MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

User talk:TheRock1525

2009-06-03T05:30:29Z

TheRock1525:

==Screen captures==
Hi, [[Transformers Wiki:Images|please read our image policy before uploading images]]. But to summarise, PNG files are to be used sparingly, and in circumstances where a chart of some sort is used and the letters are required to be legible. 100KB and over for some tiny images are not worth our server space (most image files should be kept under 150KB if at all possible without sacrificing quality). For the sheer majority of images, we prefer jpegs, and of a images of a legible size. Animated gifs are out of the question. Also, our current file name policy states that we should include the name of the fiction the image comes from (be it an episode, comic issue or book) in the file name. Also, for Beast Wars screen captures, you should acknowledge the copyright owners of the image (that is Hasbro and whomever made the cartoon) and from which episode it came from, and to do this, you must use our [[Template:BWcap|Beast Wars screen capture template]], which allows you to do so easily (copy paste the template into the image description and fill out the details). --[[User:FFN|FFN]] 06:20, 2 June 2009 (EDT)
:All right, thanks for explaining it to me. I'm obviously new to wiki editing but I noticed that the Tarantulas page lacked pictures and figured I'd help out. {{unsigned|TheRock1525|12:50, 2 June 2009}}
::No worries. If you need any further help, let me know, or alternatively, one of our staff members. Don't forget to sign off on your message replies (four of these tilde things ~ ) --[[User:FFN|FFN]] 16:24, 2 June 2009 (EDT)
:::Once again, thanks for the help. --[[User:TheRock1525|TheRock1525]] 01:30, 3 June 2009 (EDT)

User talk:TheRock1525

2009-06-02T16:50:22Z

TheRock1525: /* Screen captures */

==Screen captures==
Hi, [[Transformers Wiki:Images|please read our image policy before uploading images]]. But to summarise, PNG files are to be used sparingly, and in circumstances where a chart of some sort is used and the letters are required to be legible. 100KB and over for some tiny images are not worth our server space (most image files should be kept under 150KB if at all possible without sacrificing quality). For the sheer majority of images, we prefer jpegs, and of a images of a legible size. Animated gifs are out of the question. Also, our current file name policy states that we should include the name of the fiction the image comes from (be it an episode, comic issue or book) in the file name. Also, for Beast Wars screen captures, you should acknowledge the copyright owners of the image (that is Hasbro and whomever made the cartoon) and from which episode it came from, and to do this, you must use our [[Template:BWcap|Beast Wars screen capture template]], which allows you to do so easily (copy paste the template into the image description and fill out the details). --[[User:FFN|FFN]] 06:20, 2 June 2009 (EDT)
All right, thanks for explaining it to me. I'm obviously new to wiki editing but I noticed that the Tarantulas page lacked pictures and figured I'd help out.

Tarantulas (BW)

2009-06-02T09:29:23Z

TheRock1525: Added another picture. Figure that's enough for the show.

{{factions|predacon}}
{{picsneeded|Toys}}

:''Tarantulas is a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] from the [[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]] portion of the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
:''His name is also officially spelled "'''Tarantulus'''".''

[[Image:Tarantulasbw.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"And fries! Lots of FRIES!"]]
'''Tarantulas''' is the scheming mad scientist of the Predacon crew. The type of mad scientist who experiments on living beings, cackling in his [[Trademark|trademarked]] laugh all the while, and then if things go wrong, happily eats what's left as his midday snack. (Considering his appetite, that must happen a lot.) He was one of the Predacons to join [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] during his theft of the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] and the search for [[Earth]]. In addition to being an utterly psychotic, sadistic sociopath (even by Predacon standards, which is something he appears to wear with pride), Tarantulas has a record for treachery rivaled by few [[Starscream (G1)|other]] Transformers. Tarantulas is actually an agent of the [[Tripredacus Council]], which is trying to coax the Beast Wars toward an unspecified goal, where neither Autobot or Decepticon won the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]].

Tarantulas has a particularly notable hatred of the [[Vok]] aliens, a hatred strong enough to make him work to eliminate them by any means.

{{quote|Lunatic.|[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] on Tarantulas|[[Spider's Game]]}}

:''Japanese name:'' '''Tarans''' (タランス ''Taransu'')
:''Chinese name (Taiwan):'' '''Jr-jū''' (蜘蛛, "Spider"), later '''Húng Jr-jū''' (紅蜘蛛, "Red Spider")
:''Italian name:'' '''Metal Tarantulas''' (Transmetal)
:''Polish name:'' '''Tarantulator'''

==Fiction==
===Toy Bio===
Tarantulas is a sneaky, mysterious ninja feared across the galaxy. A master of the martial arts, he's suspected in the disappearances of many [[Human|Earthlings]], and rumors swirl of giant cocoons where he stores his prey.

===Optimus Primal vs Megatron!===
Tarantulas is guarding the Predacons' jungle-based genetics lab along with Megatron and Waspinator. When the Maximals discover them, he engages Razorbeast in combat briefly before Megatron calls retreat and destroys the lab. {{storylink|Optimus Primal vs Megatron!|Optimus Primal vs Megatron!}}

===Cartoon continuity===
====Theft of the Golden Disk====
Tarantulas decoded the information on the Golden Disk, freshly stolen by Megatron. He thought this was quite hilarious, but then, he thinks that about everything. {{storylink|Theft of the Golden Disk|Theft of the Golden Disk}}

====Dawn of Future's Past====
[[Image:Tarantulasdawn.jpg|right|180px|thumb|See? A Planet X key in the corner of the pic. He's working for Unicron! Get him!]]
As [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] and his rogue band of Predacons escaped [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in their stolen ship, the ''[[Darksyde]]'', Tarantulas was in charge of scanning the disk for a desired set of coordinates. While Megatron was not watching, he was in secret communication with a member of the [[Tripredacus Council]]. (The reflections in his helmet show the silhouette of [[Cicadacon|General Cicadacon]].)

Using the decoded coordinates, the ''Darksyde'' opened a [[transwarp]] portal, which it and the [[Axalon (BW)|''Axalon'']] passed through. {{storylink|Dawn of Future's Past|Dawn of Future's Past}}
{{-}}
====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Alec Willows]] (English), [[Yūichi Nagashima]] (Japanese), [[Fabio Vilalonga]] (Portuguese)

[[Image:Tranatulasandcheetor.png‎|right|230px|thumb|]]

Tarantulas was one of the original crew on the ''Darksyde'' when it crashed on prehistoric Earth. As Megatron's technical leader, he manned the scanners to appropriate beast forms based on the most powerful local creatures. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 1)|Beast Wars (Part 1)}} At first he takes on the role of mad scientist and appears as vacuous as the other Predacons; by the first full month of the Beast Wars, he is established as a cannibal when he attempts to drink an energy-drained Cheetor's mech fluid. {{storylink|The Web|The Web}}

Tarantulas caused as many problems for Megatron as he fixed. He always needed a [[Tarantulas's lair|separate hideout]] to plot other, evil schemes, and he managed to stay one step ahead of most of his "allies". The only partner he worked with frequently—though they betrayed each other just as often—was [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]].

When Tarantulas learned of the [[Vok]] and their impending return to Earth, he spent his best efforts to capture a working [[stasis pod]] to craft an escape shuttle. At the hour of the Vok's return, he finally completed one. Megatron had known of his and Blackarachina's plans and threw a wrench in the works—[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]]. Inferno stomped into the room, interrupted Tarantulas's download of the stasis pod's datatracks, torched him, and was defeated by Blackarachnia. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 2|Other Voices, Part 2}}

[[Image:Tranatulaslives.png‎‎|left|250px|thumb|]]

Fortunately for Tarantulas, Blackarachnia picked up his discarded download visor. Tarantulas jumped into her mind, controlling her (presumably from his stasis-locked body). When the [[quantum surge]] knocked out all of the Transformers on Earth, his body was upgraded to a Transmetal form, complete with a motorcycle vehicle mode. He maintained a link to Blackarachnia's mind, but was forced to sever it when she threatened to to commit suicide, which would also off-line him. He also set up a second lair in [[Grid Arakis]], which held a large cache of stable [[Energon cube|Energon cubes]] and had been written off by both sides. {{storylink|Tangled Web|Tangled Web}}

At some undisclosed point, Tarantulas discovered the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'', the flagship of the [[Decepticon]] fleet. Although his longterm goals for the vessel are unknown, he did manage to restore the ship to working status, complete with a Predacon control console and a transwarp cell, meaning that he may have planned to use it to return to Cybertron once he completed his main objective. {{storylink|Nemesis Part 1|Nemesis Part 1}}

When the transwarp explosion finally reached through the time warp and had enough potency to enter [[Cybertronian]] space, Tarantulas's true allegiance was revealed: He was a member of the [[Predacon Secret Police]] and an agent of the [[Tripredacus Council]]. The Tripredacus Council was the first alerted of the transwarp explosion and realized it was from where Megatron's ship had gone. Ravage was sent to ally with the Maximals, arrest Megatron, and then betray and destroy them all.

Allied with Ravage and having the use of his stealth ship, the Maximals easily overwhelmed Megatron. Tarantulas knocked out the power to Megatron's ship at that exact moment, allowing an easy capture. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 1)|The Agenda (Part 1)}}

Megatron managed to manipulate Ravage into his servitude using a recording of the original [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] on the Golden Disk and gained his freedom. Tarantulas joined Ravage on his stealth ship for an attack on the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]''. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)|The Agenda (Part 2)}} However, Tarantulas was blown to pieces by Rattrap through a combination of the rodent's demolition bombs and the explosion of the ship. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part III)|The Agenda (Part III)}} Tarantulas survived, though, and was quickly put back together by his spider drones. {{storylink|Optimal Situation|Optimal Situation}}

[[Image:Tarantulasfiring.png‎ |right|200px|thumb|Such heroic nonsense.]]
Megatron, in all his wisdom, forgave Tarantulas's treachery, as it was simply the Predacon way and the spider was too useful to execute, even though Megatron made it very clear that he'd never trusted Tarantulas, even before the scientist did anything treacherous. Tarantulas appeared back in the Predacon camp on a regular basis—though it would later become clear that he was still very busy working on his own agenda, apparently during his numerous unexplained absences. He battled the Maximals alongside Megatron's Transmetal raptors (a harbinger of [[Dinobot II|things to come]]) {{storylink|Cutting Edge|Cutting Edge}} and helped the other Predacons construct a massive disruptor ray (which ultimately backfired on them). {{storylink|Go with the Flow}} When the Maximals attempted to remove Blackarachnia's shell program, he revealed to Megatron that he had included "certain safeguards" that guaranteed she would not survive, and joined the other Predacons in an attack on the Maximals that was meant to disrupt the attempted shell removal. He fired the missile which knocked the Maximals' power off-line at a crucial instant, seemingly bringing an end to his "treacherous creation". Enraged by the death of his beloved, [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] attempted to kill the scientist, but was thwarted by [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]], who was later defeated by a revived—and [[Transmetal|Transmetalized]]—Blackarachnia. {{storylink|Crossing the Rubicon}}

Tarantulas participated in the Predacons' next attempt to retake the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', but manipulated [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] into throwing Megatron into the nearby lava while he himself set the ''Ark'''s engines to overload. At this point, he claimed to be descended from neither the Autobots nor the Decepticons, which was why he was willing to destroy the core members of both factions then present (in stasis lock) in the ''Ark''. Megatron survived his lava-dunking, gaining a new body in the process. However, he had lost his patience. While he'd tolerated Tarantulas's treachery, he could not tolerate incompetence. Tarantulas survived his punishment and fled back to his lair. {{storylink|Master Blaster|Master Blaster}}

[[Image:Tarantulas death.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Oh, yeah, he meant to do this. Right. Sure he did.]]
When the [[Vok]] emissary [[Tigerhawk]] arrived on Earth shortly afterwards, Tarantulas managed to disable and capture him. Tarantulas intended to force the all-powerful being into his servitude by drawing the Vok influences out of his body and reprogramming him. The scheme backfired, however, as his energy beam device expelled two actual Vok out of Tigerhawk. The formless spectres attempted to take over Tarantulas' body. Panicking, he opened fire on them—a futile gesture that merely served to spin the energy device around 'til its rays were blasting him and his lab equipment. Overloaded by the beams, Tarantulas exploded, leaving nothing behind but his boots. The remainder of his equipment detonated seconds later, blowing the lair to rubble. Cheetor managed to rescue the inert Tigerhawk, and Tarantulas was presumed dead. {{storylink|Other Victories|Other Victories}}

While searching the ruins of Tarantulas's lair, Megatron offhandedly referred to him as "[[Unicron]]'s spawn". {{storylink|Nemesis Part 1|Nemesis Part 1}}
{{-}}

====''Beast Wars: Transmetals''====
In an alternate timeline, Tarantulas found a way to escape prehistoric Earth and return to Cybertron.

Then he came back, with an armada of Transwarp battleships under his command, out to end the Beast Wars and enforce the Tripredacus Council's will... {{storylink|Beast Wars: Transmetals|Beast Wars: Transmetals}}

====''Universe'' comics====
[[Image:Primeval Tarantulas.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Tarantulas doesn't really hate the Vok so much as he wants to kill them and wear their skin as a Vok suit.]]
Following the Beast Wars, Tarantulas's body returned to life, reanimated by the Vok powers he'd previously absorbed. The undead Tarantulas, along with a rebuilt Ravage (as [[Ravage (G1)|Tripredacus Agent]]), nurtured new troops to life through enigmatic means, growing [[Razorclaw (BW)|Razorclaw]] and [[Iguanus (BW)|Iguanus]] in tubes. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 1|Primeval Dawn Part 1}}

The remaining Vok anticipated Tarantulas's plan to destroy the rest of them, take their power, and fashion the timestream to his desires, and so they assembled an army of their own consisting of [[Primal Prime]], [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]], and [[Tigatron]]. Tarantulas met this opposition in battle, overwhelmed them, and ripped the [[Matrix of Leadership]] from Primal Prime's chest. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 2|Primeval Dawn Part 2}}

Wounded critically, the Maximals withdrew to the ''Ark''. Tarantulas ordered Ravage to take Razorclaw, Iguanus, and their new recruit [[Spittor (BW)|Spittor]] and assault the ''Ark'' in order to finish them off. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 3|Primeval Dawn Part 3}}

{{note|[[3H Productions]] dissolved before this storyline could be completed. Based on the subsequent ''Wreckers'' and ''[[Universe (2003 comic)|Universe]]'' storylines, it can be assumed that the Matrix of Leadership was restored to Optimus Prime's body at the end of this altercation, that the Maximals were triumphant, and that Tarantulas somehow fled to return to Unicron.}}
When the influence of [[Unicron]] swayed [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] to the side of darkness, she was surprised to see Tarantulas (still in his undead body) greet her as she joined the ranks of the [[Minions of Unicron]]. {{storylink|Escape (issue)|Escape}}

===''Beast Wars Metals'' comic===
Following the [[Quantum surge]], Tarantulas was upgraded into a [[Transmetal]]. Scheming with [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] within their floating island base, the ''[[Hindenburg]]'', Tarantulas developed a plan to revive the deceased [[Optimus Primal]] as a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] slave. Recovering Primal's mindless, raging body, Tarantulas staged a strange voodoo ceremony (complete with boiling cauldron). As Megatron pricked his finger and prepared to use his mutated blood to turn Primal's rampaging body into his slave, the spark of Optimus Primal returned to it just in the nick of time. As Primal turned into a Transmetal, Tarantulas began to celebrate, convinced that his plan had worked out better than he had thought, unaware of what was really going on. An angry Optimus Primal then proceeded to knock Tarantulas's block off. {{storylink|Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!|Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!}}

==Toys==
===Beast Wars===
*'''Tarantulas''' (Deluxe, 1996/1997)
** ''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-4'''
**''Accessories'': Launcher, 4 spider-leg missiles

: Part of the first wave of ''Beast Wars'' product, Tarantulas transforms into an organic generic spider (''not'' a tarantula). His abdomen contains a spring-loaded missile launcher, which fires the anchor-missile kept in his spider-butt. This missile is attached by a string so he can hang from things like a real spider. The launcher can be removed and used as a robot-mode weapon, using any of his front four spider-legs as missiles. Like all early Deluxe-and-up ''Beast Wars'' toys, he has two different robot-mode "heads"; a robotic face and a "mutant" face. He is almost always depicted using the mutant face.

: There is a variation of this toy in the [[Hasbro]] line: Later releases (the smooth bubble) lack the yellow paint on his elbows.

: The [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] release of Tarantulas was originally identical to the Hasbro release. Later, a slightly color-altered version was released, using a brighter shade of green and a slightly darker gray. The color-altered version also replaced the blue eyes on the "robot" head and the black eyes of the "mutant" head with gold.

: This mold was used to make the first [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] toy.

{{-}}
====VsPack====

[[Image:VS4-DinobotTarantuas.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The classic battle of dino vs spider. We've all heard the tale.]]
*'''Brutal Showdown: Dinobot VS Tarans''' (VS pack, 1997)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''VS-4'''
**''Accessories:'' Launcher, 4 spider-leg missiles

: In Japan, "Tarans" was available both as an individual and in a two-pack with "[[Dinobot]]". Both toys in this set were identical to their individual releases.

: Currently, it is unknown if the latter "more show-like" redeco of Tarantulas was ever released in a VS set.

====Microverse====

[[Image:Tarantulas-Microverse.jpg|right|100px|thumb|]]
*'''Orcanoch''' ([[MicroVerse]], 1997)

: A small, non-transforming micro-figure of Tarantulas came with the [[MicroVerse]] [[Orcanoch]] playset. It was presumably painted based on the original design, as its upper body is copper rather than purple. Its only articulation is at the waist, letting it sit in any of the MicroVerse mini-vehicles or playset stations.

{{-}}
====Transmetals====
[[Image:BWtoy-TarantulasTransmetal.jpg|right|thumb|300px|I'm-a spawn of-a Unicron! I-a slice-a ya pizza!]]
*'''Tarantulas''' (Deluxe Transmetal, 1998)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-44'''
**''Accessories'': Sawblade weapon

: Part of the first assortment of [[Transmetal|Transmetals]], Tarantulas transforms into a robotic spider. He also has a third "transport" mode, flipping down a wheel from his abdomen and a saw-blade from under his beast-head, making a spidey-cycle. The saw detaches for robot mode to become a hand-held weapon.

: The Japanese version is slightly different, replacing the "TARANTULAS" [[tampograph]] with "DESTRON" and the Predacon sigil, plus his robot-mode eyes are painted as a single visor to match the show look better.
{{-}}

====Fox Kids Transmetal====

[[Image:Tarantulas-FKTM.jpg|right|200px|thumb|]]
*'''Tarantulas''' (Deluxe "Fox Kids" Transmetal, 1999)
**''Accessories'': Sawblade weapon

: A [[redeco]] of the Transmetal Tarantulas toy in grays, silver and black. He and a Transmetal [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] redeco were part of the little-seen second wave of Toys "R" Us [[exclusive]] "Fox Kids" toys, so called for the advertisements for the Fox channel on the packaging (as the [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|''Beast Wars'' cartoon]] had moved there from syndication). Internal Hasbro documents have listed this toy as "'''Steel Force Tarantulas'''", a name that did not make it to final packaging.

: These colors were used to depict Tarantulas in the ''[[Primeval Dawn]]'' and ''[[Universe (2003 comic)|Universe]]'' comics. With the toy's limited availability, secondary-market pricing for this item due to its fictional use has gone up.

===Beast Wars 10th Anniversary===
*'''Predacon Tarantulus''' (Deluxe, 2006)
**''Accessories:'' Launcher, 4 spider-leg missiles

:This toy is a slight [[redeco]] of the original Tarantulas toy, more closely resembling Tarantulas's appearance in the cartoon (save the big Predacon faction sigil tampograph). Part of the second wave of ''Beast Wars'' 10th Anniversary product, he came with a DVD of the episode "[[Spider's Game]]", plus the left leg to [[Trans-Mutate]].

==Merchandise==
===Robot Heroes===
[[Image:Robotheroestarantulasprimal.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Don't take your eyes off your mech fluid, Primal.]]
*'''Optimus Primal vs Predacon Tarantulas''' (2008)

: Part of the second wave of ''[[Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]'' [[Robot Heroes]], this PVC figurine of Tarantulas' original body has articulation in the shoulders and neck. He was available only in a "Beast Wars Series" two-pack with [[Optimus Primal]] (amusingly enough, the [[Maximal]] he also came with in the ''[[MicroVerse]]'' [[Orcanoch]] playset).

{{-}}
==Notes==
* Tarantulas's origins are a bit complicated. He declares in "[[Other Victories]]" that he and the [[Tripredacus Council]] have origins other than Autobot and Decepticon, such that they would not be affected by the destruction of the ''Ark''. Megatron's line about "Unicron's spawn" was apparently not intended by [[Bob Forward]] to be taken literally; it was to have been a generic insult rather than a statement of fact. [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/f06828ec523295c1?dmode=source&output=gplain] (Forward's own inkling, albeit never realized, was that they might be descended from [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]'s Cybertronian Empire.) A Unicronian origin also creates potential canonical issues, as Tarantulas says that "under our rule, Cybertron will conquer the universe" ("[[Other Victories]]"), whereas Unicron's goal would have been to eat Cybertron. (Although being creations of Unicron does not necessarily mean they would be loyal to him or forever share his agenda.) But, much like [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]]'s line about "[[Darksyde|the dark side]]", this line developed a life of its own. Eventually this connection was reasserted in [[3H Productions]]' ''[[Primeval Dawn]]'' storyline.

* In the Japanese dub of ''Beast Wars'', Tarantulas retained his trademark cackle, but it was a little ''different''. His voice was very high-pitched and he shrieked almost constantly. His trademark laugh more closely resembled a wicked witch of sorts.

[[Image:TarantulasArm.jpg|right|150px|thumb|He tastes everything he holds.]]
* Early promotional pictures showed the original Tarantulas toy as being transparent orange, but the final toy was a clear deep purple instead. Presumably, this was for a little visual variety in the early line, which already had a largely tan toy ([[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]) and a largely yellow toy ([[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]]) in the Deluxe range, plus a Mega-sized Predacon arachnid then planned to be orange ([[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]]), and [[Tigatron]], who was at one point slated to be a traditional orange tiger.

* The original Tarantulas toy has ''nine'' eyes in beast mode, as does the show model. This makes characters' references to him as "eight-eyes" rather...interesting.

* In the original control art for Tarantulas, the claws are shown in the same configuration as used in the show. In other words, the claws were somehow swapped during the assembly process and have remained as such on every version of the mold thereafter.

* Tarantulas's body in "[[Theft of the Golden Disk]]" is based on ''Cybertron'' [[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack]].

*Tarantulas is referred to as simply "Tarantula" in the [[commercial]] advertising his toy.

* Despite being a creepy, ninja-like agent of Unicron who transforms into a motorcycle, he is absolutely not [[Sideways (RID)|Sideways]]. Nope! Nosirree.

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1996/Predacon/Tarantulas/tarantulas.htm Tarantulas at TFU.info]

[[Category:Beast Wars characters]]
[[Category:Double agents]]
[[Category:Ninjas]]
[[Category:Predacons]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Security officers]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Toys "R" Us exclusives]]
[[Category:Transmetals]]
[[Category:Unicron-related characters]]
[[Category:Universe characters]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]

Tarantulas (BW)

2009-06-02T09:18:47Z

TheRock1525: The Tarantulas page seemed to be lacking in pictures.

{{factions|predacon}}
{{picsneeded|Toys}}

:''Tarantulas is a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] from the [[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]] portion of the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
:''His name is also officially spelled "'''Tarantulus'''".''

[[Image:Tarantulasbw.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"And fries! Lots of FRIES!"]]
'''Tarantulas''' is the scheming mad scientist of the Predacon crew. The type of mad scientist who experiments on living beings, cackling in his [[Trademark|trademarked]] laugh all the while, and then if things go wrong, happily eats what's left as his midday snack. (Considering his appetite, that must happen a lot.) He was one of the Predacons to join [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] during his theft of the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] and the search for [[Earth]]. In addition to being an utterly psychotic, sadistic sociopath (even by Predacon standards, which is something he appears to wear with pride), Tarantulas has a record for treachery rivaled by few [[Starscream (G1)|other]] Transformers. Tarantulas is actually an agent of the [[Tripredacus Council]], which is trying to coax the Beast Wars toward an unspecified goal, where neither Autobot or Decepticon won the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]].

Tarantulas has a particularly notable hatred of the [[Vok]] aliens, a hatred strong enough to make him work to eliminate them by any means.

{{quote|Lunatic.|[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] on Tarantulas|[[Spider's Game]]}}

:''Japanese name:'' '''Tarans''' (タランス ''Taransu'')
:''Chinese name (Taiwan):'' '''Jr-jū''' (蜘蛛, "Spider"), later '''Húng Jr-jū''' (紅蜘蛛, "Red Spider")
:''Italian name:'' '''Metal Tarantulas''' (Transmetal)
:''Polish name:'' '''Tarantulator'''

==Fiction==
===Toy Bio===
Tarantulas is a sneaky, mysterious ninja feared across the galaxy. A master of the martial arts, he's suspected in the disappearances of many [[Human|Earthlings]], and rumors swirl of giant cocoons where he stores his prey.

===Optimus Primal vs Megatron!===
Tarantulas is guarding the Predacons' jungle-based genetics lab along with Megatron and Waspinator. When the Maximals discover them, he engages Razorbeast in combat briefly before Megatron calls retreat and destroys the lab. {{storylink|Optimus Primal vs Megatron!|Optimus Primal vs Megatron!}}

===Cartoon continuity===
====Theft of the Golden Disk====
Tarantulas decoded the information on the Golden Disk, freshly stolen by Megatron. He thought this was quite hilarious, but then, he thinks that about everything. {{storylink|Theft of the Golden Disk|Theft of the Golden Disk}}

====Dawn of Future's Past====
[[Image:Tarantulasdawn.jpg|right|180px|thumb|See? A Planet X key in the corner of the pic. He's working for Unicron! Get him!]]
As [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] and his rogue band of Predacons escaped [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in their stolen ship, the ''[[Darksyde]]'', Tarantulas was in charge of scanning the disk for a desired set of coordinates. While Megatron was not watching, he was in secret communication with a member of the [[Tripredacus Council]]. (The reflections in his helmet show the silhouette of [[Cicadacon|General Cicadacon]].)

Using the decoded coordinates, the ''Darksyde'' opened a [[transwarp]] portal, which it and the [[Axalon (BW)|''Axalon'']] passed through. {{storylink|Dawn of Future's Past|Dawn of Future's Past}}
{{-}}
====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Alec Willows]] (English), [[Yūichi Nagashima]] (Japanese), [[Fabio Vilalonga]] (Portuguese)

[[Image:Tranatulasandcheetor.png‎|right|230px|thumb|]]

Tarantulas was one of the original crew on the ''Darksyde'' when it crashed on prehistoric Earth. As Megatron's technical leader, he manned the scanners to appropriate beast forms based on the most powerful local creatures. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 1)|Beast Wars (Part 1)}} At first he takes on the role of mad scientist and appears as vacuous as the other Predacons; by the first full month of the Beast Wars, he is established as a cannibal when he attempts to drink an energy-drained Cheetor's mech fluid. {{storylink|The Web|The Web}}

Tarantulas caused as many problems for Megatron as he fixed. He always needed a [[Tarantulas's lair|separate hideout]] to plot other, evil schemes, and he managed to stay one step ahead of most of his "allies". The only partner he worked with frequently—though they betrayed each other just as often—was [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]].

When Tarantulas learned of the [[Vok]] and their impending return to Earth, he spent his best efforts to capture a working [[stasis pod]] to craft an escape shuttle. At the hour of the Vok's return, he finally completed one. Megatron had known of his and Blackarachina's plans and threw a wrench in the works—[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]]. Inferno stomped into the room, interrupted Tarantulas's download of the stasis pod's datatracks, torched him, and was defeated by Blackarachnia. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 2|Other Voices, Part 2}}

[[Image:Tranatulaslives.png‎‎|left|250px|thumb|]]

Fortunately for Tarantulas, Blackarachnia picked up his discarded download visor. Tarantulas jumped into her mind, controlling her (presumably from his stasis-locked body). When the [[quantum surge]] knocked out all of the Transformers on Earth, his body was upgraded to a Transmetal form, complete with a motorcycle vehicle mode. He maintained a link to Blackarachnia's mind, but was forced to sever it when she threatened to to commit suicide, which would also off-line him. He also set up a second lair in [[Grid Arakis]], which held a large cache of stable [[Energon cube|Energon cubes]] and had been written off by both sides. {{storylink|Tangled Web|Tangled Web}}

At some undisclosed point, Tarantulas discovered the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'', the flagship of the [[Decepticon]] fleet. Although his longterm goals for the vessel are unknown, he did manage to restore the ship to working status, complete with a Predacon control console and a transwarp cell, meaning that he may have planned to use it to return to Cybertron once he completed his main objective. {{storylink|Nemesis Part 1|Nemesis Part 1}}

When the transwarp explosion finally reached through the time warp and had enough potency to enter [[Cybertronian]] space, Tarantulas's true allegiance was revealed: He was a member of the [[Predacon Secret Police]] and an agent of the [[Tripredacus Council]]. The Tripredacus Council was the first alerted of the transwarp explosion and realized it was from where Megatron's ship had gone. Ravage was sent to ally with the Maximals, arrest Megatron, and then betray and destroy them all.

Allied with Ravage and having the use of his stealth ship, the Maximals easily overwhelmed Megatron. Tarantulas knocked out the power to Megatron's ship at that exact moment, allowing an easy capture. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 1)|The Agenda (Part 1)}}

Megatron managed to manipulate Ravage into his servitude using a recording of the original [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] on the Golden Disk and gained his freedom. Tarantulas joined Ravage on his stealth ship for an attack on the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]''. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)|The Agenda (Part 2)}} However, Tarantulas was blown to pieces by Rattrap through a combination of the rodent's demolition bombs and the explosion of the ship. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part III)|The Agenda (Part III)}} Tarantulas survived, though, and was quickly put back together by his spider drones. {{storylink|Optimal Situation|Optimal Situation}}

Megatron, in all his wisdom, forgave Tarantulas's treachery, as it was simply the Predacon way and the spider was too useful to execute, even though Megatron made it very clear that he'd never trusted Tarantulas, even before the scientist did anything treacherous. Tarantulas appeared back in the Predacon camp on a regular basis—though it would later become clear that he was still very busy working on his own agenda, apparently during his numerous unexplained absences. He battled the Maximals alongside Megatron's Transmetal raptors (a harbinger of [[Dinobot II|things to come]]) {{storylink|Cutting Edge|Cutting Edge}} and helped the other Predacons construct a massive disruptor ray (which ultimately backfired on them). {{storylink|Go with the Flow}} When the Maximals attempted to remove Blackarachnia's shell program, he revealed to Megatron that he had included "certain safeguards" that guaranteed she would not survive, and joined the other Predacons in an attack on the Maximals that was meant to disrupt the attempted shell removal. He fired the missile which knocked the Maximals' power off-line at a crucial instant, seemingly bringing an end to his "treacherous creation". Enraged by the death of his beloved, [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] attempted to kill the scientist, but was thwarted by [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]], who was later defeated by a revived—and [[Transmetal|Transmetalized]]—Blackarachnia. {{storylink|Crossing the Rubicon}}

Tarantulas participated in the Predacons' next attempt to retake the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', but manipulated [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] into throwing Megatron into the nearby lava while he himself set the ''Ark'''s engines to overload. At this point, he claimed to be descended from neither the Autobots nor the Decepticons, which was why he was willing to destroy the core members of both factions then present (in stasis lock) in the ''Ark''. Megatron survived his lava-dunking, gaining a new body in the process. However, he had lost his patience. While he'd tolerated Tarantulas's treachery, he could not tolerate incompetence. Tarantulas survived his punishment and fled back to his lair. {{storylink|Master Blaster|Master Blaster}}

[[Image:Tarantulas death.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Oh, yeah, he meant to do this. Right. Sure he did.]]
When the [[Vok]] emissary [[Tigerhawk]] arrived on Earth shortly afterwards, Tarantulas managed to disable and capture him. Tarantulas intended to force the all-powerful being into his servitude by drawing the Vok influences out of his body and reprogramming him. The scheme backfired, however, as his energy beam device expelled two actual Vok out of Tigerhawk. The formless spectres attempted to take over Tarantulas' body. Panicking, he opened fire on them—a futile gesture that merely served to spin the energy device around 'til its rays were blasting him and his lab equipment. Overloaded by the beams, Tarantulas exploded, leaving nothing behind but his boots. The remainder of his equipment detonated seconds later, blowing the lair to rubble. Cheetor managed to rescue the inert Tigerhawk, and Tarantulas was presumed dead. {{storylink|Other Victories|Other Victories}}

While searching the ruins of Tarantulas's lair, Megatron offhandedly referred to him as "[[Unicron]]'s spawn". {{storylink|Nemesis Part 1|Nemesis Part 1}}
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====''Beast Wars: Transmetals''====
In an alternate timeline, Tarantulas found a way to escape prehistoric Earth and return to Cybertron.

Then he came back, with an armada of Transwarp battleships under his command, out to end the Beast Wars and enforce the Tripredacus Council's will... {{storylink|Beast Wars: Transmetals|Beast Wars: Transmetals}}

====''Universe'' comics====
[[Image:Primeval Tarantulas.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Tarantulas doesn't really hate the Vok so much as he wants to kill them and wear their skin as a Vok suit.]]
Following the Beast Wars, Tarantulas's body returned to life, reanimated by the Vok powers he'd previously absorbed. The undead Tarantulas, along with a rebuilt Ravage (as [[Ravage (G1)|Tripredacus Agent]]), nurtured new troops to life through enigmatic means, growing [[Razorclaw (BW)|Razorclaw]] and [[Iguanus (BW)|Iguanus]] in tubes. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 1|Primeval Dawn Part 1}}

The remaining Vok anticipated Tarantulas's plan to destroy the rest of them, take their power, and fashion the timestream to his desires, and so they assembled an army of their own consisting of [[Primal Prime]], [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]], and [[Tigatron]]. Tarantulas met this opposition in battle, overwhelmed them, and ripped the [[Matrix of Leadership]] from Primal Prime's chest. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 2|Primeval Dawn Part 2}}

Wounded critically, the Maximals withdrew to the ''Ark''. Tarantulas ordered Ravage to take Razorclaw, Iguanus, and their new recruit [[Spittor (BW)|Spittor]] and assault the ''Ark'' in order to finish them off. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 3|Primeval Dawn Part 3}}

{{note|[[3H Productions]] dissolved before this storyline could be completed. Based on the subsequent ''Wreckers'' and ''[[Universe (2003 comic)|Universe]]'' storylines, it can be assumed that the Matrix of Leadership was restored to Optimus Prime's body at the end of this altercation, that the Maximals were triumphant, and that Tarantulas somehow fled to return to Unicron.}}
When the influence of [[Unicron]] swayed [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] to the side of darkness, she was surprised to see Tarantulas (still in his undead body) greet her as she joined the ranks of the [[Minions of Unicron]]. {{storylink|Escape (issue)|Escape}}

===''Beast Wars Metals'' comic===
Following the [[Quantum surge]], Tarantulas was upgraded into a [[Transmetal]]. Scheming with [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] within their floating island base, the ''[[Hindenburg]]'', Tarantulas developed a plan to revive the deceased [[Optimus Primal]] as a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] slave. Recovering Primal's mindless, raging body, Tarantulas staged a strange voodoo ceremony (complete with boiling cauldron). As Megatron pricked his finger and prepared to use his mutated blood to turn Primal's rampaging body into his slave, the spark of Optimus Primal returned to it just in the nick of time. As Primal turned into a Transmetal, Tarantulas began to celebrate, convinced that his plan had worked out better than he had thought, unaware of what was really going on. An angry Optimus Primal then proceeded to knock Tarantulas's block off. {{storylink|Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!|Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!}}

==Toys==
===Beast Wars===
*'''Tarantulas''' (Deluxe, 1996/1997)
** ''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-4'''
**''Accessories'': Launcher, 4 spider-leg missiles

: Part of the first wave of ''Beast Wars'' product, Tarantulas transforms into an organic generic spider (''not'' a tarantula). His abdomen contains a spring-loaded missile launcher, which fires the anchor-missile kept in his spider-butt. This missile is attached by a string so he can hang from things like a real spider. The launcher can be removed and used as a robot-mode weapon, using any of his front four spider-legs as missiles. Like all early Deluxe-and-up ''Beast Wars'' toys, he has two different robot-mode "heads"; a robotic face and a "mutant" face. He is almost always depicted using the mutant face.

: There is a variation of this toy in the [[Hasbro]] line: Later releases (the smooth bubble) lack the yellow paint on his elbows.

: The [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] release of Tarantulas was originally identical to the Hasbro release. Later, a slightly color-altered version was released, using a brighter shade of green and a slightly darker gray. The color-altered version also replaced the blue eyes on the "robot" head and the black eyes of the "mutant" head with gold.

: This mold was used to make the first [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] toy.

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====VsPack====

[[Image:VS4-DinobotTarantuas.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The classic battle of dino vs spider. We've all heard the tale.]]
*'''Brutal Showdown: Dinobot VS Tarans''' (VS pack, 1997)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''VS-4'''
**''Accessories:'' Launcher, 4 spider-leg missiles

: In Japan, "Tarans" was available both as an individual and in a two-pack with "[[Dinobot]]". Both toys in this set were identical to their individual releases.

: Currently, it is unknown if the latter "more show-like" redeco of Tarantulas was ever released in a VS set.

====Microverse====

[[Image:Tarantulas-Microverse.jpg|right|100px|thumb|]]
*'''Orcanoch''' ([[MicroVerse]], 1997)

: A small, non-transforming micro-figure of Tarantulas came with the [[MicroVerse]] [[Orcanoch]] playset. It was presumably painted based on the original design, as its upper body is copper rather than purple. Its only articulation is at the waist, letting it sit in any of the MicroVerse mini-vehicles or playset stations.

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====Transmetals====
[[Image:BWtoy-TarantulasTransmetal.jpg|right|thumb|300px|I'm-a spawn of-a Unicron! I-a slice-a ya pizza!]]
*'''Tarantulas''' (Deluxe Transmetal, 1998)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-44'''
**''Accessories'': Sawblade weapon

: Part of the first assortment of [[Transmetal|Transmetals]], Tarantulas transforms into a robotic spider. He also has a third "transport" mode, flipping down a wheel from his abdomen and a saw-blade from under his beast-head, making a spidey-cycle. The saw detaches for robot mode to become a hand-held weapon.

: The Japanese version is slightly different, replacing the "TARANTULAS" [[tampograph]] with "DESTRON" and the Predacon sigil, plus his robot-mode eyes are painted as a single visor to match the show look better.
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====Fox Kids Transmetal====

[[Image:Tarantulas-FKTM.jpg|right|200px|thumb|]]
*'''Tarantulas''' (Deluxe "Fox Kids" Transmetal, 1999)
**''Accessories'': Sawblade weapon

: A [[redeco]] of the Transmetal Tarantulas toy in grays, silver and black. He and a Transmetal [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] redeco were part of the little-seen second wave of Toys "R" Us [[exclusive]] "Fox Kids" toys, so called for the advertisements for the Fox channel on the packaging (as the [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|''Beast Wars'' cartoon]] had moved there from syndication). Internal Hasbro documents have listed this toy as "'''Steel Force Tarantulas'''", a name that did not make it to final packaging.

: These colors were used to depict Tarantulas in the ''[[Primeval Dawn]]'' and ''[[Universe (2003 comic)|Universe]]'' comics. With the toy's limited availability, secondary-market pricing for this item due to its fictional use has gone up.

===Beast Wars 10th Anniversary===
*'''Predacon Tarantulus''' (Deluxe, 2006)
**''Accessories:'' Launcher, 4 spider-leg missiles

:This toy is a slight [[redeco]] of the original Tarantulas toy, more closely resembling Tarantulas's appearance in the cartoon (save the big Predacon faction sigil tampograph). Part of the second wave of ''Beast Wars'' 10th Anniversary product, he came with a DVD of the episode "[[Spider's Game]]", plus the left leg to [[Trans-Mutate]].

==Merchandise==
===Robot Heroes===
[[Image:Robotheroestarantulasprimal.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Don't take your eyes off your mech fluid, Primal.]]
*'''Optimus Primal vs Predacon Tarantulas''' (2008)

: Part of the second wave of ''[[Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]'' [[Robot Heroes]], this PVC figurine of Tarantulas' original body has articulation in the shoulders and neck. He was available only in a "Beast Wars Series" two-pack with [[Optimus Primal]] (amusingly enough, the [[Maximal]] he also came with in the ''[[MicroVerse]]'' [[Orcanoch]] playset).

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==Notes==
* Tarantulas's origins are a bit complicated. He declares in "[[Other Victories]]" that he and the [[Tripredacus Council]] have origins other than Autobot and Decepticon, such that they would not be affected by the destruction of the ''Ark''. Megatron's line about "Unicron's spawn" was apparently not intended by [[Bob Forward]] to be taken literally; it was to have been a generic insult rather than a statement of fact. [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/f06828ec523295c1?dmode=source&output=gplain] (Forward's own inkling, albeit never realized, was that they might be descended from [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]'s Cybertronian Empire.) A Unicronian origin also creates potential canonical issues, as Tarantulas says that "under our rule, Cybertron will conquer the universe" ("[[Other Victories]]"), whereas Unicron's goal would have been to eat Cybertron. (Although being creations of Unicron does not necessarily mean they would be loyal to him or forever share his agenda.) But, much like [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]]'s line about "[[Darksyde|the dark side]]", this line developed a life of its own. Eventually this connection was reasserted in [[3H Productions]]' ''[[Primeval Dawn]]'' storyline.

* In the Japanese dub of ''Beast Wars'', Tarantulas retained his trademark cackle, but it was a little ''different''. His voice was very high-pitched and he shrieked almost constantly. His trademark laugh more closely resembled a wicked witch of sorts.

[[Image:TarantulasArm.jpg|right|150px|thumb|He tastes everything he holds.]]
* Early promotional pictures showed the original Tarantulas toy as being transparent orange, but the final toy was a clear deep purple instead. Presumably, this was for a little visual variety in the early line, which already had a largely tan toy ([[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]) and a largely yellow toy ([[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]]) in the Deluxe range, plus a Mega-sized Predacon arachnid then planned to be orange ([[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]]), and [[Tigatron]], who was at one point slated to be a traditional orange tiger.

* The original Tarantulas toy has ''nine'' eyes in beast mode, as does the show model. This makes characters' references to him as "eight-eyes" rather...interesting.

* In the original control art for Tarantulas, the claws are shown in the same configuration as used in the show. In other words, the claws were somehow swapped during the assembly process and have remained as such on every version of the mold thereafter.

* Tarantulas's body in "[[Theft of the Golden Disk]]" is based on ''Cybertron'' [[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack]].

*Tarantulas is referred to as simply "Tarantula" in the [[commercial]] advertising his toy.

* Despite being a creepy, ninja-like agent of Unicron who transforms into a motorcycle, he is absolutely not [[Sideways (RID)|Sideways]]. Nope! Nosirree.

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1996/Predacon/Tarantulas/tarantulas.htm Tarantulas at TFU.info]

[[Category:Beast Wars characters]]
[[Category:Double agents]]
[[Category:Ninjas]]
[[Category:Predacons]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Security officers]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Toys "R" Us exclusives]]
[[Category:Transmetals]]
[[Category:Unicron-related characters]]
[[Category:Universe characters]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]

Tarantulas (BW)

2009-06-02T09:01:24Z

TheRock1525: /* Beast Wars cartoon */

{{factions|predacon}}
{{picsneeded|Toys}}

:''Tarantulas is a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] from the [[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]] portion of the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
:''His name is also officially spelled "'''Tarantulus'''".''

[[Image:Tarantulasbw.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"And fries! Lots of FRIES!"]]
'''Tarantulas''' is the scheming mad scientist of the Predacon crew. The type of mad scientist who experiments on living beings, cackling in his [[Trademark|trademarked]] laugh all the while, and then if things go wrong, happily eats what's left as his midday snack. (Considering his appetite, that must happen a lot.) He was one of the Predacons to join [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] during his theft of the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] and the search for [[Earth]]. In addition to being an utterly psychotic, sadistic sociopath (even by Predacon standards, which is something he appears to wear with pride), Tarantulas has a record for treachery rivaled by few [[Starscream (G1)|other]] Transformers. Tarantulas is actually an agent of the [[Tripredacus Council]], which is trying to coax the Beast Wars toward an unspecified goal, where neither Autobot or Decepticon won the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]].

Tarantulas has a particularly notable hatred of the [[Vok]] aliens, a hatred strong enough to make him work to eliminate them by any means.

{{quote|Lunatic.|[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] on Tarantulas|[[Spider's Game]]}}

:''Japanese name:'' '''Tarans''' (タランス ''Taransu'')
:''Chinese name (Taiwan):'' '''Jr-jū''' (蜘蛛, "Spider"), later '''Húng Jr-jū''' (紅蜘蛛, "Red Spider")
:''Italian name:'' '''Metal Tarantulas''' (Transmetal)
:''Polish name:'' '''Tarantulator'''

==Fiction==
===Toy Bio===
Tarantulas is a sneaky, mysterious ninja feared across the galaxy. A master of the martial arts, he's suspected in the disappearances of many [[Human|Earthlings]], and rumors swirl of giant cocoons where he stores his prey.

===Optimus Primal vs Megatron!===
Tarantulas is guarding the Predacons' jungle-based genetics lab along with Megatron and Waspinator. When the Maximals discover them, he engages Razorbeast in combat briefly before Megatron calls retreat and destroys the lab. {{storylink|Optimus Primal vs Megatron!|Optimus Primal vs Megatron!}}

===Cartoon continuity===
====Theft of the Golden Disk====
Tarantulas decoded the information on the Golden Disk, freshly stolen by Megatron. He thought this was quite hilarious, but then, he thinks that about everything. {{storylink|Theft of the Golden Disk|Theft of the Golden Disk}}

====Dawn of Future's Past====
[[Image:Tarantulasdawn.jpg|right|180px|thumb|See? A Planet X key in the corner of the pic. He's working for Unicron! Get him!]]
As [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] and his rogue band of Predacons escaped [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in their stolen ship, the ''[[Darksyde]]'', Tarantulas was in charge of scanning the disk for a desired set of coordinates. While Megatron was not watching, he was in secret communication with a member of the [[Tripredacus Council]]. (The reflections in his helmet show the silhouette of [[Cicadacon|General Cicadacon]].)

Using the decoded coordinates, the ''Darksyde'' opened a [[transwarp]] portal, which it and the [[Axalon (BW)|''Axalon'']] passed through. {{storylink|Dawn of Future's Past|Dawn of Future's Past}}
{{-}}
====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Alec Willows]] (English), [[Yūichi Nagashima]] (Japanese), [[Fabio Vilalonga]] (Portuguese)

Tarantulas was one of the original crew on the ''Darksyde'' when it crashed on prehistoric Earth. As Megatron's technical leader, he manned the scanners to appropriate beast forms based on the most powerful local creatures. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 1)|Beast Wars (Part 1)}} At first he takes on the role of mad scientist and appears as vacuous as the other Predacons; by the first full month of the Beast Wars, he is established as a cannibal when he attempts to drink an energy-drained Cheetor's mech fluid. {{storylink|The Web|The Web}}

[[Image:Tranatulasandcheetor.png‎|right|230px|thumb|]]

Tarantulas caused as many problems for Megatron as he fixed. He always needed a [[Tarantulas's lair|separate hideout]] to plot other, evil schemes, and he managed to stay one step ahead of most of his "allies". The only partner he worked with frequently—though they betrayed each other just as often—was [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]].

When Tarantulas learned of the [[Vok]] and their impending return to Earth, he spent his best efforts to capture a working [[stasis pod]] to craft an escape shuttle. At the hour of the Vok's return, he finally completed one. Megatron had known of his and Blackarachina's plans and threw a wrench in the works—[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]]. Inferno stomped into the room, interrupted Tarantulas's download of the stasis pod's datatracks, torched him, and was defeated by Blackarachnia. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 2|Other Voices, Part 2}}

Fortunately for Tarantulas, Blackarachnia picked up his discarded download visor. Tarantulas jumped into her mind, controlling her (presumably from his stasis-locked body). When the [[quantum surge]] knocked out all of the Transformers on Earth, his body was upgraded to a Transmetal form, complete with a motorcycle vehicle mode. He maintained a link to Blackarachnia's mind, but was forced to sever it when she threatened to to commit suicide, which would also off-line him. He also set up a second lair in [[Grid Arakis]], which held a large cache of stable [[Energon cube|Energon cubes]] and had been written off by both sides. {{storylink|Tangled Web|Tangled Web}}

At some undisclosed point, Tarantulas discovered the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'', the flagship of the [[Decepticon]] fleet. Although his longterm goals for the vessel are unknown, he did manage to restore the ship to working status, complete with a Predacon control console and a transwarp cell, meaning that he may have planned to use it to return to Cybertron once he completed his main objective. {{storylink|Nemesis Part 1|Nemesis Part 1}}

When the transwarp explosion finally reached through the time warp and had enough potency to enter [[Cybertronian]] space, Tarantulas's true allegiance was revealed: He was a member of the [[Predacon Secret Police]] and an agent of the [[Tripredacus Council]]. The Tripredacus Council was the first alerted of the transwarp explosion and realized it was from where Megatron's ship had gone. Ravage was sent to ally with the Maximals, arrest Megatron, and then betray and destroy them all.

Allied with Ravage and having the use of his stealth ship, the Maximals easily overwhelmed Megatron. Tarantulas knocked out the power to Megatron's ship at that exact moment, allowing an easy capture. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 1)|The Agenda (Part 1)}}

Megatron managed to manipulate Ravage into his servitude using a recording of the original [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] on the Golden Disk and gained his freedom. Tarantulas joined Ravage on his stealth ship for an attack on the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]''. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)|The Agenda (Part 2)}} However, Tarantulas was blown to pieces by Rattrap through a combination of the rodent's demolition bombs and the explosion of the ship. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part III)|The Agenda (Part III)}} Tarantulas survived, though, and was quickly put back together by his spider drones. {{storylink|Optimal Situation|Optimal Situation}}

Megatron, in all his wisdom, forgave Tarantulas's treachery, as it was simply the Predacon way and the spider was too useful to execute, even though Megatron made it very clear that he'd never trusted Tarantulas, even before the scientist did anything treacherous. Tarantulas appeared back in the Predacon camp on a regular basis—though it would later become clear that he was still very busy working on his own agenda, apparently during his numerous unexplained absences. He battled the Maximals alongside Megatron's Transmetal raptors (a harbinger of [[Dinobot II|things to come]]) {{storylink|Cutting Edge|Cutting Edge}} and helped the other Predacons construct a massive disruptor ray (which ultimately backfired on them). {{storylink|Go with the Flow}} When the Maximals attempted to remove Blackarachnia's shell program, he revealed to Megatron that he had included "certain safeguards" that guaranteed she would not survive, and joined the other Predacons in an attack on the Maximals that was meant to disrupt the attempted shell removal. He fired the missile which knocked the Maximals' power off-line at a crucial instant, seemingly bringing an end to his "treacherous creation". Enraged by the death of his beloved, [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] attempted to kill the scientist, but was thwarted by [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]], who was later defeated by a revived—and [[Transmetal|Transmetalized]]—Blackarachnia. {{storylink|Crossing the Rubicon}}

Tarantulas participated in the Predacons' next attempt to retake the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', but manipulated [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] into throwing Megatron into the nearby lava while he himself set the ''Ark'''s engines to overload. At this point, he claimed to be descended from neither the Autobots nor the Decepticons, which was why he was willing to destroy the core members of both factions then present (in stasis lock) in the ''Ark''. Megatron survived his lava-dunking, gaining a new body in the process. However, he had lost his patience. While he'd tolerated Tarantulas's treachery, he could not tolerate incompetence. Tarantulas survived his punishment and fled back to his lair. {{storylink|Master Blaster|Master Blaster}}

[[Image:Tarantulas death.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Oh, yeah, he meant to do this. Right. Sure he did.]]
When the [[Vok]] emissary [[Tigerhawk]] arrived on Earth shortly afterwards, Tarantulas managed to disable and capture him. Tarantulas intended to force the all-powerful being into his servitude by drawing the Vok influences out of his body and reprogramming him. The scheme backfired, however, as his energy beam device expelled two actual Vok out of Tigerhawk. The formless spectres attempted to take over Tarantulas' body. Panicking, he opened fire on them—a futile gesture that merely served to spin the energy device around 'til its rays were blasting him and his lab equipment. Overloaded by the beams, Tarantulas exploded, leaving nothing behind but his boots. The remainder of his equipment detonated seconds later, blowing the lair to rubble. Cheetor managed to rescue the inert Tigerhawk, and Tarantulas was presumed dead. {{storylink|Other Victories|Other Victories}}

While searching the ruins of Tarantulas's lair, Megatron offhandedly referred to him as "[[Unicron]]'s spawn". {{storylink|Nemesis Part 1|Nemesis Part 1}}
{{-}}

====''Beast Wars: Transmetals''====
In an alternate timeline, Tarantulas found a way to escape prehistoric Earth and return to Cybertron.

Then he came back, with an armada of Transwarp battleships under his command, out to end the Beast Wars and enforce the Tripredacus Council's will... {{storylink|Beast Wars: Transmetals|Beast Wars: Transmetals}}

====''Universe'' comics====
[[Image:Primeval Tarantulas.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Tarantulas doesn't really hate the Vok so much as he wants to kill them and wear their skin as a Vok suit.]]
Following the Beast Wars, Tarantulas's body returned to life, reanimated by the Vok powers he'd previously absorbed. The undead Tarantulas, along with a rebuilt Ravage (as [[Ravage (G1)|Tripredacus Agent]]), nurtured new troops to life through enigmatic means, growing [[Razorclaw (BW)|Razorclaw]] and [[Iguanus (BW)|Iguanus]] in tubes. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 1|Primeval Dawn Part 1}}

The remaining Vok anticipated Tarantulas's plan to destroy the rest of them, take their power, and fashion the timestream to his desires, and so they assembled an army of their own consisting of [[Primal Prime]], [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]], and [[Tigatron]]. Tarantulas met this opposition in battle, overwhelmed them, and ripped the [[Matrix of Leadership]] from Primal Prime's chest. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 2|Primeval Dawn Part 2}}

Wounded critically, the Maximals withdrew to the ''Ark''. Tarantulas ordered Ravage to take Razorclaw, Iguanus, and their new recruit [[Spittor (BW)|Spittor]] and assault the ''Ark'' in order to finish them off. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 3|Primeval Dawn Part 3}}

{{note|[[3H Productions]] dissolved before this storyline could be completed. Based on the subsequent ''Wreckers'' and ''[[Universe (2003 comic)|Universe]]'' storylines, it can be assumed that the Matrix of Leadership was restored to Optimus Prime's body at the end of this altercation, that the Maximals were triumphant, and that Tarantulas somehow fled to return to Unicron.}}
When the influence of [[Unicron]] swayed [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] to the side of darkness, she was surprised to see Tarantulas (still in his undead body) greet her as she joined the ranks of the [[Minions of Unicron]]. {{storylink|Escape (issue)|Escape}}

===''Beast Wars Metals'' comic===
Following the [[Quantum surge]], Tarantulas was upgraded into a [[Transmetal]]. Scheming with [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] within their floating island base, the ''[[Hindenburg]]'', Tarantulas developed a plan to revive the deceased [[Optimus Primal]] as a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] slave. Recovering Primal's mindless, raging body, Tarantulas staged a strange voodoo ceremony (complete with boiling cauldron). As Megatron pricked his finger and prepared to use his mutated blood to turn Primal's rampaging body into his slave, the spark of Optimus Primal returned to it just in the nick of time. As Primal turned into a Transmetal, Tarantulas began to celebrate, convinced that his plan had worked out better than he had thought, unaware of what was really going on. An angry Optimus Primal then proceeded to knock Tarantulas's block off. {{storylink|Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!|Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!}}

==Toys==
===Beast Wars===
*'''Tarantulas''' (Deluxe, 1996/1997)
** ''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-4'''
**''Accessories'': Launcher, 4 spider-leg missiles

: Part of the first wave of ''Beast Wars'' product, Tarantulas transforms into an organic generic spider (''not'' a tarantula). His abdomen contains a spring-loaded missile launcher, which fires the anchor-missile kept in his spider-butt. This missile is attached by a string so he can hang from things like a real spider. The launcher can be removed and used as a robot-mode weapon, using any of his front four spider-legs as missiles. Like all early Deluxe-and-up ''Beast Wars'' toys, he has two different robot-mode "heads"; a robotic face and a "mutant" face. He is almost always depicted using the mutant face.

: There is a variation of this toy in the [[Hasbro]] line: Later releases (the smooth bubble) lack the yellow paint on his elbows.

: The [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] release of Tarantulas was originally identical to the Hasbro release. Later, a slightly color-altered version was released, using a brighter shade of green and a slightly darker gray. The color-altered version also replaced the blue eyes on the "robot" head and the black eyes of the "mutant" head with gold.

: This mold was used to make the first [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] toy.

{{-}}
====VsPack====

[[Image:VS4-DinobotTarantuas.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The classic battle of dino vs spider. We've all heard the tale.]]
*'''Brutal Showdown: Dinobot VS Tarans''' (VS pack, 1997)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''VS-4'''
**''Accessories:'' Launcher, 4 spider-leg missiles

: In Japan, "Tarans" was available both as an individual and in a two-pack with "[[Dinobot]]". Both toys in this set were identical to their individual releases.

: Currently, it is unknown if the latter "more show-like" redeco of Tarantulas was ever released in a VS set.

====Microverse====

[[Image:Tarantulas-Microverse.jpg|right|100px|thumb|]]
*'''Orcanoch''' ([[MicroVerse]], 1997)

: A small, non-transforming micro-figure of Tarantulas came with the [[MicroVerse]] [[Orcanoch]] playset. It was presumably painted based on the original design, as its upper body is copper rather than purple. Its only articulation is at the waist, letting it sit in any of the MicroVerse mini-vehicles or playset stations.

{{-}}
====Transmetals====
[[Image:BWtoy-TarantulasTransmetal.jpg|right|thumb|300px|I'm-a spawn of-a Unicron! I-a slice-a ya pizza!]]
*'''Tarantulas''' (Deluxe Transmetal, 1998)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-44'''
**''Accessories'': Sawblade weapon

: Part of the first assortment of [[Transmetal|Transmetals]], Tarantulas transforms into a robotic spider. He also has a third "transport" mode, flipping down a wheel from his abdomen and a saw-blade from under his beast-head, making a spidey-cycle. The saw detaches for robot mode to become a hand-held weapon.

: The Japanese version is slightly different, replacing the "TARANTULAS" [[tampograph]] with "DESTRON" and the Predacon sigil, plus his robot-mode eyes are painted as a single visor to match the show look better.
{{-}}

====Fox Kids Transmetal====

[[Image:Tarantulas-FKTM.jpg|right|200px|thumb|]]
*'''Tarantulas''' (Deluxe "Fox Kids" Transmetal, 1999)
**''Accessories'': Sawblade weapon

: A [[redeco]] of the Transmetal Tarantulas toy in grays, silver and black. He and a Transmetal [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] redeco were part of the little-seen second wave of Toys "R" Us [[exclusive]] "Fox Kids" toys, so called for the advertisements for the Fox channel on the packaging (as the [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|''Beast Wars'' cartoon]] had moved there from syndication). Internal Hasbro documents have listed this toy as "'''Steel Force Tarantulas'''", a name that did not make it to final packaging.

: These colors were used to depict Tarantulas in the ''[[Primeval Dawn]]'' and ''[[Universe (2003 comic)|Universe]]'' comics. With the toy's limited availability, secondary-market pricing for this item due to its fictional use has gone up.

===Beast Wars 10th Anniversary===
*'''Predacon Tarantulus''' (Deluxe, 2006)
**''Accessories:'' Launcher, 4 spider-leg missiles

:This toy is a slight [[redeco]] of the original Tarantulas toy, more closely resembling Tarantulas's appearance in the cartoon (save the big Predacon faction sigil tampograph). Part of the second wave of ''Beast Wars'' 10th Anniversary product, he came with a DVD of the episode "[[Spider's Game]]", plus the left leg to [[Trans-Mutate]].

==Merchandise==
===Robot Heroes===
[[Image:Robotheroestarantulasprimal.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Don't take your eyes off your mech fluid, Primal.]]
*'''Optimus Primal vs Predacon Tarantulas''' (2008)

: Part of the second wave of ''[[Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]'' [[Robot Heroes]], this PVC figurine of Tarantulas' original body has articulation in the shoulders and neck. He was available only in a "Beast Wars Series" two-pack with [[Optimus Primal]] (amusingly enough, the [[Maximal]] he also came with in the ''[[MicroVerse]]'' [[Orcanoch]] playset).

{{-}}
==Notes==
* Tarantulas's origins are a bit complicated. He declares in "[[Other Victories]]" that he and the [[Tripredacus Council]] have origins other than Autobot and Decepticon, such that they would not be affected by the destruction of the ''Ark''. Megatron's line about "Unicron's spawn" was apparently not intended by [[Bob Forward]] to be taken literally; it was to have been a generic insult rather than a statement of fact. [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/f06828ec523295c1?dmode=source&output=gplain] (Forward's own inkling, albeit never realized, was that they might be descended from [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]'s Cybertronian Empire.) A Unicronian origin also creates potential canonical issues, as Tarantulas says that "under our rule, Cybertron will conquer the universe" ("[[Other Victories]]"), whereas Unicron's goal would have been to eat Cybertron. (Although being creations of Unicron does not necessarily mean they would be loyal to him or forever share his agenda.) But, much like [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]]'s line about "[[Darksyde|the dark side]]", this line developed a life of its own. Eventually this connection was reasserted in [[3H Productions]]' ''[[Primeval Dawn]]'' storyline.

* In the Japanese dub of ''Beast Wars'', Tarantulas retained his trademark cackle, but it was a little ''different''. His voice was very high-pitched and he shrieked almost constantly. His trademark laugh more closely resembled a wicked witch of sorts.

[[Image:TarantulasArm.jpg|right|150px|thumb|He tastes everything he holds.]]
* Early promotional pictures showed the original Tarantulas toy as being transparent orange, but the final toy was a clear deep purple instead. Presumably, this was for a little visual variety in the early line, which already had a largely tan toy ([[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]) and a largely yellow toy ([[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]]) in the Deluxe range, plus a Mega-sized Predacon arachnid then planned to be orange ([[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]]), and [[Tigatron]], who was at one point slated to be a traditional orange tiger.

* The original Tarantulas toy has ''nine'' eyes in beast mode, as does the show model. This makes characters' references to him as "eight-eyes" rather...interesting.

* In the original control art for Tarantulas, the claws are shown in the same configuration as used in the show. In other words, the claws were somehow swapped during the assembly process and have remained as such on every version of the mold thereafter.

* Tarantulas's body in "[[Theft of the Golden Disk]]" is based on ''Cybertron'' [[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack]].

*Tarantulas is referred to as simply "Tarantula" in the [[commercial]] advertising his toy.

* Despite being a creepy, ninja-like agent of Unicron who transforms into a motorcycle, he is absolutely not [[Sideways (RID)|Sideways]]. Nope! Nosirree.

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1996/Predacon/Tarantulas/tarantulas.htm Tarantulas at TFU.info]

[[Category:Beast Wars characters]]
[[Category:Double agents]]
[[Category:Ninjas]]
[[Category:Predacons]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Security officers]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Toys "R" Us exclusives]]
[[Category:Transmetals]]
[[Category:Unicron-related characters]]
[[Category:Universe characters]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]

Kup (G1)

2009-06-02T08:40:42Z

TheRock1525: Sorry, messed up. Anyway, though the Grandpa quote fit.

{{factions|autobot|autobotg2|eliteguard}}
{{disambig3|Kup}}
{{featured}}
:''Kup is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Kupg1.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"Four of me, and ya got a [[quartex]]. Speakin' of quartex, that reminds me of the time..."]]
'''Kup''' is a tough old coot. He's almost as old as rust, in fact, and he was plinking [[Decepticon]]s and [[Ick-Yak]]s with acid bursts from his trusty musket laser long before most of you turbo-revvin' young punks were born. In his day, lasers didn't ''need'' to use light; they did whatever they were told to do. And liked it.

He's probably had a thousand adventures, Kup has, and he'll be glad to relate a story of any one of them at any time to a willing audience. The [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] love Kup's war stories, lapping it up like cheap [[Energon (fuel)|energon]], and don't seem to mind when he inadvertently leaves a piece out or changes the story between retellings. Old memory chips'll do that to you. Other Autobots can be less patient, and Kup finds this disrespectful and irritating. If there's one thing Kup dislikes, it's when young punks don't respect their elders. If they'd only listen, they might learn something. [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] is one of the worst offenders in this way, but he's a good lad-bot, and Kup will straighten him out sooner or later, even if it takes a tank of [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]]s.

Occasionally, Kup's vast experience gets in his way. When a situation doesn't remind him of anything, he has trouble figuring out what to do. This doesn't happen very often though.

{{quote|The past is the greatest teacher.|Kup's original [[bio]] motto}}

:''Japanese name:'' '''Chear'''<ref>"Chear" is used twice in English on the Kup/Wheelie "Future Cybertrons" reissue, so is presumably the transliteration Takara currently favors.</ref> (チャー ''Chā'', except for "The Rebirth")
:''French-Canadian name:'' '''Kaisso'''
:''Hungarian name'': '''Kup''' — '''(Űr)Zsaru''' ["(Space)Cop"] in one of the dubs of ''The Movie''.)
:''Italian name'': '''Blitz''' / '''Char''' (''The Headmasters'' dub only)
:''Russian TV dub name'': '''Vorchoon''' ("Grumbler")

==Fiction==
===Cartoon continuity===
====Generation 1 cartoon====
:''Voice Actor:'' [[Lionel Stander]] → [[John Stephenson]] (English), [[Osamu Saka]] (Japanese), [[Carl Béchard]] (French Canadian)

[[Image:Chaos deathcrystalmines.jpg|left|230px|thumb|Worked in the coal mines twenty-two hours a day for just half a cent.]]

In his younger days, one hundred thousand years ago, Kup once found himself crash-landed on the planet [[Dread]], where he was stalked by an [[Ick-Yak]]. Although Kup was able to lure the creature into a swamp of [[quickmud]], he was then captured by the evil [[Orb]]s, who forced him to work in the [[death crystal]] mines of of [[Queeg Mountain]]. When the miners were attacked by [[Chaos (alien)|Chaos]], the creature on whose hide the crystals grew, Kup was afforded an opportunity to escape. Before exiting the mines, he quickly grabbed the key to the cell in which the other slaves were held... but before he could open the cell door, Chaos came roaring into the cavern. Petrified, Kup dropped the keys and fled, escaping with his life, and a guilt that would gnaw at him for millennia. {{storylink|Chaos (episode)|Chaos}}

Kup was stationed in another part of the galaxy while [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s forces were battling on [[Earth]], but eventually joined up with the Earthbound Autobots when the Decepticons took over [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in the early days of the 21st Century. {{storylink|Secret Files of Teletraan II}}

[[Image:Kup tale.jpg|right|230px|thumb|Matlooooooooock!]]

In 2005, Kup was supervising the erection of a security cordon at the foot of [[Lookout Mountain]] when the work was interrupted by an impetuous drive-through by [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]. Kup shook his finger at the adventure-seeking youth, vowing to straighten him out yet. Even Kup couldn't believe it, however, when mere minutes later, Hot Rod began firing upon the approaching [[Autobot shuttle]]. The shuttle had, in fact, been hijacked by the Decepticons, who immediately began pouring out of the craft and attacking [[Autobot City]]. Kup saved Hot Rod from being blasted by [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]], and the pair then headed back towards the city, but they didn't move fast enough to avoid being trapped outside of the city's fortress-like defenses. Luckily, an attempted hull breach by the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] opened a small hole in the city's blast doors, and Kup used [[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]]'s skull as a ramp to leap the gap and make it into the city safely.

[[Image:Tftm_launcherpush.jpg|left|230px|thumb|If only we had the additional strength of a small Earth boy to help us push this!]]

Once inside the city, Kup and Hot Rod joined [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] and [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] in shoving an explosives launcher into place to help defend against the might of [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. The battle continued through the night, but the arrival Optimus Prime the next day turned the tide and the Decepticons were defeated—but at a terrible price. Despite Kup's warnings, Hot Rod had interfered in Prime and Megatron's one-on-one battle, and had given the Decepticon leader the opening he needed to fatally wound Prime. Prime had used the last of his strength to dispatch Megatron, but as Kup and the other Autobots gathered around their fallen leader, Optimus Prime died, passing the [[Matrix of Leadership]] on to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]].

[[Image:Tftm_kup_tells_story.jpg|230px|right|thumb|One way to get rid of them is to tell 'em stories that don't go anywhere.]]

Even as the Autobots began to pick up the pieces, they came under assault on two fronts. First, reports came in from their moonbases of a [[Unicron|monster planet]] that was bearing down on Cybertron; when Hot Rod eagerly announced that he was sure the Matrix could stop the creature, Kup was less than convinced, asking what the youth would know about it. The Autobots made quick preparations to join their comrades on Cybertron's moons, but just before they were able to board their shuttles, a group of new Decepticons led by the powerful [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] launched another attack upon the ruins of Autobots City. Kup, Hot Rod and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] boarded one of the shuttles and hot-footed it into space. Once they were safely away, Kup passed the time during the trip by telling the Dinobots the tale of his encounter with another Ick Yak on [[Beta 4]]. The story was interrupted by the sudden arrival of the Decepticons, and while Kup's experience with the [[Shrikebat]]s of [[Dromedon]] allowed him to out-manoeuvre the villains' [[moleculon missile]]s, an attack by [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] crippled the shuttle and caused it to crash-land into an ocean on the planet [[Quintessa]]. Kup was set upon by a robotic squid, which tore off several of his limbs before Hot Rod was able to fight it off. Hot Rod gathered up all of Kup's pieces and put his friend back together again, but despite the fact that he managed to get rid of a burr on Kup's rotator, Kup was fairly insistent that Hot Rod had left a piece out.

[[Image:TFTM Kup beserker.jpg|left|230px|thumb|"Y'see, lad, I've been dismembering monsters since before you were a gleam in your protoform batch initiator's optic! Now fetch me some prune juice!"]]

Setting out to explore Quintessa and find the Dinobots, Kup and Hot Rod came across a herd of [[Allicon|strange transforming creatures]] which Kup attempted to placate with the [[universal greeting]] and some [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] goodies. Unfortunately, when the goodies ran out, so did the creatures' good nature, and Kup and Hot Rod were set upon, captured and dragged before the planet's rulers, the [[Quintesson]]s. The whole experience reminded Kup of the [[Niter Slave Mines]] on [[Golgonath Seven]], but Hot Rod didn't see what good the old-timer's experienced was doing them at that moment. Hurled into a jail cell to await trial, the pair met another captive named [[Kranix]], whose world had been consumed by the monster plant currently threatening Cybertron: a monster that Kranix told them was named [[Unicron]]. Sadly, Kranix soon met his end in the jaws of the Quintesson' [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]], and Kup and Hot Rod were dropped into the creatures' pit soon after. The pair did not accept the Quintessons' judgement with gentle grace, however, and fought back against the Sharkticons, creating a whirlpool by driving around their watery pit and sweeping the fight to dry land. Kup tore off one of the Sharkticons' tails and used it as a mace, but the duo was in danger of being overwhelmed until the timely arrival of the Dinobots, who routed the Sharkticons and turned them against their Quintesson masters. With the aid of the Dinobots' new friend, [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], the team found a ship and reunited with their fellow Autobots on the planet of [[Junkion (planet)|Junk]]. There, Kup was able to talk a little TV with native [[Junkion]] leader [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]], but even the levity the Junkions brought to the proceedings did not obscure the tragic news that Galvatron had stolen the Matrix from Ultra Magnus.

[[Image:Kup vehiclemode.jpg|right|thumb|275px|FM radio not included.]]

Proceeding on their way to Cybertron, the Autobots arrived just in time to witness Unicron transforming to robot mode and attacking their home planet – a sight so awesome that it left Kup speechless, unable to recall anything like it that had ever seen. Ever eager, Hot Rod ploughed their ship straight into Unicron's eye, but was separated from the rest of the group on the fall through the chaos-bringer's interior. While Kup and the other Autobots battled against Unicron's internal defences, Hot Rod battled Galvatron (who had been betrayed Unicron and been swallowed in punishment) and reclaimed the Matrix from him, becoming the Autobots' new leader, Rodimus Prime. Rodimus unleashed the power of the Matrix, which began to destroy Unicron from within, and as the Autobots retreated from the planet-eater's exploding body, Kup congratulated Rodimus, claiming he had always known he had potential. In the wake of Unicron's destruction, the Autobots forced the Decepticons off of Cybertron and reclaimed the planet for their own. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}}

[[Image:ffod_pitfall.jpg|left|275px|thumb|The year is nineteen-aught-six! The President is the divine Miss Sara Bernhardt! And all over America, people were doing a dance called the "Funky Grandpa"!]]

Appointed as [[Chief of Security]] for Cybertron, Kup accompanied Rodimus Prime and the other Autobots to the opening of the [[Galactic Olympics]], only for the ceremony to be attacked by a commando squad of mysterious shadowy figures. The raiders captured Kup, Ultra Magnus and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] and took them back to their masters, {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1}} who turned out to be the Quintessons. This time around, the aliens interrogated Kup a lot more thoroughly, questioning him on the state of Cybertron's security and meticulously analyzing his responses, seeing through the sarcastic misdirection he attempted to throw back in their faces. After a failed attempt escape landed the trio in the Sharkticon pit, the end seemed inevitable, until a team of Autobots led by Rodimus Prime arrived in time to save them. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2}} In retaliation, the Quintessons detonated a [[core bomb]] and blew up Quintessa, and the explosion hurled Kup and the Autobots through space to the planet [[Goo]]. As the Autobots struggled through the planet's sticky surface, they were set upon by a massive machine that swept the goo clean, and Kup was awestruck by Rodimus's single-handed attempt to stop the dangerous device. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3}} As they continued on their gooey trek, the Autobots came under attack from Galvatron and the Decepticons, who had entered into an alliance with the Quintessons, but were whisked to safety by Wreck-Gar and the Junkions.

A short time later, back on Cybertron, a mayday request came through from a crippled shuttle requesting clearance to land. Unable to risk the lives on the humans that he believed were onboard, Kup allowed the shuttle to land... but as it approached Cybertron, it veered off course and crashed into the planet's central power facility, taking out power across the board. The shuttle had been a dupe perpetuated by the Decepticon/Quintesson alliance, which promptly invaded the planet. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4}} In the ensuing battle, Rodimus and Kup were surprised when Blitzwing fell out of the sky in front of them, and begged them no to shoot. The [[Triple Changer]] revealed that the Quintessons had double-crossed the Decepticons, and had sent a team of Sharkticons into the depths of Cybertron to activate a [[large switch]] that would shut down all the Transformers. Rodimus and Blitzwing were unable to stop the switch being thrown, but Spike Witwicky was then able to destroy the mechanism and reactivate the Transformers, forcing the Quintessons to flee Galvatron's wrath. Kup stood by Rodimus's side as he announced their uneasy victory to the other Autobots. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5}}

[[Image:Chaos_kup_vs_chaos.jpg|230px|right|thumb|"You're homely as a mule's butt!"]]

The past came back to haunt Kup when he was called in to investigate a Decepticon attack on the [[Earth Defense Command]] post on Goo. Discovering that the attack had been perpetrated using death crystals, Kup was finally forced to return to planet Dread to stop the Decepticons' plan to destroy Cybertron using a death crystal cannon. Venturing into the mines alone, through swarms of [[shrikebat]]s, Kup located Chaos in the depths of the mountain and lured him back to the surface, taunting him all the way. Before exiting the mines, Kup freed all the slaves, and in turn, they helped him to re-aim the Decepticons' cannon, pointing it right at Chaos at the monster emerged from the tunnels. Kup pulled the trigger, blasting Chaos with its own death crystals and finally destroying it. With his demons laid to rest, the high-spirited Kup spent the journey back to Cybertron tell his comrades of the time he flew the shuttle [[Jonagar]] in the mouth of a space-whale. {{storylink|Chaos (episode)|Chaos}}

[[Image:Darkawakening_kup_fires.jpg|215px|left|thumb|"Ah, can't get a good sarsaparilla like this back in Iacon. It angries up the blood." "Heh, you like it, huh?" "Up yours!"]]

Kup was among a team of Autobots who were caught off-guard by the Decepticons while travelling through space in a shuttle, and were forced to dock their damaged craft at the giant mausoleum the Autobots had constructed to hold the bodies of those who had died in the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]. There, they were shocked to discover that Optimus Prime had apparently returned to life, only to find themselves suddenly betrayed by their old leader when he set the mausoleum on a collision course with a sun and escaped aboard a spaceship of his own. The Autobots quickly improvised a ship of their own before the mausoleum was destroyed, which Kup piloted back to Cybertron. Upon their returned, it was discovered that "Optimus Prime" was merely a robotic zombie, animated as part of a Quintesson plan to destroy the Autobots, forcing Rodimus Prime to defeat him in battle. His true personality re-emerging as he neared death again, Optimus seemingly sacrificed himself, getting the other Autobots to safety and triggering the Quintessons' explosive trap. {{storylink|Dark Awakening}}

When a survey mission led by Perceptor sent out an SOS, Kup responded with Rodimus Prime, [[Pipes]] and the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]]. The team fought off the Quintessons occupying the asteroid, and discovered that the aliens had been attempting to alter history using a [[Time Window]]. Most of Perceptor's team had vanished through the portal into Cybertron's distant past, and Kup and the others fought off a Quintesson attempt to reclaim the asteroid while their teammates were returned to the present. {{storylink|Forever Is a Long Time Coming}}

The arrival of an Autobot named [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] on Cybertron gave Kup cause for concern, as the newcomer claimed to be from the planet [[Paradron]], which Kup was unable to locate on any star charts. A lie detector confirmed the truth of Sandstorm's story, however, and the Autobots rallied to save his world from the Decepticons. {{storylink|Fight or Flee}} Soon after, when Kup discovered that a team of Decepticons had been able to sneak their way past Cybertron defences, he, Rodimus, Magnus and the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] headed out to force the villains off the planet. {{storylink|Starscream's Ghost}}

[[Image:Gitm_kup_and_screamer.jpg|right|thumb|I ain't afraid of no ghost!]]

While making a security inspection of Autobot City on Earth, Kup was impressed by the work [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] had been doing in his absence. Blaster's choice of music, however, still rattled his transistors. During Kup's visit, Autobot City was attacked by [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] and the ghost of [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. They did serious damage to [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]], stealing his eyes and then blowing up a bomb inside his brain. Hopefully, Kup didn't mark that up in his report as a strike against Blaster. {{storylink|Ghost in the Machine}}

[[Image:Ditd_vampire_kup_and_springer.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Kup gives the phrase "going grey" a whole new meaning.]]

Alongside Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Blaster and [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], Kup headed to Junkion to investigate a strange hypnotic television signal that was coming from the planet. On their way, they were attacked by [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] and the [[Sweep]]s and crashed on an asteroid, where Kup helped draw the Decepticons off so that Magnus could repair the damage done to Omega Supreme. The team voyaged on to Junkion, where they stopped the hypnotic broadcast. {{storylink|The Big Broadcast of 2006}} Not long after, Kup was among the Transformers who fell victim to the energy-draining touch of the [[Trans-Organic]] [[Dweller]], becoming an [[energy vampire]] who menaced the other Autobots until Perceptor restored them to normal with a surge of energon. {{storylink|The Dweller in the Depths}}

Kup was working out of Autobot City on Earth when Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Springer and Arcee went missing investigating the human terrorist, [[Victor Drath]]. Unbeknownst to Kup, the crime lord transplanted the four Autobots' minds into human-like [[synthoid]] bodies, and when the humanized Arcee attempted to get his attention near the entrance of Autobot City, he just drove on by.{{storylink|Only Human}}

[[Image:Grimnewbrain_kup_vs_sintwin.jpg|right|thumb|Kup was answering the Liar's Paradox before it became popular.]]

When the Autobots all began experiencing malfunctions following the activation of Cybertron's newest power generator, Kup was part of the team that ventured below the planet's surface to investigate the cause. The source of the malfunctions was discovered to be [[anti-electron]]s snuck into the generator by the Decepticons, which began to affect Kup's mind, leaving his much vaunted memory of past adventures so badly scrambled that he couldn't even remember who he was or where they were. The generator was shut down, but the Autobots soon deduced that the anti-electrons had come from Unicron, and followed the Decepticons to the planet-eater's decapitated head to stop them from acquiring more. Once they arrived on Unicron's head, the anti-electrons began affecting them once more, but Kup fought off their influence long enough to hold his own against [[Sinnertwin]]. The Decepticons were then routed by the [[Technobot]]s, new Autobots created by [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] using the super-intelligence the anti-electrons had given him. {{storylink|Grimlock's New Brain}}

Running the security center on Cybertron, Kup detected the cataclysmic arrival of [[Tornedron]] shortly before the energy creature devoured all energy on the planet, leaving every Autobot completely inert. Only a small group of [[Primitive]]s from both factions managed to reach the creature's creator, [[Primacron]], and reverse the process. {{storylink|Call of the Primitives}}

[[Image:Bhtb_kup_and_rodimus.jpg|left|thumb|Kup is apparently a chickenhawk. I mean, look at that butt!]]

During a series of missions in Japan, Kup could see the burden of leadership weighing heavily on Rodimus Prime's shoulders. Kup tried to teach him about the Japanese concept of ''giri'', the "burden hardest to bear", but Rodimus departed to blow off some steam on his own, and Kup recognized that it was a problem Rodimus would have to resolve for himself. Unfortunately, Rodimus was attacked by the [[Stunticon]]s and had the Matrix stolen, which then wound up in the clutches of Scourge, who led a Decepticon attack on Tokyo. Kup face off against the Matrix-powered Decepticon, but was hit by energy beams that left him convulsing. Luckily, Hot Rod made peace with his ''giri'' and arrived in time to defeat Scourge and reclaim the Matrix. Kup sagely noted that regardless of who held the Matrix, that missing part of himself that Rodimus had discovered would always be with him. {{storylink|The Burden Hardest to Bear}}

[[Image:Roop_kup_and_prime.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"Optimus Prime is not a Communist. He may be a liar, a pig, an idiot, a Communist, but he is not a porn star."]]

When the Autobots learned that Optimus Prime might still be alive, Kup was part of an enormous task force assembled by Rodimus Prime to retrieve Optimus's body from the treacherous human scientists who had taken possession of it. While Ultra Magnus and Rodimus led several team members inside the laboratory, Kup remained outside on guard with [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], Wheelie, and several others. The situation turned deadly when the scientists unleashed space spores that induced a [[Hate Plague]] among the Autobots. The Aerialbots were among the first exposed, and Kup's team soon had to face off against a crazed [[Superion (G1)|Superion]]. They suffered serious damage and were taken off-line but, as a silver lining, also managed to escape contamination. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1}} As his last order before he too was lost to the plague, Rodimus Prime had Sky Lynx locate a Quintesson, who was put to work restoring Optimus Prime to life at last. At Prime's instruction, the Quintesson repaired Kup and the rest of his team, and the group then headed for the Decepticons' base on [[Chaar]] to recover a heat-resistant alloy the villains had stolen. Battling through the dangers of Chaar's native wildlife, the Autobots were able to recover the alloy, but not before Kup and most of his team were infected by the Hate Plague. Optimus Prime subsequently used the alloy to shield himself from the plague's effect and recovered the Matrix from Rodimus Prime, then released its wisdom to cure the madness of the spores. A cured Kup and Hot Rod watched as Optimus Prime and Galvatron shook hands, as the Decepticon leader declared there would be no war that day. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}

[[Image:Rebirth_targetmaster_torture.jpg|225px|left|thumb]]

Galvatron's promise did not last long, unfortunately. Kup was on Cybertron when the Decepticons launched a massive assault on Autobot City on Earth and stole the [[key to the Plasma Energy Chamber|key]] to the [[Plasma energy|Plasma Energy Chamber]] , but word of the attack soon reached Cybertron as the Decepticon bore down on the planet. During the ensuing conflict, Kup and a team of other Autobot boarded a shuttle and pursued Scourge into the depths of the planet, but when Scourge used the key to momentarily open the Plasma Energy Chamber, the energy released blasted the Autobots' shuttle across the galaxy. The ship crashed on the planet [[Nebulos]], which reminded Kup of the time he was stranded on [[Regulon Four]] and faced off against the planet's native [[Regulon metalmonger|metalmongers]]. The Autobots were soon captured by a rebel cell of native Nebulans, who believed them to agents of the planet's evil rulers, the [[Hive (G1)|Hive]], but the Autobots were able to convince them that they were on the side of the angels when the Decepticons followed them to Nebulos and attacked. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 1}}

[[Image:Rebirth_kup_and_recoil.jpg|right|thumb|When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not.]]

During the battle that resulted, Kup, Hot Rod, Blurr, [[Pointblank]], [[Crosshairs (G1)|Crosshairs]] and [[Sureshot (G1)|Sureshot]] were captured by the Decepticons and tortured for information about the location of the Plasma Energy Chamber key. Kup and his comrades were soon rescued by the other Autobots, who had bonded with the Nebulons rebels to become powerful "[[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]]", and soon decided to undergo a variation of this bonding process themselves, becoming "[[Targetmaster]]s". By the time Optimus Prime finally tracked his warriors to Nebulos and arrived to join them, Kup had been bonded to the Nebulan Recoil, and was the first to display his new powers to the shocked Prime. Alas, even with this added power, the Autobots were unable to prevent the Decepticons from stealing back the Plasma Energy Chamber key. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 2}}

Pursuing the Decepticons back to Cybertron, Kup delivered the shocking report to his fellow Autobots that the planet itself had disappeared. The Decepticons had, in fact, moved it into Earth's orbit, where Galvatron intended to open the Plasma Energy Chamber and overload the sun, destroying both planets in one fell swoop. As the chamber was opened, Kup and all the other Transformers on the planet were disabled by its energy, but thankfully, Spike Witwicky and the Autobots' Nebulan partners were able to stop the process and use the energy to revitalize Cybertron, bring about a new Golden Age for the planet. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 3}}
{{-}}

====Madman ''The Transformers'' comic====
[[Image:Madman comic HotRod sigh.jpg|left|150px|thumb|"You're gonna be the death of that guy, you know?"]]
In the year 2001, the Decepticons had managed to conquer Cybertron completely. Before Optimus Prime left to lead the evacuation of the remaining Autobots on their home planet, he told Ultra Magnus about his intention to hide the Autobot Matrix of Leadership at a not-so-secret bunker on the construction site of the future Autobot City on Earth. The Decepticon [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] and his array of [[Decepticon Mini-Cassette]]a managed to spy on meeting and moved to capture the Autobot relic for the Decepticon cause, but fortunately that young lad Hot Rod foiled their dastardly and vague plans. Upon arriving on Earth, Kup was present when Hot Rod returned the Matrix to Optimus, and explained the strange Matrix-induced vision he received, to which Optimus Prime commented that perhaps Hot Rod's destiny was greater than the young Autobot realised. Kup had a decidedly different opinion, however. {{storylink|The Transformers (Madman)|The Transformers}}
{{-}}
====Japanese cartoon continuity====
{{note|The events of the Generation 1 cartoon occur in Japanese animated continuity as described above, except that the events of "The Rebirth" do not occur. Additionally, this continuity moves the events of 2006 to 2010, and inserts several additional events into the newly-created intervening years.}}

=====''Story of the Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers''=====

[[Image:Kup_g1manga.jpg|right|thumb]]
Responding to an SOS from deep space, a team of Autobots including Kup helped rescue a human spacecraft from the jaws of a shaceship-eating Decepticon vessel. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 1|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #1}}

When the Autobots were attacked by the [[Megatron Military]], Kup was decidedly puzzled, as he had understood that Megatron had been recreated as Galvatron. The Megatrons proved to be tough opponents, and Kup and the other Autobots encouraged Rodimus to get away to safety while they held the Megatrons back, but the Autobot leader refused. Soon, it was discovered that one of the Megatrons was Galvatron in disguise, who was remote-controlling the duplicate Megatrons himself. Rodimus dispatched Galvatron, and the Megatrons lost power, allowing Kup and [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] to make short work of them. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 2|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #2}}

After Ultra Magnus and Metroplex repelled an attack on Autobot City, Kup was among the Autobots who came to Earth to congratulate their efforts. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 3}} Later, Kup was part of the Autobot team who travelled to the planet [[Feminia]] to defend its [[Prime Energy]] against a Decepticon attack. Kup deduced that the villains would deploy [[Predaking]] to steal the energy, and he was right, but thankfully, arrival of the [[Omnibot]]s won the day. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 5|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #5}}
{{-}}
=====''The Great Transformer War''=====
Kup watched the battle between the upgraded [[Abominus]] and [[Computron]], {{storylink|The Great Transformer War issue 2|The Great Transformer War #2}} then later joined Hot Rod, Springer and the resurrected Optimus Prime in battling Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge and the Sweeps in space shortly after Prime was resurrected. {{storylink|The Great Transformer War issue 3|The Great Transformer War #3}}

=====''The Headmasters'' cartoon=====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Osamu Saka]]

[[Image:kup_and_fortress.jpg|left|240px|thumb|"I'm gonna get me a job! A real Malibu...and see if Stacy... can help... invent... me... young... Help!"]]

In 2011, one year after Optimus Prime's resurrection, Kup was stationed on Cybertron when [[Vector Sigma]] began to destabilize as a result of the release of the Matrix's energy. Exploiting the opening, the Decepticons invaded the planet, and, at Optimus Prime's command, Kup withdrew to the Autobots' secondary headquarters on the planet [[Athenia]]. This sudden, violent re-ignition of the Transformers' war stirred four-million-year-old memories in Kup, but Spike stopped him before he got started by informing that this wasn't a time when thinking of the past was going to do any good. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} As it turned out, the past ''did'' play a major role in winning the battle, when a mysterious spaceship arrived carrying new Autobot warriors who helped turned the tide of the battle. These new "Headmasters" were led by a robot named [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress]], who turned out to be an old friend of Kup's who had left Cybertron four million years ago to escape the war. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}}

[[Image:Headmasters_threestooges.jpg|240px|right|thumb|Blurr considers the wisdom of his decision to let Kup sleep with his [[Arcee (G1)|girlfriend]]]]

Kup stayed on Athenia with [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], Wheelie and [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel]] while the other Autobots began searching across Earth for the Matrix, which had been hidden away by Optimus Prime, but which would be necessary to stabilize Vector Sigma. Kup recalled the battle on Feminia and told the other Autobots to trust in Hot Rod – and Kup's trust was not misplaced, as Hot Rod and the Headmasters soon had the Matrix in their hands. Kup's team returned to Cybertron to monitor Vector Sigma as its condition grew worse, but alas, before Hot Rod (now Rodimus Prime once again) could use the Matrix to stabilize the computer, Optimus Prime sacrificed himself by merging with it to bring it back under control. {{storylink|Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime}}

Kup later conferred with Rodimus Prime on the Decepticons' new weapon, the [[Madmachine]], and tried to help console the [[Autobot Mini-Cassette]]s over the loss of [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]. {{storylink|The Great Cassette Operation}} Not long after, when Athenia was threatened by the Deceptiocons' metal-warping meteor, [[Metamorpho]], Kup hit upon the idea of sending a human to disable the space-rock, as they would be unaffected by its powers. {{storylink|Approach of the Demon Meteorite}}

Rodimus Prime was on a mission to Earth when an SOS from the planet [[Praum]] reached Kup, Arcee and Blurr on Athenia, reminding Kup of several times in the past when the Decepticons deliberately attacked when the Autobots were without a commander. Kup was eager to go into battle on Praum alongside the Headmasters, but they encouraged him to stay behind and guard Athenia with Blurr and Arcee. {{storylink|The Four-Million-Year-Old Veil of Mystery}}

[[Image:Headmasters_rodimus_kup_blurr.jpg|240px|left|thumb|You...shall not...PASS!]]

When the Decepticons launched a massive attack on Cybertron in order to obtain a new alloy created by Vector Sigma named [[Cybertonuron]], Kup and Arcee leapt into action, but were held up from joining the battle when they had to stop to pull Blurr free of the chair he'd managed to get stuck in. They soon made it to Cybertron, however, and watched from the sidelines as Rodimus battled Galvatron. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1}} When Galvatron broke off the fight, Rodimus and Kup withdrew to debate strategy with Fortress, but the bad news kept on coming: [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] reported in to inform them that the Decepticon had planted bombs at the core of Cybertron which would destroy the planet within ten minutes. With no possible recourse, the Autobots evacuated Cybertron just before the bombs detonated, reducing the planet to a burnt-out husk. Deciding that the age of his generation had come to an end, Rodimus Prime passed the mantle of [[Supreme Commander]] to Fortress and prepared to embark on a mission to find a new planet on which the Transformers could make their home. Kup and Blurr announced that they would accompany Rodimus on his mission, and the trio departed for space. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2}}

{{Note|Whether or not Kup, Rodimus and Blurr succeeded in their mission is never explicitly revealed. While Rodimus returns in the [[The Headmasters issue 8|final issue]] of the [[The Headmasters (manga)|''Headmasters'' manga]], Kup does not reappear.}}

=====''15 Go! Go!''=====
[[Image:TGGKup.jpg|right|100px|thumb|"I'm a crazy old man! Pay attention to me!"]]
While on her journey through time and space, [[Teletraan 15]] found herself in a future era where she was harassed by a feisty Wheelie. Kup—now bonded to Recoil—came to the rescue, grabbing Wheelie by the scruff of the neck and tossing him away. As Teletraan 15 looked up at him with sparkly eyes and thanked him for his help, he claimed he recognized her and gave her a big old spine-cracking hug. As Kup started rambling about some past encounter they had supposedly had with giant Ick-Yaks, Teletraan 15's sarcastic partner, [[Teletraan 10]], boggled over the sheer scientific illogicality of Kup's "musket laser", unable to comprehend how something that shot acid could be classified as a laser. Suddenly, Kup realized that he actually had ''no idea'' who Teletraan 15 was, and drove off. {{storylink|15 Go! Go!|15 Go! Go! Chapter 4}}
{{-}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{note|Events from the [[The Transformers (Marvel Comics)|UK-only]] comic stories are in italics.}}
Kup and a platoon of Autobots were feeling pretty good about their mission on [[Deneb IV]] when suddenly the entire platoon was nearly washed away by a surprise Decepticon attack of acid rain. {{storylink|The Desert Island of Space!}}

[[Image:KupsStoryKup01.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"It all started back in nineteen dickety-two. We had to say 'dickety' 'cause the [[Liokaiser|Kaiser]] had stolen our word 'twenty'. I chased that rascal to get it back, but gave up after dickety-six miles..."]]
''Several hundred years ago, Kup became afflicted with [[combat fatigue]], a loss of nerves and will brought on by too many millions of years of non-stop fighting. Considering himself a liability to the Autobot cause, Kup went into "retirement", wandering space alone in his starship, waiting for the end eventually to take him. He was shaken out of his misery when he crossed paths with a pair of [[Tyroxian]] [[Tyroxian space transport|fighters]] attempting to destroy a lone spacecraft. Spurred into action, Kup disabled the pursuers and brought the hunted pilot on-board, and was surprised to finding he was a fellow Autobot named Hot Rod. Hot Rod was thrilled to have found aid and eagerly tried to recruit Kup into helping him return to [[Tyroxia]] and save his comrade [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], but Kup wasn't interested in getting involved any further, and he only agreed to take Hot Rod back to Cybertron. The young punk reprogrammed the ship's navigation computers, though, and landed on Tyroxia to rescue Blurr by himself. Kup was finally shaken out of his funk when he realized that Hot Rod represented everything he used to be, and he single-handedly saved Hot Rod and Blurr from their Tyroxian tormentors. His fighting spirit restored, Kup returned to Cybertron with the two Autobots and joined [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]'s troops alongside his new allies. {{storylink|Kup's Story!}}''

[[Image:RingofHate-Kup.jpg|left|thumb|250px|"I'll cry when I'm done killing!"]]

When Fortress Maximus became disheartened by the never-ending cycle of violence on Cybertron, he made plans to escape the war and set up a new life on the planet [[Nebulos]]. Though Kup's actions had become a violent mirror of their so-called enemies, he and many of his top warriors chose to follow their leader to this new world aboard the starship ''[[Steelhaven]]''. Tragically, a series of incidents and misunderstandings brought the Autobots and Nebulans to the brink of war within days of their arrival. Kup, forgetting why he had traveled there to begin with, was very happy to return fire, and was only stopped by Fortress Maximus himself. They retreated, and in a desperate attempt to show their true intentions, Fort Max, Kup and several others disarmed themselves in front of the Nebulan gates. Furthermore, Fortress Maximus and four of his lieutenants beheaded themselves and agreed to leave their lifeless heads and bodies, as well as their various weapons, in Nebulan custody so that serious peace talks could be conducted. {{storylink|Ring of Hate!}}

[[Image:BrothersinArmor-Targetmasters.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Pretty sure this breaks Nebulos's concealed weapons laws!]]

Kup helped build an Autobot camp in a forest clearing during Fortress Maximus's absence. Soon, their camp was visited by Nebulan representatives from the [[Council of Peers]] interested in learning more about their interplanetary visitors, and Kup was glad to oblige. But one of the representatives, [[Zarak (Nebulan)|Lord Zarak]], used the meeting as an opportunity to contact the Autobots' enemies, the Decepticons. {{storylink|Broken Glass!}}

Matters quickly deteriorated after the arrival of the Decepticons, and two factions of Nebulans joined with both Autobots and Decepticons through bio-mechanical engineering to become [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]]. Events turned against the Autobots as Lord Zarak, who had binary-bonded to Decepticon leader [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], was able to sway public opinion in favor of the Decepticons, labeling the Autobots as renegades and taking their Headmasters prisoner. Some Nebulans remained loyal to Fortress Maximus's partner, [[Galen]], and traveled to the Autobot camp to forge an alliance. Making use of a new form of bio-mechanical engineering, Kup and the other weaponless Autobots were teamed with Nebulan Targetmasters to replace their lost guns. Kup personally was teamed with Recoil. As the conflict continued, though, both camps of Nebulans began to realize the devastation they were causing to their homeworld, and they decided to leave Nebulos and travel to Earth in search of other Transformers. {{storylink|Brothers in Armor!!}}

[[Image:Kupdesertisland.jpg|left|100px|thumb|Kup finds a new young upstart to latch onto.]]

When Galen died on Earth and his role as Fortress Maximus's Headmaster partner was assumed by [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]], Spike led Kup and the other Targetmasters on a mission to the [[Club Con|Decepticon's island headquarters]] to rescue his brother, [[Buster Witwicky]]. Kup voiced bad feelings about the rescue mission, especially about Spike's suitability to lead the mission. However, when Spike continued fighting despite repeated setbacks, Kup admitted that although Spike brought too much sentiment into the battle, he backed his emotionalism with guts. {{storylink|The Desert Island of Space!}} Soon, Fortress Maximus's Autobots met up with the Earth-bound Autobots led by [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], and somehow the two Autobot camps wound up witnessing a battle between Grimlock and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] for Autobot leadership. Kup, along with the Autobots from both camps, began to watch this battle on Earth's [[Moon (moon)|moon]] when [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]]'s Decepticons unleashed a surprise

Kup (G1)

2009-06-02T08:38:35Z

TheRock1525: Just figured a picture of Kup angrily firing a gun fit that Grandpa quote.

{{factions|autobot|autobotg2|eliteguard}}
{{disambig3|Kup}}
{{featured}}
:''Kup is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Kupg1.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"Four of me, and ya got a [[quartex]]. Speakin' of quartex, that reminds me of the time..."]]
'''Kup''' is a tough old coot. He's almost as old as rust, in fact, and he was plinking [[Decepticon]]s and [[Ick-Yak]]s with acid bursts from his trusty musket laser long before most of you turbo-revvin' young punks were born. In his day, lasers didn't ''need'' to use light; they did whatever they were told to do. And liked it.

He's probably had a thousand adventures, Kup has, and he'll be glad to relate a story of any one of them at any time to a willing audience. The [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] love Kup's war stories, lapping it up like cheap [[Energon (fuel)|energon]], and don't seem to mind when he inadvertently leaves a piece out or changes the story between retellings. Old memory chips'll do that to you. Other Autobots can be less patient, and Kup finds this disrespectful and irritating. If there's one thing Kup dislikes, it's when young punks don't respect their elders. If they'd only listen, they might learn something. [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] is one of the worst offenders in this way, but he's a good lad-bot, and Kup will straighten him out sooner or later, even if it takes a tank of [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]]s.

Occasionally, Kup's vast experience gets in his way. When a situation doesn't remind him of anything, he has trouble figuring out what to do. This doesn't happen very often though.

{{quote|The past is the greatest teacher.|Kup's original [[bio]] motto}}

:''Japanese name:'' '''Chear'''<ref>"Chear" is used twice in English on the Kup/Wheelie "Future Cybertrons" reissue, so is presumably the transliteration Takara currently favors.</ref> (チャー ''Chā'', except for "The Rebirth")
:''French-Canadian name:'' '''Kaisso'''
:''Hungarian name'': '''Kup''' — '''(Űr)Zsaru''' ["(Space)Cop"] in one of the dubs of ''The Movie''.)
:''Italian name'': '''Blitz''' / '''Char''' (''The Headmasters'' dub only)
:''Russian TV dub name'': '''Vorchoon''' ("Grumbler")

==Fiction==
===Cartoon continuity===
====Generation 1 cartoon====
:''Voice Actor:'' [[Lionel Stander]] → [[John Stephenson]] (English), [[Osamu Saka]] (Japanese), [[Carl Béchard]] (French Canadian)

[[Image:Chaos deathcrystalmines.jpg|left|230px|thumb|Worked in the coal mines twenty-two hours a day for just half a cent.]]

In his younger days, one hundred thousand years ago, Kup once found himself crash-landed on the planet [[Dread]], where he was stalked by an [[Ick-Yak]]. Although Kup was able to lure the creature into a swamp of [[quickmud]], he was then captured by the evil [[Orb]]s, who forced him to work in the [[death crystal]] mines of of [[Queeg Mountain]]. When the miners were attacked by [[Chaos (alien)|Chaos]], the creature on whose hide the crystals grew, Kup was afforded an opportunity to escape. Before exiting the mines, he quickly grabbed the key to the cell in which the other slaves were held... but before he could open the cell door, Chaos came roaring into the cavern. Petrified, Kup dropped the keys and fled, escaping with his life, and a guilt that would gnaw at him for millennia. {{storylink|Chaos (episode)|Chaos}}

Kup was stationed in another part of the galaxy while [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s forces were battling on [[Earth]], but eventually joined up with the Earthbound Autobots when the Decepticons took over [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in the early days of the 21st Century. {{storylink|Secret Files of Teletraan II}}

[[Image:Kup tale.jpg|right|230px|thumb|Matlooooooooock!]]

In 2005, Kup was supervising the erection of a security cordon at the foot of [[Lookout Mountain]] when the work was interrupted by an impetuous drive-through by [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]. Kup shook his finger at the adventure-seeking youth, vowing to straighten him out yet. Even Kup couldn't believe it, however, when mere minutes later, Hot Rod began firing upon the approaching [[Autobot shuttle]]. The shuttle had, in fact, been hijacked by the Decepticons, who immediately began pouring out of the craft and attacking [[Autobot City]]. Kup saved Hot Rod from being blasted by [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]], and the pair then headed back towards the city, but they didn't move fast enough to avoid being trapped outside of the city's fortress-like defenses. Luckily, an attempted hull breach by the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] opened a small hole in the city's blast doors, and Kup used [[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]]'s skull as a ramp to leap the gap and make it into the city safely.

[[Image:Tftm_launcherpush.jpg|left|230px|thumb|If only we had the additional strength of a small Earth boy to help us push this!]]

Once inside the city, Kup and Hot Rod joined [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] and [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] in shoving an explosives launcher into place to help defend against the might of [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. The battle continued through the night, but the arrival Optimus Prime the next day turned the tide and the Decepticons were defeated—but at a terrible price. Despite Kup's warnings, Hot Rod had interfered in Prime and Megatron's one-on-one battle, and had given the Decepticon leader the opening he needed to fatally wound Prime. Prime had used the last of his strength to dispatch Megatron, but as Kup and the other Autobots gathered around their fallen leader, Optimus Prime died, passing the [[Matrix of Leadership]] on to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]].

[[Image:Tftm_kup_tells_story.jpg|230px|right|thumb|One way to get rid of them is to tell 'em stories that don't go anywhere.]]

Even as the Autobots began to pick up the pieces, they came under assault on two fronts. First, reports came in from their moonbases of a [[Unicron|monster planet]] that was bearing down on Cybertron; when Hot Rod eagerly announced that he was sure the Matrix could stop the creature, Kup was less than convinced, asking what the youth would know about it. The Autobots made quick preparations to join their comrades on Cybertron's moons, but just before they were able to board their shuttles, a group of new Decepticons led by the powerful [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] launched another attack upon the ruins of Autobots City. Kup, Hot Rod and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] boarded one of the shuttles and hot-footed it into space. Once they were safely away, Kup passed the time during the trip by telling the Dinobots the tale of his encounter with another Ick Yak on [[Beta 4]]. The story was interrupted by the sudden arrival of the Decepticons, and while Kup's experience with the [[Shrikebat]]s of [[Dromedon]] allowed him to out-manoeuvre the villains' [[moleculon missile]]s, an attack by [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] crippled the shuttle and caused it to crash-land into an ocean on the planet [[Quintessa]]. Kup was set upon by a robotic squid, which tore off several of his limbs before Hot Rod was able to fight it off. Hot Rod gathered up all of Kup's pieces and put his friend back together again, but despite the fact that he managed to get rid of a burr on Kup's rotator, Kup was fairly insistent that Hot Rod had left a piece out.

[[Image:TFTM Kup beserker.jpg|left|230px|thumb|"Y'see, lad, I've been dismembering monsters since before you were a gleam in your protoform batch initiator's optic! Now fetch me some prune juice!"]]

Setting out to explore Quintessa and find the Dinobots, Kup and Hot Rod came across a herd of [[Allicon|strange transforming creatures]] which Kup attempted to placate with the [[universal greeting]] and some [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] goodies. Unfortunately, when the goodies ran out, so did the creatures' good nature, and Kup and Hot Rod were set upon, captured and dragged before the planet's rulers, the [[Quintesson]]s. The whole experience reminded Kup of the [[Niter Slave Mines]] on [[Golgonath Seven]], but Hot Rod didn't see what good the old-timer's experienced was doing them at that moment. Hurled into a jail cell to await trial, the pair met another captive named [[Kranix]], whose world had been consumed by the monster plant currently threatening Cybertron: a monster that Kranix told them was named [[Unicron]]. Sadly, Kranix soon met his end in the jaws of the Quintesson' [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]], and Kup and Hot Rod were dropped into the creatures' pit soon after. The pair did not accept the Quintessons' judgement with gentle grace, however, and fought back against the Sharkticons, creating a whirlpool by driving around their watery pit and sweeping the fight to dry land. Kup tore off one of the Sharkticons' tails and used it as a mace, but the duo was in danger of being overwhelmed until the timely arrival of the Dinobots, who routed the Sharkticons and turned them against their Quintesson masters. With the aid of the Dinobots' new friend, [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], the team found a ship and reunited with their fellow Autobots on the planet of [[Junkion (planet)|Junk]]. There, Kup was able to talk a little TV with native [[Junkion]] leader [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]], but even the levity the Junkions brought to the proceedings did not obscure the tragic news that Galvatron had stolen the Matrix from Ultra Magnus.

[[Image:Kup vehiclemode.jpg|right|thumb|275px|FM radio not included.]]

Proceeding on their way to Cybertron, the Autobots arrived just in time to witness Unicron transforming to robot mode and attacking their home planet – a sight so awesome that it left Kup speechless, unable to recall anything like it that had ever seen. Ever eager, Hot Rod ploughed their ship straight into Unicron's eye, but was separated from the rest of the group on the fall through the chaos-bringer's interior. While Kup and the other Autobots battled against Unicron's internal defences, Hot Rod battled Galvatron (who had been betrayed Unicron and been swallowed in punishment) and reclaimed the Matrix from him, becoming the Autobots' new leader, Rodimus Prime. Rodimus unleashed the power of the Matrix, which began to destroy Unicron from within, and as the Autobots retreated from the planet-eater's exploding body, Kup congratulated Rodimus, claiming he had always known he had potential. In the wake of Unicron's destruction, the Autobots forced the Decepticons off of Cybertron and reclaimed the planet for their own. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}}

[[Image:ffod_pitfall.jpg|left|275px|thumb|The year is nineteen-aught-six! The President is the divine Miss Sara Bernhardt! And all over America, people were doing a dance called the "Funky Grandpa"!]]

Appointed as [[Chief of Security]] for Cybertron, Kup accompanied Rodimus Prime and the other Autobots to the opening of the [[Galactic Olympics]], only for the ceremony to be attacked by a commando squad of mysterious shadowy figures. The raiders captured Kup, Ultra Magnus and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] and took them back to their masters, {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1}} who turned out to be the Quintessons. This time around, the aliens interrogated Kup a lot more thoroughly, questioning him on the state of Cybertron's security and meticulously analyzing his responses, seeing through the sarcastic misdirection he attempted to throw back in their faces. After a failed attempt escape landed the trio in the Sharkticon pit, the end seemed inevitable, until a team of Autobots led by Rodimus Prime arrived in time to save them. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2}} In retaliation, the Quintessons detonated a [[core bomb]] and blew up Quintessa, and the explosion hurled Kup and the Autobots through space to the planet [[Goo]]. As the Autobots struggled through the planet's sticky surface, they were set upon by a massive machine that swept the goo clean, and Kup was awestruck by Rodimus's single-handed attempt to stop the dangerous device. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3}} As they continued on their gooey trek, the Autobots came under attack from Galvatron and the Decepticons, who had entered into an alliance with the Quintessons, but were whisked to safety by Wreck-Gar and the Junkions.

A short time later, back on Cybertron, a mayday request came through from a crippled shuttle requesting clearance to land. Unable to risk the lives on the humans that he believed were onboard, Kup allowed the shuttle to land... but as it approached Cybertron, it veered off course and crashed into the planet's central power facility, taking out power across the board. The shuttle had been a dupe perpetuated by the Decepticon/Quintesson alliance, which promptly invaded the planet. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4}} In the ensuing battle, Rodimus and Kup were surprised when Blitzwing fell out of the sky in front of them, and begged them no to shoot. The [[Triple Changer]] revealed that the Quintessons had double-crossed the Decepticons, and had sent a team of Sharkticons into the depths of Cybertron to activate a [[large switch]] that would shut down all the Transformers. Rodimus and Blitzwing were unable to stop the switch being thrown, but Spike Witwicky was then able to destroy the mechanism and reactivate the Transformers, forcing the Quintessons to flee Galvatron's wrath. Kup stood by Rodimus's side as he announced their uneasy victory to the other Autobots. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5}}

[[Image:Chaos_kup_vs_chaos.jpg|230px|right|thumb|"You're homely as a mule's butt!"]]

The past came back to haunt Kup when he was called in to investigate a Decepticon attack on the [[Earth Defense Command]] post on Goo. Discovering that the attack had been perpetrated using death crystals, Kup was finally forced to return to planet Dread to stop the Decepticons' plan to destroy Cybertron using a death crystal cannon. Venturing into the mines alone, through swarms of [[shrikebat]]s, Kup located Chaos in the depths of the mountain and lured him back to the surface, taunting him all the way. Before exiting the mines, Kup freed all the slaves, and in turn, they helped him to re-aim the Decepticons' cannon, pointing it right at Chaos at the monster emerged from the tunnels. Kup pulled the trigger, blasting Chaos with its own death crystals and finally destroying it. With his demons laid to rest, the high-spirited Kup spent the journey back to Cybertron tell his comrades of the time he flew the shuttle [[Jonagar]] in the mouth of a space-whale. {{storylink|Chaos (episode)|Chaos}}

[[Image:Darkawakening_kup_fires.jpg|215px|left|thumb]"Ah, can't get a good sarsaparilla like this back in Iacon. It angries up the blood." "Heh, you like it, huh?" "Up yours!"]

Kup was among a team of Autobots who were caught off-guard by the Decepticons while travelling through space in a shuttle, and were forced to dock their damaged craft at the giant mausoleum the Autobots had constructed to hold the bodies of those who had died in the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]. There, they were shocked to discover that Optimus Prime had apparently returned to life, only to find themselves suddenly betrayed by their old leader when he set the mausoleum on a collision course with a sun and escaped aboard a spaceship of his own. The Autobots quickly improvised a ship of their own before the mausoleum was destroyed, which Kup piloted back to Cybertron. Upon their returned, it was discovered that "Optimus Prime" was merely a robotic zombie, animated as part of a Quintesson plan to destroy the Autobots, forcing Rodimus Prime to defeat him in battle. His true personality re-emerging as he neared death again, Optimus seemingly sacrificed himself, getting the other Autobots to safety and triggering the Quintessons' explosive trap. {{storylink|Dark Awakening}}

When a survey mission led by Perceptor sent out an SOS, Kup responded with Rodimus Prime, [[Pipes]] and the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]]. The team fought off the Quintessons occupying the asteroid, and discovered that the aliens had been attempting to alter history using a [[Time Window]]. Most of Perceptor's team had vanished through the portal into Cybertron's distant past, and Kup and the others fought off a Quintesson attempt to reclaim the asteroid while their teammates were returned to the present. {{storylink|Forever Is a Long Time Coming}}

The arrival of an Autobot named [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] on Cybertron gave Kup cause for concern, as the newcomer claimed to be from the planet [[Paradron]], which Kup was unable to locate on any star charts. A lie detector confirmed the truth of Sandstorm's story, however, and the Autobots rallied to save his world from the Decepticons. {{storylink|Fight or Flee}} Soon after, when Kup discovered that a team of Decepticons had been able to sneak their way past Cybertron defences, he, Rodimus, Magnus and the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] headed out to force the villains off the planet. {{storylink|Starscream's Ghost}}

[[Image:Gitm_kup_and_screamer.jpg|right|thumb|I ain't afraid of no ghost!]]

While making a security inspection of Autobot City on Earth, Kup was impressed by the work [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] had been doing in his absence. Blaster's choice of music, however, still rattled his transistors. During Kup's visit, Autobot City was attacked by [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] and the ghost of [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. They did serious damage to [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]], stealing his eyes and then blowing up a bomb inside his brain. Hopefully, Kup didn't mark that up in his report as a strike against Blaster. {{storylink|Ghost in the Machine}}

[[Image:Ditd_vampire_kup_and_springer.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Kup gives the phrase "going grey" a whole new meaning.]]

Alongside Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Blaster and [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], Kup headed to Junkion to investigate a strange hypnotic television signal that was coming from the planet. On their way, they were attacked by [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] and the [[Sweep]]s and crashed on an asteroid, where Kup helped draw the Decepticons off so that Magnus could repair the damage done to Omega Supreme. The team voyaged on to Junkion, where they stopped the hypnotic broadcast. {{storylink|The Big Broadcast of 2006}} Not long after, Kup was among the Transformers who fell victim to the energy-draining touch of the [[Trans-Organic]] [[Dweller]], becoming an [[energy vampire]] who menaced the other Autobots until Perceptor restored them to normal with a surge of energon. {{storylink|The Dweller in the Depths}}

Kup was working out of Autobot City on Earth when Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Springer and Arcee went missing investigating the human terrorist, [[Victor Drath]]. Unbeknownst to Kup, the crime lord transplanted the four Autobots' minds into human-like [[synthoid]] bodies, and when the humanized Arcee attempted to get his attention near the entrance of Autobot City, he just drove on by.{{storylink|Only Human}}

[[Image:Grimnewbrain_kup_vs_sintwin.jpg|right|thumb|Kup was answering the Liar's Paradox before it became popular.]]

When the Autobots all began experiencing malfunctions following the activation of Cybertron's newest power generator, Kup was part of the team that ventured below the planet's surface to investigate the cause. The source of the malfunctions was discovered to be [[anti-electron]]s snuck into the generator by the Decepticons, which began to affect Kup's mind, leaving his much vaunted memory of past adventures so badly scrambled that he couldn't even remember who he was or where they were. The generator was shut down, but the Autobots soon deduced that the anti-electrons had come from Unicron, and followed the Decepticons to the planet-eater's decapitated head to stop them from acquiring more. Once they arrived on Unicron's head, the anti-electrons began affecting them once more, but Kup fought off their influence long enough to hold his own against [[Sinnertwin]]. The Decepticons were then routed by the [[Technobot]]s, new Autobots created by [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] using the super-intelligence the anti-electrons had given him. {{storylink|Grimlock's New Brain}}

Running the security center on Cybertron, Kup detected the cataclysmic arrival of [[Tornedron]] shortly before the energy creature devoured all energy on the planet, leaving every Autobot completely inert. Only a small group of [[Primitive]]s from both factions managed to reach the creature's creator, [[Primacron]], and reverse the process. {{storylink|Call of the Primitives}}

[[Image:Bhtb_kup_and_rodimus.jpg|left|thumb|Kup is apparently a chickenhawk. I mean, look at that butt!]]

During a series of missions in Japan, Kup could see the burden of leadership weighing heavily on Rodimus Prime's shoulders. Kup tried to teach him about the Japanese concept of ''giri'', the "burden hardest to bear", but Rodimus departed to blow off some steam on his own, and Kup recognized that it was a problem Rodimus would have to resolve for himself. Unfortunately, Rodimus was attacked by the [[Stunticon]]s and had the Matrix stolen, which then wound up in the clutches of Scourge, who led a Decepticon attack on Tokyo. Kup face off against the Matrix-powered Decepticon, but was hit by energy beams that left him convulsing. Luckily, Hot Rod made peace with his ''giri'' and arrived in time to defeat Scourge and reclaim the Matrix. Kup sagely noted that regardless of who held the Matrix, that missing part of himself that Rodimus had discovered would always be with him. {{storylink|The Burden Hardest to Bear}}

[[Image:Roop_kup_and_prime.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"Optimus Prime is not a Communist. He may be a liar, a pig, an idiot, a Communist, but he is not a porn star."]]

When the Autobots learned that Optimus Prime might still be alive, Kup was part of an enormous task force assembled by Rodimus Prime to retrieve Optimus's body from the treacherous human scientists who had taken possession of it. While Ultra Magnus and Rodimus led several team members inside the laboratory, Kup remained outside on guard with [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], Wheelie, and several others. The situation turned deadly when the scientists unleashed space spores that induced a [[Hate Plague]] among the Autobots. The Aerialbots were among the first exposed, and Kup's team soon had to face off against a crazed [[Superion (G1)|Superion]]. They suffered serious damage and were taken off-line but, as a silver lining, also managed to escape contamination. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1}} As his last order before he too was lost to the plague, Rodimus Prime had Sky Lynx locate a Quintesson, who was put to work restoring Optimus Prime to life at last. At Prime's instruction, the Quintesson repaired Kup and the rest of his team, and the group then headed for the Decepticons' base on [[Chaar]] to recover a heat-resistant alloy the villains had stolen. Battling through the dangers of Chaar's native wildlife, the Autobots were able to recover the alloy, but not before Kup and most of his team were infected by the Hate Plague. Optimus Prime subsequently used the alloy to shield himself from the plague's effect and recovered the Matrix from Rodimus Prime, then released its wisdom to cure the madness of the spores. A cured Kup and Hot Rod watched as Optimus Prime and Galvatron shook hands, as the Decepticon leader declared there would be no war that day. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}

[[Image:Rebirth_targetmaster_torture.jpg|225px|left|thumb]]

Galvatron's promise did not last long, unfortunately. Kup was on Cybertron when the Decepticons launched a massive assault on Autobot City on Earth and stole the [[key to the Plasma Energy Chamber|key]] to the [[Plasma energy|Plasma Energy Chamber]] , but word of the attack soon reached Cybertron as the Decepticon bore down on the planet. During the ensuing conflict, Kup and a team of other Autobot boarded a shuttle and pursued Scourge into the depths of the planet, but when Scourge used the key to momentarily open the Plasma Energy Chamber, the energy released blasted the Autobots' shuttle across the galaxy. The ship crashed on the planet [[Nebulos]], which reminded Kup of the time he was stranded on [[Regulon Four]] and faced off against the planet's native [[Regulon metalmonger|metalmongers]]. The Autobots were soon captured by a rebel cell of native Nebulans, who believed them to agents of the planet's evil rulers, the [[Hive (G1)|Hive]], but the Autobots were able to convince them that they were on the side of the angels when the Decepticons followed them to Nebulos and attacked. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 1}}

[[Image:Rebirth_kup_and_recoil.jpg|right|thumb|When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not.]]

During the battle that resulted, Kup, Hot Rod, Blurr, [[Pointblank]], [[Crosshairs (G1)|Crosshairs]] and [[Sureshot (G1)|Sureshot]] were captured by the Decepticons and tortured for information about the location of the Plasma Energy Chamber key. Kup and his comrades were soon rescued by the other Autobots, who had bonded with the Nebulons rebels to become powerful "[[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]]", and soon decided to undergo a variation of this bonding process themselves, becoming "[[Targetmaster]]s". By the time Optimus Prime finally tracked his warriors to Nebulos and arrived to join them, Kup had been bonded to the Nebulan Recoil, and was the first to display his new powers to the shocked Prime. Alas, even with this added power, the Autobots were unable to prevent the Decepticons from stealing back the Plasma Energy Chamber key. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 2}}

Pursuing the Decepticons back to Cybertron, Kup delivered the shocking report to his fellow Autobots that the planet itself had disappeared. The Decepticons had, in fact, moved it into Earth's orbit, where Galvatron intended to open the Plasma Energy Chamber and overload the sun, destroying both planets in one fell swoop. As the chamber was opened, Kup and all the other Transformers on the planet were disabled by its energy, but thankfully, Spike Witwicky and the Autobots' Nebulan partners were able to stop the process and use the energy to revitalize Cybertron, bring about a new Golden Age for the planet. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 3}}
{{-}}

====Madman ''The Transformers'' comic====
[[Image:Madman comic HotRod sigh.jpg|left|150px|thumb|"You're gonna be the death of that guy, you know?"]]
In the year 2001, the Decepticons had managed to conquer Cybertron completely. Before Optimus Prime left to lead the evacuation of the remaining Autobots on their home planet, he told Ultra Magnus about his intention to hide the Autobot Matrix of Leadership at a not-so-secret bunker on the construction site of the future Autobot City on Earth. The Decepticon [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] and his array of [[Decepticon Mini-Cassette]]a managed to spy on meeting and moved to capture the Autobot relic for the Decepticon cause, but fortunately that young lad Hot Rod foiled their dastardly and vague plans. Upon arriving on Earth, Kup was present when Hot Rod returned the Matrix to Optimus, and explained the strange Matrix-induced vision he received, to which Optimus Prime commented that perhaps Hot Rod's destiny was greater than the young Autobot realised. Kup had a decidedly different opinion, however. {{storylink|The Transformers (Madman)|The Transformers}}
{{-}}
====Japanese cartoon continuity====
{{note|The events of the Generation 1 cartoon occur in Japanese animated continuity as described above, except that the events of "The Rebirth" do not occur. Additionally, this continuity moves the events of 2006 to 2010, and inserts several additional events into the newly-created intervening years.}}

=====''Story of the Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers''=====

[[Image:Kup_g1manga.jpg|right|thumb]]
Responding to an SOS from deep space, a team of Autobots including Kup helped rescue a human spacecraft from the jaws of a shaceship-eating Decepticon vessel. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 1|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #1}}

When the Autobots were attacked by the [[Megatron Military]], Kup was decidedly puzzled, as he had understood that Megatron had been recreated as Galvatron. The Megatrons proved to be tough opponents, and Kup and the other Autobots encouraged Rodimus to get away to safety while they held the Megatrons back, but the Autobot leader refused. Soon, it was discovered that one of the Megatrons was Galvatron in disguise, who was remote-controlling the duplicate Megatrons himself. Rodimus dispatched Galvatron, and the Megatrons lost power, allowing Kup and [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] to make short work of them. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 2|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #2}}

After Ultra Magnus and Metroplex repelled an attack on Autobot City, Kup was among the Autobots who came to Earth to congratulate their efforts. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 3}} Later, Kup was part of the Autobot team who travelled to the planet [[Feminia]] to defend its [[Prime Energy]] against a Decepticon attack. Kup deduced that the villains would deploy [[Predaking]] to steal the energy, and he was right, but thankfully, arrival of the [[Omnibot]]s won the day. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 5|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #5}}
{{-}}
=====''The Great Transformer War''=====
Kup watched the battle between the upgraded [[Abominus]] and [[Computron]], {{storylink|The Great Transformer War issue 2|The Great Transformer War #2}} then later joined Hot Rod, Springer and the resurrected Optimus Prime in battling Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge and the Sweeps in space shortly after Prime was resurrected. {{storylink|The Great Transformer War issue 3|The Great Transformer War #3}}

=====''The Headmasters'' cartoon=====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Osamu Saka]]

[[Image:kup_and_fortress.jpg|left|240px|thumb|"I'm gonna get me a job! A real Malibu...and see if Stacy... can help... invent... me... young... Help!"]]

In 2011, one year after Optimus Prime's resurrection, Kup was stationed on Cybertron when [[Vector Sigma]] began to destabilize as a result of the release of the Matrix's energy. Exploiting the opening, the Decepticons invaded the planet, and, at Optimus Prime's command, Kup withdrew to the Autobots' secondary headquarters on the planet [[Athenia]]. This sudden, violent re-ignition of the Transformers' war stirred four-million-year-old memories in Kup, but Spike stopped him before he got started by informing that this wasn't a time when thinking of the past was going to do any good. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} As it turned out, the past ''did'' play a major role in winning the battle, when a mysterious spaceship arrived carrying new Autobot warriors who helped turned the tide of the battle. These new "Headmasters" were led by a robot named [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress]], who turned out to be an old friend of Kup's who had left Cybertron four million years ago to escape the war. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}}

[[Image:Headmasters_threestooges.jpg|240px|right|thumb|Blurr considers the wisdom of his decision to let Kup sleep with his [[Arcee (G1)|girlfriend]]]]

Kup stayed on Athenia with [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], Wheelie and [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel]] while the other Autobots began searching across Earth for the Matrix, which had been hidden away by Optimus Prime, but which would be necessary to stabilize Vector Sigma. Kup recalled the battle on Feminia and told the other Autobots to trust in Hot Rod – and Kup's trust was not misplaced, as Hot Rod and the Headmasters soon had the Matrix in their hands. Kup's team returned to Cybertron to monitor Vector Sigma as its condition grew worse, but alas, before Hot Rod (now Rodimus Prime once again) could use the Matrix to stabilize the computer, Optimus Prime sacrificed himself by merging with it to bring it back under control. {{storylink|Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime}}

Kup later conferred with Rodimus Prime on the Decepticons' new weapon, the [[Madmachine]], and tried to help console the [[Autobot Mini-Cassette]]s over the loss of [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]. {{storylink|The Great Cassette Operation}} Not long after, when Athenia was threatened by the Deceptiocons' metal-warping meteor, [[Metamorpho]], Kup hit upon the idea of sending a human to disable the space-rock, as they would be unaffected by its powers. {{storylink|Approach of the Demon Meteorite}}

Rodimus Prime was on a mission to Earth when an SOS from the planet [[Praum]] reached Kup, Arcee and Blurr on Athenia, reminding Kup of several times in the past when the Decepticons deliberately attacked when the Autobots were without a commander. Kup was eager to go into battle on Praum alongside the Headmasters, but they encouraged him to stay behind and guard Athenia with Blurr and Arcee. {{storylink|The Four-Million-Year-Old Veil of Mystery}}

[[Image:Headmasters_rodimus_kup_blurr.jpg|240px|left|thumb|You...shall not...PASS!]]

When the Decepticons launched a massive attack on Cybertron in order to obtain a new alloy created by Vector Sigma named [[Cybertonuron]], Kup and Arcee leapt into action, but were held up from joining the battle when they had to stop to pull Blurr free of the chair he'd managed to get stuck in. They soon made it to Cybertron, however, and watched from the sidelines as Rodimus battled Galvatron. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1}} When Galvatron broke off the fight, Rodimus and Kup withdrew to debate strategy with Fortress, but the bad news kept on coming: [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] reported in to inform them that the Decepticon had planted bombs at the core of Cybertron which would destroy the planet within ten minutes. With no possible recourse, the Autobots evacuated Cybertron just before the bombs detonated, reducing the planet to a burnt-out husk. Deciding that the age of his generation had come to an end, Rodimus Prime passed the mantle of [[Supreme Commander]] to Fortress and prepared to embark on a mission to find a new planet on which the Transformers could make their home. Kup and Blurr announced that they would accompany Rodimus on his mission, and the trio departed for space. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2}}

{{Note|Whether or not Kup, Rodimus and Blurr succeeded in their mission is never explicitly revealed. While Rodimus returns in the [[The Headmasters issue 8|final issue]] of the [[The Headmasters (manga)|''Headmasters'' manga]], Kup does not reappear.}}

=====''15 Go! Go!''=====
[[Image:TGGKup.jpg|right|100px|thumb|"I'm a crazy old man! Pay attention to me!"]]
While on her journey through time and space, [[Teletraan 15]] found herself in a future era where she was harassed by a feisty Wheelie. Kup—now bonded to Recoil—came to the rescue, grabbing Wheelie by the scruff of the neck and tossing him away. As Teletraan 15 looked up at him with sparkly eyes and thanked him for his help, he claimed he recognized her and gave her a big old spine-cracking hug. As Kup started rambling about some past encounter they had supposedly had with giant Ick-Yaks, Teletraan 15's sarcastic partner, [[Teletraan 10]], boggled over the sheer scientific illogicality of Kup's "musket laser", unable to comprehend how something that shot acid could be classified as a laser. Suddenly, Kup realized that he actually had ''no idea'' who Teletraan 15 was, and drove off. {{storylink|15 Go! Go!|15 Go! Go! Chapter 4}}
{{-}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{note|Events from the [[The Transformers (Marvel Comics)|UK-only]] comic stories are in italics.}}
Kup and a platoon of Autobots were feeling pretty good about their mission on [[Deneb IV]] when suddenly the entire platoon was nearly washed away by a surprise Decepticon attack of acid rain. {{storylink|The Desert Island of Space!}}

[[Image:KupsStoryKup01.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"It all started back in nineteen dickety-two. We had to say 'dickety' 'cause the [[Liokaiser|Kaiser]] had stolen our word 'twenty'. I chased that rascal to get it back, but gave up after dickety-six miles..."]]
''Several hundred years ago, Kup became afflicted with [[combat fatigue]], a loss of nerves and will brought on by too many millions of years of non-stop fighting. Considering himself a liability to the Autobot cause, Kup went into "retirement", wandering space alone in his starship, waiting for the end eventually to take him. He was shaken out of his misery when he crossed paths with a pair of [[Tyroxian]] [[Tyroxian space transport|fighters]] attempting to destroy a lone spacecraft. Spurred into action, Kup disabled the pursuers and brought the hunted pilot on-board, and was surprised to finding he was a fellow Autobot named Hot Rod. Hot Rod was thrilled to have found aid and eagerly tried to recruit Kup into helping him return to [[Tyroxia]] and save his comrade [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], but Kup wasn't interested in getting involved any further, and he only agreed to take Hot Rod back to Cybertron. The young punk reprogrammed the ship's navigation computers, though, and landed on Tyroxia to rescue Blurr by himself. Kup was finally shaken out of his funk when he realized that Hot Rod represented everything he used to be, and he single-handedly saved Hot Rod and Blurr from their Tyroxian tormentors. His fighting spirit restored, Kup returned to Cybertron with the two Autobots and joined [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]'s troops alongside his new allies. {{storylink|Kup's Story!}}''

[[Image:RingofHate-Kup.jpg|left|thumb|250px|"I'll cry when I'm done killing!"]]

When Fortress Maximus became disheartened by the never-ending cycle of violence on Cybertron, he made plans to escape the war and set up a new life on the planet [[Nebulos]]. Though Kup's actions had become a violent mirror of their so-called enemies, he and many of his top warriors chose to follow their leader to this new world aboard the starship ''[[Steelhaven]]''. Tragically, a series of incidents and misunderstandings brought the Autobots and Nebulans to the brink of war within days of their arrival. Kup, forgetting why he had traveled there to begin with, was very happy to return fire, and was only stopped by Fortress Maximus himself. They retreated, and in a desperate attempt to show their true intentions, Fort Max, Kup and several others disarmed themselves in front of the Nebulan gates. Furthermore, Fortress Maximus and four of his lieutenants beheaded themselves and agreed to leave their lifeless heads and bodies, as well as their various weapons, in Nebulan custody so that serious peace talks could be conducted. {{storylink|Ring of Hate!}}

[[Image:BrothersinArmor-Targetmasters.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Pretty sure this breaks Nebulos's concealed weapons laws!]]

Kup helped build an Autobot camp in a forest clearing during Fortress Maximus's absence. Soon, their camp was visited by Nebulan representatives from the [[Council of Peers]] interested in learning more about their interplanetary visitors, and Kup was glad to oblige. But one of the representatives, [[Zarak (Nebulan)|Lord Zarak]], used the meeting as an opportunity to contact the Autobots' enemies, the Decepticons. {{storylink|Broken Glass!}}

Matters quickly deteriorated after the arrival of the Decepticons, and two factions of Nebulans joined with both Autobots and Decepticons through bio-mechanical engineering to become [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]]. Events turned against the Autobots as Lord Zarak, who had binary-bonded to Decepticon leader [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], was able to sway public opinion in favor of the Decepticons, labeling the Autobots as renegades and taking their Headmasters prisoner. Some Nebulans remained loyal to Fortress Maximus's partner, [[Galen]], and traveled to the Autobot camp to forge an alliance. Making use of a new form of bio-mechanical engineering, Kup and the other weaponless Autobots were teamed with Nebulan Targetmasters to replace their lost guns. Kup personally was teamed with Recoil. As the conflict continued, though, both camps of Nebulans began to realize the devastation they were causing to their homeworld, and they decided to leave Nebulos and travel to Earth in search of other Transformers. {{storylink|Brothers in Armor!!}}

[[Image:Kupdesertisland.jpg|left|100px|thumb|Kup finds a new young upstart to latch onto.]]

When Galen died on Earth and his role as Fortress Maximus's Headmaster partner was assumed by [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]], Spike led Kup and the other Targetmasters on a mission to the [[Club Con|Decepticon's island headquarters]] to rescue his brother, [[Buster Witwicky]]. Kup voiced bad feelings about the rescue mission, especially about Spike's suitability to lead the mission. However, when Spike continued fighting despite repeated setbacks, Kup admitted that although Spike brought too much sentiment into the battle, he backed his emotionalism with guts. {{storylink|The Desert Island of Space!}} Soon, Fortress Maximus's Autobots met up with the Earth-bound Autobots led by [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], and somehow the two Autobot camps wound up witnessing a battle between Grimlock and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] for Autobot leadership. Kup, along with the Autobots from both camps, began to watch this battle on Earth's [[Moon (moon)|moon]] when [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]]'s Decepticons unleashed a surprise

Kup (G1)

2009-06-02T08:38:22Z

TheRock1525: Just figured a picture of Kup angrily firing a gun fit that Grandpa quote.

{{factions|autobot|autobotg2|eliteguard}}
{{disambig3|Kup}}
{{featured}}
:''Kup is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Kupg1.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"Four of me, and ya got a [[quartex]]. Speakin' of quartex, that reminds me of the time..."]]
'''Kup''' is a tough old coot. He's almost as old as rust, in fact, and he was plinking [[Decepticon]]s and [[Ick-Yak]]s with acid bursts from his trusty musket laser long before most of you turbo-revvin' young punks were born. In his day, lasers didn't ''need'' to use light; they did whatever they were told to do. And liked it.

He's probably had a thousand adventures, Kup has, and he'll be glad to relate a story of any one of them at any time to a willing audience. The [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] love Kup's war stories, lapping it up like cheap [[Energon (fuel)|energon]], and don't seem to mind when he inadvertently leaves a piece out or changes the story between retellings. Old memory chips'll do that to you. Other Autobots can be less patient, and Kup finds this disrespectful and irritating. If there's one thing Kup dislikes, it's when young punks don't respect their elders. If they'd only listen, they might learn something. [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] is one of the worst offenders in this way, but he's a good lad-bot, and Kup will straighten him out sooner or later, even if it takes a tank of [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]]s.

Occasionally, Kup's vast experience gets in his way. When a situation doesn't remind him of anything, he has trouble figuring out what to do. This doesn't happen very often though.

{{quote|The past is the greatest teacher.|Kup's original [[bio]] motto}}

:''Japanese name:'' '''Chear'''<ref>"Chear" is used twice in English on the Kup/Wheelie "Future Cybertrons" reissue, so is presumably the transliteration Takara currently favors.</ref> (チャー ''Chā'', except for "The Rebirth")
:''French-Canadian name:'' '''Kaisso'''
:''Hungarian name'': '''Kup''' — '''(Űr)Zsaru''' ["(Space)Cop"] in one of the dubs of ''The Movie''.)
:''Italian name'': '''Blitz''' / '''Char''' (''The Headmasters'' dub only)
:''Russian TV dub name'': '''Vorchoon''' ("Grumbler")

==Fiction==
===Cartoon continuity===
====Generation 1 cartoon====
:''Voice Actor:'' [[Lionel Stander]] → [[John Stephenson]] (English), [[Osamu Saka]] (Japanese), [[Carl Béchard]] (French Canadian)

[[Image:Chaos deathcrystalmines.jpg|left|230px|thumb|Worked in the coal mines twenty-two hours a day for just half a cent.]]

In his younger days, one hundred thousand years ago, Kup once found himself crash-landed on the planet [[Dread]], where he was stalked by an [[Ick-Yak]]. Although Kup was able to lure the creature into a swamp of [[quickmud]], he was then captured by the evil [[Orb]]s, who forced him to work in the [[death crystal]] mines of of [[Queeg Mountain]]. When the miners were attacked by [[Chaos (alien)|Chaos]], the creature on whose hide the crystals grew, Kup was afforded an opportunity to escape. Before exiting the mines, he quickly grabbed the key to the cell in which the other slaves were held... but before he could open the cell door, Chaos came roaring into the cavern. Petrified, Kup dropped the keys and fled, escaping with his life, and a guilt that would gnaw at him for millennia. {{storylink|Chaos (episode)|Chaos}}

Kup was stationed in another part of the galaxy while [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s forces were battling on [[Earth]], but eventually joined up with the Earthbound Autobots when the Decepticons took over [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in the early days of the 21st Century. {{storylink|Secret Files of Teletraan II}}

[[Image:Kup tale.jpg|right|230px|thumb|Matlooooooooock!]]

In 2005, Kup was supervising the erection of a security cordon at the foot of [[Lookout Mountain]] when the work was interrupted by an impetuous drive-through by [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]. Kup shook his finger at the adventure-seeking youth, vowing to straighten him out yet. Even Kup couldn't believe it, however, when mere minutes later, Hot Rod began firing upon the approaching [[Autobot shuttle]]. The shuttle had, in fact, been hijacked by the Decepticons, who immediately began pouring out of the craft and attacking [[Autobot City]]. Kup saved Hot Rod from being blasted by [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]], and the pair then headed back towards the city, but they didn't move fast enough to avoid being trapped outside of the city's fortress-like defenses. Luckily, an attempted hull breach by the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] opened a small hole in the city's blast doors, and Kup used [[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]]'s skull as a ramp to leap the gap and make it into the city safely.

[[Image:Tftm_launcherpush.jpg|left|230px|thumb|If only we had the additional strength of a small Earth boy to help us push this!]]

Once inside the city, Kup and Hot Rod joined [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] and [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] in shoving an explosives launcher into place to help defend against the might of [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. The battle continued through the night, but the arrival Optimus Prime the next day turned the tide and the Decepticons were defeated—but at a terrible price. Despite Kup's warnings, Hot Rod had interfered in Prime and Megatron's one-on-one battle, and had given the Decepticon leader the opening he needed to fatally wound Prime. Prime had used the last of his strength to dispatch Megatron, but as Kup and the other Autobots gathered around their fallen leader, Optimus Prime died, passing the [[Matrix of Leadership]] on to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]].

[[Image:Tftm_kup_tells_story.jpg|230px|right|thumb|One way to get rid of them is to tell 'em stories that don't go anywhere.]]

Even as the Autobots began to pick up the pieces, they came under assault on two fronts. First, reports came in from their moonbases of a [[Unicron|monster planet]] that was bearing down on Cybertron; when Hot Rod eagerly announced that he was sure the Matrix could stop the creature, Kup was less than convinced, asking what the youth would know about it. The Autobots made quick preparations to join their comrades on Cybertron's moons, but just before they were able to board their shuttles, a group of new Decepticons led by the powerful [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] launched another attack upon the ruins of Autobots City. Kup, Hot Rod and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] boarded one of the shuttles and hot-footed it into space. Once they were safely away, Kup passed the time during the trip by telling the Dinobots the tale of his encounter with another Ick Yak on [[Beta 4]]. The story was interrupted by the sudden arrival of the Decepticons, and while Kup's experience with the [[Shrikebat]]s of [[Dromedon]] allowed him to out-manoeuvre the villains' [[moleculon missile]]s, an attack by [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] crippled the shuttle and caused it to crash-land into an ocean on the planet [[Quintessa]]. Kup was set upon by a robotic squid, which tore off several of his limbs before Hot Rod was able to fight it off. Hot Rod gathered up all of Kup's pieces and put his friend back together again, but despite the fact that he managed to get rid of a burr on Kup's rotator, Kup was fairly insistent that Hot Rod had left a piece out.

[[Image:TFTM Kup beserker.jpg|left|230px|thumb|"Y'see, lad, I've been dismembering monsters since before you were a gleam in your protoform batch initiator's optic! Now fetch me some prune juice!"]]

Setting out to explore Quintessa and find the Dinobots, Kup and Hot Rod came across a herd of [[Allicon|strange transforming creatures]] which Kup attempted to placate with the [[universal greeting]] and some [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] goodies. Unfortunately, when the goodies ran out, so did the creatures' good nature, and Kup and Hot Rod were set upon, captured and dragged before the planet's rulers, the [[Quintesson]]s. The whole experience reminded Kup of the [[Niter Slave Mines]] on [[Golgonath Seven]], but Hot Rod didn't see what good the old-timer's experienced was doing them at that moment. Hurled into a jail cell to await trial, the pair met another captive named [[Kranix]], whose world had been consumed by the monster plant currently threatening Cybertron: a monster that Kranix told them was named [[Unicron]]. Sadly, Kranix soon met his end in the jaws of the Quintesson' [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]], and Kup and Hot Rod were dropped into the creatures' pit soon after. The pair did not accept the Quintessons' judgement with gentle grace, however, and fought back against the Sharkticons, creating a whirlpool by driving around their watery pit and sweeping the fight to dry land. Kup tore off one of the Sharkticons' tails and used it as a mace, but the duo was in danger of being overwhelmed until the timely arrival of the Dinobots, who routed the Sharkticons and turned them against their Quintesson masters. With the aid of the Dinobots' new friend, [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], the team found a ship and reunited with their fellow Autobots on the planet of [[Junkion (planet)|Junk]]. There, Kup was able to talk a little TV with native [[Junkion]] leader [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]], but even the levity the Junkions brought to the proceedings did not obscure the tragic news that Galvatron had stolen the Matrix from Ultra Magnus.

[[Image:Kup vehiclemode.jpg|right|thumb|275px|FM radio not included.]]

Proceeding on their way to Cybertron, the Autobots arrived just in time to witness Unicron transforming to robot mode and attacking their home planet – a sight so awesome that it left Kup speechless, unable to recall anything like it that had ever seen. Ever eager, Hot Rod ploughed their ship straight into Unicron's eye, but was separated from the rest of the group on the fall through the chaos-bringer's interior. While Kup and the other Autobots battled against Unicron's internal defences, Hot Rod battled Galvatron (who had been betrayed Unicron and been swallowed in punishment) and reclaimed the Matrix from him, becoming the Autobots' new leader, Rodimus Prime. Rodimus unleashed the power of the Matrix, which began to destroy Unicron from within, and as the Autobots retreated from the planet-eater's exploding body, Kup congratulated Rodimus, claiming he had always known he had potential. In the wake of Unicron's destruction, the Autobots forced the Decepticons off of Cybertron and reclaimed the planet for their own. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}}

[[Image:ffod_pitfall.jpg|left|275px|thumb|The year is nineteen-aught-six! The President is the divine Miss Sara Bernhardt! And all over America, people were doing a dance called the "Funky Grandpa"!]]

Appointed as [[Chief of Security]] for Cybertron, Kup accompanied Rodimus Prime and the other Autobots to the opening of the [[Galactic Olympics]], only for the ceremony to be attacked by a commando squad of mysterious shadowy figures. The raiders captured Kup, Ultra Magnus and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] and took them back to their masters, {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1}} who turned out to be the Quintessons. This time around, the aliens interrogated Kup a lot more thoroughly, questioning him on the state of Cybertron's security and meticulously analyzing his responses, seeing through the sarcastic misdirection he attempted to throw back in their faces. After a failed attempt escape landed the trio in the Sharkticon pit, the end seemed inevitable, until a team of Autobots led by Rodimus Prime arrived in time to save them. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2}} In retaliation, the Quintessons detonated a [[core bomb]] and blew up Quintessa, and the explosion hurled Kup and the Autobots through space to the planet [[Goo]]. As the Autobots struggled through the planet's sticky surface, they were set upon by a massive machine that swept the goo clean, and Kup was awestruck by Rodimus's single-handed attempt to stop the dangerous device. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3}} As they continued on their gooey trek, the Autobots came under attack from Galvatron and the Decepticons, who had entered into an alliance with the Quintessons, but were whisked to safety by Wreck-Gar and the Junkions.

A short time later, back on Cybertron, a mayday request came through from a crippled shuttle requesting clearance to land. Unable to risk the lives on the humans that he believed were onboard, Kup allowed the shuttle to land... but as it approached Cybertron, it veered off course and crashed into the planet's central power facility, taking out power across the board. The shuttle had been a dupe perpetuated by the Decepticon/Quintesson alliance, which promptly invaded the planet. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4}} In the ensuing battle, Rodimus and Kup were surprised when Blitzwing fell out of the sky in front of them, and begged them no to shoot. The [[Triple Changer]] revealed that the Quintessons had double-crossed the Decepticons, and had sent a team of Sharkticons into the depths of Cybertron to activate a [[large switch]] that would shut down all the Transformers. Rodimus and Blitzwing were unable to stop the switch being thrown, but Spike Witwicky was then able to destroy the mechanism and reactivate the Transformers, forcing the Quintessons to flee Galvatron's wrath. Kup stood by Rodimus's side as he announced their uneasy victory to the other Autobots. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5}}

[[Image:Chaos_kup_vs_chaos.jpg|230px|right|thumb|"You're homely as a mule's butt!"]]

The past came back to haunt Kup when he was called in to investigate a Decepticon attack on the [[Earth Defense Command]] post on Goo. Discovering that the attack had been perpetrated using death crystals, Kup was finally forced to return to planet Dread to stop the Decepticons' plan to destroy Cybertron using a death crystal cannon. Venturing into the mines alone, through swarms of [[shrikebat]]s, Kup located Chaos in the depths of the mountain and lured him back to the surface, taunting him all the way. Before exiting the mines, Kup freed all the slaves, and in turn, they helped him to re-aim the Decepticons' cannon, pointing it right at Chaos at the monster emerged from the tunnels. Kup pulled the trigger, blasting Chaos with its own death crystals and finally destroying it. With his demons laid to rest, the high-spirited Kup spent the journey back to Cybertron tell his comrades of the time he flew the shuttle [[Jonagar]] in the mouth of a space-whale. {{storylink|Chaos (episode)|Chaos}}

[[Image:Darkawakening_kup_fires.jpg|215px|left|thumb]"Ah, can't get a good sasparilla like this back in Iacon. It angries up the blood." "Heh, you like it, huh?" "Up yours!"]

Kup was among a team of Autobots who were caught off-guard by the Decepticons while travelling through space in a shuttle, and were forced to dock their damaged craft at the giant mausoleum the Autobots had constructed to hold the bodies of those who had died in the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]. There, they were shocked to discover that Optimus Prime had apparently returned to life, only to find themselves suddenly betrayed by their old leader when he set the mausoleum on a collision course with a sun and escaped aboard a spaceship of his own. The Autobots quickly improvised a ship of their own before the mausoleum was destroyed, which Kup piloted back to Cybertron. Upon their returned, it was discovered that "Optimus Prime" was merely a robotic zombie, animated as part of a Quintesson plan to destroy the Autobots, forcing Rodimus Prime to defeat him in battle. His true personality re-emerging as he neared death again, Optimus seemingly sacrificed himself, getting the other Autobots to safety and triggering the Quintessons' explosive trap. {{storylink|Dark Awakening}}

When a survey mission led by Perceptor sent out an SOS, Kup responded with Rodimus Prime, [[Pipes]] and the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]]. The team fought off the Quintessons occupying the asteroid, and discovered that the aliens had been attempting to alter history using a [[Time Window]]. Most of Perceptor's team had vanished through the portal into Cybertron's distant past, and Kup and the others fought off a Quintesson attempt to reclaim the asteroid while their teammates were returned to the present. {{storylink|Forever Is a Long Time Coming}}

The arrival of an Autobot named [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] on Cybertron gave Kup cause for concern, as the newcomer claimed to be from the planet [[Paradron]], which Kup was unable to locate on any star charts. A lie detector confirmed the truth of Sandstorm's story, however, and the Autobots rallied to save his world from the Decepticons. {{storylink|Fight or Flee}} Soon after, when Kup discovered that a team of Decepticons had been able to sneak their way past Cybertron defences, he, Rodimus, Magnus and the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] headed out to force the villains off the planet. {{storylink|Starscream's Ghost}}

[[Image:Gitm_kup_and_screamer.jpg|right|thumb|I ain't afraid of no ghost!]]

While making a security inspection of Autobot City on Earth, Kup was impressed by the work [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] had been doing in his absence. Blaster's choice of music, however, still rattled his transistors. During Kup's visit, Autobot City was attacked by [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] and the ghost of [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. They did serious damage to [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]], stealing his eyes and then blowing up a bomb inside his brain. Hopefully, Kup didn't mark that up in his report as a strike against Blaster. {{storylink|Ghost in the Machine}}

[[Image:Ditd_vampire_kup_and_springer.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Kup gives the phrase "going grey" a whole new meaning.]]

Alongside Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Blaster and [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], Kup headed to Junkion to investigate a strange hypnotic television signal that was coming from the planet. On their way, they were attacked by [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] and the [[Sweep]]s and crashed on an asteroid, where Kup helped draw the Decepticons off so that Magnus could repair the damage done to Omega Supreme. The team voyaged on to Junkion, where they stopped the hypnotic broadcast. {{storylink|The Big Broadcast of 2006}} Not long after, Kup was among the Transformers who fell victim to the energy-draining touch of the [[Trans-Organic]] [[Dweller]], becoming an [[energy vampire]] who menaced the other Autobots until Perceptor restored them to normal with a surge of energon. {{storylink|The Dweller in the Depths}}

Kup was working out of Autobot City on Earth when Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Springer and Arcee went missing investigating the human terrorist, [[Victor Drath]]. Unbeknownst to Kup, the crime lord transplanted the four Autobots' minds into human-like [[synthoid]] bodies, and when the humanized Arcee attempted to get his attention near the entrance of Autobot City, he just drove on by.{{storylink|Only Human}}

[[Image:Grimnewbrain_kup_vs_sintwin.jpg|right|thumb|Kup was answering the Liar's Paradox before it became popular.]]

When the Autobots all began experiencing malfunctions following the activation of Cybertron's newest power generator, Kup was part of the team that ventured below the planet's surface to investigate the cause. The source of the malfunctions was discovered to be [[anti-electron]]s snuck into the generator by the Decepticons, which began to affect Kup's mind, leaving his much vaunted memory of past adventures so badly scrambled that he couldn't even remember who he was or where they were. The generator was shut down, but the Autobots soon deduced that the anti-electrons had come from Unicron, and followed the Decepticons to the planet-eater's decapitated head to stop them from acquiring more. Once they arrived on Unicron's head, the anti-electrons began affecting them once more, but Kup fought off their influence long enough to hold his own against [[Sinnertwin]]. The Decepticons were then routed by the [[Technobot]]s, new Autobots created by [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] using the super-intelligence the anti-electrons had given him. {{storylink|Grimlock's New Brain}}

Running the security center on Cybertron, Kup detected the cataclysmic arrival of [[Tornedron]] shortly before the energy creature devoured all energy on the planet, leaving every Autobot completely inert. Only a small group of [[Primitive]]s from both factions managed to reach the creature's creator, [[Primacron]], and reverse the process. {{storylink|Call of the Primitives}}

[[Image:Bhtb_kup_and_rodimus.jpg|left|thumb|Kup is apparently a chickenhawk. I mean, look at that butt!]]

During a series of missions in Japan, Kup could see the burden of leadership weighing heavily on Rodimus Prime's shoulders. Kup tried to teach him about the Japanese concept of ''giri'', the "burden hardest to bear", but Rodimus departed to blow off some steam on his own, and Kup recognized that it was a problem Rodimus would have to resolve for himself. Unfortunately, Rodimus was attacked by the [[Stunticon]]s and had the Matrix stolen, which then wound up in the clutches of Scourge, who led a Decepticon attack on Tokyo. Kup face off against the Matrix-powered Decepticon, but was hit by energy beams that left him convulsing. Luckily, Hot Rod made peace with his ''giri'' and arrived in time to defeat Scourge and reclaim the Matrix. Kup sagely noted that regardless of who held the Matrix, that missing part of himself that Rodimus had discovered would always be with him. {{storylink|The Burden Hardest to Bear}}

[[Image:Roop_kup_and_prime.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"Optimus Prime is not a Communist. He may be a liar, a pig, an idiot, a Communist, but he is not a porn star."]]

When the Autobots learned that Optimus Prime might still be alive, Kup was part of an enormous task force assembled by Rodimus Prime to retrieve Optimus's body from the treacherous human scientists who had taken possession of it. While Ultra Magnus and Rodimus led several team members inside the laboratory, Kup remained outside on guard with [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], Wheelie, and several others. The situation turned deadly when the scientists unleashed space spores that induced a [[Hate Plague]] among the Autobots. The Aerialbots were among the first exposed, and Kup's team soon had to face off against a crazed [[Superion (G1)|Superion]]. They suffered serious damage and were taken off-line but, as a silver lining, also managed to escape contamination. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1}} As his last order before he too was lost to the plague, Rodimus Prime had Sky Lynx locate a Quintesson, who was put to work restoring Optimus Prime to life at last. At Prime's instruction, the Quintesson repaired Kup and the rest of his team, and the group then headed for the Decepticons' base on [[Chaar]] to recover a heat-resistant alloy the villains had stolen. Battling through the dangers of Chaar's native wildlife, the Autobots were able to recover the alloy, but not before Kup and most of his team were infected by the Hate Plague. Optimus Prime subsequently used the alloy to shield himself from the plague's effect and recovered the Matrix from Rodimus Prime, then released its wisdom to cure the madness of the spores. A cured Kup and Hot Rod watched as Optimus Prime and Galvatron shook hands, as the Decepticon leader declared there would be no war that day. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}

[[Image:Rebirth_targetmaster_torture.jpg|225px|left|thumb]]

Galvatron's promise did not last long, unfortunately. Kup was on Cybertron when the Decepticons launched a massive assault on Autobot City on Earth and stole the [[key to the Plasma Energy Chamber|key]] to the [[Plasma energy|Plasma Energy Chamber]] , but word of the attack soon reached Cybertron as the Decepticon bore down on the planet. During the ensuing conflict, Kup and a team of other Autobot boarded a shuttle and pursued Scourge into the depths of the planet, but when Scourge used the key to momentarily open the Plasma Energy Chamber, the energy released blasted the Autobots' shuttle across the galaxy. The ship crashed on the planet [[Nebulos]], which reminded Kup of the time he was stranded on [[Regulon Four]] and faced off against the planet's native [[Regulon metalmonger|metalmongers]]. The Autobots were soon captured by a rebel cell of native Nebulans, who believed them to agents of the planet's evil rulers, the [[Hive (G1)|Hive]], but the Autobots were able to convince them that they were on the side of the angels when the Decepticons followed them to Nebulos and attacked. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 1}}

[[Image:Rebirth_kup_and_recoil.jpg|right|thumb|When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not.]]

During the battle that resulted, Kup, Hot Rod, Blurr, [[Pointblank]], [[Crosshairs (G1)|Crosshairs]] and [[Sureshot (G1)|Sureshot]] were captured by the Decepticons and tortured for information about the location of the Plasma Energy Chamber key. Kup and his comrades were soon rescued by the other Autobots, who had bonded with the Nebulons rebels to become powerful "[[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]]", and soon decided to undergo a variation of this bonding process themselves, becoming "[[Targetmaster]]s". By the time Optimus Prime finally tracked his warriors to Nebulos and arrived to join them, Kup had been bonded to the Nebulan Recoil, and was the first to display his new powers to the shocked Prime. Alas, even with this added power, the Autobots were unable to prevent the Decepticons from stealing back the Plasma Energy Chamber key. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 2}}

Pursuing the Decepticons back to Cybertron, Kup delivered the shocking report to his fellow Autobots that the planet itself had disappeared. The Decepticons had, in fact, moved it into Earth's orbit, where Galvatron intended to open the Plasma Energy Chamber and overload the sun, destroying both planets in one fell swoop. As the chamber was opened, Kup and all the other Transformers on the planet were disabled by its energy, but thankfully, Spike Witwicky and the Autobots' Nebulan partners were able to stop the process and use the energy to revitalize Cybertron, bring about a new Golden Age for the planet. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 3}}
{{-}}

====Madman ''The Transformers'' comic====
[[Image:Madman comic HotRod sigh.jpg|left|150px|thumb|"You're gonna be the death of that guy, you know?"]]
In the year 2001, the Decepticons had managed to conquer Cybertron completely. Before Optimus Prime left to lead the evacuation of the remaining Autobots on their home planet, he told Ultra Magnus about his intention to hide the Autobot Matrix of Leadership at a not-so-secret bunker on the construction site of the future Autobot City on Earth. The Decepticon [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] and his array of [[Decepticon Mini-Cassette]]a managed to spy on meeting and moved to capture the Autobot relic for the Decepticon cause, but fortunately that young lad Hot Rod foiled their dastardly and vague plans. Upon arriving on Earth, Kup was present when Hot Rod returned the Matrix to Optimus, and explained the strange Matrix-induced vision he received, to which Optimus Prime commented that perhaps Hot Rod's destiny was greater than the young Autobot realised. Kup had a decidedly different opinion, however. {{storylink|The Transformers (Madman)|The Transformers}}
{{-}}
====Japanese cartoon continuity====
{{note|The events of the Generation 1 cartoon occur in Japanese animated continuity as described above, except that the events of "The Rebirth" do not occur. Additionally, this continuity moves the events of 2006 to 2010, and inserts several additional events into the newly-created intervening years.}}

=====''Story of the Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers''=====

[[Image:Kup_g1manga.jpg|right|thumb]]
Responding to an SOS from deep space, a team of Autobots including Kup helped rescue a human spacecraft from the jaws of a shaceship-eating Decepticon vessel. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 1|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #1}}

When the Autobots were attacked by the [[Megatron Military]], Kup was decidedly puzzled, as he had understood that Megatron had been recreated as Galvatron. The Megatrons proved to be tough opponents, and Kup and the other Autobots encouraged Rodimus to get away to safety while they held the Megatrons back, but the Autobot leader refused. Soon, it was discovered that one of the Megatrons was Galvatron in disguise, who was remote-controlling the duplicate Megatrons himself. Rodimus dispatched Galvatron, and the Megatrons lost power, allowing Kup and [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] to make short work of them. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 2|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #2}}

After Ultra Magnus and Metroplex repelled an attack on Autobot City, Kup was among the Autobots who came to Earth to congratulate their efforts. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 3}} Later, Kup was part of the Autobot team who travelled to the planet [[Feminia]] to defend its [[Prime Energy]] against a Decepticon attack. Kup deduced that the villains would deploy [[Predaking]] to steal the energy, and he was right, but thankfully, arrival of the [[Omnibot]]s won the day. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 5|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #5}}
{{-}}
=====''The Great Transformer War''=====
Kup watched the battle between the upgraded [[Abominus]] and [[Computron]], {{storylink|The Great Transformer War issue 2|The Great Transformer War #2}} then later joined Hot Rod, Springer and the resurrected Optimus Prime in battling Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge and the Sweeps in space shortly after Prime was resurrected. {{storylink|The Great Transformer War issue 3|The Great Transformer War #3}}

=====''The Headmasters'' cartoon=====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Osamu Saka]]

[[Image:kup_and_fortress.jpg|left|240px|thumb|"I'm gonna get me a job! A real Malibu...and see if Stacy... can help... invent... me... young... Help!"]]

In 2011, one year after Optimus Prime's resurrection, Kup was stationed on Cybertron when [[Vector Sigma]] began to destabilize as a result of the release of the Matrix's energy. Exploiting the opening, the Decepticons invaded the planet, and, at Optimus Prime's command, Kup withdrew to the Autobots' secondary headquarters on the planet [[Athenia]]. This sudden, violent re-ignition of the Transformers' war stirred four-million-year-old memories in Kup, but Spike stopped him before he got started by informing that this wasn't a time when thinking of the past was going to do any good. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} As it turned out, the past ''did'' play a major role in winning the battle, when a mysterious spaceship arrived carrying new Autobot warriors who helped turned the tide of the battle. These new "Headmasters" were led by a robot named [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress]], who turned out to be an old friend of Kup's who had left Cybertron four million years ago to escape the war. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}}

[[Image:Headmasters_threestooges.jpg|240px|right|thumb|Blurr considers the wisdom of his decision to let Kup sleep with his [[Arcee (G1)|girlfriend]]]]

Kup stayed on Athenia with [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], Wheelie and [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel]] while the other Autobots began searching across Earth for the Matrix, which had been hidden away by Optimus Prime, but which would be necessary to stabilize Vector Sigma. Kup recalled the battle on Feminia and told the other Autobots to trust in Hot Rod – and Kup's trust was not misplaced, as Hot Rod and the Headmasters soon had the Matrix in their hands. Kup's team returned to Cybertron to monitor Vector Sigma as its condition grew worse, but alas, before Hot Rod (now Rodimus Prime once again) could use the Matrix to stabilize the computer, Optimus Prime sacrificed himself by merging with it to bring it back under control. {{storylink|Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime}}

Kup later conferred with Rodimus Prime on the Decepticons' new weapon, the [[Madmachine]], and tried to help console the [[Autobot Mini-Cassette]]s over the loss of [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]. {{storylink|The Great Cassette Operation}} Not long after, when Athenia was threatened by the Deceptiocons' metal-warping meteor, [[Metamorpho]], Kup hit upon the idea of sending a human to disable the space-rock, as they would be unaffected by its powers. {{storylink|Approach of the Demon Meteorite}}

Rodimus Prime was on a mission to Earth when an SOS from the planet [[Praum]] reached Kup, Arcee and Blurr on Athenia, reminding Kup of several times in the past when the Decepticons deliberately attacked when the Autobots were without a commander. Kup was eager to go into battle on Praum alongside the Headmasters, but they encouraged him to stay behind and guard Athenia with Blurr and Arcee. {{storylink|The Four-Million-Year-Old Veil of Mystery}}

[[Image:Headmasters_rodimus_kup_blurr.jpg|240px|left|thumb|You...shall not...PASS!]]

When the Decepticons launched a massive attack on Cybertron in order to obtain a new alloy created by Vector Sigma named [[Cybertonuron]], Kup and Arcee leapt into action, but were held up from joining the battle when they had to stop to pull Blurr free of the chair he'd managed to get stuck in. They soon made it to Cybertron, however, and watched from the sidelines as Rodimus battled Galvatron. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1}} When Galvatron broke off the fight, Rodimus and Kup withdrew to debate strategy with Fortress, but the bad news kept on coming: [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] reported in to inform them that the Decepticon had planted bombs at the core of Cybertron which would destroy the planet within ten minutes. With no possible recourse, the Autobots evacuated Cybertron just before the bombs detonated, reducing the planet to a burnt-out husk. Deciding that the age of his generation had come to an end, Rodimus Prime passed the mantle of [[Supreme Commander]] to Fortress and prepared to embark on a mission to find a new planet on which the Transformers could make their home. Kup and Blurr announced that they would accompany Rodimus on his mission, and the trio departed for space. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2}}

{{Note|Whether or not Kup, Rodimus and Blurr succeeded in their mission is never explicitly revealed. While Rodimus returns in the [[The Headmasters issue 8|final issue]] of the [[The Headmasters (manga)|''Headmasters'' manga]], Kup does not reappear.}}

=====''15 Go! Go!''=====
[[Image:TGGKup.jpg|right|100px|thumb|"I'm a crazy old man! Pay attention to me!"]]
While on her journey through time and space, [[Teletraan 15]] found herself in a future era where she was harassed by a feisty Wheelie. Kup—now bonded to Recoil—came to the rescue, grabbing Wheelie by the scruff of the neck and tossing him away. As Teletraan 15 looked up at him with sparkly eyes and thanked him for his help, he claimed he recognized her and gave her a big old spine-cracking hug. As Kup started rambling about some past encounter they had supposedly had with giant Ick-Yaks, Teletraan 15's sarcastic partner, [[Teletraan 10]], boggled over the sheer scientific illogicality of Kup's "musket laser", unable to comprehend how something that shot acid could be classified as a laser. Suddenly, Kup realized that he actually had ''no idea'' who Teletraan 15 was, and drove off. {{storylink|15 Go! Go!|15 Go! Go! Chapter 4}}
{{-}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{note|Events from the [[The Transformers (Marvel Comics)|UK-only]] comic stories are in italics.}}
Kup and a platoon of Autobots were feeling pretty good about their mission on [[Deneb IV]] when suddenly the entire platoon was nearly washed away by a surprise Decepticon attack of acid rain. {{storylink|The Desert Island of Space!}}

[[Image:KupsStoryKup01.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"It all started back in nineteen dickety-two. We had to say 'dickety' 'cause the [[Liokaiser|Kaiser]] had stolen our word 'twenty'. I chased that rascal to get it back, but gave up after dickety-six miles..."]]
''Several hundred years ago, Kup became afflicted with [[combat fatigue]], a loss of nerves and will brought on by too many millions of years of non-stop fighting. Considering himself a liability to the Autobot cause, Kup went into "retirement", wandering space alone in his starship, waiting for the end eventually to take him. He was shaken out of his misery when he crossed paths with a pair of [[Tyroxian]] [[Tyroxian space transport|fighters]] attempting to destroy a lone spacecraft. Spurred into action, Kup disabled the pursuers and brought the hunted pilot on-board, and was surprised to finding he was a fellow Autobot named Hot Rod. Hot Rod was thrilled to have found aid and eagerly tried to recruit Kup into helping him return to [[Tyroxia]] and save his comrade [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], but Kup wasn't interested in getting involved any further, and he only agreed to take Hot Rod back to Cybertron. The young punk reprogrammed the ship's navigation computers, though, and landed on Tyroxia to rescue Blurr by himself. Kup was finally shaken out of his funk when he realized that Hot Rod represented everything he used to be, and he single-handedly saved Hot Rod and Blurr from their Tyroxian tormentors. His fighting spirit restored, Kup returned to Cybertron with the two Autobots and joined [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]'s troops alongside his new allies. {{storylink|Kup's Story!}}''

[[Image:RingofHate-Kup.jpg|left|thumb|250px|"I'll cry when I'm done killing!"]]

When Fortress Maximus became disheartened by the never-ending cycle of violence on Cybertron, he made plans to escape the war and set up a new life on the planet [[Nebulos]]. Though Kup's actions had become a violent mirror of their so-called enemies, he and many of his top warriors chose to follow their leader to this new world aboard the starship ''[[Steelhaven]]''. Tragically, a series of incidents and misunderstandings brought the Autobots and Nebulans to the brink of war within days of their arrival. Kup, forgetting why he had traveled there to begin with, was very happy to return fire, and was only stopped by Fortress Maximus himself. They retreated, and in a desperate attempt to show their true intentions, Fort Max, Kup and several others disarmed themselves in front of the Nebulan gates. Furthermore, Fortress Maximus and four of his lieutenants beheaded themselves and agreed to leave their lifeless heads and bodies, as well as their various weapons, in Nebulan custody so that serious peace talks could be conducted. {{storylink|Ring of Hate!}}

[[Image:BrothersinArmor-Targetmasters.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Pretty sure this breaks Nebulos's concealed weapons laws!]]

Kup helped build an Autobot camp in a forest clearing during Fortress Maximus's absence. Soon, their camp was visited by Nebulan representatives from the [[Council of Peers]] interested in learning more about their interplanetary visitors, and Kup was glad to oblige. But one of the representatives, [[Zarak (Nebulan)|Lord Zarak]], used the meeting as an opportunity to contact the Autobots' enemies, the Decepticons. {{storylink|Broken Glass!}}

Matters quickly deteriorated after the arrival of the Decepticons, and two factions of Nebulans joined with both Autobots and Decepticons through bio-mechanical engineering to become [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]]. Events turned against the Autobots as Lord Zarak, who had binary-bonded to Decepticon leader [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], was able to sway public opinion in favor of the Decepticons, labeling the Autobots as renegades and taking their Headmasters prisoner. Some Nebulans remained loyal to Fortress Maximus's partner, [[Galen]], and traveled to the Autobot camp to forge an alliance. Making use of a new form of bio-mechanical engineering, Kup and the other weaponless Autobots were teamed with Nebulan Targetmasters to replace their lost guns. Kup personally was teamed with Recoil. As the conflict continued, though, both camps of Nebulans began to realize the devastation they were causing to their homeworld, and they decided to leave Nebulos and travel to Earth in search of other Transformers. {{storylink|Brothers in Armor!!}}

[[Image:Kupdesertisland.jpg|left|100px|thumb|Kup finds a new young upstart to latch onto.]]

When Galen died on Earth and his role as Fortress Maximus's Headmaster partner was assumed by [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]], Spike led Kup and the other Targetmasters on a mission to the [[Club Con|Decepticon's island headquarters]] to rescue his brother, [[Buster Witwicky]]. Kup voiced bad feelings about the rescue mission, especially about Spike's suitability to lead the mission. However, when Spike continued fighting despite repeated setbacks, Kup admitted that although Spike brought too much sentiment into the battle, he backed his emotionalism with guts. {{storylink|The Desert Island of Space!}} Soon, Fortress Maximus's Autobots met up with the Earth-bound Autobots led by [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], and somehow the two Autobot camps wound up witnessing a battle between Grimlock and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] for Autobot leadership. Kup, along with the Autobots from both camps, began to watch this battle on Earth's [[Moon (moon)|moon]] when [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]]'s Decepticons unleashed a surprise