Bulkhead (G1)

The name or term "Bulkhead" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Bulkhead (disambiguation).

Bulkhead is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.

I'm here to bust heads and build bridges and I'm all outta bridges.

Bulkhead is no gentle giant— he's a stubborn warrior who enjoys throwing his substantial weight around on the front lines or using his wrecking ball fists to crack open an enemy's chassis. He may be a bit clumsy and awkward in social situations, but he's got a surprising level of engineering expertise for someone built for demolition. With ties to Optimus Prime's inner circle and the elite Wreckers, Bulkhead's hidden depths are often the downfall of many adversaries.

Fiction

2005 IDW continuity

Bulkhead was among the leadership of Cybertron's Engineering Guild, and an early supporter of Optimus Prime. During the inaugural meeting of the Grand Convocation, he was unimpressed by the grandstanding of the Circle of Light's representative, Dai Atlas, and told him to stifle his objections. Derelicts When the Exodus began, Dai Atlas prepared to leave the planet and invited the other members of the Convocation to do the same. Unwilling to abandon the many Cybertronians who couldn't afford a way off-world, Bulkhead declined the offer and remained on Cybertron. Massacre

Attending an Autobot security meeting in response to Trypticon's collision course with Iacon, Bulkhead rejected Hot Rod's suggestion to shoot the beast out of the sky, citing the danger of falling debris. Primacy #2

Centuries later, Bulkhead was trained by Springer for possible inclusion in the next incarnation of the Wreckers. He was present with the other "Wrookies" when Springer appeared as the Shimmer for the last time and told them not to repeat the Wreckers' past mistakes. Requiem of the Wreckers

The Functionist Universe

"You shouldn't have drank my Swedish protein powder, little buddy!"

In an altered timeline in which the war was averted, Bulkhead bore witness to the mass recall of all Cybertronians with data slug altmodes. The Custom-Made Now

2019 IDW continuity

Bulkhead was considered to be brave and loyal by Thunderclash, being counted among his potential recruits for the Wreckers. Tread & Circuits Part 4

Last Bot Standing

Bulkhead was among the many Autobots who fought against the Decepticons as both sides drained the universe of its resources. Last Bot Standing #2

Energon Universe

"Move over, new guy, cuz the old new 'head is back!"

Theodore Roosevelt found Bulkhead under a pyramid in Guatemala in 1906. Calling "dibs", the President brought his inert body back to the United States of America and built the secret base that would eventually become Shadow Watch around him.

In the present, General Flagg brought Optimus Prime to Shadow Watch and showed him Bulkhead's deactivated body, offering to let him take him and Mirage to be reactivated. Transformers #25 Optimus accepted Flagg's offer of alliance and Bulkhead and Mirage's bodies were transported to the Ark by the human military in a show of good faith. Transformers #26

Bulkhead was revived and immediately made things awkward when he barged into the Ark's makeshift morgue, looking to get rowdy with some of his comrades. Trailbreaker, Brawn, and Jetfire were not in a celebratory mood and walked away from him even as he apologized. Later, Bulkhead witnessed Thundercracker's formal induction into the Autobots and wondered aloud if standards had slipped in his absence, earning him a rebuke from Wheeljack. Transformers #27

Bulkhead was later present for the debut of the newly-promoted Arcee, expressing his excitement and appreciation for the latest ascendant to the rank of Magnus. Arcee Magnus did a roll call of the assembled Autobots and ordered them to transform to alternate modes, but everyone took pause when Optimus noticed that Trailbreaker was absent. Transformers #28

...so he's related to Rubble?

The reason for this was soon discovered as the Autobots found the Decepticons in the nearby forest, with Megatron having slain Trailbreaker. Optimus immediately initiated an attack and Bulkhead led off by ramming directly into Onslaught. The tables seemed to turn when the Combaticons then merged into Bruticus, who grabbed Bulkhead in his massive hand. The combiner didn't reckon with Bulkhead's raw power and was soon backpedaling as he got bashed in the head repeatedly by the Autobot's wrecking ball fists. Several other Autobots joined Bulkhead's effort to topple Bruticus and they succeeded, forcing the Combaticons to separate. For a moment, it seemed like the Autobots had won the battle, but Devastator suddenly crashed through the forest, allowing the Decepticons to regroup and retreat in the chaos. Transformers #29

Games

Transformers Roleplaying Game

During the early days of the Autobot-Decepticon conflict, Bulkhead adjusted to wartime life faster than many of his fellow Autobots; when he wasn't on guard duty, he was fighting in some of the first skirmishes of the Great War. Cobra/Con Fusion During the war, Bulkhead joined the Wreckers, and developed a special enmity with the Decepticon Breakdown. In addition to his native Cybertronian, he is fluent in English, German, Junkion, and Russian. Decepticon Directive

Although Bulkhead wasn't originally meant to join the crew of the Ark, he soon came to enjoy life on Earth. Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook On one mission in southern France, Bulkhead, Minerva, and Bumblebee attempted to ambush Swindle and the Baroness, only for all five Combaticons to launch a counter-ambush. In the ensuing fight, Onslaught critically damaged Bumblebee; the enraged Bulkhead charged their foes, which created an exit and distracted them long enough for Minerva to stabilize Bumblebee. The two Autobots and their gravely wounded compatriot spent days trying to escape their pursuers, and eventually stumbled on a G.I. Joe camp in La Grande Dune du Pilat. After making contact with team leader Stalker, the heroes of G.I. Joe agreed to bring in a group of specialists to repair Bumblebee.

Once Doc, Mainframe, and Cover Girl arrived, the Autobots and their new allies successfully rebuilt Bumblebee into a new, war-ready configuration and rolled out to capture Swindle and his new associate. After a brief chase through the streets of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, the team successfully captured Swindle... but realized that "Baroness" was really her body double, Chameleon. However, the intel she provided led them to a secret cybernetics lab in the Pyrenees, where they discovered that the villains had pooled their resources to construct Fusion, an experimental warrior who incorporated a mixture of Cobra and Cybertronian technology. As a player character, his pre-generated character sheet lists Cybertronian, English, and Japanese as his known languages. Cobra/Con Fusion

Transformers: Earth Wars

• Class: Warrior
• Lowest Star Rating: 2 Star
• Ability: Inhibitor Charge -Adds to max heath and damage absorption for multiple seconds, then rush into combat dealing damage to buildings and walls along the way. Nearby enemies are slowed for the duration of the effect.
  • Cost: 4 Ability points +2 cost increase

Toys

Prime

See: Bulkhead (Prime)#Toys

In the 2005-2018 IDW comics, Bulkhead, of course, copies the character model of his original Prime counterpart, so we'll just link you to that dude's toy page, rather than reproduce it all here, given that none of Bulkhead's 2010s toys are a particularly good match for his character model.

Legacy

• Prime Universe Bulkhead (Voyager Class, 2022)
  • TakaraTomy ID number: TL-03
  • TakaraTomy release date: July 30, 2022
  • Accessories: Energon machine gun, battle mace, tarp cover

Legacy Bulkhead was repurposed as Generation 1 Bulkhead in Earth Wars and the Transformers Roleplaying Game.

Part of the first wave of Legacy Voyager Class toys, "Prime Universe Bulkhead" is a Generations-styled version of the character that transforms into an squished version of a Rába H18 military truck, which echoes Age of Extinction Hound's vehicle mode, in 30 steps.

He comes with a mace that opens up to wrap around his fist; a tarp that forms the rear of his vehicle mode, which can be used as a shield in robot mode; and a clear-blue Energon rotary machine gun that can mount on his left or right shoulder via 3 mm peg.

In a rarity for Generations toys of the last few years, he features fully-concealed weapon storage in alternate mode, with both his mace and gun stowing inside his truck bed, under the tarp. The sides of the tarp also feature two Powerlinx ports. The tarp does not need to be removed for transformation, but doing so provides additional clearance.

The instructions omit rotating the small black 'tummy' piece a further 90° in order to fit in vehicle mode. This should be done sometime before step 17.

Excluding his fists, he has a whopping 17(!) 5 mm ports throughout his body in robot mode, but 6 of them are in his wheel hubs, so if you peg a Weaponizer part in it will droop down.

Due to the new windowless packaging featured in the Legacy Line, it is not uncommon to find Bulkhead with his head forced down into his chest cavity, making it appear as though the figure is missing his head.

This figure was revealed by IGN as a teaser for the Legacy line on October 20, 2021, ahead of Pulse Con 2021.

Notes

• In Requiem of the Wreckers, Bulkhead is depicted with a body very similar to Animated Bulkhead, though still retaining the head of his Aligned counterpart.