Maximal Ironhide

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"Ironhide" is a Maximal from the 2005 IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

He was promised that he'd get to star in the sequel series, Transformers: Hides of Iron.

Formerly a servant of Onyx Prime, the bot who would come to be called Ironhide was one of the many Maximals caught up in the twisted experiments of Shockwave.

Fiction

2005 IDW continuity

Ten million years ago, the Maximal who would become "Ironhide" was one of the many Maximals who followed "Onyx Prime", unaware or unconcerned that this member of the Thirteen Primes was a cover identity used by a time-travelling Shockwave. Following the end of the First Cybertronian Civil War, Onyx and his Maximals departed Cybertron for good, and set a course aboard Nemesis for the dead world of Antilla. In time, Onyx would uncover the artifact he dubbed the "Talisman", part of an ancient doomsday weapon responsible for the planet's devastation.

Twenty thousand years ago, "Ironhide" was part of an expedition under the command of Domitius Major, as part of his larger goals, "Onyx" decided to have the Talisman relocated to Earth, and assigned the crew of the starship Axalon to do so. Our Finest "Ironhide" and his shipmates were evidently not aware of the full scope of "Onyx's" plans, nor the paradoxical nature of their impending voyage; they reached Ice Age Earth solely by accident, having been drawn off-course to refuel their ship after a ten-thousand year voyage. While preparing to land, however, their ship was intercepted by the younger Shockwave, who had come to investigate his Regenesis project. Shockwave confused the crew aboard with a bounced broadcast of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee before easily shooting them down and causing their ship to crash in prehistoric Brasnya. In the crash, the Talisman aboard the Axalon scrambled the memories of the crew. Strange Visitors

Their amnesia inspired Shockwave to use the crew of the Axalon in a cruel experiment, altering their appearances and memories to convince them that they were the Autobots and Decepticons of Cybertron. Remade into a doppelganger of one of the Autobot mainstays, "Ironhide" took part in the simulated "Ice Age Wars" on Earth as part of Shockwave's wargames. Eventually, the climate worsened and the energon stores ran out, and when Shockwave departed, the ersatz Autobots and Decepticons went into hibernation. Strange Visitors Unification Day: Dusk

The Autobots remained in stasis until the 1860s, at which point they were accidentally awakened by humans. Hearts of Steel #1 As they resumed their war with the Decepticons, "Ironhide" and the others took on train modes and allied themselves with John Henry in order to pursue "Astrotrain". Hearts of Steel #3 "Ironhide" was the second car in the Autobot train, an artillery boxcar with his name on it. When "Scourge" began to attack the Autobot train from above, he partially transformed to robot mode in order to shoot him down. After the Decepticons were defeated, the Autobots went back to sleep underground. Hearts of Steel #4

By 1888, "Ironhide" had gotten involved with humanity again, hiding on the USS Miskatonic in the form of a gun turret. On the way to Ireland the ship was attacked by a tentacled monster from underneath the waves, forcing "Ironhide" to abandon it and report to the other Autobots. A week later at Port Cenotaph, he ran into additional creatures and Bonecrusher, who revealed that he and the Decepticons were now following the Elder Gods. "Ironhide" tried to fight the empowered Decepticon, but was overcome by his eldritch tentacles. Infestation 2: The Transformers #1 As a servant of the Elder Gods, "Ironhide" stood guard at Port Cenotaph with the Decepticons, protecting it against an international fleet when they came to investigate the disappearance of multiple ships. "Ironhide" was freed from the Elder Gods' control when "Optimus Prime"—in reality his old commander Domitius—injured the attending Elder God enough to force it back into the depths of the ocean. Infestation 2: The Transformers #2 Infestation 2 #1

Under unspecified circumstances before the 1980s, "Ironhide" would eventually die, his head winding up alongside "Hound" inside the Tomb of Amtoltec where the Talisman had wound up. The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb