Rust

Rust is the result of water reacting with metals such as iron. It is a thoroughly unpleasant situation for any Transformer. Just ask Steeljaw.

Strangely, the fleshy bipeds appear not to suffer from rust. Maybe they're not as weak as everyone first thought.

On Cybertron, there is an entire sea of unstable planetary matter called the Rust Sea.

Fiction

Marvel The Transformers comics

Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.

Under certain malign conditions, Transformers may develop a rust rash. The Technobot Lightspeed is a known victim of this affliction. Lightspeed's Universe bio

As a physician, Ratchet was quite concerned about rust. When he observed humans using thin strips of wood to traverse moist, powdery surfaces, he regarded it as foolhardy — surely it would cause them to rust! Repeat Performance!

Later, when Skids brought the human Donny Finkleberg into Ratchet's medical bay to speak with Optimus Prime, Ratchet was most displeased. The medical bay was a sterile environment, and while humans don't rust, they sweat, which could have gotten moisture into Optimus Prime's wound, thereby starting a rust infection. Ratchet demanded that Skids not return until he had dehumidified the human, but he was overruled by Prime. Heavy Traffic!

"Rustbucket" is a fairly common insult among the Transformers. The Seacons once insultingly referred to Blaster as "Autobot rust-droppings". Club Con!

After a mission to retrieve a power cell from Dreadwing at the bottom of the sea, Getaway complained when he found a spot of rust on his wrist. Dreadwing Down!

The Transformers cartoon

A disease known as Cosmic Rust was responsible for wiping out the Thirteenth Legion of Autobots on Antilla. The Decepticons on Earth later contracted Cosmic Rust, even though they were rust proof. Fortunately for the Decepticons, Perceptor had developed a new solution known as corrostop, which would prevent rust and corrosion, curing the disease. Unfortunately for the Autobots, Megatron infected Perceptor with Cosmic Rust, resulting in the Autobots becoming infected when Optimus Prime rescued Perceptor. Fortunately, the Autobots were able to create more corrostop. Cosmic Rust

Beast Wars cartoon

When Cheetor wondered aloud the cause of Depth Charge's attitude problem, Rattrap guessed that it was probably rust. Deep Metal

Live-action film series

Rust that occurs naturally on a Cybertronian's body typically came in two forms: cosmetic and medical. Cosmetic rust results from Cybertronians trans-scanning an alternate mode that already has rust developing on it, such as the beat up '78 Camaro scanned by Bumblebee or the GMC C70 scanned by Battletrap. Cosmetic rust has no known ill effects on a transformer.

Medical rust, on the other hand, causes a variety of issues for a Cybertronian and can result from age, energon deficiency, or extended periods of time submerged in water or other liquids.

Transformers film

Ironhide complained his foot would rust after Sam Witwicky's dog urinated on it. Transformers

Revenge of the Fallen film

Megatron was covered in various rust patches after he was revived with an AllSpark shard, due to his corpse having spent two years at the bottom of the Laurentian Abyss. His body could be heard creaking and groaning more than an average transformer in the days after his resurrection.

Jetfire, ancient and energon-deprived as he was, had rust all over him. He complained aloud: "Itchy, wretched rust in my aft!" According to Jetfire, deprivation of energon would cause a Transformer to rust and eventually fall apart. Revenge of the Fallen

Dark of the Moon film

Ironhide met his fate by a blast from Sentinel Prime's Cosmic Rust cannon. Dark of the Moon

Rise of the Beasts film

Scourge was covered head-to-toe in rust. It's unknown if it was cosmetic or a side effect of Unicron's corruption. Rise of the Beasts

2005 IDW continuity

When Nominus Prime died, the Senate reported that he had succumbed to a long-standing rust infection, though his physician Ratchet knew that to be a lie. Post Hoc

External links

• The fleshlings' overview of rust