Lockdown (Animated)

<div id="title-factionicons" style="float: right; display: none;"><div style="position: relative;"><img alt="" src="/w2/images2/thumb/e/eb/Rubsign.JPG/26px-Rubsign.JPG" width="26" height="30" border="0"/></div></div>

Lockdown is a bounty hunter commonly allied with the Decepticons from the Transformers Animated continuity family.

"Not bad, for a human."

Driven by the thrill of the chase, Lockdown is a bounty hunter by choice and a Decepticon only by necessity. He's got no real loyalty towards Megatron, but the Decepticons always pay on time, better than the Elite Guard, and allow him access to the systems upgrades he craves. Besides that, he's such a nasty piece of work that it's just easier for him to be a 'Con.

Lockdown has a grisly habit of collecting "trophies" from his victims for his own use. He has attached a number of parts that appear to be stolen, such as his hook, chainsaw weapons, and parts of his left leg. His collection of stolen gadgets include quick-hardening cement spray, smoke bombs, and Ratchet's EMP generator. The Autobots consider his actions appalling, while Lugnut views his mercenary ways an insult to the Decepticon cause, but Lockdown doesn't care. As long as Megatron and the Decepticon leadership will give him his upgrades, Lockdown will get the job done.

<table align="center" style="border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tr> <td width="20" valign="top" style="color:#B2B7F2;font-size:35px;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;text-align:left;padding:9px 10px 0 10px;"> “ </td><td valign="top" style="padding:4px 10px 5px 10px;font-family: 'lucida console', arial, sans-serif;"> I'm not that good with names and faces, but I never forget a trophy. </td><td width="20" valign="bottom" style="color:#B2B7F2;font-size:35px;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;text-align:right;padding:10px 10px 0px 10px;"> ” </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" style="padding-top: 0"> <p style="font-size:smaller;line-height:1em;text-align: right"><cite style="font-style:normal;">—Lockdown, "The Thrill of the Hunt"</cite>

</td></tr></table>

Fiction

Animated cartoon

<table cellspacing="0" border="0" cellpadding="0" align="center">

<tr bgcolor="#ececec"> <td><span style="font-size:10px;line-height:1;">This section covers fiction that is ongoing. It will be added to as the story progresses. If it isn't current, you can help by <span class="plainlinks">updating it</span>.</span> </td></tr></table> <div style="width: 90%; margin: 0 auto .2em auto; background-color:#efefef; border: 2px solid #eeeeee; padding: 2px; text-align: left;">Note: Events from IDW Publishing comics are in italics</div>

Voice actor: Lance Henriksen (English), Kaspar Eichel (German)

"Hnn. No cavities. Figures."

During the war, Lockdown worked as a bounty hunter. One of his jobs was to bring an intelligence officer who carried vital information in for questioning. He encountered Ratchet, broke off one of the Autobot's forehead chevrons and stole his EMP generator, turning the healing tool into a weapon. During said encounter, Lockdown's right arm was destroyed when he launched it at Ratchet, causing him to replace it with a decidedly more menacing one (namely, the hook seen above). He was also indirectly responsible for Arcee losing her memory.

On modern-day Earth, Lockdown was hired by Blitzwing to bring in the Autobot presumed responsible for Megatron's death and was allowed to name his price—specifically, Lugnut's Punch of Kill Everything. Tracking the Nemesis to the location of its crash on the moon, Lockdown, through use of the security footage, determined that a repair crew led by Optimus Prime was responsible. Realizing he was not alone, he soon found himself face to face with Blackarachnia, who had her own reasons for being there. Being suspicious of her motives, Lockdown confronted her, only to be knocked out cold by Blackarachnia's cyber venom. Coming to and seeing her gone, he dismissed this and moved on to capture his real target The Arrival #4, Optimus Prime. He captured Prime using the EMP generator and, impressed by Prime's own personal modifications, stole his axe and forcibly removed Optimus's grapplers, something that traumatized him later on. When the Autobots came to rescue Prime, Lockdown made short work of Bumblebee and Bulkhead. Prowl, on the other hand, proved a bigger challenge, but Lockdown came out on top (after having a tire mark smudged on his face). He was about to leave in his ship with his new trophies, when Ratchet, who had been suffering from war flashbacks, came on the scene and soundly thrashed him, partially because the stolen EMP generator didn't work on Ratchet himself. Pinning Lockdown, Ratchet painfully removed both Prime's grapplers and his own EMP generator. Lockdown was forced to watch as Ratchet crippled his ship and escaped with a weakened Optimus. The Thrill of the Hunt

After arriving on the Moon, Blitzwing remarked that the Decepticons hadn't heard anything from Lockdown since he contacted Blitzwing. Mentioning Lockdown's name made Lugnut get a little bent out of shape. Lost and Found

Space banditos? Never heard of them.

As it turns out, Lockdown survived the crash and his ship was repaired. Learning of a large bounty on Starscream, Lockdown headed back to Earth, expecting a serious fight to take him down. It turned out that Prowl managed to take down Starscream for him. During a fight over the Decepticon, they realized that Starscream had escaped. Heading to Earth on his ship, he discovered Prowl had stowed away. Prowl offered to help Lockdown, and the bounty hunter offered a suit of armor to assist.

Why, yes Prowl, I have all this Samurai armor that not only fits you and matches your color scheme, but can also turn into a sidecar that attaches to your vehicle mode!

Upon landing on Earth, Lockdown and Prowl discovered Starscream (both purple and more cowardly than usual) and Prowl managed to take him down. Lockdown contacted Megatron to set up a meet, but Prowl wanted to turn him over to the Elite Guard. Lockdown subdued Prowl and took Starscream. At the warehouse, the Autobots arrived with another Starscream. Lockdown tried to take his leave, but Megatron commanded him to stay. Then the two Starscreams revealed that they were clones with bombs in their chests. Lockdown managed to get away in the chaos, then contacted Prowl with an offer of a partnership. Prowl rejected his offer, saying that all the mods were for weak processors, and warned Lockdown never to contact him again, or he'd turn him over to the Elite Guard. A Fistful of Energon

At some point after he left Earth, Lockdown traded information to Swindle in exchange for weapons. SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy

Toy bios

In the past, Lockdown stole an "active camo" mod from a member of the Autobot Elite Guard. As it renders him nearly invisible, he uses it to do reconnaissance on his targets, learning everything he needs to know about them before striking. Unfortunately, it shorts out in the rain. Stealth Lockdown

Lockdown realizes that half the game is psychological, no matter what that game is. If it's bounty hunting, and you have to paint yourself blue with skeletons and a missing optic to give your target a case of the glitches, well, sometimes it's what you have to do. They'll certainly know he's coming — and that nothing is going to stop him. Bandit Lockdown

At some point, Lockdown was exposed to exotic energy that supercharged his systems, causing his body to give off a fiery glow. This enhancement went so far as to change his mode of operations; he no longer seeks payment for his actions, and instead simply lives to see the terror coming from the Autobots he destroys. With his chainsaw and a body that now gives off so much heat that it can melt or burn through whatever he comes in contact with, that's a lot of terror... for however long the condition lasts. Blazing Lockdown

Toys

Animated

Arrr, matey...

• Lockdown (Deluxe, 2008)
• Accessories: Hook attachment, engine block/EMP generator

Part of the first wave of Animated Deluxes, Lockdown transforms into an amalgam of a 1980s Corvette and a 1960s Cougar, with lots of spikes and a cow-catcher on his bumper. He looks freaking terrifying. In car mode, pressing down on his engine block/EMP generator flips out twin cannon barrels. A hook can also be flipped from the center of his bumper.

In robot mode, the entire engine block/center hood assembly pops off to form a "replacement" hook-hand gauntlet that can be used on either arm (though for animation model accuracy, it would go on his right arm). The engine block can be removed and attached to the deluxe Ratchet's left arm via the "war wound" socket. There was much rejoicing. But it cannot be attached to Prowl's arm. Despite being "normal" size in car mode for a Deluxe, due to his transformation, he towers over most Deluxes in robot mode.

His wrists are susceptible to breaking off if too much pressure is applied when trying to force his wrists into a more natural "straight down" position, so don't do it. The earliest releases of the toy had issues with the EMP generator; it was hard to trigger the barrel release, plus it didn't lock onto Ratchet's arm too well. Later releases fixed these issues.

• More information on Lockdown at TFU.info

<span id="Activator"></span>

Bounty-hunting goodness, now in pocket size.

• Lockdown (Activators, 2008)

Part of the second wave of Activators, this very simplified Scout-class version of Lockdown features a button-activated auto-transformation from vehicle to robot. He lacks the right-arm hook attachment. He's also really squat, even for an Activators toy.

The cardback refers to his car mode as a "Prowler", for what it's worth.

• More information on Activators Lockdown at TFU.info

<span id="Stealth"></span>

"No doubt you want a Starscream redeco instead of this. Hnn, figures."

• Stealth Lockdown (3-pack, 2008)
• Accessories: Hook attachment, engine block/EMP generator

Part of a Target-exclusive multi-pack, this version of the original Deluxe toy is mostly smoky-clear plastic with light gray PVC plastic for joint tolerances, and only a small amount of paint applications. He retains his gimmicks, but it is currently unknown if his wrists have the same breakage issues as the normal version.

He comes with the Legends-class versions of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. These two are almost identical to their individually carded mass-retail versions, having silver faction symbols instead of red.

• More information on Stealth Lockdown at TFU.info

<span id="Bandit"></span>

File:BanditLockdown.jpg

Ok, now they're taking the piss.

• Bandit Lockdown (Activators, 2008)

Part of the fourth wave of Activators, Lockdown gets a creeeeeepy black and blue redeco with skeletons on the hood, somewhat evoking Cybertron's skeleton-bedecked pirate Cannonball. He even has a blacked-out left optic! Arr! Pity he lacks the hook-hand, or the whole pirate thing would be complete.

The cardback refers to his car mode as a "Bandit Prowler." Whatever that means.

• More information on Bandit Lockdown at TFU.info

<span id="Blazing"></span>

This is what happens when he takes "trophies" from a Ford Pinto.

• Blazing Lockdown (Deluxe, 2008?)
• Accessories: Chainsaw attachment, engine block/EMP generator

Part of the fifth wave of Animated Deluxes, this fiery-themed redeco and retooling of the original Lockdown toy replaces the hook in his hood-attachment with his chainsaw weapon. He retains all of the gimmickry from the previous versions of the mold.

• More information on Blazing Lockdown at TFU.info

<span id="BumperBattler"></span>

Lockdown on his day off

• Lockdown (Bumper Battlers, 2009)

Part of the fourth wave of Bumper Battlers toys, this extremely simplified toy features electronic sounds when the Decepticon symbol on his hood is pressed. Pressing in on his bumper flips up the roof of the car, revealing his robot mode.

<center> <table cellspacing="0" style="">

<tr>

<td style="padding:0 1em 0 1em;text-align:right;"><div class="tti_messageboxdiv" style="width:100%;padding:.5em; background-color:#efefff; border:solid 1px #9f9fff;text-align:center;margin:auto;">

Or you could pick... WHAT'S IN THE BOX.

This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available.

</div> </td></tr></table> </center>

Trivia

• According to Derrick Wyatt's blog, his original concept for Lockdown was as a freakish Frankenstein-like monster. It was altered to better fit Lockdown's more business-like nature.<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-0" title="">[1]</a></sup> Lockdown's final model, itself, is "reminiscent of skull like head and an undertaker's tux" <small title="source in context">[sic]</small>—hey, he even has coat-tails!<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1" title="">[2]</a></sup>

• Meanwhile, Wyatt has explicitly said that Lockdown is not based on Death's Head.

• The cartoon model for Lockdown shows an amusing homage to the older toys. Instead of the ordinary Decepticon symbol seen on the toy, the animated version's chest carries what appears to be a rubsign, presumably to symbolize the character's lack of allegiance to any faction.

• According to the Decepticon character descriptions sent out in the original Cartoon Network press release for Transformers Animated, Lockdown "can go into a Predator-like stealth mode for brief periods". Thus far, he has never been shown to do this in fiction, although the idea seems to have been the basis for the Stealth Lockdown toy — whose bio further cemented the Predator connection by saying his "active camo shorts out in rain".

• His toy's vehicle mode is adorable yet terrifying. Like if <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cars_%28film%29" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Cars_(film)">Cars</a> had had a serial-killer character.

• Despite having lost the EMP generator, Lockdown retains the external engine it comprises in his vehicle mode, as seen in "A Fistful of Energon". Perhaps he found a substitute or a replacement?

• The interior of Lockdown's vehicle mode sports a chain-steering wheel and a skull on the gear stick. Now that's hardcore.

• Lockdown was responsible for breaking off Ratchet's right-hand chevron , but it would appear that he wasn't the first.

• Although it initially seemed that Lockdown had not scanned a local Earth altmode, he was shown doing so in a comic immediately prior to the events shown in "The Thrill of the Hunt". This is slightly confusing though, since the Great War flashbacks in "Thrill" do seem to show Lockdown using the same muscle car altmode he would later adopt Earthside—but to be fair, the scene was quite dark. He must have just scanned an extremely similar new form. Shrug.

References

<div class="references-small"> <ol class="references"><li id="cite_note-0"><a href="#cite_ref-0" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://derrickjwyatt.blogspot.com/2008/05/evolution-of-lockdown.html" class="external autonumber" title="http://derrickjwyatt.blogspot.com/2008/05/evolution-of-lockdown.html" rel="nofollow">[1]</a> <li id="cite_note-1"><a href="#cite_ref-1" title="">↑</a> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=21975298&postID=2803441425110630377&isPopup=true" class="external autonumber" title="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=21975298&postID=2803441425110630377&isPopup=true" rel="nofollow">[2]</a></ol></div>

External links

• Lockdown at TFU.info