Astrotrain (Cyberverse)

The name or term "Astrotrain" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Astrotrain (disambiguation).

Astrotrain is a Decepticon Triple Changer from the Cyberverse continuity family.

At first glance, Astrotrain appears to be a colossal Triple Changer amongst the Decepticons, using his force fields, dimensional portals, and vehicular mode manipulation for both his own selfish gain and to occasionally fuel his sadistic streak... if it's Dead End.

All subsequent glances will reveal that this is in fact an excellent summary of Astrotrain, save for one detail that lets Megatron control him: he is absolutely terrified of his former master. And he will do anything, whether that includes shooting down helpless Autobots or working with Dead End, to avoid the tyrant.

Fiction

Cyberverse cartoon

Voice actor: Tony Daniels (English), Marko Bräutigam (German), Salvador Reyes (Latin-American Spanish), Bruno Azevedo (Brazilian Portuguese)

After the Great War was won by Megatron, the tyrant created a master race of Decepticons before ridding himself of all "unneeded" Decepticons. However, Astrotrain was kept around, being tortured and abused for millions of years The Other One before eventually being freed by an alternate Megatron. Enemy Line Astrotrain waited with Dead End, to whom Astrotrain took an immediate dislike, while Megatron stole the Matrix of Leadership. When his new master and the Insecticons returned under heavy fire, Astrotrain opened a portal to another universe and flew them through. Silent Strike

Astrotrain transported Megatron, Dead End, and the Insecticons to Megatron's home dimension in time to battle Judge Starscream. When they attempted to seal off the portal to unspace, Astrotrain was seized by Croaton until Windblade removed the Quintesson influence from the Titan's mind. Astrotrain used a beam to start closing the portal, but his forcefield began failing when an angry Judge Starscream retaliated. He was saved by Megatron and Optimus Prime, and closed the portal completely. Astrotrain later transported the Decepticons to Megatron's meeting with Optimus. The End Of The Universe IV

It was a dark and stormy night...suddenly, a train whistle rang out.

In the aftermath of the war against the Quintessons, Astrotrain began patrolling the barrier between Autobot and Decepticon halves of Cybertron. When he began underperfoming, Megatron reminded him who he owed his freedom to, Astrotrain reluctantly falling back into line. Enemy Line

Astrotrain worked with Dead End to create a cannon that weaponized unspace to use against The Other One. After testing it on Jetfire and finding it to be faulty, he captured both Jetfire and Ratchet, intent on using them as test subjects. Rack'n'Ruin suddenly burst in and attacked Astrotrain, serving as little more than an annoyance, until the randomly-firing unspace cannon hit a door, revealing Soundwave and Shadow Striker listening in. After Shadow Striker mocked him, Astrotrain ordered them to leave, and Soundwave challenged him to make them. They posed no more threat than Rack'n'Ruin, but before he could finish the fight, Astrotrain himself was hit by the cannon and sent to unspace. Gleeful that the weapon worked, Astrotrain opened a portal back to his new universe. Rack 'n' Ruin 'n' Ratchet

And will you be requiring a baggage fare?

Astrotrain returned to the Decepticon control room and presented a smaller version of the completed unspace cannon to Megatron. Soon enough, the Decepticon supersoldiers began teleporting in, even if the dimensional shield delayed their approach. When the Autobots arrived, the supersoldiers managed to beam in and surround everyone. Silent Strike Opting for the better part of valour, Astrotrain opened up a multiverse portal and flew away. Once Optimus Prime had defeated The Other One, Astrotrain returned to seize the prone form of his old master, intending to imprison him in his own body as he sailed the multiverse, laughing about his "big plans." The Other One

Pictured: Astrotrain's failed attempt at cosplaying as the Human Torch.

Though The Other One ultimately succumbed to his wounds, his troops took revenge by fatally wounding Astrotrain, who barely managed to open a portal to Cybertron and crashed down into Trypticon Plaza. With his dying words, Astrotrain warned Optimus of the coming threat before perishing. The Perfect Decepticon

Notes

Get your feet off the coffee table!

• Though he is identified as a Triple Changer in dialogue by Ratchet in "Rack 'n' Ruin 'n' Ratchet," Astrotrain doesn't truly triple-change within the Cyberverse cartoon. When his shuttle mode is not in the air, it partially retracts its wings and lowers its tailfins, giving it the vague appearance of a different mode, but it's not clear if this counts as the third mode that makes him a Triple Changer, or if he's got a train mode we never see.
• Astrotrain can generate a hologram of his head inside himself while in vehicle mode.
• Astrotrain's design is, of course, heavily inspired by his Generation 1 counterpart, largely the Titans Return incarnation.