Auto-combatant

Ooh, shiny! *gets punched in the stomach* Oof, metal.

Some Autobot starships are equipped with auto-combatants to help the Autobots keep in practice while on long voyages.

Fiction

The Transformers cartoon

Voice actor: Frank Welker (English), Masashi Ebara (Japanese)

The Autobots had to flee Autobot City on Earth after an attack by Galvatron's forces. During the voyage, Hot Rod activated the ship's auto-combatant for a little practice melee combat. Hot Rod used an Energon sword and a shield while the auto-combatant went weaponless. The auto-combatant paused for a moment to allow Hot Rod to speak with the rest of the crew, but then sucker-punched him in the back when he figured the conversation was ended. The shuttle then came under attack and Hot Rod ended his training session. The Transformers: The Movie

The Auto-Combatant’s involvement in these events, or events mostly similar, were also chronicled in the storybook “Transformers the Movie.”

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

As training, Hubcap, Swerve, Red Alert, Tailgate, and Pipes were pitted against some auto-combatants. They got their afts handed to them. Black Sunshine

Shattered Glass

The auto-combatants were solid holograms that could be generated by a computer in specifically designed rooms. Optimus Prime sometimes sparred with them while listening to reports from his inferiors. Shattered Glass

IDW Generation 1 continuity

Metroplex's sparring arena was equipped with auto-combatants that Optimus Prime would often train with. Dai Atlas destroyed a bunch of them to prove to Prime that he wasn't as weak or pacifistic as he seemed. Faces of Darkness

Notes

• Unnamed in the finished film, this droid's name comes from the movie's original script, and was used in the Ladybird adaptation of the movie.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Combat robo (コンバット・ロボ konbatto robo)