Rockbuster

Rockbuster is a Maximal from the Beast Wars Neo portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

-C- GET EQUIPPED WITH CLAW BUSTER

Rockbuster (ロックバスター Rokkubasutā) is what his old buddy Big Convoy would have ended up becoming had things worked out differently. The two were formerly a duo to be reckoned with, but their solitary natures wound up driving them apart in an amicable separation. However, while Big Convoy chose to stay within the Maximal ranks and ultimately learned that friendship is magic, Rockbuster chose to strike out on his own and fight the Predacons as a vigilante soldier. Although he's always happy to lend his old pal a claw, he can never work as part of a team. Deep down, Rockbuster yearns for the good ole days when it was just Big Convoy and himself, brothers in arms against all odds. But those days are gone forever; he should just let 'em go.

An efficient and pragmatic warrior, Rockbuster is able to succeed as a solo act because he's so formidable against entire platoons of Predacons. Heavily armored and heavily armed, there's nary an obstacle he can't overcome all on his lonesome. Now if only Rockbuster could learn to bust the rocks surrounding his heart...

Fiction

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Beast Wars Neo cartoon

Voice actor: Takashi Matsuyama (Japanese)

When an Angolmois Capsule found its way to the planet Flame, Rockbuster was the first to intercept it. He met up with his old pal Big Convoy and after a friendly duel, the pair waxed nostalgic on their old days as a duo. Rockbuster offered Big Convoy the opportunity to reprise their partnership, but Big Convoy was forced to decline, having dedicated himself to the new recruits. The pair then parted once again.

Big Convoy was promptly ambushed by Magmatron, leaving Rockbuster to hide in a field of wild flowers and await his chance to strike. Rockbuster managed to rescue Big Convoy, but his old buddy refused to leave the planet (which was hurtling towards a sun), as he needed to stay behind to collect the new recruits that were still there. Rockbuster didn't think the new recruits were worth it, but cooperated and left him behind on Flame. Lucky for Big Convoy, everything worked out okay and all the Maximals escaped with their lives. Rockbuster's still a jerk, though. Dinosaur Combiner Magmatron

Perhaps having learned about the magic of friendship, Rockbuster eventually returned to the ravaged Cybertron to celebrate the defeat of Unicron. There, he tussled with Hydra. Graduation Ceremony!!

3H comics

Rockbuster, next to his fellow Maximal Drill Nuts, was part of a crowd on Cybertron that beheld a group of wayward Autobots returning to planet after an absence for many years. He stared in awe as they exited their spaceship. Abduction

2006 IDW Beast Wars continuity

Long ago, Rockbuster was a member of a small platoon during the Great War. On a mission to destroy a Predacon weapons depot that went awry, he was the only member of his platoon to survive alive after being caught in an ambush. Ever since, he has become a solitary warrior-for-hire, unwilling to become part of a military structure permanently again. Beast Wars Sourcebook #3

In the present, Rockbuster was one of many in an Angolmois-induced riot following the Tako Tank, which broke a wall. The Ascending #4

2005 IDW continuity

Rockbuster was one of Onyx Prime's Maximals. During Onyx's invasion of Cybertron, he was one of the many Maximals who battled Arcee and lost; Jetfire and Aileron came across his remains shortly afterwards. Endless Forever

Toys

Beast Wars

Know that I am not Razorclaw! (Okay, I am, actually, we don't have an actual Rockbuster to take a pic of.)

• Rockbuster (Basic, 1999)

• ID number: C-33
• Release date: January ??, 1999
• Known designers: Yuichiro Hira (TakaraTomy), Masakatsu Saito (concept artist)

Part of the first wave of Beast Wars Neo products in Takara's Beast Wars toyline, Rockbuster is a slight repaint of the video-pack-in redeco of Kenner's Razorclaw, having a less saturated orange for his paint operations and a Maximal energon chip in place of a Predacon one.

In beast mode, Rockbuster is an organic fiddler crab. In robot mode, his smaller claw contains his non-firing "Claw Buster," while the larger claw has a series of pop-out blades activated by a simple lever mechanism to form his "Crush Claw."

• More information on Rockbuster at TFU.info

• Backwater Showdown: Rockbuster VS Hydra (VS set, 1999)

• ID number: VS-33
• Release date: January ??, 1999

Rockbuster was also available in the "Backwater Showdown" (背水の対決 haisui no taiketsu) two-pack with the Predacon Hydra.

Both toys are identical to their individual releases.