Editing Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity

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[[File:SpotlightHotRod-HotRodcvrAexcerpt.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|That was my name, but I wore it out.]]
Arrogant, rash, and believes his own press. Call him '''Hot Rod''' or '''Rodimus''', he's got a good spark, but you might need to tread carefully to find it.
{{quote|noquote=true|"I'm angry because I failed the crew."<br>
"Or maybe... maybe what's '''really''' making you angry is the fact that you didn't defeat Overlord yourself. Fortress Maximus and Chromedome and Rewind—dear Rewind—'''they''' got him off the ship. '''They''' saved everyone; not you. And you hate it, and you hate that you hate it."<br>
"I think you'd better leave now."|[[Rung (G1)|Rung]] pegs Rodimus just a bit too accurately|"[[The Gloaming]]"}}

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==IDW Generation 1 continuity==
{{ongoing}}
Just before the war, Hot Rod was an unaffiliated Cybertronian from [[Nyon]] who stood up against [[Zeta Prime (G1)|Zeta Prime]] and the corrupt [[Senate]], though he refused to join the growing [[Decepticon]] terrorist movement. He and the other insurgents knew that Autobot captain [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]] was also unhappy with the Senate and wanted him on their side, but first they had to show him Zeta Prime's evils firsthand. {{storylink|Ruins}} To attract Orion's attention, Hot Rod attacked his team with a [[plasma-charge]] during one of their missions. {{storylink|Law and Disorder}} Before long, Zeta Prime ordered the same team to find and arrest him. {{storylink|Cause and Effect}} When Orion Pax and his Autobots found Hot Rod at the [[Acropolex]], he took pot shots at them to get them to follow him to the heart of the building, where they discovered tanks full of [[energon]] that Zeta Prime had drained from Nyon's citizens. Hot Rod then approached them, explaining that this kind of thing was happening all across Cybertron, and asked Orion to join the insurgents. {{storylink|Ruins}} Their talk was interrupted when Zeta suddenly attacked Nyon, and while this ''did'' push Orion Pax into turning on him, he couldn't do anything to save the city from Zeta's marauding [[Guardian robot|Omega Destructors]]. As their homes burned, the insurgents saw no other option but to go with their contingency plan: having Hot Rod destroy the entire city with hidden explosives rather than let Zeta Prime use its population to fuel his war machines. {{storylink|Purge}}

As Orion's Autobots were brought to [[Kaon]] to discuss an alliance with the Decepticons, Rodimus tagged along and confessed to Orion that he deeply regretted having to destroy Nyon. Orion reassured him that he did what he had to do and that making difficult decisions and carrying the burden afterwards was all part of being a leader. {{storylink|Choices}} After Zeta Prime had been assassinated and Orion Pax had been majorly injured and discarded into the [[Undergrid]], [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] took over Cybertron and the Autobots went into hiding along with Hot Rod, who was growing apathetic and seeing factions as irrelevant since the violence would never stop anyway. When they were discovered and arrested by the Decepticons, Hot Rod was separated from the Autobots by [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] who suggested he become a Decepticon. {{storylink|Transformation (issue)|Transformation}} He was taken to see Megatron himself, who lauded his actions in Nyon, saying that a true leader acts decisively and without regret. [[Image:Rise-BumblebeeHotRod.jpg|thumb|left|280px]]Upon witnessing Megatron callously ordering the execution of [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]], however, Hot Rod realized that Megatron was an even worse dictator than Zeta Prime and made his decision to become an Autobot. He quickly broke the other Autobots out of prison and followed them to the ruins of Nyon, where they were shocked to find that Orion Pax had become Optimus Prime and awakened [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]], the true identity of the Acropolex. {{storylink|Rise}}

Once Optimus Prime had formed an army to stand against Megatron, Hot Rod marched with them to the [[Citadel]] where they would fight for control of Cybertron. {{storylink|Broadcast}} Prime engaged Megatron in a one-on-one battle, but at a pivotal moment, Hot Rod observed that [[The Transformers: The Movie|Megatron was feigning defeat in an attempt to reach a fallen weapon]]. Hot Rod tackled Megatron, only to be seized by the Decepticon leader and used as a human (well, robot) shield while he prepared to shoot Prime... only for Hot Rod to transform straight out of his grip, allowing Prime to defeat him. After the battle, Hot Rod turned away Optimus Prime's thanks for saving his life, claiming that he didn't deserve gratitude after Nyon's destruction. Prime retorted that he should be proud for taking a stand and following his heart, telling him to hold his head up since someday, he could be holding the one holding the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]. {{storylink|Endgame}}

Some time later, Hot Rod joined the Autobots officially through the [[Act of Affiliation]] ceremony, during which Optimus Prime told him... something profound which he ended up forgetting. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}} Shortly after attending [[Autobot Academy]], he ran into [[Slinger]], an old friend from his insurgency days. Slinger was unhappy to see him, however, blaming Hot Rod for the destruction of Nyon and revealing he'd chosen a different path: that of the Decepticons. Returning to Metroplex, Hot Rod was teamed up with a recently cured [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] for a mission to check up on [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]'s body, though the gruff [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobot]] leader didn't much appreciate his optimistic outlook. Things got heated between the two when Grimlock, unaware of Hot Rod's regrets over Nyon, accused him of not understanding guilt, but their argument was cut short when they discovered Trypticon was missing. {{storylink|Primacy issue 1|Primacy #1}} Hot Rod was later present at a security meeting in response to Trypticon returning... from space, at a collision course with Metroplex. {{storylink|Primacy issue 2|Primacy #2}}

[[File:SpotlightHotRod rush.jpg|thumb|WHEEEEEEE! AWESOME! TUBULAR! COWABUNGA! REAGANOMICS!]]
Years ago, Hot Rod was put in charge of a mission to the planet [[Ki-Aleta]] to obtain a powerful artifact named the [[Magnificence]] so as to keep it out of the hands of the Decepticons. The mission started off smoothly enough, with [[Gizmo]] using a [[holomatter]] generator to distract the defense systems while the rest of the team went after the Magnificence. Unfortunately, after that everything that could go wrong did go wrong. First, the generator malfunctioned, then [[Download]] tripped the security lasers around the Magnificence itself. Gizmo, Download, and [[Backbeat]] were destroyed by the security systems while Hot Rod and [[Doubledealer|Dealer]] fled. Hot Rod, nearing the exit tunnels they had previously drilled, got a call from Dealer—he had been ambushed by a Decepticon attack squad and needed help.  Unfortunately, Hot Rod had been given his own, top secret orders: the Magnificence was to be the top priority of the mission, and placed before all else. With a heavy heart, Hot Rod abandoned Dealer to his fate as he left Ki-Aleta with the Magnificence.

Years later, Hot Rod learned that Dealer had not died that day; he was being held prisoner at the Decepticon penal colony known as [[Styx]]. Hot Rod stealthily infiltrated the prison complex, using a holomatter generator to disguise himself as a guard and then short-circuiting the power grid to cause all the cell doors to unlock. During the chaos he snuck in, extracted Dealer, and took off while the Decepticons were busy getting the prisoners under control. {{storylink|Spotlight: Hot Rod}}

[[File:Escalation6 HotRod Koska.jpg|left|upright=0.95|thumb|Mine!]]
Recently, Hot Rod was called to [[Earth]] to aid the crew of the ''[[Ark-19]]'' in procuring a Decepticon [[facsimile construct]] from [[Brasnya]], a former Soviet state in eastern Europe. {{storylink|Escalation issue 3|Escalation #3}} He and [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] went down to Earth from the ''[[Ark-32]]'' against [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]]'s wishes, and proceeded to join the battle unannounced. As Hardhead went to support the main battle, Hot Rod went after the facsimile... which led to him colliding with [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] as they both tried to stop the [[Georgi Koska]] facsimile from letting himself get gunned down by Soviet soldiers. {{storylink|Escalation issue 4|Escalation #4}} Prowl and Hot Rod managed to defuse the situation and secure the facsimile in the end  {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}}, but before he could return to his ship he was attacked by [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]], unable to defend himself because he had to keep the facsimile alive. After returning to the ''Ark-32'', he had to be put in a [[CR chamber]] to recover. His injuries were for nothing, as the facsimile melted during the bounce. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

[[File:Devastation6 HotRod Hardhead.jpg|upright=0.95|thumb|Hardhead, I'm with Arcee now. Let it go.]]
After Hot Rod was repaired and reformatted into a Dodge Viper, his "friend" Dealer tried to convince him to pull some strings to get him to Earth, but Hot Rod and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] had the more important task of rescuing [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]].  {{storylink|Devastation issue 1|Devastation #1}} They ran into a bit of trouble with the [[Machination]]'s [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]].  {{storylink|Devastation issue 2|Devastation #2}} They managed to escape temporarily, {{storylink|Devastation issue 3|Devastation #3}} {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation #4}} but were found and Wheeljack was incapacitated. Hot Rod easily held his own with the Headmasters  {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}}, and noted that for [[Sunstreaker (G1)|some]] [[Hunter O'Nion|reason]] they had lost their "edge". He received a little help from Hardhead, who was mainly there to take Hot Rod and the others back to the ''Ark-32'' for evacuation to [[Garrus-9]]. Hot Rod refused to go, wanting to see the Headmaster mystery through to the end. Hardhead reluctantly let him go. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}}

[[File:SPDHotRodM.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|Oh, Magic 8-Ball, will I ever be Prime in this continuity?]]
Hot Rod's search was interrupted by Dealer's arrival on Earth, with orders for Hot Rod: find the Magnificence and use it to learn what they could about the Expansion. Hot Rod took Dealer to his hiding spot, which turned out to be the planet where they first found the device. As Dealer and Hot Rod closed on the Magnificence, he went over his first visit to the planet in his mind, and how things could have gone so wrong. Eventually he began to have suspicions, and upon locating the Magnificence, asked it the question that haunted him: had Dealer betrayed him? Sadly, it revealed the truth, and Hot Rod was forced to kill Dealer as the traitor attacked. Looking down on his remains, Hot Rod realized the truth had been staring him in the face, he just hadn't wanted to accept it. He then used the Magnificence to find out all he could about the Expansion, and relayed the information to the Autobots. {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

[[File:HotRodMaxDino02.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|You're not fooling anyone, [[Judd Nelson|Bender]]. The next screw that falls out will be YOU.]]
Returning to Earth to continue his search, Hot Rod arrived at the gates of the Machination's complex, and Scorponok prepared himself to deal with the intruder. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 1|Maximum Dinobots #1}} Unfortunately, Hot Rod found himself fighting well out of his weight class as he was man handled by Scorponok, who cheerfully bashed his face in, put out one of his optics and snapped his leg. The Headmasters dragged him into Scorponok's control room where, with absolutely no prompting, the big man explained his entire plan for the Dynobots, Skywatch and the Machination. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 2|Maximum Dinobots #2}}

Hot Rod seemed less than impressed with this rather mundane approach, which ticked Scorponok off enough for him to point out that it was obviously just the first stage in his master plan. He was also warned to remained awed or he'd be of no further interest. When the Dynobots and newly arrived [[Monsterbot]]s seemed to turn Scorponok's plan on its head, Hot Rod burst out laughing, at which point, Scorponok ordered him taken out and shot. In the lift to the surface, Hot Rod suddenly erupted in flames, killing his captors, but draining his power supply. Weakened and with a crippled leg, he collapsed on the floor.  {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 3|Maximum Dinobots #3}}

He made it out of the building and ran into the real Sunstreaker, who blasted the two clones following Hot Rod. Sunstreaker ignored Hot Rod's warning about Scorponok's army and stormed into the building so Hot Rod painfully wired himself to send a distress signal. When Sunstreaker's real head was later disabled by Hunter, the Headmaster clones shut down, which Hot Rod explained to [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]. The group was surprised by the arrival of [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]], but [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] had heard Hot Rod's distress call and was on his way to Earth. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 4|Maximum Dinobots #4}}

After Scorponok knocked out [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] and Grimlock tended to him, the remaining Dynobots offered Hot Rod a lift aboard the Monsterbots' ship. He refused though, and made it back into Machination HQ to take care of something "personal".  He eventually found Scorponok's real head (and remarked how ugly it was). Hunter also showed up and let Hot Rod know how to disable it, but before he could do so, Scorponok grabbed him.  Before Scorponok could crush Hot Rod's head, the Dynobots showed up and began to battle Scorponok. Hot Rod told [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] which wires to sever, and he did just that, reducing Scorponok to a catatonic state. Ultra Magnus arrived took everyone back aboard his ship, which later docked with the ''Ark-32''. Within 3 days, Hot Rod was fully repaired, with a new body form design. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 5|Maximum Dinobots #5}}

Some time later, while traveling through space by himself, Hot Rod found himself under attack by the ''[[Torment]]'', a Decepticon warship crewed by [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] and the [[Pretender Monster]]s. He was shot down, but managed to transmit a distress call to the Autobot starship ''[[Trion]]'', which came to his rescue. After the Decepticons were chased off, Hot Rod joined the crew of the ''Trion''. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 15|Lost & Found}}

[[File:Ironhide punches Hot Rod.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|Ironhide has waited twenty-two years to pay Hot Rod back for [[The Transformers: The Movie|shooting down his shuttle]].]]
When the Decepticons' galaxy-wide assault hit, the ''Trion'' was shot down over Cybertron. Hot Rod sent out a distress signal and was ecstatic when he ran into some other Autobots. They must've come specifically to save his team and... wait, why do you all look surprised about my signal and appear beaten up and resourceless and... ''oh arsebiscuits''!  {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4|All Hail Megatron #4}}

Hot Rod was taken back to base and relayed the story of how he and his other crew-mates from the ''Trion'' arrived on Cybertron, having been diverted there by Decepticon ships and forced to crash land.  Once on the surface, Hot Rod sent out his distress signal and was ''so'' sure someone heard it.  Kup arrived with the rest of the ''Trion'''s crew at that point, just in time to tell Hot Rod ''of course'' no one heard his message. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}} {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}}

After the Autobots narrowly avoided the [[Insecticon swarm]] and Sunstreaker sacrificed himself, Hot Rod jumped to [[Drift (G1)|Drift]]'s defense when he was being insulted by [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}} {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 9|All Hail Megatron #9}}  When the Autobots were later rescued by [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], Hot Rod was glad that he sent out the distress call.  He was then ferried to Earth with the other Autobots aboard Omega.  {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}}

[[File:Ongoing issue 1-Hot Rod has had enough.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|"Don't talk to me about stuck, Hot Rod, you're the one with that horrible sneer stuck on your face!"]]
For the next two years, the Autobots would remain on Earth as Prime feared the return of the Decepticons. Unfortunately, this led to the capture of a number of Autobots by Skywatch, including [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]], [[Gears (G1)|Gears]] and Prowl. Hot Rod, already frustrated, lashed out at Optimus, accusing him of keeping the Autobots on the planet because he needed someone to protect and demanding he be allowed to lead a team to rescue Prowl. An admonished Prime agreed to a covert operation, but with Ironhide along to watch over things. While Prowl was freed, it turned out the humans had used him as bait to draw the other Autobots in. However Wheeljack's new shielding protected Hot Rod's team from Skywatch's inhibitors and in a panic the soldiers switched to lethal measures. Hot Rod was targeted and Ironhide was killed protecting him. An enraged Hot Rod turned on the humans, damaging their equipment and machinery.

After returning with Ironhide's body, Hot Rod was shocked as Optimus Prime resigned his position as leader. {{storylink|...For All Mankind}} {{storylink|Ride-Along}} Disgusted with Prime's decision and unimpressed with the indecisiveness of the others, Hot Rod decided to make his own way. He announced his intention to leave planet Earth behind, and invited any of his fellow Autobots to follow him in pursuit of that goal. After leaving the Autobot caves with a half-dozen recruits, Hot Rod went looking for Omega Supreme, in the hopes of convincing the massive Autobot to use his interstellar rocket mode to get them all off-planet. Omega remained resolutely loyal to Optimus Prime, however, and refused to abandon the Earth. At that moment, a small squad of Decepticon stragglers led by [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] staged an attack on Omega Supreme. After some fast and smooth-talking, Swindle convinced Hot Rod that they all wanted the same thing...to go home. The Autobots put it to a vote, and the majority decided to work with the Decepticons to get off of Earth. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 1: "New Arrivals, Old Encounters"|New Arrivals, Old Encounters}}

The first thing Swindle asked of Hot Rod was help in reviving their incapacitated "brothers"...several Decepticons mode-locked by the humans. Hot Rod convinced [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] to work on the problem, as there "were no sides anymore", and these other Decepticons were brought back on-line to help with the construction of a new space cruiser. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 2: "A Rude Awakening"|A Rude Awakening}}

[[File:SeasonsInFlight-RodimusMagnus.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|No, don't shoot Swindle!  He had some cheap electronics equipment in his van he wanted to sell me!]]
Hot Rod wasn't completely foolish — when Swindle started suggesting they find and revive all the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicon]]s, he remembered how deadly [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] could be, and rejected the idea. Ever the smooth-talker, though, Swindle convinced Hot Rod to let the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] go after [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]], the last missing member of their unit. He did so by lavishing a ridiculous amount of praise on Hot Rod, calling him Rodimus Prime, the herald of a new age. 

The alliance was soon tested when [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] arrived on the scene, attempting to investigate the death of Ironhide for Autobot Command. When he saw Hot...saw ''Rodimus'' working with Decepticons, and Swindle of all mechs, he freaked out and tried to take the Decepticon ringleader into custody. Rodimus and the other Autobots stood up for Swindle, though, and told Magnus he had to be prepared to fight ''all'' of them if he wanted to take ''one'' of them. Stunned that they did not respect his authoritay, Magnus retreated and work continued on the star cruiser. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 3: "Seasons in Flight"|Seasons in Flight}}

What everyone failed to realize, even Ultra Magnus, was that Swindle was not only trading in combiner technology, he knew how to make it work. By the time Magnus came back for Swindle with a posse of Autobots, the Decepticon was prepared to end his alliance with Rodimus. He had forged the Stunticons into [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]], and turned the giant loose on the assembled Autobots. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 4: "Enemies of the System"|Enemies of the System}}

Rodimus fought alongside Ultra Magnus, Bumblebee, Optimus Prime and the others against the renewed Decepticon threat. They finally managed to bring down the titan, but the alliance was finished and Rodimus's own comrades turned against him for his poor judgment. Looking to escape his own bad decisions, Rodimus hijacked Ultra Magnus's ship and fled out into space. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 5: "Earthworks"|Earthworks}}

[[File:Ongoing 13 Rodimus drifting.jpg|thumb|Why must you hurt the one you love, [[Nick Roche|Nick]]??]]
Since trying to talk and reason with people had only led to betrayal Rodimus decided that it was best to simply act on his own. He had a plan to regain the respect he had lost by taking back the Autobot [[Matrix of Leadership]], stolen by [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] years earlier. Using the ship's advanced tracking equipment, Rodimus found the Decepticons' asteroid base and hid in one of Ultra Magnus's thickly armored weapons lockers. When the ship was shot down, he emerged from the wreckage unscathed, took out several Decepticon guards and even put [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] under his control by improvising with one of [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]'s [[cerebro-shell]]s. Rodimus first sent Razorclaw to attack Starscream, but after that failed, he confronted the self-appointed Decepticon leader himself.

Starscream himself was nigh-impervious to damage, but Rodimus improvised again and fired at the Matrix around his neck, having no idea what would happen. The blast caused some sort of energy discharge from the Matrix that knocked Starscream unconscious. Triumphant, Rodimus took the artifact and went looking for an escape craft... only to run straight into [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] himself. He panicked and waved the Matrix threateningly at the massive Decepticon while warning him to "stay back!", but Megatron was unphased and shot him at point blank range, blowing a huge hole in Rodimus's torso and sending him flying into space. With the Matrix still around his neck, Rodimus's lifeless body could only drift through the void... {{storylink|Heart Like a Wheel}} {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}}

Eventually, Rodimus crash-landed on the desolate [[LV-118]].  Fortunately for him, the Matrix had somehow bonded/interfaced with his body and kept him alive. However, he wasn't alone. An [[Ilxian]] warship had also crashed there a long time ago, leaving only three survivors: a lab technician calling himself "The [[Admiral]]" and two custodians. "The Admiral", desperate for a way off the planet, attempted to use the Matrix as a power source for his ship, which he had fully repaired but was lacking sufficient fuel. But when he informed Rodimus that his plan to use the Matrix to power the ship might put him offline permanently, Rodimus broke free from his bonds and surprised the Ilxians by transforming and driving off.

Having escaped from the "The Admiral", Rodimus found a cave to hide in and figure out what to do next, only to be attacked by a  hostile native creature, the [[Chaosteros]]. Suddenly, strange music began to play, causing the Chaosteros to run off, and Rodimus was surprised to find himself face-to-face with [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], who had been missing for centuries. Wheelie and Rodimus devised a plan to seize the Ilxian warship. This plan succeeded and the two Autobots, along with one of the Ilxian custodians, [[Garnak]], who had agreed to help them, took off in the warship using the Matrix as a power source. {{storylink|Space Opera Part 1: The Stars My Destination|The Stars My Destination}}

[[File:IDW19 matrix in chest.jpg|left|thumb|450px]]
Rodimus planned to return to Earth and rejoin the other Autobots, however, Wheelie misunderstood his instructions to navigate the warship "home" and took them to Cybertron instead while Rodimus was unconscious from the takeoff (It was implied that the Matrix could not accommodate both the ship and keeping Rodimus' spark alive at the same time; hence the risk when "The Admiral" wanted to use it to power the ship. Fortunately for Rodimus, Wheelie managed to fix him up enough that he could survive without it). Rodimus and Wheelie were reunited with [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] on Cybertron. Sunstreaker informed Rodimus that Cybertron's atmosphere had been processed and the Swarm eliminated, rendering the planet habitable once again. The group was then attacked by one of [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]]'s [[Sweep (G1)|Sweep]]s, but Rodimus and Wheelie followed the Sweep and spotted Galvatron preparing his army. Having realized that Galvatron had seen them, Rodimus and Wheelie rushed back to the others and took off in the stolen Ilxian warship before the Sweeps could attack. {{storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 4|Heart of Darkness #4}} {{storylink|Space Opera Act 2: Out of the Silent Planet|Out of the Silent Planet}}
 
As Rodimus, Sunstreaker, Wheelie, Ironhide, and Garnak returned to Earth and joined the other Autobots, he made it his first task to return the Matrix to its rightful owner, Optimus Prime. Seeing that the young Autobot's recent experiences had changed him for the better, Prime declared that he had left his past as the reckless Hot Rod behind him and officially christened him Rodimus, which Rodimus saw as a great honor. After hearing of Galvatron's recent activity on Cybertron, Prime elected to return to his home planet on [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], and take any of the other Autobots along who volunteered to accompany him, including Rodimus. {{storylink|Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix|Orphans of the Helix}}
 
During the journey back to Cybertron, Rodimus was disturbed when it appeared that Optimus was getting a little too "cozy" with [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]], and voiced his concern during a discussion about the imprisoned Megatron's fate. Later, Optimus asked Rodimus what it felt like to interface with the Matrix. Rodimus revealed that it felt wonderful, in contrast to the pain Optimus felt when he bonded with it. However, Optimus chose not to tell Rodimus this. {{Storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2|Chaos Theory #2}}

When Omega Supreme arrived in Cybertron's orbit, Rodimus spotted a message from Galvatron sent using binary by ordering his soldiers to shoot off their weapons in a certain order and pattern. The message indicated that Galvatron wanted Optimus to send a landing party with which he could have a civil discussion. Optimus obliged, and Rodimus, along with several other Autobots including [[Drift (G1)|Drift]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]], and [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]], accompanied Optimus to the meeting with Galvatron. Galvatron revealed that he was preparing an army to fight against "a threat that could destroy us all", and offered to allow Optimus and his army to join his ranks, but would not relinquish any further details. Rodimus complained that Galvatron's soldiers had attacked him before he'd rendezvoused with the others simply for setting foot on Cybertron, but Galvatron claimed the attack was a mistake. However, Optimus declined Galvatron's offer, and the latter attacked. A battle ensued, but Galvatron eventually retreated to the [[Kimia Facility]], which he had stolen and seized control of earlier. Rodimus and the other Autobots were discussing whether Galvatron should be trusted or not when they were taken by surprise by Galvatron transforming Kimia into a massive laser cannon. {{storylink|Chaos Part One: Lamentations|Lamentations}}

[[File:Rodimus ram raid.jpg|left|thumb|upright=2.2]]
As Galvatron began firing on Cybertron using Kimia, Optimus ordered the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] to launch an attack on the facility. Rodimus volunteered to take Omega Supreme into orbit, along with [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]], in order to oversee the Aerialbots' attack and gather intel on what Galvatron was up to. Rodimus ordered Trailbreaker to attempt to stop the beam from firing by projecting a force field into the barrel of the laser, but this did not work and Trailbreaker suffered significant damage from the feedback. Rodimus then endeavored to ram the facility with Omega Supreme in an effort to disable the laser and/or knock the facility out of orbit. However, he was not aware that the Autobots who remained trapped within Kimia after Galvatron seized control had a plan of their own: [[Lightspeed (G1 Technobot)|Lightspeed]] blew up the facility from the inside before Omega Supreme could strike it, damaging the latter enough that he could no longer maintain orbit. Besides that fact, Trailbreaker was in need of repairs that only [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] could perform. Rodimus and Omega landed at the base that Sunstreaker had set up on Cybertron. He then asked Sunstreaker where Prime had gone, and when Sunstreaker told him that he and Ironhide had suddenly run off toward the blast crater created by the laser, he and [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] went off to search for them. {{storylink|Chaos Part Two: Numbers|Numbers}} 

Drift and Rodimus found Optimus with Ironhide at the blast crater. Confident that Galvatron was headed toward the core of the planet through the hole the laser had made, the four of them went down there after him and confronted him. Galvatron claimed that if he didn't succeed at destroying the core of Cybertron, the universe would be doomed. At that moment, [[D-Void]] began to take control of all the Decepticons and Sweeps, forcing them to fuse together and form a single giant monstrosity, except for Galvatron and Megatron (who had broken out of his cell on Omega Supreme). The standoff ended and Galvatron slipped past as Optimus, Rodimus, and Ironhide became distracted with Drift, who stabbed himself with his own blade to keep from becoming overwhelmed by D-Void's mind control.{{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings|Kings}}

Through his link to the Matrix, Rodimus realized that Galvatron was planning on fusing [[Vector Sigma]] with the [[Darkness (G1)|Heart of Darkness]] in order to destroy it, as well as the fact that he was delusional because the Heart of Darkness' influence had fooled him into believing that such an action would destroy Cybertron and prevent D-Void from creating a giant portal to the Dead Universe at the core of the planet when in fact it would allow him to do just that. He then convinced Ironhide to take an injured Drift back up to the surface for repairs while he and Optimus attempted to stop Galvatron. However, they were too late. Galvatron had already succeeded in fusing the two just before they'd arrived on the scene. Just when it all seemed hopeless, [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] and [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] crashed an Autobot battlecruiser into Galvatron, temporarily distracting him and buying Optimus and Rodimus some time. Rodimus knew that using the Matrix was the only way to save Cybertron; however, Optimus was reluctant to risk losing it. Despite his initial hesitation, he finally took Rodimus' advice after Galvatron recovered from being hit by the ship and attacked them again. While Galvatron was again temporarily distracted by [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] (who had somehow escaped D-Void's control and now fought on behalf of Cybertron), Optimus opened the Matrix into Vector Sigma. {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}}

After the Heart of Darkness was purged, Cybertron came alive again in a primordial state. Rodimus and the Autobots set up High Command in the remains of the Kimia crash just as Cybertron's long lost civilian population returned to repopulate the planet. A new political landscape began to unfold, with the Autobots coordinating with the captured Decepticons and surly returnees, dubbed Non-Aligned Indigenous Lifeforms (or [[NAIL]]s) by Prowl. Worse, the Matrix was now hollowed out and empty, its power apparently lost forever. Inside its shell, however, Perceptor and [[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]] found a curious inscription and a photonic starchart...a map. Rodimus and Drift seized upon the idea that the map led to the legendary Cyberutopia of the [[Knights of Cybertron]]. Despite the objections of Bumblebee and Prowl, Rodimus believed that finding the Knights of Cybertron was the best hope for reuniting their fractured people. As he began making plans to pursue the map, Rodimus was bequeathed half the Matrix's shell by Orion Pax, formerly Optimus Prime, who left for deep space in exile to signify the end of the war. {{storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}} 

[[File:Rodimus Speech to Cybertron.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Spirit fingers!]]
With Ultra Magnus at his side, Rodimus sent out word to all Autobots and Cybertronians that he planned to search for the Knights, and rallyed more than 200 'bots to join the crew of his new ship, the ''[[Lost Light]]''. Things went wrong from the very start, though. The ''Lost Light'' suffered a freak quantum jump in the upper atmosphere as it launched, catapulting the ship halfway across the galaxy. Roughly 40 crew members fell out into open space as they rematerialized, and fell down to the planet below. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}}

Rodimus arranged a search and rescue force to recover the fallen Autobots, but nonetheless three crew members were dead almost before the mission had begun. Just as Rodimus was giving news of the casualties to the rest of the crew he got word from [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]], who had found [[Shock (G1)|another]] crew member dead. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}} Rodimus later found a Sparkeater was on board and ordered all crew members to their quarters. He then secretly ordered Ultra Magnus to lock them in. Rodimus, Chromedome, Rewind, Trailbreaker, Drift, Ratchet, and Ultra Magnus examined Shock's body and Ratchet revealed that a Sparkeater had done the damage. Rodimus later uses Rung and Skids to lure the Sparkeater into the engine room. Rodimus then grappled with the creature and positioned it into the engine block and told Perceptor to initiate quantum jump. This merged to creature into the engine block and killed it but Rodimus lost his arms in the process. After Ratchet built him some new ones, he had a tense conversation with Ultra Magnus. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}} 

Rodimus was informed by Ultra Magnus that Tailgate wanted to be a Decepticon after what he heard from Cyclonus about the Great War. Ultra Magnus stated he was tired of keeping the crew together and when questioned why was he on the Lost Light, he said he had no idea. Rodimus then ordered Rewind to show Tailgate video footage of the Great War from the Autobot side, after which Tailgate became ashamed of his previous announcement about wanting to sympathize with the Decepticons. {{storylink|Life After the Big Bang}}

After Fortress Maximus went on a shooting spree on board the ship and locked himself in Rung's office with both Rung and Whirl, Rodimus was briefed in, and placed a security team near the doors if the need arose. He watched as the situation unfolded but was deprived of audio and had to make decisions based on guesswork. He eventually sent Swerve and Rewind, who were on rivet duty, to take out Maximus using their rivet gun through the porthole. This ended badly, as Swerve missed and hit Rung instead. Afterwards, Rodimus delivered a speech that marked Rung's passing, and was complimented on it by Drift. {{storylink|Interiors}}

When a [[Nanocon]] infestation within Ultra Magnus became active, Rodimus and a small team were shrunk to microscopic size to go in and deal with them. Afterwards Rodimus attempted to conduct Tailgate's [[Act of Affiliation]] ceremony, only for it to be interrupted when Rodimus unconsciously scrawled "Let me out" in Old Cybertronian on the other Autobot instead of drawing an insignia. As more strange events cropped up, the [[Galactic Council]] ship ''[[The Benign Intervention]]'' arrived to protest the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> incursion into the sector, however [[K'gard|Captain K'gard]] agreed to let Rodimus and select others visit [[Crystal City]] on [[Theophany]]. Though Rodimus and his team found the city in ruins and the [[Circle of Light]] missing, they also discovered a [[Metrotitan (body-type)|Metrotitan]] trapped under the ruins. They succeeded in freeing it, in return for which it transported them all to safety. Following the adventure, Rodimus became determined to stop winging it and concentrate on finding the Circle of Light. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations}}

[[File:Ultra Magnus-Cyclonus-Rodimus and Drift.jpg|thumb|upright=2.2|"Sorry, Drift -- TF:TM recreationists only!"]]
Rodimus was quick to blame Cyclonus when Red Alert's headless body was found in the ship's oil reservoir. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} Though he had Drift attempt to interrogate Cyclonus, {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}} Rodimus was disturbed when First Aid broke the news that it was actually a suicide and at first angrily rejected the idea. At Ultra Magnus's suggestion, he put Red Alert in cold storage to hopefully be revived later. {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}}

Following recon work by Ultra Magnus indicating that the Circle of Light might be being held on the planet [[Temptoria]], Rodimus took [[Leading Light|a shuttle]] full of Autobots there to rough up the occupying Decepticons. A bracing battle was had by all, even if Drift did steal one of Rodimus's kills, but rather than the Circle, all they found was that the Decepticons were using [[pink alchemy]] on the natives. Rodimus and his men returned to the ''Lost Light'' to tend to their wounded. {{storylink|Before & After}}

At a stopover above the pleasure planet [[Hedonia]], Rodimus gave his crew shoreleave. He insisted that Ultra Magnus take the opportunity to relax some, and sent Swerve down with him to make the bigger 'bot have fun. {{storylink|Cybertronian Homesick Blues}} Later, Rodimus met with Rung about what happened to Red Alert while the psychoanalyst was recovering in sick bay. When Rung told Rodimus Red's concerns about a noise coming from inside the ship, Rodimus initially dismissed the idea off-hand. After Rung forcibly backed up his patient's observations, though, Rodimus relented and agreed to look into it...eventually. {{storylink|Signal to Noise}}

[[File:Rodimus vs Overlord on Lost Light.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|My Mary Sue can beat up your Mary Sue.]]
Before "eventually" came around, however, the noise revealed itself: the Decepticon [[Phase Sixer]] called [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] escaped from the [[slow cell]] secretly placed on the ''Lost Light'', and began killing his way through the crew. Despite his gusto, Rodimus barely managed to entertain the Decepticon sadist for a few moments. He was eventually disposed of through the combined efforts of Fortress Maximus, Chromedome, and Rewind, the last of whom gave his life to eject Overlord from the ship. {{storylink|Under Cold Blue Stars}}

In the aftermath, Rung found Rodimus after a tantrum in his office. Ultra Magnus was in critical condition, at least five crew members died, and Rodimus was unable to prevent any of it...all of which he initially claimed to be the reasons for his anger. Rung perceptively pointed out, however, that the real reason Rodimus was upset was that he didn't get to be the hero, the one who saved the day. The cold fury Rodimus displayed at that remark led Rung to leave the office, and quickly, but at the funeral services later Rodimus acknowledged Rewind (and implicitly Rung's remarks) by declaring the little robot the true hero of the day, who saved them all even when Rodimus could not.

Rodimus initially promised an inquiry to find out how Overlord got on board. Instead, Drift came forward and took full responsibility for Overlord's presence. Before the crew, Rodimus stripped Drift of his Autobot insignia and cast him out of the ship, sending him into exile. {{storylink|The Gloaming}}

Rodimus watched a seemingly comatose Ultra Magnus on CCTV suddenly reanimating and floating out to the nearest shuttle. Being Rodimus, he hadn't given the other members of the Lost Light much of a chance of opting out of following the shuttle, and followed it until they passed through a space portal.

[[File:HouseOfAmbus-Rodimuscar.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66]]
Once through the portal they discovered the ''Miracle Moon'' of [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]], the moon that previous quests failed to find. Rodimus put together an away-team of fighters and scientists, notably choosing Rung to replace Ultra Magnus as a No-Man, and Cyclonus to bring to the team what Rodimus has lost on exiling Drift. On setting foot upon Luna 1's surface, matrix-carrying Rodimus inexplicably fertilised the billions of unborn sparks in the hot-spot field, lighting up the entire moon. Before he could properly understand what had happened, [[Lockdown (G1)|Lockdown]] appeared with a team of Decepticons, and accused them all of trespassing. {{storylink|Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|The Fecund Moon}} 

Taking flight into a [[Metrotitan (body-type)|Metrotitan]] graveyard didn't help, as Rodimus and his depleted team were quickly captured. The captor revealed himself to be [[Tyrest (G1)|Chief Justice Tyrest]], Ultra Magnus' old boss. Rodimus clashed with Tyrest after being erroneously charged with "Crimes Against Creation" and was imprisoned with Minimus Ambus {{storylink|Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus|House of Ambus}}, to whom he recounted his tale. {{storylink|Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|The Fecund Moon}}

While speaking with Ambus, it became evident that Dominus' little brother was hiding something, and after Rung's clever interventions, Minimus revealed to everyone's surprise that he was in fact Ultra Magnus, a smaller robot inside a large robot suit, one of a long line of wearers. Rodimus was accepting and curious about Minimus' reveal. He filled Minimus in on the details of the Lost Light post-Overlord, including Drift’s exile, an answer Rodimus still found trouble articulating.

Minimus had some information of his own to give Rodimus, that the ''Lost Light'' had been harbouring a criminal, Skids. (Rodimus' thoughts immediately went to [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], [[Lancet]], [[Atomizer]] and [[Ammo]]  first, though). Then Minimus finally told Rodimus that for his Crimes Against Creation charge, Tyrest had arranged for Rodimus to be executed. Letting himself out of the cell, Minimus promised he would return with some answers. {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}}

Rodimus had the chance to effect an escape when more ''Lost Light'' prisoners joined them, as well as Skids's former partner in the [[Diplomatic Corps]], the escapologist [[Getaway]]. Teaming up with [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] and [[First Aid (G1)#IDW Generation 1 continuity|First Aid]], they gatecrashed Tyrest's control room, only to be struck down by a thought weapon, paralysing them all. Rodimus initially thought that the paralysis was part of Tyrest's [[universal killswitch]] weapon to kill all ''cold constructed'' Cybertronians and was confused that the switch should work on him, as he was forged and not cold constructed. Tyrest then threw the killswitch for real, and Rodimus was forced to listen helplessly to the cold constructed members of his crew dying in agony. He swore he would find and kill Tyrest even as the Chief Justice turned and walked through his portal to Cyberutopia. {{storylink|Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|Arm the Lonely}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|Primacy issue 3|Primacy #3}} {{storylink|Primacy issue 4|Primacy #4}} {{storylink|Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|This Calamitous Life}} {{storylink|The Sound of Breaking Glass}} {{storylink|Little Victories}} {{storylink|Dark Dawn: Dark Cybertron Chapter 1|Dark Dawn}} {{storylink|Black Metal: Dark Cybertron Chapter 2|Black Metal}} {{storylink|Into the Abyss: Dark Cybertron Chapter 4|Into the Abyss}} {{storylink|No Exit: Dark Cybertron Chapter 6|No Exit}} {{storylink|Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Burning Bright}} {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}} {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}} {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}} {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}} {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|All Our Parlous Yesterdays}} {{storylink|Finest Hour: Dark Cybertron Chapter 5|Finest Hour}} {{storylink|The Dead Are Not Enough: Dark Cybertron Chapter 7|The Dead Are Not Enough}} {{storylink|Finis Temporis: Dark Cybertron Chapter 9|Finis Temporis}} {{storylink|Black Planet: Dark Cybertron Chapter 11|Black Planet}} {{storylink|The World of Tomorrow}} {{storylink|First Contact (IDW)|First Contact}}}}

===''Regeneration One''===
{{note|For IDW Rodimus, this takes place at an uncertain point after he reformatted into his ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye]]'' body.}}
[[File:WarToEndAllWars5-HotsAndRodsVsDarkMatrix.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|Taking lead.]]
In [[Primax 512.5 Gamma|an alternate universe]], another [[Hot Rod (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Hot Rod]] had journeyed to the [[Primus]] chamber at the centre of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] with the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], where he had a [[Multiverse|multiversal]] out-of-body experience and saw many different versions of himself, including Rodimus. {{storylink|Destiny, Part Three}} When that Hot Rod, now Rodimus Prime, infiltrated [[Zero Space]] to confront the Dark [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] creature it summoned three versions of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] to defend itself so Rodimus Prime likewise sent ripples throughout the universe, calling forth the various versions of himself. Rodimus took command and ordered them to blast anyone without a "Hot" or "Rod" in their name and they managed to injure the Dark Matrix creature, loosening its hold over Optimus and allowing Rodimus Prime to seal the multiversal breach with the [[Sword of Primus]], returning Rodimus and his counterparts to their home realities. {{storylink|The War to End All Wars, Part 5}}
{{-}}

==Notes==
[[File:Devastation-Hotrod Earth Mode by EJ Su.jpg|thumb]]
*Hot Rod's Earth mode from ''[[The Transformers: Devastation]]'' was based on a [[wikipedia:Dodge Viper|Dodge Viper]]. Rather than a conventional rear wing becoming his trademark [[robot mode]] spoiler, the "spoiler" on his back was actually formed from part of the roof and side panels next to the rear window.<ref>[http://ej-su.deviantart.com/art/Transformers-Hotrod-Earth-Mode-85705546 E.J. Su]: I tried to retain as much of the design elements from Nick Roche's Cybertronian design as possible. Dodge Viper is actually not a very easy vehicle to transform especially if I want to keep much of the original car transformation scheme. Viper has an extremely long hood, which is one of the element that makes the vehicle sexy. After the tranformation, the hood has been shortened quite a bit more than my liking in order to make the robot mode more well-proportioned.</ref>
*Originally, Hot Rod's use of the Magnificence in ''Spotlight: Doubledealer'' was going to come with serious side-effects, but this was dropped, as with much else, with the truncation of ''[[Revelation (IDW)|Revelation]]''.<ref>[http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=107632#107632 Simon Furman:] One story angle I just never got to cover properly in the four-part Revelation arc was the ‘price’ that comes with using the Magnificence. A bit like the Monkey’s Paw scenario, the Magnificence does give you exactly what you want/need, but the information or what information precipitates mostly turns out to be a poisoned chalice. That side-story got sidelined, I’m afraid. Originally, there was going to be a Hot Rod payoff, in which he goes well and truly through the wringer as a consequence of his mining of the Magnificence. There’s an element of that in Maximum Dinobots, though.</ref>
*[[James Roberts]] attributed Rodimus's brief possession by Metrotitan in the MtMtE Annual to his Matrix affinity.<ref>[http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=309015#309015]: ''In the Annual we saw Ore snap back to life, offliners ready to rip out their audio receptors and also... Rodimus' hands taking a life of their own, is this a Marvel Unicron-like possession tie in, that Rodimus is still channeling Matrix energy from when it revived him back in the old ongoing, and again in Vector Sigma's chamber in Chaos?''

I had it in mind that Rodimus was particularly susceptible to the influence of the Metrotitan because he’d carried the Matrix and, yes, been close to Vector Sigma.</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Matrix bearers]]
[[Category:Regeneration One Autobots]]
[[Category:Lost Light crew]]