Waverider

Waverider is an Autobot Pretender from the Generation 1 continuity family.

I'm a submarine playing the dude pretending to be another dude!

A 'bot with two sides, on the one hand, Waverider is the peaceful sort, enjoying the freedom his alternate mode provides him under the waves and the chance to explore the deep, looking for lost treasure or sunken vessels. On the other hand, Waverider is a steadfast warrior and the fiercest of opponents in a fight. He is more than willing to go the extra mile that other Autobots, due to a lack of fighting instinct or general distaste for warfare, might not. Waverider knows what he's fighting for and recognizes the need to fight for it.

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

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

A member of Fortress Maximus's crew aboard the Steelhaven, Waverider volunteered for the synthoplasmic conversion process Optimus Prime had stolen from Scorponok, transforming him into an Autobot Pretender. With Optimus Prime coordinating the Pretenders' first battle with the Decepticons, Waverider and his teammates easily overwhelmed the opposing force. Pretender to the Throne!

Later, when the now-resurrected Optimus Prime and a squad of Autobots travelled to Earth to battle the Matrix-powered Deathbringer, Waverider remained aboard the Ark and supplied Nightbeat with the information he needed to defeat the mechanoid. Deathbringer

Although "Deathbringer" is a UK-only story, unusually its events are referenced in US issue #65 and so can also be assumed to form part of US continuity.

Waverider demonstrated a knack for going above and beyond the call of duty. He helped battle Thunderwing aboard the Ark. All Fall Down. He was one of few Autobots who ever attempted to reach out to the distraught Dinobot commander Grimlock, though his "tough love" speech nearly got him skewered on the end of an energo-sword. Eye of the Storm Later, he charged headfirst into the fight with Unicron, concentrating all his firepower on the Planet-Eater until Unicron destroyed him with an optic blast. On the Edge of Extinction!

IDW Generation 1 comics

Waverider, Cloudburst, Landmine, and Groundbreaker were sent to investigate the Benzuli Expanse, but discovered that any probes or drones entering the area immediately ceased to function. After reporting this to Jetfire, he volunteered them for the Pretender process as a means of safely entering the expanse. Spotlight: Hardhead

Cyclonus was later patrolling the Benzuli Expanse with Galvatron to look for those who would disturb the Expansion. Upon spotting Cloudburst's ship, Cyclonus called "dibs", and Galvatron happily let Cyclonus attack the vessel. Spotlight: Doubledealer Fortunately Waverider and the rest of the crew were rescued by the Technobots who transported them to their ship and presented them with new and improved Pretender shells. Now equipped to deal with the Dead Universe and its denizens, the four warriors finished off Cyclonus and entered the Benzuli Expanse, where they put the Nega-Cores once they were sent so that they would detonate inside the Dead Universe and destroy it. Spotlight: Sideswipe

Waverider later joined Rodimus's mission to use the map within the Matrix of Leadership to find the Knights of Cybertron at Cyberutopia. The mission's departure in the Lost Light was interrupted by an explosion in the ship sending it into premature quantum jump. The resulting hull breach sucked Waverider out of the ship, and he fell to a nearby planet, burning up as he entered the atmosphere. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It

Later, he was recovered enough to play hand-grenade tag with Sureshot outside Ultra Magnus's office, an offence for which he would be arrested and thrown in the brig. Cybertronian Homesick Blues

TransTech

Crowd surfing.

Waverider was seen among the inhabitants of the multiversal hub city of Axiom Nexus. Transcendent: Part 4

e-HOBBY comics

Waverider and Splashdown guided a submarine carrying an Eldedroid, Cliffjumper and Sideswipe to an underwater Decepticon base. MP-1B Cybertron Commander / Convoy Black Ver.

Toys

Generation 1

File:Waverider diver toy.jpg

Robot Earl Hughes.

• Waverider (Pretender, 1988)
  • Accessories: 2-piece Pretender shell, helmet, belt, axe, "energy spear gun"

Waverider's Pretender shell resembles a human in a dark grey armored space suit, armed with his grey thermal broadaxe and black "energy spear gun". The shell's helmet and belt (molded from the same soft grey plastic as his axe) are also removable, and used to help "lock" the two halves of the shell together. The shell splits to reveal Waverider's inner robot, which transforms into a black and grey Cybertronic submarine. The robot can wield the energy spear gun in both modes.

The toy was released concurrently by Takara in their Super-God Masterforce line as Diver, with one noteworthy difference between the two: Diver's human head has brown hair, while Waverider is a blond.

• More information on Waverider at TFU.info

Notes

Foreign names

• French: Clapotis (Canada)
• Italian: Falcon