Countdown (G1)

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

Countdown is an Autobot Micromaster from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Hero of a thousand worlds, champion of the oppressed, and destroyer of thousands of Decepticons, but no... let's tell more stories about stupid Bumblebee. Not that he's bitter.

Countdown's mission is to roam the universe, find planets threatened by Decepticon activity, and meddle to the Autobots' benefit. He looks forward to the day when the Decepticons are defeated, and he can start toppling other tyrannical regimes.

He possesses an interstellar rocket and command base. The base is used to launch the rocket, but also fits inside the rocket.

Fiction

Dreamwave comics continuity

Countdown was an Autobot Aerospace Commander, who volunteered for the prototype Micromaster process which downsized him and several others as a means for conserving fuel. Alongside Jetfire, Groundshaker and Omega Supreme, he was assigned to Operation: Containment. This was a two-fold mission — the Decepticons had begun expanding their tyranny off-planet, and the Autobots could not in good conscience allow the war to engulf other innocent worlds. At the same time, the mission team was charged with making efforts to find Optimus Prime, the Matrix and the lost crew of the Ark. Initially, Countdown did not appreciate the methods of his second-in-command, Groundshaker. A... rambunctious fighter, Groundshaker's gun-first approach to combat sometimes made it difficult for the Autobots to ingratiate themselves with local populations when confronting the Decepticon expansion. Countdown submitted a troop transfer request to Autobot Command, but it was rejected. More Than Meets The Eye, Issue #3 Eventually, the duo began to work better together, and Countdown came to consider Groundshaker a valuable friend and ally.

Countdown argues with Skystalker over which movie they're going to watch.

Eventually, the two missions of Containment became cross-purposes: Decepticon forces moving in one direction, towards Paradron; a stray signal beacon emanating from the other direction, towards the Sol system. While Jetfire and Omega Supreme followed the beacon, Original Sin Countdown and Groundshaker continued on to Paradron, in order to combat the Decepticon Interstellar Assault Commander, Skystalker, and his men. The Decepticons very nearly wiped out the entire populace, and only a climactic personal battle between Countdown and Skystalker engineered a temporary stalemate. Skystalker was left to die on the planet, while Countdown acquired a mysterious artifact.

The Autobot duo chose to return to Cybertron seeking reinforcements, only to find Ultra Magnus woefully unsupportive of their plight. Countdown had dreams of establishing an interplanetary force, not only to stop the spread of Decepticon evil, but to actively take steps to better the other worlds in the cosmos. Seeing how little Magnus and the others had bettered their own world in his absence, though, Countdown began looking for other options. After passing the Hot Rod Patrol in the halls, and hearing them voice similar complaints about the current Autobot management, Countdown and Groundshaker decided to keeps tabs on those Micromasters. Destined for Nothing

When the Hot Rod Patrol broke free from the Autobot ranks, they set off for the Wastelands and were nearly hijacked by Venom and his team of cannibals. Groundshaker arrived to shake them up a bit, and took the Patrol to see Countdown for a recruitment speech. Countdown tried to explain the epiphany he'd had on Paradron, and the mission he had assumed for himself to bring justice to the universe. Big Daddy and the gang weren't quite ready to hear it yet, though, and so Countdown sent them on their way to Little Iacon. The Gray Race

Once Skystalker returned and informed the Decepticons of Countdown's inevitable attempts at recruitment, the Hot Rod Patrol were targeted by Shockwave's men because of their contact with Countdown. Infuriated when Countdown told him to sit and wait, Groundshaker finally exploded and revealed that he knew about the old transfer request Countdown had filed against him. Dismayed and chagrined, Countdown apologized profusely to his comrade for the error, and insisted that he had long since changed his mind about his partner. As a show of good faith, he fully explained his reasoning and recent actions to Groundshaker. On Paradron, he had uncovered a Golden Disk containing vast amounts of information on Cybertron, despite the lack of any previous known communications between the two worlds. The artifact apparently contained files on the past, present, AND future of the Transformer race. Countdown justified leaving the Patrol to their fate for the time being, since the Decepticons' efforts were clearly an attempt to draw them out and steal the artifact and its secrets for themselves. Groundshaker still wasn't wholly impressed, and warned Countdown that focusing too much on the big picture would only ensure that no one was left to watch out for the little guy. Recipe for Hate

The discussion became moot, though, after the Decepticon attack forced the Hot Rod Patrol to come looking for aid from Countdown. Eager to forge ties with the Patrol, Countdown agreed to join them in infiltrating Decepticon headquarters and rescuing their fellow Autobot Micromasters, who had been taken hostage from Little Iacon. This led him back into direct conflict with Skystalker for the first time since Paradron. Skystalker had been busy as well, beheading Shockwave and sending the larger Decepticons out to die in battle, clearing the way for a new Micromaster regime under his iron foot. Big Daddy interfered in their grudge match, and Skystalker vanished before Countdown could complete what he started on Paradron. With the help of Big Daddy and Barricade, he negotiated a ceasefire between the Micromasters, and they in turn forced the larger Transformers to put an end to the fight Skystalker orchestrated as well. Ultimately, however, Countdown failed to convince Big Daddy and the others of the virtues of his cause. Already weighed down by the horrors of war, Big Daddy just saw Countdown's mission as another excuse for fighting and death. Victims of the Revolution

Toys

Generation 1

Lunar golf cart.

• Countdown (Micromaster Autobot Rocket Base, 1989)
  • Japanese ID number: C-330
  • Accessories: rocket base, rocket, platform, large ramp, helipad, short ramps (3), mechanical arm, large double laser, small double lasers (2), large laser, gunner pod, scout vehicle.

Countdown transforms into a fanciful moon rover. He was sold with a mobile launch base, which can transform into a command center and connect with other Micromaster bases via modular ramps.

This toy was sold without changes in Japan as Moonradar.

• More information on Countdown at TFU.info

Universe (2008)

Generation 1 series

File:Universe2008-toy Countdown.jpg

• Autobot Countdown (Ultra, 2009)
  • Accessories: Projectile, shield/multi-tool arm, hammer tool, claw tool, Earth Cyber Key

A redeco of Cybertron Defence Red Alert, Countdown transforms into a vehicle based upon a cross between a Russian R-400 Oka mobile ballistic missile launcher and a BTR-90 armoured personnel carrier, colored mostly blue with a white and grey rocket as a homage to the Rocket Base that came with the original Micromaster. The left side of his vehicle mode has a flip-up non-firing double-blaster, which can also be used in robot mode. Inserting a Cyber Key into the rear of the missile pops it in half, activates the electronic sound and lights, and exposes the inner spring-loaded missile launcher "laser cannon". When you remove the rocket, a blast sound appears, and when you pop open the cannon, you get a countdown sound. Once transformed into robot mode he is mostly red and white, a clear homage to the original Micromaster figure. He also comes with a shield that, when a Key is inserted, flips out a multi-tool arm that can be equipped with several tools stored in his shins (a spring-loaded hammer-head or a gripping claw). This can be mounted on both arms. He has two (nonfunctional) Mini-Con hardpoints in vehicle mode, and two different hardpoints in robot mode. The compartment behind the cannon can fit a mini-con more or lessly.

Countdown and his casemate Darkwing are "stealth" exclusive to Toys"R"Us, meaning he appeared in stores before Hasbro bothered to tell anybody about it.

This mold was also retooled to make the BotCon 2006-exclusive "Dawn of Future's Past" Megatron.

• More information on Universe Countdown at TFU.info

Notes

Foreign names

• French: Rebours (Canada)
• Italian: Uranius