Crankcase (DOTM)

The name or term "Crankcase" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Crankcase (disambiguation).

Crankcase is a Decepticon Dread from the Dark of the Moon portion of the live-action film series continuity family.

The hunt has begun...

A rarity among Decepticons, Crankcase is known for his subtle and shadowy nature, though it would be a mistake not to see him as a threat. A member of the elite Dreads, the Decepticon's top infiltration and assassination team, his specialty is hacking, data theft, and destructive sabotage of vital systems.

Fiction

Dark of the Moon adaptations

Crankcase was one of the many Decepticons stationed on Earth's Moon. When Sentinel Prime was being retrieved from the wreckage of the Ark, he quietly emerged from the Moon's surface and secretly hitched a ride on the Autobots' shuttle back to Earth. Dark of the Moon Dark of the Moon #1

Dark of the Moon film

Ironhide probably could have shot him about now and saved all that trouble of being stabbed.

After Sentinel Prime was retrieved from Earth's Moon and reactivated, Megatron put into motion the plan that had been waiting in the wings for hundreds of years. With the human Sam Witwicky believing that the Decepticons wished to capture Sentinel and force him to use the control pillar to activate his space bridge, the Dreads were sent to pursue the Autobots. After Crowbar disposed of Seymour Simmons, Crankcase and Hatchet leaped to attack, only for the Autobots to break suddenly and deploy their Stealth Force mode.

This was one facial piercing I didn't want!

Despite their best collective efforts to slow down the Autobots, Hatchet was quickly destroyed, and the remaining Dreads were soon confronted by the Autobot heavy-hitter, Ironhide, who stopped them in their tracks with a head-on collision. Faced with Ironhide's heavy weapons and Sideswipe, the Dreads seemingly capitulated by dropping their ranged weapons, but as soon as the Autobots followed suit, they deployed explosive spears to attack their enemies. His partner was initially successful in injuring Ironhide, and Crankcase knocked Sideswipe to the ground, but he was fatally injured when Ironhide forced Crowbar's spear through his face; the veteran Autobot then slammed the Decepticon into an abandoned car and kicked the wreckage into a nearby auto shop as the spear exploded, destroying Crankcase. Dark of the Moon

Crankcase’s involvement in the preceding events, or events mostly similar, were also chronicled in the novels Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel; the comic mini-series Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation; and the storybooks "Bumblebee's Best Friend", "Dark of the Moon: Action Pop-ups!", and "Transformers: Dark of the Moon Mix & Match".

Toy bios

Crankcase views himself as many things: spy, tracker, saboteur, and infiltrator. This "resume" all links back to how he prefers to lurk in the shadows, operating unseen and never recognized. Crankcase would watch the Autobots and report their movements back to Megatron before damaging his enemies' support network, all while other Decepticons tackle the combat.

Of course, Crankcase does not see himself as a warrior. He rarely engages in combat and may never fight if he can help it. But in the event that he does fight, it is both on his terms. After all, he is swift, terrible, final, and assured of victory in his favor. Cyberverse Crankcase Crankcase (Deluxe)

Games

MechTech Weapons Challenge

Bumblebee could use Crankcase's blade claw to aid him in his missions to retrieve MechTech weapons technology stolen by the Decepticons. MechTech Weapons Challenge

Cyberverse Battle Builder

Crankcase joined the rest of the Decepticons in combating the Autobots on battlefields on Earth, the Earth's Moon and on Cybertron. Sometimes there were many of him! Cyberverse Battle Builder

Toys

Dark of the Moon

Cyberverse

:D

• Crankcase (Cyberverse Legion Class, 2011)
  • Series: 1
  • Number: 003
  • Japanese ID number: CV11

Part of the first wave of Cyberverse Legion single-pack toys, Crankcase is a Legends-scale figure that transforms into a modified Chevrolet Suburban. This mode is lightly detailed but looks very much like the Deluxe version. For his size class, he has an incredibly detailed face mirroring the Deluxe version. Compared to others of his range, he is one of the taller ones. In a rarity for Legends-scale figures, he has weapons, which look like dual blades. Later releases use the Battle in the Moonlight retool (see below).

• More information on Cyberverse Crankcase at TFU.info

• Cybertronian Warriors Pack (Cyberverse multi-pack, 2011)

A redeco and retooling (the same as the "Battle in the Moonlight" version described below) of the Legion figure in white, decoed to emulate the real-life Metropolitan Police Department SUV that was accidentally hit by a Bumblebee prop car while filming the movie. Hilariously, the included Bumblebee figure is given damage in the front of the vehicle mode.

This Toys"R"Us-exclusive set also includes Bumblebee's APC, Barricade in a deco similar to Crankcase's, as well as an Ironhide who is given a slightly altered version of his original deco.

• More information on Cybertronian Warriors Crankcase at TFU.info

• Battle in the Moonlight (Cyberverse multi-pack, 2011)

A slight retool and redeco of the original Legion class figure, this time in light gray (with a slightly lighter gray for the unpaintable plastic pieces such as the wheels, thighs and various joints and connectors), and gold windows, lights, and robot mode detailing. He was sold in a Walmart-exclusive multi-pack with a redecoed Legion class Ratchet and Commander Class Optimus Prime w/ trailer.

This version sports several minor remolds from the original. The calves/ankles/support struts (it's weird because of the digitigrade leg thing with the support struts in front) have been remolded so you cannot extend the struts past the intended point on the top of the foot. The original version of the mold didn't have these pieces stopped, so you could keep extending them past the point where they were supposed to meet (making the toy taller, at the expense of the feet not looking the way intended). With the legs only extending the intended length, he is now one of the shorter-to-average sized Legion figures in the line (Ignoring the truck hood hanging over his head). The joint of the hood/roof/backpack, where it connects to the back, has also had more plastic added so it cannot move more than a millimeter or two back away from the back of the head, just enough to get the chest hood chunks past it during transformation. The original version had no restrictions, and could be pushed back all the way until the bottom of the roof hit the back of the thighs. (This made it a little less obvious that he had a truck hood behind his head, at the expense of a big empty gap at his back.)

• More information on Battle in the Moonlight Crankcase at TFU.info

Deluxe Class toys

Pinsir, use Vicegrip!

• Crankcase (MechTech Deluxe Class, 2011)
  • Japanese ID number: DD04
  • Accessories: MechTech Blaster/Blade Claw

Part of the first wave of Dark of the Moon Deluxes, Crankcase transforms into a modified Chevrolet Suburban. As part of the MechTech series, he has a Blaster weapon that features a nasty grabby-claw action feature. He also has a pair of huge pincers above his robot-mode head that can also be flipped forward whilst in vehicle mode.

His dreadlocks are supposed to be able to swivel, with the intent that they be swung behind his head to fit under his hood for vehicle mode, but in practice, this proved an either impossible or inadvisable prospect: on most, the gold paint applied has made them too thick to be rotated, running the risk of tearing the soft plastic. And even if you do get a Crankcase that doesn't have this problem, the tiny translucent plastic hinges to which the dreadlocks are connected won't last long. This means that they either end up stuffed inside his chest in vehicle mode (this is how the toy comes packaged), or are left dangling outside, with the former configuration forcing the dreadlocks to compete with everything else for space and putting the car under enough tension that it feels like it's about to spring apart.

In an apparent running change, the otherwise long and pointed middle digit on each hand (as per the stock photo on the right) was shoddily cut off into a noticeably thick stump (compared to the more slender fingers remaining), often cut to a different length on each hand. It is unknown if this was done for safety reasons, an error during assembly, or maybe Hasbro decided that long, extended middle fingers just weren't a tasteful design choice for a children's toy. Later releases, however, featured retooled hands with a shorter middle finger similar to his others.

The Japanese Dark Side Moon release features the remolded hands exclusively. It also comes packed with a character card and an accompanying transparent plastic card of his MechTech weapon for the MechTech Wars online game.

Crankcase's MechTech weapon is redecoed (in mostly gold chrome) as the "Heat Blade Claw" accessory, and it was released as a giveaway for the Dark of the Moon Toyline Release Celebration campaign in Japan. Meanwhile, the figure (complete with accessory) is redecoed as a Vehicon from Age of Extinction.

• More information on Deluxe Crankcase at TFU.info

Generations

cranky because youre hongry arent you

• Crankcase (Deluxe Class, 2018)
  • Hasbro ID number: 30
  • TakaraTomy ID number: SS-22
  • TakaraTomy release date: January 26, 2019
  • Accessories: 2 spiked weapons, "Dreads Standoff" backdrop

Studio Series Crankcase is a redeco of Studio Series Crowbar, transforming from a robot into a Chevrolet Suburban in 20 steps. He includes a pair of gold spiked weapons which he can hold via 5 mm post and store on his back or the side of his car mode. Meanwhile, his flowing strands of golden chain hair are made of a rubbery plastic, which allows them to fit inside the vehicle mode. He also includes a cardboard backdrop display depicting the Mexican standoff scene from Dark of the Moon.

Of course, why Crankcase was redecoed from Crowbar is known only to the distant and capricious god that is Hasbro. The original version of the mold was used to make The Last Knight Decepticon Berserker, who is directly based on Crankcase's appearance and would have been the preferred template for this toy. Crankcase's package art is even recolored from Crowbar's!

Movie Edition

• Crankcase (Tiny Turbo Changer, 2019)
  • Series: 5
  • Bag code: N

Released in Series 5 of Tiny Turbo Changers, Movie Edition Crankcase is a redeco of the series 2 Berserker figure, transforming into a generic version of a Chevrolet Suburban. He features articulated shoulders and hands that can grip Cyberverse weapons and other 3mm compatible posts.

Notes

Plenty of dread, but no wind.

• Crankcase appears to be modeled after the eponymous alien hunter from the Predator series, possessing similar "dreadlocks", mandibles and fangs. He also has a nose ring and 2 pairs of earrings.
• Despite having a wholly distinct design from Crowbar in all of the preproduction art, and despite that design (with prominent claws for middle fingers and a pair of small secondary arms on his torso) being used as the basis for all of his merchandise, Crankcase's actual appearance in the movie is identical to Crowbar below the neck. This makes his Studio Series figure somewhat accurate to the film, but not by a whole lot.
• An early working name for him was "Dreadwind".
• 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.
• A Dread Enforcer identical to Crankcase appears as a boss enemy in the Dark of the Moon video game, and is also playable in the game's online multiplayer mode, although his alternate mode is a Carbon Motors E7 approximation similar to Crowbar's toy alternate mode.
• No, he is not Dave Fennoy.
• Crankcase would years later receive a homage in the form of Berserker, whose Premier Edition toy would be retooled for Studio Series Crowbar. Unfortunately, this chain of homages takes a turn for the weird as Crowbar (rather than Berserker) would be redecoed into Studio Series Crankcase.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Crankcase (クランクケース Kurankukēsu)