Groundpounder (G1)

This article is about the Generation 1 Autobot Micromaster. For the Aligned Decepticon, see Groundpounder (RID).

Groundpounder is an Autobot Micromaster from the Generation 1 continuity family.

The reason Micromaster box art always shows them reaching for your purse is because the toys didn't come with guns. And they want yours.

Groundpounder of the Construction Patrol lives by the philosophy, "Dig first, plan later." His tendency to dig into buried power lines, gas mains, and sewage pipes has made him less-than-popular with his teammates.

Remember, call before you dig!

Fiction

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

Groundpounder was present in the Micromaster barracks when Big Daddy flew off the handle and stormed off with his Hot Rod Patrol. Destined for Nothing Later, Groundpounder was testing his might against Bombshock in Little Iacon: both he and Dropshot were arm-wrestling a single one of Bombshock's arms... and losing! The Gray Race

2005 IDW continuity

Groundpounder was one of the legions of Dead Universe Gorlamites who pursued Hardhead and Nightbeat on Gorlam Prime. He survived to pursue the Autobots into the planet's subterranean caverns, and helped the Jhiaxus-possessed Nightbeat dig out after Hardhead triggered a cave-in. Spotlight: Hardhead Groundpounder was decapitated trying to defend Jhiaxus from Arcee. Spotlight: Sideswipe

A Cybertronian version of Groundpounder MAY have been seen in Iacon after the fall of the Necrotitan. The Becoming

In Robots in Disguise #20, Scoop's traditionally Targetmaster partners Tracer and Holepunch were reimagined with construction vehicle designs to fit his "Construction Patrol". However, they were colored like the Micromaster Construction Patrol members Takedown and Groundpounder. In Robots in Disguise #23, they were drawn in their Targetmaster bodies and correct colors. Then in More than Meets the Eye #27, characters with the colors AND designs of Takedown and Groundpounder appeared alongside Tracer and Holepunch's friends from Robots in Disguise #20. Whether these were actually the Micromasters, or the Targetmaster partners even more wrong than before, is up for debate.

Regeneration One

More than twenty-one years after the end of the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons, Groundpounder and Erector fell victim to Scorponok's Gene Key on Cybertron. They assisted Perceptor and the resurrected Decepticon in creating a planet-wide version of the Gene Key in the Sonic Canyons. Natural Selection, Part Four After Grimlock and Perceptor foiled Scorponok's plans, a recovered Groundpounder and Erector were sent to Nebulos to establish their end of the space bridge network in the Clar Macro-jungle, alongside Takedown, Neutro, and Crumble, under the command of Quickmix. The Dark Matrix creature-corrupted Fortress Maximus awoke on Nebulos soon after and took control of the space bridge network, so it's best not to imagine the ugly fate that probably befell Groundpounder and the rest of the team. The War to End All Wars, Part 1

Commercial appearances

The Construction Patrol and the Hot Rod Patrol were faced by Scorponok advancing menacingly upon them. As the Decepticon began to cross a suspension bridge, they destroyed it, sending Scorponok tumbling down. (From the looks of it, Groundpounder did most of the work!) Hot Rod and Construction Patrol commercial

Toys

The Transformers

• Construction Patrol (Micromaster Patrol, 1990)

• Takara name: Build Patrol Team
• Takara ID number: C-351

Released in the seventh (and final) year of Hasbro's US Transformers toyline (sixth and not-final year in European markets), Groundpounder transforms into an orange earth mover of undetermined model. His front-shovel can raise and lower. Yay! He's gang-molded with his teammate Takedown, sharing plastic colors.

He was only available in a four-pack with his teammates Crumble, Neutro, and Takedown.

In Takara's markets, the Team was released as the "Build Patrol Team" in the Zone portion of Takara's Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers toyline. They are physically identical to their Hasbro counterparts.

• More information on Groundpounder at TFU.info

Notes

Foreign names

• Japanese: Groundpounder (グランドパウンダー Gurandopaundā)
• French: Pilon (Canada)
• Italian: Cuneo