Pulse rifle
Pulse rifles, also colloquially known as "pulse guns", were a common type of firearm utilized by Autobots. Specialized variants include electron-pulse rifles, electrostatic pulse rifles, and ion-pulse rifles.
Ion-pulse rifles were also part of the armaments of the colossal Titan Metroplex.
Fiction
[edit]Marvel The Transformers comics
[edit]
Sunstreaker's electron-pulse gun was capable of emitting a beam of highly energized electrons at 300 bursts per second. Sunstreaker's Universe profile
Metroplex could deploy his ion-pulse rifles in both Battle Station and Autobot City modes; they additionally formed Six-Gun's arms. Metroplex's Universe profile
During the Transformers' second battle on Earth at the Witwicky garage, Sunstreaker fired at the incoming Decepticons with his electron pulse gun while Sideswipe took off with his rocket backpack to shoot Thundercracker with his flare gun. Power Play!
Dreamwave Generation One continuity
[edit]In robot mode, Sunstreaker was armed with an electron-pulse rifle that fired 300 bursts per Earth second. Sunstreaker's More than Meets the Eye profile
Jazz's Pretender shell was armed with a semi-automatic pulse rifle and deflector shields mounted on each forearm. Pretender Jazz's More than Meets the Eye profile
Both Bristleback's Pretender shell and inner robot were armed with an electrostatic pulse rifle that shorted out an enemy's circuitry, with the potential to cause permanent damage. Bristleback's More than Meets the Eye profile
In all modes Metroplex was armed with ion pulse rifles, alongside an arsenal of other weaponry. Metroplex's More than Meets the Eye profile
Wings Universe
[edit]During the Machine Wars, pulse rifles were highly utilized by the understaffed Cybetron Defense forces, such as by Clampdown. After releasing the prisoners, Electro and Mirage, Clampdown equipped Electro with a pulse rifle as he did not trust him with his own sword, or as Clampdown called it, his personal weapon of mass destruction. Later in battle, after Electro was knocked off his feet by Starscream, he ditched the rifle in exchange for the cast aside sword of Megaplex. Termination
Toys
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The Transformers Headmaster Fangry with ion pulse gun -
The Transformers Classic Pretender Jazz with ion pulse gun -
The Transformers Mega Pretender Vroom with ion pulse guns -
The Transformers Monster Pretender Bristleback with electrostatic pulse rifle -
Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers Tigertrack with electron pulse gun -
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Universe (2008) Deluxe Sunstreaker with electron pulse gun -
Henkei! Henkei! Sunstreaker with electron pulse gun -
Masterpiece Tigertrack with electron pulse gun -
Masterpiece Sunstreaker with electron pulse gun
Notes
[edit]- Pulse rifles, while nowadays a staple term for generic science-fiction firearms, are a reference to the M41A Pulse Rifle from the 1986 [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Aliens (film)|{{#if:Aliens|Aliens|Aliens (film)}}]] movie, which had released earlier in the same year as Metroplex's The Transformers Universe profile, which was the first use of the term within the Transformers franchise. The M41A Pulse Rifles were named as such because they used an [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Electronic firing|{{#if:electrical pulse action firing system|electrical pulse action firing system|Electronic firing}}]] instead of a standard firing pin seen in most modern firearms. Most fictional firearms named after the M41A Pulse Rifle tend to overlook this fact and it is unknown if the pulse rifles within Transformers fiction operate on the same mechanism.
- Due to the Lamborghini brothers evidently swapping molds during the development of The Transformers, Sunstreaker's Universe profile described him with several features of Sideswipe's toy, including a hand-held "electron pulse gun" that the original Sunstreaker toy doesn't include. As Tigertrack was based on the pre-Transformers Diaclone toy that would have represented Sunstreaker before the mold swap, his weapon was named after the one in Sunstreaker's Universe profile. In addition to the 2008 Universe Sunstreaker toy coming with an "Electron Pulse Blaster", which we have decided to list on this page, his Combiner Wars toy came packaged with a much larger "Electron Pulse Cannon".
- For whatever reason, Jazz's Classic Pretender profile in Dreamwave's More than Meets the Eye series replaced his semi-automatic "ion pulse gun" with the more generic pulse rifle. Similarly, the "electron pulse gun" in Sunstreaker's universe profile was renamed to an electron pulse rifle in his Dreamwave profile. Due to all of this, coupled with the existence of an ion-pulse rifle in both of Metroplex's profiles, TFWiki has decided to group them all onto one page to prevent any confusion.
- The pulse rifle depicted in "Termination" appears to be modelled after Kup's musket laser that came with his Generations figure. This is likely because Electro, who is given a pulse rifle in the story, had a tie-in toy that was a retool of said Kup figure.