' aggression, resulting in Rhinox trying to kill Blackarachnia while Silverbolt attempted to stop him. While Silverbolt failed, Optimus Primal arrived in time to pin Rhinox down, only to succumb to the device's effects himself. Primal was soon able to overcome the effect, and freed the rest of the Maximals who then fought off Megatron. {{storylink|A Meeting of Minds}}
{{Note|The following takes places after the events of "[[Sparkwar Pt. III: The Siege]]"}}
After Tankor's death, Rhinox' spark and consciousness were cleansed and rejoined the Matrix. When Megatron was defeated by Nightscream {{storylink|Sparkwar Pt. III: The Siege}}, Rhinox saw an opportunity to redeem the fallen tyrant, and attempted to act as a spirit guide. Rhinox led Megatron through the ascending layers of Transformer afterlife ''(which is actually a tree!)'', urging him to leave behind his fixation on worldly power. Megatron was briefly tempted, but his repeated returns to Cybertron {{storylink|Spark of Darkness}} convinced him that godhood was still within his reach. Tapping into the power of the Oracle, Megatron erases Rhinox' spark, killing him utterly. Very upsetting. {{storylink|Singularity Ablyss}}
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====''Beast Machines'' cartoon====
{{voiceactor|[[Richard Newman]] (English), [[Daiki Nakamura]] (Japanese)|[[Gerald Paradies]] (German), [[Victor Covarrubias]] (Latin American Spanish)}}

{{see|Tankor (BM)}}
[[File:Revelations3 Rhinox vision.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|Rhinox suffers the horrors of symbolism.]]

Rhinox returned to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] with the surviving Maximals to discover the entire population had been replaced by mindless [[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicon drones]] created by Megatron. {{storylink|The Reformatting}}

Rhinox, like the other Maximals, was exposed to Megatron's [[Transformation virus|virus]] at this point. Although the [[Transmetal]] Maximals merely reverted to their original shapes, the Maximals who were still ''in'' their original shapes were instantly paralyzed. As a result, Rhinox and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] were captured, stripped of their organic bodies and placed in the new bodies of [[Tankor (BM)|Tankor]] and [[Jetstorm (BM)|Jetstorm]]. Much later on, Rhinox's mind was freed by Optimus' spark connection with him, and he watched and observed, eventually turning his back on his Maximals to go along with Megatron's cause of a purely technological, one-mind Cybertron. {{storylink|Revelations Part III: Apocalypse}}

Rhinox pretended to still be Tankor and sneaked around Megatron's ranks, reprogramming the [[Diagnostic Drone]] as his agent. He'd decided Megatron's ''cause'' was right, but it needed a different, more efficient person at the helm... someone like ''him''. He went off to fulfill this new mission, in a highly malevolent and sadistic manner. {{storylink|Survivor}}

[[File:BeastMachinesRhinoxFuneral.JPG|left|thumb|Optimus struggles with the "make-your-own Transformer" toy.]]

Rhinox went looking for the legendary [[Key to Vector Sigma]] that was supposed to turn organic life into technomatter. He found it, took control of it, and then faked his death. {{storylink|The Key}} Now on the underground and spying on both sides, he used the Diagnostic Drone to reveal the Key had been discovered, intending for Megatron to use it on himself (to eradicate his beast mode) and go insane in the process. When this didn't work, he set it up so Rattrap would find and use a catalyst program that would cause mutant plant life to erupt in [[Cybertropolis]], scaring Megatron into arming the [[Tank Drone]]s with copies of the Key... {{storylink|The Catalyst}}

[[File:TankorRhinox Spark.jpg|upright=0.85|thumb]]

...only to find he no longer had remote control of the drones, and would need to trick Megatron into using them instead. By this point, he'd already been tampering with the Oracle (an interface for Vector Sigma) and used it to trick Optimus into finding the [[Plasma Energy Chamber]] that could destroy all technology. While he (wrongly) thought Primal would never use it, he knew Megatron would never take the chance! Unfortunately for him, he overplayed his hand: Megatron thought Optimus wouldn't use it either, grew suspicious with the Diagnostic Drone pushing him to strike first, and disabled it. Rhinox decided to launch an ambush assault and take out both enemy leaders while they were fighting... only to find, whoops, Megatron had programmed his generals to be ''incapable'' of shooting him. Rhinox was swiftly offlined, his plan stolen by Megatron, and then killed by plasma energy: a humiliating demise. {{storylink|End of the Line|End of the Line}}

Rhinox's spiritual form appeared once more with Optimus in the Matrix, bidding his friend farewell and to telling him to embrace his Spark. For his sins, he told Optimus, he himself would be remaining in the Matrix; he expressed regret for his actions. {{storylink|Fallout (episode)|Fallout}}
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====''Universe''====
When [[Primus]] gives [[Optimus Primal]] the ability to choose any Transformer, living or dead, from the [[Allspark]] to assist him in the war against [[Unicron]], Primal chooses [[Depth Charge (BW)|Depthcharge]] and Rhinox. Depthcharge is bitter about being brought back from the dead, but Rhinox is thankful for the chance to atone for his actions as Tankor. {{storylink|Homecoming (Universe)|Homecoming}}
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====''Cybertron'' comic====
[[File:Tankorrhinoxrevelations.jpg|left|upright=0.85|thumb|Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!]]
''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] recalled the end of the [[Universe war]], where Rhinox defeated the [[Tankor (BM)|Minion of Unicron Tankor]], presumably redeeming his actions as his own universe's Tankor. He escaped [[Unicron]] with Optimus Primal. {{storylink|Revelations Part 2}}
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===''Beast Wars Metals'' comic===
[[File:RhinoxSuicideManga01.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Fun fact: Suicide is legal in Japan.]]

Following the [[Quantum surge]], [[Optimus Primal]] was dead and the [[Maximal]]s were left scattered all over [[Earth|Energoa]], with only [[Transmetal]] Rhinox and [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] holed up in the Maximal base. The [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] were in much better condition, having also been mutated into Transmetals but with their numbers still intact. As the Maximal base came under attack from [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] and his forces, Rhinox casually worked on a new machine while Rattrap freaked the hell out. Suddenly, [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] appeared and was attacked by [[Sentinel (BW)|Sentinel]]. Much to Rattrap's chagrin, Rhinox shut Sentinel down to allow Airazor to get inside the base, though it considerably weakened their defenses.

Seeing an opening, [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] infiltrated the base and effortlessly took out Rattrap and Airazor. Rhinox proceeded to pull out a strange "gun," but instead of pointing it at ''her'', he pointed it at ''himself'' and proceeded to "blow his brains out." With the job well done, Blackarachnia left the base as it exploded.

As it turned out, the "gun" was part of Rhinox's machine, which was being kept safe from the explosion (along with Rattrap and Airazor) by a small force field. The "gun" allowed Rhinox to travel into [[Transwarp space]], where he found the [[spark]] of Optimus Primal, about to move on to his deathly reward. Reminding Primal of his duty to his Maximals, he helped Primal's spark escape Transwarp space and return to his body, turning it into a Transmetal. {{storylink|Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!}}

{{-}}

===Fire in the Dark===
The Maximals crashed in [[Mexico]] around 1,000BC, near where the [[Natiltec]] tribe lived. Their war with the Predacons eventually involved the local humans, and after the situation had been resolved, Rhinox recorded and encoded a message onto a cave wall alongside a Natiltec warrior's writings. Some three thousand years later, it was discovered by an archaeology team, who were able to use [[Laserbeak (Armada)|Laserbeak]] to play back an audio recording of Rhinox. {{storylink|Fire in the Dark}}
{{-}}
===Beast Wars: Uprising===
As one of the Maximals forced to continue the war which the Autobots were no longer able to fight, Rhinox was part of a small team under the command of [[Optimus Primal]] that went up against the [[Darksyder]]s. He and Silverbolt were both killed early in the conflict, spurring the others to rebel against Primal and the status quo. The Maximals later made use of the [[impercepton shield]] he had built, using it to infiltrate the [[Ferromax Detention Center]] so they could rescue Dynobot. {{storylink|Alone Together: Prologue}}

==Games==
===''Beast Wars: Transformers'' video game continuity===
====''Beast Wars: Transformers'' video game advertising comic====
Upon arriving on "[[Earth|Planet Energon]]," the dangers of Energon radiation forced the six surviving Maximals and their Predacon adversaries to take on beast alternate forms. {{storylink|Beast Wars: Transformers video game advertising comic}}
====''Beast Wars: Transformers'' video game====
:''Voice actor:'' ??? (English), ??? (Japanese)
{{note|This game takes place in an alternate version of the first season of the [[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]] cartoon.}}
Many Beast Wars combatants had managed to construct personal bases, customized to their personal tastes, due to the extended duration of the war. Rhinox's own base was a sprawling Metropolis. Rhinox joined his fellow Maximals in battling not only an entrenched Predacon threat, but the interdimensional monsters known as the [[Skriix]]. {{storylink|Beast Wars: Transformers (video game)|Beast Wars video game}}
=====Maximal Campaign=====
{{Note|Rhinox is a playable character for normal gameplay.}}
Rhinox eventually expanded his "Urban Zone" base to within reach of [[Tarantulas's lair]]. Rhinox's base was judged a threat by the Predacons, who successfully took control of it. Tarantulas then personally took over operations of the annexed territory, until his demise.

Upon having eliminated the Predacon threat, Rhinox was part of Optimus Primal's roll call when he announced that the galaxy was now at peace. {{storylink|Beast Wars: Transformers (video game)|Beast Wars video game}}
=====Predacon Campaign=====
Rhinox's "Urban Zone" base encroached too closely onto Tarantulas's territory, and had to be dealt with. Upon infiltrating the base however, the Predacons had to contend with Rhinox's giant Mech unit, styled after the Maximal scientist. Once Rhinox's defences were conquered by the Predacons, Rhinox himself met an untimely death by Predacon hands. {{storylink|Beast Wars: Transformers (video game)|Beast Wars video game}}

{{Note|Due to the nature of this game, a player may select various individual characters to perform the feats required in every level, and complete the game's narrative. Thus, any playable Maximal can fill the role of protagonist in Maximal Mode, and any playable Predacon can fill the role of protagonist in Predacon Mode. To view the various feats Rhinox can accomplish throughout gameplay in Maximal Mode, it is told on the [[Beast Wars: Transformers (video game)|Beast Wars video game]] page, wherein Rhinox fills the role of the nameless Maximal.}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers Beast Wars: Transmetals'' video game===
[[File:TMRhinox-Render.jpg|upright=0.85|thumb|"Ayyyyyyy!"]]
:''Voice actor:'' [[Alec Willows]] (English), ??? (Japanese)

[[Transmetal]] Rhinox stayed behind at the ''Axalon'' as his fellow Maximals went to battle the Predacons.
{{-}}
===''Transformers Legends''===
During a tectonic upshift, a huge amount of [[Energon]] was exposed. Rhinox and the other Maximals found themselves the victims of a Predacon ambush as they tried to secure the Energon themselves, and the cache ultimately fell into Predacon hands. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Legends)|Beast Wars}}

==Toys==
===Beast Wars===
[[File:Rhinox-bw-deluxetoy.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|''Like'' a mutant head? Can anyone like a mutant head? I wonder.]]
* '''Rhinox''' (Deluxe, 1996)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''C-7'''
**''Accessories:'' Rotating mechanism, saw blade, two flails, sword

: Rhinox transforms into a tan rhinoceros. In robot mode, his primary weapon is a spinning blade-gun/double mace-thing/lawn edge trimmer, though the television series liberally interpreted this weapon as a sort of Gatling gun (the aforementioned "Chaingun of Doom"). His tail also detaches to become a blade.

: The two panels mounted on either side of his head close together to form his 'mutant' battle mask.

: The [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] release of Rhinox added a thick layer of gray paint to the beast-mode parts that faded to reveal the original tan towards the lower body as well as black eyes. ''Why'' is uncertain, as this made him even less like his show coloration. The Japanese version featured a [[variant|running change]] where the tan plastic was replaced with brown.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1996/Maximal/Rhinox/rhinox.htm More information on Rhinox at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

{{anchor|VsShadowPanther}}
[[File:VS7-RhinoxShadowPanther.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb]]
*'''Wilderness Showdown: Rhinox VS Shadow Panther''' (Multi-pack, 1996)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''VS-7'''
**''Accessories:'' Rotating mechanism, saw blade, two flails, sword

: In Japan, Rhinox was available both in an individual release, and in a two-pack with the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] [[Shadow Panther]]. Both toys are identical to their individual releases.

{{-}}

{{anchor|Transmetal1}}
[[File:Transmetal rhinox toy.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|No chain gun of doom? LAME!]]
* '''Rhinox''' (Transmetal, 1998)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''C-44'''
**''Accessories:'' Horn dagger

: For the ''Transmetals'' line of ''Beast Wars'' toys, Rhinox now transforms into a robotic rhinoceros. The rhino mode has fold-down skis in the front legs and tank treads in the rear legs so he can become a kind of snowmobile. In robot mode, he is armed with only his blade, now formed out of his beast mode horn.

: In the Hasbro line, early releases of the toy had a much paler aqua-colored chrome than later versions. Such chrome differences were seemingly common among the Transmetals, but the pale/rich-chrome Rhinoxes seem to be the most common and most likely intentional change.

: The Takara release of Transmetal Rhinox has gold chrome instead of the aqua-blue and replaces the "RHINOX" [[tampograph]] with "CYBERTRON" and the Maximal faction sigil.

: This mold was [[retool]]ed slightly to make ''[[Transformers: Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' [[Rhinox (Armada)|Rhinox]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1998/Maximal/Rhinox/rhinox.htm More information on Transmetal Rhinox at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

{{anchor|FoxKids1}}
* '''Rhinox''' (Deluxe, 1999)
**''Accessories:'' Rotating mechanism, saw blade, two flails, sword

: Part of the first wave of "[[Fox Kids]]" [[redeco]]es, and exclusive to Toys "R" Us stores, this toy uses the original Rhinox mold in off-white and dark burgundy. Hasbro documents listed this toy as "Energon Surge Rhinox",<ref>https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.toys.transformers/C30fV9dqOK0/gPO8D3N_PAUJ</ref> a name that never made it to the final package.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1999/Maximal/FKRhinox/rhinox.htm More information on Fox Kids Rhinox at TFU.info]''
{{picsneeded}}
{{-}}

{{anchor|TransmetalFK}}
* '''Rhinox''' (Deluxe Transmetal, 2000)
**''Accessories:'' Horn dagger

: Part of the last year of mass-retail ''Beast Wars'' product (sold concurrently with the early releases of ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (toyline)|Beast Machines]]''), the Transmetal mold also got a "Fox Kids" redeco in mainly blue and gray—an interesting color choice, given that those are the show colors of [[Tankor (BM)|Tankor]], whom Rhinox would become. His chrome color was a pale green.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2000/Maximal/FKTMRhinox/rhinox.htm More information on Fox Kids Transmetal Rhinox at TFU.info]''
{{picsneeded}}
{{-}}

{{anchor|RallysCheckers}}
[[File:Rallnox.JPG|upright=1.1|thumb|Merciful death.]]
* '''Beast Wars''' (Fast food premium, 2001)

: Available only as part of a Hasbro-brand-names fast food promotion (which included miniature versions of other Hasbro properties like Mr. Potato Head), and labeled simply as "Beast Wars", this toy is an ''extremely'' simplified version of the Transmetal Rhinox toy, available only at participating Rally's and Checkers restaurants.

: Despite it being... well, ''look'' at it... it goes for ''mad'' money on the secondary market. Most people didn't realize the promotion even existed until after it was over, and the restaurant chain was fairly small and somewhat regional.

{{-}}

===Beast Wars 10th Anniversary===
[[File:BW10Rhinox toy.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"This leg and crotch are a danger to themselves and everyone around them!"]]
* '''Rhinox''' (Tenth Anniversary, 2006)
**''Accessories:'' Rotating mechanism, saw blade, two flails, sword

: For the 10th Anniversary of ''Beast Wars'', Hasbro redecoed the original 1996 Rhinox toy in more show-accurate colours, giving him a darker beast mode colour scheme, and painted gold details on his robot mode head, to more closely match the CGI model. They also tampographed a Maximal sigil on his beast mode's right foreleg.

: Also included was the lower torso and right leg to [[Transmutate (character)|Transmutate]], and a DVD of the ''Beast Wars'' episode "[[The Spark]]".

:This version of Rhinox is [[Misassembly|assembled with his shoulders on the wrong sides]], so the screws that hold them together are visible from the front of the robot.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2006/Maximal/Rhinox/rhinox.htm More information on 10th Anniversary Rhinox at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Timelines===
[[File:Botcon Rhinox toy.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"I only signed onto this crew so I could bulldoze some flowers *evil laugh*"]]
* '''Dawn of Future's Past''' (Multi-pack, 2006)
**''Accessories'': Launcher, missile, "Golden Disk Key"

: A redeco of ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' [[Landmine (Energon)#Cybertron 2|Landmine]], ''[[Transformers Timelines (toyline)|Timelines]]'' "Axalon Rhinox" is one of five toys in [[BotCon 2006]]'s ''Dawn of Future's Past'' box set. He transforms into a front-end loader, with pop-out blades in his rear tires that are revealed with the use of his [[Golden Disk (disambiguation)|Golden Disk]] Key (or any [[Cyber Planet Key]]). This gimmick and his spring-loaded missile launcher are usable in both modes.

: This set also included "Axalon" versions of [[Optimus Primal/toys#Timelines 2|Optimus Primal]], [[Cheetor (BW)/toys#Timelines 2|Cheetor]], [[Rattrap (BW)#Timelines 2|Rattrap]], and "Darksyde" [[Dinobot (BW)#Timelines 2|Dinobot]].

: This mold was also used to make the ''[[Movie (toyline)|Movie]]'' [[Grindcore (Movie)|Grindcore]], which was [[Repurposing|repurposed]] as "[[Transformers: Shattered Glass (toyline)|Shattered Glass]]" [[Scoop (SG)|Scoop]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2006/Maximal/BCRhinox/rhinox.htm More information on Axalon Rhinox at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Beast Wars Telemocha Series===
*'''Rhinox''' (Deluxe, 2007)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''TM-09'''
**''Accessories:'' Rotating mechanism, saw blade, two flails, sword

: This redeco of the original ''Beast Wars'' figure features the most show-accurate deco of Rhinox. It also has the same assembly problem as the ''10th Anniversary'' version, and additionally has the upper arms switched.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2006/Maximal/Rhinox/rhinox.htm More information on Telemocha Rhinox at TFU.info (scroll down)]''
{{picsneeded}}
{{-}}

===Generations===
[[File:Generations rhinox.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|And he ''finally'' gets his <s>Chain</s>Gatling Guns of Doom.]]
*'''Rhinox''' (Voyager, 2014)
**''Series / Number:'' '''02 / 005'''
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''TG31'''
**''Accessories:'' Two Gatling Guns of Doom

:Part of the fifth wave of ''[[Generations (toyline)|Generations]]'' Voyagers, Rhinox is a brand new mold that transforms from robot to organic rhinoceros. The robot mode design takes inspiration from both the original toy and especially his appearance in the cartoon. Included are Rhinox's twin "Gatling Guns of Doom", which can be stored in his rhino mode and have a spinning [[gimmick]] when you press down on the little lever/button whatevers on the sides.

:Rhinox's instructions neglect to mention a few things - the slot below the robot head that plugs into a tab on the inside of the rhino head that holds the two pieces together in beast mode, the fact that the sliding elbow pieces can click into place in both modes, and the holes on the back of the arms that can be used to store the weapons in robot mode.
{{-}}

==Merchandise==
[[File:Rhinoxmutatingcard.jpg|thumb|300px]]
* '''Beast Wars Transformers Mutating Card Game''' (1997)
:Rhinox was one of the 24 beast warriors to receive a battle card representation for the Beast Wars [[Beast Wars Transformers Mutating Card Game|card game]].
{{-}}
*'''Beast Wars Movie Coin''' (1997)
:Released only in Japan, Rhinox was one of three characters from Beast Wars to receive a movie coin, the other two being Rattrap and Scorponok.
::*''[http://www.tfmuseum.com/tf-02274.html Rhinox Movie Coin at TFMuseum.com]''

* '''Rhinox''' (2004)

[[File:Hardhero rhinox.jpg|upright=0.85|thumb|Flower-smelling/nature-hating, gentle/megalomaniacal, Maximal/Jerk.]]
:In 2004, [[Hard Hero]] announced a line of ''Beast Wars'' statues, starting with Rhinox. As it turned out, Rhinox was the only one to be released.
{{-}}

===Kabaya candy toys===
*'''Rhinox''' (candy toy, 1997)

: A tiny plastic Rhinox figurine molded onto an irregularly-shaped stand was released by Kabaya. Labeled toy 3 of 6, the other characters in his wave were Dinobot, Rattrap, Megatron, Optimus Primal, and Cheetor. As always, terrible candy is included.

===Robot Heroes===
* '''Rhinox vs Waspinator''' (2008)

[[File:Robotheroesrhinoxwaspinator.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|You may remember him as "Dr. Teeth" on The Muppet Show.]]
:Rhinox was released in the second wave of ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]'' ''[[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]]'' packed with [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] as part of the "Beast Wars Series." An amalgam of toy and television show depictions, Rhinox has articulation at the neck and shoulders.
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Maximal/RHRhinox/rhinox.htm More information on Robot Heroes Rhinox at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

==Notes==
*Rhinox is the only member of the ''Beast Wars'' Maximal lineup who was there from the beginning and remains alive and unchanged for the entire course of the show.
*Rhinox spends all of season 3 in robot mode without transforming into his beast mode at any point. He is the only ''Beast Wars'' character to do this for an entire season.
*Skir's original intention was that Rhinox had "seen all sides of the argument, and chose to go more in Megatron's direction" in ''Beast Machines'', and that after a quiet chat, he and Optimus would part company. As Richard Newman played that scene with growling and shouting, Rhinox instead sounded not quite in his right mind after his experiences. The big storm in the background certainly didn't help either.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20071202095033/http://bigbot.com/beast-machines-transformers-bob-skir/Beast-Machines-FAQ/Fri_03_Dec_1999.html Q&A from Bigbot's "bobskir.com"] (archive copy)</ref>
*In the Japanese dub of ''Beast Wars'', Rhinox received the vocal tick of ending his sentences with the phrase ''-dana'', or chanting it to himself incessantly while firing his chainguns or running or doing just about ''anything''. He was also prone to using the phrase ''dosukoi'', a nonsense word generally associated with sumo wrestlers and typically applied to large, dumb, bruiser characters in shows ([[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] would also use the phrase). The verbal tick of chanting ''-dana'' would be passed onto Tankor and the Tank drones in ''Beast Wars Returns'', where it was played-up to manic excess.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Rhinox''' (ライノックス ''Rainokkusu'')
*''Italian:'' '''Rinox'''; '''Metal Rinox''' (Transmetal)
*''Polish'': '''Nosoron''' ("Rhinon")
*''Spanish:'' '''Rinox'''
*''Russian:'' '''Reenox''' (Ринокс)

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Beast Machines Maximals]]
[[Category:Beast Wars Maximals]]
[[Category:Beast Wars Predacons]]
[[Category:Beast Wars 10th Anniversary]]
[[Category:Beast Wars Telemocha Series]]
[[Category:Convention exclusives]]
[[Category:Defense specialists]]
[[Category:Engineers]]
[[Category:Fast food exclusives]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Generations]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Toys "R" Us exclusives]]
[[Category:Transformers with three modes]]
[[Category:Transmetals]]
[[Category:Turncoats]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]
[[Category:Universe Maximals]]
[[Category:Vehicons]]
[[Category:Vok]]

The Transformers (cartoon)

2014-04-20T19:51:09Z

Shockwave 75: /* Season 5 */

{{disambig2|the cartoon series|other uses of ''The Transformers''|Transformers (disambiguation)}}

{{nav-G1|logo=TheTransformers_Logo.jpg}}

{{bigquote|...we feel '''action''' should be emphasized over''' plot'''—especially avoiding any complicated story lines—to ensure the success of this series with its intended viewers.|[[Bryce Malek]] and [[Dick Robbins]], ''Transformer''s story editors, [[Marvel Productions]] internal correspondence [http://tfarchive.com/cartoons/bible/#154]}}

[[File:TransformersLogoSlantedOrange.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Red is the color of GOOD...]]
[[File:TransformersLogoSlantedPurple.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|...while purple is the color of EVIL!!]]
[[File:G1Season1Logo.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|In space, no one can hear your trumpets go Dah-NUN NUN NUN NAHHHHHH!]]

More than any other of the many media which [[Transformer]]s have invaded in the past 30 years, it is '''''The Transformers''''', the original cartoon that ran from 1984 to 1987, which captured the imagination of children and the young-at-heart worldwide.

==Overview==
[[File:Cybertronplanet.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|Depleted of energy... aside from the power source that lights up the entire core of the planet.]]
The cartoon (along with the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel comics]]) set up the basic story of Transformers that most other incarnations were to follow: two warring factions of robots on the planet [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] leave in search of resources. The factions crash-land on [[Earth]] and, millions of years later, begin their battle anew in Reagan-era [[United States of America|America]] and across the globe.

Once established, the cartoon rarely took any steps to upset its status quo. Plots generally centered on a [[Decepticon]] plot or invention of the week, which would be used to gather energy or Defeat The [[Autobot]]s FOREVER!!, and the Autobots' efforts to stop the plan. Most of the time the Decepticons were forced into retreat, and the Autobots drove off victorious. At most, a new character or team was added to one side or the other. Plots became a bit less formulaic during Season 3, though character death and true plot upheaval remained a rarity.

Through its 98-episode run, this series took viewers around the globe and to many strange places and times: across the alien Cybertron, the Earth's prehistoric past, the Earth's then-future of 2005, the ''Metropolis''-like society of [[Nebulos]], and more. It is not the best animated series ever to air, but it stimulated viewers with its concept at the time, and continued to do so in the years to come.
{{-}}

==Production==
[[File:DivideAndConquer-UnderseaBase.jpg|center|450px|thumb|The Decepticon undersea base. Note that it is neither [[Tom Kenny|pineapple]], [[Bill Fagerbakke|rock]], nor tiki head.]]

Writing and distribution for this series were handled as a joint effort by [[Marvel Productions]] and [[Sunbow Productions]]. Animation was produced overseas, by [[Toei]], [[AKOM]], [[Tokyo Movie Shinsha]] (''supposedly'') and an [[Unknown Filipino animation studio|unknown studio from the Philippines]].

[[File:CrashedArk1.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Nobody on Earth noticed this for millions of years.]]
The original 30 or so characters were heavily modified from their toy designs for aesthetics and ease of animation. Among the artists involved in the original designs are [[Shōhei Kohara]] and [[Floro Dery]]. Other known production artists include [[Dell Barras]], who worked on second season backgrounds.

Story editors for the series included [[Dick Robbins]], [[Bryce Malek]], [[Flint Dille]], [[Marv Wolfman]], and [[Steve Gerber]]. Episode scripts were written by a large array of freelance writers. Writers notable for writing numerous episodes include [[Donald F. Glut]] and [[David Wise]].

The series was animated on an enormously rushed schedule, due to the need to get episodes on the air in sync with the toys appearing on shelves. That, combined with the vast number of characters and the difficulties involved with the overseas animation process, resulted in a cartoon that is notoriously riddled with [[animation error]]s and other mistakes. The producers were often aware of these mistakes, but tight deadlines left them no time to correct them.

Another byproduct of the rushed production is that the show tends not to be very self-referential. Continuity between episodes is minimal, with most acting as self-contained, standalone stories, though a few Season Two and Season Three stories did build on previous episodes. Within each season, the addition of new characters is the only common change to the status quo.

[[File:ShockwaveDesertionOfTheDinobots1.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|My toy's so great, I bought one myself!]]
Mistakes or not, the show is fondly remembered by many fans for the high quality of its voice acting. Indeed, many characters, lacking any significant plot developments or screen time, were brought to life solely by their unique voices and inflection styles. Voice direction for the series was provided by [[Wally Burr]], notorious for driving his performers to the limit. One of the performers in his stable, [[Susan Blu]], would later go on to work as voice director for ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'', ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'', ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]]'' and briefly ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]''.

The ''sinister'' voice of [[Victor Caroli]] provided narration for the entire series, most commonly heard on the [[commercial bumper]]s: "The Transformers will return after these messages!" Caroli's voice also provided occasional introductory narration, recap segments for multi-part episodes, and the ''[[Secret Files of Teletraan II]]'' segments which ran before the credits of Season 3.

[[File:RollForIt Spacebridge recieves.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Looks safer than flying United.]]
In addition to the show's iconic [[theme song]], ''Transformers'' featured a great variety of background music, composed by [[Robert J. Walsh]]. Walsh had previously worked on the ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'' cartoon, and many of those pieces were reused for ''Transformers''. New pieces were composed as well, many incorporating the melody of the show's theme song. Walsh composed new music for 2nd and 3rd seasons, each in a different style, further distinguishing the three main seasons from one another.

The show also originated the concept of the iconic "[[Scene transition|symbol flip]]" serving as a transition between scenes, a tradition carried on by some of the later series.
{{-}}

==Episodes==

{{see|List of The Transformers episodes}}

These episodes are listed in "production order", the order in which the episodes were actually approved and written, rather than the order in which they aired on television. In a few instances, this means that episodes are not in the correct chronological story order, the specifics of which are noted in their own articles. Arranging the episodes in airdate order would not solve this problem, and so, as fans have done for as long as there have been ''Transformers'' episode guides on the internet, TFWIKI.Net adheres to production order, in preference to simply making up a chronological order of our own (any attempt at which would be arguable at best).

The different DVD companies which have released the series down the years have at times presented the episodes of each season in a different order that adheres to neither production nor airdate, sometimes to improve any chronology errors evident in the production order, and other times for no apparent reason. No two English-language DVD releases of the series by different companies have placed all 98 episodes in the same order. [[Metrodome]] stuck closest to production order, only making changes for chronology reasons (and sometimes not even then), while other licensees have strayed from this order to varying degrees. Season 1 has consistently avoided reorganization (as production order is actually the correct story order), but Season 3 is a victim of continuous restructuring that sees its episodes presented in a wildly different order with each release.

===Season 1===
[[File:DinobotsG1.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Remember those [[Dinobot (G1)|dinosaur guys]]? Man, they were awesome.]]
The first season is primarily set on [[Earth]], with a few excursions to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. It started with the 1984 toys as its characters (with [[Reflector (G1)|some]] [[Shockwave (G1)|exceptions]]), and introduced the early wave of 1985 toys as it progressed—the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]], and [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]].

{{collist|2|
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]"
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]"
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 3]]"
# "[[Transport to Oblivion]]"
# "[[Roll for It]]"
# "[[Divide and Conquer]]"
# "[[Fire in the Sky]]"
# "[[S.O.S. Dinobots]]"
# "[[Fire on the Mountain]]"
# "[[War of the Dinobots]]"
# "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 2]]"
# "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 3]]"
# "[[Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction]]"
# "[[A Plague of Insecticons]]"
# "[[Heavy Metal War]]"
}}

===Season 2===
[[File:CosmicRust-BigGroup.jpg|center|450px|thumb|I liked the one with the guy.]]<br>
[[File:Master builders prime basketball.jpg|upright=0.85|thumb|Didn't they make Optimus Prime play soccer or something once? Man, that was dumb.]]
The very long second season greatly expanded the cartoon's scope and cast. The second season tends to feature more character-driven episodes than the first season, with many characters getting their own "spotlight" episode. It also features a recurring theme of the Autobots assimilating Earth culture, such the Autobots playing basketball and football and even watching a soap opera. Excursions to alien civilizations popped up occasionally as well (not to mention time travel, miniaturization, and battles against undersea creatures). The second season also saw the introduction of concepts and characters that would spread out to other fictions, including the mystic [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], the ancient [[Vector Sigma]] supercomputer and its [[Key to Vector Sigma|circuit key]], and the first appearance of [[Female Transformer]]s within official fiction.

The second season also marked a move from weekly airings (usually on Saturday mornings) to a "stripped" show, aired Monday through Friday, either in the morning or afternoon. Some markets also scheduled it in conjunction with daily episodes of ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'' (like WPIX in New York, which also aired ''Beast Wars'' when it ran in syndication, and became an affiliate of the WB network, which would originally air the ''Cybertron'' cartoon).

Season Two breaks down very roughly into three segments:

* The first thirteen episodes feature (primarily) the Season One cast.
* A large second batch of episodes brings in the remainder of the 1985 toys.
* The final ten episodes introduce the four [[combiner]] teams that formed the early entries in the 1986 line.
{{--}}
{{collist|2|
# "[[Autobot Spike]]"
# "[[Changing Gears]]"
# "[[City of Steel]]"
# "[[Attack of the Autobots (episode)|Attack of the Autobots]]"
# "[[Traitor]]"
# "[[The Immobilizer]]"
# "[[The Autobot Run]]"
# "[[Atlantis, Arise!]]"
# "[[Day of the Machines]]"
# "[[Enter the Nightbird]]"
# "[[A Prime Problem]]"
# "[[The Core]]"
# "[[The Insecticon Syndrome]]"
# "[[Dinobot Island, Part 1]]"
# "[[Dinobot Island, Part 2]]"
# "[[The Master Builders (episode)|The Master Builders]]"
# "[[Auto Berserk]]"
# "[[Microbots]]"
# "[[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1]]"
# "[[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2]]"
# "[[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1]]"
# "[[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2]]"
# "[[Blaster Blues]]"
# "[[A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court]]"
# "[[The Golden Lagoon (episode)|The Golden Lagoon]]"
# "[[The God Gambit]]"
# "[[Make Tracks]]"
# "[[Child's Play (episode)|Child's Play]]"
# "[[Quest for Survival]]"
# "[[The Secret of Omega Supreme]]"
# "[[The Gambler]]"
# "[[Kremzeek!]]"
# "[[Sea Change]]"
# "[[Triple Takeover]]"
# "[[Prime Target (episode)|Prime Target]]"
# "[[Auto-Bop]]"
# "[[The Search for Alpha Trion]]"
# "[[The Girl Who Loved Powerglide]]"
# "[[Hoist Goes Hollywood]]"
# "[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2]]"
# "[[Aerial Assault]]"
# "[[War Dawn (episode)|War Dawn]]"
# "[[Trans-Europe Express]]"
# "[[Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust]]"
# "[[Starscream's Brigade]]"
# "[[The Revenge of Bruticus]]"
# "[[Masquerade]]"
# "[[B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.]]"
}}

===Intermediate===
[[File:Tftm1986b.jpg|thumb|Then they like, killed him in the movie. Man, that was awesome.]]
''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' is in continuity with the cartoon series, occurring 20 years after the end of Season 2 (in the then-futuristic year of 2005). It was the single biggest turning point for the series, and remains controversial. The movie saw the introductions of [[Unicron]], the [[Quintesson]]s, and the [[Matrix of Leadership]], all of which would play important roles in Season 3. It made radical changes to the show's cast, killing off many characters and introducing new ones—a shock to young viewers who were used to their heroes driving off into the sunset at the end of every adventure.

Despite its unconventional place in the cartoon canon, it remains the best-known representation of the cartoon series among fans.

===Season 3===
[[File:Intro3 4 with error.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|They didn't make any more cartoons after the movie. Yeah, the movie totally killed Transformers.]]
Season 3 ''transformed'' the whole premise of the show. Gone were the two teams stranded on Earth, along with many of the characters that composed those teams. In their place was a galaxy-spanning tale of battles on alien worlds. With the Autobots in firm control of Cybertron, the Decepticons, though still a threat, were somewhat reduced as villains; new enemies in the form of the [[Quintesson]]s were introduced. Plots often centered on the ultra-powerful [[city-bot]]s, [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] and [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]].

Season 3 has a mixed reputation. It contains some of the most mistake-laden episodes of the entire franchise ("Five Faces of Darkness", "Carnage in C Minor", the introduction sequence at left) most of which can be laid at the feet of [[AKOM]]. But some of its episodes are among the best as well, both in animation and scripting; "Dark Awakening", "Chaos", "Webworld", and "Dweller in the Depths" are all heavy fan favorites.

Late in Season 3, as in Season 2, the forerunners of the 1987 toy line were introduced: the [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcons]], [[Technobot (G1)|Technobot]]s, and [[Throttlebot]]s, and (very briefly) the cassettes [[Slugfest (G1)|Slugfest]] and [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]]. The season concluded with the resurrection of Optimus Prime, spurred on by a massive campaign on the part of fans, who were displeased by his death and subsequent "evil" resurrection.

{{collist|2|
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]"
# "[[The Killing Jar]]"
# "[[Chaos (episode)|Chaos]]"
# "[[Dark Awakening (episode)|Dark Awakening]]"
# "[[Forever Is a Long Time Coming]]"
# "[[Starscream's Ghost]]"
# "[[Thief in the Night]]"
# "[[Surprise Party]]"
# "[[Madman's Paradise]]"
# "[[Nightmare Planet]]"
# "[[Ghost in the Machine (episode)|Ghost in the Machine]]"
# "[[Webworld]]"
# "[[Carnage in C-Minor]]"
# "[[The Quintesson Journal]]"
# "[[The Ultimate Weapon]]"
# "[[The Big Broadcast of 2006 (episode)|The Big Broadcast of 2006]]"
# "[[Fight or Flee]]"
# "[[The Dweller in the Depths]]"
# "[[Only Human]]"
# "[[Grimlock's New Brain]]"
# "[[Money Is Everything]]"
# "[[Call of the Primitives]]"
# "[[The Face of the Nijika]]"
# "[[The Burden Hardest to Bear]]"
# "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2]]"
}}

===Season 4===
[[File:Bumblebee and Goldbug.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|They kept making the toys? But weren't those like, the ones that couldn't transform or something?]]
How the truncated Season 4 came about remains a mystery, though presumably the short version is that [[Hasbro]] pulled out its funding support. Whether anything further was ever planned is not known; see ''[[Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers|Urban legends about Transformers]]'' for more.

As it is, the "season" consisted of a single three-part episode, that somewhat hastily brought in thirty or so new Transformer characters as well as [[Nebulan]] partners for 22 of them, and attempted to provide a satisfactory conclusion to the series as a whole.

The previous three seasons each feature fully original opening credits. For Season 4, however, the opening credit sequence is a mishmash of existing animation, combining high-quality animation sequences from some of the 1986 and 1987 toy commercials with segments of the Season 3 opening credits, which were of a visibly different art style.

# "[[The Rebirth, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Rebirth, Part 2]]"
# "[[The Rebirth, Part 3]]"

===Season 5===
[[File:Puppetpmprime.jpg|thumb|Kiss me Tommy. Then I'll show you my "Powermaster".]]
Season 5 did not feature any new episodes, but rather consisted of 15 episodes from the previous seasons and ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' broken up into five episodes, for a total of 20 episodes. New opening and closing footage was added to each episode, which portrayed an animatronic puppet of [[Powermaster]] [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] meeting regularly with a live-action human named [[Tommy Kennedy (G1)|Tommy Kennedy]] to tell him old Transformers stories.

{{collist|2|
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]"
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]"
# "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 3]]"
# ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' (Day 1)
# ''The Transformers: The Movie'' (Day 2)
# ''The Transformers: The Movie'' (Day 3)
# ''The Transformers: The Movie'' (Day 4)
# ''The Transformers: The Movie'' (Day 5)
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4]]"
# "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]"
# "[[Surprise Party]]"
# "[[Dark Awakening (episode)|Dark Awakening]]"
# "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2]]"
# "[[The Rebirth, Part 1]]"
# "[[The Rebirth, Part 2]]"
# "[[The Rebirth, Part 3]]"
}}

===Sci-Fi Channel===
From 1995 to 1997, the Sci-Fi Channel began airing reruns of ''The Transformers'' on their early morning cartoon programming blocks, [[Cartoon Quest]] and [[Animation Station]]. Unfortunately, due to longer commercial slots and/or shorter show times, the decision was made to edit the cartoon down. Sometimes this was done in comparatively harmless fashion, but other times the flow of scenes and even the plot suffered.

In one of the most notorious edits, two lines from [[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]] and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] in "[[Masquerade]]" ended up smooshed into a single nonsensical jumble: "Time to add fire torobably hate myself in the morning, but—"

==Japanese release==

In Japan, ''The Transformers'' was broken apart into 2 separately branded shows:

===''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers''===

[[File:Japanese tf logo.jpg|center|upright=1.66]]

'''''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers''''' (戦え! 超ロボット生命体トランスフォーマー, ''Tatakae! Chō Robotto Seimeitai Transformers'') began airing in 1985, consisting of the North American season 1 and 2 episodes. Although 2 episodes out of the original 65 were cut ("[[Attack of the Autobots (episode)|Attack of the Autobots]]" and "[[Day of the Machines]]"), an additional 9 [[clip show]]s were created, composed entirely of re-used footage taken from various episodes, bringing the total number of ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' episodes to 72. The 2 missing episodes were later dubbed in 1990 and released straight-to-video, then retroactively added to the series episode list, boosting its official count to 74 episodes.

The additional clip shows are as follows:

:14. "[[Birth of the Transformers!]]"
:55. "[[War Without End (episode)|War Without End]]"
:56. "[[Desperate Battle on Dinobot Island]]"
:57. "[[Devastator, the Giant Warrior]]"
:58. "[[Neverending Struggle]]"
:69. "[[Earth's Greatest Crisis]]"
:70. "[[Seek the Cybertonium]]"
:71. "[[Stunticons vs Aerialbots]]"
:72. "[[Mutiny of the Combaticons]]"

The broadcast order of the series was significantly reworked, with most of the episodes featuring [[Jetfire (G1)#Why "Skyfire"?|Skyfire]] being pushed to the end of the run (presumably owing the character's shaky status as a Bandai toy in Japan). Contrary to what would be sensible, this did ''not'' involve correcting any of the chronological errors present in the original order; in fact, it even created some new ones. The pack-in booklet included with the laserdisk and DVD sets from [[Pioneer]] feature a "narrative viewing order" list.

Perhaps most notoriously, the episodes were edited before their broadcast in Japan. These edits were made not for content, but for length so that the show could accommodate longer opening and ending [[Title sequence|sequence]]s. The combined length of the U.S. opening and ending sequences was about 1 minute and 10 seconds. The combined length of the Japanese opening and ending sequences, however, was about 2 minutes and 20 seconds. This resulted in roughly 1 minute and 10 seconds of content being cut from every single episode.

The translation in terms of script and story was faithful in regards to the original English version (the same cannot be said of the translations of ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' and onward). However, the dub was at times rushed and had its own unique errors, primarily in terms of matching the right voices and names to the characters on screen. Some examples of character identification mistakes include "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 3]]", in which it is ''Thundercracker'' who requests permission to teleport and attack Ironhide, and "[[Divide and Conquer]]", where ''Starscream'' voices the teleporting Seeker rather than Skywarp (as a result, to Japanese viewers, it appears as though teleportation is a trait inherent in all Seekers and not just Skywarp). One of the worse examples would come in "[[The Master Builders (episode)|The Master Builders]]", as Megatron orders Blitzwing into battle, though the jet is clearly Ramjet (Ramjet is even dubbed with Blitzwing's voice).

Although primary characters such as Megatron, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, etc., had consistent actors, the dub was ''extremely'' loose in terms of casting its secondary characters. Bluestreak, for example, had no less than ''seven'' different actors portray him over the course of the series (though [[Kōki Kataoka]] is typically credited as his "standard" voice actor). By the looks of things, if a secondary character only received one or two lines in a given episode, then whatever actor was on hand in the studio would be called in to play them, consistency be damned.

Additionally, the Japanese dub of ''Transformers'' was geared toward a younger audience than the original English version. While the dialogue and stories remained faithful in localization, the episodes received '''extensive''' [[Narrator|narration]] from [[Issei Masamune]]. The additional narration was relentless to the point of becoming play-by-play commentary. The narrator would constantly describe what was happening on screen, summarize scenes and dialogue immediately after they were seen or spoken, and generally just provide needless asides such as "And then!" "Suddenly!" and "Meanwhile!" This was done to help the younger Japanese viewers follow along with the story, though later domestically produced Japanese ''Transformers'' animation would not include such excessive narration.

''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' aired on various local [[Nihon TV]] affiliates and as a result, some episodes were preempted in some areas ("[[The Golden Lagoon (episode)|The Golden Lagoon]]", for example, only aired in the Kansai region, while "[[The Girl Who Loved Powerglide]]" aired in every region ''but'' the Kansai region). The opening theme was "[[Transformer (song)|TRANSFORMER]]" by [[Satoko Shimonari]] and the ending theme was "[[Peace Again]]" also by Shimonari.

===''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010''===

[[File:2010 logo.jpg|upright=1.66|center]]

'''''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010''''' (戦え! 超ロボット生命体トランスフォーマー 2010, ''Tatakae! Chō Robotto Seimeitai Transformers 2010'') began airing in 1986, consisting of the North American season 3 episodes. All 30 episodes were dubbed for ''Transformers 2010'' and 2 additional clip episodes were produced, bringing the total to 32 episodes.

The additional clip shows are as follows:

:29. "[[Daniel's Adventure]]"
:30. "[[The Desperate Struggle of Justice]]"

As with ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'', ''Transformers 2010'' considerably reordered the sequence of episodes. However, rather than restore the narrative order (as the North American broadcast had jumbled up the story arcs), the Japanese broadcast actually made things ''worse''. And as with ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'', Pioneer's laserdisk and DVD sets for ''Transformers 2010'' include a "narrative viewing order" list in the pack-in booklet.

''Transformers 2010'' received the same editing treatment as its predecessor, losing scenes to make room for the longer title and credits sequences. Likewise, it received all the excessive narration and was prone to the same rotating cast members and character identification hiccups. In regards to the latter, it could become especially problematic when the ''narrator'' was the one misidentifying the characters (in "[[The Burden Hardest to Bear]]", the narrator mistakenly identifies Wildrider and Dead End as Runabout and Runamuck).

In addition to the extensive narration to hold the viewer's hand, ''Transformers 2010'' also received brand new text captions which had not been often utilized in ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers''. These captions would appear on screen to designate locations (be they planets, countries or cities) and to identify new characters whenever they first appeared (including both names and functions). The [[Secret Files of Teletraan II]] segments were also reworked; some were dubbed, some were dropped and some brand new ones exclusive to ''Transformers 2010'' were created.

The release of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie/dubs#Japan|The Transformers: The Movie]]'' was delayed in Japan and was not available between ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' and ''Transformers 2010''. To help viewers acclimate to the new status quo, explanatory material was published in the pages of ''[[TV Magazine]]'', describing the events of ''The Movie'' as the "[[Unicron War]]" and summarizing vital events from the film (such as Optimus Prime's death, Rodimus Prime's ascension and Megatron's upgrade into Galvatron). ''The Movie'' would eventually be released straight-to-video in 1989.

Like ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'', ''Transformers 2010'' was broadcast on various local Nihon TV affiliates, resulting in preemptions in certain areas ("[[The Face of the Nijika]]" for example). The opening theme was "[[TRANSFORMER 2010]]" by [[Shō Hirose]] and the ending theme was "[[WHAT'S YOU]]" also by Hirose.

===''Transformers: The Rebirth''===

The season 4 episodes of ''The Transformers'' were not originally broadcast in Japan, with [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] instead electing to produce a brand new series to continue the story of their animated continuity: ''[[Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|The Headmasters]]''. However, all 3 episodes were eventually released straight-to-video in 1996 as '''''Transformers: The Rebirth''''' (トランスフォーマーザ・リバース). The episodes received their much-belated Japanese television broadcast in 2007 on [[Cartoon Network|Cartoon Network Japan]].

To differentiate "The Rebirth" from the Japanese continuity of ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'', the episodes were released under the American ''The Transformers'' branding. To further this distinction, the dub used standard English-language names and terminology for the most part ("Hot Rod" was not changed to "Hot Rodimus" and "Kup" was not changed to "Chear", for example) while maintaining the Japanese-exclusive names for the more high profile characters ("Convoy" was not changed to "Optimus Prime", for example).

Only three actors from ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' and ''Transformers 2010'' returned to voice their respective characters: [[Tesshō Genda]] (Optimus Prime), [[Seizō Katō]] (Galvatron) and [[Issei Masamune]] (narrator). Every other cast member was replaced with a soundalike, to varying degrees of success. The voice direction for these episodes was conducted by [[Shōzō Tajima]].

==Home video releases==
{{main|The Transformers (cartoon)/home video}}

==Notes==
* While answering a letter from a fan in the letters page to issue 146, the [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]] from the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|UK Marvel Comics]] revealed that he totally knows all about ''The Transformers'' cartoon series. He claims the Marvel Comics depict the events as they actually happened and the cartoon is fictional.[http://transfans.co.uk/comics_guide_detail.php?id=174&page=9]
* Looking at the production codes of the series reveals some choice tidbits:
**The series pilot, "More than Meets the Eye", was produced under a set of different production codes, as it was created before ''Transformers'' was expanded to become an ongoing series. After the pilot, the episode production numbers begin afresh with "700-01" ("Transport to Oblivion"), and proceeded in order until the end of the first season, with "700-13" ("Heavy Metal War"). At the beginning of the second season, it seems the production codes were adjusted to account for the three parts of "More than Meets the Eye", as they take a jump forward to "700-16" with "Autobot Spike". This, of course, is mathematically wrong-o, as "Autobot Spike" is the ''seventeenth'' episode, not the sixteenth.
**''B.O.T.'', the final episode of season 2, was production code 700-64, while ''Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1'', the first episode of season 3, was production code 700-86. The reason for this jump is unknown.
**There is no episode with production code 700-111. ''Grimlock's New Brain'' was 700-110, while ''Call of the Primitives'' was 700-112. The reason for this omission is likewise unknown.
*Twelve episodes were released as audio adventures by the [[Germany|German]] company [[Karussell|Karussell Musik und Video]] (featuring dialogue from the German dub of the cartoon by Polyband with new background music from Karussell's own library), a common practice at the time.
[[File:WorldOfHectorRamirez.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|He's everywhere, and there's no escape.]]

*Cartoon writers are a sneaky lot, and quietly put references to ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'', another show they were working on at the same time, into ''The Transformers''. [[Daina]] of the Soviet Oktober Guard ("[[Prime Target (episode)|Prime Target]]"), [[Flint (G.I. Joe)|Flint]] as [[Marissa Faireborn]]'s dad ("[[The Killing Jar]]"), and an elderly [[Cobra Commander]] ("[[Only Human]]") all appear. We also see [[Hector Ramirez (G1)|journalist Hector Ramirez]], who appears in ''everything'' Sunbow was doing at the time.
{{--}}

==External links==
*[http://groups.google.com/group/net.comics/browse_thread/thread/eab15c298a61cdfb/fce7a2ddb7e35a81 1985 net.comics review]
*[http://www.reocities.com/Area51/Comet/5606/tfepgd.html Aaron Marsh's Transformers Episode Guide] — Including variants and repackagings
*[http://www.facebook.com/pages/Transformers/9160392217 Transformers on Facebook] - Includes information on Matrix of Leadership Box Set

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transformers (cartoon), The}}
[[Category:Continuities]]
[[Category:Generation 1 media]]
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Television series]]

Heatwave (RB)

2014-01-06T18:13:29Z

Shockwave 75:

{{factions|rescuebot}}
{{disambig2|the Fire-Bot from ''Rescue Bots''|the ''Timelines'' combiner|Heatwave (Timelines)}}
:''Heatwave the Fire-Bot is an [[Autobot]] from the ''[[Transformers: Rescue Bots (franchise)|Rescue Bots]]'' portion of the [[Aligned continuity family]].''

[[Image:HeatwaveTheFireBot poster.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Note: Toy may look nothing like TV show character.]]

The team leader of the [[Rescue Bot]]s, '''Heatwave''' was given his position because of how deeply he cares for his team and their mission. However, he is a bot of action at heart who dreams of one day joining [[Team Prime]], and sometimes has little patience for anything he sees as getting in the way of his mission, including staying in disguise as non-sentient vehicles and working with [[human]] partners.

When he goes into action, though, no blaze is too strong for his armor. With built-in water cannons, a rescue hook, and a fireman's axe, he's well prepared to take on the most stubborn fires and most intense rescue missions. He partners with the other Rescue Bots and with their newest human teammates, [[Kade Burns|Kade]] and [[Cody Burns]], though he and Kade are frequently at odds as their egos clash.

{{TOCclear}}

==Fiction==
===Storybooks===
{{Charstubfiction}}

===''Rescue Bots'' cartoon===
{{voiceactor|[[Steve Blum]] (English)|[[Erich Räuker]] (German), [[Robert Jarociński]] (Polish), [[Humberto Solórzano]] (Latin American-Spanish)}}
[[Image:FamilyOfHeroes Heatwave roll to the rescue.jpg|thumb|left|350px|My head looks nothing like my toy, that's how much of a rebel I am!]]
Heatwave was part of a team of Rescue Bots drifting through space when their spaceship received a transmission from [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]] and landed on [[Earth]]. After dropping the bombshell that [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] was no more, Optimus appointed Heatwave team leader and assigned them to [[Griffin Rock]] to work with the Burns family. The four Rescue Bots were presented to the public by [[Charlie Burns|Chief Burns]] at a ceremony, following which Heatwave and his new partner, [[Kade Burns]], drove to the [[Griffin Rock natural history museum|museum]] to attend to a fire. Heatwave was disgruntled when Kade took the credit for his saving Burns and [[Graham Burns|Graham]] from a falling dinosaur statue head. That night, [[Cody Burns]] discovered the Rescue Bots' secret, and after they helped stop a rogue robot ''Tyrannosaurus rex'', Chief Burns revealed the truth to the rest of the team. {{storylink|Family of Heroes}}

Heatwave and Kade continued having trouble working together, with Kade even preferring to drive a non-transforming firetruck. After [[Mount Magma]] started spewing lava and threatening the island, the pair were forced to work together, driving through a tunnel under the island to stop the lava from reaching the bunker under the fire station. {{storylink|Under Pressure}} Following the rescue of [[Doc Greene]], Heatwave felt under-appreciated by the humans. He was amused when [[Dani Burns|Dani]] fitted a scoop claw to [[Blades (RB)|Blades]], but less so when the pair started upstaging the other Rescue Bots at rescues, and even threatened to forcibly remove the device from his comrade. Heatwave and the other Rescue Bots came to Blades's rescue when he was struck by lightning and unable to fly, after which Dani sent some appreciation their way and Blades promised not to use the claw as much. {{storylink|Hotshots}}

[[Image:FlobstersOnParade Heatwave with children.jpg|thumb|right|250px]]
After another rescue of Doc Greene, Heatwave was still disgruntled and refused to take part in the [[Lobster and Technology Festival]], instead staying back at the fire station to watch it on TV. When the town was attacked by [[flobster]]s, he ventured out to help the other Rescue Bots fight the flying critters, resulting in him later having to endure being climbed on by children. {{storylink|Flobsters on Parade}} Following the rescue of a truck of hazardous materials, Heatwave and the other Rescue Bots were subjected to a screening of ''[[The Natives of Tatui]]'', which accidentally resulted in [[Huxley Prescott]] causing a mass panic by reporting an alien invasion. The Rescue Bots had to destroy Prescott's [[SETI]] dish to save the island. {{storylink|The Alien Invasion of Griffin Rock}}

Heatwave's attempt to stop [[Harrison (RB)|Mr Harrison]]'s heli-pack ride with water only resulted in an umbrella shop being flooded. When [[Boulder]] was taken over by nanites, Heatwave threatened to physically intervene, though Blades suspected Boulder would come out on top in that match-up. {{storylink|Cody on Patrol}}

Called out about a cat in a tree, Heatwave saved [[Neederlander|Mrs Neederlander]] when she fell out of a tree, and was rewarded with a slap in the face. The next day, he helped hunt a [[Whiskers|lion]] and return a bunch of lemurs to the [[Griffin Rock Zoo|zoo]]. {{storylink|Walk on the Wild Side}} When a rescue went wrong, Heatwave managed to fish Kade and another human out of a river using his fire hose. Cody roped the Rescue Bots, including "Uncle Heatwave", into helping him look after a [[Robo-Baby]]. The Robo-Baby seemed to like Heatwave best of all. After the baby went missing during a call-out, the bots had to rescue it from a wind farm. Heatwave caught it in mid-air after it fell from a windmill. {{storylink|Four Bots and a Baby}}

[[Image:DeepTrouble Heatwave jumps shark.jpg|thumb|left|290px]]
During a heatwave, Heatwave did not appreciate being used as a sprinkler. When a weather machine went out of control, he and the other Rescue Bots had to spring into action attending snow-related emergencies around town. {{storylink|Christmas in July}} Heatwave and the other Rescue Bots were invited on the Burns' annual fishing trip on the ''[[Darby Ava]]''. Heatwave didn't really get the whole fishing thing until they encountered a [[shark submarine|mechanical shark]] and he got to wrestle it. He, [[Chase (RB)|Chase]] and Boulder eventually managed to disable the sub, though it self-destructed soon after. {{storylink|Deep Trouble}}

The Rescue Bots had to help stop out-of-control technology one foggy day, when the Griffin Rock mainframe was hacked into. Heatwave had to rescue the mayor from the town hall when a garbage truck trapped him inside. {{storylink|Return of the Dino Bot}} When [[Thaddeus Morocco|Doctor Morocco]] turned up with his [[MorBot]] and threatened to overshadow the Rescue Bots, the team was forced to compete with the doctor's invention to prove themselves worthy. Thanks to Morocco's machinations, they failed and were stood down from service. Heatwave was particularly angry at the loss. {{storylink|The Other Doctor}} Accepting defeat, he attempted to make contact with Optimus Prime to get reassigned and considered getting their ship working again. After being called out to a fire at the lab, the Rescue Bots got the chance to exact some payback on the MorBot. The team was subsequently reinstated as Griffin Rock's rescue service. {{storylink|The Reign of Morocco}}

[[Image:SmallBlessings Kade rescues Hayley.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.]]
After helping Kade rescue [[Hayley]], a girl Kade was interested in, Heatwave was annoyed by Kade blowing him off to go on a date. When he and the rest of the team turned up to a break-in at the [[Hall of Inspiration]], Heatwave was forced to protect Kade and as a result was shrunk to the size of an ant by the [[Minimizer]]. He was joined by the similarly shrunken Boulder and Blades, and the trio ended up in the sewer. After braving huge rats and a torrent of water, they made it to the [[Griffin Rock dam]], where they rescued Kade and alerted the rest of the team to the fact that the dam was near bursting. Cody later used the Minimizer to return them to their normal sizes. {{storylink|Small Blessings}} Heatwave helped save [[Wild|Captain Wild]]'s ship and found "tunnel 15" in the tunnels below Griffin Rock. This led the team to discover [[Anna Baranova|Professor Baranova]]'s ''[[Midgard]]'' at the bottom of an ocean trench, and they helped her seal the methane vent causing the [[Griffin Rock Triangle]]. {{storylink|The Griffin Rock Triangle}}

After the daring rescue of Huxley Prescott by the four bots, Chief left them with Kade in charge, however when they got an apparent SOS from Cody and Kade was unable to be contacted, Heatwave made the decision to disobey the Chief's orders and venture into [[Griffin Crest]]. He, Blades and Boulder were subsequently caught by the [[Electromagnetic pulse|EMP]] field there and immobilized on top of [[Old Parker]], necessitating a rescue by Chase and the human half of the team. He was forced to concede that sticking to the rules sometimes worked. {{storylink|Rules and Regulations}} Heatwave and the other three Bots were washed out to sea with Cody and ended up on an inhabited island. Their attempts to build him shelter and gather food were less than successful, but they did manage to find traces of the ''[[Oaken Crow]]'', which led to them finding the ship and getting off the island. {{storylink|The Lost Bell}}

[[Image:YouveBeenSquilshed Heatwave wields telephone pole.jpg|thumb|left|300px]]
Chasing a crashed meteorite on [[Wayward Island]], the team ran into [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]]. Heatwave, Boulder and Chase checked out the meteorite and were unwittingly exposed to an alien virus. They slowly lost the ability to move or speak, and it was only through the work of Bumblebee, Blades and the humans that a cure was found. {{storylink|Bumblebee to the Rescue (RB)|Bumblebee to the Rescue}} Heatwave and the team were called out to deal with a giant rampaging blob of space slime. He was particularly incensed when it ate Chase, and though his water didn't help stop the blob, he found zapping it with electricity did, and the discovery ultimately led to the [[Squilsh]]'s defeat. {{storylink|You've Been Squilshed}}

After most of the town disappeared, Heatwave and the other Bots found themselves fighting small mechanical bugs. He took Cody, [[Frankie Greene|Frankie]] and Kade to the lab so they could check the information on the computer there, but after all three of them vanished as well, it was up to Heatwave and his team to work out where the humans had been teleported to. After locating the cavern in question, they were able to rescue the townsfolk. {{storylink|Countdown (RB)|Countdown}} When Griffin Rock was infested by what appeared to be ghosts, Heatwave was mostly just frustrated that he couldn't hit them. When they turned out to just be holograms, he took great delight in catching the perpetrators by hosing them down to work out which were the real humans. {{storylink|The Haunting of Griffin Rock}}

[[Image:ShakeUp Heatwave protects Frankie.jpg|thumb|right|280px]]
When Kade challenged Graham to a race, Heatwave did the driving and ended up demolishing a fire hydrant. After Chase and the Chief went missing, Heatwave and the others searched all night for them, eventually tracking them down to the lead mine where the team had to rescue them. {{storylink|Little White Lies}} Heatwave was annoyed when Kade ordered the Bots to take part in Frankie's film for school. The Bots soon had problems attending to an earthquake and acting like robots at the same time, but when Frankie followed them into the tunnels under the town, Heatwave had to come rescue her from a cave-in. In the process of doing so, he had to drop his cover, but she was passed out and didn't notice. {{storylink|Shake Up}} After Heatwave took part in a rescue at a pyrotechnics factory, Cody got a repulsor badge that gave him superhero powers. The Bots ended up being relegated to cleanup, at least until the badge overloaded and they had to rescue Cody from a bubble of energy. {{storylink|Rescue Boy}}

Heatwave was roped into taking part in a photo op with Kade. When the four bots attended the testing of a [[Temporal Station|time machine]], he sheltered Cody and Frankie, and thus when the four Bots were propelled back in time to [[1939]], so were the kids. Heatwave had the rest of his team keep up the pretense of being robots, and they were subjected to a number of tests before Morocco pinned them to a wall and prepared to dissect them. Luckily Optimus and Bumblebee came to their rescue, and the team returned to the present, only to find that Morocco was in control of Griffin Rock. {{storylink|It's a Bot Time}} They soon established that leaving [[Dither]] in the past was a mistake. After an encounter with an alternate version of the Burns family, the Rescue Bots returned to 1939 and retrieved Dither, returning the timeline to normal. {{storylink|Bot to the Future}}

==Toys==
===Rescue Bots===
[[Image:HeatwaveTheFireBot nonelectronic.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]
*'''Heatwave the Fire-Bot''' (2011)
:Heatwave transforms into a red and grey fire engine of likely fictitious origin. In keeping with the simple transformation scheme of the line, Heatwave transforms from vehicle mode to robot mode by simply pulling up the ladder and folding down the feet.

:Due to the placement of his ladder on his back, it is actually possible for Cody Burns (the firefighter figure) to hitch a ride on Heatwave's back in robot mode; the rungs on the ladder are just thin enough to allow for one of his hands to slip around and the thumb on that hand to fit in the hollow area on the back of said rung.

{{-}}
[[Image:RescueBots electronic HeatwaveTheFireBot.jpg|right|thumb|250px|]]
*'''Electronic Heatwave the Fire-Bot Set''' (2011)
**''Accessories:'' Storybook, 2 "AAA" batteries, Cody Burns
:This non-Transformable version of Heatwave features electronic [[light-emitting diode|lights]] and [[soundbox|sounds]]. He comes with a storybook titled "[[Rescue Bots Respond]]" which details his adventures, and a redecoed Cody Burns figure.
{{charstubtoys}}
[[Image:RescueBotstoy-Fire Station Prime.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]
*'''Fire Station Prime''' (playset 2011)
:A Heatwave vehicle is included with the [[Fire Station Prime]] playset. It "transforms" much like [[Robot Powered Machines]] Mini-Vehicles. An image of Heatwave is molded on the bottom of the vehicle and it can be stood up on end.

{{--}}
===Rescue Bots: Energize===
[[Image:HeatwaveTheFireBot energize.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]
*'''Energize Heatwave the Fire-Bot''' (2013)
**''Accessories:'' "Water" cannon
:The original Heatwave toy was released as part of the "Energize" line, retooled to add sockets into the top of his emergency lights, and with translucent blue plastic. Also added is a "water" cannon in the same plastic which can slot into the new sockets. The word "water" is in scare quotes in the product descriptions because the "water" cannon doesn't actually shoot water.

{{-}}
[[Image:HeatwaveTheFireBot KadeBurns energize.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]
*'''Energize Heatwave the Fire-Bot and Kade Burns''' (2013)
:Available in a two-pack with his human partner, Heatwave is a non-transforming figure but possesses more in the way of articulation than previous Heatwave toys, in addition to being more [[Show-accuracy|show accurate]]. His left hand is replaced by a fire ax.

{{-}}
[[Image:RescueBots FlipChangers HeatwaveTheFireBot.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]
*'''Flip Changers Heatwave the Fire-Bot''' (2013)
:A highly simplified version of Heatwave with show-accurate detailing. He transforms into a super-deformed fire engine—pulling out the lever on the rear of Heatwave's vehicle mode causes him to drive forwards before doing a frontwards flip to [[autotransformation|autotransform]] into robot mode, popping his head up and his arms outwards.
{{--}}

==Merchandise==
[[Image:RBMerch-Heatwave costume.jpg|thumb|right|150px]]
*'''Heatwave Toddler Halloween Costume''' (2012)
:Dress your kiddie up in this Heatwave Halloween costume so he can go door-to-door shaking down people for candy. 100% polyester!
{{--}}

==Notes==
[[Image:Comicon2012MeetHeatwave.jpg|thumb|Kids, come meet the surly loner! It'll be fun for the whole family!]]
*An in-costume actor portraying Heatwave appeared at [[San Diego Comic-Con]] 2012.

===Foreign names===
*''Hungarian:'' '''Tűzlovag''' ("Fireknight")

==External links==
*[http://www.hubworld.com/transformers/shows/rescue-bots/cast-gallery/heatwave Heatwave's profile] at hubworld.com.

[[Category: Rescue Bots Autobots]]

Mindwipe (ROTF)

2012-04-09T17:12:19Z

Shockwave 75: /* Cyber Missions */

{{factions|decepticonfilm}}
{{disambig3|Mindwipe}}
:''Mindwipe is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Live-action film series|live-action film]] [[continuity family]].''
[[Image:Mindwipeindigo_rotf.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.]]

'''Mindwipe''' isn't like the other Decepticons. While they focus on attacking your body, he prefers to go for the mind. Using the power of hypnosis, he subverts the programming and wills of his opponents and directs them to perform his dirty work. This makes him very much a hands-off individual. Staying aloft and away from the action below, he allows his near-zombified minions to fight his battles for him. The only being immune to his abilities is [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]-bearer. But when the universe shuts a door, it opens a window, and if Mindwipe can't attack the Autobot leader directly...well, his nearest and dearest work just as well.

While his powers have a scientific basis, he likes to pretend they have ''spookier'' origins. Between that and his extensive knowledge of Cybertron's supernatural lore, he's able to scare the more supersticious Transformers into thinking he's some kind of boogeyman! His closest comrade is, [[Chaos Trinity |unsurprisingly]], [[Bludgeon (ROTF)|Bludgeon]] the skull-faced samurai looker.<ref>[http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/play/details.cfm?guid=841165f8-19b9-f369-1057-0b57c1e069b6 Battle Bio]</ref>

==Fiction==
===''Cyber Missions''===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Bronco D. Jackson]] (English), [[Octavio Rojas]] (Latin American-Spanish)

[[Image:CyberMissions5-Mindwipe.jpg|left|thumb|300px|TEAM MINDWIPE]]

When [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] stumbled into the cave where Mindwipe had been hiding out, Mindwipe promptly hypnotised the Autobot and made him start gathering up the [[energon]] crystals which littered the cave floor. This situation didn't last for long, as Optimus Prime came in search of Ironhide and blasted Mindwipe from the ceiling. Mindwipe's blustering at this unwanted intrusion was interrupted by a punch from Prime. Recovering, he responded by trying to hypnotise Prime as well, but his mojo was not strong enough to overcome Prime's will. Mindwipe transformed and attempted to flee, only to be blasted by Optimus. His hold over Ironhide was broken. {{storylink|Cyber Missions 5|Cyber Missions #5}}

Mindwipe interrogated [[Jack (ROTF)|Jack]] to find out the location of some energon, tossing the human aside once he had the information. As he took off, he announced the energon would soon be all his, which earned him a correction from [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]. When they reached the convoy, Mindwipe turned his hypnotic abilities on [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] and [[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]], but he and Starscream began bickering again, allowing Sideswipe to use some rock and roll to break Mindwipe's concentration. Ratchet grabbed Mindwipe and, dumping him into the energon trailer, gave him a short jolt to paralyze him, before dumping both trailer and Mindwipe off the nearest cliff. Mindwipe plummeted towards the ground while pleading for his leader to save him, but Starscream told him to save himself, and went after the energon instead. {{storylink|Cyber Missions 10|Cyber Missions #10}}

Megatron led the Decepticons on a mission to free the captured Soundwave. It was an Autobot trap. Mindwipe tried to hypnotize [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]], but Bumblebee covered his ears and talked over Mindwipe's voice, nullifying the effect. The two fought hand to hand until an army of the Autobots' human allies surrounded the battlefield. Optimus Prime gave each Decepticon a choice: Leave Earth or be destroyed. Mindwipe and the other Decepticons chose to leave Earth. {{storylink|Decepticons Attack}}

===''Unite for the Universe''===

Mindwipe was part of a raiding party assembled by [[Bludgeon (ROTF)|Bludgeon]] at Megatron's command, along with [[Dirge (ROTF)|Dirge]] and [[Brakedown (ROTF)|Brakedown]]. They attempted to invade a [[NEST]] facility, but were spotted in advance thanks to a tip provided by [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]], who saw Bludgeon as a potential rival. When [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] emerged from the facility with his new [[Jetfire (ROTF)|Jetfire]]-inspired armor, Mindwipe and the others beat a hasty retreat. {{storylink|Unite for the Universe issue 1|Ambition Instigated}}

===IDW ''Dark of the Moon'' comics===
Under [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]'s command, Mindwipe and a number of other Decepticons attacked [[Sam Witwicky]] in [[Philadelphia]] in order to retrieve the rogue [[scrap drone]] [[Brains]]. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 2|Rising Storm #2}} As Sam was under the protection of the Autobots, a battle broke out between Starscream's troops and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]], [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Wheeljack]] and [[Mirage (Movie)|Mirage]]. Mindwipe tried to pierce through Wheeljack's personal [[force field]], but with little success. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 3|Rising Storm #3}}

==Toys==
===Revenge of the Fallen===
[[Image:Mindwipe_ROTF_Voyager_toy.jpg|thumb|300px|One, one stealth jet. Ah ah ah.]]
*'''Mindwipe''' (Voyager, 2010)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''RD-25'''

[[Image:ROTF_Skystalker_Mindwipe_combined.JPG|thumb|160px|left|Get off my back, hitchhiker!]]

:Mindwipe transforms from a bat-like robot into a fighter plane similar to a [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes#F-117A Nighthawk|F-117 Nighthawk]] stealth ground attack aircraft. The top of the fuselage sports a symbol that's loosely based on the [[United States Air Force|US Air Force]] roundel, replacing the star in the center with a Decepticon [[insignia]] (an identical symbol can be found on Scout Class [[Skystalker (ROTF)|Skystalker]]).
:His wings are decked out in [[Cyberglyphics]], the first three of which translate as "WYR" according to a cypher that was used in several official instances, while the fourth one was commonly found on ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' Voyager Class [[packaging]] prior to the ''[[N.E.S.T. Global Alliance]]'' [[subline imprint]], so they're probably not supposed to mean anything. He has two flip-out swords/daggers slung under his arms that he can deploy to use as weapons. As part of his transformation, bending his wings back in robot mode activates a [[Mech Alive]] gear-driven feature where the tips of the wings retract and four small blades reveal themselves along the edge of the wing. Although not noted in the instructions, his feet can pivot to make him more stable. Mindwipe is designed to combine with the Scout-class figure [[Skystalker (ROTF)|Skystalker]] (and other toys using the Skystalker mold); when they are both in vehicle mode, Skystalker plugs into Mindwipe's top via two pegs, allowing Skystalker a piggy-back style transportation on Mindwipe's back similar to a Space Shuttle on the back of a Boeing 747. When Mindwipe is in robot mode, the pegs allow Skystalker (in either mode) to perch on Mindwipe's arm.
:This toy was listed on Hasbro's website as "Mindswipe", although the toy's description used the correct spelling.

:This mold was later redecoed as the Tokyo Toy Show [[exclusive]] ''Generation 2'' [[Dreadwing (G2)|Dreadwing]] and [[Strafe (TF 2010) |Strafe]] of the 2010 toyline.

::*''[http://tfu.info/2010/Decepticon/Mindwipe/mindwipe.htm More information on Mindwipe at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

==Footnotes==
<references/>

[[Category:Cyber Missions characters]]
[[Category:Dark of the Moon Decepticons]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen Decepticons]]

Mindwipe (ROTF)

2012-04-09T17:12:00Z

Shockwave 75: /* Cyber Missions */

{{factions|decepticonfilm}}
{{disambig3|Mindwipe}}
:''Mindwipe is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Live-action film series|live-action film]] [[continuity family]].''
[[Image:Mindwipeindigo_rotf.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.]]

'''Mindwipe''' isn't like the other Decepticons. While they focus on attacking your body, he prefers to go for the mind. Using the power of hypnosis, he subverts the programming and wills of his opponents and directs them to perform his dirty work. This makes him very much a hands-off individual. Staying aloft and away from the action below, he allows his near-zombified minions to fight his battles for him. The only being immune to his abilities is [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]-bearer. But when the universe shuts a door, it opens a window, and if Mindwipe can't attack the Autobot leader directly...well, his nearest and dearest work just as well.

While his powers have a scientific basis, he likes to pretend they have ''spookier'' origins. Between that and his extensive knowledge of Cybertron's supernatural lore, he's able to scare the more supersticious Transformers into thinking he's some kind of boogeyman! His closest comrade is, [[Chaos Trinity |unsurprisingly]], [[Bludgeon (ROTF)|Bludgeon]] the skull-faced samurai looker.<ref>[http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/play/details.cfm?guid=841165f8-19b9-f369-1057-0b57c1e069b6 Battle Bio]</ref>

==Fiction==
===''Cyber Missions''===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Bronco D. Jackson]] (English), [[Octavio Rojas]] (Latin American-Spanish)

[[Image:CyberMissions5-Mindwipe.jpg|left|thumb|300px|TEAM MINDWIPE]]

When [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] stumbled into the cave where Mindwipe had been hiding out, Mindwipe promptly hypnotised the Autobot and made him start gathering up the [[energon]] crystals which littered the cave floor. This situation didn't last for long, as Optimus Prime came in search of Ironhide and blasted Mindwipe from the ceiling. Mindwipe's blustering at this unwanted intrusion was interrupted by a punch from Prime. Recovering, he responded by trying to hypnotise Prime as well, but his mojo was not strong enough to overcome Prime's will. Mindwipe transformed and attempted to flee, only to be blasted by Optimus. His hold over Ironhide was broken. {{storylink|Cyber Missions 5|Cyber Missions #5}}

Mindwipe interrogated [[Jack (ROTF)|Jack]] to find out the location of some energon, tossing the human aside once he had the information. As he took off, he announced the energon would soon be all his, which earned him a correction from [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]. When they reached the convoy, Mindwipe turned his hypnotic abilities on [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] and [[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]], but he and Starscream began bickering again, allowing Sideswipe to use some rock and roll to break Mindwipe's concentration. Ratchet grabbed Mindwipe and, dumping him into the energon trailer, gave him a short jolt to paralyze him, before dumping both trailer and Mindwipe off the nearest cliff. Mindwipe plummeted towards the ground while pleading for his leader to save him, but Starscream told him to save himself, and went after the energon instead. {{storylink|Cyber Missions 10|Cyber Missions #10}}

Megatron led the Decepticons on a mission to free the captured Soundwave. It was an Autobot trap. Mindwipe tried to hypnotize [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]], but Bumblebee covered his ears and talked over Mindwipe's voice, nullifying the effect. The two fought hand to hand until until an army of the Autobots' human allies surrounded the battlefield. Optimus Prime gave each Decepticon a choice: Leave Earth or be destroyed. Mindwipe and the other Decepticons chose to leave Earth. {{storylink|Decepticons Attack}}

===''Unite for the Universe''===

Mindwipe was part of a raiding party assembled by [[Bludgeon (ROTF)|Bludgeon]] at Megatron's command, along with [[Dirge (ROTF)|Dirge]] and [[Brakedown (ROTF)|Brakedown]]. They attempted to invade a [[NEST]] facility, but were spotted in advance thanks to a tip provided by [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]], who saw Bludgeon as a potential rival. When [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] emerged from the facility with his new [[Jetfire (ROTF)|Jetfire]]-inspired armor, Mindwipe and the others beat a hasty retreat. {{storylink|Unite for the Universe issue 1|Ambition Instigated}}

===IDW ''Dark of the Moon'' comics===
Under [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]'s command, Mindwipe and a number of other Decepticons attacked [[Sam Witwicky]] in [[Philadelphia]] in order to retrieve the rogue [[scrap drone]] [[Brains]]. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 2|Rising Storm #2}} As Sam was under the protection of the Autobots, a battle broke out between Starscream's troops and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]], [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Wheeljack]] and [[Mirage (Movie)|Mirage]]. Mindwipe tried to pierce through Wheeljack's personal [[force field]], but with little success. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 3|Rising Storm #3}}

==Toys==
===Revenge of the Fallen===
[[Image:Mindwipe_ROTF_Voyager_toy.jpg|thumb|300px|One, one stealth jet. Ah ah ah.]]
*'''Mindwipe''' (Voyager, 2010)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''RD-25'''

[[Image:ROTF_Skystalker_Mindwipe_combined.JPG|thumb|160px|left|Get off my back, hitchhiker!]]

:Mindwipe transforms from a bat-like robot into a fighter plane similar to a [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes#F-117A Nighthawk|F-117 Nighthawk]] stealth ground attack aircraft. The top of the fuselage sports a symbol that's loosely based on the [[United States Air Force|US Air Force]] roundel, replacing the star in the center with a Decepticon [[insignia]] (an identical symbol can be found on Scout Class [[Skystalker (ROTF)|Skystalker]]).
:His wings are decked out in [[Cyberglyphics]], the first three of which translate as "WYR" according to a cypher that was used in several official instances, while the fourth one was commonly found on ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' Voyager Class [[packaging]] prior to the ''[[N.E.S.T. Global Alliance]]'' [[subline imprint]], so they're probably not supposed to mean anything. He has two flip-out swords/daggers slung under his arms that he can deploy to use as weapons. As part of his transformation, bending his wings back in robot mode activates a [[Mech Alive]] gear-driven feature where the tips of the wings retract and four small blades reveal themselves along the edge of the wing. Although not noted in the instructions, his feet can pivot to make him more stable. Mindwipe is designed to combine with the Scout-class figure [[Skystalker (ROTF)|Skystalker]] (and other toys using the Skystalker mold); when they are both in vehicle mode, Skystalker plugs into Mindwipe's top via two pegs, allowing Skystalker a piggy-back style transportation on Mindwipe's back similar to a Space Shuttle on the back of a Boeing 747. When Mindwipe is in robot mode, the pegs allow Skystalker (in either mode) to perch on Mindwipe's arm.
:This toy was listed on Hasbro's website as "Mindswipe", although the toy's description used the correct spelling.

:This mold was later redecoed as the Tokyo Toy Show [[exclusive]] ''Generation 2'' [[Dreadwing (G2)|Dreadwing]] and [[Strafe (TF 2010) |Strafe]] of the 2010 toyline.

::*''[http://tfu.info/2010/Decepticon/Mindwipe/mindwipe.htm More information on Mindwipe at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

==Footnotes==
<references/>

[[Category:Cyber Missions characters]]
[[Category:Dark of the Moon Decepticons]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen Decepticons]]

Blaster (G1)

2012-04-03T22:16:13Z

Shockwave 75: /* Transformers in 3-D */

{{factions|autobot}}
{{disambig3|Blaster}}
{{suite}}
{{featured}}
:''Blaster is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''
[[Image:SDCCBlasterBoxArt.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"What it is, big mama? My mama ain't raise no dummies, I dug her rap!"]]
'''[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]''' loves all Earth music, especially good, hard, LOUD rock 'n' roll. He can be found at the forefront of any situation in which he's involved, be it getting down and truly hopping to town, or kicking butt and taking names—both of which he does well, and both of which have led him into conflict with authority at times. Blaster marches to his own beat, whether it's a pounding bassline or pounding Decepticon skulls, and he's not shy when it comes to sharing his feelings about either! He maintains a shared enmity Decepticon counterpart [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]], with whom he shares his powers over all forms of sound, and is often backed up by a team of his own [[Autobot Mini-Cassette]]s to match Soundwave's mini-minions of the battlefield.

{{note|Blaster's personality varied significantly across different media; see entries below for details.}}

==Fiction==
===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
{{main|Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity}}
[[Image:AutoBop blaster speakers.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Beware my tweeters of doom!!]]
Blaster was a fun-loving, hip and happening robot. Loud and energetic, he was quick to immerse himself in Earth culture, and was happy to share his choice of rockin' tunes with anyone, whether they really wanted to hear them or not—a trait that got him in trouble as often as it saved him and his Autobot allies. Developing a rivalry with his Decepticon opposite number Soundwave Blaster gained a cassette army of his own so he could fight Soundwave on equal footing, and he and little buddies were instrumental in ensuring reinforcements arrived in time to save [[Autobot City]] when it was besieged in 2005. Following this, Blaster was assigned command of the city, where his jive-talking jingles and jams saw the Autobots through crises like the attack of [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]. Blaster's duties also took him to a variety of battlefields that were stranger than many other Transformers would experience, including millions of years into the past, into another dimension ruled by magic, and—a particular favorite of his—the musical planet of [[Eurythma]].

In some timelines which spin off from this one, Blaster joined the [[Interplanetary Personnel Exchange Program]] under the new name '''Broadblast''' (ブロードブラスト ''Burōdoburasuto''), and after perishing in a one-on-one battle with Soundwave, was reconstructed by the super-science of the planet [[Master (planet)|Master]] as '''Twincast''' (ツインキャスト ''Tsuinkyasuto'').
{{-}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Marvel Generation 1 comics====
{{noteukonly}}
[[Image:BlasterUS17.jpg|right|250px|thumb|More than likely, he'll kill you. Yeah, you. You know who you are.]]
Blaster was a rather grim, brooding, rebellious loner who hated Decepticons with a passion, whose reputation as one of the best fighters the [[Autobot]]s had was blemished by his vocal problems with authority figures. Part of [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]]'s [[Cybertron Seven|Autobot resistance cell]] on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], he often disagreed with his superior's orders, especially after his friend [[Scrounge (G1)|Scrounge]] failed to make a rendezvous with him in the [[Dead End (place)|Dead End]], and Blaster wanted to hunt for him. Although his fellow freedom fighters rallied behind him at first, the discovery that Scrounge had been taken to the Decepticon stronghold in [[Polyhex]] changed their minds, and Blaster went in alone. Captured by the forces of [[Straxus (G1)|Lord Straxus]], Blaster was sentenced to the [[smelting pool]], where he discovered the half-melted Scrounge, who clung to life long enough to pass on to Blaster the data he had obtained, so that this death would not be in vain. Blaster was then saved from the pit by his comrades, and he claimed revenge for Scrounge by ripping out the pipes that fed the pool and blasting their Decepticon pursuers with molten slag.

[[Image:MarvelUS18 blaster cyb altmode.jpg|left|thumb|225px|And you thought the 1980s cellphones were huge.]]
Scrounge's information brought new hope to the Autobot resistance, as it revealed that [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] and the Autobots on the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] were still alive and well after four million years, fighting on a planet called Earth. {{storylink|The Smelting Pool!}} The Decepticons set about building a [[space bridge]] to this planet, and Blaster spied on the tests in his alternate mode, gathering the information they need to launch an attack. Blaster personally battled Straxus on the bridge, tricking the Decepticon leader into damaging the portal before kicking him through it and apparently destroying him. Blaster and the rest of his Autobot allies were trapped on the Earth side of the bridge as it faded out. {{storylink|The Bridge to Nowhere!}}

Blaster and his men were attacked by the government anti-robot task force [[Rapid Anti-robot Assault Team|RAAT]] and its super-powered agent [[Circuit Breaker]] almost immediately upon arrival, and were captured and disassembled, their heads mounted on the wall of RAAT headquarters. {{storylink|Heavy Traffic!}} To deal with the threat of the [[Battlecharger]]s, Blaster and the Autobots agreed to allow Circuit Breaker to jury-rig their bodies together into a giant exo-suit she would use to take the two Decepticons down, in exchange for their being rebuilt and released. {{storylink|Decepticon Graffiti!}}

[[Image:FallenAngel blaster sonics galvatron.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Yeah, that's real good, Blaster, you keep doing that.]]

''Blaster's team followed their fellow RAAT captive [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] him back to the Ark, but along the way, their guide vanished, displaced to [[Limbo]] by the appearance of the future Decepticon, [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. Unwisely deciding to engage the Decepticon, Blaster tried hitting him with a blast of sonics, which sundered Galvatron's tenuous hold on sanity and only made him even more dangerous. Fortunately, the arrival of the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] saved him, and he decided to try the tactic again while Galvatron was distracted. It ''almost'' worked this time, but Galvatron hurled a discarded sword in Blaster's direction, and he was only rescued from impalement by [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]]. Blaster was soon knocked unconscious, and didn't witness Galvatron being driven off by the present-day Decepticons.'' {{storylink|Fallen Angel}} ''Blaster's team continued on their way to the Ark, and arrived just as the Autobots were preparing to hold a funeral for Optimus Prime. Blaster quietly questioned their decision to bury Prime rather than fire his body into space, but it proved a moot point when the Autobot leader turned out to not actually be dead, returning in the midst of the ceremony.'' {{storylink|Resurrection!}}

[[Image:JoeandTF4 blaster omega and the rest.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Turn down that blasted music! THIS I COMMAND!!!]]

When Optimus Prime died for real soon after, Blaster got on the comm to pass the grim news on to [[Superion (G1)|Superion]], ordering him to break off his present engagement with the anti-terrorist team [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] and return to the Ark. {{storylink|Power Struggle}} After watching as [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] tried and failed to rebuild the Autobot leader, Blaster attended Prime's funeral, where his body was sent into space on a funeral bier. {{storylink|Funeral for a Friend!}} Blaster gave a speech to mark Prime's passing, {{storylink|Ashes, Ashes...}} then returned to the Ark with the Auotbots, only to be attacked attacked by the ship's own defense systems, co-opted by the human criminal, the [[Mechanic (G1)|Mechanic]]. Perceptor had to stop Blaster from damaging the ship until the situation could be brought under control. {{storylink|Funeral for a Friend!}} No sooner had ''that'' been dealt with than Blaster detected a fleet of human aircraft heading for the Ark, which the Autobots proceeded to intercept on the assumption of hostile intent. After a brief battle, the human revealed themselves to agents of [[Cobra]], who requested the Autobots' help in stopping the Decepticons from destroying the planet using [[Power Station Alpha]]. {{storylink|Ashes, Ashes...}} Suspecting the highly-advanced Alpha could potentially be a sentient technological lifeform, Blaster opposed destroying it outright, and remained at the Ark to co-ordinate a combined Autobot/G.I. Joe/Cobra attack on the Decepticons to free Alpha from their control. The Joes and Cobra surreptitiously had Alpha destroyed to remove its threat, infuriating Blaster and leading him to wonder if ''any'' humans could be trusted. {{storylink|...All Fall Down!}}

[[Image:MarvelUS28 blaster cops.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]]

Turning to the matter of finding a new leader of the Autobots, Blaster and several other high-ranking Autobots were in the process of a holding a vote when the massive Decepticon battle station Trypticon attacked, and Blaster was shot down when he attempted to rush the giant. Dinobot leader [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] proceeded to secure victory over Trypticon, convincing Blaster and the other Autobots to appoint him the Autobots' new commander. {{storylink|King of the Hill!}} Unfortunately, Grimlock soon gave Blaster cause to regret his decision with increasingly hostile leadership methods and a callous disregard for human safety. Paired with [[Bumblebee (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Goldbug]], whose more naturally upbeat personality provided the Boy Wonder to his Batman, Blaster was charged with locating the Mechanic, but disobeyed orders and entered into alliance with some local human law enforcement to prevent the officers from being killed by the advanced Cybertronian weapons the criminal had stolen from the Ark. Playing the fool, Detective [[Greco]] carried Blaster into the Mechanic's hideout in tape-deck mode, where the Autobot used his electro scrambler to disable all the villain's weapons. Alas, the Mechanic escaped, and, realizing that Grimlock would not tolerate the news of their failure and their human alliances, Blaster and Goldbug elected to go AWOL. {{storylink|Mechanical Difficulties!}}

[[Image:MarvelUS30 blaster and goldbug.jpg|left|300px|thumb|"MY PARENTS ARE DEEEEAD!"]]

Rather than lay low, Blaster and Goldbug decided to take their fight to the Decepticons, and quickly tracked down the Autobots' human ally [[G.B. Blackrock]] in hope that he could provide them with both fuel and some hot tips on current 'Con activity. Following Blackrock's info, the two Autobots found the Decepticon [[Triple Changer]]s, but Blaster took on all three of the villains at once, he discovered they were ravaged with [[Scraplet]]s, which soon infected him as well. Goldbug withdrew to seek a cure, but Blaster believed he had left him to die and swore vengeance against the little 'bot. {{storylink|Crater Critters}} Hooking up with the [[Throttlebot]]s and human scientist [[Charlie Fong]], Goldbug discovered that water could destroy the Scraplets, and surprised Blaster by returning to save him. Blaster refused to allow himself to be cured if it meant that the Decepticons would live as well, but when the Scraplets merged into a giant, Goldbug had no choice, and sprayed them all. A cured but furious Blaster smashed the water tank over the Scraplet-monster, killing it, then calmed down enough to apologize to Goldbug for doubting him. {{storylink|The Cure!}}

[[Image:MarvelUS32 blaster arrested.jpg|right|250px|thumb]]

''Taking some time out of their life on the road to watch human television, Blaster, Goldbug and the Throttlebots happened upon a news report about the discovery of [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and Galvatron, entombed in lava within the the volcano, [[Mount Verona]]. Discovering that Soundwave and the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] were going to blow up the mountain to destroy them both, Blaster used his sonic powers to block Soundwave's detonation signal, preventing the bombs the Combaticons placed from going off.'' {{storylink|Ladies' Night (issue)|Ladies' Night}} Once they had evaded the pursuing Combaticons, Blaster and company found themselves in a scuffle with RAAT in [[California]], and hid out in [[Big Steve Ludwig (G1)|Big Steve Ludwig]]'s used car lot. Unfortunately, their battle made the evening news and finally alerted Grimlock to their AWOL status, prompting him to brand them traitors and send the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] to hunt them down. The car lot quickly turned into a three-way battleground between the Combaticons, Protectobots and RAAT, and despite Blaster's help in the battle, the Protectobots surrounded and apprehended him at the fight's end. {{storylink|Used Autobots}}

[[Image:Blasterbeourleaderplease.jpg|left|300px|thumb|"BLASTER, BE OUR LEADER, PLEAAAASE???"]]

Trapped in tape deck mode by a [[mode lock]], Blaster was helpless to aid the Protectobots when the Combaticons returned, but with the aid of four [[Spacehikers|human children]], he was freed and took [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] down by collapsing a pylon on him. Realizing that Blaster was far nobler than Grimlock, [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] allowed him to go free, and Blaster rewarded the children for their help by taking them on a trip into space aboard the mode-locked [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]]. {{storylink|Child's Play (issue)|Child's Play}} Unfortunately, they were accosted in mid-flight by the now-airborne Ark, but the humans tossed Blaster out an airlock so he could avoid capture by Grimlock's forces. While Grimlock was occupied trying to stop [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] from interfering in his attempted execution of the kids, Blaster rode a telecommunications satellite back to the Ark, where he his fellow Autobots, all sick of Grimlock's leadership, begged him to take over as leader. However, he was forced to surrender to his former commander in order to secure the kids' safety. {{storylink|Spacehikers!}}

[[Image:MarvelUS41 blaster vs grimlock.jpg|right|300px|thumb]]

Imprisoned by Grimlock, Blaster was strapped to a [[variable voltage harness]] for some time as punishment for his desertion and disobedience. When [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] and his Autobots arrived and Grimlock challenged him to a duel, Goldbug talked Blaster into taking the injured Fortress Maximus's place to get even with Grimlock once and for all. They proceeded to battle on the surface of Earth's [[moon (moon)|moon]], but their duel was interrupted by a Decepticon attack, and Blaster pointed out that their feud had put all Autobots in danger. Grimlock agreed to call their duel a draw and declared a truce with Blaster as they fended off the Decepticons side by side. {{storylink|Totaled!}}

With Optimus Prime's subsequent return both to life and to command of the Autobots, the faction's in-fighting issues ceased and more important matters could be dealt with—namely, rescuing their human ally [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]] from the Decepticons' baffling new [[Club Con|desert island resort]]. [[Image:MarvelUS50 blaster dies.jpg|left|275px|thumb]] Tasked with investigating, Blaster was loaded into a capsule in tape deck mode and dropped from the orbiting Ark into the Witwicky family garden, where he asked Buster's girlfriend [[Jesse (G1)|Jesse]] to sneak him into "Club Con". The pair were able to steal a pair of captive Autobot cassettes—[[Grand Slam (G1)|Grand Slam]] and [[Raindance]]—from the Decepticons, but this aroused the ire of the [[Seacon (G1)|Seacons]], and Blaster, unable to battle them effectively due to the human holidaymakers occupying the island, was forced to ditch the tapes in the ocean to break off the fight. Although forced to withdraw without Buster, Blaster and Jessie ''had'' learned something important: the tapes held data on a mysterious Cybertronian object heading for Earth. {{storylink|Club Con!}} ''The eruption of the "Time Wars" briefly tabled this mystery, but Blaster had no real role in that conflict, as he, Optimus Prime, and several other Autobots were temporarily displaced into Limbo to make room for a team of Autobots arriving from the future.'' {{storylink|Time Wars}} [[Image:Marvel77-Blaster.jpg|right|150px|thumb|He used to be badass, now he's just a poor man's Perceptor...]] Soon after, the approaching object was revealed to be the Cybertronian database known as the [[Underbase]], the power of which was stolen by Starscream. Blaster joined [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] in co-ordinating a battalion of Autobots and Decepticons in defense of [[New York City]] against Starscream's worldwide rampage, and was the last to fall, shot dead atop the Brooklyn Bridge, like all those who attempted to stand against the cosmically-powered villain. {{storylink|Dark Star}}

Blaster's body was put into storage on the Ark, defying all of Ratchet's attempts to repair it, to the extent that the medic started to have nightmares about him and various other deactivated Autobots reviving as [[zombie]]s to kill him for his failures. {{storylink|Back from the Dead}} A few years later, Grimlock succeeded where Ratchet had failed by using the miracle fuel [[Nucleon]] to revive the damaged Autobots, with Blaster being one of the first back on his feet. Arriving on Cybertron in the nick of time aboard the ''Ark'', Blaster took part in and survived the battle with [[Unicron]]. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}} In the aftermath, [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] had Blaster run a check on the strange seismic activity Cybertron was suffering from, with disastrous results: It turned out Cybertron was tearing itself apart without the binding life-force of [[Primus]] to sustain it. {{storylink|Exodus!}}

[[Image:EndOfTheRoad-finalfive.jpg|left|thumb|Guess how many of these guys had Action Master toys on the shelves when this came out.]]
The Decepticons fled Cybertron, leaving the Autobots to die with their homeworld, but thanks to Grimlock planning ahead, the Autobots managed to follow them to the planet [[Klo]], only to be caught in an ambush upon arrival. Blaster took a blast in the shoulder from [[Quake (G1)|Quake]] during the fight, but was one of the few who managed to survive the attack, and there was still more than enough fight left in him to join Grimlock and the other survivors in charging the Decepticon position. He was last seen shooting the head off of [[Snapdragon (G1)|Snapdragon]]. [[Krunk|Uh oh.]] {{storylink|End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!}}

In an alternate version of 2006, Blaster went with a group of Autobots to [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]] to investigate strange happenings there. When they arrived they discovered a chaotic scene where aliens from many worlds, including the Decepticons, had arrived and were all engaged in a deadly battle with one another. Blaster detected a signal he suspected was putting all the combatants under hypnosis. He and Ultra Magnus came up with a plan where [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] would fly Blaster into the air where Blaster would then broadcast soothing music. The plan succeeded in calming the combatants. {{storylink|The Big Broadcast of 2006 (issue)|The Big Broadcast of 2006 (US)}}

{{note|In the UK version of the story, the events of "The Big Broadcast of 2006" are a fabrication invented by [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]].}}

=====Marvel UK future timelines=====
[[Image:SpacePirates blaster strung up.jpg|right|thumb|Help! He's touching my special area!]]
In the future of 2008, Blaster was present at Autobot City when the [[Quintesson]] [[Trident Attack Craft|Trident]] ships attacked. He attempted to transform Autobot City himself, but was stopped cold by General [[Ghyrik]]. He was deactivated in the battle that followed and his body strung up on the outer parapets as a warning to any Autobots who came to liberate the city. Although Blaster was inactive, his cassettes were not, and this fact gave [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] an edge when they began battling their way through the Quintesson occupants. {{storylink|Space Pirates!}}

Blaster was seen briefly in 2009 at the start of the Time Wars, but did not end up joining Rodimus Prime on his mission into the past (see above). {{storylink|Time Wars}} After Galvatron was destroyed back in 1989 and the time line rebooted itself, Blaster was still among the Autobots stationed at Autobot City. He responded to [[Kup (G1)|Kup]]'s emergency signal when the Autobots crash landed on Earth after a crazed Rodimus Prime turned against them, and helped drive the evil possessing presence out of their leader. {{storylink|White Fire}}
{{-}}

=====Another Time & Place=====
[[Image:Another Time Place Fangry.jpg|thumb|left|That's his hand on the left!]]
Blaster was part of the rescue unit who infiltrated [[Hydrus Four]] to defeat the Decepticons and rescue the Dinobots. He personally helped disarm and defeat [[Fangry]]. {{storylink|Another Time & Place}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers in 3-D''===
[[Image:WarAgainstDestructions blaster plays.jpg|right|thumb|That's right kids, this is what 3D used to look like.]]
When Hot Rod and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] returned from [[Tau-Ursa]] with a strange recording, Blaster was able to play it. The recording revealed the existence of the [[Destructon]]s, [[Logicon]]s, and the location of [[Metascan Alpha]], the Logicons' storehouse of [[Energon]]. At Optimus Prime's command, Blaster contacted Ultra Magnus at Metroplex on Earth to pass the information along. {{storylink|The War Against the Destructons, Chapter 1 of 3}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation 1'' comics===
[[Image:AgeofWrath2 AutobotResistance.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Steeljaw was in the bathroom.]]
Around 6.5 million years ago, Blaster was one of the high-ranking Autobots who helped Ultra Magnus reunify their fractured faction at the end of the [[Dark Ages]], suggesting that he may have been in charge of one of the various splinter groups that formed during those troubled times. Over the next half-a-million years, the reunited Autobots worked to usher in a new Golden Age, and were finally poised to sign a peace treaty with the Decepticons and [[Ultracon]]s until the long-missing Megatron returned to Cybertron, launching an attack in the middle of the treaty ceremony with his new [[Air Warrior|Aerospace Extermination Squadron]]. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath}} With this new army, Megatron ushered in an [[Age of Internment]], capturing nearly the entire Autobot army and putting them to work as slaves, extracting the very core of Cybertron itself. Blaster managed to evade capture, however, and together with Perceptor, assembled a small rebel cell hiding out in the subterranean chambers of [[Iacon Command]]. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath Pt.2}}

Seeking to capture one of Megatron's drones in order to learn more about Megatron's new [[Cloning|clone technology]], Blaster oversaw his unit on the mission from a distance, using his abilities to jam any emergency transmissions while [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] and several other Autobots engaged the drone in battle long enough to attach an inhibitor claw, immobilizing it. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath Pt.3}}

{{note|Dreamwave's subsequent backruptcy ended ''The Age of Wrath'' half-way through. Unreleased issues would have seen Blaster and his team use an ancient map of Cybertron's depths to infiltrate Megatron's slave camp, only for them to be discovered by Megatron himself. Blaster battled Megatron one-on-one, managing to use his sonic powers to briefly gain the upper hand, before losing a leg to the Decepticon leader. The sudden return of Grimlock, believed to have died during Megatron's first attack, gave the wounded Blaster the chance he needed to free the Autobot prisoners by deactivating their [[inhibitor claw]]s. Perceptor, meanwhile, used the data gleaned from studying the captured drone to deactivate the neural network linking the entire squadron, ending the Age of Internment.}}

Blaster remained on Cybertron when the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] and the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'' left four million years ago, and eventually entered stasis along with the rest of the planet when it finally ran out of energy during the [[Great Shutdown]]. The planet was reawakened by Shockwave in roughly the Earth year 1000 BC, and the Autobots and Decepticons put aside their differences to begin rebuilding their world. [[Image:PassiveAggression Blaster lovesEarth.jpg|left|300px|thumb|]] Suspecting that Shockwave had more sinister motives, Blaster was one of the first Autobots to join an underground resistance movement against him, using his communications skills to discover a subliminal code being pumped through the public address screens around the planet that was aggravating the violent tendencies of the entire population. Despite his feelings for Shockwave, Blaster still developed a strong taste for information from the Earth culture Shockwave was introducing to Cybertron, and even modified his alternate mode into a Earthen boom box. {{storylink|Passive Aggression}}

In the year 2003, when Shockwave's forces brought Optimus Prime and the crew of the Ark back to Cybertron to be tried as war criminals, double agents inside the United Cybertronian force delivered Prime and his crew to Blaster and the others at their headquarters in the [[Wastelands]]. With the help of Cybertron's greatest hero, the resistance movement began an open insurrection against Shockwave's loyal Decepticon forces and the [[Guardian robot]]s under his control. Shockwave's regime fell, and the Autobots resumed command of Cybertron. {{storylink|Revelation (War and Peace)|Revelation}}

===''Transformers/G.I. Joe''===
[[Image:DividedFront1 bots found.jpg|right|thumb|Comfortable?]]
In the year 1985, Blaster and [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] hastily took off for [[Earth]] in an starship poorly-suited for interstellar travel. Upon arrival, they unsurprisingly crashed, landing in the forests of [[Oregon]] near [[Mount St. Hilary]]. Their deactivated bodies were found by the forces of [[Cobra]] and bundled up to be airlifted out, but a [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] team led by [[Flint (G.I. Joe)|Flint]] soon intervened. [[Blowtorch]] knocked the chopper carrying their bodies out of the air with this flamethrower, and [[Barbecue]] extinguished the flames before the two Autobots could be consumed by the blaze. Blaster and Perceptor's bodies were then taken back to G.I. Joe headquarters. {{storylink|Targets of Opportunity}}
{{note|Dreamwave's bankruptcy meant this story was never finished.}}
{{--}}

===''Hearts of Steel''===
[[Image:HeartsofSteel blaster.jpg|left|thumb|No, no, don't get up.]]
Blaster and his fellow Autobots fought the Decepticons on Earth in the distant past until an incoming ice age threatened to deactivate all the Transformers. Both sides went into hiding underground until the danger had passed, remaining in stasis until the mid-19th century. When they woke up, the war against the Decepticons started anew, though Blaster was not seen getting involved. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 1|Heart of Steel #1}}
{{-}}
===IDW Generation 1 comics===

[[Image:SpotlightBlaster the voice.jpg|right|300px|thumb|]]

Before the war, Blaster was a reporter for the [[Iaconian Newsfeed Service]], and reported live from the [[Nova Plaza]] after an assassination attempt on [[Nominus Prime]]. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}} After the outbreak of the war, Blaster joined the Autobots, and initially served as a soldier who was present at a victory celebration after the Autobots halted a major Decepticon energon convoy four million years ago. {{storylink|The Iron Age}} Eventually, however, he returned to his broadcasting roots and became a patriotic radio personality, broadcasting propaganda across the galaxy to rally the Autobot forces as they struggled on the war's many battlefronts. Known as "The Voice" for his widespread positive influence, Blaster became the target of a Decepticon assassination attempt, time to prevent him from making an important broadcast on the eve of a major Autobot offensive. Although the assassin failed, Blaster's wounded body was ejected into space, and he was believed dead by his faction.

[[Image:SpotlightBlaster altmode.jpg|left|thumb|150px]]

Some time later, Blaster was found by a passing [[Yar|trawler]] and delivered home, where it was revealed that he had to have been attacked by an Autobot. In an effort to flush the traitor out, Blaster went back on the air. The attempt worked, and his would-be killer was revealed: [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]], forced into the act by a mind-controlling [[cerebro-shell]] implanted by [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] at the direction of Soundwave. However, he was able to resist when Blaster used his greatest weapon: his voice. As a damaged Beachcomber was brought in for repairs, Blaster swore he'd find Soundwave and that the last thing he'd ever hear would be... the Voice. {{storylink|Spotlight: Blaster}}

[[Image:AHM15 blaster and kup.jpg|right|thumb]]

In the year that followed the defeat of [[Nova Prime]], Blaster was among the Autobots captured by the Decepticon [[Turmoil]], but was soon rescued by a team led by Kup. All the other prisoners were members of the [[Wrecker]]s, suggesting Blaster may have joined the team at some point. {{storylink|Spotlight: Drift}} Blaster remained with Kup's team, and was serving as the communications officer for his ship, the ''[[Trion]]'', when a simultaneous galaxy-wide uprising was staged by the Decepticons. Distress signals came pouring in, but all went silent in short order, save for one from Hot Rod, so the crew of the ''Trion'' went to save the turbo-revvin' young punk from [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] and [[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]]. The day was saved by Perceptor, although Blaster disapproved of the scientist's transformation into a warrior, saying he had "defiled himself". {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 15|Lost & Found}}

Blaster and the others harried the Decepticon fleet until they were baited into an ambush above Cybertron. There, the ship was shot down and forced to crash-land on the assumed uninhabitable world. Banding together to survive, they eventually encountered Optimus Prime's unit, only to find him incapacitated, the Matrix having been seized by [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}} Blaster mingled with the other Autobots for a while, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} before warning Kup about an incoming [[Insecticon swarm|swarm]] attack that forced them to relocate. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}} With morale still dwindling, Blaster attempted to put his famous voice to work by trying to break up a fight between Hot Rod and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] by injecting some reason, but was interrupted by [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] telling them they all deserved to die. [[Image:AHM9 blaster breaks up argument.jpg|left|thumb]] {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 9|All Hail Megatron #9}} The Autobots were eventually saved when [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] decimated the swarm and carried them all to Earth, where they attacked Megatron and his troops. Blaster was ordered to block the Decepticons' communications, allowing the arrival of Omega Supreme to take them completely by surprise. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 11|All Hail Megatron #11}} He survived the great battle. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}

Blaster remained on Earth with the other Autobots for the next three years, as they regathered their forces. [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]] radioed in to Blaster when [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] got himself nabbed by [[Skywatch]], an event which led to the death of [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and the resignation of Optimus Prime. {{storylink|...For All Mankind}} Autobot leadership was split between Bumblebee and Hot Rod, and Blaster stayed with Bumblebee's group, which went on to form an alliance with [[Gordon Horiuchi]] of Skywatch. Blaster was among the Autobots who captured [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] and other Decepticons for their new allies. {{storylink|The Hanging Sword}} Unfortunately, Horiuchi betrayed the Autobots and forced them to hunt one of their own kind, [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]]. Bumblebee managed to get free from Horiuchi's control, and so Blaster and the others stayed behind to cover for him as he sought a solution for their problems. {{storylink|The Impossible Knot}} They pretended to be making plans to hunt down Hot Rod while Bumblebee recovered the control tech Skywatch was using to keep them in line. {{storylink|The Gift Horse}} Bumblebee was successful, and Blaster was later present when Bumblebee unveiled his new, more powerful form, to better serve as Autobot leader. {{storylink|Wings of Wax}}

Blaster was one of the Autobots who joined the crew of the ''[[Lost Light]]'' in search of the mythical [[Knights of Cybertron]]. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}}
{{--}}

==Games==
===''Transformers G1: Awakening''===
[[Image:Gluawakening blaster.jpg|right|thumb]]
{{storylink|Transformers G1: Awakening}}
<div style="float: left">{{charstubfiction}}</div><div style="clear: left"></div>
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===

* '''Blaster''' (Autobot, 1985/1986)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''38'''
**''Accessories:'' [[Electro-scrambler|Electro-scrambler gun]]
[[Image:G1 Blaster toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"Still think you're so superior, Soundwave?"]]
: Rather huge by the typical standards of Generation 1 Transformers, Blaster transforms into a miniature "ghetto blaster" boombox. He features spring-loaded buttons: when pressed, his "start" button stays in the depressed position until his "stop" button is pressed, while pressing the "eject" button pops open his tape door, which can store a single [[Mini-Cassette]] Transformer. Due to what was presumably a common internal misassembly issue, many original Blasters had doors which would not open when the eject button is pressed, nor would the other buttons work. Blaster has rather limited useful articulation, located in his neck and shoulders.

: Blaster began life as the ''[[Micro Change]]'' "Radi-Casse Robo" ("radio-cassette", you see), which was actually a functional AM radio. Though this feature was gutted from Blaster when he was released as part of the ''Transformers'' toyline, the original toy's power switch (on his right leg), earphone jack (on the back of his left leg) and tuning dial (on his chest) still remain, now as a moulded, non-moving detail. Even the toy's electro-scrambler gun is designed to serve as storage for the set of earphones which came with the toy, with the plug inserting into the stock, the cord winding around it, and the earphones themselves tucking into the hole in the gun's main body. It was not the toy itself which was the radio; rather, the radio was a small "micro-cassette" which plugged into the toy's internal wiring when inserted into its chest, allowing it to play through the speakers in its legs in either mode. As the electronic equipment in the chest meant that the figure could not hold normal ''Micro Change'' cassettes there, it featured a compartment on its back which could hold a single tape instead. This compartment could still be found on some early releases of Blaster, though it was a often mistaken by fans as a vestigial battery compartment, which was actually originally located in the toy's right leg.

: Blaster was reissued by Takara in 2006 as part of ''[[#TFC|The Transformers Collection]]'' and then by Hasbro in 2010 during ''[[#Hasbroreissue|Universe]]'' (see below)
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1985/Autobot/Blaster/blaster.htm More information on Blaster at TFU.info]''

{{-}}
[[Image:G1toy_twincast.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
* '''Twincast''' (Autobot, 1987)
**''ID number:'' '''C-116'''
**''Accessories:'' [[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]], Electro-Scrambler Gun

: For this Japanese-exclusive release, the first Blaster toy was [[redeco]]ed into a rather cacophonous new blue, yellow and red color scheme. Like his contemporary redeco Soundblaster, his chest door was [[Retool|retooled]] in order to accommodate two cassettes at once, and changed from colorless clear plastic to translucent red as part of a gimmick with his pack-in partner, Steeljaw. This version of Steeljaw sports a new decal depicting [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], which reveals the Decepticon's weak spot when placed behind Twincast's red door, working in the same manner as a [[Tech Spec]]s decoder.

: Twincast was reissued as an [[e-HOBBY]] [[exclusive]] in 2006 (see below)
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1987/Cybertron/Twincast/twincast.htm More information on Twincast at TFU.info]''

{{-}}
[[Image:ActionMasterBlaster toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Which gun is better?]]
*'''Blaster w/ Flight Pack''' (Action Master, 1990)
**''Accessories:'' "Flight Pack" backpack, "tractor beam electron gun"

: A non-transforming action figure, [[Action Master]] Blaster (not to be confused with the "Action Master Blasters" price-point) is compatible with any other Action Master vehicle or accessory. His design is based largely on his cartoon model, with elements from the toy added (like his visor). He came with the "[[Flight Pack]]" accessory, which converts from a winged jetpack to a massive "electro-scrambler" cannon.
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1990/Autobot/Blaster/blaster.htm More information on Action Master Blaster at TFU.info]''

{{-}}

===Binaltech Asterisk===
[[Image:Bta broadblast.jpg|right|300px|thumb|They see me rollin', they hatin'.]]
*'''Broadblast meets Lumina''' (Binaltech, 2005)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''BTA03'''
**''Accessories:'' Engine/gun, Lumina Hoshi with stand, driving arms and driving legs

: A redeco of ''[[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]]'' [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], Broadblast transforms into a 1:24 scale [[wikipedia:Scion_xB|Toyota bB, aka the Scion xB]]. He has working doors, hood, and trunk, plus his engine becomes a non-firing weapon. He also comes with an extra decal sheet, which includes signs for "TBN" which ''possibly'' stands for "Transformers Broadcast Network" or some such; there is Japanese text on the labels as well, but it's really tiny and hard to make out.

: He came with a PVC-plastic figurine of the [[human]] newsgirl [[Lumina Hoshi]].
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2005/Cybertron/Broadblast/broadblast.htm More information on Binaltech Asterisk Blaster at TFU.info]''
{{-}}
===The Transformers Collection===

[[Image:G1toy TFC blaster.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]

*'''Broadcast''' (reissue, 2006)
**''ID number:'' '''21'''
**''Accessories:'' Steeljaw, Electro-scrambler gun, cassette case

:Blaster's first reissue was the final instalment in Takara's ''[[The Transformers Collection]]'' line of re-released Generation 1 toys. He features no notable changes from his original release, save for the fact that he comes packaged with Steeljaw, where his original release had gone without any pack-in partners.
{{-}}

===Collector's Edition===
[[Image:G1toy twincast reissue.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]

*'''Twincast''' (2006)
**''ID number:'' '''C-116'''
**''Accessories:'' [[Flip Sides (G1)|Flip Sides]], Electro-scrambler gun, cassette case

:Twincast's first reissue was available exclusively through online retailer e-HOBBY, designed, as most e-HOBBY exclusives were at the time, to accompany the mass-release of the standard reissue of the original Blaster. Though Twincast was unusual in that he was a pre-existing character, where the previous few years' worth of e-HOBBY exclusive redecos had been new characters, he did come packaged with a new partner: a redeco of the Eject/Rewind mold named [[Flip Sides (G1)|Flip Sides]]. At the time, rather than feature unique packaging, all e-HOBBY exclusives came in a generic box in Autobot red or Decepticon purple; oddly, Twincast came in a Decepticon box, but since Flip Sides was characterized as a Decepticon sleeper agent, it just about made sense.
{{-}}

===Universe (2008)===
[[Image:Blasteruniversetoy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Preparations for the military strike, dubbed Operation Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication Storm, are already underway.]]
*'''Autobot Blaster with Blockrock Mini-Con!''' (Voyager, 2008)
**''Series:'' Classics Series
**''Accessories:'' Tri-barrel "particle feedback blaster"/bomb, double-barrel "harmonic wave cannon"/bomb, Cybertron Autobot Cyber Key

: Blaster is a redeco of ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' [[Soundwave (Cybertron)|Soundwave]], transforming into a Cybertronic stealth bomber vaguely like an [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes|F-117A Nighthawk prototype]], the [[Wikipedia:Have_Blue|Have Blue]]. He comes with three hexagonal prism "bombs"; one converts into his partner [[Blockrock]], the other two unfold into non-firing blaster weapons. Any one of these "bombs" can be stored in his robot-mode chest, which opens by plugging a [[Cyber Planet Key]] into him; Blaster comes translucent black, gunmetal-bordered [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]-style Autobot key, in contrast to the [[Planet X (Cybertron)|Planet X]] key that came with Soundwave. The other two bombs store in indents on the underside of his wings.

: His packaging art shows him with only half of his chest-door as clear-blue, emulating the original toy design's tape-window, but the final product (and stock photography) show the blue all the way across. However, his visor ''does'' have red paint to simulate the "goggle visor" look of the [[#Generation 1|original toy]] and Marvel comics model.

: This mold was also used to make ''Galaxy Force'' [[Soundblaster (Cybertron)|Soundblaster]].
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/TFUBlaster/blaster.htm More information on Classics Blaster at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|Hasbroreissue}}
[[Image:Universe2008_SDCC_G1Blaster.jpg|thumb|300px|]]
*'''Autobot Blaster''' (2010)
**''Series:'' G1 Series
**''Accessories:'' Electro-Scrambler Gun
:This San Diego Comic-Con [[exclusive]] reissue of Blaster comes with [[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]], [[Ramhorn (G1)|Ramhorn]] and [[Eject]]. Released as part of the [[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|''Universe'' (2008) toyline]], the packaging also has a special foil-detailed outer slip case. Blaster is technically a slight [[redeco]], having metal-flake beige legs instead of metallic-swirl silver.

:This set was also made available at the Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong Fair 2010, and was later released on the [[Hasbro Toy Shop]] and then also sold at FanExpo Canada 2010.
{{-}}

===Device Label===
[[Image:Device_Label_Broadcast.jpg|thumb|right|300px|What, not a real notebook?! You are the REAL ''Decept''icon!!]]
*'''Broad Blast''' ([[July 24|7/24]]/2010)
**''Accessories:'' USB cable

:''[[Transformers Device Label|Device Label]]'' Broad Blast transforms into a working USB hub (designed to look like the Toshiba Qosmio laptop computer). The USB functionality works in both robot and laptop modes. Generation 1 Mini-Cassettes can fit into the false tape-deck in his chest in robot mode, but cannot be stored while Broad Blast is in laptop mode due to his head being inside his chest in this form. The Generation 1 Blaster toy's Electro-Scrambler Gun can also fit into Broad Blast's [[5mm post|compatible fist holes]].

:Originally scheduled for release in late [[2009]], Broad Blast was delayed until July 2010. According to a report from getnews.jp at the Tokyo Toy Show 2010, the delay was due to the discovery of a connection cut-off problem after the toy/USB hub is transformed into robot mode. TakaraTomy redesigned the entire lower body to fix this problem. <ref>[http://getnews.jp/archives/68064 Get News.jp report on Device Label Broadblast]</ref>
{{--}}

===Encore===
[[Image:Encoretoy-Twincast.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]
*'''Twincast''' (2012)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''22'''
**''Accessories:'' [[Nightstalker]], [[Stripes]], [[electro-scrambler]], two mini-cassette cases

:Twincast was available again as part of TakaraTomy's ''[[Transformers Encore]]'' series of reissues. For this release of Twincast, the techno detailing of his door is smoothed over for cartoon accuracy. Also to add to cartoon accuracy, his face is colored in a metallic yellow with metallic light blue eyes instead of silver with gold eyes. All of the original Twincast's stickers have been replaced with tampographed detailing for this release, including a large Autobot symbol on his chest (where the techno detail was present on previous releases). Twincast also features a darker blue from the previous releases as well as a different shade of yellow for his tape deck door.

:Twincast came with Nightstalker and Stripes.
{{--}}

==Merchandise==
===Transformers Gum===
[[Image:TFgum blaster.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
*'''Broadcast''' (model kit, 1986)
**''Accessories:'' Electro-scrambler gun

:A snap-together model kit of Blaster was released by [[Kabaya]] as part of their ''[[Transformers Gum]]'' line of candy toys. Released in the third wave of the line and sculpted from red, grey and black plastic with a few stickers for detail, Blaster is broadly identical to his larger figure, right down to the moulded-in left-over details from his ''MicroChange'' release like his power switch and dials . There is one major difference: his chest does not open, so he can't store any of the tapes from Kabaya's smaller ''[[Transformers Choco]]'' line the way the ''Transformers Gum'' Soundwave can.

::*''[http://www.tfw2005.com/resources/g1-kabaya-cybertrons-441/broadcast-gum-3398/ More information on Transformers Gum Broadcast at TFW2005.com]''
{{-}}

===Decoy===
[[Image:Decoy_blaster.jpg|right|thumb|]]{{anchor|TakaraDecoy}}
* '''Cybertron Hero Collection 22''' (multi-pack, 1986)
:Blaster was among the many characters rendered by [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] as part of their series of 1.5" ''keshigomu'' figurines. Like all the Autobots in the series, Blaster was molded in soft red rubber, and featured a number sculpted into his back that was the sum total of his [[Tech Spec]]s, for use in the various games that could be played with the figurines.
:Blaster was available as part of a 22-piece box set of Autobot figures, in a variety of colours through "gachapon" capsule machines, and later, in a peach coloration randomly packed as part of various other box sets distributed by [[Seven]].

{{anchor|HasbroDecoy}}
*'''Blaster''' (Decoy, 1987)
**''Decoy number'': '''29'''
:The figurine was later brought over to [[Hasbro]] markets as part of the [[Decoy]] promotion, largely identical to the Japanese release except for the fact that the number on his back was replaced with a simple "checklist" number. Like all Autobot Decoys, he was a randomly-chosen pack-in available with the carded [[Throttlebot]]s, [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]], [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] and [[Technobot (G1)|Technobots]]

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1986/Autobot/Decoys/Blaster/blaster.htm More information on Decoy Blaster at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Attacktix===
[[Image:Blaster-atx.jpg|thumb|Have some NON-EXISTENCE, courtesy of FLAGGING SALES!]]
*'''Blaster''' (Booster, <strike>2007</strike>)

: Blaster was likely to have been one of several ''Transformers [[Attacktix]]'' Booster pieces, using a powerful spring-loaded "blaster" missile launcher attack. Though displayed as part of the ''Attacktix'' display at the ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' "Celebration IV" convention, he —and all the other pieces revealed at the show— were ultimately never released.

{{canceledattacktix}}

{{-}}
===Robot Heroes===
[[Image:Robotheroesblasterthrust.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Waiting futilely for Robot Heroes Scrounge.]]
*'''Blaster and Thrust''' (2008)

:Part of the third wave of ''Universe'' ''[[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]]'', "Generation 1 Series" Blaster comes packaged with [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]]. He has the standard shoulders-and-neck articulation. His headsculpt is more toy-based than cartoon-based, featuring his "goggles" (even though his eyes kind of pop out from them).

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/RHBlaster/blaster.htm More information on Robot Heroes Blaster at TFU.info]''

{{-}}

==Notes==
*Blaster had the preliminary names of '''Pulse'''<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/index.php?full=1&set_albumName=BotCon_2010_Sat_Panels&id=DSC05237&option=com_gallery&Itemid=4&include=view_photo.php Bob Budiansky's notes at BotCon 2010]</ref> and '''Blastbox'''.<ref>[[Production bible]] of [[The Transformers (cartoon)|the original cartoon]]</ref>
* Despite the fact that Blaster's finalized [[character model]]—used in the Generation 1 cartoon, the UK Marvel comics and ''[[G.I. Joe and the Transformers]]''—gives him a set of individual eyes, the Marvel issues drawn by [[Don Perlin]] and [[José Delbo]] base Blaster's head design on his toy, with a goggled visor. When the UK artists jumped to the American book late in its run, they continued to draw Blaster from his finalized model. [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] rationalized this discrepancy early on in the [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|letters page]] of [[Hunters|UK issue #118]] by explaining that Blaster's visor is retractable, and used to shield his especially delicate optical sensors from sunlight. Less explainable was [[Nelson Yomtov|Nel Yomtov]]'s color choice for the comic version of Blaster: a red forehead and yellow face, a combination never used on a toy or in the cartoon.
** [[IDW Publishing]] tried for a hybridized look, giving Blaster an odd-looking "nose-guard" that was promptly discarded from his design after his introductory [[Spotlight: Blaster|''Spotlight'' issue]].
[[Image:TFUK300 letterspage.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]
* In an odd quirk of design, Blaster's character model breaks the row of buttons on his abdomen up into three buttons in robot mode, but four in alternate mode. It's a product of the way his toy is made: it's got three separate button-chunks, like his robot mode model, but the centre chunk is two buttons sculpted together, so he's actually ''got'' four, like his alternate mode model. This was most evident in the cartoon; in the comic, as you can see from some of the pictures above, they'd often basically draw as many as they felt like.
* Blaster hosted the Marvel UK comic's letters page for the final 33 issues (from [[Rhythms of Darkness!|issue #300]] to [[End of the Road! (US)|issue #332]]), to tie in with his Action Master toy. Here, the letters page was dubbed "Darn 'n' Blast", replacing [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind's]] "Dread Tidings", despite Dreadwind's holing himself up in the Marvel offices. The Decepticon finally left after a visit by three Christmas spirits, [[Ghost of the present|one of whom]] took on the appearance of Blaster.{{storylink|Dreadwind's Xmas!}} Blaster complained that Dreadwind had decorated the office in all purple and orange with a solitary picture of a dog with sad eyes. His characterization in the letters page is more in line with his fun-loving, hip and happening self from the cartoon than the rather grim, brooding, rebellious loner seen in the comics. He arrived on the letters page in advance of his resurrection in the comics itself, which did not occur until [[On the Edge of Extinction!|issue #321]]. He was explicitly identified as being a non-transformer Action Master, though his partner Flight Pack did not appear.
* According to Blaster himself on the UK letters page, he has two [[Relatives|siblings]]: [[Toaster]] and [[Karmen]]. And then there's [[Bluster]], his retroactively-created and less-seen brother.
* Since the release of ''Universe'' Blaster, there seems to be an attempt on the part of tech spec writers to balance Marvel's dark and brooding portrayal of Blaster with the rock 'n' roll loving version from the original US cartoon. The ''Universe'' write-up has Blaster organizing resistance cells with Perceptor (with NO mention of his musical interests), recalling the storyline in US comic #17-18. The 2010 San Diego Comic Convention release of the figure not only mentions Blaster's love of music ("Any music, from Cybertronian magna marches to down and dirty D.C. hardcore"), it references "his hatred of the Decepticons", because "the war they started killed the music scene (and most of the musicians) on Cybertron"—combining Blaster's varying personalities from these two continuities into one.
** This also means Blaster is a fan of Bad Brains and Minor Threat. That rules '''so hard.'''

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Broadcast''' (ブロードキャスト ''Burōdokyasuto'')
*''English:'' '''Billy''' ([[Omni Productions]] dub), '''Blaster''' ([[Omni Productions]] dub Twincast)
*''French:'' '''Tempo''' (Canada)
*''Hungarian:'' '''Össztűz''' ("All-fire")
*''Italian:'' '''Radiorobot''', '''Audiobot''' (''The Headmasters'', Blaster), '''Digital''' (Twincast)
*''Portuguese:'' '''Rajada''' (Portugal comic, "Gust"), '''Dinamitador''' (Brazil comic)
*''Spanish:'' '''Bill''' (America, ''The Headmasters''), '''Plato''' (America, ''The Headmasters''), '''Platon''' (Twincast)

==References==
{{reflist}}

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

[[Category:Action Masters]]
[[Category:Attacktix]]
[[Category:Binaltech Asterisk characters]]
[[Category:Classics Autobots]]
[[Category:Communications specialists]]
[[Category:Decoys]]
[[Category:E-Hobby]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:The Headmasters Autobots]]
[[Category:Kiss Players Autobots]]
[[Category:Letters page answerers]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]

Blaster (G1)

2012-04-03T22:14:35Z

Shockwave 75: /* Marvel UK future timelines */

{{factions|autobot}}
{{disambig3|Blaster}}
{{suite}}
{{featured}}
:''Blaster is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''
[[Image:SDCCBlasterBoxArt.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"What it is, big mama? My mama ain't raise no dummies, I dug her rap!"]]
'''[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]''' loves all Earth music, especially good, hard, LOUD rock 'n' roll. He can be found at the forefront of any situation in which he's involved, be it getting down and truly hopping to town, or kicking butt and taking names—both of which he does well, and both of which have led him into conflict with authority at times. Blaster marches to his own beat, whether it's a pounding bassline or pounding Decepticon skulls, and he's not shy when it comes to sharing his feelings about either! He maintains a shared enmity Decepticon counterpart [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]], with whom he shares his powers over all forms of sound, and is often backed up by a team of his own [[Autobot Mini-Cassette]]s to match Soundwave's mini-minions of the battlefield.

{{note|Blaster's personality varied significantly across different media; see entries below for details.}}

==Fiction==
===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
{{main|Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity}}
[[Image:AutoBop blaster speakers.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Beware my tweeters of doom!!]]
Blaster was a fun-loving, hip and happening robot. Loud and energetic, he was quick to immerse himself in Earth culture, and was happy to share his choice of rockin' tunes with anyone, whether they really wanted to hear them or not—a trait that got him in trouble as often as it saved him and his Autobot allies. Developing a rivalry with his Decepticon opposite number Soundwave Blaster gained a cassette army of his own so he could fight Soundwave on equal footing, and he and little buddies were instrumental in ensuring reinforcements arrived in time to save [[Autobot City]] when it was besieged in 2005. Following this, Blaster was assigned command of the city, where his jive-talking jingles and jams saw the Autobots through crises like the attack of [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]. Blaster's duties also took him to a variety of battlefields that were stranger than many other Transformers would experience, including millions of years into the past, into another dimension ruled by magic, and—a particular favorite of his—the musical planet of [[Eurythma]].

In some timelines which spin off from this one, Blaster joined the [[Interplanetary Personnel Exchange Program]] under the new name '''Broadblast''' (ブロードブラスト ''Burōdoburasuto''), and after perishing in a one-on-one battle with Soundwave, was reconstructed by the super-science of the planet [[Master (planet)|Master]] as '''Twincast''' (ツインキャスト ''Tsuinkyasuto'').
{{-}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Marvel Generation 1 comics====
{{noteukonly}}
[[Image:BlasterUS17.jpg|right|250px|thumb|More than likely, he'll kill you. Yeah, you. You know who you are.]]
Blaster was a rather grim, brooding, rebellious loner who hated Decepticons with a passion, whose reputation as one of the best fighters the [[Autobot]]s had was blemished by his vocal problems with authority figures. Part of [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]]'s [[Cybertron Seven|Autobot resistance cell]] on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], he often disagreed with his superior's orders, especially after his friend [[Scrounge (G1)|Scrounge]] failed to make a rendezvous with him in the [[Dead End (place)|Dead End]], and Blaster wanted to hunt for him. Although his fellow freedom fighters rallied behind him at first, the discovery that Scrounge had been taken to the Decepticon stronghold in [[Polyhex]] changed their minds, and Blaster went in alone. Captured by the forces of [[Straxus (G1)|Lord Straxus]], Blaster was sentenced to the [[smelting pool]], where he discovered the half-melted Scrounge, who clung to life long enough to pass on to Blaster the data he had obtained, so that this death would not be in vain. Blaster was then saved from the pit by his comrades, and he claimed revenge for Scrounge by ripping out the pipes that fed the pool and blasting their Decepticon pursuers with molten slag.

[[Image:MarvelUS18 blaster cyb altmode.jpg|left|thumb|225px|And you thought the 1980s cellphones were huge.]]
Scrounge's information brought new hope to the Autobot resistance, as it revealed that [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] and the Autobots on the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] were still alive and well after four million years, fighting on a planet called Earth. {{storylink|The Smelting Pool!}} The Decepticons set about building a [[space bridge]] to this planet, and Blaster spied on the tests in his alternate mode, gathering the information they need to launch an attack. Blaster personally battled Straxus on the bridge, tricking the Decepticon leader into damaging the portal before kicking him through it and apparently destroying him. Blaster and the rest of his Autobot allies were trapped on the Earth side of the bridge as it faded out. {{storylink|The Bridge to Nowhere!}}

Blaster and his men were attacked by the government anti-robot task force [[Rapid Anti-robot Assault Team|RAAT]] and its super-powered agent [[Circuit Breaker]] almost immediately upon arrival, and were captured and disassembled, their heads mounted on the wall of RAAT headquarters. {{storylink|Heavy Traffic!}} To deal with the threat of the [[Battlecharger]]s, Blaster and the Autobots agreed to allow Circuit Breaker to jury-rig their bodies together into a giant exo-suit she would use to take the two Decepticons down, in exchange for their being rebuilt and released. {{storylink|Decepticon Graffiti!}}

[[Image:FallenAngel blaster sonics galvatron.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Yeah, that's real good, Blaster, you keep doing that.]]

''Blaster's team followed their fellow RAAT captive [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] him back to the Ark, but along the way, their guide vanished, displaced to [[Limbo]] by the appearance of the future Decepticon, [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. Unwisely deciding to engage the Decepticon, Blaster tried hitting him with a blast of sonics, which sundered Galvatron's tenuous hold on sanity and only made him even more dangerous. Fortunately, the arrival of the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] saved him, and he decided to try the tactic again while Galvatron was distracted. It ''almost'' worked this time, but Galvatron hurled a discarded sword in Blaster's direction, and he was only rescued from impalement by [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]]. Blaster was soon knocked unconscious, and didn't witness Galvatron being driven off by the present-day Decepticons.'' {{storylink|Fallen Angel}} ''Blaster's team continued on their way to the Ark, and arrived just as the Autobots were preparing to hold a funeral for Optimus Prime. Blaster quietly questioned their decision to bury Prime rather than fire his body into space, but it proved a moot point when the Autobot leader turned out to not actually be dead, returning in the midst of the ceremony.'' {{storylink|Resurrection!}}

[[Image:JoeandTF4 blaster omega and the rest.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Turn down that blasted music! THIS I COMMAND!!!]]

When Optimus Prime died for real soon after, Blaster got on the comm to pass the grim news on to [[Superion (G1)|Superion]], ordering him to break off his present engagement with the anti-terrorist team [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] and return to the Ark. {{storylink|Power Struggle}} After watching as [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] tried and failed to rebuild the Autobot leader, Blaster attended Prime's funeral, where his body was sent into space on a funeral bier. {{storylink|Funeral for a Friend!}} Blaster gave a speech to mark Prime's passing, {{storylink|Ashes, Ashes...}} then returned to the Ark with the Auotbots, only to be attacked attacked by the ship's own defense systems, co-opted by the human criminal, the [[Mechanic (G1)|Mechanic]]. Perceptor had to stop Blaster from damaging the ship until the situation could be brought under control. {{storylink|Funeral for a Friend!}} No sooner had ''that'' been dealt with than Blaster detected a fleet of human aircraft heading for the Ark, which the Autobots proceeded to intercept on the assumption of hostile intent. After a brief battle, the human revealed themselves to agents of [[Cobra]], who requested the Autobots' help in stopping the Decepticons from destroying the planet using [[Power Station Alpha]]. {{storylink|Ashes, Ashes...}} Suspecting the highly-advanced Alpha could potentially be a sentient technological lifeform, Blaster opposed destroying it outright, and remained at the Ark to co-ordinate a combined Autobot/G.I. Joe/Cobra attack on the Decepticons to free Alpha from their control. The Joes and Cobra surreptitiously had Alpha destroyed to remove its threat, infuriating Blaster and leading him to wonder if ''any'' humans could be trusted. {{storylink|...All Fall Down!}}

[[Image:MarvelUS28 blaster cops.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]]

Turning to the matter of finding a new leader of the Autobots, Blaster and several other high-ranking Autobots were in the process of a holding a vote when the massive Decepticon battle station Trypticon attacked, and Blaster was shot down when he attempted to rush the giant. Dinobot leader [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] proceeded to secure victory over Trypticon, convincing Blaster and the other Autobots to appoint him the Autobots' new commander. {{storylink|King of the Hill!}} Unfortunately, Grimlock soon gave Blaster cause to regret his decision with increasingly hostile leadership methods and a callous disregard for human safety. Paired with [[Bumblebee (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Goldbug]], whose more naturally upbeat personality provided the Boy Wonder to his Batman, Blaster was charged with locating the Mechanic, but disobeyed orders and entered into alliance with some local human law enforcement to prevent the officers from being killed by the advanced Cybertronian weapons the criminal had stolen from the Ark. Playing the fool, Detective [[Greco]] carried Blaster into the Mechanic's hideout in tape-deck mode, where the Autobot used his electro scrambler to disable all the villain's weapons. Alas, the Mechanic escaped, and, realizing that Grimlock would not tolerate the news of their failure and their human alliances, Blaster and Goldbug elected to go AWOL. {{storylink|Mechanical Difficulties!}}

[[Image:MarvelUS30 blaster and goldbug.jpg|left|300px|thumb|"MY PARENTS ARE DEEEEAD!"]]

Rather than lay low, Blaster and Goldbug decided to take their fight to the Decepticons, and quickly tracked down the Autobots' human ally [[G.B. Blackrock]] in hope that he could provide them with both fuel and some hot tips on current 'Con activity. Following Blackrock's info, the two Autobots found the Decepticon [[Triple Changer]]s, but Blaster took on all three of the villains at once, he discovered they were ravaged with [[Scraplet]]s, which soon infected him as well. Goldbug withdrew to seek a cure, but Blaster believed he had left him to die and swore vengeance against the little 'bot. {{storylink|Crater Critters}} Hooking up with the [[Throttlebot]]s and human scientist [[Charlie Fong]], Goldbug discovered that water could destroy the Scraplets, and surprised Blaster by returning to save him. Blaster refused to allow himself to be cured if it meant that the Decepticons would live as well, but when the Scraplets merged into a giant, Goldbug had no choice, and sprayed them all. A cured but furious Blaster smashed the water tank over the Scraplet-monster, killing it, then calmed down enough to apologize to Goldbug for doubting him. {{storylink|The Cure!}}

[[Image:MarvelUS32 blaster arrested.jpg|right|250px|thumb]]

''Taking some time out of their life on the road to watch human television, Blaster, Goldbug and the Throttlebots happened upon a news report about the discovery of [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and Galvatron, entombed in lava within the the volcano, [[Mount Verona]]. Discovering that Soundwave and the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] were going to blow up the mountain to destroy them both, Blaster used his sonic powers to block Soundwave's detonation signal, preventing the bombs the Combaticons placed from going off.'' {{storylink|Ladies' Night (issue)|Ladies' Night}} Once they had evaded the pursuing Combaticons, Blaster and company found themselves in a scuffle with RAAT in [[California]], and hid out in [[Big Steve Ludwig (G1)|Big Steve Ludwig]]'s used car lot. Unfortunately, their battle made the evening news and finally alerted Grimlock to their AWOL status, prompting him to brand them traitors and send the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] to hunt them down. The car lot quickly turned into a three-way battleground between the Combaticons, Protectobots and RAAT, and despite Blaster's help in the battle, the Protectobots surrounded and apprehended him at the fight's end. {{storylink|Used Autobots}}

[[Image:Blasterbeourleaderplease.jpg|left|300px|thumb|"BLASTER, BE OUR LEADER, PLEAAAASE???"]]

Trapped in tape deck mode by a [[mode lock]], Blaster was helpless to aid the Protectobots when the Combaticons returned, but with the aid of four [[Spacehikers|human children]], he was freed and took [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] down by collapsing a pylon on him. Realizing that Blaster was far nobler than Grimlock, [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] allowed him to go free, and Blaster rewarded the children for their help by taking them on a trip into space aboard the mode-locked [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]]. {{storylink|Child's Play (issue)|Child's Play}} Unfortunately, they were accosted in mid-flight by the now-airborne Ark, but the humans tossed Blaster out an airlock so he could avoid capture by Grimlock's forces. While Grimlock was occupied trying to stop [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] from interfering in his attempted execution of the kids, Blaster rode a telecommunications satellite back to the Ark, where he his fellow Autobots, all sick of Grimlock's leadership, begged him to take over as leader. However, he was forced to surrender to his former commander in order to secure the kids' safety. {{storylink|Spacehikers!}}

[[Image:MarvelUS41 blaster vs grimlock.jpg|right|300px|thumb]]

Imprisoned by Grimlock, Blaster was strapped to a [[variable voltage harness]] for some time as punishment for his desertion and disobedience. When [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] and his Autobots arrived and Grimlock challenged him to a duel, Goldbug talked Blaster into taking the injured Fortress Maximus's place to get even with Grimlock once and for all. They proceeded to battle on the surface of Earth's [[moon (moon)|moon]], but their duel was interrupted by a Decepticon attack, and Blaster pointed out that their feud had put all Autobots in danger. Grimlock agreed to call their duel a draw and declared a truce with Blaster as they fended off the Decepticons side by side. {{storylink|Totaled!}}

With Optimus Prime's subsequent return both to life and to command of the Autobots, the faction's in-fighting issues ceased and more important matters could be dealt with—namely, rescuing their human ally [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]] from the Decepticons' baffling new [[Club Con|desert island resort]]. [[Image:MarvelUS50 blaster dies.jpg|left|275px|thumb]] Tasked with investigating, Blaster was loaded into a capsule in tape deck mode and dropped from the orbiting Ark into the Witwicky family garden, where he asked Buster's girlfriend [[Jesse (G1)|Jesse]] to sneak him into "Club Con". The pair were able to steal a pair of captive Autobot cassettes—[[Grand Slam (G1)|Grand Slam]] and [[Raindance]]—from the Decepticons, but this aroused the ire of the [[Seacon (G1)|Seacons]], and Blaster, unable to battle them effectively due to the human holidaymakers occupying the island, was forced to ditch the tapes in the ocean to break off the fight. Although forced to withdraw without Buster, Blaster and Jessie ''had'' learned something important: the tapes held data on a mysterious Cybertronian object heading for Earth. {{storylink|Club Con!}} ''The eruption of the "Time Wars" briefly tabled this mystery, but Blaster had no real role in that conflict, as he, Optimus Prime, and several other Autobots were temporarily displaced into Limbo to make room for a team of Autobots arriving from the future.'' {{storylink|Time Wars}} [[Image:Marvel77-Blaster.jpg|right|150px|thumb|He used to be badass, now he's just a poor man's Perceptor...]] Soon after, the approaching object was revealed to be the Cybertronian database known as the [[Underbase]], the power of which was stolen by Starscream. Blaster joined [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] in co-ordinating a battalion of Autobots and Decepticons in defense of [[New York City]] against Starscream's worldwide rampage, and was the last to fall, shot dead atop the Brooklyn Bridge, like all those who attempted to stand against the cosmically-powered villain. {{storylink|Dark Star}}

Blaster's body was put into storage on the Ark, defying all of Ratchet's attempts to repair it, to the extent that the medic started to have nightmares about him and various other deactivated Autobots reviving as [[zombie]]s to kill him for his failures. {{storylink|Back from the Dead}} A few years later, Grimlock succeeded where Ratchet had failed by using the miracle fuel [[Nucleon]] to revive the damaged Autobots, with Blaster being one of the first back on his feet. Arriving on Cybertron in the nick of time aboard the ''Ark'', Blaster took part in and survived the battle with [[Unicron]]. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}} In the aftermath, [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] had Blaster run a check on the strange seismic activity Cybertron was suffering from, with disastrous results: It turned out Cybertron was tearing itself apart without the binding life-force of [[Primus]] to sustain it. {{storylink|Exodus!}}

[[Image:EndOfTheRoad-finalfive.jpg|left|thumb|Guess how many of these guys had Action Master toys on the shelves when this came out.]]
The Decepticons fled Cybertron, leaving the Autobots to die with their homeworld, but thanks to Grimlock planning ahead, the Autobots managed to follow them to the planet [[Klo]], only to be caught in an ambush upon arrival. Blaster took a blast in the shoulder from [[Quake (G1)|Quake]] during the fight, but was one of the few who managed to survive the attack, and there was still more than enough fight left in him to join Grimlock and the other survivors in charging the Decepticon position. He was last seen shooting the head off of [[Snapdragon (G1)|Snapdragon]]. [[Krunk|Uh oh.]] {{storylink|End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!}}

In an alternate version of 2006, Blaster went with a group of Autobots to [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]] to investigate strange happenings there. When they arrived they discovered a chaotic scene where aliens from many worlds, including the Decepticons, had arrived and were all engaged in a deadly battle with one another. Blaster detected a signal he suspected was putting all the combatants under hypnosis. He and Ultra Magnus came up with a plan where [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] would fly Blaster into the air where Blaster would then broadcast soothing music. The plan succeeded in calming the combatants. {{storylink|The Big Broadcast of 2006 (issue)|The Big Broadcast of 2006 (US)}}

{{note|In the UK version of the story, the events of "The Big Broadcast of 2006" are a fabrication invented by [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]].}}

=====Marvel UK future timelines=====
[[Image:SpacePirates blaster strung up.jpg|right|thumb|Help! He's touching my special area!]]
In the future of 2008, Blaster was present at Autobot City when the [[Quintesson]] [[Trident Attack Craft|Trident]] ships attacked. He attempted to transform Autobot City himself, but was stopped cold by General [[Ghyrik]]. He was deactivated in the battle that followed and his body strung up on the outer parapets as a warning to any Autobots who came to liberate the city. Although Blaster was inactive, his cassettes were not, and this fact gave [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] an edge when they began battling their way through the Quintesson occupants. {{storylink|Space Pirates!}}

Blaster was seen briefly in 2009 at the start of the Time Wars, but did not end up joining Rodimus Prime on his mission into the past (see above). {{storylink|Time Wars}} After Galvatron was destroyed back in 1989 and the time line rebooted itself, Blaster was still among the Autobots stationed at Autobot City. He responded to [[Kup (G1)|Kup]]'s emergency signal when the Autobots crash landed on Earth after a crazed Rodimus Prime turned against them, and helped drive the evil possessing presence out of their leader. {{storylink|White Fire}}
{{-}}

=====Another Time & Place=====
[[Image:Another Time Place Fangry.jpg|thumb|left|That's his hand on the left!]]
Blaster was part of the rescue unit who infiltrated [[Hydrus Four]] to defeat the Decepticons and rescue the Dinobots. He personally helped disarm and defeat [[Fangry]]. {{storylink|Another Time & Place}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers in 3-D''===
[[Image:WarAgainstDestructions blaster plays.jpg|right|thumb]]
When Hot Rod and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] returned from [[Tau-Ursa]] with a strange recording, Blaster was able to play it. The recording revealed the existence of the [[Destructon]]s, [[Logicon]]s, and the location of [[Metascan Alpha]], the Logicons' storehouse of [[Energon]]. At Optimus Prime's command, Blaster contacted Ultra Magnus at Metroplex on Earth to pass the information along. {{storylink|The War Against the Destructons, Chapter 1 of 3}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation 1'' comics===
[[Image:AgeofWrath2 AutobotResistance.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Steeljaw was in the bathroom.]]
Around 6.5 million years ago, Blaster was one of the high-ranking Autobots who helped Ultra Magnus reunify their fractured faction at the end of the [[Dark Ages]], suggesting that he may have been in charge of one of the various splinter groups that formed during those troubled times. Over the next half-a-million years, the reunited Autobots worked to usher in a new Golden Age, and were finally poised to sign a peace treaty with the Decepticons and [[Ultracon]]s until the long-missing Megatron returned to Cybertron, launching an attack in the middle of the treaty ceremony with his new [[Air Warrior|Aerospace Extermination Squadron]]. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath}} With this new army, Megatron ushered in an [[Age of Internment]], capturing nearly the entire Autobot army and putting them to work as slaves, extracting the very core of Cybertron itself. Blaster managed to evade capture, however, and together with Perceptor, assembled a small rebel cell hiding out in the subterranean chambers of [[Iacon Command]]. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath Pt.2}}

Seeking to capture one of Megatron's drones in order to learn more about Megatron's new [[Cloning|clone technology]], Blaster oversaw his unit on the mission from a distance, using his abilities to jam any emergency transmissions while [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] and several other Autobots engaged the drone in battle long enough to attach an inhibitor claw, immobilizing it. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath Pt.3}}

{{note|Dreamwave's subsequent backruptcy ended ''The Age of Wrath'' half-way through. Unreleased issues would have seen Blaster and his team use an ancient map of Cybertron's depths to infiltrate Megatron's slave camp, only for them to be discovered by Megatron himself. Blaster battled Megatron one-on-one, managing to use his sonic powers to briefly gain the upper hand, before losing a leg to the Decepticon leader. The sudden return of Grimlock, believed to have died during Megatron's first attack, gave the wounded Blaster the chance he needed to free the Autobot prisoners by deactivating their [[inhibitor claw]]s. Perceptor, meanwhile, used the data gleaned from studying the captured drone to deactivate the neural network linking the entire squadron, ending the Age of Internment.}}

Blaster remained on Cybertron when the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] and the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'' left four million years ago, and eventually entered stasis along with the rest of the planet when it finally ran out of energy during the [[Great Shutdown]]. The planet was reawakened by Shockwave in roughly the Earth year 1000 BC, and the Autobots and Decepticons put aside their differences to begin rebuilding their world. [[Image:PassiveAggression Blaster lovesEarth.jpg|left|300px|thumb|]] Suspecting that Shockwave had more sinister motives, Blaster was one of the first Autobots to join an underground resistance movement against him, using his communications skills to discover a subliminal code being pumped through the public address screens around the planet that was aggravating the violent tendencies of the entire population. Despite his feelings for Shockwave, Blaster still developed a strong taste for information from the Earth culture Shockwave was introducing to Cybertron, and even modified his alternate mode into a Earthen boom box. {{storylink|Passive Aggression}}

In the year 2003, when Shockwave's forces brought Optimus Prime and the crew of the Ark back to Cybertron to be tried as war criminals, double agents inside the United Cybertronian force delivered Prime and his crew to Blaster and the others at their headquarters in the [[Wastelands]]. With the help of Cybertron's greatest hero, the resistance movement began an open insurrection against Shockwave's loyal Decepticon forces and the [[Guardian robot]]s under his control. Shockwave's regime fell, and the Autobots resumed command of Cybertron. {{storylink|Revelation (War and Peace)|Revelation}}

===''Transformers/G.I. Joe''===
[[Image:DividedFront1 bots found.jpg|right|thumb|Comfortable?]]
In the year 1985, Blaster and [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] hastily took off for [[Earth]] in an starship poorly-suited for interstellar travel. Upon arrival, they unsurprisingly crashed, landing in the forests of [[Oregon]] near [[Mount St. Hilary]]. Their deactivated bodies were found by the forces of [[Cobra]] and bundled up to be airlifted out, but a [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] team led by [[Flint (G.I. Joe)|Flint]] soon intervened. [[Blowtorch]] knocked the chopper carrying their bodies out of the air with this flamethrower, and [[Barbecue]] extinguished the flames before the two Autobots could be consumed by the blaze. Blaster and Perceptor's bodies were then taken back to G.I. Joe headquarters. {{storylink|Targets of Opportunity}}
{{note|Dreamwave's bankruptcy meant this story was never finished.}}
{{--}}

===''Hearts of Steel''===
[[Image:HeartsofSteel blaster.jpg|left|thumb|No, no, don't get up.]]
Blaster and his fellow Autobots fought the Decepticons on Earth in the distant past until an incoming ice age threatened to deactivate all the Transformers. Both sides went into hiding underground until the danger had passed, remaining in stasis until the mid-19th century. When they woke up, the war against the Decepticons started anew, though Blaster was not seen getting involved. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 1|Heart of Steel #1}}
{{-}}
===IDW Generation 1 comics===

[[Image:SpotlightBlaster the voice.jpg|right|300px|thumb|]]

Before the war, Blaster was a reporter for the [[Iaconian Newsfeed Service]], and reported live from the [[Nova Plaza]] after an assassination attempt on [[Nominus Prime]]. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}} After the outbreak of the war, Blaster joined the Autobots, and initially served as a soldier who was present at a victory celebration after the Autobots halted a major Decepticon energon convoy four million years ago. {{storylink|The Iron Age}} Eventually, however, he returned to his broadcasting roots and became a patriotic radio personality, broadcasting propaganda across the galaxy to rally the Autobot forces as they struggled on the war's many battlefronts. Known as "The Voice" for his widespread positive influence, Blaster became the target of a Decepticon assassination attempt, time to prevent him from making an important broadcast on the eve of a major Autobot offensive. Although the assassin failed, Blaster's wounded body was ejected into space, and he was believed dead by his faction.

[[Image:SpotlightBlaster altmode.jpg|left|thumb|150px]]

Some time later, Blaster was found by a passing [[Yar|trawler]] and delivered home, where it was revealed that he had to have been attacked by an Autobot. In an effort to flush the traitor out, Blaster went back on the air. The attempt worked, and his would-be killer was revealed: [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]], forced into the act by a mind-controlling [[cerebro-shell]] implanted by [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] at the direction of Soundwave. However, he was able to resist when Blaster used his greatest weapon: his voice. As a damaged Beachcomber was brought in for repairs, Blaster swore he'd find Soundwave and that the last thing he'd ever hear would be... the Voice. {{storylink|Spotlight: Blaster}}

[[Image:AHM15 blaster and kup.jpg|right|thumb]]

In the year that followed the defeat of [[Nova Prime]], Blaster was among the Autobots captured by the Decepticon [[Turmoil]], but was soon rescued by a team led by Kup. All the other prisoners were members of the [[Wrecker]]s, suggesting Blaster may have joined the team at some point. {{storylink|Spotlight: Drift}} Blaster remained with Kup's team, and was serving as the communications officer for his ship, the ''[[Trion]]'', when a simultaneous galaxy-wide uprising was staged by the Decepticons. Distress signals came pouring in, but all went silent in short order, save for one from Hot Rod, so the crew of the ''Trion'' went to save the turbo-revvin' young punk from [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] and [[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]]. The day was saved by Perceptor, although Blaster disapproved of the scientist's transformation into a warrior, saying he had "defiled himself". {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 15|Lost & Found}}

Blaster and the others harried the Decepticon fleet until they were baited into an ambush above Cybertron. There, the ship was shot down and forced to crash-land on the assumed uninhabitable world. Banding together to survive, they eventually encountered Optimus Prime's unit, only to find him incapacitated, the Matrix having been seized by [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}} Blaster mingled with the other Autobots for a while, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} before warning Kup about an incoming [[Insecticon swarm|swarm]] attack that forced them to relocate. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}} With morale still dwindling, Blaster attempted to put his famous voice to work by trying to break up a fight between Hot Rod and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] by injecting some reason, but was interrupted by [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] telling them they all deserved to die. [[Image:AHM9 blaster breaks up argument.jpg|left|thumb]] {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 9|All Hail Megatron #9}} The Autobots were eventually saved when [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] decimated the swarm and carried them all to Earth, where they attacked Megatron and his troops. Blaster was ordered to block the Decepticons' communications, allowing the arrival of Omega Supreme to take them completely by surprise. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 11|All Hail Megatron #11}} He survived the great battle. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}

Blaster remained on Earth with the other Autobots for the next three years, as they regathered their forces. [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]] radioed in to Blaster when [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] got himself nabbed by [[Skywatch]], an event which led to the death of [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and the resignation of Optimus Prime. {{storylink|...For All Mankind}} Autobot leadership was split between Bumblebee and Hot Rod, and Blaster stayed with Bumblebee's group, which went on to form an alliance with [[Gordon Horiuchi]] of Skywatch. Blaster was among the Autobots who captured [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] and other Decepticons for their new allies. {{storylink|The Hanging Sword}} Unfortunately, Horiuchi betrayed the Autobots and forced them to hunt one of their own kind, [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]]. Bumblebee managed to get free from Horiuchi's control, and so Blaster and the others stayed behind to cover for him as he sought a solution for their problems. {{storylink|The Impossible Knot}} They pretended to be making plans to hunt down Hot Rod while Bumblebee recovered the control tech Skywatch was using to keep them in line. {{storylink|The Gift Horse}} Bumblebee was successful, and Blaster was later present when Bumblebee unveiled his new, more powerful form, to better serve as Autobot leader. {{storylink|Wings of Wax}}

Blaster was one of the Autobots who joined the crew of the ''[[Lost Light]]'' in search of the mythical [[Knights of Cybertron]]. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}}
{{--}}

==Games==
===''Transformers G1: Awakening''===
[[Image:Gluawakening blaster.jpg|right|thumb]]
{{storylink|Transformers G1: Awakening}}
<div style="float: left">{{charstubfiction}}</div><div style="clear: left"></div>
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===

* '''Blaster''' (Autobot, 1985/1986)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''38'''
**''Accessories:'' [[Electro-scrambler|Electro-scrambler gun]]
[[Image:G1 Blaster toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"Still think you're so superior, Soundwave?"]]
: Rather huge by the typical standards of Generation 1 Transformers, Blaster transforms into a miniature "ghetto blaster" boombox. He features spring-loaded buttons: when pressed, his "start" button stays in the depressed position until his "stop" button is pressed, while pressing the "eject" button pops open his tape door, which can store a single [[Mini-Cassette]] Transformer. Due to what was presumably a common internal misassembly issue, many original Blasters had doors which would not open when the eject button is pressed, nor would the other buttons work. Blaster has rather limited useful articulation, located in his neck and shoulders.

: Blaster began life as the ''[[Micro Change]]'' "Radi-Casse Robo" ("radio-cassette", you see), which was actually a functional AM radio. Though this feature was gutted from Blaster when he was released as part of the ''Transformers'' toyline, the original toy's power switch (on his right leg), earphone jack (on the back of his left leg) and tuning dial (on his chest) still remain, now as a moulded, non-moving detail. Even the toy's electro-scrambler gun is designed to serve as storage for the set of earphones which came with the toy, with the plug inserting into the stock, the cord winding around it, and the earphones themselves tucking into the hole in the gun's main body. It was not the toy itself which was the radio; rather, the radio was a small "micro-cassette" which plugged into the toy's internal wiring when inserted into its chest, allowing it to play through the speakers in its legs in either mode. As the electronic equipment in the chest meant that the figure could not hold normal ''Micro Change'' cassettes there, it featured a compartment on its back which could hold a single tape instead. This compartment could still be found on some early releases of Blaster, though it was a often mistaken by fans as a vestigial battery compartment, which was actually originally located in the toy's right leg.

: Blaster was reissued by Takara in 2006 as part of ''[[#TFC|The Transformers Collection]]'' and then by Hasbro in 2010 during ''[[#Hasbroreissue|Universe]]'' (see below)
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1985/Autobot/Blaster/blaster.htm More information on Blaster at TFU.info]''

{{-}}
[[Image:G1toy_twincast.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
* '''Twincast''' (Autobot, 1987)
**''ID number:'' '''C-116'''
**''Accessories:'' [[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]], Electro-Scrambler Gun

: For this Japanese-exclusive release, the first Blaster toy was [[redeco]]ed into a rather cacophonous new blue, yellow and red color scheme. Like his contemporary redeco Soundblaster, his chest door was [[Retool|retooled]] in order to accommodate two cassettes at once, and changed from colorless clear plastic to translucent red as part of a gimmick with his pack-in partner, Steeljaw. This version of Steeljaw sports a new decal depicting [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], which reveals the Decepticon's weak spot when placed behind Twincast's red door, working in the same manner as a [[Tech Spec]]s decoder.

: Twincast was reissued as an [[e-HOBBY]] [[exclusive]] in 2006 (see below)
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1987/Cybertron/Twincast/twincast.htm More information on Twincast at TFU.info]''

{{-}}
[[Image:ActionMasterBlaster toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Which gun is better?]]
*'''Blaster w/ Flight Pack''' (Action Master, 1990)
**''Accessories:'' "Flight Pack" backpack, "tractor beam electron gun"

: A non-transforming action figure, [[Action Master]] Blaster (not to be confused with the "Action Master Blasters" price-point) is compatible with any other Action Master vehicle or accessory. His design is based largely on his cartoon model, with elements from the toy added (like his visor). He came with the "[[Flight Pack]]" accessory, which converts from a winged jetpack to a massive "electro-scrambler" cannon.
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1990/Autobot/Blaster/blaster.htm More information on Action Master Blaster at TFU.info]''

{{-}}

===Binaltech Asterisk===
[[Image:Bta broadblast.jpg|right|300px|thumb|They see me rollin', they hatin'.]]
*'''Broadblast meets Lumina''' (Binaltech, 2005)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''BTA03'''
**''Accessories:'' Engine/gun, Lumina Hoshi with stand, driving arms and driving legs

: A redeco of ''[[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]]'' [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], Broadblast transforms into a 1:24 scale [[wikipedia:Scion_xB|Toyota bB, aka the Scion xB]]. He has working doors, hood, and trunk, plus his engine becomes a non-firing weapon. He also comes with an extra decal sheet, which includes signs for "TBN" which ''possibly'' stands for "Transformers Broadcast Network" or some such; there is Japanese text on the labels as well, but it's really tiny and hard to make out.

: He came with a PVC-plastic figurine of the [[human]] newsgirl [[Lumina Hoshi]].
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2005/Cybertron/Broadblast/broadblast.htm More information on Binaltech Asterisk Blaster at TFU.info]''
{{-}}
===The Transformers Collection===

[[Image:G1toy TFC blaster.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]

*'''Broadcast''' (reissue, 2006)
**''ID number:'' '''21'''
**''Accessories:'' Steeljaw, Electro-scrambler gun, cassette case

:Blaster's first reissue was the final instalment in Takara's ''[[The Transformers Collection]]'' line of re-released Generation 1 toys. He features no notable changes from his original release, save for the fact that he comes packaged with Steeljaw, where his original release had gone without any pack-in partners.
{{-}}

===Collector's Edition===
[[Image:G1toy twincast reissue.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]

*'''Twincast''' (2006)
**''ID number:'' '''C-116'''
**''Accessories:'' [[Flip Sides (G1)|Flip Sides]], Electro-scrambler gun, cassette case

:Twincast's first reissue was available exclusively through online retailer e-HOBBY, designed, as most e-HOBBY exclusives were at the time, to accompany the mass-release of the standard reissue of the original Blaster. Though Twincast was unusual in that he was a pre-existing character, where the previous few years' worth of e-HOBBY exclusive redecos had been new characters, he did come packaged with a new partner: a redeco of the Eject/Rewind mold named [[Flip Sides (G1)|Flip Sides]]. At the time, rather than feature unique packaging, all e-HOBBY exclusives came in a generic box in Autobot red or Decepticon purple; oddly, Twincast came in a Decepticon box, but since Flip Sides was characterized as a Decepticon sleeper agent, it just about made sense.
{{-}}

===Universe (2008)===
[[Image:Blasteruniversetoy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Preparations for the military strike, dubbed Operation Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication Storm, are already underway.]]
*'''Autobot Blaster with Blockrock Mini-Con!''' (Voyager, 2008)
**''Series:'' Classics Series
**''Accessories:'' Tri-barrel "particle feedback blaster"/bomb, double-barrel "harmonic wave cannon"/bomb, Cybertron Autobot Cyber Key

: Blaster is a redeco of ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' [[Soundwave (Cybertron)|Soundwave]], transforming into a Cybertronic stealth bomber vaguely like an [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes|F-117A Nighthawk prototype]], the [[Wikipedia:Have_Blue|Have Blue]]. He comes with three hexagonal prism "bombs"; one converts into his partner [[Blockrock]], the other two unfold into non-firing blaster weapons. Any one of these "bombs" can be stored in his robot-mode chest, which opens by plugging a [[Cyber Planet Key]] into him; Blaster comes translucent black, gunmetal-bordered [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]-style Autobot key, in contrast to the [[Planet X (Cybertron)|Planet X]] key that came with Soundwave. The other two bombs store in indents on the underside of his wings.

: His packaging art shows him with only half of his chest-door as clear-blue, emulating the original toy design's tape-window, but the final product (and stock photography) show the blue all the way across. However, his visor ''does'' have red paint to simulate the "goggle visor" look of the [[#Generation 1|original toy]] and Marvel comics model.

: This mold was also used to make ''Galaxy Force'' [[Soundblaster (Cybertron)|Soundblaster]].
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/TFUBlaster/blaster.htm More information on Classics Blaster at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|Hasbroreissue}}
[[Image:Universe2008_SDCC_G1Blaster.jpg|thumb|300px|]]
*'''Autobot Blaster''' (2010)
**''Series:'' G1 Series
**''Accessories:'' Electro-Scrambler Gun
:This San Diego Comic-Con [[exclusive]] reissue of Blaster comes with [[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]], [[Ramhorn (G1)|Ramhorn]] and [[Eject]]. Released as part of the [[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|''Universe'' (2008) toyline]], the packaging also has a special foil-detailed outer slip case. Blaster is technically a slight [[redeco]], having metal-flake beige legs instead of metallic-swirl silver.

:This set was also made available at the Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong Fair 2010, and was later released on the [[Hasbro Toy Shop]] and then also sold at FanExpo Canada 2010.
{{-}}

===Device Label===
[[Image:Device_Label_Broadcast.jpg|thumb|right|300px|What, not a real notebook?! You are the REAL ''Decept''icon!!]]
*'''Broad Blast''' ([[July 24|7/24]]/2010)
**''Accessories:'' USB cable

:''[[Transformers Device Label|Device Label]]'' Broad Blast transforms into a working USB hub (designed to look like the Toshiba Qosmio laptop computer). The USB functionality works in both robot and laptop modes. Generation 1 Mini-Cassettes can fit into the false tape-deck in his chest in robot mode, but cannot be stored while Broad Blast is in laptop mode due to his head being inside his chest in this form. The Generation 1 Blaster toy's Electro-Scrambler Gun can also fit into Broad Blast's [[5mm post|compatible fist holes]].

:Originally scheduled for release in late [[2009]], Broad Blast was delayed until July 2010. According to a report from getnews.jp at the Tokyo Toy Show 2010, the delay was due to the discovery of a connection cut-off problem after the toy/USB hub is transformed into robot mode. TakaraTomy redesigned the entire lower body to fix this problem. <ref>[http://getnews.jp/archives/68064 Get News.jp report on Device Label Broadblast]</ref>
{{--}}

===Encore===
[[Image:Encoretoy-Twincast.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]
*'''Twincast''' (2012)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''22'''
**''Accessories:'' [[Nightstalker]], [[Stripes]], [[electro-scrambler]], two mini-cassette cases

:Twincast was available again as part of TakaraTomy's ''[[Transformers Encore]]'' series of reissues. For this release of Twincast, the techno detailing of his door is smoothed over for cartoon accuracy. Also to add to cartoon accuracy, his face is colored in a metallic yellow with metallic light blue eyes instead of silver with gold eyes. All of the original Twincast's stickers have been replaced with tampographed detailing for this release, including a large Autobot symbol on his chest (where the techno detail was present on previous releases). Twincast also features a darker blue from the previous releases as well as a different shade of yellow for his tape deck door.

:Twincast came with Nightstalker and Stripes.
{{--}}

==Merchandise==
===Transformers Gum===
[[Image:TFgum blaster.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
*'''Broadcast''' (model kit, 1986)
**''Accessories:'' Electro-scrambler gun

:A snap-together model kit of Blaster was released by [[Kabaya]] as part of their ''[[Transformers Gum]]'' line of candy toys. Released in the third wave of the line and sculpted from red, grey and black plastic with a few stickers for detail, Blaster is broadly identical to his larger figure, right down to the moulded-in left-over details from his ''MicroChange'' release like his power switch and dials . There is one major difference: his chest does not open, so he can't store any of the tapes from Kabaya's smaller ''[[Transformers Choco]]'' line the way the ''Transformers Gum'' Soundwave can.

::*''[http://www.tfw2005.com/resources/g1-kabaya-cybertrons-441/broadcast-gum-3398/ More information on Transformers Gum Broadcast at TFW2005.com]''
{{-}}

===Decoy===
[[Image:Decoy_blaster.jpg|right|thumb|]]{{anchor|TakaraDecoy}}
* '''Cybertron Hero Collection 22''' (multi-pack, 1986)
:Blaster was among the many characters rendered by [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] as part of their series of 1.5" ''keshigomu'' figurines. Like all the Autobots in the series, Blaster was molded in soft red rubber, and featured a number sculpted into his back that was the sum total of his [[Tech Spec]]s, for use in the various games that could be played with the figurines.
:Blaster was available as part of a 22-piece box set of Autobot figures, in a variety of colours through "gachapon" capsule machines, and later, in a peach coloration randomly packed as part of various other box sets distributed by [[Seven]].

{{anchor|HasbroDecoy}}
*'''Blaster''' (Decoy, 1987)
**''Decoy number'': '''29'''
:The figurine was later brought over to [[Hasbro]] markets as part of the [[Decoy]] promotion, largely identical to the Japanese release except for the fact that the number on his back was replaced with a simple "checklist" number. Like all Autobot Decoys, he was a randomly-chosen pack-in available with the carded [[Throttlebot]]s, [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]], [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] and [[Technobot (G1)|Technobots]]

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1986/Autobot/Decoys/Blaster/blaster.htm More information on Decoy Blaster at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Attacktix===
[[Image:Blaster-atx.jpg|thumb|Have some NON-EXISTENCE, courtesy of FLAGGING SALES!]]
*'''Blaster''' (Booster, <strike>2007</strike>)

: Blaster was likely to have been one of several ''Transformers [[Attacktix]]'' Booster pieces, using a powerful spring-loaded "blaster" missile launcher attack. Though displayed as part of the ''Attacktix'' display at the ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' "Celebration IV" convention, he —and all the other pieces revealed at the show— were ultimately never released.

{{canceledattacktix}}

{{-}}
===Robot Heroes===
[[Image:Robotheroesblasterthrust.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Waiting futilely for Robot Heroes Scrounge.]]
*'''Blaster and Thrust''' (2008)

:Part of the third wave of ''Universe'' ''[[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]]'', "Generation 1 Series" Blaster comes packaged with [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]]. He has the standard shoulders-and-neck articulation. His headsculpt is more toy-based than cartoon-based, featuring his "goggles" (even though his eyes kind of pop out from them).

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/RHBlaster/blaster.htm More information on Robot Heroes Blaster at TFU.info]''

{{-}}

==Notes==
*Blaster had the preliminary names of '''Pulse'''<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/index.php?full=1&set_albumName=BotCon_2010_Sat_Panels&id=DSC05237&option=com_gallery&Itemid=4&include=view_photo.php Bob Budiansky's notes at BotCon 2010]</ref> and '''Blastbox'''.<ref>[[Production bible]] of [[The Transformers (cartoon)|the original cartoon]]</ref>
* Despite the fact that Blaster's finalized [[character model]]—used in the Generation 1 cartoon, the UK Marvel comics and ''[[G.I. Joe and the Transformers]]''—gives him a set of individual eyes, the Marvel issues drawn by [[Don Perlin]] and [[José Delbo]] base Blaster's head design on his toy, with a goggled visor. When the UK artists jumped to the American book late in its run, they continued to draw Blaster from his finalized model. [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] rationalized this discrepancy early on in the [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|letters page]] of [[Hunters|UK issue #118]] by explaining that Blaster's visor is retractable, and used to shield his especially delicate optical sensors from sunlight. Less explainable was [[Nelson Yomtov|Nel Yomtov]]'s color choice for the comic version of Blaster: a red forehead and yellow face, a combination never used on a toy or in the cartoon.
** [[IDW Publishing]] tried for a hybridized look, giving Blaster an odd-looking "nose-guard" that was promptly discarded from his design after his introductory [[Spotlight: Blaster|''Spotlight'' issue]].
[[Image:TFUK300 letterspage.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]
* In an odd quirk of design, Blaster's character model breaks the row of buttons on his abdomen up into three buttons in robot mode, but four in alternate mode. It's a product of the way his toy is made: it's got three separate button-chunks, like his robot mode model, but the centre chunk is two buttons sculpted together, so he's actually ''got'' four, like his alternate mode model. This was most evident in the cartoon; in the comic, as you can see from some of the pictures above, they'd often basically draw as many as they felt like.
* Blaster hosted the Marvel UK comic's letters page for the final 33 issues (from [[Rhythms of Darkness!|issue #300]] to [[End of the Road! (US)|issue #332]]), to tie in with his Action Master toy. Here, the letters page was dubbed "Darn 'n' Blast", replacing [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind's]] "Dread Tidings", despite Dreadwind's holing himself up in the Marvel offices. The Decepticon finally left after a visit by three Christmas spirits, [[Ghost of the present|one of whom]] took on the appearance of Blaster.{{storylink|Dreadwind's Xmas!}} Blaster complained that Dreadwind had decorated the office in all purple and orange with a solitary picture of a dog with sad eyes. His characterization in the letters page is more in line with his fun-loving, hip and happening self from the cartoon than the rather grim, brooding, rebellious loner seen in the comics. He arrived on the letters page in advance of his resurrection in the comics itself, which did not occur until [[On the Edge of Extinction!|issue #321]]. He was explicitly identified as being a non-transformer Action Master, though his partner Flight Pack did not appear.
* According to Blaster himself on the UK letters page, he has two [[Relatives|siblings]]: [[Toaster]] and [[Karmen]]. And then there's [[Bluster]], his retroactively-created and less-seen brother.
* Since the release of ''Universe'' Blaster, there seems to be an attempt on the part of tech spec writers to balance Marvel's dark and brooding portrayal of Blaster with the rock 'n' roll loving version from the original US cartoon. The ''Universe'' write-up has Blaster organizing resistance cells with Perceptor (with NO mention of his musical interests), recalling the storyline in US comic #17-18. The 2010 San Diego Comic Convention release of the figure not only mentions Blaster's love of music ("Any music, from Cybertronian magna marches to down and dirty D.C. hardcore"), it references "his hatred of the Decepticons", because "the war they started killed the music scene (and most of the musicians) on Cybertron"—combining Blaster's varying personalities from these two continuities into one.
** This also means Blaster is a fan of Bad Brains and Minor Threat. That rules '''so hard.'''

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Broadcast''' (ブロードキャスト ''Burōdokyasuto'')
*''English:'' '''Billy''' ([[Omni Productions]] dub), '''Blaster''' ([[Omni Productions]] dub Twincast)
*''French:'' '''Tempo''' (Canada)
*''Hungarian:'' '''Össztűz''' ("All-fire")
*''Italian:'' '''Radiorobot''', '''Audiobot''' (''The Headmasters'', Blaster), '''Digital''' (Twincast)
*''Portuguese:'' '''Rajada''' (Portugal comic, "Gust"), '''Dinamitador''' (Brazil comic)
*''Spanish:'' '''Bill''' (America, ''The Headmasters''), '''Plato''' (America, ''The Headmasters''), '''Platon''' (Twincast)

==References==
{{reflist}}

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

[[Category:Action Masters]]
[[Category:Attacktix]]
[[Category:Binaltech Asterisk characters]]
[[Category:Classics Autobots]]
[[Category:Communications specialists]]
[[Category:Decoys]]
[[Category:E-Hobby]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:The Headmasters Autobots]]
[[Category:Kiss Players Autobots]]
[[Category:Letters page answerers]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]

Blaster (G1)

2012-04-03T22:11:21Z

Shockwave 75: /* Marvel Generation 1 comics */

{{factions|autobot}}
{{disambig3|Blaster}}
{{suite}}
{{featured}}
:''Blaster is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''
[[Image:SDCCBlasterBoxArt.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"What it is, big mama? My mama ain't raise no dummies, I dug her rap!"]]
'''[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]''' loves all Earth music, especially good, hard, LOUD rock 'n' roll. He can be found at the forefront of any situation in which he's involved, be it getting down and truly hopping to town, or kicking butt and taking names—both of which he does well, and both of which have led him into conflict with authority at times. Blaster marches to his own beat, whether it's a pounding bassline or pounding Decepticon skulls, and he's not shy when it comes to sharing his feelings about either! He maintains a shared enmity Decepticon counterpart [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]], with whom he shares his powers over all forms of sound, and is often backed up by a team of his own [[Autobot Mini-Cassette]]s to match Soundwave's mini-minions of the battlefield.

{{note|Blaster's personality varied significantly across different media; see entries below for details.}}

==Fiction==
===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
{{main|Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity}}
[[Image:AutoBop blaster speakers.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Beware my tweeters of doom!!]]
Blaster was a fun-loving, hip and happening robot. Loud and energetic, he was quick to immerse himself in Earth culture, and was happy to share his choice of rockin' tunes with anyone, whether they really wanted to hear them or not—a trait that got him in trouble as often as it saved him and his Autobot allies. Developing a rivalry with his Decepticon opposite number Soundwave Blaster gained a cassette army of his own so he could fight Soundwave on equal footing, and he and little buddies were instrumental in ensuring reinforcements arrived in time to save [[Autobot City]] when it was besieged in 2005. Following this, Blaster was assigned command of the city, where his jive-talking jingles and jams saw the Autobots through crises like the attack of [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]. Blaster's duties also took him to a variety of battlefields that were stranger than many other Transformers would experience, including millions of years into the past, into another dimension ruled by magic, and—a particular favorite of his—the musical planet of [[Eurythma]].

In some timelines which spin off from this one, Blaster joined the [[Interplanetary Personnel Exchange Program]] under the new name '''Broadblast''' (ブロードブラスト ''Burōdoburasuto''), and after perishing in a one-on-one battle with Soundwave, was reconstructed by the super-science of the planet [[Master (planet)|Master]] as '''Twincast''' (ツインキャスト ''Tsuinkyasuto'').
{{-}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Marvel Generation 1 comics====
{{noteukonly}}
[[Image:BlasterUS17.jpg|right|250px|thumb|More than likely, he'll kill you. Yeah, you. You know who you are.]]
Blaster was a rather grim, brooding, rebellious loner who hated Decepticons with a passion, whose reputation as one of the best fighters the [[Autobot]]s had was blemished by his vocal problems with authority figures. Part of [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]]'s [[Cybertron Seven|Autobot resistance cell]] on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], he often disagreed with his superior's orders, especially after his friend [[Scrounge (G1)|Scrounge]] failed to make a rendezvous with him in the [[Dead End (place)|Dead End]], and Blaster wanted to hunt for him. Although his fellow freedom fighters rallied behind him at first, the discovery that Scrounge had been taken to the Decepticon stronghold in [[Polyhex]] changed their minds, and Blaster went in alone. Captured by the forces of [[Straxus (G1)|Lord Straxus]], Blaster was sentenced to the [[smelting pool]], where he discovered the half-melted Scrounge, who clung to life long enough to pass on to Blaster the data he had obtained, so that this death would not be in vain. Blaster was then saved from the pit by his comrades, and he claimed revenge for Scrounge by ripping out the pipes that fed the pool and blasting their Decepticon pursuers with molten slag.

[[Image:MarvelUS18 blaster cyb altmode.jpg|left|thumb|225px|And you thought the 1980s cellphones were huge.]]
Scrounge's information brought new hope to the Autobot resistance, as it revealed that [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] and the Autobots on the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] were still alive and well after four million years, fighting on a planet called Earth. {{storylink|The Smelting Pool!}} The Decepticons set about building a [[space bridge]] to this planet, and Blaster spied on the tests in his alternate mode, gathering the information they need to launch an attack. Blaster personally battled Straxus on the bridge, tricking the Decepticon leader into damaging the portal before kicking him through it and apparently destroying him. Blaster and the rest of his Autobot allies were trapped on the Earth side of the bridge as it faded out. {{storylink|The Bridge to Nowhere!}}

Blaster and his men were attacked by the government anti-robot task force [[Rapid Anti-robot Assault Team|RAAT]] and its super-powered agent [[Circuit Breaker]] almost immediately upon arrival, and were captured and disassembled, their heads mounted on the wall of RAAT headquarters. {{storylink|Heavy Traffic!}} To deal with the threat of the [[Battlecharger]]s, Blaster and the Autobots agreed to allow Circuit Breaker to jury-rig their bodies together into a giant exo-suit she would use to take the two Decepticons down, in exchange for their being rebuilt and released. {{storylink|Decepticon Graffiti!}}

[[Image:FallenAngel blaster sonics galvatron.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Yeah, that's real good, Blaster, you keep doing that.]]

''Blaster's team followed their fellow RAAT captive [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] him back to the Ark, but along the way, their guide vanished, displaced to [[Limbo]] by the appearance of the future Decepticon, [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. Unwisely deciding to engage the Decepticon, Blaster tried hitting him with a blast of sonics, which sundered Galvatron's tenuous hold on sanity and only made him even more dangerous. Fortunately, the arrival of the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] saved him, and he decided to try the tactic again while Galvatron was distracted. It ''almost'' worked this time, but Galvatron hurled a discarded sword in Blaster's direction, and he was only rescued from impalement by [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]]. Blaster was soon knocked unconscious, and didn't witness Galvatron being driven off by the present-day Decepticons.'' {{storylink|Fallen Angel}} ''Blaster's team continued on their way to the Ark, and arrived just as the Autobots were preparing to hold a funeral for Optimus Prime. Blaster quietly questioned their decision to bury Prime rather than fire his body into space, but it proved a moot point when the Autobot leader turned out to not actually be dead, returning in the midst of the ceremony.'' {{storylink|Resurrection!}}

[[Image:JoeandTF4 blaster omega and the rest.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Turn down that blasted music! THIS I COMMAND!!!]]

When Optimus Prime died for real soon after, Blaster got on the comm to pass the grim news on to [[Superion (G1)|Superion]], ordering him to break off his present engagement with the anti-terrorist team [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] and return to the Ark. {{storylink|Power Struggle}} After watching as [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] tried and failed to rebuild the Autobot leader, Blaster attended Prime's funeral, where his body was sent into space on a funeral bier. {{storylink|Funeral for a Friend!}} Blaster gave a speech to mark Prime's passing, {{storylink|Ashes, Ashes...}} then returned to the Ark with the Auotbots, only to be attacked attacked by the ship's own defense systems, co-opted by the human criminal, the [[Mechanic (G1)|Mechanic]]. Perceptor had to stop Blaster from damaging the ship until the situation could be brought under control. {{storylink|Funeral for a Friend!}} No sooner had ''that'' been dealt with than Blaster detected a fleet of human aircraft heading for the Ark, which the Autobots proceeded to intercept on the assumption of hostile intent. After a brief battle, the human revealed themselves to agents of [[Cobra]], who requested the Autobots' help in stopping the Decepticons from destroying the planet using [[Power Station Alpha]]. {{storylink|Ashes, Ashes...}} Suspecting the highly-advanced Alpha could potentially be a sentient technological lifeform, Blaster opposed destroying it outright, and remained at the Ark to co-ordinate a combined Autobot/G.I. Joe/Cobra attack on the Decepticons to free Alpha from their control. The Joes and Cobra surreptitiously had Alpha destroyed to remove its threat, infuriating Blaster and leading him to wonder if ''any'' humans could be trusted. {{storylink|...All Fall Down!}}

[[Image:MarvelUS28 blaster cops.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]]

Turning to the matter of finding a new leader of the Autobots, Blaster and several other high-ranking Autobots were in the process of a holding a vote when the massive Decepticon battle station Trypticon attacked, and Blaster was shot down when he attempted to rush the giant. Dinobot leader [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] proceeded to secure victory over Trypticon, convincing Blaster and the other Autobots to appoint him the Autobots' new commander. {{storylink|King of the Hill!}} Unfortunately, Grimlock soon gave Blaster cause to regret his decision with increasingly hostile leadership methods and a callous disregard for human safety. Paired with [[Bumblebee (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Goldbug]], whose more naturally upbeat personality provided the Boy Wonder to his Batman, Blaster was charged with locating the Mechanic, but disobeyed orders and entered into alliance with some local human law enforcement to prevent the officers from being killed by the advanced Cybertronian weapons the criminal had stolen from the Ark. Playing the fool, Detective [[Greco]] carried Blaster into the Mechanic's hideout in tape-deck mode, where the Autobot used his electro scrambler to disable all the villain's weapons. Alas, the Mechanic escaped, and, realizing that Grimlock would not tolerate the news of their failure and their human alliances, Blaster and Goldbug elected to go AWOL. {{storylink|Mechanical Difficulties!}}

[[Image:MarvelUS30 blaster and goldbug.jpg|left|300px|thumb|"MY PARENTS ARE DEEEEAD!"]]

Rather than lay low, Blaster and Goldbug decided to take their fight to the Decepticons, and quickly tracked down the Autobots' human ally [[G.B. Blackrock]] in hope that he could provide them with both fuel and some hot tips on current 'Con activity. Following Blackrock's info, the two Autobots found the Decepticon [[Triple Changer]]s, but Blaster took on all three of the villains at once, he discovered they were ravaged with [[Scraplet]]s, which soon infected him as well. Goldbug withdrew to seek a cure, but Blaster believed he had left him to die and swore vengeance against the little 'bot. {{storylink|Crater Critters}} Hooking up with the [[Throttlebot]]s and human scientist [[Charlie Fong]], Goldbug discovered that water could destroy the Scraplets, and surprised Blaster by returning to save him. Blaster refused to allow himself to be cured if it meant that the Decepticons would live as well, but when the Scraplets merged into a giant, Goldbug had no choice, and sprayed them all. A cured but furious Blaster smashed the water tank over the Scraplet-monster, killing it, then calmed down enough to apologize to Goldbug for doubting him. {{storylink|The Cure!}}

[[Image:MarvelUS32 blaster arrested.jpg|right|250px|thumb]]

''Taking some time out of their life on the road to watch human television, Blaster, Goldbug and the Throttlebots happened upon a news report about the discovery of [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and Galvatron, entombed in lava within the the volcano, [[Mount Verona]]. Discovering that Soundwave and the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] were going to blow up the mountain to destroy them both, Blaster used his sonic powers to block Soundwave's detonation signal, preventing the bombs the Combaticons placed from going off.'' {{storylink|Ladies' Night (issue)|Ladies' Night}} Once they had evaded the pursuing Combaticons, Blaster and company found themselves in a scuffle with RAAT in [[California]], and hid out in [[Big Steve Ludwig (G1)|Big Steve Ludwig]]'s used car lot. Unfortunately, their battle made the evening news and finally alerted Grimlock to their AWOL status, prompting him to brand them traitors and send the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] to hunt them down. The car lot quickly turned into a three-way battleground between the Combaticons, Protectobots and RAAT, and despite Blaster's help in the battle, the Protectobots surrounded and apprehended him at the fight's end. {{storylink|Used Autobots}}

[[Image:Blasterbeourleaderplease.jpg|left|300px|thumb|"BLASTER, BE OUR LEADER, PLEAAAASE???"]]

Trapped in tape deck mode by a [[mode lock]], Blaster was helpless to aid the Protectobots when the Combaticons returned, but with the aid of four [[Spacehikers|human children]], he was freed and took [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] down by collapsing a pylon on him. Realizing that Blaster was far nobler than Grimlock, [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] allowed him to go free, and Blaster rewarded the children for their help by taking them on a trip into space aboard the mode-locked [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]]. {{storylink|Child's Play (issue)|Child's Play}} Unfortunately, they were accosted in mid-flight by the now-airborne Ark, but the humans tossed Blaster out an airlock so he could avoid capture by Grimlock's forces. While Grimlock was occupied trying to stop [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] from interfering in his attempted execution of the kids, Blaster rode a telecommunications satellite back to the Ark, where he his fellow Autobots, all sick of Grimlock's leadership, begged him to take over as leader. However, he was forced to surrender to his former commander in order to secure the kids' safety. {{storylink|Spacehikers!}}

[[Image:MarvelUS41 blaster vs grimlock.jpg|right|300px|thumb]]

Imprisoned by Grimlock, Blaster was strapped to a [[variable voltage harness]] for some time as punishment for his desertion and disobedience. When [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] and his Autobots arrived and Grimlock challenged him to a duel, Goldbug talked Blaster into taking the injured Fortress Maximus's place to get even with Grimlock once and for all. They proceeded to battle on the surface of Earth's [[moon (moon)|moon]], but their duel was interrupted by a Decepticon attack, and Blaster pointed out that their feud had put all Autobots in danger. Grimlock agreed to call their duel a draw and declared a truce with Blaster as they fended off the Decepticons side by side. {{storylink|Totaled!}}

With Optimus Prime's subsequent return both to life and to command of the Autobots, the faction's in-fighting issues ceased and more important matters could be dealt with—namely, rescuing their human ally [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]] from the Decepticons' baffling new [[Club Con|desert island resort]]. [[Image:MarvelUS50 blaster dies.jpg|left|275px|thumb]] Tasked with investigating, Blaster was loaded into a capsule in tape deck mode and dropped from the orbiting Ark into the Witwicky family garden, where he asked Buster's girlfriend [[Jesse (G1)|Jesse]] to sneak him into "Club Con". The pair were able to steal a pair of captive Autobot cassettes—[[Grand Slam (G1)|Grand Slam]] and [[Raindance]]—from the Decepticons, but this aroused the ire of the [[Seacon (G1)|Seacons]], and Blaster, unable to battle them effectively due to the human holidaymakers occupying the island, was forced to ditch the tapes in the ocean to break off the fight. Although forced to withdraw without Buster, Blaster and Jessie ''had'' learned something important: the tapes held data on a mysterious Cybertronian object heading for Earth. {{storylink|Club Con!}} ''The eruption of the "Time Wars" briefly tabled this mystery, but Blaster had no real role in that conflict, as he, Optimus Prime, and several other Autobots were temporarily displaced into Limbo to make room for a team of Autobots arriving from the future.'' {{storylink|Time Wars}} [[Image:Marvel77-Blaster.jpg|right|150px|thumb|He used to be badass, now he's just a poor man's Perceptor...]] Soon after, the approaching object was revealed to be the Cybertronian database known as the [[Underbase]], the power of which was stolen by Starscream. Blaster joined [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] in co-ordinating a battalion of Autobots and Decepticons in defense of [[New York City]] against Starscream's worldwide rampage, and was the last to fall, shot dead atop the Brooklyn Bridge, like all those who attempted to stand against the cosmically-powered villain. {{storylink|Dark Star}}

Blaster's body was put into storage on the Ark, defying all of Ratchet's attempts to repair it, to the extent that the medic started to have nightmares about him and various other deactivated Autobots reviving as [[zombie]]s to kill him for his failures. {{storylink|Back from the Dead}} A few years later, Grimlock succeeded where Ratchet had failed by using the miracle fuel [[Nucleon]] to revive the damaged Autobots, with Blaster being one of the first back on his feet. Arriving on Cybertron in the nick of time aboard the ''Ark'', Blaster took part in and survived the battle with [[Unicron]]. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}} In the aftermath, [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] had Blaster run a check on the strange seismic activity Cybertron was suffering from, with disastrous results: It turned out Cybertron was tearing itself apart without the binding life-force of [[Primus]] to sustain it. {{storylink|Exodus!}}

[[Image:EndOfTheRoad-finalfive.jpg|left|thumb|Guess how many of these guys had Action Master toys on the shelves when this came out.]]
The Decepticons fled Cybertron, leaving the Autobots to die with their homeworld, but thanks to Grimlock planning ahead, the Autobots managed to follow them to the planet [[Klo]], only to be caught in an ambush upon arrival. Blaster took a blast in the shoulder from [[Quake (G1)|Quake]] during the fight, but was one of the few who managed to survive the attack, and there was still more than enough fight left in him to join Grimlock and the other survivors in charging the Decepticon position. He was last seen shooting the head off of [[Snapdragon (G1)|Snapdragon]]. [[Krunk|Uh oh.]] {{storylink|End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!}}

In an alternate version of 2006, Blaster went with a group of Autobots to [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]] to investigate strange happenings there. When they arrived they discovered a chaotic scene where aliens from many worlds, including the Decepticons, had arrived and were all engaged in a deadly battle with one another. Blaster detected a signal he suspected was putting all the combatants under hypnosis. He and Ultra Magnus came up with a plan where [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] would fly Blaster into the air where Blaster would then broadcast soothing music. The plan succeeded in calming the combatants. {{storylink|The Big Broadcast of 2006 (issue)|The Big Broadcast of 2006 (US)}}

{{note|In the UK version of the story, the events of "The Big Broadcast of 2006" are a fabrication invented by [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]].}}

=====Marvel UK future timelines=====
[[Image:SpacePirates blaster strung up.jpg|right|thumb]]
In the future of 2008, Blaster was present at Autobot City when the [[Quintesson]] [[Trident Attack Craft|Trident]] ships attacked. He attempted to transform Autobot City himself, but was stopped cold by General [[Ghyrik]]. He was deactivated in the battle that followed and his body strung up on the outer parapets as a warning to any Autobots who came to liberate the city. Although Blaster was inactive, his cassettes were not, and this fact gave [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] an edge when they began battling their way through the Quintesson occupants. {{storylink|Space Pirates!}}

Blaster was seen briefly in 2009 at the start of the Time Wars, but did not end up joining Rodimus Prime on his mission into the past (see above). {{storylink|Time Wars}} After Galvatron was destroyed back in 1989 and the time line rebooted itself, Blaster was still among the Autobots stationed at Autobot City. He responded to [[Kup (G1)|Kup]]'s emergency signal when the Autobots crash landed on Earth after a crazed Rodimus Prime turned against them, and helped drive the evil possessing presence out of their leader. {{storylink|White Fire}}
{{-}}

=====Another Time & Place=====
[[Image:Another Time Place Fangry.jpg|thumb|left|That's his hand on the left!]]
Blaster was part of the rescue unit who infiltrated [[Hydrus Four]] to defeat the Decepticons and rescue the Dinobots. He personally helped disarm and defeat [[Fangry]]. {{storylink|Another Time & Place}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers in 3-D''===
[[Image:WarAgainstDestructions blaster plays.jpg|right|thumb]]
When Hot Rod and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] returned from [[Tau-Ursa]] with a strange recording, Blaster was able to play it. The recording revealed the existence of the [[Destructon]]s, [[Logicon]]s, and the location of [[Metascan Alpha]], the Logicons' storehouse of [[Energon]]. At Optimus Prime's command, Blaster contacted Ultra Magnus at Metroplex on Earth to pass the information along. {{storylink|The War Against the Destructons, Chapter 1 of 3}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation 1'' comics===
[[Image:AgeofWrath2 AutobotResistance.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Steeljaw was in the bathroom.]]
Around 6.5 million years ago, Blaster was one of the high-ranking Autobots who helped Ultra Magnus reunify their fractured faction at the end of the [[Dark Ages]], suggesting that he may have been in charge of one of the various splinter groups that formed during those troubled times. Over the next half-a-million years, the reunited Autobots worked to usher in a new Golden Age, and were finally poised to sign a peace treaty with the Decepticons and [[Ultracon]]s until the long-missing Megatron returned to Cybertron, launching an attack in the middle of the treaty ceremony with his new [[Air Warrior|Aerospace Extermination Squadron]]. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath}} With this new army, Megatron ushered in an [[Age of Internment]], capturing nearly the entire Autobot army and putting them to work as slaves, extracting the very core of Cybertron itself. Blaster managed to evade capture, however, and together with Perceptor, assembled a small rebel cell hiding out in the subterranean chambers of [[Iacon Command]]. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath Pt.2}}

Seeking to capture one of Megatron's drones in order to learn more about Megatron's new [[Cloning|clone technology]], Blaster oversaw his unit on the mission from a distance, using his abilities to jam any emergency transmissions while [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] and several other Autobots engaged the drone in battle long enough to attach an inhibitor claw, immobilizing it. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath Pt.3}}

{{note|Dreamwave's subsequent backruptcy ended ''The Age of Wrath'' half-way through. Unreleased issues would have seen Blaster and his team use an ancient map of Cybertron's depths to infiltrate Megatron's slave camp, only for them to be discovered by Megatron himself. Blaster battled Megatron one-on-one, managing to use his sonic powers to briefly gain the upper hand, before losing a leg to the Decepticon leader. The sudden return of Grimlock, believed to have died during Megatron's first attack, gave the wounded Blaster the chance he needed to free the Autobot prisoners by deactivating their [[inhibitor claw]]s. Perceptor, meanwhile, used the data gleaned from studying the captured drone to deactivate the neural network linking the entire squadron, ending the Age of Internment.}}

Blaster remained on Cybertron when the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] and the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'' left four million years ago, and eventually entered stasis along with the rest of the planet when it finally ran out of energy during the [[Great Shutdown]]. The planet was reawakened by Shockwave in roughly the Earth year 1000 BC, and the Autobots and Decepticons put aside their differences to begin rebuilding their world. [[Image:PassiveAggression Blaster lovesEarth.jpg|left|300px|thumb|]] Suspecting that Shockwave had more sinister motives, Blaster was one of the first Autobots to join an underground resistance movement against him, using his communications skills to discover a subliminal code being pumped through the public address screens around the planet that was aggravating the violent tendencies of the entire population. Despite his feelings for Shockwave, Blaster still developed a strong taste for information from the Earth culture Shockwave was introducing to Cybertron, and even modified his alternate mode into a Earthen boom box. {{storylink|Passive Aggression}}

In the year 2003, when Shockwave's forces brought Optimus Prime and the crew of the Ark back to Cybertron to be tried as war criminals, double agents inside the United Cybertronian force delivered Prime and his crew to Blaster and the others at their headquarters in the [[Wastelands]]. With the help of Cybertron's greatest hero, the resistance movement began an open insurrection against Shockwave's loyal Decepticon forces and the [[Guardian robot]]s under his control. Shockwave's regime fell, and the Autobots resumed command of Cybertron. {{storylink|Revelation (War and Peace)|Revelation}}

===''Transformers/G.I. Joe''===
[[Image:DividedFront1 bots found.jpg|right|thumb|Comfortable?]]
In the year 1985, Blaster and [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] hastily took off for [[Earth]] in an starship poorly-suited for interstellar travel. Upon arrival, they unsurprisingly crashed, landing in the forests of [[Oregon]] near [[Mount St. Hilary]]. Their deactivated bodies were found by the forces of [[Cobra]] and bundled up to be airlifted out, but a [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] team led by [[Flint (G.I. Joe)|Flint]] soon intervened. [[Blowtorch]] knocked the chopper carrying their bodies out of the air with this flamethrower, and [[Barbecue]] extinguished the flames before the two Autobots could be consumed by the blaze. Blaster and Perceptor's bodies were then taken back to G.I. Joe headquarters. {{storylink|Targets of Opportunity}}
{{note|Dreamwave's bankruptcy meant this story was never finished.}}
{{--}}

===''Hearts of Steel''===
[[Image:HeartsofSteel blaster.jpg|left|thumb|No, no, don't get up.]]
Blaster and his fellow Autobots fought the Decepticons on Earth in the distant past until an incoming ice age threatened to deactivate all the Transformers. Both sides went into hiding underground until the danger had passed, remaining in stasis until the mid-19th century. When they woke up, the war against the Decepticons started anew, though Blaster was not seen getting involved. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 1|Heart of Steel #1}}
{{-}}
===IDW Generation 1 comics===

[[Image:SpotlightBlaster the voice.jpg|right|300px|thumb|]]

Before the war, Blaster was a reporter for the [[Iaconian Newsfeed Service]], and reported live from the [[Nova Plaza]] after an assassination attempt on [[Nominus Prime]]. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}} After the outbreak of the war, Blaster joined the Autobots, and initially served as a soldier who was present at a victory celebration after the Autobots halted a major Decepticon energon convoy four million years ago. {{storylink|The Iron Age}} Eventually, however, he returned to his broadcasting roots and became a patriotic radio personality, broadcasting propaganda across the galaxy to rally the Autobot forces as they struggled on the war's many battlefronts. Known as "The Voice" for his widespread positive influence, Blaster became the target of a Decepticon assassination attempt, time to prevent him from making an important broadcast on the eve of a major Autobot offensive. Although the assassin failed, Blaster's wounded body was ejected into space, and he was believed dead by his faction.

[[Image:SpotlightBlaster altmode.jpg|left|thumb|150px]]

Some time later, Blaster was found by a passing [[Yar|trawler]] and delivered home, where it was revealed that he had to have been attacked by an Autobot. In an effort to flush the traitor out, Blaster went back on the air. The attempt worked, and his would-be killer was revealed: [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]], forced into the act by a mind-controlling [[cerebro-shell]] implanted by [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] at the direction of Soundwave. However, he was able to resist when Blaster used his greatest weapon: his voice. As a damaged Beachcomber was brought in for repairs, Blaster swore he'd find Soundwave and that the last thing he'd ever hear would be... the Voice. {{storylink|Spotlight: Blaster}}

[[Image:AHM15 blaster and kup.jpg|right|thumb]]

In the year that followed the defeat of [[Nova Prime]], Blaster was among the Autobots captured by the Decepticon [[Turmoil]], but was soon rescued by a team led by Kup. All the other prisoners were members of the [[Wrecker]]s, suggesting Blaster may have joined the team at some point. {{storylink|Spotlight: Drift}} Blaster remained with Kup's team, and was serving as the communications officer for his ship, the ''[[Trion]]'', when a simultaneous galaxy-wide uprising was staged by the Decepticons. Distress signals came pouring in, but all went silent in short order, save for one from Hot Rod, so the crew of the ''Trion'' went to save the turbo-revvin' young punk from [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] and [[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]]. The day was saved by Perceptor, although Blaster disapproved of the scientist's transformation into a warrior, saying he had "defiled himself". {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 15|Lost & Found}}

Blaster and the others harried the Decepticon fleet until they were baited into an ambush above Cybertron. There, the ship was shot down and forced to crash-land on the assumed uninhabitable world. Banding together to survive, they eventually encountered Optimus Prime's unit, only to find him incapacitated, the Matrix having been seized by [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}} Blaster mingled with the other Autobots for a while, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} before warning Kup about an incoming [[Insecticon swarm|swarm]] attack that forced them to relocate. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}} With morale still dwindling, Blaster attempted to put his famous voice to work by trying to break up a fight between Hot Rod and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] by injecting some reason, but was interrupted by [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] telling them they all deserved to die. [[Image:AHM9 blaster breaks up argument.jpg|left|thumb]] {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 9|All Hail Megatron #9}} The Autobots were eventually saved when [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] decimated the swarm and carried them all to Earth, where they attacked Megatron and his troops. Blaster was ordered to block the Decepticons' communications, allowing the arrival of Omega Supreme to take them completely by surprise. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 11|All Hail Megatron #11}} He survived the great battle. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}

Blaster remained on Earth with the other Autobots for the next three years, as they regathered their forces. [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]] radioed in to Blaster when [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] got himself nabbed by [[Skywatch]], an event which led to the death of [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and the resignation of Optimus Prime. {{storylink|...For All Mankind}} Autobot leadership was split between Bumblebee and Hot Rod, and Blaster stayed with Bumblebee's group, which went on to form an alliance with [[Gordon Horiuchi]] of Skywatch. Blaster was among the Autobots who captured [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] and other Decepticons for their new allies. {{storylink|The Hanging Sword}} Unfortunately, Horiuchi betrayed the Autobots and forced them to hunt one of their own kind, [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]]. Bumblebee managed to get free from Horiuchi's control, and so Blaster and the others stayed behind to cover for him as he sought a solution for their problems. {{storylink|The Impossible Knot}} They pretended to be making plans to hunt down Hot Rod while Bumblebee recovered the control tech Skywatch was using to keep them in line. {{storylink|The Gift Horse}} Bumblebee was successful, and Blaster was later present when Bumblebee unveiled his new, more powerful form, to better serve as Autobot leader. {{storylink|Wings of Wax}}

Blaster was one of the Autobots who joined the crew of the ''[[Lost Light]]'' in search of the mythical [[Knights of Cybertron]]. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}}
{{--}}

==Games==
===''Transformers G1: Awakening''===
[[Image:Gluawakening blaster.jpg|right|thumb]]
{{storylink|Transformers G1: Awakening}}
<div style="float: left">{{charstubfiction}}</div><div style="clear: left"></div>
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===

* '''Blaster''' (Autobot, 1985/1986)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''38'''
**''Accessories:'' [[Electro-scrambler|Electro-scrambler gun]]
[[Image:G1 Blaster toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"Still think you're so superior, Soundwave?"]]
: Rather huge by the typical standards of Generation 1 Transformers, Blaster transforms into a miniature "ghetto blaster" boombox. He features spring-loaded buttons: when pressed, his "start" button stays in the depressed position until his "stop" button is pressed, while pressing the "eject" button pops open his tape door, which can store a single [[Mini-Cassette]] Transformer. Due to what was presumably a common internal misassembly issue, many original Blasters had doors which would not open when the eject button is pressed, nor would the other buttons work. Blaster has rather limited useful articulation, located in his neck and shoulders.

: Blaster began life as the ''[[Micro Change]]'' "Radi-Casse Robo" ("radio-cassette", you see), which was actually a functional AM radio. Though this feature was gutted from Blaster when he was released as part of the ''Transformers'' toyline, the original toy's power switch (on his right leg), earphone jack (on the back of his left leg) and tuning dial (on his chest) still remain, now as a moulded, non-moving detail. Even the toy's electro-scrambler gun is designed to serve as storage for the set of earphones which came with the toy, with the plug inserting into the stock, the cord winding around it, and the earphones themselves tucking into the hole in the gun's main body. It was not the toy itself which was the radio; rather, the radio was a small "micro-cassette" which plugged into the toy's internal wiring when inserted into its chest, allowing it to play through the speakers in its legs in either mode. As the electronic equipment in the chest meant that the figure could not hold normal ''Micro Change'' cassettes there, it featured a compartment on its back which could hold a single tape instead. This compartment could still be found on some early releases of Blaster, though it was a often mistaken by fans as a vestigial battery compartment, which was actually originally located in the toy's right leg.

: Blaster was reissued by Takara in 2006 as part of ''[[#TFC|The Transformers Collection]]'' and then by Hasbro in 2010 during ''[[#Hasbroreissue|Universe]]'' (see below)
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1985/Autobot/Blaster/blaster.htm More information on Blaster at TFU.info]''

{{-}}
[[Image:G1toy_twincast.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
* '''Twincast''' (Autobot, 1987)
**''ID number:'' '''C-116'''
**''Accessories:'' [[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]], Electro-Scrambler Gun

: For this Japanese-exclusive release, the first Blaster toy was [[redeco]]ed into a rather cacophonous new blue, yellow and red color scheme. Like his contemporary redeco Soundblaster, his chest door was [[Retool|retooled]] in order to accommodate two cassettes at once, and changed from colorless clear plastic to translucent red as part of a gimmick with his pack-in partner, Steeljaw. This version of Steeljaw sports a new decal depicting [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], which reveals the Decepticon's weak spot when placed behind Twincast's red door, working in the same manner as a [[Tech Spec]]s decoder.

: Twincast was reissued as an [[e-HOBBY]] [[exclusive]] in 2006 (see below)
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1987/Cybertron/Twincast/twincast.htm More information on Twincast at TFU.info]''

{{-}}
[[Image:ActionMasterBlaster toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Which gun is better?]]
*'''Blaster w/ Flight Pack''' (Action Master, 1990)
**''Accessories:'' "Flight Pack" backpack, "tractor beam electron gun"

: A non-transforming action figure, [[Action Master]] Blaster (not to be confused with the "Action Master Blasters" price-point) is compatible with any other Action Master vehicle or accessory. His design is based largely on his cartoon model, with elements from the toy added (like his visor). He came with the "[[Flight Pack]]" accessory, which converts from a winged jetpack to a massive "electro-scrambler" cannon.
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1990/Autobot/Blaster/blaster.htm More information on Action Master Blaster at TFU.info]''

{{-}}

===Binaltech Asterisk===
[[Image:Bta broadblast.jpg|right|300px|thumb|They see me rollin', they hatin'.]]
*'''Broadblast meets Lumina''' (Binaltech, 2005)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''BTA03'''
**''Accessories:'' Engine/gun, Lumina Hoshi with stand, driving arms and driving legs

: A redeco of ''[[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]]'' [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], Broadblast transforms into a 1:24 scale [[wikipedia:Scion_xB|Toyota bB, aka the Scion xB]]. He has working doors, hood, and trunk, plus his engine becomes a non-firing weapon. He also comes with an extra decal sheet, which includes signs for "TBN" which ''possibly'' stands for "Transformers Broadcast Network" or some such; there is Japanese text on the labels as well, but it's really tiny and hard to make out.

: He came with a PVC-plastic figurine of the [[human]] newsgirl [[Lumina Hoshi]].
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2005/Cybertron/Broadblast/broadblast.htm More information on Binaltech Asterisk Blaster at TFU.info]''
{{-}}
===The Transformers Collection===

[[Image:G1toy TFC blaster.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]

*'''Broadcast''' (reissue, 2006)
**''ID number:'' '''21'''
**''Accessories:'' Steeljaw, Electro-scrambler gun, cassette case

:Blaster's first reissue was the final instalment in Takara's ''[[The Transformers Collection]]'' line of re-released Generation 1 toys. He features no notable changes from his original release, save for the fact that he comes packaged with Steeljaw, where his original release had gone without any pack-in partners.
{{-}}

===Collector's Edition===
[[Image:G1toy twincast reissue.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]

*'''Twincast''' (2006)
**''ID number:'' '''C-116'''
**''Accessories:'' [[Flip Sides (G1)|Flip Sides]], Electro-scrambler gun, cassette case

:Twincast's first reissue was available exclusively through online retailer e-HOBBY, designed, as most e-HOBBY exclusives were at the time, to accompany the mass-release of the standard reissue of the original Blaster. Though Twincast was unusual in that he was a pre-existing character, where the previous few years' worth of e-HOBBY exclusive redecos had been new characters, he did come packaged with a new partner: a redeco of the Eject/Rewind mold named [[Flip Sides (G1)|Flip Sides]]. At the time, rather than feature unique packaging, all e-HOBBY exclusives came in a generic box in Autobot red or Decepticon purple; oddly, Twincast came in a Decepticon box, but since Flip Sides was characterized as a Decepticon sleeper agent, it just about made sense.
{{-}}

===Universe (2008)===
[[Image:Blasteruniversetoy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Preparations for the military strike, dubbed Operation Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication Storm, are already underway.]]
*'''Autobot Blaster with Blockrock Mini-Con!''' (Voyager, 2008)
**''Series:'' Classics Series
**''Accessories:'' Tri-barrel "particle feedback blaster"/bomb, double-barrel "harmonic wave cannon"/bomb, Cybertron Autobot Cyber Key

: Blaster is a redeco of ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' [[Soundwave (Cybertron)|Soundwave]], transforming into a Cybertronic stealth bomber vaguely like an [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes|F-117A Nighthawk prototype]], the [[Wikipedia:Have_Blue|Have Blue]]. He comes with three hexagonal prism "bombs"; one converts into his partner [[Blockrock]], the other two unfold into non-firing blaster weapons. Any one of these "bombs" can be stored in his robot-mode chest, which opens by plugging a [[Cyber Planet Key]] into him; Blaster comes translucent black, gunmetal-bordered [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]-style Autobot key, in contrast to the [[Planet X (Cybertron)|Planet X]] key that came with Soundwave. The other two bombs store in indents on the underside of his wings.

: His packaging art shows him with only half of his chest-door as clear-blue, emulating the original toy design's tape-window, but the final product (and stock photography) show the blue all the way across. However, his visor ''does'' have red paint to simulate the "goggle visor" look of the [[#Generation 1|original toy]] and Marvel comics model.

: This mold was also used to make ''Galaxy Force'' [[Soundblaster (Cybertron)|Soundblaster]].
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/TFUBlaster/blaster.htm More information on Classics Blaster at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|Hasbroreissue}}
[[Image:Universe2008_SDCC_G1Blaster.jpg|thumb|300px|]]
*'''Autobot Blaster''' (2010)
**''Series:'' G1 Series
**''Accessories:'' Electro-Scrambler Gun
:This San Diego Comic-Con [[exclusive]] reissue of Blaster comes with [[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]], [[Ramhorn (G1)|Ramhorn]] and [[Eject]]. Released as part of the [[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|''Universe'' (2008) toyline]], the packaging also has a special foil-detailed outer slip case. Blaster is technically a slight [[redeco]], having metal-flake beige legs instead of metallic-swirl silver.

:This set was also made available at the Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong Fair 2010, and was later released on the [[Hasbro Toy Shop]] and then also sold at FanExpo Canada 2010.
{{-}}

===Device Label===
[[Image:Device_Label_Broadcast.jpg|thumb|right|300px|What, not a real notebook?! You are the REAL ''Decept''icon!!]]
*'''Broad Blast''' ([[July 24|7/24]]/2010)
**''Accessories:'' USB cable

:''[[Transformers Device Label|Device Label]]'' Broad Blast transforms into a working USB hub (designed to look like the Toshiba Qosmio laptop computer). The USB functionality works in both robot and laptop modes. Generation 1 Mini-Cassettes can fit into the false tape-deck in his chest in robot mode, but cannot be stored while Broad Blast is in laptop mode due to his head being inside his chest in this form. The Generation 1 Blaster toy's Electro-Scrambler Gun can also fit into Broad Blast's [[5mm post|compatible fist holes]].

:Originally scheduled for release in late [[2009]], Broad Blast was delayed until July 2010. According to a report from getnews.jp at the Tokyo Toy Show 2010, the delay was due to the discovery of a connection cut-off problem after the toy/USB hub is transformed into robot mode. TakaraTomy redesigned the entire lower body to fix this problem. <ref>[http://getnews.jp/archives/68064 Get News.jp report on Device Label Broadblast]</ref>
{{--}}

===Encore===
[[Image:Encoretoy-Twincast.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]
*'''Twincast''' (2012)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''22'''
**''Accessories:'' [[Nightstalker]], [[Stripes]], [[electro-scrambler]], two mini-cassette cases

:Twincast was available again as part of TakaraTomy's ''[[Transformers Encore]]'' series of reissues. For this release of Twincast, the techno detailing of his door is smoothed over for cartoon accuracy. Also to add to cartoon accuracy, his face is colored in a metallic yellow with metallic light blue eyes instead of silver with gold eyes. All of the original Twincast's stickers have been replaced with tampographed detailing for this release, including a large Autobot symbol on his chest (where the techno detail was present on previous releases). Twincast also features a darker blue from the previous releases as well as a different shade of yellow for his tape deck door.

:Twincast came with Nightstalker and Stripes.
{{--}}

==Merchandise==
===Transformers Gum===
[[Image:TFgum blaster.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
*'''Broadcast''' (model kit, 1986)
**''Accessories:'' Electro-scrambler gun

:A snap-together model kit of Blaster was released by [[Kabaya]] as part of their ''[[Transformers Gum]]'' line of candy toys. Released in the third wave of the line and sculpted from red, grey and black plastic with a few stickers for detail, Blaster is broadly identical to his larger figure, right down to the moulded-in left-over details from his ''MicroChange'' release like his power switch and dials . There is one major difference: his chest does not open, so he can't store any of the tapes from Kabaya's smaller ''[[Transformers Choco]]'' line the way the ''Transformers Gum'' Soundwave can.

::*''[http://www.tfw2005.com/resources/g1-kabaya-cybertrons-441/broadcast-gum-3398/ More information on Transformers Gum Broadcast at TFW2005.com]''
{{-}}

===Decoy===
[[Image:Decoy_blaster.jpg|right|thumb|]]{{anchor|TakaraDecoy}}
* '''Cybertron Hero Collection 22''' (multi-pack, 1986)
:Blaster was among the many characters rendered by [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] as part of their series of 1.5" ''keshigomu'' figurines. Like all the Autobots in the series, Blaster was molded in soft red rubber, and featured a number sculpted into his back that was the sum total of his [[Tech Spec]]s, for use in the various games that could be played with the figurines.
:Blaster was available as part of a 22-piece box set of Autobot figures, in a variety of colours through "gachapon" capsule machines, and later, in a peach coloration randomly packed as part of various other box sets distributed by [[Seven]].

{{anchor|HasbroDecoy}}
*'''Blaster''' (Decoy, 1987)
**''Decoy number'': '''29'''
:The figurine was later brought over to [[Hasbro]] markets as part of the [[Decoy]] promotion, largely identical to the Japanese release except for the fact that the number on his back was replaced with a simple "checklist" number. Like all Autobot Decoys, he was a randomly-chosen pack-in available with the carded [[Throttlebot]]s, [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]], [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] and [[Technobot (G1)|Technobots]]

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1986/Autobot/Decoys/Blaster/blaster.htm More information on Decoy Blaster at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Attacktix===
[[Image:Blaster-atx.jpg|thumb|Have some NON-EXISTENCE, courtesy of FLAGGING SALES!]]
*'''Blaster''' (Booster, <strike>2007</strike>)

: Blaster was likely to have been one of several ''Transformers [[Attacktix]]'' Booster pieces, using a powerful spring-loaded "blaster" missile launcher attack. Though displayed as part of the ''Attacktix'' display at the ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' "Celebration IV" convention, he —and all the other pieces revealed at the show— were ultimately never released.

{{canceledattacktix}}

{{-}}
===Robot Heroes===
[[Image:Robotheroesblasterthrust.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Waiting futilely for Robot Heroes Scrounge.]]
*'''Blaster and Thrust''' (2008)

:Part of the third wave of ''Universe'' ''[[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]]'', "Generation 1 Series" Blaster comes packaged with [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]]. He has the standard shoulders-and-neck articulation. His headsculpt is more toy-based than cartoon-based, featuring his "goggles" (even though his eyes kind of pop out from them).

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/RHBlaster/blaster.htm More information on Robot Heroes Blaster at TFU.info]''

{{-}}

==Notes==
*Blaster had the preliminary names of '''Pulse'''<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/index.php?full=1&set_albumName=BotCon_2010_Sat_Panels&id=DSC05237&option=com_gallery&Itemid=4&include=view_photo.php Bob Budiansky's notes at BotCon 2010]</ref> and '''Blastbox'''.<ref>[[Production bible]] of [[The Transformers (cartoon)|the original cartoon]]</ref>
* Despite the fact that Blaster's finalized [[character model]]—used in the Generation 1 cartoon, the UK Marvel comics and ''[[G.I. Joe and the Transformers]]''—gives him a set of individual eyes, the Marvel issues drawn by [[Don Perlin]] and [[José Delbo]] base Blaster's head design on his toy, with a goggled visor. When the UK artists jumped to the American book late in its run, they continued to draw Blaster from his finalized model. [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] rationalized this discrepancy early on in the [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|letters page]] of [[Hunters|UK issue #118]] by explaining that Blaster's visor is retractable, and used to shield his especially delicate optical sensors from sunlight. Less explainable was [[Nelson Yomtov|Nel Yomtov]]'s color choice for the comic version of Blaster: a red forehead and yellow face, a combination never used on a toy or in the cartoon.
** [[IDW Publishing]] tried for a hybridized look, giving Blaster an odd-looking "nose-guard" that was promptly discarded from his design after his introductory [[Spotlight: Blaster|''Spotlight'' issue]].
[[Image:TFUK300 letterspage.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]
* In an odd quirk of design, Blaster's character model breaks the row of buttons on his abdomen up into three buttons in robot mode, but four in alternate mode. It's a product of the way his toy is made: it's got three separate button-chunks, like his robot mode model, but the centre chunk is two buttons sculpted together, so he's actually ''got'' four, like his alternate mode model. This was most evident in the cartoon; in the comic, as you can see from some of the pictures above, they'd often basically draw as many as they felt like.
* Blaster hosted the Marvel UK comic's letters page for the final 33 issues (from [[Rhythms of Darkness!|issue #300]] to [[End of the Road! (US)|issue #332]]), to tie in with his Action Master toy. Here, the letters page was dubbed "Darn 'n' Blast", replacing [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind's]] "Dread Tidings", despite Dreadwind's holing himself up in the Marvel offices. The Decepticon finally left after a visit by three Christmas spirits, [[Ghost of the present|one of whom]] took on the appearance of Blaster.{{storylink|Dreadwind's Xmas!}} Blaster complained that Dreadwind had decorated the office in all purple and orange with a solitary picture of a dog with sad eyes. His characterization in the letters page is more in line with his fun-loving, hip and happening self from the cartoon than the rather grim, brooding, rebellious loner seen in the comics. He arrived on the letters page in advance of his resurrection in the comics itself, which did not occur until [[On the Edge of Extinction!|issue #321]]. He was explicitly identified as being a non-transformer Action Master, though his partner Flight Pack did not appear.
* According to Blaster himself on the UK letters page, he has two [[Relatives|siblings]]: [[Toaster]] and [[Karmen]]. And then there's [[Bluster]], his retroactively-created and less-seen brother.
* Since the release of ''Universe'' Blaster, there seems to be an attempt on the part of tech spec writers to balance Marvel's dark and brooding portrayal of Blaster with the rock 'n' roll loving version from the original US cartoon. The ''Universe'' write-up has Blaster organizing resistance cells with Perceptor (with NO mention of his musical interests), recalling the storyline in US comic #17-18. The 2010 San Diego Comic Convention release of the figure not only mentions Blaster's love of music ("Any music, from Cybertronian magna marches to down and dirty D.C. hardcore"), it references "his hatred of the Decepticons", because "the war they started killed the music scene (and most of the musicians) on Cybertron"—combining Blaster's varying personalities from these two continuities into one.
** This also means Blaster is a fan of Bad Brains and Minor Threat. That rules '''so hard.'''

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Broadcast''' (ブロードキャスト ''Burōdokyasuto'')
*''English:'' '''Billy''' ([[Omni Productions]] dub), '''Blaster''' ([[Omni Productions]] dub Twincast)
*''French:'' '''Tempo''' (Canada)
*''Hungarian:'' '''Össztűz''' ("All-fire")
*''Italian:'' '''Radiorobot''', '''Audiobot''' (''The Headmasters'', Blaster), '''Digital''' (Twincast)
*''Portuguese:'' '''Rajada''' (Portugal comic, "Gust"), '''Dinamitador''' (Brazil comic)
*''Spanish:'' '''Bill''' (America, ''The Headmasters''), '''Plato''' (America, ''The Headmasters''), '''Platon''' (Twincast)

==References==
{{reflist}}

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

[[Category:Action Masters]]
[[Category:Attacktix]]
[[Category:Binaltech Asterisk characters]]
[[Category:Classics Autobots]]
[[Category:Communications specialists]]
[[Category:Decoys]]
[[Category:E-Hobby]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:The Headmasters Autobots]]
[[Category:Kiss Players Autobots]]
[[Category:Letters page answerers]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]

Blaster (G1)

2012-04-03T22:07:02Z

Shockwave 75: /* Generation 1 cartoon continuity */

{{factions|autobot}}
{{disambig3|Blaster}}
{{suite}}
{{featured}}
:''Blaster is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''
[[Image:SDCCBlasterBoxArt.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"What it is, big mama? My mama ain't raise no dummies, I dug her rap!"]]
'''[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]''' loves all Earth music, especially good, hard, LOUD rock 'n' roll. He can be found at the forefront of any situation in which he's involved, be it getting down and truly hopping to town, or kicking butt and taking names—both of which he does well, and both of which have led him into conflict with authority at times. Blaster marches to his own beat, whether it's a pounding bassline or pounding Decepticon skulls, and he's not shy when it comes to sharing his feelings about either! He maintains a shared enmity Decepticon counterpart [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]], with whom he shares his powers over all forms of sound, and is often backed up by a team of his own [[Autobot Mini-Cassette]]s to match Soundwave's mini-minions of the battlefield.

{{note|Blaster's personality varied significantly across different media; see entries below for details.}}

==Fiction==
===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
{{main|Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity}}
[[Image:AutoBop blaster speakers.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Beware my tweeters of doom!!]]
Blaster was a fun-loving, hip and happening robot. Loud and energetic, he was quick to immerse himself in Earth culture, and was happy to share his choice of rockin' tunes with anyone, whether they really wanted to hear them or not—a trait that got him in trouble as often as it saved him and his Autobot allies. Developing a rivalry with his Decepticon opposite number Soundwave Blaster gained a cassette army of his own so he could fight Soundwave on equal footing, and he and little buddies were instrumental in ensuring reinforcements arrived in time to save [[Autobot City]] when it was besieged in 2005. Following this, Blaster was assigned command of the city, where his jive-talking jingles and jams saw the Autobots through crises like the attack of [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]. Blaster's duties also took him to a variety of battlefields that were stranger than many other Transformers would experience, including millions of years into the past, into another dimension ruled by magic, and—a particular favorite of his—the musical planet of [[Eurythma]].

In some timelines which spin off from this one, Blaster joined the [[Interplanetary Personnel Exchange Program]] under the new name '''Broadblast''' (ブロードブラスト ''Burōdoburasuto''), and after perishing in a one-on-one battle with Soundwave, was reconstructed by the super-science of the planet [[Master (planet)|Master]] as '''Twincast''' (ツインキャスト ''Tsuinkyasuto'').
{{-}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Marvel Generation 1 comics====
{{noteukonly}}
[[Image:BlasterUS17.jpg|right|250px|thumb|More than likely, he'll kill you. Yeah, you. You know who you are.]]
Blaster was a rather grim, brooding, rebellious loner who hated Decepticons with a passion, whose reputation as one of the best fighters the [[Autobot]]s had was blemished by his vocal problems with authority figures. Part of [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]]'s [[Cybertron Seven|Autobot resistance cell]] on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], he often disagreed with his superior's orders, especially after his friend [[Scrounge (G1)|Scrounge]] failed to make a rendezvous with him in the [[Dead End (place)|Dead End]], and Blaster wanted to hunt for him. Although his fellow freedom fighters rallied behind him at first, the discovery that Scrounge had been taken to the Decepticon stronghold in [[Polyhex]] changed their minds, and Blaster went in alone. Captured by the forces of [[Straxus (G1)|Lord Straxus]], Blaster was sentenced to the [[smelting pool]], where he discovered the half-melted Scrounge, who clung to life long enough to pass on to Blaster the data he had obtained, so that this death would not be in vain. Blaster was then saved from the pit by his comrades, and he claimed revenge for Scrounge by ripping out the pipes that fed the pool and blasting their Decepticon pursuers with molten slag.

[[Image:MarvelUS18 blaster cyb altmode.jpg|left|thumb|225px|And you thought the 1980s cellphones were huge.]]
Scrounge's information brought new hope to the Autobot resistance, as it revealed that [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] and the Autobots on the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] were still alive and well after four million years, fighting on a planet called Earth. {{storylink|The Smelting Pool!}} The Decepticons set about building a [[space bridge]] to this planet, and Blaster spied on the tests in his alternate mode, gathering the information they need to launch an attack. Blaster personally battled Straxus on the bridge, tricking the Decepticon leader into damaging the portal before kicking him through it and apparently destroying him. Blaster and the rest of his Autobot allies were trapped on the Earth side of the bridge as it faded out. {{storylink|The Bridge to Nowhere!}}

Blaster and his men were attacked by the government anti-robot task force [[Rapid Anti-robot Assault Team|RAAT]] and its super-powered agent [[Circuit Breaker]] almost immediately upon arrival, and were captured and disassembled, their heads mounted on the wall of RAAT headquarters. {{storylink|Heavy Traffic!}} To deal with the threat of the [[Battlecharger]]s, Blaster and the Autobots agreed to allow Circuit Breaker to jury-rig their bodies together into a giant exo-suit she would use to take the two Decepticons down, in exchange for their being rebuilt and released. {{storylink|Decepticon Graffiti!}}

[[Image:FallenAngel blaster sonics galvatron.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Yeah, that's real good, Blaster, you keep doing that.]]

''Blaster's team followed their fellow RAAT captive [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] him back to the Ark, but along the way, their guide vanished, displaced to [[Limbo]] by the appearance of the future Decepticon, [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. Unwisely deciding to engage the Decepticon, Blaster tried hitting him with a blast of sonics, which sundered Galvatron's tenuous hold on sanity and only made him even more dangerous. Fortunately, the arrival of the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] saved him, and he decided to try the tactic again while Galvatron was distracted. It ''almost'' worked this time, but Galvatron hurled a discarded sword in Blaster's direction, and he was only rescued from impalement by [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]]. Blaster was soon knocked unconscious, and didn't witness Galvatron being driven off by the present-day Decepticons.'' {{storylink|Fallen Angel}} ''Blaster's team continued on their way to the Ark, and arrived just as the Autobots were preparing to hold a funeral for Optimus Prime. Blaster quietly questioned their decision to bury Prime rather than fire his body into space, but it proved a moot point when the Autobot leader turned out to not actually be dead, returning in the midst of the ceremony.'' {{storylink|Resurrection!}}

[[Image:JoeandTF4 blaster omega and the rest.jpg|250px|left|thumb]]

When Optimus Prime died for real soon after, Blaster got on the comm to pass the grim news on to [[Superion (G1)|Superion]], ordering him to break off his present engagement with the anti-terrorist team [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] and return to the Ark. {{storylink|Power Struggle}} After watching as [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] tried and failed to rebuild the Autobot leader, Blaster attended Prime's funeral, where his body was sent into space on a funeral bier. {{storylink|Funeral for a Friend!}} Blaster gave a speech to mark Prime's passing, {{storylink|Ashes, Ashes...}} then returned to the Ark with the Auotbots, only to be attacked attacked by the ship's own defense systems, co-opted by the human criminal, the [[Mechanic (G1)|Mechanic]]. Perceptor had to stop Blaster from damaging the ship until the situation could be brought under control. {{storylink|Funeral for a Friend!}} No sooner had ''that'' been dealt with than Blaster detected a fleet of human aircraft heading for the Ark, which the Autobots proceeded to intercept on the assumption of hostile intent. After a brief battle, the human revealed themselves to agents of [[Cobra]], who requested the Autobots' help in stopping the Decepticons from destroying the planet using [[Power Station Alpha]]. {{storylink|Ashes, Ashes...}} Suspecting the highly-advanced Alpha could potentially be a sentient technological lifeform, Blaster opposed destroying it outright, and remained at the Ark to co-ordinate a combined Autobot/G.I. Joe/Cobra attack on the Decepticons to free Alpha from their control. The Joes and Cobra surreptitiously had Alpha destroyed to remove its threat, infuriating Blaster and leading him to wonder if ''any'' humans could be trusted. {{storylink|...All Fall Down!}}

[[Image:MarvelUS28 blaster cops.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]]

Turning to the matter of finding a new leader of the Autobots, Blaster and several other high-ranking Autobots were in the process of a holding a vote when the massive Decepticon battle station Trypticon attacked, and Blaster was shot down when he attempted to rush the giant. Dinobot leader [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] proceeded to secure victory over Trypticon, convincing Blaster and the other Autobots to appoint him the Autobots' new commander. {{storylink|King of the Hill!}} Unfortunately, Grimlock soon gave Blaster cause to regret his decision with increasingly hostile leadership methods and a callous disregard for human safety. Paired with [[Bumblebee (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Goldbug]], whose more naturally upbeat personality provided the Boy Wonder to his Batman, Blaster was charged with locating the Mechanic, but disobeyed orders and entered into alliance with some local human law enforcement to prevent the officers from being killed by the advanced Cybertronian weapons the criminal had stolen from the Ark. Playing the fool, Detective [[Greco]] carried Blaster into the Mechanic's hideout in tape-deck mode, where the Autobot used his electro scrambler to disable all the villain's weapons. Alas, the Mechanic escaped, and, realizing that Grimlock would not tolerate the news of their failure and their human alliances, Blaster and Goldbug elected to go AWOL. {{storylink|Mechanical Difficulties!}}

[[Image:MarvelUS30 blaster and goldbug.jpg|left|300px|thumb|"MY PARENTS ARE DEEEEAD!"]]

Rather than lay low, Blaster and Goldbug decided to take their fight to the Decepticons, and quickly tracked down the Autobots' human ally [[G.B. Blackrock]] in hope that he could provide them with both fuel and some hot tips on current 'Con activity. Following Blackrock's info, the two Autobots found the Decepticon [[Triple Changer]]s, but Blaster took on all three of the villains at once, he discovered they were ravaged with [[Scraplet]]s, which soon infected him as well. Goldbug withdrew to seek a cure, but Blaster believed he had left him to die and swore vengeance against the little 'bot. {{storylink|Crater Critters}} Hooking up with the [[Throttlebot]]s and human scientist [[Charlie Fong]], Goldbug discovered that water could destroy the Scraplets, and surprised Blaster by returning to save him. Blaster refused to allow himself to be cured if it meant that the Decepticons would live as well, but when the Scraplets merged into a giant, Goldbug had no choice, and sprayed them all. A cured but furious Blaster smashed the water tank over the Scraplet-monster, killing it, then calmed down enough to apologize to Goldbug for doubting him. {{storylink|The Cure!}}

[[Image:MarvelUS32 blaster arrested.jpg|right|250px|thumb]]

''Taking some time out of their life on the road to watch human television, Blaster, Goldbug and the Throttlebots happened upon a news report about the discovery of [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and Galvatron, entombed in lava within the the volcano, [[Mount Verona]]. Discovering that Soundwave and the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] were going to blow up the mountain to destroy them both, Blaster used his sonic powers to block Soundwave's detonation signal, preventing the bombs the Combaticons placed from going off.'' {{storylink|Ladies' Night (issue)|Ladies' Night}} Once they had evaded the pursuing Combaticons, Blaster and company found themselves in a scuffle with RAAT in [[California]], and hid out in [[Big Steve Ludwig (G1)|Big Steve Ludwig]]'s used car lot. Unfortunately, their battle made the evening news and finally alerted Grimlock to their AWOL status, prompting him to brand them traitors and send the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] to hunt them down. The car lot quickly turned into a three-way battleground between the Combaticons, Protectobots and RAAT, and despite Blaster's help in the battle, the Protectobots surrounded and apprehended him at the fight's end. {{storylink|Used Autobots}}

[[Image:Blasterbeourleaderplease.jpg|left|300px|thumb|"BLASTER, BE OUR LEADER, PLEAAAASE???"]]

Trapped in tape deck mode by a [[mode lock]], Blaster was helpless to aid the Protectobots when the Combaticons returned, but with the aid of four [[Spacehikers|human children]], he was freed and took [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] down by collapsing a pylon on him. Realizing that Blaster was far nobler than Grimlock, [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] allowed him to go free, and Blaster rewarded the children for their help by taking them on a trip into space aboard the mode-locked [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]]. {{storylink|Child's Play (issue)|Child's Play}} Unfortunately, they were accosted in mid-flight by the now-airborne Ark, but the humans tossed Blaster out an airlock so he could avoid capture by Grimlock's forces. While Grimlock was occupied trying to stop [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] from interfering in his attempted execution of the kids, Blaster rode a telecommunications satellite back to the Ark, where he his fellow Autobots, all sick of Grimlock's leadership, begged him to take over as leader. However, he was forced to surrender to his former commander in order to secure the kids' safety. {{storylink|Spacehikers!}}

[[Image:MarvelUS41 blaster vs grimlock.jpg|right|300px|thumb]]

Imprisoned by Grimlock, Blaster was strapped to a [[variable voltage harness]] for some time as punishment for his desertion and disobedience. When [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] and his Autobots arrived and Grimlock challenged him to a duel, Goldbug talked Blaster into taking the injured Fortress Maximus's place to get even with Grimlock once and for all. They proceeded to battle on the surface of Earth's [[moon (moon)|moon]], but their duel was interrupted by a Decepticon attack, and Blaster pointed out that their feud had put all Autobots in danger. Grimlock agreed to call their duel a draw and declared a truce with Blaster as they fended off the Decepticons side by side. {{storylink|Totaled!}}

With Optimus Prime's subsequent return both to life and to command of the Autobots, the faction's in-fighting issues ceased and more important matters could be dealt with—namely, rescuing their human ally [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]] from the Decepticons' baffling new [[Club Con|desert island resort]]. [[Image:MarvelUS50 blaster dies.jpg|left|275px|thumb]] Tasked with investigating, Blaster was loaded into a capsule in tape deck mode and dropped from the orbiting Ark into the Witwicky family garden, where he asked Buster's girlfriend [[Jesse (G1)|Jesse]] to sneak him into "Club Con". The pair were able to steal a pair of captive Autobot cassettes—[[Grand Slam (G1)|Grand Slam]] and [[Raindance]]—from the Decepticons, but this aroused the ire of the [[Seacon (G1)|Seacons]], and Blaster, unable to battle them effectively due to the human holidaymakers occupying the island, was forced to ditch the tapes in the ocean to break off the fight. Although forced to withdraw without Buster, Blaster and Jessie ''had'' learned something important: the tapes held data on a mysterious Cybertronian object heading for Earth. {{storylink|Club Con!}} ''The eruption of the "Time Wars" briefly tabled this mystery, but Blaster had no real role in that conflict, as he, Optimus Prime, and several other Autobots were temporarily displaced into Limbo to make room for a team of Autobots arriving from the future.'' {{storylink|Time Wars}} [[Image:Marvel77-Blaster.jpg|right|150px|thumb|He used to be badass, now he's just a poor man's Perceptor...]] Soon after, the approaching object was revealed to be the Cybertronian database known as the [[Underbase]], the power of which was stolen by Starscream. Blaster joined [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] in co-ordinating a battalion of Autobots and Decepticons in defense of [[New York City]] against Starscream's worldwide rampage, and was the last to fall, shot dead atop the Brooklyn Bridge, like all those who attempted to stand against the cosmically-powered villain. {{storylink|Dark Star}}

Blaster's body was put into storage on the Ark, defying all of Ratchet's attempts to repair it, to the extent that the medic started to have nightmares about him and various other deactivated Autobots reviving as [[zombie]]s to kill him for his failures. {{storylink|Back from the Dead}} A few years later, Grimlock succeeded where Ratchet had failed by using the miracle fuel [[Nucleon]] to revive the damaged Autobots, with Blaster being one of the first back on his feet. Arriving on Cybertron in the nick of time aboard the ''Ark'', Blaster took part in and survived the battle with [[Unicron]]. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}} In the aftermath, [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] had Blaster run a check on the strange seismic activity Cybertron was suffering from, with disastrous results: It turned out Cybertron was tearing itself apart without the binding life-force of [[Primus]] to sustain it. {{storylink|Exodus!}}

[[Image:EndOfTheRoad-finalfive.jpg|left|thumb|Guess how many of these guys had Action Master toys on the shelves when this came out.]]
The Decepticons fled Cybertron, leaving the Autobots to die with their homeworld, but thanks to Grimlock planning ahead, the Autobots managed to follow them to the planet [[Klo]], only to be caught in an ambush upon arrival. Blaster took a blast in the shoulder from [[Quake (G1)|Quake]] during the fight, but was one of the few who managed to survive the attack, and there was still more than enough fight left in him to join Grimlock and the other survivors in charging the Decepticon position. He was last seen shooting the head off of [[Snapdragon (G1)|Snapdragon]]. [[Krunk|Uh oh.]] {{storylink|End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!}}

In an alternate version of 2006, Blaster went with a group of Autobots to [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]] to investigate strange happenings there. When they arrived they discovered a chaotic scene where aliens from many worlds, including the Decepticons, had arrived and were all engaged in a deadly battle with one another. Blaster detected a signal he suspected was putting all the combatants under hypnosis. He and Ultra Magnus came up with a plan where [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] would fly Blaster into the air where Blaster would then broadcast soothing music. The plan succeeded in calming the combatants. {{storylink|The Big Broadcast of 2006 (issue)|The Big Broadcast of 2006 (US)}}

{{note|In the UK version of the story, the events of "The Big Broadcast of 2006" are a fabrication invented by [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]].}}

=====Marvel UK future timelines=====
[[Image:SpacePirates blaster strung up.jpg|right|thumb]]
In the future of 2008, Blaster was present at Autobot City when the [[Quintesson]] [[Trident Attack Craft|Trident]] ships attacked. He attempted to transform Autobot City himself, but was stopped cold by General [[Ghyrik]]. He was deactivated in the battle that followed and his body strung up on the outer parapets as a warning to any Autobots who came to liberate the city. Although Blaster was inactive, his cassettes were not, and this fact gave [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] an edge when they began battling their way through the Quintesson occupants. {{storylink|Space Pirates!}}

Blaster was seen briefly in 2009 at the start of the Time Wars, but did not end up joining Rodimus Prime on his mission into the past (see above). {{storylink|Time Wars}} After Galvatron was destroyed back in 1989 and the time line rebooted itself, Blaster was still among the Autobots stationed at Autobot City. He responded to [[Kup (G1)|Kup]]'s emergency signal when the Autobots crash landed on Earth after a crazed Rodimus Prime turned against them, and helped drive the evil possessing presence out of their leader. {{storylink|White Fire}}
{{-}}

=====Another Time & Place=====
[[Image:Another Time Place Fangry.jpg|thumb|left|That's his hand on the left!]]
Blaster was part of the rescue unit who infiltrated [[Hydrus Four]] to defeat the Decepticons and rescue the Dinobots. He personally helped disarm and defeat [[Fangry]]. {{storylink|Another Time & Place}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers in 3-D''===
[[Image:WarAgainstDestructions blaster plays.jpg|right|thumb]]
When Hot Rod and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] returned from [[Tau-Ursa]] with a strange recording, Blaster was able to play it. The recording revealed the existence of the [[Destructon]]s, [[Logicon]]s, and the location of [[Metascan Alpha]], the Logicons' storehouse of [[Energon]]. At Optimus Prime's command, Blaster contacted Ultra Magnus at Metroplex on Earth to pass the information along. {{storylink|The War Against the Destructons, Chapter 1 of 3}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation 1'' comics===
[[Image:AgeofWrath2 AutobotResistance.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Steeljaw was in the bathroom.]]
Around 6.5 million years ago, Blaster was one of the high-ranking Autobots who helped Ultra Magnus reunify their fractured faction at the end of the [[Dark Ages]], suggesting that he may have been in charge of one of the various splinter groups that formed during those troubled times. Over the next half-a-million years, the reunited Autobots worked to usher in a new Golden Age, and were finally poised to sign a peace treaty with the Decepticons and [[Ultracon]]s until the long-missing Megatron returned to Cybertron, launching an attack in the middle of the treaty ceremony with his new [[Air Warrior|Aerospace Extermination Squadron]]. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath}} With this new army, Megatron ushered in an [[Age of Internment]], capturing nearly the entire Autobot army and putting them to work as slaves, extracting the very core of Cybertron itself. Blaster managed to evade capture, however, and together with Perceptor, assembled a small rebel cell hiding out in the subterranean chambers of [[Iacon Command]]. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath Pt.2}}

Seeking to capture one of Megatron's drones in order to learn more about Megatron's new [[Cloning|clone technology]], Blaster oversaw his unit on the mission from a distance, using his abilities to jam any emergency transmissions while [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] and several other Autobots engaged the drone in battle long enough to attach an inhibitor claw, immobilizing it. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath Pt.3}}

{{note|Dreamwave's subsequent backruptcy ended ''The Age of Wrath'' half-way through. Unreleased issues would have seen Blaster and his team use an ancient map of Cybertron's depths to infiltrate Megatron's slave camp, only for them to be discovered by Megatron himself. Blaster battled Megatron one-on-one, managing to use his sonic powers to briefly gain the upper hand, before losing a leg to the Decepticon leader. The sudden return of Grimlock, believed to have died during Megatron's first attack, gave the wounded Blaster the chance he needed to free the Autobot prisoners by deactivating their [[inhibitor claw]]s. Perceptor, meanwhile, used the data gleaned from studying the captured drone to deactivate the neural network linking the entire squadron, ending the Age of Internment.}}

Blaster remained on Cybertron when the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] and the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'' left four million years ago, and eventually entered stasis along with the rest of the planet when it finally ran out of energy during the [[Great Shutdown]]. The planet was reawakened by Shockwave in roughly the Earth year 1000 BC, and the Autobots and Decepticons put aside their differences to begin rebuilding their world. [[Image:PassiveAggression Blaster lovesEarth.jpg|left|300px|thumb|]] Suspecting that Shockwave had more sinister motives, Blaster was one of the first Autobots to join an underground resistance movement against him, using his communications skills to discover a subliminal code being pumped through the public address screens around the planet that was aggravating the violent tendencies of the entire population. Despite his feelings for Shockwave, Blaster still developed a strong taste for information from the Earth culture Shockwave was introducing to Cybertron, and even modified his alternate mode into a Earthen boom box. {{storylink|Passive Aggression}}

In the year 2003, when Shockwave's forces brought Optimus Prime and the crew of the Ark back to Cybertron to be tried as war criminals, double agents inside the United Cybertronian force delivered Prime and his crew to Blaster and the others at their headquarters in the [[Wastelands]]. With the help of Cybertron's greatest hero, the resistance movement began an open insurrection against Shockwave's loyal Decepticon forces and the [[Guardian robot]]s under his control. Shockwave's regime fell, and the Autobots resumed command of Cybertron. {{storylink|Revelation (War and Peace)|Revelation}}

===''Transformers/G.I. Joe''===
[[Image:DividedFront1 bots found.jpg|right|thumb|Comfortable?]]
In the year 1985, Blaster and [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] hastily took off for [[Earth]] in an starship poorly-suited for interstellar travel. Upon arrival, they unsurprisingly crashed, landing in the forests of [[Oregon]] near [[Mount St. Hilary]]. Their deactivated bodies were found by the forces of [[Cobra]] and bundled up to be airlifted out, but a [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] team led by [[Flint (G.I. Joe)|Flint]] soon intervened. [[Blowtorch]] knocked the chopper carrying their bodies out of the air with this flamethrower, and [[Barbecue]] extinguished the flames before the two Autobots could be consumed by the blaze. Blaster and Perceptor's bodies were then taken back to G.I. Joe headquarters. {{storylink|Targets of Opportunity}}
{{note|Dreamwave's bankruptcy meant this story was never finished.}}
{{--}}

===''Hearts of Steel''===
[[Image:HeartsofSteel blaster.jpg|left|thumb|No, no, don't get up.]]
Blaster and his fellow Autobots fought the Decepticons on Earth in the distant past until an incoming ice age threatened to deactivate all the Transformers. Both sides went into hiding underground until the danger had passed, remaining in stasis until the mid-19th century. When they woke up, the war against the Decepticons started anew, though Blaster was not seen getting involved. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 1|Heart of Steel #1}}
{{-}}
===IDW Generation 1 comics===

[[Image:SpotlightBlaster the voice.jpg|right|300px|thumb|]]

Before the war, Blaster was a reporter for the [[Iaconian Newsfeed Service]], and reported live from the [[Nova Plaza]] after an assassination attempt on [[Nominus Prime]]. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}} After the outbreak of the war, Blaster joined the Autobots, and initially served as a soldier who was present at a victory celebration after the Autobots halted a major Decepticon energon convoy four million years ago. {{storylink|The Iron Age}} Eventually, however, he returned to his broadcasting roots and became a patriotic radio personality, broadcasting propaganda across the galaxy to rally the Autobot forces as they struggled on the war's many battlefronts. Known as "The Voice" for his widespread positive influence, Blaster became the target of a Decepticon assassination attempt, time to prevent him from making an important broadcast on the eve of a major Autobot offensive. Although the assassin failed, Blaster's wounded body was ejected into space, and he was believed dead by his faction.

[[Image:SpotlightBlaster altmode.jpg|left|thumb|150px]]

Some time later, Blaster was found by a passing [[Yar|trawler]] and delivered home, where it was revealed that he had to have been attacked by an Autobot. In an effort to flush the traitor out, Blaster went back on the air. The attempt worked, and his would-be killer was revealed: [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]], forced into the act by a mind-controlling [[cerebro-shell]] implanted by [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] at the direction of Soundwave. However, he was able to resist when Blaster used his greatest weapon: his voice. As a damaged Beachcomber was brought in for repairs, Blaster swore he'd find Soundwave and that the last thing he'd ever hear would be... the Voice. {{storylink|Spotlight: Blaster}}

[[Image:AHM15 blaster and kup.jpg|right|thumb]]

In the year that followed the defeat of [[Nova Prime]], Blaster was among the Autobots captured by the Decepticon [[Turmoil]], but was soon rescued by a team led by Kup. All the other prisoners were members of the [[Wrecker]]s, suggesting Blaster may have joined the team at some point. {{storylink|Spotlight: Drift}} Blaster remained with Kup's team, and was serving as the communications officer for his ship, the ''[[Trion]]'', when a simultaneous galaxy-wide uprising was staged by the Decepticons. Distress signals came pouring in, but all went silent in short order, save for one from Hot Rod, so the crew of the ''Trion'' went to save the turbo-revvin' young punk from [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] and [[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]]. The day was saved by Perceptor, although Blaster disapproved of the scientist's transformation into a warrior, saying he had "defiled himself". {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 15|Lost & Found}}

Blaster and the others harried the Decepticon fleet until they were baited into an ambush above Cybertron. There, the ship was shot down and forced to crash-land on the assumed uninhabitable world. Banding together to survive, they eventually encountered Optimus Prime's unit, only to find him incapacitated, the Matrix having been seized by [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}} Blaster mingled with the other Autobots for a while, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} before warning Kup about an incoming [[Insecticon swarm|swarm]] attack that forced them to relocate. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}} With morale still dwindling, Blaster attempted to put his famous voice to work by trying to break up a fight between Hot Rod and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] by injecting some reason, but was interrupted by [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] telling them they all deserved to die. [[Image:AHM9 blaster breaks up argument.jpg|left|thumb]] {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 9|All Hail Megatron #9}} The Autobots were eventually saved when [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] decimated the swarm and carried them all to Earth, where they attacked Megatron and his troops. Blaster was ordered to block the Decepticons' communications, allowing the arrival of Omega Supreme to take them completely by surprise. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 11|All Hail Megatron #11}} He survived the great battle. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}

Blaster remained on Earth with the other Autobots for the next three years, as they regathered their forces. [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]] radioed in to Blaster when [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] got himself nabbed by [[Skywatch]], an event which led to the death of [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and the resignation of Optimus Prime. {{storylink|...For All Mankind}} Autobot leadership was split between Bumblebee and Hot Rod, and Blaster stayed with Bumblebee's group, which went on to form an alliance with [[Gordon Horiuchi]] of Skywatch. Blaster was among the Autobots who captured [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] and other Decepticons for their new allies. {{storylink|The Hanging Sword}} Unfortunately, Horiuchi betrayed the Autobots and forced them to hunt one of their own kind, [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]]. Bumblebee managed to get free from Horiuchi's control, and so Blaster and the others stayed behind to cover for him as he sought a solution for their problems. {{storylink|The Impossible Knot}} They pretended to be making plans to hunt down Hot Rod while Bumblebee recovered the control tech Skywatch was using to keep them in line. {{storylink|The Gift Horse}} Bumblebee was successful, and Blaster was later present when Bumblebee unveiled his new, more powerful form, to better serve as Autobot leader. {{storylink|Wings of Wax}}

Blaster was one of the Autobots who joined the crew of the ''[[Lost Light]]'' in search of the mythical [[Knights of Cybertron]]. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}}
{{--}}

==Games==
===''Transformers G1: Awakening''===
[[Image:Gluawakening blaster.jpg|right|thumb]]
{{storylink|Transformers G1: Awakening}}
<div style="float: left">{{charstubfiction}}</div><div style="clear: left"></div>
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===

* '''Blaster''' (Autobot, 1985/1986)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''38'''
**''Accessories:'' [[Electro-scrambler|Electro-scrambler gun]]
[[Image:G1 Blaster toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"Still think you're so superior, Soundwave?"]]
: Rather huge by the typical standards of Generation 1 Transformers, Blaster transforms into a miniature "ghetto blaster" boombox. He features spring-loaded buttons: when pressed, his "start" button stays in the depressed position until his "stop" button is pressed, while pressing the "eject" button pops open his tape door, which can store a single [[Mini-Cassette]] Transformer. Due to what was presumably a common internal misassembly issue, many original Blasters had doors which would not open when the eject button is pressed, nor would the other buttons work. Blaster has rather limited useful articulation, located in his neck and shoulders.

: Blaster began life as the ''[[Micro Change]]'' "Radi-Casse Robo" ("radio-cassette", you see), which was actually a functional AM radio. Though this feature was gutted from Blaster when he was released as part of the ''Transformers'' toyline, the original toy's power switch (on his right leg), earphone jack (on the back of his left leg) and tuning dial (on his chest) still remain, now as a moulded, non-moving detail. Even the toy's electro-scrambler gun is designed to serve as storage for the set of earphones which came with the toy, with the plug inserting into the stock, the cord winding around it, and the earphones themselves tucking into the hole in the gun's main body. It was not the toy itself which was the radio; rather, the radio was a small "micro-cassette" which plugged into the toy's internal wiring when inserted into its chest, allowing it to play through the speakers in its legs in either mode. As the electronic equipment in the chest meant that the figure could not hold normal ''Micro Change'' cassettes there, it featured a compartment on its back which could hold a single tape instead. This compartment could still be found on some early releases of Blaster, though it was a often mistaken by fans as a vestigial battery compartment, which was actually originally located in the toy's right leg.

: Blaster was reissued by Takara in 2006 as part of ''[[#TFC|The Transformers Collection]]'' and then by Hasbro in 2010 during ''[[#Hasbroreissue|Universe]]'' (see below)
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1985/Autobot/Blaster/blaster.htm More information on Blaster at TFU.info]''

{{-}}
[[Image:G1toy_twincast.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
* '''Twincast''' (Autobot, 1987)
**''ID number:'' '''C-116'''
**''Accessories:'' [[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]], Electro-Scrambler Gun

: For this Japanese-exclusive release, the first Blaster toy was [[redeco]]ed into a rather cacophonous new blue, yellow and red color scheme. Like his contemporary redeco Soundblaster, his chest door was [[Retool|retooled]] in order to accommodate two cassettes at once, and changed from colorless clear plastic to translucent red as part of a gimmick with his pack-in partner, Steeljaw. This version of Steeljaw sports a new decal depicting [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], which reveals the Decepticon's weak spot when placed behind Twincast's red door, working in the same manner as a [[Tech Spec]]s decoder.

: Twincast was reissued as an [[e-HOBBY]] [[exclusive]] in 2006 (see below)
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1987/Cybertron/Twincast/twincast.htm More information on Twincast at TFU.info]''

{{-}}
[[Image:ActionMasterBlaster toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Which gun is better?]]
*'''Blaster w/ Flight Pack''' (Action Master, 1990)
**''Accessories:'' "Flight Pack" backpack, "tractor beam electron gun"

: A non-transforming action figure, [[Action Master]] Blaster (not to be confused with the "Action Master Blasters" price-point) is compatible with any other Action Master vehicle or accessory. His design is based largely on his cartoon model, with elements from the toy added (like his visor). He came with the "[[Flight Pack]]" accessory, which converts from a winged jetpack to a massive "electro-scrambler" cannon.
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1990/Autobot/Blaster/blaster.htm More information on Action Master Blaster at TFU.info]''

{{-}}

===Binaltech Asterisk===
[[Image:Bta broadblast.jpg|right|300px|thumb|They see me rollin', they hatin'.]]
*'''Broadblast meets Lumina''' (Binaltech, 2005)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''BTA03'''
**''Accessories:'' Engine/gun, Lumina Hoshi with stand, driving arms and driving legs

: A redeco of ''[[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]]'' [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], Broadblast transforms into a 1:24 scale [[wikipedia:Scion_xB|Toyota bB, aka the Scion xB]]. He has working doors, hood, and trunk, plus his engine becomes a non-firing weapon. He also comes with an extra decal sheet, which includes signs for "TBN" which ''possibly'' stands for "Transformers Broadcast Network" or some such; there is Japanese text on the labels as well, but it's really tiny and hard to make out.

: He came with a PVC-plastic figurine of the [[human]] newsgirl [[Lumina Hoshi]].
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2005/Cybertron/Broadblast/broadblast.htm More information on Binaltech Asterisk Blaster at TFU.info]''
{{-}}
===The Transformers Collection===

[[Image:G1toy TFC blaster.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]

*'''Broadcast''' (reissue, 2006)
**''ID number:'' '''21'''
**''Accessories:'' Steeljaw, Electro-scrambler gun, cassette case

:Blaster's first reissue was the final instalment in Takara's ''[[The Transformers Collection]]'' line of re-released Generation 1 toys. He features no notable changes from his original release, save for the fact that he comes packaged with Steeljaw, where his original release had gone without any pack-in partners.
{{-}}

===Collector's Edition===
[[Image:G1toy twincast reissue.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]

*'''Twincast''' (2006)
**''ID number:'' '''C-116'''
**''Accessories:'' [[Flip Sides (G1)|Flip Sides]], Electro-scrambler gun, cassette case

:Twincast's first reissue was available exclusively through online retailer e-HOBBY, designed, as most e-HOBBY exclusives were at the time, to accompany the mass-release of the standard reissue of the original Blaster. Though Twincast was unusual in that he was a pre-existing character, where the previous few years' worth of e-HOBBY exclusive redecos had been new characters, he did come packaged with a new partner: a redeco of the Eject/Rewind mold named [[Flip Sides (G1)|Flip Sides]]. At the time, rather than feature unique packaging, all e-HOBBY exclusives came in a generic box in Autobot red or Decepticon purple; oddly, Twincast came in a Decepticon box, but since Flip Sides was characterized as a Decepticon sleeper agent, it just about made sense.
{{-}}

===Universe (2008)===
[[Image:Blasteruniversetoy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Preparations for the military strike, dubbed Operation Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication Storm, are already underway.]]
*'''Autobot Blaster with Blockrock Mini-Con!''' (Voyager, 2008)
**''Series:'' Classics Series
**''Accessories:'' Tri-barrel "particle feedback blaster"/bomb, double-barrel "harmonic wave cannon"/bomb, Cybertron Autobot Cyber Key

: Blaster is a redeco of ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' [[Soundwave (Cybertron)|Soundwave]], transforming into a Cybertronic stealth bomber vaguely like an [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes|F-117A Nighthawk prototype]], the [[Wikipedia:Have_Blue|Have Blue]]. He comes with three hexagonal prism "bombs"; one converts into his partner [[Blockrock]], the other two unfold into non-firing blaster weapons. Any one of these "bombs" can be stored in his robot-mode chest, which opens by plugging a [[Cyber Planet Key]] into him; Blaster comes translucent black, gunmetal-bordered [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]-style Autobot key, in contrast to the [[Planet X (Cybertron)|Planet X]] key that came with Soundwave. The other two bombs store in indents on the underside of his wings.

: His packaging art shows him with only half of his chest-door as clear-blue, emulating the original toy design's tape-window, but the final product (and stock photography) show the blue all the way across. However, his visor ''does'' have red paint to simulate the "goggle visor" look of the [[#Generation 1|original toy]] and Marvel comics model.

: This mold was also used to make ''Galaxy Force'' [[Soundblaster (Cybertron)|Soundblaster]].
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/TFUBlaster/blaster.htm More information on Classics Blaster at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|Hasbroreissue}}
[[Image:Universe2008_SDCC_G1Blaster.jpg|thumb|300px|]]
*'''Autobot Blaster''' (2010)
**''Series:'' G1 Series
**''Accessories:'' Electro-Scrambler Gun
:This San Diego Comic-Con [[exclusive]] reissue of Blaster comes with [[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]], [[Ramhorn (G1)|Ramhorn]] and [[Eject]]. Released as part of the [[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|''Universe'' (2008) toyline]], the packaging also has a special foil-detailed outer slip case. Blaster is technically a slight [[redeco]], having metal-flake beige legs instead of metallic-swirl silver.

:This set was also made available at the Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong Fair 2010, and was later released on the [[Hasbro Toy Shop]] and then also sold at FanExpo Canada 2010.
{{-}}

===Device Label===
[[Image:Device_Label_Broadcast.jpg|thumb|right|300px|What, not a real notebook?! You are the REAL ''Decept''icon!!]]
*'''Broad Blast''' ([[July 24|7/24]]/2010)
**''Accessories:'' USB cable

:''[[Transformers Device Label|Device Label]]'' Broad Blast transforms into a working USB hub (designed to look like the Toshiba Qosmio laptop computer). The USB functionality works in both robot and laptop modes. Generation 1 Mini-Cassettes can fit into the false tape-deck in his chest in robot mode, but cannot be stored while Broad Blast is in laptop mode due to his head being inside his chest in this form. The Generation 1 Blaster toy's Electro-Scrambler Gun can also fit into Broad Blast's [[5mm post|compatible fist holes]].

:Originally scheduled for release in late [[2009]], Broad Blast was delayed until July 2010. According to a report from getnews.jp at the Tokyo Toy Show 2010, the delay was due to the discovery of a connection cut-off problem after the toy/USB hub is transformed into robot mode. TakaraTomy redesigned the entire lower body to fix this problem. <ref>[http://getnews.jp/archives/68064 Get News.jp report on Device Label Broadblast]</ref>
{{--}}

===Encore===
[[Image:Encoretoy-Twincast.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]
*'''Twincast''' (2012)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''22'''
**''Accessories:'' [[Nightstalker]], [[Stripes]], [[electro-scrambler]], two mini-cassette cases

:Twincast was available again as part of TakaraTomy's ''[[Transformers Encore]]'' series of reissues. For this release of Twincast, the techno detailing of his door is smoothed over for cartoon accuracy. Also to add to cartoon accuracy, his face is colored in a metallic yellow with metallic light blue eyes instead of silver with gold eyes. All of the original Twincast's stickers have been replaced with tampographed detailing for this release, including a large Autobot symbol on his chest (where the techno detail was present on previous releases). Twincast also features a darker blue from the previous releases as well as a different shade of yellow for his tape deck door.

:Twincast came with Nightstalker and Stripes.
{{--}}

==Merchandise==
===Transformers Gum===
[[Image:TFgum blaster.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
*'''Broadcast''' (model kit, 1986)
**''Accessories:'' Electro-scrambler gun

:A snap-together model kit of Blaster was released by [[Kabaya]] as part of their ''[[Transformers Gum]]'' line of candy toys. Released in the third wave of the line and sculpted from red, grey and black plastic with a few stickers for detail, Blaster is broadly identical to his larger figure, right down to the moulded-in left-over details from his ''MicroChange'' release like his power switch and dials . There is one major difference: his chest does not open, so he can't store any of the tapes from Kabaya's smaller ''[[Transformers Choco]]'' line the way the ''Transformers Gum'' Soundwave can.

::*''[http://www.tfw2005.com/resources/g1-kabaya-cybertrons-441/broadcast-gum-3398/ More information on Transformers Gum Broadcast at TFW2005.com]''
{{-}}

===Decoy===
[[Image:Decoy_blaster.jpg|right|thumb|]]{{anchor|TakaraDecoy}}
* '''Cybertron Hero Collection 22''' (multi-pack, 1986)
:Blaster was among the many characters rendered by [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] as part of their series of 1.5" ''keshigomu'' figurines. Like all the Autobots in the series, Blaster was molded in soft red rubber, and featured a number sculpted into his back that was the sum total of his [[Tech Spec]]s, for use in the various games that could be played with the figurines.
:Blaster was available as part of a 22-piece box set of Autobot figures, in a variety of colours through "gachapon" capsule machines, and later, in a peach coloration randomly packed as part of various other box sets distributed by [[Seven]].

{{anchor|HasbroDecoy}}
*'''Blaster''' (Decoy, 1987)
**''Decoy number'': '''29'''
:The figurine was later brought over to [[Hasbro]] markets as part of the [[Decoy]] promotion, largely identical to the Japanese release except for the fact that the number on his back was replaced with a simple "checklist" number. Like all Autobot Decoys, he was a randomly-chosen pack-in available with the carded [[Throttlebot]]s, [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]], [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] and [[Technobot (G1)|Technobots]]

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1986/Autobot/Decoys/Blaster/blaster.htm More information on Decoy Blaster at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Attacktix===
[[Image:Blaster-atx.jpg|thumb|Have some NON-EXISTENCE, courtesy of FLAGGING SALES!]]
*'''Blaster''' (Booster, <strike>2007</strike>)

: Blaster was likely to have been one of several ''Transformers [[Attacktix]]'' Booster pieces, using a powerful spring-loaded "blaster" missile launcher attack. Though displayed as part of the ''Attacktix'' display at the ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' "Celebration IV" convention, he —and all the other pieces revealed at the show— were ultimately never released.

{{canceledattacktix}}

{{-}}
===Robot Heroes===
[[Image:Robotheroesblasterthrust.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Waiting futilely for Robot Heroes Scrounge.]]
*'''Blaster and Thrust''' (2008)

:Part of the third wave of ''Universe'' ''[[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]]'', "Generation 1 Series" Blaster comes packaged with [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]]. He has the standard shoulders-and-neck articulation. His headsculpt is more toy-based than cartoon-based, featuring his "goggles" (even though his eyes kind of pop out from them).

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/RHBlaster/blaster.htm More information on Robot Heroes Blaster at TFU.info]''

{{-}}

==Notes==
*Blaster had the preliminary names of '''Pulse'''<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/index.php?full=1&set_albumName=BotCon_2010_Sat_Panels&id=DSC05237&option=com_gallery&Itemid=4&include=view_photo.php Bob Budiansky's notes at BotCon 2010]</ref> and '''Blastbox'''.<ref>[[Production bible]] of [[The Transformers (cartoon)|the original cartoon]]</ref>
* Despite the fact that Blaster's finalized [[character model]]—used in the Generation 1 cartoon, the UK Marvel comics and ''[[G.I. Joe and the Transformers]]''—gives him a set of individual eyes, the Marvel issues drawn by [[Don Perlin]] and [[José Delbo]] base Blaster's head design on his toy, with a goggled visor. When the UK artists jumped to the American book late in its run, they continued to draw Blaster from his finalized model. [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] rationalized this discrepancy early on in the [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|letters page]] of [[Hunters|UK issue #118]] by explaining that Blaster's visor is retractable, and used to shield his especially delicate optical sensors from sunlight. Less explainable was [[Nelson Yomtov|Nel Yomtov]]'s color choice for the comic version of Blaster: a red forehead and yellow face, a combination never used on a toy or in the cartoon.
** [[IDW Publishing]] tried for a hybridized look, giving Blaster an odd-looking "nose-guard" that was promptly discarded from his design after his introductory [[Spotlight: Blaster|''Spotlight'' issue]].
[[Image:TFUK300 letterspage.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]
* In an odd quirk of design, Blaster's character model breaks the row of buttons on his abdomen up into three buttons in robot mode, but four in alternate mode. It's a product of the way his toy is made: it's got three separate button-chunks, like his robot mode model, but the centre chunk is two buttons sculpted together, so he's actually ''got'' four, like his alternate mode model. This was most evident in the cartoon; in the comic, as you can see from some of the pictures above, they'd often basically draw as many as they felt like.
* Blaster hosted the Marvel UK comic's letters page for the final 33 issues (from [[Rhythms of Darkness!|issue #300]] to [[End of the Road! (US)|issue #332]]), to tie in with his Action Master toy. Here, the letters page was dubbed "Darn 'n' Blast", replacing [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind's]] "Dread Tidings", despite Dreadwind's holing himself up in the Marvel offices. The Decepticon finally left after a visit by three Christmas spirits, [[Ghost of the present|one of whom]] took on the appearance of Blaster.{{storylink|Dreadwind's Xmas!}} Blaster complained that Dreadwind had decorated the office in all purple and orange with a solitary picture of a dog with sad eyes. His characterization in the letters page is more in line with his fun-loving, hip and happening self from the cartoon than the rather grim, brooding, rebellious loner seen in the comics. He arrived on the letters page in advance of his resurrection in the comics itself, which did not occur until [[On the Edge of Extinction!|issue #321]]. He was explicitly identified as being a non-transformer Action Master, though his partner Flight Pack did not appear.
* According to Blaster himself on the UK letters page, he has two [[Relatives|siblings]]: [[Toaster]] and [[Karmen]]. And then there's [[Bluster]], his retroactively-created and less-seen brother.
* Since the release of ''Universe'' Blaster, there seems to be an attempt on the part of tech spec writers to balance Marvel's dark and brooding portrayal of Blaster with the rock 'n' roll loving version from the original US cartoon. The ''Universe'' write-up has Blaster organizing resistance cells with Perceptor (with NO mention of his musical interests), recalling the storyline in US comic #17-18. The 2010 San Diego Comic Convention release of the figure not only mentions Blaster's love of music ("Any music, from Cybertronian magna marches to down and dirty D.C. hardcore"), it references "his hatred of the Decepticons", because "the war they started killed the music scene (and most of the musicians) on Cybertron"—combining Blaster's varying personalities from these two continuities into one.
** This also means Blaster is a fan of Bad Brains and Minor Threat. That rules '''so hard.'''

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Broadcast''' (ブロードキャスト ''Burōdokyasuto'')
*''English:'' '''Billy''' ([[Omni Productions]] dub), '''Blaster''' ([[Omni Productions]] dub Twincast)
*''French:'' '''Tempo''' (Canada)
*''Hungarian:'' '''Össztűz''' ("All-fire")
*''Italian:'' '''Radiorobot''', '''Audiobot''' (''The Headmasters'', Blaster), '''Digital''' (Twincast)
*''Portuguese:'' '''Rajada''' (Portugal comic, "Gust"), '''Dinamitador''' (Brazil comic)
*''Spanish:'' '''Bill''' (America, ''The Headmasters''), '''Plato''' (America, ''The Headmasters''), '''Platon''' (Twincast)

==References==
{{reflist}}

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

[[Category:Action Masters]]
[[Category:Attacktix]]
[[Category:Binaltech Asterisk characters]]
[[Category:Classics Autobots]]
[[Category:Communications specialists]]
[[Category:Decoys]]
[[Category:E-Hobby]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:The Headmasters Autobots]]
[[Category:Kiss Players Autobots]]
[[Category:Letters page answerers]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]

Madman Entertainment

2011-08-28T18:47:00Z

Shockwave 75: /* Japanese G1 */

{{factions|dvd|australia}}
{{picsneeded|covers}}
[[Image:Madman logo.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Insert 300 Joke Here]]
'''Madman Entertainment''' is an [[Australia|Australian]] company that distributes anime and manga to Australia and New Zealand, and are also the official distributor of several locally-authored ''Transformers'' [[home video|DVD sets]]. Their sets are typified by an ''enthusiastic'' array of extras and exclusive features (which are often a little on the dodgy side).

==Releases==
===Generation 1===
*'''''Transformers: The Movie''''' (AU [[March 12]], 2003)
:Extras include a "creation of the cover" gallery, theatrical trailer, [[commercial]]s, cast and crew biographies and the music video for "[[The Touch]]" by [[Stan Bush]].
*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 1: Series 1''' (AU [[November 11]], 2003 / NZ [[December 30]], 2003)
:This set is notable for featuring the original broadcast masters previously used by [[Sony|Sony Wonder]] and [[Maverick Entertainment]], licensed from [[TV-Loonland]], but uses the 5.1 soundtrack put together by [[Kid Rhino]] and [[Magno Sound & Video]].
*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 2: Series 2.1''' (AU [[April 21]], 2004 / NZ [[May 21]], 2004)
:Three-disc set containing the first 24 episodes from season two: "[[Autobot Spike]]" through to "[[A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court]]".
*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2''' (AU [[July 21]], 2004 / NZ [[August 19]], 2004)
:Three-disc set containing the remaining 25 episodes from season two: "[[The Golden Lagoon]]" through to "[[B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.]]".
<center><gallery>
Image:Madman G1 1986Movie DVD.jpg|'''''Transformers: The Movie'''''
Image:Madman G1 Collection1 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 1'''
Image:Madman G1 Collection2 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 2'''
Image:Madman G1 Collection3 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 3'''
</gallery></center>
{{-}}

*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 4: Series 3.1''' (AU [[October 20]], 2004 / NZ [[November 12]], 2004)
:Three-disc set containing the first 16 episodes from season three: "[[Five Faces of Darkness]]" through to "[[Starscream's Ghost]]".
*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 5: Series 3.2''' (AU [[December 8]], 2004 / NZ [[January 20]], 2005)
:Three-disc set containing the remaining 14 episodes from season three: "[[Ghost in the Machine]]" through to "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2]]".
*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 6: Series 4''' (AU [[July 20]], 2005 / NZ [[August 16]], 2005)
:Two-disc set containing the three-part episode "[[The Rebirth]]", plus interviews, [[public service announcement|PSAs]], [[commercial|trailers]] and scripts.
*'''The Best of ''The Transformers''''' (AU [[November 8]], 2006)
:Two-disc set featuring the 10 "best" episodes of Generation 1, as voted by Australian fans.
:Contains the episodes "[[More than Meets the Eye (episode)|More than Meets the Eye]]", "[[S.O.S. Dinobots]]", "[[Dark Awakening]]", "[[Heavy Metal War]]", "[[The Golden Lagoon]]", "[[Call of the Primitives]]", "[[Starscream's Brigade]]" and "Ghost in the Machine".
<center><gallery>
Image:Madman G1 Collection4 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 4'''
Image:Madman G1 Collection5 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 5'''
Image:Madman G1 Collection6 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 6'''
Image:Madman G1 Bestof DVD.jpg|'''The Best of...'''
</gallery></center>
{{-}}

*'''''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection''' (AU [[June 27]], 2007 / NZ [[July 11]], 2007)
:17-disc set compiling the previous six "Collection" sets, released to take advantage of the nostalgia and interest generated by the [[Transformers (2007)|live action movie]], also including [[The Transformers (Madman)|an exclusive mini-comic]] set in 2001 before the animated movie, as well as a piece of artwork featuring Prime's Matrix chamber illustrated by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]].
*'''''Transformers: The Movie'' — Special Edition''' (AU June 27, 2007 / NZ [[July 13]], 2007)
:Two-disc set featuring the movie in both full- and widescreen, the "Scramble City" OVA with its original Japanese audio track, an interview [[Flint Dille]], Q&A with [[Peter Cullen]], commercials, TV spots and trailers, "The Touch" music video, cast and crew biographies, and a bonus episode of ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''.{{fact|which one?}}
*'''''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition''' (AU [[June 24]], 2009)
:Madman's previous ''Complete Collection'' 17-disc set was re-released in 2009 to coincide with the live-action sequel, ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', this time in a Decepticon-themed packaging.
*'''''Transformers: The Movie''''' Blu-ray (AU June 24, 2009)
<center><gallery>
Image:Madman G1 CompleteCollection DVD.jpg|'''Complete Collection'''
Image:Madman G1 1986MovieSE DVD.jpg|'''''Transformers: The Movie'' Special Edition'''
Image:Madman G1 CompleteCollection2009 DVD.jpg|'''Complete Collection Decepticon Edition'''
Image:Madman G1 1986Movie Blu-ray.jpg|'''''Transformers: The Movie''''' (Blu-ray release)
</gallery></center>
{{-}}

===Japanese G1===
*'''''Transformers: Headmasters''''' (AU [[November 7]], 2007 / NZ [[December 20]], 2007)
:Four-disc set featuring the ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|Headmasters]]'' series available in the original Japanese and the [[Omni Productions]] English dub, with optional English subtitles replicated from [[Metrodome]]'s previous release, complete with errors.
:Extras include a "making of the cover" gallery, character art galleries, toy galleries (taken from Seibertron.com) and Japanese toy commercials.
:Cover art by Guido Guidi.

*'''''The Transformers: Super God Masterforce''''' (AU [[February 13]], 2008 / NZ [[March 25]], 2008)
:Five-disc set featuring the ''[[Super-God Masterforce (cartoon)|Masterforce]]'' series in Japanese with English subtitles, with optional Omni dub on episodes [[Rise Up!! Pretenders|1]], [[Birth! Headmaster Jrs|4]], [[Malevolent and Inhuman! The True Form of Devil Z|41]] and [[A Battle... and Then...|42]].
:Extras include a "making of the cover" gallery, character art galleries, toy galleries and Japanese toy commercials.
:Cover art by Guido Guidi.

*'''''The Transformers: Victory''''' (AU [[May 14]], 2008 / NZ [[July 4]], 2008)
:Four-disc set featuring the ''[[Victory (cartoon)|Victory]]'' series in Japanese with English subtitles, with optional Omni dub on all episodes, plus the [[Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!|''Zone'' OVA]].
:Extras include box art galleries, toy galleries (with pictures from seibertron.com and transformerstoys.co.uk) and Japanese commercials (which are all for Zone toys, and include what appears to be an industry pitch reel used to demonstrate the toys to retailers), as well as scans of the [[TV Magazine]] [[Zone (story page)|''Zone'' story pages]] available via DVD-ROM.
:In keeping with Madman's dodgy enthusiasm there's a bunch of seemingly random (sometimes translated, sometimes not) scans of manga and story-page material for ''[[Battlestars]]'' and ''[[Operation Combination (story page)|Operation Combination]]'' included in the set as well.
:Cover art by E.J. Su.

*'''''The Transformers: Japan Generation 1'' — Complete Collection''' (AU [[June 24]], 2009)
:To capitalize on the release of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', all three of the Japanese Generation 1 sets were re-released in one package at a lower price point ($99.95 AUD versus $150-odd AUD).
<center><gallery>
Image:MadmanHeadmasters.jpg|'''''Headmasters'''''
Image:MadmanMasterforce.jpg|'''''Super God Masterforce'''''
Image:MadmanVictory.jpg|'''''Victory'''''
Image:Madman JapanG1 Complete DVD.jpg|'''Complete Collection'''
</gallery></center>
{{-}}

===''Beast Wars''===
*'''''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1''' (AU [[March 15]], 2006 / NZ [[March 31]], 2006)
:Three-disc set featuring the first season of the ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' series, plus exclusive audio commentary tracks by [[Bob Forward]], [[Larry DiTillio]] and [[Ben Yee]], interviews with Forward and DiTillio, toy galleries, commercials, character profiles and a reproduction of the original "[[Optimus Primal vs Megatron!]]" comic.
*'''''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 2''' (AU [[July 26]], 2006 / NZ [[August 14]], 2006)
:Three-disc set featuring the second season of ''Beast Wars'', plus more exclusive audio commentary tracks by Bob Forward, Larry DiTillio and Ben Yee, an hour-long featurette on the "Soul of ''Beast Wars''", convention panel footage of [[David Kaye]] and [[Garry Chalk]], animation test footage, production models and more toy galleries and commercials.
*'''''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 3''' (AU November 8, 2006)
:Three-disc set featuring the third season of ''Beast Wars'', with even more interviews and commentary tracks with [[Simon Furman]], David Kaye, Garry Chalk, [[Scott McNeil]], [[Alec Willows]] and key [[Mainframe Entertainment|Mainframe]] staff, plus much much more including a "Making of ''Beast Wars''" documentary from 1996, outtakes, galleries and scripts.
*'''''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection''' (AU June 24, 2009)
:Combined re-release of the three previous ''Beast Wars'' sets.
<center><gallery>
Image:Madman BW S1 DVD.jpg|'''Season 1'''
Image:Madman BW S2 DVD.jpg|'''Season 2'''
Image:Madman BW S3 DVD.jpg|'''Season 3'''
Image:Madman BW Complete DVD.jpg|'''Complete Collection'''
</gallery></center>
{{-}}

==Notes==
*The video quality on the original Madman release of ''Transformers: The Movie'' is decidedly worse than most other DVD versions released. The special features also suffer from quality problems — they look bloody terrible. Stan Bush's "The Touch" in particular is very yellow, looking like it was transferred from a 7th generation VCR copy. Remember when we said before that the Madman special features were enthusiastic but dodgy? Well, that's what we meant, mate.
*According to [http://www.seibertron.com/news/view.php?id=12112 an interview on Seibertron.com] with [[Frank Welker]], a representative of Madman gave Mr. Welker a pre-release version of the 2007 ''Complete Collection'' DVD set in the hopes of securing an interview to be included on the final version of the set. This did not evidently pan out as the disc content is the same as Madman's 2004 Generation 1 releases.
*In the wake of 2009's ''Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition'' set, Madman's previous G1 ''Complete Collection'' set has been retroactively labelled the "Autobot Edition".
*The features on the ''Beast Wars'' sets, in keeping with Madman's enthusiastic but low-budget approach, get better with each release. The first set's commentary tracks feature some of the worst audio ever used on a DVD commentary — with the voices barely audible and sometimes completely drowned out by traffic noises. The other sets are not quite so bad, with the third the most polished (and rich) in special features.
*No, seriously mate, Madman is awesome. Dodgy, but enthusiastic. They couldn't be more Aussie.

==External links==
* [http://www.madman.com.au/ Madman Entertainment's homepage]
* [http://www.botchthecrab.com/replies.asp?index=402 A review of the ''Generation 1'' Complete Collection DVD set at Botch the Crab.com]

[[Category:Companies]]
[[Category:Home entertainment]]

Lazorbeak

2011-05-24T00:31:36Z

Shockwave 75: /* Beast Wars */

{{factions|predacon}}
{{picsneeded|Toyz}}
{{disambig3|Laserbeak}}
:''Lazorbeak iz a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] from the [[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]] portion of the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[Image:IDW Lazorbeak.jpg|right|250px|thumb|... If those are what pterosaur wings actually looked like, I'm a monkey's uncle.]]
A fast flying pirate of the air, the mean menace that is '''Lazorbeak''' satiates his thirst for battle by seeking the one good point [[Maximal|Maximals]] have: their melting points! He is aided in this by a powerful laser weapon. Unfortunately, his aggressive usage of this weapon rapidly diminishes his [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] levels, usually limiting Lazorbeak to making only brief aerial attacks before converting back to pteranodon mode.

==Fiction==
===IDW ''Beast Wars'' comics===
[[Image:BWTheAscending4_Spittor_Lazorbeak_death.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Wait, I'd rather fade away than burn ouAAAAAAG-]]

Lazorbeak was one of the [[protoforms]] left on [[Earth]] by the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'' reprogrammed into Predacons by [[Magmatron]]. {{storylink|The Gathering issue 2|The Gathering #2}} He was sent to search for [[Razorbeast]] and his team of Maximals from the air by the recently revived [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]. {{storylink|The Gathering issue 3|The Gathering #3}} When [[Sky Shadow (BW)|Sky Shadow]] discovered the Maximals' lair, Lazorbeak was among the Predacons who participated in the battle that ensued. After being beaten by the Maximals and their newly arrived reinforcements, Lazorbeak presumably retreated along with the other Predacons. {{storylink|The Gathering issue 4|The Gathering #4}}

Weeks later, he joined in on the all-out assault ordered by Ravage on the Maximals' base camp. {{storylink|The Ascending issue 1|The Ascending #1}} He was briefly seen dogfighting with [[Air Hammer]]. {{storylink|The Ascending issue 2|The Ascending #2}} When the [[Blendtron]]s crashed that party, Lazorbeak and the other Predacons teamed up with the Maximals to fight the [[Angolmois]]-powered newcomers. With [[Spittor (BW)|Spittor]]'s help, Lazorbeak managed to get [[Rartorata]] to spear his own teammate [[Drancron]] with his stinger. Unfortunately, this caused a violent Angolmois explosion that apparently wiped the whole lot of them out, Lazorbeak included. {{storylink|The Ascending issue 4|The Ascending #4}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
===Beast Wars===
*'''Lazorbeak''' (Basic, 1996)[[Image:BWLazorbeakToy.jpg|thumb|right|350px|The first person who says you can see my feet sticking out of my beast mode neck gets shot in the face!]]

: A [[redeco]] and very slight [[Retool|retooling]] (he was given a space for an [[Rubsign|energon chip]]) of the original [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] mold, Lazorbeak transforms from a ''Pteranodon'' (referred to as a pterodactyl by the package) to a robot with a spring-loaded one-step transformation. His pistol stores in a small recess behind his robot-mode head.

: This mold was also used to make [[Fractyl]], ''[[Beast Wars Neo (toyline)|Beast Wars Neo]]'' [[Hydra (BWN)|Hydra]], and ''[[Dinobots (toyline)|Dinobots]]'' [[Terranotron (Dinobots)|Terranotron]].

::* [http://www.tfu.info/1997/Predacon/Lazorbeak/lazorbeak.htm More information on Lazorbeak at TFU.info]

==Notes==
*Lazorbeak's on-package [[bio]] has some similarities to [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]]'s, leading some to believe he is the same character.

===Foreign names===
*''French:'' '''Lazair''' (Canada)
*''Italian:'' '''Rapax'''<ref>This name may have only been used on the cross-sell for the English/Spanish/Italian "video-pack" release of [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]]. However, a carded example of trilingual European English/Spanish/Italian Lazorbeak has not been found at this time, so this is uncertain.</ref>
*''Spanish:'' '''Picador'''

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Beast Wars Predacons]]
[[Category:Pirates]]

File:BWLazorbeakToy.jpg

2011-05-24T00:13:55Z

Shockwave 75: ''Beast Wars (toyline)|'' Lazorbeak, photo taken by Shockwave 75 Category:Beast Wars toy images

''[[Beast Wars (toyline)|Beast Wars]]'' [[Lazorbeak]], photo taken by Shockwave 75
[[Category:Beast Wars toy images]]

Talk:Scale

2011-05-05T23:00:44Z

Shockwave 75: /* Implicit Size Changes */

Hi, this is my second (and much larger) personally-originated article. I hope you like it; I certainly had fun writing it.

As I discussed on [[micro-continuities]], I'm keen for people to contribute to the article; I'm not overly precious about it. All I'd ask is that if you really hate something, please discuss it HERE first, rather than outright deleting or extensively re-writing it just yet.

I'd particularly appreciate anyone wanting to add examples from other franchises. It's pretty G1 and Beast Era-centric at the moment. More/better pictures would also be great.

Also, I'd REALLY appreciate any suggestions as to what category(ies) this article should be placed in. I'm really scratching my head here...

Anyway, don't be shy, let the newbie know what you think!

Cheers,
[[User:PacifistPrime|PacifistPrime]].

:Wonderful article. I enjoyed it. This is something that's always on my mind when I'm looking at my toys or comics. About the proto-humans in Beast Wars, though: proto-humans were smaller than modern humans (around 4 ft tall). So the scale problems, while still an issue, are not as drastic as they seem. I'm not sure how to integrate that into that section. --[[User:Crockalley|Crockalley]] 18:02, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

::Wow, thanks man. And cheers for the protohumans info. Please feel free to contribute anything, especially pictures! Ta, [[User:PacifistPrime|PacifistPrime]].

I love the subtle hilarious genius of giving this the Things that Don't Exist category. --[[User:Terrocon Blot|Terrocon Blot]] 05:55, 23 March 2007 (UTC)
:Uncyclopedia reference FTW! --[[User:TVsGrady|TVsGrady]] 04:07, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

== Alternators having a problem?==

Pardon me for asking, but what problem is there with the Alternators line? Kiss Players obviously deserves its place, but isn't that line seperate from Alternators? {{unsigned|66.161.202.19}}
:It's just a joke at Kiss Players' expense. And they're not entirely separate; some Alternators toys ended up as Kiss Players toys. [[User:JW|JW]] 20:11, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

== JBW Scales? ==

I remember hearign that the JBW TF's were scaled like classic G1 TF's, not the 8' tall BW-era average, but it's been so longsince i saw parts of BW2 that I can't back that up.<br/>
(This of course creates issues with Primal suddenly getting that size int he teamup. which I suppose is a problem in Robotmasters too.)<br/>
Pic of Robotmasters Primal & Prime vs. a 2-shot from Agenda? -[[User:Derik|Derik]] 07:53, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

:I wouldn't know; I've never seen more than the teamup movie of BWII and some painful snippets of BWNeo on YouTube. Frankly I loath the little I've seen of these shows, and most Japanese-originated fiction for that matter, although I don't want to force that opinion on anyone. Love the leader-toys though ;-)

:Please feel free to add anything like that if you can verify it, and if accurate please do point out the resulting scale problem with Primal in relation BW and RM. Cheers, [[User:PacifistPrime|PacifistPrime]].

::Such misconceptions were probably caused by the fact that in BWII Most of the Destrons turn into vehicles, the J-Beast Warriors are only G1-Sized if we assume that the Destron's vehicle modes are supposed to be real world scale. They could just be tiny vehicles like in Dawn of Futures Past. Which is probably the most likely, as Lio Convoy has been shown to be the same size as the Lion he scanned, while on the other hand Tasmanian Kid turns into a huge Tasmanian Devil, much like Rattrap turns into a huge rat.

:::But that's inconsistant as well. I did a quick search and found evidence that LioConvoy was about the size of his lion, as you said [http://bigbot.com/beast_wars_2/pictures/cartoon_tv_show/02_White_Lion_Run/], but I also saw an image of Tasmania Kid cradling a tasmanian devil that he scanned in his hands [http://bigbot.com/beast_wars_2/pictures/cartoon_tv_show/04_Lake_Trap/]. Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_devil#Physical_description] places the average length of a Tasmanian devil at 652 mm, which would be over one-fourth the height of an average man. So it's still confusing.-[[User:EricMarrs|EricMarrs]] 23:41, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
::::Contextually, though I haven't seen the episode, I'm betting that's a baby Tazmanian devil.
::::Sale in JBW is weird. It appears that Lioconvoy was 'real' sized, (about 7 feet tall, and transforms into a normal-sized lion.) while others in hsi crew are ridiculously undersized. By contrast- the Destrons turned into TINY versions of jets and such. The toy scale was (loosely) maintained. Robotmasters is fucked though.
::::I might rephrase the entry to more accurately reflect this contradiction. -[[User:Derik|Derik]] 00:15, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

== Mini-Cons ==

The first paragraph on Mini-Con scale bugs me. The Earth-based altmodes have always been pretty clearly intended as small-scale reproductions of actual vehicles, no different from how Waspinator is (theoretically) a large-scale reproduction of an actual wasp. So Sparkplug, for instance, has windows because he's a tiny Lamborghini and Lamborghinis have windows. (A case could be made for the non-Earth-design vehicles, I suppose.) It just seems to be inventing an issue for the sake of having something to question on a subject where there's already plenty going on that's questionable... if anything, Mini-Cons in Armada are one of the few cases of ''consistent'' scale in Transformers. --[[User:Andrusi|Andrusi]] 18:23, 25 March 2007 (UTC)
:Well, except the weapons. --[[User:Andrusi|Andrusi]] 18:24, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

: Yeah, I'm not wild about it either. They're not supposed to be having passengers at all ever, and clearly were never intended to... except in ''Cybertron''. (And, well, the SAT, right.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 18:43, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

::Well, I take your point, but it seems to me that it's still a valid inclusion. Even if Mini-Cons were never ''intended'' to hold passangers (although for that matter, frankly, how often do you see post-Movie characters actually carrying passangers anyway...?), they nevertheless turn into vehicles that ''appear'' to be able to carry people in them but are too small to actually do so. They are, almost by definition, SCALED DOWN representations of (mostly) real vehicles. So feel free to reword the paragraph, but I still think Mini-Cons warrant a reference. That's my two cents, anyway. Ta, [[User:PacifistPrime|PacifistPrime]]

==Question==

Why does Lio Convoy and Primal being the same size in BWII cause a problem. Lio convoy was the same size as a real lion.

==Nanotyrannus?==

You should remove the nanotyrannus caomment since many now believe it's just a young rex.
:Except that when Mainframe created the CGI models for Beast Wars, Nanotyrannus was believed to be a real genus. I always assumed that they had Megatron get his beast mode from scanning Nanotyrannus fossils so he wouldn't completely dwarf the rest of the cast. --[[User:Rotty|Rotty]] 20:36, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
:Maybe the same explanation of Nanotyrannus applies to Meg's beast mode scale-he just scanned the fossil of a juvenile T-Rex. [[User:Darktruth|Darktruth]] 23:17, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

== Scale within Toylines ==

Parts of the paragraph involving the movie toys are very inaccurate, especially the claim that non-Prime or Megatron characters having toys in different classes representing the same body is virtuarlly unprecendeted. If it were just the Legends that were the exception, that would be fine, as the reason for that class was "small versions of the large toys", much the TF-Juniors (same goes for fast-food toys and kabya kits).

The main problem with this is Beast Machines, as the first Megatron (Mega) toy is the same "body" as his TMII form (Ultra), three toys for Cheetor (Mega, Supreme, Deluxe) and Primal (Deluxe, Mega, Supreme), Jetstorm (Deluxe and Ultra), Tankorr (Mega and Basic), and Thrust (Deluxe and Basic). (Yes, the Basics forms of the last two were techinaclly Drones, but the ''Beast Wars Returns'' line released the Basics as the Generals, and the visual difference between General and Drone was some extra paint.) --[[User:FortMax|FortMax]] 20:41, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

== Awsomeness. ==

Hey man love the article. I wish all of wikipedia could be like that, informal and with a bit of humour, instead of being as about as much fun as getting repeatedly kicked in the face. Lauds.

== Movie ==

While not perfect, the movie has avoided many of the scale issues that previous generations have had, and should be mentioned. As with Beast-Era, this entire new kettle of fish is in need of its own section and should probably be added soon. If anyone can point out any scale problems in-movie (not in the toys, though there are many there) please mention them here. -[[User:King Starscream|King Starscream]] 14:08, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

* In the movie we are shown the All-Spark compressing itself from a massive cube to a much smaller one, in which a human is easily able to hold and run with it. Isn't it reasonable to suggest that the Transformers, being a product of the All-Spark, would be able to, to some degree, compress or expand themselves in the same fashion?
::Yes, but that's a topic for the [[size changing]] article. While this article does talk about size changing (possibly too much), any discussion that's ''just'' about size changing shouldn't be here. [[User:JW|JW]] 20:34, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

== Featured? ==

Any chance of this article becoming a featured article? It contains an enormous ammount of knowledge, and is also witty at the same time. As such, this article could be said to be a perfect example of what this wiki is about. [[User:Tindalos|Tindalos]] 20:39, 12 September 2007 (UTC)
: Well, as the originator of the article, I'd second that! ;-) I'm enormously chuffed to hear you say that, thanks. [[User:PacifistPrime|PacifistPrime]].

:: Ideally, I'd like to see the BW sections edited a bit more, and possibly integrated into the top sections of the article. Currently, the article is partly organized by topic (scale and toys, scale and fiction) and partly by franchise. Also, it needs to be trimmed of discussion of size-changing that is not relevant to scale (with that discussion moved into the size changing article). [[User:JW|JW]] 02:10, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

:::Hi there [[User:JW|JW]],
::: Your points are valid, but I'd actually argue that the BW stuff ''should'' stay separate. Although there's no massively logical rationale behind this (scale, after all, is scale), I think the fundamental aesthetic differences between the vehicular TFs that dominate the franchise and the animal altmodes of the Beast Era, especially Season 1 of BW (which is mostly what this material covers, since they were the only significant depiction of "real animal" altmodes) are better discussed separately. I know that falls a little bit afoul of the usually meaningless "toasters versus squishies" dualism, but in this case I really think it just''feels right'' as an organisational divide for this particular article.
:::As to the size-changing stuff; I'll have a closer look but I really thing that some discussion of size-changing is inevitably required with a topic concerning scale.
:::Cheers, [[User:PacifistPrime|PacifistPrime]] 23 October 2007
Me again, [[User:JW|JW]],

I've had a close look at the article and I really feel that all the discussion of size-changing herein really ''is'' neccessary, and thoroughly relevant. Sorry.
[[User:PacifistPrime|PacifistPrime]] 26th Oct. 07

:If you think the amount of size-changing discussion currently in the article is about right, I won't quibble much. [[User:JW|JW]] 11:50, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

== Metroplex ==

While his "city" mode isn't really shown, Metroplex is about the size of Autobot City in the UK comic ("Space Pirates", to be precise).

[[User:Cliffjumper|Cliffjumper]] 09:42, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

I've added a short line to indicate this, though I'm buggered if I can work out how to link to Space Pirates properly...I've tried it with an underscore, with a space, and both with and without the exclamation mark, but it keeps redirecting me to a new page. Anyone?

[edit]...aha, fixed it. The Space Pirates article has a picture of 'Plex in robot mode that might be useful for this article too, if the Citybot section was more substantially re-written.

[[User:Emvee|Emvee]] 05:10, 9 January 2008 (UTC)
:The recent changes to this article removed the Space Pirates info about Metroplex and it now once again reads 'almost no fiction even begins to approximate the logical size of a true "city-bot"' - is there some reason why the one instance of a Citybot being shown to a reasonable scale is being omitted? [[User:Emvee|Emvee]] 06:45, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

== movie scale alert ==
i think there might be one more scale problem in the 2007 transformers movie : when bumblebee shrinks the all spark he holds it fairly easily with one hand and when ladiesman217 takes it he holds it just as easily with two hands[[User:217.43.84.145|217.43.84.145]] 13:57, 30 December 2007 (UTC)
:Yah, but the All Spark explicitly can change size, so it's hard to argue Bumblebee didn't just shrink it again . . . [[User:JW|JW]] 15:31, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

== Long Article ==

For people who are tempted to add to this article, please note that it is close to the maximum recommended length of 32kb already. Don't add new stuff unless it's pretty important to the article. New material that is ''just'' jokes will probably get cut again to make room for more substantive stuff. [[User:JW|JW]] 11:55, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

== Animated ==

There's nothing in the article about any size inconsistencies that may have cropped up in ''Animated'', so, as the series goes forward, we should probably keep an eye out. Im' guessing the first problems to crop up will involve Prowl, as he's a motorcycle rather than a car or truck. --[[User:Nemesis Primal|Nemesis Primal]] 05:26, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

:I've noticed a few instances, but they're more "animation company screwups" than any kind of consitent scale issues. Look at Prime from the first episode when Bulkhead is loading an injured Prowl onto his bed. Prime's truck mode is HUGE. That's not a consistent thing, though, so I don't know that' it's worth mentioning outside of the episode's "animation errors" listing. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 18:51, 31 January 2008 (UTC)
::Forget Prime. PROWL in robot mode is gigantic in many shots, considering his tiny altmode. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 19:23, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

== minicons ==

i think the gigantion minicons are supposed to be huge because in the episode showing the origin of soundwave and sideways it says that the people turned there planet and THEMSELVES (which would include the minicons on that planet) into giants[[User:81.108.233.59|81.108.233.59]] 17:54, 31 January 2008 (UTC)
:Except they're clearly ''not'', and they're explicitly said to be ''tiny'' to do detail work. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 18:46, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

== Rattrap ==

The article mentions that only Cheetor and Tigatron were seen next to their actual flesh and blood counterparts, but I could have sworn there was a scene where Rattrap was seen next to a real rat (and the real rat was tiny compared to him). In A Better Mousetrap, perhaps? [[User:Excise|Excise]] 14:33, 8 February 2008 (UTC)
:True. Fixed. [[User:JW|JW]] 14:44, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

==Dinosaur Alts==
Dinobot cannot be a Utahraptor OR a Velociraptor. While he IS much too large to be a Velociraptor, Utahraptors are about 7 meters long and 2 meters tall, and he is shown to be shorter than Optimus Primal in beast mode. Additionally, Megatron's Nano T.Rex is not even confirmed as a genuine species, and is 17 feet tall anyway. It's probably wiser to assume the same matters of scaling as with the insects and Rattrap. [[User:Harley Quinn hyenaholic|Harley Quinn hyenaholic]] 07:48, 24 April 2009 (EDT)

==Dreamwave Devastator Pic==
While it's an excellent example of scale problems, it doesn't belong in the Toys section (since it's not a pic of a toy), and in the section where it ''does'' belong, we already have a Dreamwave Menasor pic which illustrates the problem. Unless there's another place to put it where it will fit, it should probably be cut. [[User:JW|JW]] 12:53, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

==Alternators ''Only'' Toyline to Scale?==
Perhaps I'm missing the intention of the statements in the article, but a couple of times the Alternators are spelled out as the ''only'' exception to the scale difficulties that plague all-that-is-Transformers. The G2 GoBots (later known as Spychangers) were designed to be 1:64 scale, weren't they? Or is there something wonky about their scale I'm missing?--[[User:G.B. Blackrock|G.B. Blackrock]] 17:30, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
:I think if you place RID Hot Shot, Ironhide, and Mirage next to each other, you'll see that they're only ''roughly'' to the same scale. Mirage is big for an Indy car, and Ironhide is a small pickup. "1:64 scale" in this case means "about yay long". [[User:JW|JW]] 17:38, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
::Yeah, basically in this case it means "Fits most Matchbox/Hotwheels tracks."

==Article cleanup==
This article, with its many many subsections and considerable length, has been bothering me for a while. I think I figured out why: it had sections talking about a type of ''problem'', such as explicit size changing, then it also has sections about various fictions, then it ''also'' has sections talking about a type of ''Transformer'' that suffered from those various problems, thus repeating all the information previously given.

It seems to me it's got to be one or the other -- we either break it down by type of problem, by fiction, or by type of Transformer. It's redundant and sloppy to have it all three ways. Considering how many kinds of Transformers there are and how much media exists, the logical choice is by problem type. That's what I'm shooting for with the most recent edit.

It still needs further cleanup; for example, the city and planet sections should be combined with other instances of an alternate mode implying a different size of robot than is actually shown. When you get down to it, Seaspray has exactly the same type of scale problem as Unicron; the article should reflect that instead of rambling all over the place. -- [[User:Repowers|Repowers]] 15:45, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
:The [[Scale#Fictional_scale_.E2.89.88_toy_scale|Fictional scale ≈ toy scale]] section in your rewrite cuts off abruptly mid-sentence. - [[User:SanityOrMadness|SanityOrMadness]] 16:16, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
::Thanks, missed that. And sorry I just called you someone else's user name in the Recent Changes list. <:D -- [[User:Repowers|Repowers]] 16:39, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

==A "scale canon"==

Sorry for this brain-dump, but it's one of the few places I can think of with the collective knowledge to make this work. Most lines are not even remotely in scale within a [[size class]], especially if we're talking about aircraft. However Scout or Legends-class car characters could sit alongside Deluxe or Voyager aircraft, and be in scale. Given the number of size classes in the larger lines, and the plethora of figures in those lines, ultimuately you could concoct one or more "scale canons" per line containing a range of characters which are approximately in scale with each other. Any thoughts? [[Special:Contributions/82.41.72.10|82.41.72.10]] 10:12, 23 August 2009 (EDT)

:So the idea would be to list the toys which have relative sizes matching the relative sizes of the characters in fiction? Are you talking about robot mode or vehicle modes, cause I can see arguments for both, but they're not always the same... --[[User:Abates|abates]] 16:59, 23 August 2009 (EDT)

::If you were going to base their relative sizes on the fiction, then it would make sense to do it based on robot modes, IMO. If it was going to be based on their expected relative sizes in reality (which obviously only works for real-life alt-modes) then it would make sense to do it based on vehicles. [[Special:Contributions/82.41.72.10|82.41.72.10]] 00:48, 25 August 2009 (EDT)

== Nebulans ==

Assuming that Nebulan partnered cars are the same size to Earth cars and that Nebulan partnered jets are the same size as earth jets, wouldn't that make the Nebulans to be different sizes to each other? This is especially apparent for Targetmasters in vehicle mode with their Nebulan partner attached. I assume that Nebulans would not wear a suit of armor the same size as they are (as seen in the eighties comic and cartoon) but a personal mobile suit as depicted in Dreamwave's MTMTE (the Nebulan sits in the torso area) - it beats the Nebulan having to move their legs in impossible ways when transformed as the toys would let us believe. [[Special:Contributions/90.242.193.102|90.242.193.102]] 18:18, 23 August 2009 (EDT)

== More for toys out of scale with themselves ==

Energon Omega Supreme is out of scale with himself, one half of him is a construction crane while the other is a space battleship. Just compare the sizes of the 1-2 person train cab against the multi person battleship bridge. Add to that Devastator from ROTF. One of his arms is a giant crane while the other is a small, um, you know, bulldozer thing that isn't a bulldozer.[[Special:Contributions/81.108.237.26|81.108.237.26]] 09:24, 12 December 2009 (EST)

== Waaaaaaaaaait a minute ==

This is in the "Planets" category because.....? --[[User:-Blackout-|-Blackout-]] 13:16, 26 October 2010 (EDT)
:I guess because it discusses the scale of Primus and Unicron. But scale is not really a planet, so... --[[User:NCZ|NCZ]] 13:49, 26 October 2010 (EDT)

== Implicit Size Changes ==

Great article and I'm not even done reading it yet! One suggestion: The "Implicit Size Changes" section needs some references/examples as I'm not sure what/who you are talking about. Just a little example to illustrate the point. [[User:Shockwave 75|Shockwave 75]] 19:00, 5 May 2011 (EDT)Shockwave 75

Talk:Scale

2011-05-05T22:59:43Z

Shockwave 75: /* Implicit Size Changes */ new section

Talk:Scale

2011-05-05T22:58:55Z

Shockwave 75:

Talk:Scale

2011-05-05T22:58:04Z

Shockwave 75:

Hi, this is my second (and much larger) personally-originated article. I hope you like it; I certainly had fun writing it.

As I discussed on [[micro-continuities]], I'm keen for people to contribute to the article; I'm not overly precious about it. All I'd ask is that if you really hate something, please discuss it HERE first, rather than outright deleting or extensively re-writing it just yet.

I'd particularly appreciate anyone wanting to add examples from other franchises. It's pretty G1 and Beast Era-centric at the moment. More/better pictures would also be great.

Also, I'd REALLY appreciate any suggestions as to what category(ies) this article should be placed in. I'm really scratching my head here...

Anyway, don't be shy, let the newbie know what you think!

Cheers,
[[User:PacifistPrime|PacifistPrime]].

:Wonderful article. I enjoyed it. This is something that's always on my mind when I'm looking at my toys or comics. About the proto-humans in Beast Wars, though: proto-humans were smaller than modern humans (around 4 ft tall). So the scale problems, while still an issue, are not as drastic as they seem. I'm not sure how to integrate that into that section. --[[User:Crockalley|Crockalley]] 18:02, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

::Wow, thanks man. And cheers for the protohumans info. Please feel free to contribute anything, especially pictures! Ta, [[User:PacifistPrime|PacifistPrime]].

I love the subtle hilarious genius of giving this the Things that Don't Exist category. --[[User:Terrocon Blot|Terrocon Blot]] 05:55, 23 March 2007 (UTC)
:Uncyclopedia reference FTW! --[[User:TVsGrady|TVsGrady]] 04:07, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Great article and I'm not even done reading it yet! One suggestion: The "Implicit Size Changes" section needs some references/examples as I'm not sure what/who you are talking about. Just a little example to illustrate the point.

== Alternators having a problem?==

Pardon me for asking, but what problem is there with the Alternators line? Kiss Players obviously deserves its place, but isn't that line seperate from Alternators? {{unsigned|66.161.202.19}}
:It's just a joke at Kiss Players' expense. And they're not entirely separate; some Alternators toys ended up as Kiss Players toys. [[User:JW|JW]] 20:11, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

== JBW Scales? ==

I remember hearign that the JBW TF's were scaled like classic G1 TF's, not the 8' tall BW-era average, but it's been so longsince i saw parts of BW2 that I can't back that up.<br/>
(This of course creates issues with Primal suddenly getting that size int he teamup. which I suppose is a problem in Robotmasters too.)<br/>
Pic of Robotmasters Primal & Prime vs. a 2-shot from Agenda? -[[User:Derik|Derik]] 07:53, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

:I wouldn't know; I've never seen more than the teamup movie of BWII and some painful snippets of BWNeo on YouTube. Frankly I loath the little I've seen of these shows, and most Japanese-originated fiction for that matter, although I don't want to force that opinion on anyone. Love the leader-toys though ;-)

:Please feel free to add anything like that if you can verify it, and if accurate please do point out the resulting scale problem with Primal in relation BW and RM. Cheers, [[User:PacifistPrime|PacifistPrime]].

::Such misconceptions were probably caused by the fact that in BWII Most of the Destrons turn into vehicles, the J-Beast Warriors are only G1-Sized if we assume that the Destron's vehicle modes are supposed to be real world scale. They could just be tiny vehicles like in Dawn of Futures Past. Which is probably the most likely, as Lio Convoy has been shown to be the same size as the Lion he scanned, while on the other hand Tasmanian Kid turns into a huge Tasmanian Devil, much like Rattrap turns into a huge rat.

:::But that's inconsistant as well. I did a quick search and found evidence that LioConvoy was about the size of his lion, as you said [http://bigbot.com/beast_wars_2/pictures/cartoon_tv_show/02_White_Lion_Run/], but I also saw an image of Tasmania Kid cradling a tasmanian devil that he scanned in his hands [http://bigbot.com/beast_wars_2/pictures/cartoon_tv_show/04_Lake_Trap/]. Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_devil#Physical_description] places the average length of a Tasmanian devil at 652 mm, which would be over one-fourth the height of an average man. So it's still confusing.-[[User:EricMarrs|EricMarrs]] 23:41, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
::::Contextually, though I haven't seen the episode, I'm betting that's a baby Tazmanian devil.
::::Sale in JBW is weird. It appears that Lioconvoy was 'real' sized, (about 7 feet tall, and transforms into a normal-sized lion.) while others in hsi crew are ridiculously undersized. By contrast- the Destrons turned into TINY versions of jets and such. The toy scale was (loosely) maintained. Robotmasters is fucked though.
::::I might rephrase the entry to more accurately reflect this contradiction. -[[User:Derik|Derik]] 00:15, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

== Mini-Cons ==

The first paragraph on Mini-Con scale bugs me. The Earth-based altmodes have always been pretty clearly intended as small-scale reproductions of actual vehicles, no different from how Waspinator is (theoretically) a large-scale reproduction of an actual wasp. So Sparkplug, for instance, has windows because he's a tiny Lamborghini and Lamborghinis have windows. (A case could be made for the non-Earth-design vehicles, I suppose.) It just seems to be inventing an issue for the sake of having something to question on a subject where there's already plenty going on that's questionable... if anything, Mini-Cons in Armada are one of the few cases of ''consistent'' scale in Transformers. --[[User:Andrusi|Andrusi]] 18:23, 25 March 2007 (UTC)
:Well, except the weapons. --[[User:Andrusi|Andrusi]] 18:24, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

: Yeah, I'm not wild about it either. They're not supposed to be having passengers at all ever, and clearly were never intended to... except in ''Cybertron''. (And, well, the SAT, right.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 18:43, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

::Well, I take your point, but it seems to me that it's still a valid inclusion. Even if Mini-Cons were never ''intended'' to hold passangers (although for that matter, frankly, how often do you see post-Movie characters actually carrying passangers anyway...?), they nevertheless turn into vehicles that ''appear'' to be able to carry people in them but are too small to actually do so. They are, almost by definition, SCALED DOWN representations of (mostly) real vehicles. So feel free to reword the paragraph, but I still think Mini-Cons warrant a reference. That's my two cents, anyway. Ta, [[User:PacifistPrime|PacifistPrime]]

==Question==

Why does Lio Convoy and Primal being the same size in BWII cause a problem. Lio convoy was the same size as a real lion.

==Nanotyrannus?==

You should remove the nanotyrannus caomment since many now believe it's just a young rex.
:Except that when Mainframe created the CGI models for Beast Wars, Nanotyrannus was believed to be a real genus. I always assumed that they had Megatron get his beast mode from scanning Nanotyrannus fossils so he wouldn't completely dwarf the rest of the cast. --[[User:Rotty|Rotty]] 20:36, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
:Maybe the same explanation of Nanotyrannus applies to Meg's beast mode scale-he just scanned the fossil of a juvenile T-Rex. [[User:Darktruth|Darktruth]] 23:17, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

== Scale within Toylines ==

Parts of the paragraph involving the movie toys are very inaccurate, especially the claim that non-Prime or Megatron characters having toys in different classes representing the same body is virtuarlly unprecendeted. If it were just the Legends that were the exception, that would be fine, as the reason for that class was "small versions of the large toys", much the TF-Juniors (same goes for fast-food toys and kabya kits).

The main problem with this is Beast Machines, as the first Megatron (Mega) toy is the same "body" as his TMII form (Ultra), three toys for Cheetor (Mega, Supreme, Deluxe) and Primal (Deluxe, Mega, Supreme), Jetstorm (Deluxe and Ultra), Tankorr (Mega and Basic), and Thrust (Deluxe and Basic). (Yes, the Basics forms of the last two were techinaclly Drones, but the ''Beast Wars Returns'' line released the Basics as the Generals, and the visual difference between General and Drone was some extra paint.) --[[User:FortMax|FortMax]] 20:41, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

== Awsomeness. ==

Hey man love the article. I wish all of wikipedia could be like that, informal and with a bit of humour, instead of being as about as much fun as getting repeatedly kicked in the face. Lauds.

== Movie ==

While not perfect, the movie has avoided many of the scale issues that previous generations have had, and should be mentioned. As with Beast-Era, this entire new kettle of fish is in need of its own section and should probably be added soon. If anyone can point out any scale problems in-movie (not in the toys, though there are many there) please mention them here. -[[User:King Starscream|King Starscream]] 14:08, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

* In the movie we are shown the All-Spark compressing itself from a massive cube to a much smaller one, in which a human is easily able to hold and run with it. Isn't it reasonable to suggest that the Transformers, being a product of the All-Spark, would be able to, to some degree, compress or expand themselves in the same fashion?
::Yes, but that's a topic for the [[size changing]] article. While this article does talk about size changing (possibly too much), any discussion that's ''just'' about size changing shouldn't be here. [[User:JW|JW]] 20:34, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

== Featured? ==

Any chance of this article becoming a featured article? It contains an enormous ammount of knowledge, and is also witty at the same time. As such, this article could be said to be a perfect example of what this wiki is about. [[User:Tindalos|Tindalos]] 20:39, 12 September 2007 (UTC)
: Well, as the originator of the article, I'd second that! ;-) I'm enormously chuffed to hear you say that, thanks. [[User:PacifistPrime|PacifistPrime]].

:: Ideally, I'd like to see the BW sections edited a bit more, and possibly integrated into the top sections of the article. Currently, the article is partly organized by topic (scale and toys, scale and fiction) and partly by franchise. Also, it needs to be trimmed of discussion of size-changing that is not relevant to scale (with that discussion moved into the size changing article). [[User:JW|JW]] 02:10, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

:::Hi there [[User:JW|JW]],
::: Your points are valid, but I'd actually argue that the BW stuff ''should'' stay separate. Although there's no massively logical rationale behind this (scale, after all, is scale), I think the fundamental aesthetic differences between the vehicular TFs that dominate the franchise and the animal altmodes of the Beast Era, especially Season 1 of BW (which is mostly what this material covers, since they were the only significant depiction of "real animal" altmodes) are better discussed separately. I know that falls a little bit afoul of the usually meaningless "toasters versus squishies" dualism, but in this case I really think it just''feels right'' as an organisational divide for this particular article.
:::As to the size-changing stuff; I'll have a closer look but I really thing that some discussion of size-changing is inevitably required with a topic concerning scale.
:::Cheers, [[User:PacifistPrime|PacifistPrime]] 23 October 2007
Me again, [[User:JW|JW]],

I've had a close look at the article and I really feel that all the discussion of size-changing herein really ''is'' neccessary, and thoroughly relevant. Sorry.
[[User:PacifistPrime|PacifistPrime]] 26th Oct. 07

:If you think the amount of size-changing discussion currently in the article is about right, I won't quibble much. [[User:JW|JW]] 11:50, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

== Metroplex ==

While his "city" mode isn't really shown, Metroplex is about the size of Autobot City in the UK comic ("Space Pirates", to be precise).

[[User:Cliffjumper|Cliffjumper]] 09:42, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

I've added a short line to indicate this, though I'm buggered if I can work out how to link to Space Pirates properly...I've tried it with an underscore, with a space, and both with and without the exclamation mark, but it keeps redirecting me to a new page. Anyone?

[edit]...aha, fixed it. The Space Pirates article has a picture of 'Plex in robot mode that might be useful for this article too, if the Citybot section was more substantially re-written.

[[User:Emvee|Emvee]] 05:10, 9 January 2008 (UTC)
:The recent changes to this article removed the Space Pirates info about Metroplex and it now once again reads 'almost no fiction even begins to approximate the logical size of a true "city-bot"' - is there some reason why the one instance of a Citybot being shown to a reasonable scale is being omitted? [[User:Emvee|Emvee]] 06:45, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

== movie scale alert ==
i think there might be one more scale problem in the 2007 transformers movie : when bumblebee shrinks the all spark he holds it fairly easily with one hand and when ladiesman217 takes it he holds it just as easily with two hands[[User:217.43.84.145|217.43.84.145]] 13:57, 30 December 2007 (UTC)
:Yah, but the All Spark explicitly can change size, so it's hard to argue Bumblebee didn't just shrink it again . . . [[User:JW|JW]] 15:31, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

== Long Article ==

For people who are tempted to add to this article, please note that it is close to the maximum recommended length of 32kb already. Don't add new stuff unless it's pretty important to the article. New material that is ''just'' jokes will probably get cut again to make room for more substantive stuff. [[User:JW|JW]] 11:55, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

== Animated ==

There's nothing in the article about any size inconsistencies that may have cropped up in ''Animated'', so, as the series goes forward, we should probably keep an eye out. Im' guessing the first problems to crop up will involve Prowl, as he's a motorcycle rather than a car or truck. --[[User:Nemesis Primal|Nemesis Primal]] 05:26, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

:I've noticed a few instances, but they're more "animation company screwups" than any kind of consitent scale issues. Look at Prime from the first episode when Bulkhead is loading an injured Prowl onto his bed. Prime's truck mode is HUGE. That's not a consistent thing, though, so I don't know that' it's worth mentioning outside of the episode's "animation errors" listing. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 18:51, 31 January 2008 (UTC)
::Forget Prime. PROWL in robot mode is gigantic in many shots, considering his tiny altmode. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 19:23, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

== minicons ==

i think the gigantion minicons are supposed to be huge because in the episode showing the origin of soundwave and sideways it says that the people turned there planet and THEMSELVES (which would include the minicons on that planet) into giants[[User:81.108.233.59|81.108.233.59]] 17:54, 31 January 2008 (UTC)
:Except they're clearly ''not'', and they're explicitly said to be ''tiny'' to do detail work. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 18:46, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

== Rattrap ==

The article mentions that only Cheetor and Tigatron were seen next to their actual flesh and blood counterparts, but I could have sworn there was a scene where Rattrap was seen next to a real rat (and the real rat was tiny compared to him). In A Better Mousetrap, perhaps? [[User:Excise|Excise]] 14:33, 8 February 2008 (UTC)
:True. Fixed. [[User:JW|JW]] 14:44, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

==Dinosaur Alts==
Dinobot cannot be a Utahraptor OR a Velociraptor. While he IS much too large to be a Velociraptor, Utahraptors are about 7 meters long and 2 meters tall, and he is shown to be shorter than Optimus Primal in beast mode. Additionally, Megatron's Nano T.Rex is not even confirmed as a genuine species, and is 17 feet tall anyway. It's probably wiser to assume the same matters of scaling as with the insects and Rattrap. [[User:Harley Quinn hyenaholic|Harley Quinn hyenaholic]] 07:48, 24 April 2009 (EDT)

==Dreamwave Devastator Pic==
While it's an excellent example of scale problems, it doesn't belong in the Toys section (since it's not a pic of a toy), and in the section where it ''does'' belong, we already have a Dreamwave Menasor pic which illustrates the problem. Unless there's another place to put it where it will fit, it should probably be cut. [[User:JW|JW]] 12:53, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

==Alternators ''Only'' Toyline to Scale?==
Perhaps I'm missing the intention of the statements in the article, but a couple of times the Alternators are spelled out as the ''only'' exception to the scale difficulties that plague all-that-is-Transformers. The G2 GoBots (later known as Spychangers) were designed to be 1:64 scale, weren't they? Or is there something wonky about their scale I'm missing?--[[User:G.B. Blackrock|G.B. Blackrock]] 17:30, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
:I think if you place RID Hot Shot, Ironhide, and Mirage next to each other, you'll see that they're only ''roughly'' to the same scale. Mirage is big for an Indy car, and Ironhide is a small pickup. "1:64 scale" in this case means "about yay long". [[User:JW|JW]] 17:38, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
::Yeah, basically in this case it means "Fits most Matchbox/Hotwheels tracks."

==Article cleanup==
This article, with its many many subsections and considerable length, has been bothering me for a while. I think I figured out why: it had sections talking about a type of ''problem'', such as explicit size changing, then it also has sections about various fictions, then it ''also'' has sections talking about a type of ''Transformer'' that suffered from those various problems, thus repeating all the information previously given.

It seems to me it's got to be one or the other -- we either break it down by type of problem, by fiction, or by type of Transformer. It's redundant and sloppy to have it all three ways. Considering how many kinds of Transformers there are and how much media exists, the logical choice is by problem type. That's what I'm shooting for with the most recent edit.

It still needs further cleanup; for example, the city and planet sections should be combined with other instances of an alternate mode implying a different size of robot than is actually shown. When you get down to it, Seaspray has exactly the same type of scale problem as Unicron; the article should reflect that instead of rambling all over the place. -- [[User:Repowers|Repowers]] 15:45, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
:The [[Scale#Fictional_scale_.E2.89.88_toy_scale|Fictional scale ≈ toy scale]] section in your rewrite cuts off abruptly mid-sentence. - [[User:SanityOrMadness|SanityOrMadness]] 16:16, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
::Thanks, missed that. And sorry I just called you someone else's user name in the Recent Changes list. <:D -- [[User:Repowers|Repowers]] 16:39, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

==A "scale canon"==

Sorry for this brain-dump, but it's one of the few places I can think of with the collective knowledge to make this work. Most lines are not even remotely in scale within a [[size class]], especially if we're talking about aircraft. However Scout or Legends-class car characters could sit alongside Deluxe or Voyager aircraft, and be in scale. Given the number of size classes in the larger lines, and the plethora of figures in those lines, ultimuately you could concoct one or more "scale canons" per line containing a range of characters which are approximately in scale with each other. Any thoughts? [[Special:Contributions/82.41.72.10|82.41.72.10]] 10:12, 23 August 2009 (EDT)

:So the idea would be to list the toys which have relative sizes matching the relative sizes of the characters in fiction? Are you talking about robot mode or vehicle modes, cause I can see arguments for both, but they're not always the same... --[[User:Abates|abates]] 16:59, 23 August 2009 (EDT)

::If you were going to base their relative sizes on the fiction, then it would make sense to do it based on robot modes, IMO. If it was going to be based on their expected relative sizes in reality (which obviously only works for real-life alt-modes) then it would make sense to do it based on vehicles. [[Special:Contributions/82.41.72.10|82.41.72.10]] 00:48, 25 August 2009 (EDT)

== Nebulans ==

Assuming that Nebulan partnered cars are the same size to Earth cars and that Nebulan partnered jets are the same size as earth jets, wouldn't that make the Nebulans to be different sizes to each other? This is especially apparent for Targetmasters in vehicle mode with their Nebulan partner attached. I assume that Nebulans would not wear a suit of armor the same size as they are (as seen in the eighties comic and cartoon) but a personal mobile suit as depicted in Dreamwave's MTMTE (the Nebulan sits in the torso area) - it beats the Nebulan having to move their legs in impossible ways when transformed as the toys would let us believe. [[Special:Contributions/90.242.193.102|90.242.193.102]] 18:18, 23 August 2009 (EDT)

== More for toys out of scale with themselves ==

Energon Omega Supreme is out of scale with himself, one half of him is a construction crane while the other is a space battleship. Just compare the sizes of the 1-2 person train cab against the multi person battleship bridge. Add to that Devastator from ROTF. One of his arms is a giant crane while the other is a small, um, you know, bulldozer thing that isn't a bulldozer.[[Special:Contributions/81.108.237.26|81.108.237.26]] 09:24, 12 December 2009 (EST)

== Waaaaaaaaaait a minute ==

This is in the "Planets" category because.....? --[[User:-Blackout-|-Blackout-]] 13:16, 26 October 2010 (EDT)
:I guess because it discusses the scale of Primus and Unicron. But scale is not really a planet, so... --[[User:NCZ|NCZ]] 13:49, 26 October 2010 (EDT)

Madman Entertainment

2010-10-06T23:47:26Z

Shockwave 75: /* Japanese G1 */

{{factions|dvd|australia}}
{{picsneeded|covers}}
[[Image:Madman logo.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Insert 300 Joke Here]]
'''Madman Entertainment''' is an [[Australia|Australian]] company that distributes anime and manga to Australia and New Zealand, and are also the official distributor of several locally-authored ''Transformers'' [[home video|DVD sets]]. Their sets are typified by an ''enthusiastic'' array of extras and exclusive features (which are often a little on the dodgy side).

==Releases==
===Generation 1===
*'''''Transformers: The Movie''''' (AU [[March 12]], 2003)
:Extras include a "creation of the cover" gallery, theatrical trailer, [[commercial]]s, cast and crew biographies and the music video for "[[The Touch]]" by [[Stan Bush]].
*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 1: Series 1''' (AU [[November 11]], 2003 / NZ [[December 30]], 2003)
:This set is notable for featuring the original broadcast masters previously used by [[Sony|Sony Wonder]] and [[Maverick Entertainment]], licensed from [[TV-Loonland]], but uses the 5.1 soundtrack put together by [[Kid Rhino]] and [[Magno Sound & Video]].
*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 2: Series 2.1''' (AU [[April 21]], 2004 / NZ [[May 21]], 2004)
:Three-disc set containing the first 24 episodes from season two: "[[Autobot Spike]]" through to "[[A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court]]".
*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2''' (AU [[July 21]], 2004 / NZ [[August 19]], 2004)
:Three-disc set containing the remaining 25 episodes from season two: "[[The Golden Lagoon]]" through to "[[B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.]]".
<center><gallery>
Image:Madman G1 1986Movie DVD.jpg|'''''Transformers: The Movie'''''
Image:Madman G1 Collection1 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 1'''
Image:Madman G1 Collection2 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 2'''
Image:Madman G1 Collection3 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 3'''
</gallery></center>
{{-}}

*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 4: Series 3.1''' (AU [[October 20]], 2004 / NZ [[November 12]], 2004)
:Three-disc set containing the first 16 episodes from season three: "[[Five Faces of Darkness]]" through to "[[Starscream's Ghost]]".
*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 5: Series 3.2''' (AU [[December 8]], 2004 / NZ [[January 20]], 2005)
:Three-disc set containing the remaining 14 episodes from season three: "[[Ghost in the Machine]]" through to "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2]]".
*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 6: Series 4''' (AU [[July 20]], 2005 / NZ [[August 16]], 2005)
:Two-disc set containing the three-part episode "[[The Rebirth]]", plus interviews, [[public service announcement|PSAs]], [[commercial|trailers]] and scripts.
*'''The Best of ''The Transformers''''' (AU [[November 8]], 2006)
:Two-disc set featuring the 10 "best" episodes of Generation 1, as voted by Australian fans.
:Contains the episodes "[[More than Meets the Eye (episode)|More than Meets the Eye]]", "[[S.O.S. Dinobots]]", "[[Dark Awakening]]", "[[Heavy Metal War]]", "[[The Golden Lagoon]]", "[[Call of the Primitives]]", "[[Starscream's Brigade]]" and "Ghost in the Machine".
<center><gallery>
Image:Madman G1 Collection4 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 4'''
Image:Madman G1 Collection5 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 5'''
Image:Madman G1 Collection6 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 6'''
Image:Madman G1 Bestof DVD.jpg|'''The Best of...'''
</gallery></center>
{{-}}

*'''''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection''' (AU [[June 27]], 2007 / NZ [[July 11]], 2007)
:17-disc set compiling the previous six "Collection" sets, released to take advantage of the nostalgia and interest generated by the [[Transformers (2007)|live action movie]], also including [[The Transformers (Madman)|an exclusive mini-comic]] set in 2001 before the animated movie, as well as a piece of artwork featuring Prime's Matrix chamber illustrated by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]].
*'''''Transformers: The Movie'' — Special Edition''' (AU June 27, 2007 / NZ [[July 13]], 2007)
:Two-disc set featuring the movie in both full- and widescreen, the "Scramble City" OVA with its original Japanese audio track, an interview [[Flint Dille]], Q&A with [[Peter Cullen]], commercials, TV spots and trailers, "The Touch" music video, cast and crew biographies, and a bonus episode of ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''.{{fact|which one?}}
*'''''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition''' (AU [[June 24]], 2009)
:Madman's previous ''Complete Collection'' 17-disc set was re-released in 2009 to coincide with the live-action sequel, ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', this time in a Decepticon-themed packaging.
*'''''Transformers: The Movie''''' Blu-ray (AU June 24, 2009)
<center><gallery>
Image:Madman G1 CompleteCollection DVD.jpg|'''Complete Collection'''
Image:Madman G1 1986MovieSE DVD.jpg|'''''Transformers: The Movie'' Special Edition'''
Image:Madman G1 CompleteCollection2009 DVD.jpg|'''Complete Collection Decepticon Edition'''
Image:Madman G1 1986Movie Blu-ray.jpg|'''''Transformers: The Movie''''' (Blu-ray release)
</gallery></center>
{{-}}

===Japanese G1===
*'''''Transformers: Headmasters''''' (AU [[November 7]], 2007 / NZ [[December 20]], 2007)
:Four-disc set featuring the ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|Headmasters]]'' series available in the original Japanese and the [[Omni Productions]] English dub, with optional English subtitles replicated from [[Metrodome]]'s previous release, complete with errors.
:Extras include a "making of the cover" gallery, character art galleries, toy galleries (taken from Seibertron.com) and Japanese toy commercials.

*'''''The Transformers: Super God Masterforce''''' (AU [[February 13]], 2008 / NZ [[March 25]], 2008)
:Five-disc set featuring the ''[[Super-God Masterforce (cartoon)|Masterforce]]'' series in Japanese with English subtitles, with optional Omni dub on episodes [[Rise Up!! Pretenders|1]], [[Birth! Headmaster Jrs|4]], [[Malevolent and Inhuman! The True Form of Devil Z|41]] and [[A Battle... and Then...|42]].
:Extras include a "making of the cover" gallery, character art galleries, toy galleries and Japanese toy commercials.

*'''''The Transformers: Victory''''' (AU [[May 14]], 2008 / NZ [[July 4]], 2008)
:Four-disc set featuring the ''[[Victory (cartoon)|Victory]]'' series in Japanese with English subtitles, with optional Omni dub on all episodes, plus the [[Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!|''Zone'' OVA]].
:Extras include box art galleries, toy galleries (with pictures from seibertron.com and transformerstoys.co.uk) and Japanese commercials (which are all for Zone toys, and include what appears to be an industry pitch reel used to demonstrate the toys to retailers), as well as scans of the [[TV Magazine]] [[Zone (story page)|''Zone'' story pages]] available via DVD-ROM.
:In keeping with Madman's dodgy enthusiasm there's a bunch of seemingly random (sometimes translated, sometimes not) scans of manga and story-page material for ''[[Battlestars]]'' and ''[[Operation Combination (story page)|Operation Combination]]'' included in the set as well.

*'''''The Transformers: Japan Generation 1'' — Complete Collection''' (AU June 24, 2009)
:To capitalize on the release of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', all three of the Japanese Generation 1 sets were re-released in one package at a lower price point ($99.95AUD versus $150-odd AUD).
<center><gallery>
Image:MadmanHeadmasters.jpg|'''''Headmasters'''''
Image:MadmanMasterforce.jpg|'''''Super God Masterforce'''''
Image:MadmanVictory.jpg|'''''Victory'''''
Image:JapanG1.jpg|'''Complete Collection'''
</gallery></center>
{{-}}

===''Beast Wars''===
*'''''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1''' (AU [[March 15]], 2006 / NZ [[March 31]], 2006)
:Three-disc set featuring the first season of the ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' series, plus exclusive audio commentary tracks by [[Bob Forward]], [[Larry DiTillio]] and [[Ben Yee]], interviews with Forward and DiTillio, toy galleries, commercials, character profiles and a reproduction of the original "[[Optimus Primal vs Megatron!]]" comic.
*'''''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 2''' (AU [[July 26]], 2006 / NZ [[August 14]], 2006)
:Three-disc set featuring the second season of ''Beast Wars'', plus more exclusive audio commentary tracks by Bob Forward, Larry DiTillio and Ben Yee, an hour-long featurette on the "Soul of ''Beast Wars''", convention panel footage of [[David Kaye]] and [[Garry Chalk]], animation test footage, production models and more toy galleries and commercials.
*'''''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 3''' (AU November 8, 2006)
:Three-disc set featuring the third season of ''Beast Wars'', with even more interviews and commentary tracks with [[Simon Furman]], David Kaye, Garry Chalk, [[Scott McNeil]], [[Alec Willows]] and key [[Mainframe Entertainment|Mainframe]] staff, plus much much more including a "Making of ''Beast Wars''" documentary from 1996, outtakes, galleries and scripts.
*'''''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection''' (AU June 24, 2009)
:Combined re-release of the three previous ''Beast Wars'' sets.
<center><gallery>
Image:Madman BW S1 DVD.jpg|'''Season 1'''
Image:Madman BW S2 DVD.jpg|'''Season 2'''
Image:Madman BW S3 DVD.jpg|'''Season 3'''
Image:Madman BW Complete DVD.jpg|'''Complete Collection'''
</gallery></center>
{{-}}

==Notes==
*The video quality on the original Madman release of ''Transformers: The Movie'' is decidedly worse than most other DVD versions released. The special features also suffer from quality problems -- they look bloody terrible. Stan Bush's "The Touch" in particular is very yellow, looking like it was transferred from a 7th generation VCR copy. Remember when we said before that the Madman special features were enthusiastic but dodgy? Well, that's what we meant, mate.
*According to [http://www.seibertron.com/news/view.php?id=12112 an interview on Seibertron.com] with [[Frank Welker]], a representative of Madman gave Mr. Welker a pre-release version of the 2007 ''Complete Collection'' DVD set in the hopes of securing an interview to be included on the final version of the set. This did not evidently pan out as the disc content is the same as Madman's 2004 Generation 1 releases.
*In the wake of 2009's ''Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition'' set, Madman's previous G1 ''Complete Collection'' set has been retroactively labelled the "Autobot Edition".
*The features on the ''Beast Wars'' sets, in keeping with Madman's enthusiastic but low-budget approach, get better with each release. The first set's commentary tracks feature some of the worst audio ever used on a DVD commentary -- with the voices barely audible and sometimes completely drowned out by traffic noises. The other sets are not quite so bad, with the third the most polished (and rich) in special features.
*No, seriously mate, Madman is awesome. Dodgy, but enthusiastic. They couldn't be more Aussie.

==External links==
* [http://www.madman.com.au/ Madman Entertainment's homepage]
* [http://www.botchthecrab.com/replies.asp?index=402 A review of the ''Generation 1'' Complete Collection DVD set at Botch the Crab.com]

[[Category:Home entertainment]]
[[Category:Generation 1]]
[[Category:Headmasters franchise]]
[[Category:Masterforce]]
[[Category:Victory]]
[[Category:Beast Wars]]

Madman Entertainment

2010-10-06T23:17:50Z

Shockwave 75: /* Japanese G1 */

{{factions|dvd|australia}}
{{picsneeded|covers}}
[[Image:Madman logo.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Insert 300 Joke Here]]
'''Madman Entertainment''' is an [[Australia|Australian]] company that distributes anime and manga to Australia and New Zealand, and are also the official distributor of several locally-authored ''Transformers'' [[home video|DVD sets]]. Their sets are typified by an ''enthusiastic'' array of extras and exclusive features (which are often a little on the dodgy side).

==Releases==
===Generation 1===
*'''''Transformers: The Movie''''' (AU [[March 12]], 2003)
:Extras include a "creation of the cover" gallery, theatrical trailer, [[commercial]]s, cast and crew biographies and the music video for "[[The Touch]]" by [[Stan Bush]].
*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 1: Series 1''' (AU [[November 11]], 2003 / NZ [[December 30]], 2003)
:This set is notable for featuring the original broadcast masters previously used by [[Sony|Sony Wonder]] and [[Maverick Entertainment]], licensed from [[TV-Loonland]], but uses the 5.1 soundtrack put together by [[Kid Rhino]] and [[Magno Sound & Video]].
*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 2: Series 2.1''' (AU [[April 21]], 2004 / NZ [[May 21]], 2004)
:Three-disc set containing the first 24 episodes from season two: "[[Autobot Spike]]" through to "[[A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court]]".
*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2''' (AU [[July 21]], 2004 / NZ [[August 19]], 2004)
:Three-disc set containing the remaining 25 episodes from season two: "[[The Golden Lagoon]]" through to "[[B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.]]".
<center><gallery>
Image:Madman G1 1986Movie DVD.jpg|'''''Transformers: The Movie'''''
Image:Madman G1 Collection1 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 1'''
Image:Madman G1 Collection2 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 2'''
Image:Madman G1 Collection3 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 3'''
</gallery></center>
{{-}}

*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 4: Series 3.1''' (AU [[October 20]], 2004 / NZ [[November 12]], 2004)
:Three-disc set containing the first 16 episodes from season three: "[[Five Faces of Darkness]]" through to "[[Starscream's Ghost]]".
*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 5: Series 3.2''' (AU [[December 8]], 2004 / NZ [[January 20]], 2005)
:Three-disc set containing the remaining 14 episodes from season three: "[[Ghost in the Machine]]" through to "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2]]".
*'''''Transformers'' — Collection 6: Series 4''' (AU [[July 20]], 2005 / NZ [[August 16]], 2005)
:Two-disc set containing the three-part episode "[[The Rebirth]]", plus interviews, [[public service announcement|PSAs]], [[commercial|trailers]] and scripts.
*'''The Best of ''The Transformers''''' (AU [[November 8]], 2006)
:Two-disc set featuring the 10 "best" episodes of Generation 1, as voted by Australian fans.
:Contains the episodes "[[More than Meets the Eye (episode)|More than Meets the Eye]]", "[[S.O.S. Dinobots]]", "[[Dark Awakening]]", "[[Heavy Metal War]]", "[[The Golden Lagoon]]", "[[Call of the Primitives]]", "[[Starscream's Brigade]]" and "Ghost in the Machine".
<center><gallery>
Image:Madman G1 Collection4 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 4'''
Image:Madman G1 Collection5 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 5'''
Image:Madman G1 Collection6 DVD.jpg|'''Collection 6'''
Image:Madman G1 Bestof DVD.jpg|'''The Best of...'''
</gallery></center>
{{-}}

*'''''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection''' (AU [[June 27]], 2007 / NZ [[July 11]], 2007)
:17-disc set compiling the previous six "Collection" sets, released to take advantage of the nostalgia and interest generated by the [[Transformers (2007)|live action movie]], also including [[The Transformers (Madman)|an exclusive mini-comic]] set in 2001 before the animated movie, as well as a piece of artwork featuring Prime's Matrix chamber illustrated by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]].
*'''''Transformers: The Movie'' — Special Edition''' (AU June 27, 2007 / NZ [[July 13]], 2007)
:Two-disc set featuring the movie in both full- and widescreen, the "Scramble City" OVA with its original Japanese audio track, an interview [[Flint Dille]], Q&A with [[Peter Cullen]], commercials, TV spots and trailers, "The Touch" music video, cast and crew biographies, and a bonus episode of ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''.{{fact|which one?}}
*'''''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition''' (AU [[June 24]], 2009)
:Madman's previous ''Complete Collection'' 17-disc set was re-released in 2009 to coincide with the live-action sequel, ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', this time in a Decepticon-themed packaging.
*'''''Transformers: The Movie''''' Blu-ray (AU June 24, 2009)
<center><gallery>
Image:Madman G1 CompleteCollection DVD.jpg|'''Complete Collection'''
Image:Madman G1 1986MovieSE DVD.jpg|'''''Transformers: The Movie'' Special Edition'''
Image:Madman G1 CompleteCollection2009 DVD.jpg|'''Complete Collection Decepticon Edition'''
Image:Madman G1 1986Movie Blu-ray.jpg|'''''Transformers: The Movie''''' (Blu-ray release)
</gallery></center>
{{-}}

===Japanese G1===
*'''''Transformers: Headmasters''''' (AU [[November 7]], 2007 / NZ [[December 20]], 2007)
:Four-disc set featuring the ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|Headmasters]]'' series available in the original Japanese and the [[Omni Productions]] English dub, with optional English subtitles replicated from [[Metrodome]]'s previous release, complete with errors.
:Extras include a "making of the cover" gallery, character art galleries, toy galleries (taken from Seibertron.com) and Japanese toy commercials.

*'''''The Transformers: Super God Masterforce''''' (AU [[February 13]], 2008 / NZ [[March 25]], 2008)
:Five-disc set featuring the ''[[Super-God Masterforce (cartoon)|Masterforce]]'' series in Japanese with English subtitles, with optional Omni dub on episodes [[Rise Up!! Pretenders|1]], [[Birth! Headmaster Jrs|4]], [[Malevolent and Inhuman! The True Form of Devil Z|41]] and [[A Battle... and Then...|42]].
:Extras include a "making of the cover" gallery, character art galleries, toy galleries and Japanese toy commercials.

*'''''The Transformers: Victory''''' (AU [[May 14]], 2008 / NZ [[July 4]], 2008)
:Four-disc set featuring the ''[[Victory (cartoon)|Victory]]'' series in Japanese with English subtitles, with optional Omni dub on all episodes, plus the [[Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!|''Zone'' OVA]].
:Extras include box art galleries, toy galleries (with pictures from seibertron.com and transformerstoys.co.uk) and Japanese commercials (which are all for Zone toys, and include what appears to be an industry pitch reel used to demonstrate the toys to retailers), as well as scans of the [[TV Magazine]] [[Zone (story page)|''Zone'' story pages]] available via DVD-ROM.
:In keeping with Madman's dodgy enthusiasm there's a bunch of seemingly random (sometimes translated, sometimes not) scans of manga and story-page material for ''[[Battlestars]]'' and ''[[Operation Combination (story page)|Operation Combination]]'' included in the set as well.

*'''''The Transformers: Japan Generation 1'' — Complete Collection''' (AU June 24, 2009)
:To capitalize on the release of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', all three of the Japanese Generation 1 sets were re-released in one package at a lower price point ($99.95AUD versus $150-odd AUD).
<center><gallery>
Image:MadmanHeadmasters.jpg|'''''Headmasters'''''
Image:MadmanMasterforce.jpg|'''''Super God Masterforce'''''
Image:MadmanVictory.jpg|'''''Victory'''''
Image:JapanG1-2.jpg|'''Complete Collection'''
</gallery></center>
{{-}}

===''Beast Wars''===
*'''''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1''' (AU [[March 15]], 2006 / NZ [[March 31]], 2006)
:Three-disc set featuring the first season of the ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' series, plus exclusive audio commentary tracks by [[Bob Forward]], [[Larry DiTillio]] and [[Ben Yee]], interviews with Forward and DiTillio, toy galleries, commercials, character profiles and a reproduction of the original "[[Optimus Primal vs Megatron!]]" comic.
*'''''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 2''' (AU [[July 26]], 2006 / NZ [[August 14]], 2006)
:Three-disc set featuring the second season of ''Beast Wars'', plus more exclusive audio commentary tracks by Bob Forward, Larry DiTillio and Ben Yee, an hour-long featurette on the "Soul of ''Beast Wars''", convention panel footage of [[David Kaye]] and [[Garry Chalk]], animation test footage, production models and more toy galleries and commercials.
*'''''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 3''' (AU November 8, 2006)
:Three-disc set featuring the third season of ''Beast Wars'', with even more interviews and commentary tracks with [[Simon Furman]], David Kaye, Garry Chalk, [[Scott McNeil]], [[Alec Willows]] and key [[Mainframe Entertainment|Mainframe]] staff, plus much much more including a "Making of ''Beast Wars''" documentary from 1996, outtakes, galleries and scripts.
*'''''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection''' (AU June 24, 2009)
:Combined re-release of the three previous ''Beast Wars'' sets.
<center><gallery>
Image:Madman BW S1 DVD.jpg|'''Season 1'''
Image:Madman BW S2 DVD.jpg|'''Season 2'''
Image:Madman BW S3 DVD.jpg|'''Season 3'''
Image:Madman BW Complete DVD.jpg|'''Complete Collection'''
</gallery></center>
{{-}}

==Notes==
*The video quality on the original Madman release of ''Transformers: The Movie'' is decidedly worse than most other DVD versions released. The special features also suffer from quality problems -- they look bloody terrible. Stan Bush's "The Touch" in particular is very yellow, looking like it was transferred from a 7th generation VCR copy. Remember when we said before that the Madman special features were enthusiastic but dodgy? Well, that's what we meant, mate.
*According to [http://www.seibertron.com/news/view.php?id=12112 an interview on Seibertron.com] with [[Frank Welker]], a representative of Madman gave Mr. Welker a pre-release version of the 2007 ''Complete Collection'' DVD set in the hopes of securing an interview to be included on the final version of the set. This did not evidently pan out as the disc content is the same as Madman's 2004 Generation 1 releases.
*In the wake of 2009's ''Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition'' set, Madman's previous G1 ''Complete Collection'' set has been retroactively labelled the "Autobot Edition".
*The features on the ''Beast Wars'' sets, in keeping with Madman's enthusiastic but low-budget approach, get better with each release. The first set's commentary tracks feature some of the worst audio ever used on a DVD commentary -- with the voices barely audible and sometimes completely drowned out by traffic noises. The other sets are not quite so bad, with the third the most polished (and rich) in special features.
*No, seriously mate, Madman is awesome. Dodgy, but enthusiastic. They couldn't be more Aussie.

==External links==
* [http://www.madman.com.au/ Madman Entertainment's homepage]
* [http://www.botchthecrab.com/replies.asp?index=402 A review of the ''Generation 1'' Complete Collection DVD set at Botch the Crab.com]

[[Category:Home entertainment]]
[[Category:Generation 1]]
[[Category:Headmasters franchise]]
[[Category:Masterforce]]
[[Category:Victory]]
[[Category:Beast Wars]]