Brawley and Cletus

"Brawley" redirects here. For the SR-71 Blackbird pilot from Revenge of the Fallen, see Brawley (ROTF).

Brawley and Cletus are humans from the Hearts of Steel portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

Cletus is the one with the cigar.

Brawley and Cletus are railworkers in the latter part of the 19th century. They are the loyal companions of John Henry, and act as his "support staff", cooking and serving his food, and bringing him water while he drives spikes. Brawley is the taller of the two, with brown hair and a beard, while Cletus is brawnier, with black hair and stubble. Brawley plays the banjo, and composes songs about Henry.

Fiction

Hearts of Steel

It's not wise to rile a man with arms the size of your torso.

Brawley and Cletus brought Henry spikes, and set them for him to hammer. Later, they served him dinner, and mused about how automation could make life easier. Cletus was with Henry when he discovered Bumblebee (in locomotive form) on a siding. Hearts of Steel #1 When Bumblebee demonstrated his automated steamhammer, both of the duo were favorably impressed. After the Insecticons robbed a train carrying cash and bullion, Brawley and Cletus read the reports of "mechanical giants" in the newspaper, which led Henry to carry the news of Decepticon activity to Bumblebee. Hearts of Steel #2

Some time later, the pair were singing a song about Henry's deeds, when he wandered off, and had a talk with Bumblebee about the Autobots' plans. Henry returned to wake the duo, and told them they were "ridin' east with a new rail gang." Though startled, the two quickly acclimated to the mechanical giants. Cletus shoveled coal into the little yellow Autobot while Brawley composed a new verse for his song, about Bumblebee. Hearts of Steel #3 During the pursuit of the Astrotrain, the two shoveled coal, kept an eye open for hostile Decepticons, and helped shift boulders after the Decepticons' shelling closed a train tunnel. Hearts of Steel #4

"Strange Visitors" establishes that events identical to those of Hearts of Steel and Infestation 2 occur in the 2005 IDW continuity; however, they happened to Maximal explorers brainwashed by Shockwave into believing they were the Autobots and Decepticons of the Great War. {{#if:|'s identity was taken by {{#if:|the Maximal named }}{{#if:|[[|a Maximal]]}}.}}