Editing Rung (G1)

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:''Rung is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[Image:IDW Rung.jpg|thumb|250px|"Tell me again about your mother."]]

'''Rung''' is a psy-ops specialist for the [[Autobot]] army. His reports are added to the [[Autopedia]] entries for each Autobot.  He transforms into a communications maintenance vehicle with a long ladder-like repair arm. As part of his duties, he performs the mental assessments of potential [[Wrecker]]s-to-be. 

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
[[Image:Rung Ongoing 22.jpg|thumb|left|"Hey, I didn't order that!"]]
While hanging out at [[Maccadam's Old Oil House|Macadam's Old Oil House]], Rung spilled a cadet's drink.  After refusing to clean up the spill, the poor bot was tossed across the bar, right onto [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron's]] table. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}}   

Rung did a psychological evaluation of Impactor before his trial for [[Squadron X|unlawful executions]]. He ended up being physically assaulted and threatened with extreme violence if he tried 'putting ideas' in Impactor's head, but managed to calm the situation down. In the end, Rung was left questioning whether Autobot High Command shared the blame for Impactor's crimes for turning a blind eye to the robot's growing psychopathy. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Impactor's Autopedia entry}}

Rung later performed a pre-mission psych-screening on new Wreckers [[Rotorstorm (G1)|Rotorstorm]], [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]], [[Pyro (G1)|Pyro]], and [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]] to estimate if they were suited to be put on the [[Garrus-9]] case. Rung was unimpressed by Rotorstorm's unrelenting bragging and joking, and found himself cutting through the charade when he mentioned [[Simanzi Massacre|Simanzi]]. Taking note of his dual personality, Rung declared him cleared for mission. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Rotorstorm's Autopedia entry}} With Pyro, he diagnosed the robot as an extreme sufferer of [[Primus apotheosis]] and noted with sadness that the robot was suppressing his own engaging personality for a copy of another's. He cleared Pyro with reservations, noting that apotheosis sufferers were known for sacrificing themselves. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Pyro's Autopedia entry}} With Guzzle, he cleared the 'bot as having personality flaws but no real psychological flaws, though he was unnerved by his disturbing habit of playing with his gun's safety. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Guzzle's Autopedia entry}}

When screening Ironfist, he was impressed by his enthusiasm and knowledge, but not so much by his actual combat experience and mentality. Rung advised against Ironfist's participation, but retracted his negative conclusion when he received 'unsolicited advice' from [[Prowl (G1)|an undisclosed party]]. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Ironfist's Autopedia entry}}

Rung treated the shell-shocked Autobot [[Flattop (Autobot)|Flattop]]. He discovered Flattop was a survivor of the [[Babu Yar]] atrocity, but that was not his immediate problem. What pushed him over the edge this time was an encounter with the [[Shimmer]]. Rung tried to give rational explanations for the appearance of Shimmer, but Flattop died right there in his office. {{storylink|Bullets}}

[[Kup (G1)|Kup]], one of Rung's oldest friends, asked him to examine [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] after a [[zero point]] affliction had left him in a coma. Believing that certain emotional triggers could cause Springer's subconscious to force his [[spark]] across the zero point, Rung asked [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]] to read ''[[Wreckers: Declassified]]'' datalogs to him in hopes that the memories would have some effect. {{storylink|Zero Point}}

Rung was among the survivors of [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]]'s attack on [[Kimia Facility]]. He and the others drifted in a cramped escape pod for some time until they were rescued by [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]. {{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings}}

After Cybertron was reborn in the wake of the [[D-Void]]'s defeat, Rung joined [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]]'s crew on the ''[[Lost Light]]'' in search for the [[Knights of Cybertron]]. Before he could get on the ship, his arm was detached by a wildly flying [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]]. {{Storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}} After getting his arm repaired in [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]'s care, Rung was choked by an irrational and unresponsive [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]]. The psychiatrist managed to get him to release his grip when he reminded Whirl that he would go back to prison, forever, if he didn't stay in line. When [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] joined the crew, Rung informed him of their quest. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}} Rung later had a close call with a Sparkeater, but was saved by Skids. Rodimus used the two to lure the Sparkeater so he could defeat it. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}} 

[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]], having previously been one of Rung's longest-standing patients, returned to therapy shortly after the launch of the ''Lost Light''.  Rung was concerned that all the progress they had made on Red Alert's rampant paranoia over the years was coming undone.  Red Alert informed Rung that he was hearing noises coming from a crack in the floor of the Sparkeater's chamber.  He gave him a recording of the noise which Rung vaguely recognized as a voice, albeit tremendously slowed-down.  When they sped the sound up, the words "kill...me" could be identified.  {{storylink|How Ratchet Got His Hands Back}}

{{spoiler|Interiors| July 27}}
Rung held a session with the newly-returned [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]], whose mental state had been called into question after he had suffered torture and humiliation at the hands of [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] for three years.  Rung urged him to open up and explore his trauma, to no avail.  Maximus later snapped and went on a rampage across the ''Lost Light'', gunning down Autobots that reminded him of Overlord.  Rung was in the middle of a session with [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] when Max broke in and took them both hostage.  Rung was bound to his chair and Whirl was overpowered and pinned to the ground.  Rung tried to reason with Maximus, while simultaneously recording and broadcasting what was happening in his office through the microphone in his thumb.  When Maximus noticed it, he tore Rung's thumb off.   

As the situation dragged on, Rung continued to try and break through to Maximus.  Max kept dodging the issue, pinning the reason for his actions on [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]]'s delay in sending help to [[Garrus-9]], instead of acknowledging that Overlord was at the root of his psychosis. Maximus then confronted Whirl, who told Maximus about his life. Rung expressed wonder at this, as there were details that Whirl told Maximus that he's never told Rung. Whirl replied that Rung had never threatened any of his friends, to Rung's visible surprise. When a holo-image of Overlord torturing him was projected into the room by [[Rewind]], Maximus froze up and crumbled to his knees.  Rung tenderly comforted him and the hostage situation appeared to be at an end.  Unfortunately, a shot from [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] meant to disable Fortress Maximus instead hit Rung in the head, killing him instantly.  A memorial service was later held for Rung, which Rodimus presided over.  {{storylink|Interiors}}

==Notes==
* A psychoanalyst named Rung was referenced in the unofficial Transformers novel ''Eugenesis'', written by [[James Roberts]].
* The name "Rung" may be a reference to [[Wikipedia:Carl Jung|Carl Jung]], founder of analytical psychology. The mention of "Rungian analysis" in "[[Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It]]" could support this.
* Or maybe it's because he transforms into a communications tower maintenance vehicle with a long ladder arm.
* Incidentally, the above reference to "Rungian analysis" came from [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] on his way to the original Ark. This means Rung was an established psychotherapist as far back as six million years ago, in the times of [[Nova Prime]], making him one of the few ''identified'' survivors of that era.

==External links==
*[http://markerguru.deviantart.com/art/rung-colour-guide-253698917 Rung concept art at Alex Milne's deviantART]
*[http://markerguru.deviantart.com/gallery/?q=rung#/d471m8d Another Rung concept art featuring his alternate mode]

[[Category:Fiction-only Transformers]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Scientists]]