Kickback (LB)

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This article is about . For other uses of "Kickback", see Kickback (disambiguation)|The name or term "Kickback" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Kickback (disambiguation).}}

Kickback is a Laser Beast from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Action Bastard!

A low-ranking soldier in the Laser Beast Aerial Strike Force, Kickback (キックバック Kikkubakku) is considered dependable, if unremarkable among his fellows. "Hard work pays off" is his motto, and he diligently works and works, refusing to give up on an assignment until the end, one way or the other.

To the Beastformers he fights against, however, he's the "surprise-attack grasshopper bastard". Kickback specializes in ultra-low-altitude flight, detecting targets with his highly sensitive antennae from far away, then leaping incredible distances to assault unsuspecting foes with powerful kicks. On top of that, his Arm Hop Laser (アームホップレーザー Āmu Hoppu Rēzā) MVP Weapon can hit its target with enough force to send them flying up to 500 meters away.

Fiction

Beastformers comic

Tigerburn ordered his aerial troops, including Kickback, to attack the nation of Rabbihos while it was weakened. He was later seen among the Laser Beast troops who fought in the great war with the Beastformers. Beastformers VS Laser Beasts

Legends comic

Kickback participated in the final battle between Beastformers and Laser Beasts on Beast in 2023. He watched as White Leo took away Tigerburn's stolen gems. The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 1

Toys

Beastformers

• Kickback (Laser Beast, 1988)

• ID number: 108
• Accessories: "Arm Hop Laser" MVP Weapon (usually)

Part of the second—and rarer—assortment of Takara's Beastformers individually-boxed Laser Beasts, Kickback is an anthropomorphic grasshopper in high-tech blue armor. He has a transparent orb in his torso, revealing the elemental power of Fire, Water, or Wood when you look through it into a light source.

Nominally, he comes with the grasshopper-themed "Arm Hop Laser" blaster. However, there is also a chance he could come with the weapon from one of the other 11 Laser Beasts in his shipping case; matching the Beasts with their same-numbered weapons was part of the "role-playing game" attached to the line, encouraging kids to buy more of the toys.

This toy was never released in Hasbro's Battle Beasts line, not even in the limited capacity most "Shadow Warriors" were. As such, it commands a high price on the secondary market.

Notes

• No, really, both his pack-in bio card and the Hero Special 12: Laser Beasts mook bio mention his nickname among the Beastformers is kishū kōgeki batta yarō (奇襲攻撃バッタ野郎). "Bastard" is about the politest accurate translation of yarō.
• It is unknown what Kickback's Hasbro Battle Beasts name would have been. He was slated to be released in one of twelve "motorized vehicle" (aka Battlecruiser) sets. The Pre-Toy Fair 1988 catalogue shows him on the blue-and-white eagle-type vehicle, but it's entirely possible he would have come with a different one; this assortment never made it to packaging sample stage.