Holepunch (G1)

This article is about the heroic Autobot. For the evil mirror universe counterpart, see Holepunch (SG).

Holepunch is an Autobot-allied Nebulan Targetmaster from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Five citations, and you're looking at a violation. Four of those, and you'll receive a verbal warning. Keep it up, and you're looking at a written warning. Two of those, that'll land you in a world of hurt in the form of a disciplinary review, written up by me and placed on the desk of my immediate superior.

Holepunch is a bureaucrat from hell. He compensates for his complete lack of people skills or formal managerial training with the natural gifts of a bossy attitude and inflated sense of his own importance.

As an office manager for a water purification company on Nebulos, Holepunch had only his subordinates to terrorize. When the Decepticons invaded, Holepunch (doubtless encouraged by his co-workers) concluded the Autobots were in need of his special touch. Sadly, he is unable to suppress his managerial instincts, and as a result drains the productivity and damages the morale of any unit to which he's assigned. Perhaps that's why he ended up with Scoop, whose unwavering resolve and ability to brighten even the worst situations counters Holepunch's jackholishness.

Holepunch turns into a dual compression cannon capable of shattering steel. As a "double" Targetmaster, Holepunch is able to combine with Tracer to increase the power of his own weapon or boost the power of Tracer's ion blaster.

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

Scoop wielded two weapons resembling Holepunch and Tracer during a series of fuel raids on Cybertron alongside the recently revived Grimlock, Jazz, and Bumblebee. Yesterday's Heroes!

Trigger-Happy!

The Decepticon Scoop wielded Holepunch in his attempt to apprehend Backstreet, then on the run from Autobot justice and isolated from his comrades as a result. Scoop never got around to blasting his target, as Megatron arrived and tossed him aside in an attempt to recruit Backstreet to the Decepticons instead. Trigger-Happy!

Transformers Comic-Magazin

When the Decepticons stole three nuclear missiles from the United State Federation to hold the world to ransom, Optimus Prime put the entire burden of discovering their whereabouts on the shoulders of the Double Targetmasters. Scoop and his robotic guns discovered the Decepticon hideout. Scoop lured Dreadwind and Darkwing away, while Tracer and Holepunch investigated further before getting scared off by the Firecons. The little robot guns reported the events of the mission personally to Optimus Prime. Megatron's Ultimatum

Classics

Holepunch and Tracer, partnered to Scoop, were under the command of Metalhawk at the Autobots' base Ironworks when the evil Ultra Magnus attacked. Scoop and his Nebulans were ignored by Ultra Magnus during the evil Autobot's demonstration of power. Moments later, the heroic Decepticons arrived and forced Ultra Magnus to retreat, the heroic Autobots only being able to watch, and then listened to Treadshot's story of how they came to arrive. Treadshot requested that one of Metalhawk's Autobots join the heroic Decepticon Octopunch in tracking down the evil Wheeljack. Scoop and his Nebulans accompanied Octopunch underneath the Ironworks base where they met up with the evil Decepticons Skullgrin and Octopunch. While the two Octopunches fought each other, Scoop fought against Skullgrin. Being a Targetmaster, Scoop's firepower easily defeated Skullgrin. The heroic Octopunch asked Scoop to shut down Wheeljack's device which Scoop delegated to his Nebulans, but the three partners had no luck in doing so. Even Octopunch couldn't do anything so they left. After the battle with the evil Autobots, Cybertron, Nebulos, and other planets exploded due to the energy backlash from the device. Invasion

Later, Scoop wielded Holepunch against the evil Wheeljack in a battle against the evil Magnus's forces on the dimensionally-displaced Earth. Distant Fissures

The Transformers cartoon

Blasted time-travel experiments.

Many millions of years ago, on the planet Cybertron, life existed. But not life as we know it today. Intelligent robots that could think and feel inhabited the cities. Apparently among those robots were the Autobots Landfill, Quickmix, and Scoop, as well as their Targetmaster partners (including Holepunch), who transformed from their vehicle modes and shot at some unknown attackers. G2: More than Meets the Eye, Part 1

Footage from the commercial featuring the Autobot "Double Targetmaster" trio was spliced into the Generation 2 version of the episode by way of the Cybernet Space Cube. Outside of this, the only other "appearance" by the Double Targetmasters in The Transformers was reuse of the same commercial animation in the season 5 title sequence.

2005 IDW continuity

Holepunch and Tracer helped Quickmix fix up citizens of Iacon who'd been injured in a Decepticon uprising. Three Monologues They were later present among a crowd of angry and desperate NAILs who pleaded for Starscream to protect them from the suddenly-unleashed Necrotitan who stood just outside of their city. Winners & Losers As the Necrotitan began wreaking havoc in the city, Holepunch and Tracer aided Scoop's efforts to help the victims. Into the Abyss The two may have been present during the celebrations in the wake of the Necrotitan's defeat, or maybe it was actually Groundpounder and Takedown. The Becoming

Commercial appearances

Holepunch was among a group of Autobot-allied Nebulans being chased down by Needlenose and Spinister. Once their Autobot partners showed up, Holepunch and the others transformed to their weapon modes to be wielded against the Decepticons. Scoop then allowed Holepunch and Tracer to combine into a "superweapon" to better blast their opponents. Double Targetmasters commercial

Toys

The Transformers

I believe you have my stapler.

• Scoop (Targetmaster, 1988)

• Known designers: Richard Marcej (packaging)

Part of the fifth year of The Transformers product, Holepunch transforms into a "dual compression cannon" in basically one and a half steps. As a Targetmaster, his handle is a 5 mm post, making him compatible with a lot of toys throughout the entire franchise. His base also features a 5mm post-hole, nominally used to combine him with his pack-in partner Tracer to form a super-rifle.

Holepunch and Tracer were only available with the Autobot Targetmaster Scoop in 1988. No version of this character or mold was released in Japan.

• More information on Holepunch at TFU.info

Generations

"Then, if you'll validate the forms right here... and here for diagnostics... and for therapeutics... and one for parts and labor.. and accounting... and there. That's your copy."

• Autobot Scoop (Deluxe Class, 2014)

• Series / Number: 02 / #014
• Known designers: Joe Kyde (Hasbro)

Included as an accessory with Generations Thrilling 30 Deluxe Class Scoop, this version of Holepunch actually has some articulation in humanoid mode, with ball-jointed arms that fold up for transformation to gun mode, as well as a fold-away handle. He also retains the ability to combine with the included Tracer toy (now renamed "Caliburst" for trademark reasons) to form a super-rifle, with either one forming the "front" part.

This mold was later used to make Timelines Cline, and Combiner Wars Shrute and Zputty. However, this component was left out of being gang-included with Adventure Roadblock and Targetmaster.

• More information on Generations Holepunch (via Scoop) at TFU.info

Notes

• In "Megatron's Ultimatum", Tracer and Holepunch are explicitly referred to as robots.