Runamuck (Cybertron)

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

Runamuck is a Decepticon from the Cybertron portion of the Unicron Trilogy.

Oh, what's this? Is that a tear, Pantera? Is Daddy's little girl upset?

Runamuck was very very bored during the years Megatron was gone. Having served under him as a spy and messenger for centuries, the peacetimes under Autobot rule gave him little opportunity for his brand of fun: blowing stuff up.

With most of Cybertron's population on Earth due to the appearance of the Unicron Singularity, Runamuck has been given a chance to cause some real havoc, knowing that the Autobots are forbidden from revealing themselves to the inhabitants of the haven planet. He likes striking human settlements directly under the nose of the hidden Autobots and relishes their frustration in not being able to use their robot modes to stop him.

He was once hog-tied by Swindle.

Fiction

Timelines

Runamuck was assigned to the Upstart by Megatron, operating under Brushguard's command while they searched the galaxy for more Cyber Planet Keys. Their search took them to Combatron, a world devastated by conflict between more than a half-dozen factions. The factions had beaten themselves into extinction nearly 350 megacycles ago, but some of their hardware still existed. The Decepticons uncovered a massive bunker heavily guarded by corpses, which spoke to the possible riches inside. After using Swindle as bait to draw out any traps, Brushguard sent Runamuck in to...knock. With his Cyber Key firmly in place, Runamuck's strength increased by a factor of 10, and his fists turned into burning pistons of injustice. After giving the doors a tremendous battering for several minutes, Runamuck used the hole he had punctured to tear open the doors. Behind the door was a virtual treasure trove of death—weapons and armaments of all possible varieties, just ripe for the taking. Runamuck found a pair of still operational Mini-Con panels, and shared his find with Buzzsaw. Runamuck's new partner, Skidmark, gave his fists another powerful boost.

When they finally encountered the Autobots, the 'Cons were backed by an army of newly minted Decepticlones. Runamuck and Skidmark took off after the Velocitronian speedster, Blurr. After an exciting chase scene, they finally drove him off the road. Capturing most of the Autobots, the Decepticons were on the verge of victory before some local Mini-Cons stole their shuttle...and the missing Autobot Armorhide crashed their shuttle straight down on the Decepticon position. Runamuck and the other Decepticons were left behind on Combatron for three weeks waiting for pick-up...with nothing but Hardtop's supply of comic books to keep them entertained. Force of Habit

Sometime later, Runamuck had joined the crew of the Kalis' Lament, a Decepticon space pirate ship under the rule of Captain Cannonball. Learning of an Autobot shuttle that was shot down over Sandokan, the pirates were interested in retrieving the Force Chip the Autobots had aboard. After sending an independent contractor named Astrotrain in to trigger any traps or defenses, Runamuck and Cannonball's pirate crew confronted Sandokan's malicious guardian, Synthos. Distracted by this powerful foe, however, the Decepticon pirates missed the stranded Autobots sneaking aboard their shuttle, and Runamuck once again ended up stranded on a distant planet waiting for pickup. Some 'Cons never learn... The Dark Heart of Sandokan

End of G1 Universe

Runamuck participated in a race on Velocitron when the Stunticons arrived from the G1 World in the Nemesis. Another racer looked like a white version of Runamuck. Mystery of the Speedia 500

Games

Transformers: Earth Wars

"Cybertron Runamuck" is available as an alternate skin for Runamuck in Earth Wars.

Toys

Cybertron

Unlikely and Unlikelier

• Runabout vs Longrack (Multi-pack, 2005)

• ID number: GS-02
• Release date: February 24, 2005
• Accessories: Rifle, Earth Cyber Key
• Known designers: Yujiro Matsuzaki (TakaraTomy)

Galaxy Force Runabout is a redeco and retooling of the Armada Autobot Side Swipe toy, transforming into a Nissan Skyline R32 street car with exposed engine block. Inserting a Cyber Key into his engine activates half of his spring-loaded transformation to "dragster" mode, extending his front end. In robot mode, this gimmick becomes individual trigger-activated arm-mounted "piledriver" attacks. A trigger on the back of the car mode flips a rear-mounted thruster out of his back window/trunk to complete dragster mode; the thruster detaches to become a (non-firing) rifle for his robot mode.

His thruster/rifle storage panel can still store the Mini-Con Nightbeat mold; ideally the color-matched (thanks to gang-molding) Micron Booster Gauge.

He still retains the Mini-Con Powerlinx-activated left-arm "punching" gimmick in his back from previous versions of the mold, but many samples have mold-wear that makes it difficult, if not impossible, to activate.

In Japan, he was only available in a double-pack with Longrack, released in the fourth wave of Galaxy Force toys. He is one of the very few regular-retail Galaxy Force toys to not appear in the cartoon, not even in a vehicle-mode-only cameo like pretty much everyone else from the vs-packs.

The original version of this mold was also used to make Universe Oil Slick and Treadshot.

• More information on Runamuck at TFU.info

Runamuck is unfortunate enough to suffer from both "Hoodhands" and "Sideways-Knee".

• Runamuck (Deluxe, 2005)

• Accessories: Rifle, Earth Cyber Key
• Cyber Key Code: dw3e
• Known designers: Yujiro Matsuzaki (TakaraTomy)

For his Hasbro Cybertron release, Runamuck was made as an individual as part of the Deluxe assortment, first released in a somewhat short-run "wave 3.5". He is seemingly physically identical to the Japanese release, save for his Cyber Key, which has a new Cyber Key Code tampographed on its back.

Later releases of this toy came with a pack-in DVD of the Cybertron cartoon episode "Hidden".

Universe (2008)

• Battle for the Cyber Planet Keys (Figure multi-pack, 2008)

• Series: Cybertron Series
• Accessories: Gun, Earth Decepticon Cyber Key
• Cyber Key Code: dw3e

Runamuck was re-released without changes in a Sam's Club-exclusive box set, as part of the 2008 Universe toyline.

This set also included similarly unchanged releases of Buzzsaw, Longrack, and Blurr, and a new redeco of Armada Deluxe class Optimus Prime.

Notes

• Runamuck was originally created by Takara as a homage to the Generation 1 Decepticon Runabout and had that name. But for his Hasbro release, he was given the name of the Generation 1 character's similarly named partner, "Runamuck", due to inability to secure the trademark on "Runabout".
• The online version of Runamuck's Hasbro bio is different from the card-back version; while the first half is the same word-for-word, the final portion of the online bio places him on Cybertron, causing trouble for Longrack.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Runabout (ラナバウト Ranabauto)