Dread (DOTM)

This article is about Decepticon subgroup from Dark of the Moon. For the planet, see Dread (planet).

The Dreads are a Decepticon subgroup from the Dark of the Moon portion of the live-action film series continuity family.

The Dreads are a unit of particularly fearsome Decepticons. Their specialty is infiltration and the assassination of high profile Autobot targets. They’re also such unpleasant monsters that even the other Decepticons tend to dislike them.

The team's known members include:

• Crankcase
• Hatchet
• Crowbar

They have an army of Assaulters and an Enforcer.

Fiction

Dark of the Moon film

With the retrieval and reactivation of Sentinel Prime from the wreck of the Ark from Earth's moon, Megatron's plan for the Space Bridge was set into motion. Needing Sentinel for his control pillar to activate the ones the Decepticons had taken from the Ark decades ago, the Dreads were sent to secure the former Autobot leader. Chasing the Autobots down a highway, the Dreads attacked, but despite their best efforts, Hatchet was soon destroyed and the survivors were eventually confronted by Ironhide, backed up by Sideswipe. Unlikely to match the Autobot weapons specialist's heavy firepower, Crankcase and Crowbar dropped their ranged weapons, but as soon as the Autobots followed suit, the Dreads deployed hidden explosive spears and attacked, injuring Ironhide. Unfortunately, Sideswipe managed to deflect the spear thrown at him and tossed his gun to Ironhide, who used it to destroy Crowbar before turning on Crankcase. For his troubles, Crankcase was impaled in the face with Crowbar's spear, thrown onto an abandoned car and destroyed after Ironhide kicked the resulting wreckage into a nearby auto shop. Dark of the Moon

Transformers: Dark of the Moon - The Game

Some Dreads were stationed in Central America with Starscream to help him launch a ship. Later, Mirage and Bumblebee came and destroyed the Enforcer and probably all the Assaulters. Dark of the Moon

Notes

• In early production, the Dreads were announced to be a pair of modified Chevrolet Suburbans. Photos of only two prop vehicles were even taken on-set. In the final movie, all three Dreads use identical Chevrolet Suburbans as their alternate modes, with individual robot modes between the three of them. For the toy line, Hasbro decided to give them individual alternate modes as well, which is why only Crankcase turns into a Suburban, whereas the Cyberverse versions of Crowbar and Hatchet transform into a Carbon Motors E7 Police car and a modified Eurofighter Typhoon jet, respectively.
• Early working names were "Dreadwind" for Crankcase, "Hooligan" for Crowbar and "Dirtbag" for Hatchet.
• Working names at a different stage of development were "Enforcer #1" for Crankcase, "Enforcer #2" for Crowbar and "Enforcer #3" for Hatchet.