Hot Rod (DOTM)

This subject of this article goes by multiple names that apply to other articles as well. See Hot Rod (disambiguation), Rodimus (disambiguation).

Hot Rod is an Autobot from the live-action film series continuity family.

Oui oui, mon ami, je m’appelle Hot Rod
The Lancelot of the Autobot squad
I came from afar just to say bonsoir
Tell the king "casse-toi"
Who's the best, c’est moi

Hot Rod (aka Rodimus and Rodimus Prime) is an Autobot who has been on Earth for a long time. Brother-in-arms to Bumblebee, as the two have fought in many battles together. Brave and patient, he has spent years undercover on earth after having been assigned to watch over Viviane Wembly, who he has grown very fond of. He is a close ally of Sir Edmund Burton and in addition to regular weapons, Hot Rod possesses a special weapon that can create temporary temporal bubbles in which time slows to a crawl. He also finds his inability to get rid of his hated French accent a source of constant frustration.

Fiction

The Last Knight film

Voice actor: Omar Sy (English), Yōhei Tadano (Japanese), Michel Elias (European French), Frédéric Desager (Canadian French), Oliver Feld (German), Pasquale Anselmo (Italian), José Antonio Macías (Latin American-Spanish), Miquel Sitjar (Castilian Spanish), Rodrigo Oliveira (Portuguese)

Here is what I have that Shockwave doesn't: both of my arms, depth perception, and a pulse!

Hot Rod was an Autobot warrior who had been on Earth for some time. At some point after arriving on the planet, he somehow picked up a French accent that he did not know how to get rid of, something that caused him much frustration. Along with Bumblebee, he joined the Allies in World War II; using their vehicle modes to infiltrate a Nazi convoy and attack an occupied Nazi command post. Their adventures in the war were documented and covered up by the Order of the Witwiccans, who had covertly monitored Transformer activity on Earth for centuries.

Qu'est que c'est?

In the modern day, Hot Rod had become the primary confidant of the surviving Witwiccans, working closely with Edmund Burton and the father of University of Oxford professor Viviane Wembly. As Wembly was, in reality, the last living descendant of the ancient Merlin and thus the only one able to wield his Cybertronian staff, Hot Rod became her deep cover bodyguard, spending years disguised as her Citroen and coming to admire her. Following the disappearance of Optimus Prime and the impending awakening of Unicron, Burton tracked him down and told him the time to recruit Viviane to fulfill her destiny had come. The next day, as she prepared to leave for work, Hot Rod sprang into action, locking her in and racing through the London streets. When she broke his window in an attempt to escape, he broke cover, begging her to stop. With his true nature revealed, she mistook him for a Decepticon and grew more frantic in her escape, wondering aloud if he was "one of the famous ones". He grew angrier as she continued to try and escape, and on the way, he scanned and upgraded into a new Lamborghini Centenario vehicle mode.

That would be your mother.

He arrived with her at Burton's castle, mere seconds after the arrival of Cade Yeager and his old comrade Bumblebee. He transformed and attempted to calm the frantic Viviane, who he thought was being very difficult. After things had calmed down a bit, he formally introduced himself to Viviane, though she found understanding his accent very hard. He once again bemoaned his inability to get rid of the hated accent.

Gentlemen.

When the TRF and MI6 tracked them down and stormed the castle, Hot Rod volunteered to buy time to cover their escape, using his time bubble gun to slow down their pursuers while the group made their escape. The humans and Autobots raced to London's Royal Navy Submarine Museum in search of a working water vehicle. When they found themselves pursued by the authorities on arrival, Hot Rod volunteered to lead them away so the others could continue the search for the Staff.

He later made his way to Stonehenge and joined with the other Autobots, humans, and Guardian Knights. The returned Optimus Prime rallied them all to save Earth from Quintessa and Megatron's plan to drain Unicron, who resided within the planet, of energy to restore the recently arrived Cybertron. En route to Cybertron, he and the other Autobots were not impressed by the intimidating knights. As the battle began, he rode an Orbital Assault Carrier as they took on the airborne Decepticons.

You have not seen the last of Le Quack.

He was eventually shot down by Infernocus but survived and joined Optimus's charge on the control chamber, congratulating Sqweeks on his destruction of the enemy gun emplacement. He was very happy to see Viviane had returned rather than flee with the TRF. As the battle raged in the unstable chamber, he used his time gun to freeze Megatron, saving Hound's life. Quintessa and Megatron were quickly defeated and his beloved Viviane retrieved the Staff. As the control center fell to Earth, he managed to save Viviane and Cade from falling to their deaths by freezing them with his gun, buying them just enough time to be grabbed and flown to safety by Optimus. He and the other Autobots managed to survive the crash of the control center and soon bid farewell to the humans as they left to return home to Cybertron. The Last Knight

Timelines

In a universe where Optimus Prime died in the Battle of Chicago, Rodimus took the mantle of Prime, ultimately defeating Megatron in a struggle atop a space bridge on Cybertron. Botcon 2015 Megatron bio card

Games

Transformers: Forged to Fight

"Does this remind you of anything, monsieur?"

Hot Rod was one of the Autobots pulled from his universe by the Quintessons and forced to fight. He eventually joins the Commander. There are at least a few of him running around! Transformers: Forged to Fight

A Question of Loyalty - Chapter 2: Volatile Reunion - Uncharted Territory Brothers At Arms Bring Him Home

Toys

Dark of the Moon

"I'm French! Why do you think I have zis outrrrrrageous accent?"

• Bumblebee / Soundwave with Rodimus (Cyberverse 3-pack, 2011)

Dark of the Moon "Rodimus" is a redeco of the Universe Legends Class Rodimus, transforming into an orange sports car. On the United States market, he is only available as a Walmart exclusive, as the "Bonus" figure in a pack with Bumblebee and Soundwave. This three-pack was also available as an Asda exclusive in the United Kingdom, from Rossmann stores in Germany and from Auchan stores in Hungary and Italy. Of note is that the European packaging does not market Rodimus as a "bonus figure" (presumably so stores can charge full price for three toys), and his window lacks the yellow edges highlighting him as a special feature, despite still being separated from Bumblebee and Soundwave, who share a common window like in the U.S. version. Despite this, Rodimus still doesn't get a mention on the back of the packaging, which only features a one-sentence "bio" about Bumblebee planning to bring down Soundwave in twelve different languages.

All versions of the packaging also lack any logos that label the toys as Cyberverse products.

This sculpt was also used to make Revenge of the Fallen Smokescreen.

• More information on Rodimus at TFU.info

The Last Knight

"Yup, it's ze whopper alright."

• Autobot Hot Rod (Tiny Turbo Changer, 2017)
  • Series: 2
  • Bag Code: P

Released in Series 2 of blindbagged Tiny Turbo Changers, The Last Knight "Autobot Hot Rod" is a small soft-plastic transformable figure based that changes from robot to luxury sports car in a few simple steps. He has articulated shoulders and his hands can grip 3mm posts and other small accessories. Like all Tiny Turbo Changers, he can't roll in vehicle mode.

He shares the same transformation and engineering with Bumblebee and Barricade. This mold is also used to make Movie Edition Autobot Dino.

"Seriously, turning back into a car is very difficult!"

• Bumblebee & Autobot Hot Rod (1-Step Turbo Changer 2-pack, 2017)

The Last Knight 1-Step Turbo Changer Autobot Hot Rod is a retool of Age of Extinction One-Step Changer Lockdown, transforming from vehicle to robot by pressing a button on his vehicle mode. His only articulation is the elbows, which can only pivot up and down. After transforming into robot mode, Hot Rod needs to transform back into vehicle in two steps: Push down the button again while clamping the vehicle parts together by hand to make it secure.

Hot Rod is entirely cast in a reddish shade of gunmetal plastic despite stock renders showing him possessing over-saturated midnight blue plastic.

Like most of his figures from The Last Knight, 1-Step Hot Rod was released as part of the exclusive Autobots Unite subline imprint. This figure was only available in a 2-pack with a redeco of 1-Step Turbo Changer Bumblebee. For the United States, the 2-pack was announced to be excusive to Walmart, but was ultimately only available via Walmart's online store, and was found at discounter Ross around the same time. Internationally, the 2-pack was also available via other exclusive venues, namely Asda in the United Kingdom; Prisma in Finland; Walmart in Mexico; Bart Smit and Intertoys (owned by the same parent company) in the Netherlands; Intertoys in Germany; and ICA Hemma in Sweden.

• Autobot Hot Rod (Turbo Change Series, July 21, 2018)
  • Japanese ID Number: TC-10

The One-Step Hot Rod toy is later re-released individually by TakaraTomy, under the Turbo Change Series lineup. The pins from the original Lockdown mold is most likely to be restored for for activating the second Battle Command Optimus Prime toy's gimmicks.

"Hey Hasbro, don't you have better things to do now than retooling Lockdown's body for me?"

• Autobot Hot Rod (Flip & Change, 2017)

The Last Knight Flip & Change Hot Rod is a retool of Age of Extinction Flip & Change Lockdown with a new head. He is a simplified toy that can auto-transforms from an unlicensed approximation of a Lamborghini Aventador rather than a Lamborghini Centenario LP770-4 into a Voyager-sized robot by pulling out the arms first, and then flip the figure over itself. He features articulation on his arms and features 5mm compatible hands. As part of the "Autobots Unite" subline imprint, he was exclusively available at Walmart in the United States and Canada, although he was apparently only ever available from Walmart's online store in Canada. In the United Kingdom, he was exclusive to Asda stores.

Ma Petite Chou-Fleur.

• Autobot Hot Rod (Legion Class, 2017)

Released as part of Walmart's Autobots Unite subline, The Last Knight Legion Class Hot Rod transforms from a robot into a fictionalized Lamborghini Centenario with an added spoiler.

How annoying.

Legion Hot Rod was released as part of the Autobots Unite subline imprint that was announced to be exclusive to Walmart in the United States. Like his Deluxe Class counterpart, Deluxe Hot Rod was only available via Walmart's online store, but never found in stores, which applies both to the United States and Canada. Other international exclusive venues include Asda in the United Kingdom; Prisma in Finland; Líder in Chile; and ICA Hemma in Sweden. In Hasbro's Asian markets such as China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, Hot Rod was available at general retail, still in Autobots Unite packaging. (If you're in Malaysia, there are literally 0% chances of finding this toy, unless you're buying a whole goddamn case by import) A general retail version in standard The Last Knight Premier Edition packaging was listed at Amazon and the public US Walmart website, complete with all-new stock photos, but ultimately never materialized.

This is the closest to a realistically proportioned Hot Rod that is not repainted or retooled from another figure. It does, however, have a very similar transformation to Robots in Disguise Legion Class Sideswipe.

Unless you're transforming him properly, Hot Rod's painted crotch is prone to chipping if you press him down while rolling on flat surfaces.

Paint me Ferrari Red Magneta ASAP. So I can let her ride in style!

• Autobot Hot Rod & Bumblebee (Legion Class 2-pack, 2017)

Packed along with his brothers-in-arms Bumblebee, this The Last Knight Hot Rod is a "stealth-themed" black redeco of the figure above. As a reference to his Generation 1 namesake, he features a flame tampograph (complete with an Autobot insignia) on his vehicle mode's front hood, as well as a yellow spoiler.

No thanks, I've had enough Cajun for one day.

• Autobot Hot Rod (Deluxe Class, 2017)
  • Takara release date: September 16, 2017
  • Takara ID number: TLK-20

The Last Knight Deluxe Class Hot Rod is an extensive retool of Age of Extinction Deluxe Class Lockdown, transforming into a Lamborghini Centenario. While almost the entire figure has been remolded, the lower legs and feet as well as some internal structuring parts remain unchanged. Along with added transformation steps, Hot Rod's new tooling makes him substantially taller than the original mold taking it from being one of the shorter Deluxe molds to being one of the tallest Deluxes in the line.

"And you'd better stay close to me, little lady."

His Walmart exclusive (and the Japanese release's) box art is strange in that it features a CG render of Hot Rod and Bumblebee standing side-by-side, however Bumblebee is in the forefront and is far more prominent. Unlike most modern instruction pamphlets, Hot Rod's instructions are printed in full color. (The TakaraTomy instructions, on the other hand, opts the usual monochrome) Additionally, he is thus far the only Premier Edition Deluxe Class figure to have a full-length bio on his box. As for the regular release, he features the same default Premier Edition style box that most figures use, omitting the bio.

Uncommon for Deluxe Class toys, the figure does not include any weapons or accessories. However, grey prototypes displayed at HasCon 2017 shows he originally came with Age of Extinction Deluxe Class Lockdown's cannon, but with additional parts to add a peg on the side of the cannon and to fill in the gap for the Lockdown's head.

Deluxe Hot Rod was released as part of the Autobots Unite subline imprint that was announced to be exclusive to Walmart in the United States. Like his Legion Class counterpart, Deluxe Hot Rod was only available via Walmart's online store, but never found in stores, although he later appeared at Ross and Ollie's stores in mid-2018. In Canada, where he was also exclusive to Walmart, he did eventually see a retail release after being available from Walmart's online store for several months. Other international exclusive venues include Asda in the United Kingdom; Otto Simon and its subsidiary Top1Toys in the Netherlands; Bodega Aurrera in Mexico; Prisma in Finland; Dráčik in Slovakia and the Czech Republic; and ICA Hemma in Sweden. In Hasbro's Asian markets such as Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, Hot Rod was available at general retail, still in Autobots Unite packaging. A general retail version in standard The Last Knight Premier Edition packaging was listed in Toys"R"Us's systems and later also at Amazon and the public US Target and Walmart websites, complete with all-new stock photos. Thus far, the figure has only been available in this packaging in mainland China and the Philippines.

Bumblebee

You know things are bad for good ol' Rod when the best he gets even in the smallest size class is a remake of an 11-year old figure.

• Autobot Hot Rod (Speed Series, 2018)

Released as part of the Bumblebee Energon Igniters line, Speed Series Hot Rod transforms from robot to '80s muscle car, with engineering highly reminiscent of the original 2007 Legends Class Barricade toy. Like other Speed figures, he can use the Cores of larger Energon Igniters figures as a small towable trailer. and due to the toy being lightweight, it can propel his vehicle mode forward very quickly.

Like Camaro Bumblebee and his rival Barricade, Hot Rod also features pinned wheels instead of the simple-assembly ones. As the port is 5mm compatible, Hot Rod can mount with other smaller weapons with the same post size, making him an efficient weapon-towing vehicle. Due to the placement of the core's hole, Hot Rod had his port sticking out from his left knee, which makes it glaring in robot mode, but more convincing as a "jet booster" in vehicle mode. Hot Rod's car roof has a special tab-hole, which is intended to be used for Barricade's light-bar.

This mold was retooled from Energon Igniters Speed Barricade.

Unlike the Power Series figure below, Speed Series Hot Rod had a rather spotty distribution in Malaysia: While he was first available (in very limited numbers) in some stores like Parkson & Isetan, Hot Rod is the only Speed Series figure that never saw release in many Toys"R"Us stores after the lineup hit shelves on December 2018, making it an extremely rare figure. If you're lucky enough, you still can find him somewhere (albeit in VERY limited quantities) in late 2019.

"I'm just a little stiff."

• Autobot Hot Rod (Power Series, 2018)

Standing at approximately five inches, Bumblebee Power Hot Rod transforms into a black and red muscle car loosely based on the first-generation Chevrolet Camaro. As with other Power Series figures, he can interact with the Cores of larger Energon Igniters toys.

The figure shares tooling with the concurrently released Energon Igniters Power Dropkick and was later retooled into Shatter.

Generations

Studio Series

"Not bad fair an uld timair."

• WWII Autobot Hot Rod (Deluxe Class, 2019)
  • ID number: 50
  • Japanese ID number: SS-44
  • Japanese release date: February 29, 2020
  • Accessories: Blaster, "WWII Flashback" backdrop

Studio Series WWII Hot Rod is a retool of WWII Bumblebee, transforming into a Humber Light Reconnaissance Car rather than a Steyr-Daimler-Puch 2000 truck. Despite this, some of his robot body parts are based on the on-screen vehicle kibble. He also comes with a blaster that doubles as a vehicle mode artillery barrel. Due to the lack of the multiple-barreled handgun from the original mold, Hot Rod's turret swivel is left bare.

Like WWII Bumblebee, Hot Rod also features a psuedo-Automorph gimmick: His front chest panel can be pushed up and down, retracting/extending his head as long it faces upwards. Also, due to his transformation scheme, Hot Rod is a shellformer, with the majority of the vehicle shells hanging on his rear like a backpack. Speaking of vehicle shells, the "backpack" also blocks the tab hole for display stands unless it's slightly lifted up. His package artwork depicts him with two identical weapons despite the toy only coming with one.

Like the rest of the figures in the same wave, Hot Rod first saw release in some Toys"R"Us shops in Malaysia.

Merchandise

Hot Rod

• Hot Rod (Die-cast Figurine, 2017)

This Hot Rod is a 1/64 non-transforming robot mode figurine, and like MetaColle figures, he was made partially out of die-cast metal.

• Hot Rod (Die-cast cars, 2017)

This Hot Rod is a 1/64 non-transforming but screen-accurate vehicle mode based on his alternate mode seen in the film.

Jada Toys

All of the releases below are Walmart exclusives. The 1/24 and 1/32 scale cars also saw release in Japan in November 2017.

Let's burn rubber, madame!

• Hot Rod (1/24 Scale Die Cast Car, 2017)

A 1/24-scaled non-transforming diecast car based on Hot Rod'2017 Lamborghini Centenario LP770-4 form, and he features opening doors and vehicle front hood, revealing the driver's seat (with its steering wheel chromed) & engines (also chromed). And similar to Robot Powered Machines, Hot Rod features a sculpted robot mode underneath. He also comes with a collector's coin with his face engraved on it.

• Hot Rod (1/32 Scale Die Cast Car, 2017)

A medium-sized version of the Hot Rod car is also available. The opening gimmick is only limited to the doors.

"We can't hold out forever, Viviane, but we can give them one humongous repair bill."

• Hot Rod (1/64 Scale Die Cast Car, 2017)
  • Accessories: Display base

A smaller, Hot Wheels/Matchbox-sized version of the Hot Rod car is also available. He also comes with his own Display Base with his picture printed on it.

Notes

Voila! Dr. Le Quack at your service. I go in, steal all their valuables and they won't remember.

• Concept art for "Hot Rod" appeared in the "Transformers 3" section of Massive Black Volume 2, along with various other designs.
• Early The Last Knight concept designs for Hot Rod were labeled under the working name "Side Kick".
• Dark of the Moon Rodimus was developed independently of Hot Rod, but shares the same article for simplicity and because they are both based off Generation 1 Hot Rod.
• In the WWII flashback of The Last Knight, Hot Rod is shown to transform into a Steyr truck, but his robot-mode kibble is from an M8 armored car. Strangely, unlike the case with Bumblebee, this does not appear to be a consequence of using Josh Nizzi's original concept art (at right), which depicts Hot Rod using distinctive vehicle parts from an M4 Sherman tank.
• In various international dubs of The Last Knight, Hot Rod is given a different accent in each one.
  • In the European French dub, Hot Rod's accent is Italian.
  • In the Canadian French dub, Hot Rod's accent is French-from-France.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Hot Rod (ホットロッド Hotto Roddo)
• Korean: Hot Rod (홋 로드 Hot Rodeu)
• Mandarin: Huǒbào Rod (Taiwan, 火爆洛迪 Huǒbào Luòdí, "Hot Rod"), Rè Pò (China, 热破, "Hot Break")
• Ukrainian: Honschyk (Гонщик, "Racer")