Roadblock (Energon)

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

• Inferno
• Roadblock

Roadblock is an Autobot from the Energon portion of the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

Sure, my crane fires missiles. This is entirely normal.

Roadblock is a gifted architect, having designed numerous Autobot fortresses such as Ocean City. That doesn't mean he can't fight with the best of them, however—particularly in the defense of his own creations.

Toys

Energon

Two guys for the price of one.

• Roadblock (Combat Class, 2004)

• Accessories: Missile, crane arm/launcher
• Known designers: Eric Siebenaler (Hasbro)

Released in the eighth and final wave of Energon Combat Class toys (aka Deluxes), Roadblock is an extensive retooling of Inferno, transforming into a futuristic crane-truck. This new tooling replaces the front bumper, head, stabilizers, and the entire "water cannon" structure with a new crane boom and cab that can be mounted on either robot mode arm, or even be hand-held thanks to various 5 mm posts on the assembly. This assembly retains the spring-loaded missile launching gimmick from Inferno, and like Inferno the crane boom is on a geared mechanism and can be moved by twisting the cab around (and vice-versa). The boom can also be removed from the base ahead of the main joint, but this is primarily a breakage prevention feature so the boom pops off clean should it be dropped, though that portion does have a 5 mm post so it can be hand-held on its own as well. An energon chip can be affixed to the spark crystal located on the top of his left shoulder/roof.

As a Combat Class Powerlinx combiner, Roadblock can form the top or bottom half of a super robot with any Deluxe or Mega Class Energon Autobot mold. Unlike other Energon Autobots, his top-half mode does not have his normal legs become the mode's new arms, instead having them become a pair of over-shoulder cannons with his normal arms still performing their old job, giving his top-half mode smaller arms compared to his peers. His lower-half mode not shoving his arms to the back like other Autobots and instead integrating them into the mode's legs also robs them of most of their articulation. But hey, at least both modes look really cool.

This toy can also be used to represent the upgraded version of Energon Inferno, and was sold as such in Japan (with the minor difference in that "Inferno Volt's" right-shoulder faction symbol is in a big block of white, where Roadblock's is simply outlined in white) if you like. This mold also served as the basis of the non-toy Shattered Glass incarnation of Ratchet.

• More information on Roadblock at TFU.info

Notes

• Roadblock is part of the apparent disconnect between Hasbro/Takara's toymakers and Takara's marketing department concerning who these toys were. Numerous toys intended to be new characters by the toy teams had been turned into powered-up versions of existing characters when portrayed in the cartoon, which was almost solely under Takara marketing's control; Roadblock was shown to be a rebuilt Inferno when he debuted in the cartoon. Hasbro had intended the toy to be a new character, and either did not have time to change his bio, or else decided to proceed as planned regardless. And so, the Roadblock toy functionally represents both Inferno and a new, separate character.

Other Energon toys caught up in this include Mirage, Landquake, Beachcomber, and Overcast.

• Roadblock being an architect is also an homage to Generation 1 Grapple.