Gears (G1)

This article is about the Generation 1 Autobot. For the Revenge of the Fallen Autobot, see Gears (ROTF).

Gears is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Gears, ironically, hates bright colors.

Gears hates Earth, a lush, green planet practically as unlike his cozy, gray, metallic homeworld as possible. He grumbles and complains about being shipwrecked on it—complains and grumbles to a ridiculous extent, until he becomes a source of amusement, rather than negativity. This is usually his intent—unlike his fellow Mini Vehicle Huffer, Gears has a desire to help his fellow Autobots see good in a bad situation. Still, he does get depressed from time to time.

Gears is strong and tough, not so much in lifting but in endurance, and carrying heavy loads with little effort, be they energon cubes, disabled Autobots, or potatoes for the farmers' market. He is fitted with infrared vision sensors.

In robot mode, Gears can release controlled bursts of compressed air from his feet, launching himself to altitudes over 100,000 feet, and floating back down. In doing so, he must be careful not to lose air pressure before coming close enough to the ground for a safe landing.

Nicknames: Ox, Sourball

Portuguese name (Brazil comics): Engrenagem

Hungarian name: Fuvaros (meaning Hauler)

Portuguese name (Portugal comics): Mecano

Italian name: Mulo

South American name: Pick-Up

French-Canadian name: Rollo

Russian name: Привод ("Drive")

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.

Wish we saw more of the design on the right. Yikes!

The only thing Gears wants to learn about this planet is how to get off it. I hate this place already. I just know you're going to use me as a mobile transport unit again, once we have to set up. Nuts. Let's go home.The worst words out of his mouth.

Gears was one of Cybertron's great warriors, and was chosen to join the Ark mission to save Cybertron from an asteroid belt—a mission that saw him stranded on Earth for four million years. Once he woke up in 1984 and was rebuilt as an Earth truck, he immediately began complaining. The Transformers

Spider-Man's amazing friend.

Shortly after arriving on Earth, Gears teamed up with Spider-Man, using his ability to launch himself upward using compressed air and fly alongside the superhero in an attempt to reach the mountaintop Decepticon fortress. When Gears ran low on power, he began to fall before Spidey caught him in webbing. Although Spider-Man's webbing is extremely strong, the Autobot's weight threatened to break it, and Spider-Man completed Gears' ascent using the webbing for assistance. After a fight with the Decepticons, Megatron caused Gears (and human Sparkplug Witwicky) to fall through a hole in the fortress. Although Spidey was able to rescue Sparkplug, and attempted to catch Gears as he had done before, the added momentum of the fall proved too much strain on the webbing, and Gears crashed to the ground. Gears was quickly patched up enough to tell the Autobots that Megatron had gotten what he wanted (a fuel conversion process) from Sparkplug. His complete restoration was seemingly interrupted when, following recriminations, Ratchet needed to drive Sparkplug to the hospital to treat his sudden heart attack. Prisoner of War!

Ow ow ow.

When the Autobots overheard Shockwave's plans to drop the captured head of their leader, Optimus Prime, in a nearby swamp, Gears was among the Autobots who traveled to the swamp with Prime's body. However, the head was actually a decoy head, which, when attached to the body, caused it to go on a murderous rampage. Buzzsaw shot Gears right in the face! Prime Time!

Gears was eventually restored, however, and joined Cliffjumper and Windcharger in searching for Sludge during the Dinobot Hunt. Their mission was suddenly cut short by the arrival of Soundwave and the Decepticons, who shot the Minibots in the back and took them prisoner. Bumblebee soon rescued his disabled comrades from the Decepticon cruiser, but they were too badly injured and remained inactive for some time thereafter. Dinobot Hunt!

Barely snuck into the margins during his own death scene.

Gears was repaired in time to witness a battle between Grimlock and Blaster for Autobot leadership on Earth's moon. While Autobots around him cheered vehemently for either combatant, Gears seemingly didn't really care, choosing to watch in stoic silence. Totaled!

Gears was among the Autobots who answered Buster Witwicky's distress call from just outside the Decepticons' headquarters in the Arctic. Shortly thereafter, when an Underbase-powered Starscream announced that he would "destroy the cities of New York, Tokyo, and Buenos Aires", Gears was among the allied Autobot/Decepticon teams sent ahead to New York City. As Starscream approached, Goldbug led a team of Autobots which included Gears, and the entire team was destroyed with a "single wave of a market executive's Starscream's hand"! Oops. Dark Star

Gears's torso, head, and right arm were shown in the midst of attempted repairs while Optimus Prime explained the bleak condition of their fallen to Cloudburst and Landmine. Guess Who the Mecannibals Are Having for Dinner?

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Transformers cartoon

Voice actor: Don Messick (English), Toshio Ishii (Japanese)

A competition of who complains the most!

Gears was one of the original crew of Autobots on the Ark spaceship when it crash-landed on Earth millions of years ago. When he awoke in 1984, he was reformatted by Teletraan I so that his alt-mode was an Earth-based pickup truck. Not a true combatant by nature, he didn't participate in many of the Autobots' more famous battles against the Decepticons, but he did his part despite his complaints. Gears first saw action on Earth at an off-shore oil rig, fighting one of the Seekers with his partner, Huffer. More than Meets the Eye, Part 1 Gears' infrared sensors were useful in capturing Ravage when the Decepticon was caught trespassing at the Autobot headquarters. By modifying his searchlight wavelength, Gears could illuminate Ravage's heat traces and neutralize the jaguar's ability to hide in shadows. More than Meets the Eye, Part 2 When Prime was injured in an explosion outside the Ruby Crystal Mines of Burma, Gears discarded the complaining facade he often wore, in order to encourage Optimus to push himself into returning to robot mode. He later donned a lab coat to help sell Hound's holographic rocket base idea, although it didn't do much good. In the final battle to stop the launch of the Decepticon space cruiser, Gears and Windcharger were engaged in battling Reflector until Megatron called for a retreat. More than Meets the Eye, Part 3

Gears assembled for battle when the Decepticons returned to attack a solar power plant, and chastised Bumblebee for missing roll call. At the plant, Gears and Cliffjumper attempted to stop the Seekers from taking off with the energon cubes, but Starscream knocked them aside with a concussion blast. Later, after Bumblebee led the Autobots to the supposed site of the new Space Bridge, only to find a deserted cave, Gears offered to electrocute the 'Bee in order to juice up his memory circuits. Transport to Oblivion When Optimus Prime was heavily damaged in battle, Gears returned from patrol with Brawn and Windcharger to check on his condition. None of them, however, was sharp-eyed enough to spot Laserbeak swoop down and land on Brawn's shoulder as they entered the base. Divide and Conquer

I hate vans...

After it started snowing, in July, in the middle of the desert, Optimus Prime got suspicious and consulted Teletraan I for a weather report. Gears, who was performing reconnaissance scans on the now-frozen tropical region of the planet, concurred with Teletraan I's conclusions, that Megatron and the Decepticons must somehow be draining heat energy right out of the Earth's core. In the Arctic, as the Autobots prepared to enter the Decepticons' cavernous base of operations, Gears stalled outside the entrance on the sneaking suspicion the Autobots were falling into a trap. Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy—by lingering too long on the ice, the combined weight of Gears, Hound, Ironhide and Ratchet caused the tunnel to collapse beneath them. Gears and his buddies were briefly captured by the Decepticons, but escaped thanks to Hound's holograms. Fire in the Sky

"Hey! Being shot in the face plays havoc with my sinuses."

Gears attended the unveiling of Wheeljack's latest science project, the Dinobots, and managed to stay out of the way after they ran amok. He joined Optimus Prime and the other Autobots on a mission to the Great Falls. Being one of the few Autobots who can fly (usually), Gears took to the air to fight Soundwave face-to-face, but was quickly shot down by the more experienced Decepticon. S.O.S. Dinobots On one mission, Gears travelled to Peru to help the Autobots remove the Crystal of Power from Megatron's control. Fire on the Mountain He was also involved in the dino-design project that created Snarl and Swoop. War of the Dinobots

Following a Decepticon attack on the Ark, Gears was briefly seen cleaning up the deadly fire extinguisher foam which drove them away. The Ultimate Doom, Part 1 In the aftermath of Cybertron's orbit around Earth, Gears worked on the massive repairs necessary to rebuild human society. He also participated in the raid on Doctor Arkeville's laboratory. Countdown to Extinction

Bumblebee and Gears - Powerlinx!!

During an Autobot Alert(!!!), the Ark's crew all leapt into action at high speed...well, except for Gears. The alarm interrupted his plan to "lube his cables", making the cranky Gears slow to respond to the call of duty. He might have trudged even slower if he knew the entire alert was a ruse by Megatron, designed solely for the purpose of capturing Gears. It seemed that Megatron's newest toy, the Solar Needle, required a specific circuit board in order to be properly completed, and Gears contained just such a circuit board in his chest. A curious side effect of removing the circuit board was that it negated Gears' inclination towards squawking and complaining. He was now a compulsively good-natured people-pleaser, unable to refuse requests by anyone, even Megatron. With the solar needle activated, the Decepticons put Gears to work harvesting energon cubes, filled by the sun's mighty power.

Despite the alterations to his personality, Gears tried to remain true to himself. Even while helping Megatron's energy pilfering, he still managed to toss an insult or two at the Decepticon leader. In a good-natured way, of course. And, after the Autobots arrived to destroy the solar needle and drew the Decepticons' attention, Gears made a break for the control panel to retrieve his circuit board and restore his real personality. He was interrupted by Starscream, who had been looking for an excuse to blast Gears all day, but Bumblebee knocked the Seeker aside before he could eliminate the tiny Autobot. Also, when Megatron hurled Prime out of control into the solar needle's incinerating energy grid, Gears used the holdout blaster in his sleeve to disrupt the grid and save Optimus. Still, once Megatron got the drop on the Autobots, he was able to exploit Gears' new personality glitch to make him repair the solar needle while the Decepticons held his teammates at gunpoint. Megatron gloated too much about the nature of Gears' problem, though, allowing Optimus Prime to circumvent his control over Gears. Tricking Megatron into agreeing to honor his last request "as a condemned mechanism", Prime turned the tables on Megatron by asking Gears for a favor of his own. Gears was all too happy to oblige...and destroy the solar needle for Optimus.

I hate the woods...

With the fight back on, Gears happily got in on the action and tossed Starscream for a loop. The Decepticons abandoned the field of battle, leaving the Autobots behind to clean up the mess caused by their solar needle. As the needle was being dismantled, Prime was ready to return Gears' circuit board to him when Trailbreaker stepped in. Seems the Autobots took a vote, and they would rather not restore Gears' talent for complaining, and whining, and hypochondria, and...well. After a quick joke, though, they did return the circuit board, and Gears showed his gratitude by going "whine, whine, whine" all the way home. Changing Gears

Gears was seen awaiting his turn at the recharging chambers, but did not appear later on rampaging with the other Autobots afflicted by the personality destabilizer device. Attack of the Autobots He attended Wheeljack's demonstration of the Immobilizer. When the Decepticons got their metal mitts on the device, Gears was trapped in mid-transformation by the device's rays. He was restored to normal after Carly fiddled with the controls to reverse its effects. The Immobilizer

I hate sewers!

Like most of the Autobots, Gears was temporarily trapped in vehicle mode after Megatron unleashed his Transfixatron on them during a car rally for charity. Wheeljack came up with an anti-transfixation grenade to reverse the process (even his cures explode!), but that only revived the Autobots in time to deal with Plan B: Devastator. While he isn't in Brawn or Prime's class, Gears is still one strong little Autobot, and demonstrated his strength by ripping out huge chunks of rock to hurl at the massive Decepticon. The Autobot Run Sometime later, Gears helped install detection plates around the Ark as an early warning system against any intruders. Enter the Nightbird He was also briefly seen gawking at the two Optimus Primes who showed up in the dirt. After a sharpshooting contest and car race failed to uncover the imposter, the Autobots rode into battle anyway with both Primes at their side. Gears didn't have much fun in the following melee: first he got sent face-first into the dirt by one of the opening salvos, and was later overmatched in single combat against Thundercracker. He was saved only by the continuation of Megatron and Starscream's cockeyed, overly-elaborate scheme of clones killing clones. A Prime Problem

Gears was on patrol with the team when they suddenly came across an empty riverbed. After a quick mud massage from Jazz's spinning tires, Gears and the others decided to follow the river's trail to see where it had been diverted. What they found was trouble: Constructicons. The Autobots barely escaped battle with Devastator to report on Megatron's activities to Prime. The Core

I hate Lawyers...

Gears attended Wheeljack's demonstration of how he had taught Grimlock "finesse". The resulting chaos and destruction was predictable, but memorable. Dinobot Island, Part 1 Despite not being seen in the battle at all, Gears was injured fighting Megatron and the Heart of Cybertron in South America. All the repairs and none of the glory. Boy, he must have been craaaanky...Microbots

Gears and many of his fellow Autobots showed up in Central City for the Autobot Day parade and celebration. Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1 The city soon turned on the Autobots, thanks to Megatron's machinations, but they returned to help drive the Decepticons away once the humans were temporarily enslaved. Gears was seen among the horde of Autobots that overwhelmed the Decepticon slave-drivers. Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2 He was also one of the Autobots cheering for the Dinobots when they returned from Cybertron with a fresh supply of cybertonium. Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2 Gears was part of the third wave of Autobots to confront the invulnerable Decepticons, but fared no better than his predecessors against their electrum coating. The Golden Lagoon Gears stood by as Chip Chase and Teletraan I tried to locate the Autobots lost aboard the Space Bridge. Child's Play He was also seen applying Corrostop to the Statue of Liberty. Cosmic Rust

I hate the water!

When Megatron and the Decepticons attacked the Ark looking for the renegade Decepticons, Gears joined Optimus Prime in fending off their assault. Megatron soon retreated once he realized Prime had no slaggin' idea what he was talking about. Starscream's Brigade

Gears, Ironhide and Bumblebee responded to an S.O.S. from Benjamin Franklin Pierce High School and found themselves chasing B.O.T. around the city. They were beaten to it by Swindle, who needed to get back Brawl's personality component, and Gears later found himself defending Autobot Headquarters from Bruticus. B.O.T.

In 2005, Gears was stationed on Moonbase One under Optimus Prime's command. It is unknown whether he left for Earth with Prime and the Dinobots to repel Megatron's attack on Autobot City, or if he remained behind. If he did, his chances aren't that good, as only Jazz and Cliffjumper were seen escaping from Unicron's smelting pits. The Transformers: The Movie

Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers comic

Gears was amongst the Autobots who defended Autobot headquarters in Arizona from a Decepticon attack. Although the Autobots won the day, the attack was actually just a distraction so that Soundwave could go do evil in Japan or something unspecified. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 2

Coloring books

Steve Ditko is noted for his superb use of shading, his handling of facial expressions, and his ability to do cosmic vistas of mystery. Here he was asked to do a line drawing of a truck carrying potatoes.

Gears was hauling a load of potatoes, with plans to sell them for oil and gas money. (Really.) He was tricked by the Decepticons into taking a detour, which led him to their "Autobot Rest Stop"—a car crusher disguised with pillows and a set of curtains. Gears rolled into the Rest Stop and was enjoying himself when Soundwave activated the machine, crushing Gears flat.

Gears was later restored by Ratchet, with no ill effects. The Autobot Smasher!

This coloring book was illustrated by Steve Ditko, co-creator of none other than... the amazing Spider-Man! Coincidence? Probably.

Dreamwave comics continuity

When Optimus Prime and Megatron vanished in a space bridge during the war on Cybertron, their respective factions were split into several smaller groups. Gears remained in the main Autobot faction, now under the command of Prowl. Fragmentation He was part of a team who scouted out Nova Cronum in search of the Decepticons' new mobile command base. Unfortunately, it was a bit too mobile for them to handle. Devastation Even assistance from the Dynobots helped against the giant Decepticon, but in the end, their target just left. Revelation Later, when The Fallen broke into Autobase, Gears was eager to get out there and do something about it. Prowl opted for trying to contain the villain instead, but he turned out to be unstoppable anyway. Confrontation

Gears was part of the Ark's original crew, crash-landing on Earth four million years ago and awakening in 1984. Like all the Transformers of Earth, he was believed dead for many years after the mid-air explosion of the Ark II. In fact, Gears was one of many robots who were salvaged by the mercenary known as Lazarus, who began the time-consuming process of installing remote control programming into his inert Cybertronian captives. Lazarus was doomed to failure, however, for Megatron regained control of his own body shortly after the human reactivated him. With the Decepticons back in action thanks to Megatron, Gears and the other Autobots held captive by Lazarus were left at their mercy. Although a small group of Autobots were free under Optimus Prime's command to combat the Decepticons, most of the 'bots recovered by Lazarus (including Gears) were too badly damaged to be reactivated for that first battle. Prime Directive

Gears and the other deactivated Autobots were recovered, though, and were back to full functionality by the time Ultra Magnus and Shockwave arrived from Cybertron. New World Order As the Autobot forces split in two, Gears went with Optimus Prime and his contingent back to Cybertron aboard Sky Lynx. Brothers' Burden Back on his home planet, Gears participated in the insurrection by Autobot dissidents against the rule of Shockwave. Revelation

Much to his dismay, Gears was soon put in the position of having to return to Earth. With Prime temporarily out of action due to injuries, Prowl had assumed command of the Ark's crew on Cybertron, and made the decision that a new base of operations needed to be constructed on Earth, to fortify Autobot interests there. Gears reluctantly left his beloved homeworld behind to return to Earth, and begin work on the construction of Autobot City. The Route of All Evil

Devil's Due G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers comics

Gears was among the dormant Transformers found by the terrorist organization Cobra and reprogrammed to be under the humans' control. In the process, he and Brawn were rebuilt to transform into Cobra Flight Pods. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #4 The two may have participated in an attack on the SPS Research Facility, or it may have just been two regular Flight Pods. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #3 When Wheeljack hacked Cobra's computers and undid his comrades' reprogramming, Gears and Brawn hunted down Cobra Commander and blew up the ship he was going to escape from Cobra Island with. However, before the Autobots could capture the commander, they were taken out by Storm Shadow's S.N.A.K.E. mech. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #4

Gears didn't give up so easily, however, as he joined several other Autobots and located Cobra Commander and his S.N.A.K.E. guards again. Storm Shadow fought back and killed Trailbreaker, sending Gears and the others into a berserker rage as they ripped his S.N.A.K.E. apart. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #5

IDW Generation 1 comics continuity

Millions of years ago, Gears was one of several mourners seen at the funeral of Bumper and Fastback, after Megatron killed them. Megatron Origin #3

In the modern era, Gears was seen reacting to the return of "The Voice". Spotlight: Blaster

At some point, Gears made it to Earth, where he was captured by Skywatch, along with Windcharger and later, Prowl. ...For All Mankind

IDW Hearts of Steel continuity

Gears and his fellow Autobots battled the Decepticons in Earth's distant past, until an ice age came around and forced them to go underground and wait it out. Hearts of Steel issue 1 They eventually woke up in the mid-19th century, and learned that the Decepticons were up and going as well. Hearts of Steel issue 2 In order to pursue the Astrotrain, Gears took on the form of what appeared to be a boxcar and linked up with his friends to form an Autobot train. During the chase, much of the train was trapped when the Decepticons collapsed a tunnel on it, although Gears made it out safe and sound. He was hammered by Decepticon fire as he helped clear away rubble, but survived and went back to sleep underground after the Decepticons were defeated. Hearts of Steel issue 4

Toys

Generation 1

"Grumble... I suppose they want me to supply my own penny..."

• Gears (Mini Vehicle, 1984/1985)

Part of the first assortment of Autobot Mini Vehicles, Gears transforms into a blue and red "penny racer"-proportioned pickup truck of indeterminable model. The Gears toy was originally from Takara's Microchange line, in the same basic coloration but with a darker blue, as the "Micro Robot 04 4WD Off-Road". This is the source of the "M" on his truck-mode hood.

For reasons unknown, he was the only Mini Vehicle not made available as part of Takara's original retail line in any capacity (while Cosmos and Warpath were not available at normal retail, both were offered as mail-away toys).

There were a few variations of Gears south of the border, where he was known as "Pick-Up". Initial releases had the same plastic colors but retained the sticker designs from his original Micro Change release, while later toys had the plastic colors changed to make him a red truck with orange robot parts (pre-Malignus). In Mexico, and subsequently also found in some European markets, a maroon and white version was released, possibly to bring the character of Swerve over without the use of a new mold.

This mold was used to make the Malignus Pick-Up, the Autobot Small Foot and was retooled to make Swerve.

• Minibots Team (Multi-pack, 2004)
  • Japanese ID number: TFC-12

Gears was finally put out at Japanese retail in 2004, as part of the Transformers Collection "Minibot" set, containing Gears, a retooled Bumblebee, Cosmos, Huffer, Powerglide and Warpath. This set was later redecoed to make the e-Hobby exclusive G1 GoBots team.

Notes

• In his first Marvel Comics appearance, Gears sported a more humanoid character model that looked less like his toy than his final animation model. He would also use this model in the UK annual story "And There Shall Come...a Leader!", while Sideswipe was inexplicably drawn with this model in the earlier UK story "The Enemy Within!".

External links

• Gears at TFU.info
• Gears' Universe entry at NTFA.net