Vanquish

Vanquish is a Decepticon Micromaster from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Milking the giant cow... OF VICTORY!

Vanquish is the silent partner in his combiner relationship with Fireshot. He prefers to fly under the radar, both figuratively and literally, and achieves his goals by going unnoticed. He stays on Fireshot's good side, in case he should ever achieve his goal of replacing Direct-Hit as team leader of the Battle Squad.

Also? Cool name.

Fiction

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Vanquish was an Autobot and member of the Jet Team portion of the Jet Tank W Team. Both pairs were fast in their respective battlefields and had a special gunpowder that they could use to destroy anything in their pincher attacks between land and air. Return of Convoy bio

Wings Universe

Vanquish and Falcon were servants of the Decepticon Warlord Deathsaurus when the Great War began. They held the Combaticons captive behind a field of Oan energy until Deathsaurus was ready for an audience. The Coming Storm: Part 4

Regeneration One

Now can I be important?

Vanquish was a member of Soundwave's group of Neo-Decepticons at Fort Scyk in Polyhex. Counterpoint

2005 IDW continuity

Vanquish appeared as two different, irreconcilable characters in this continuity. Both are presented here for simplicity's sake, though divvied up by origin.

Devisen

First appearance: Windblade vol. 1 #4

Vanquish is the dude on the left.

Vanquish and his twin Fireshot were small Transformers born from a hot spot inside the deceased Titan who colonized Devisiun. Like all Devisiens, Vanquish and Fireshot shared a very close bond, routinely finishing each other's sentences. Windblade vol. 2 #6 Windblade caught a glimpse of him splitting off from Fireshot when she was merged with Metroplex's mind. Windblade vol. 1 #4

After the Combiner Wars and the formation of the Council of Worlds, Vanquish and Fireshot were chosen to represent Devisiun after Starscream visited their world. Though Starscream called them combiners "of a sort," they repeatedly corrected him that it was "nothing that grand", though they seemed enamored of the technology. Windblade vol. 2 #6

Vanquish and Fireshot were present after Strika and Obsidian signed the treaty on behalf of Carcer. The Will of the Few After Starscream decided to start a new holiday in his honor, Vanquish and his brother paid a visit to Starscream's quarters to give the mopey ruler the temporary gift of friendship. Choose Me

When Optimus Prime annexed Earth into the Council of Worlds, Vanquish and Fireshot attended an emergency Council meeting to discuss the problem. New Worlds Order

Vanquish and Fireshot attended a Justice Committee meeting regarding mnemosurgical attacks on several Decepticons on Cybertron and distrust of the Badgeless. The Committee moved to have Ironhide investigate the crime spree. 07:00:00 Following the death of a Decepticon, accusations of police brutality among the Badgeless began to grow among Iacon's populace. The twins attended another committee regarding the future of Iacon's peacekeeping force. Vanquish and Fireshot agreed with Rattrap's plan to call in Victorion, but Starscream nixed the idea. Instead, Ironhide stepped up as the new head of the Badgeless. Applicable Skills

The Council later met with Optimus to hear his side of the story. Although Prime insisted that his intentions were pure, its members unanimously voted against allowing Earth a seat on the council. The Medium and the Message Later, Optimus managed to raise a Titan from the ground, and the Council convened to re-evaluate their earlier decision on Earth's status as a member world.No Fair Fights

War has accelerated.

When a horde of zombie Titans converged on Cybertron, the Council met to discuss a declaration of war against the threat. Vanquish and Fireshot both shot down Knock Out's proposal to evacuate Cybertron, citing a lack of time. Instead, Cybertron met the threat head on, declaring all-out war against the undead invaders. Ping The twins took part in the battle alongside the other members of the Council and their allies. Attacking from the air, they were shot down by a Titan; though Vanquish took a hit in the leg, Moonracer was able to carry them both to safety in her alternate mode. Desperate Times

When the threat had passed, the Council met Optimus Prime as the Autobot leader discussed the possibility of sharing Transformer technology with the recently arrived Junkions on Earth. Starscream ultimately shot down the proposal, citing a violation of the Tyrest Accords. Behind My Bleeding Back

In the wake of the Iron Ring's devastating attack on Iacon, Vanquish and Fireshot were present when the resuscitated Windblade prepared to officially retake her place on the Council, now joined by human delegate Marissa Faireborn, and watched in horror as Windblade came to blows with the Mistress over the truth behind Liege Maximo's return. The subsequent election campaign to decide the next leader of Cybertron ultimately ended with Starscream's impeachment when he confessed to his many wrongdoings, and Windblade triumphing as the new head of the Council. Both Vanquish and Fireshot joined in the celebrations to commemorate Windblade's victory. The Chosen One

Windblade and the members of the Council convened some time later to inspect a shipment of Ore-13 from Earth, imported to deal with the energon crisis instigated by Merklynn's magic. This was cut short when Onyx Prime arrived over the city, bringing with him the captive Liege Maximo. Surfeit of Primes Joined by Optimus and Alpha Trion, the Council members retreated to the Spire to negotiate with the ancient Prime, but were unaware that Liege Maximo and "Onyx"—in reality, a time-travelling Shockwave—had set up these negotiations as a way to spread chaos across Iacon, detonating a bomb that killed Alpha Trion and then framing Soundwave in the process. Another Mine The Council was left incapacitated and unable to provide leadership as the citizens of Iacon descended into riots, leaving Cybertron open for an invasion by the Maximals. The Ground

Following Shockwave's unmasking and subsequent imprisonment, Unicron began his invasion of the galaxy, Last Stand and Devisiun was one of the many colony planets consumed by the planet-eater as he made his way to Cybertron. Last Stand Unstopped and Unstoppable When a disgraced Starscream visited the Council for aid, the twins—two of less than a hundred Devisiens left—grimly watched as Starscream revealed Shockwave's ultimate plan to use Unicron to build a new Cybertronian empire. Stranger Eons Unicron soon appeared over Cybertron and began his final attack on the planet; though Cybertron was destroyed, the power of the Talisman allowed the Transformers to safely teleport to Earth, and both Vanquish and Fireshot arrived near Victoria Falls with the other refugees. Road's End

Cybertronian

The outcome was never really in doubt.

First appearance: Drift: Empire of Stone #1

A different Vanquish was a full-size Decepticon with a dedicated alternate mode of his own, serving under Gigatron on a desolate planet that was home to the Stone Army. Responding to an attack on some of their men, Vanquish and a team of other Decepticons apprehended the two responsible, Drift and Ratchet, and took them and their own captive, the Decepticon Grit to the large stone castle serving as Gigatron's base. Empire of Stone #1

Though Vanquish appeared loyal to Gigatron, standing by his side as he held council with the two Autobot captives, he was, in fact, the confidant of Gigatron's aide Hellbat, and joined him in confronting the prisoners after they escaped and located the chamber containing the dormant Stone Army. Empire of Stone #2 He and Drift engaged in a sword fight, but Vanquish had to break off the duel to help Hellbat, who was being mauled by Grit. Vanquish then flung Grit off a fatal drop, forcing Drift and Ratchet to drop what they were doing to rescue him, thereby giving Hellbat time to activate the Stone Army. Empire of Stone #3 In the chaos that followed, Grit came looking for payback, but Vanquish had little interest in fighting him; when Drift got close enough to threaten Hellbat, Vanquish ran Grit through with his swords so that he could go to his boss's aid. Getting close enough to do so, however, was Vanquish's last mistake: even impaled, Grit was able to use the last of his strength to tear Vanquish's head off, killing him. Empire of Stone #4

2019 IDW continuity

Vanquish watched an illegal skitter race at Swindle's. Swindle's

Toys

The Transformers

I used to be an airplane's ass, but thanks to Hellbat's 'Get Cool Quick' program, I'm a badass!

• Battle Squad (Micromaster Combiner Squad, 1990)

Released in the seventh and final year of the original The Transformers toyline in the US (sixth and not-final in European markets), Vanquish transforms into the rear half of a SR-71 Blackbird stealth jet, which he forms with his combiner partner Fireshot. He can, of course, be connected to any other Micromaster Combiner to form new weird vehicles.

Vanquish was only available in a six-pack with his squad mates Fireshot, Direct-Hit, Half-Track, Meltdown, and Power Punch.

• More information on Vanquish at TFU.info

• Jet Tank W Team (Micro Trailer team, 1991)

• ID number: C-369
• Accessories: Micro Trailer #9

Takara's Return of Convoy release of Vanquish is physically identical to the Hasbro-release.

He was only available in a complete set with Fireshot, Half-Track, and Meltdown. The set also comes with Micro Trailer #9, which any toy in the set can "tow" or be stored within. Like all Return of Convoy characters, he was marketed as an Autobot instead of a Decepticon.

Notes

• Vanquish's two contradictory appearances in IDW continuity are a big ol' error, but perhaps we might rationalize that the Vanquish who hails from Devisiun is actually his Autobot Return of Convoy counterpart?
• "Vanquish" was also a pre-production name for Caliburn.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Vanquish (バンキッズ Bankizzu)
• French: Vanqueur (Canada)
• Italian: Dedalo