Skids (G1)

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

Skids is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Gee, that REALLY looks like his Alternators head, what are the odds?

Skids is a theoretician. This is appropriate, as some would say his existence is merely theoretical; everyone forgets who he is or that he was there. But if they got to know him, they'd learn that he likes to daydream, get built into furniture, and pick up cowboy chicks.

Fiction

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Transformers cartoon

Voice actor: Michael Chain (English, "Quest for Survival"), Dan Gilvezan (English, "Triple Takeover"), Keiichi Nanba (Japanese, "Quest for Survival"), Ken Shiroyama (Japanese, "Triple Takeover"), Roberto Alexander (Latin American)

Hoist, Prime, and Skids ogle Bumblebee's animation model.

Like many of the Autobots who first appeared in 1985, the exact circumstances behind Skids joining the original group of Earth-based Autobots remain unknown. Skids first appeared as part of a strike force that was sent to stop the Insecticons from ravaging a human farm, only to meet with failure. Apparently injured in the battle, Skids underwent some repairs by Hoist upon return to Autobot Headquarters, where he responded incredulously to Bumblebee's report that he had retrieved robotic insecticide from the planet Floron III to deal with the Insecticon threat. Quest for Survival

Racing into obscurity.

Later, Skids was part of a team sent to investigate bombs that were raining down on a city from a football stadium (the work of the Triple Changer Blitzwing). Blitzwing, however, had the stadium surrounded by a massive "Zone Defense" maze built by the Constructicons, and while attempting to traverse it, Skids crashed into Prowl and was driven over by tank-mode Blitzwing. Skids and the other Autobots' remains were then gathered by Scrapper, who built a throne for himself out of them. These Autobots were soon rescued and quickly rebuilt, and participated in the crises that ensued as Blitzwing, Astrotrain, Megatron and Devastator vied for Decepticon leadership. Following that skirmish, Prowl opined that Optimus Prime was the greatest leader in the universe, which prompted himself, Skids, Bluestreak and Tracks to form themselves into a throne for Prime; Prime refused to sit, saying that thrones were for Decepticons—he'd rather roll. Triple Takeover

Japanese cartoon continuity

Story of Binaltech

After using up all of his vacation and sick days, Skids returned to work to find that the Transformers cartoon had been cancelled.

Skids was the first of the Binaltech Autobots created simply with the intent of upgrading an existing, healthy Transformer, rather than in the name of repairing one that had been injured. Outfitted with self-repairing nanomechanical antibodies, Skids's body can, barring heavy damage in battle, theoretically function for thousands of years without maintenance. In both his original and new body, Skids dedicated time to studying the chronal warp on Dinobot Island, which gave rise to the Autobot strategy known as "Operation: Distant Thunder", a last-ditch scheme should the Decepticons tamper with the fabric of space-time. That horror occurred in 2004 when Ravage used the Kronosphere to alter the timeline, and Skids prepared to initiate the plan and send Wheeljack's memory data back in time to avert the catastrophe. Darkest Hour

The data probe was launched, but as the timeline was righting itself a Nemesis Prime arrived, and manipulated the temporal wave to preserve the Binaltech timeline separate from the original continuity. Possessed by the Spark of the Protector, hailing from some future point in time, Nemesis Prime informed Skids and the others that their timeline was destined to produce great warriors capable of safeguarding the entire multiverse, and therefore must continue on its new course. Binal Time

Henkei! Henkei!

When Skids successfully proved the existence of particles able to cross over between dimensions, he put his discovery to work for the forces of good, coating his armor in these "Dimension Slide" particles and endowing himself with the power to move between realities, as well as a snazzy new green paintjob. In this quest to examine anomalies within the multiverse, Skids found he could summon other versions of himself from different dimensions to aid him, but for unknown reasons, one of these alternate versions wound up trapped in Skids's home dimension, unable to return to his own world. Named "Screech" (presumably to save all the Autobots a headache), this alternate Skids teamed up with his counterpart, and together, the pair worked as "Quantum Operatives" policing the multiverse while searching for a way to get Screech home. Skids's toy bio Screech's toy bio

Hot on the trail of one such multiversal anomaly, Skids and Screech pursued Starscream's ghost across the multiverse to a parallel dimension where he was causing trouble. While the two dimension-hoppers kept the ghost busy with wordplay and pop culture references, the Mirage of that world used his illusion casting powers to scare Starscream into fleeing the dimension by projecting an illusion of his greatest fear: Galvatron! Starscream's New Body

Marvel Comics continuity

Generation 1

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

We bet you can't.

In the event that the Ark's mission would require more manpower, Optimus Prime had several Autobots encode copies of their personalities as light patterns within crystals, including Skids. When a large number of Prime's troops were then injured during the opening volleys of the war on Earth, Prime arranged for the construction of new bodies, which the personalities were then programmed into, bringing Skids and the others to life "for a second time." Now in a new body that transformed into a blue van, Skids' first mission was to aid in preventing Shockwave from stealing sonic energy from a Brick Springhorn concert, and he immediately took a liking to the music of Earth and the possibilities of what could be learned from interacting with mankind. Rock and Roll-Out!

When Megatron ran out of fuel in the middle of the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, Optimus Prime took Skids and a few other Autobots to prevent harm to the humans who had discovered him. Unfortunately, these humans (and their military) forced the Autobots into a retreat. I, Robot-Master!

Proving once and for all that chicks dig giant robots.

On the way to raid the Decepticon base, Skids accidentally clipped the car of hot-tempered Jake Dalrymple, who pursued the Autobots on their mission and distracted Skids just enough for Ravage to blast him off a cliff. Although Optimus Prime mourned the loss of Skids, neither the Autobot leader nor any other Autobot thought to recover the believed deactivated body of Skids later after their mission had been completed. Command Performances! Lying crippled and unable to transform, Skids was shortly discovered by register girl Charlene, who, thinking he was an ordinary van, had him fixed up with the intent of keeping him for herself. Skids was open to the idea at first, preferring a peaceful life to that of a warrior, but after another bout of road rage with Dalrymple, the unearthly stunts he performed left him no option but to reveal his true nature of Charlene.

A somewhat unusual relationship ensued between the two, but more trouble soon came Skids's way in the form of Donny Finkleberg, who was being hunted down by Ravage. Fleeing from the Decepticon with Charlene and Donny, Skids hid out at an abandoned mining town, but yet again, the raging Dalrymple tracked him down and shattered his windshield, knocking him unconscious and into a dream where he died through his refusal to attack Megatron and save Charlene. Reawakening, he engaged Ravage in battle again, finally finding the strength to act, and causing his foe to tumble down a mineshaft. Skids then parted ways with Charlene, having come to the realisation that their two roles in life were too different for their relationship to work out. Showdown!

Oh, hey, remember Skids?

Skids returned to the Ark with Finkleberg, and later embarked on a mission with him to track down a group of missing Autobots who had been captured by the Rapid Anti-robot Assault Team. Unfortunately, money still governed Finkleberg's actions, and he promptly sold out Skids to RAAT's leader Walter Barnett when Skids was deactivated for the night. Heavy Traffic! Skids was disassembled for study, but when the Decepticons Runabout and Runamuck appeared on Earth and began defacing landmarks, RAAT operative Circuit Breaker was forced to enter into a deal with the Autobots to stop them. Skids and the other Autobots' components were combined to form a jury-rigged robot that Circuit Breaker used to stop the Battlechargers, but in return for their co-operation, Skids and the Autobots were allowed to go free. Decepticon Graffiti!

On the return trip to the Ark, however, Skids was abruptly torn from reality when the future Decepticon Galvatron traveled back in time from 2006, shunting Skids into limbo to maintain temporal balance. Fallen Angel Skids remained in limbo for two years while Galvatron ran amok on Earth, his mind steadily succumbing to the dream-illusions created by the parasites native to the realm.

While Skids was lost to limbo in the UK comics, no such fate befell him in the American stories. Luckily enough for continuity's sake, he never did anything important in the US comics again, only showing up in crowd scenes: He attended Optimus Prime's funeral Funeral for a Friend!, witnessed the arrival of the Spacehikers Spacehikers! and watched Blaster and Grimlock fight for Autobot leadership on the Moon. He was presumably either offlined during the subsequent Decepticon ambush, Totaled! or during Starscream's Underbase powered rampage. Dark Star To maintain consistency, the UK printings of these stories either redrew Skids into a different, generic robot, or erased him from the art entirely.

And then he stole Crosscut's head.

With Galvatron's eventual destruction during the Time Wars, Skids was finally returned to Earth, but he had spent too long in Limbo—the limbo-creatures had succeeded in shaping a reality from his dreams, and the nightmarish monsters that he had imagined materialised on Earth with him. Fleeing from the beasts, who desired to merge with Skids so that they might become more powerful, Skids lured them into a nuclear power plant which he had planned to detonate, wiping out the monsters and himself, but the remnants of the Autobot Wreckers—joined by Catilla and Carnivac of the Decepticon Mayhem Attack Squad—arrived to aid him, defeating the monsters. Skids joined with this group of Transformers, forming the Survivors. Survivors!

Hey, who here remembers when I was damaged and shoved into the medbay? No? Well, that makes all of us.

Grimlock traveled to Hydrus Four to use Nucleon to revive the Dinobots. Returning to the Ark, he also pumped Nucleon into the med bays, reviving Skids and several others, and headed towards Cybertron. Grimlock used the Ark as a blunt instrument across Unicron's head, forcing Skids and the others to evacuate and join the battle against the Chaos Bringer. On the Edge of Extinction!

Earthforce

These stories do not fit into the normal Marvel continuity. See Earthforce for details.

When Carnivac ran off on his own to avenge Catilla's death, Skids and the other Survivors insisted Springer contact Grimlock and the Earthforce for back-up. Hooked up with these Autobot reinforcements, they stormed the Mayhem Attack Squad's tropical island base to save their friend. Skids personally confronted Octopunch in single combat, holding his own against the murderous Pretender. Where Wolf?

On a later mission for Earthforce, Skids and the Survivors protected an oil tanker from Starscream, while the rest of the Decepticons were trying to distract the Autobots with an all-out assault on their base. Undeterred by the sleight-of-hand, the Survivors caught up with Starscream in the Gulf of Mexico. Skids used a flying leap by Carnivac as a distraction to catch Starscream with his liquid nitrogen cannon, and then Inferno knocked the Decepticon commander into the drink. Divide and Conquer!

Regeneration One

Template:Noterg1 In 2012, when Optimus Prime discovered Megatron was still active on Earth, he took a detachment of Autobots, including Skids, to put an end to the tyrant's menace once and for all. Battling Megatron's reanimated Decepticon zombies as the two leaders clashed, Skids called dibs on taking out Overbite. Loose Ends, Part 5

After the battle, Skids and Prowl attended to Kup as he recovered from a Scraplet infection. He then departed Earth with the other Autobots. Natural Selection, Part One

Find Your Fate Junior

In the first book in this series, Skids transforms into a red compact, matching the description of his toy's Honda City Turbo alt-mode in one of its Diaclone color schemes. He is apparently even smaller than Bumblebee

Although Skids had reported the strange electromagnetic readings he'd been getting from Dolphin's Bay even before Optimus Prime sent Windcharger to Bandit's Bluff to remove the cerebro-shells from the rampaging Dinobots, it took Grimlock's report that evening to prompt Optimus to have Skids investigate it for possible Decepticon activity. Prime chose Bumblebee to accompany him in Wheeljack's new mini-submarine, but wasn't sure whether to assign Sludge to the mission as well, since Skids clearly didn't want him along.

If Prime left Sludge out, Skids celebrated by absentmindedly crashing into Mount Lomas, crumpling his hood and causing Bumblebee to notice a suspicious trail in the woods. If the pair followed it instead of continuing to the bay, they walked into a trap set by Scrapper and Gravedigger, who disassembled Bumblebee and Skids to serve as the first components of the Autobot Memorial Power Plant.

If they continued to Dolphin's Bay and the sub, Skids traced electromagnetic waves back to some black coral, then hacked into a Decepticon computer and learned of a plot to convert the coral into superfuel. Bumblebee then exited the hatch to break a piece off, triggering an explosion which trapped him in a canyon beneath broken columns of crimson coral. Without underwater gear, Skids had only two options: If he went back to the channel for help, Seaspray used his laser to free Bumblebee, then tried to sail back to the Ark, only to have Starscream blow all three of them up with a cluster bomb. If Skids tried translating some nearby dolphins' language, he succeeded in five minutes, talking the three largest dolphins into moving the broken coral. Skids and Bumblebee brought the black coral and his report back to Optimus Prime, ensuring an Autobot victory.

If Prime did include Sludge, Skids and Bumblebee made it to the bay first, then used the sub to track the readings to an underwater cave. Bumblebee entered it, radioed Skids about Operation Black Coral, then failed to reemerge. If Skids chose to return to the Ark for help, two possible endings saw an Autobot assault save Bumblebee and destroy the Decepticons' base. If Skids tried to radio Bumblebee, the sub was promptly hit by a sonic attack from Frenzy, making it go haywire and tear through the bay. Whether Skids tried to stop it by activating the backup systems or shorting the controls out with his electron blaster, he was saved by Sludge, ensuring an Autobot victory in two more endings. Dinobots Strike Back

3H comics

In the context of science, "theory" does not mean "guess" or "hunch", Rodimus. You should probably pay attention.

Skids was among the senior scientists (including Perceptor, Quickmix, and Rad) who questioned Rodimus Prime's plan to send out the best of the remaining Autobot science and research members to establish deep-space reconnaissance posts. Betrayal

Dreamwave Generation One comics

8.2 million years ago, Skids was in the Chamber of the Ancients, observing the ceremony in which Optronix was given the Matrix of Leadership and transformed into Optimus Prime. Immediately, three Decepticon assassins attacked, and though Skids acted to protect the new Prime, his arm was cut off by Umbra. The War Within #1

Skids was repaired and he returned to his post at the Decagon. While Prime was absent, Skids picked up radar of incoming Decepticon invaders and a transmission from the force's field commander, Shockwave. The War Within #2 Skids manned auto-defenses from inside the Decagon until they and their Omega Sentinel units were destroyed. Picking up their personal weaponry, Skids and the other Autobots were all that was left to defend Iacon, but defend it they did and Shockwave's forces were driven back. The War Within #3

During the Dark Ages, Skids served with Prowl's faction of Autobots. Devastation The team got involved in a skirmish with Trypticon and the giant Decepticon jumped onto a building in which Skids was trying to hide, crushing him. He survived though. Revelation

Skids was not among the Autobots who traveled to Earth aboard the Ark, remaining behind on Cybertron as the planet slipped into the deactivated state known as the Great Shutdown. When Shockwave began reactivating the planet and successfully unified the Autobot and Decepticon factions, Skids was a member of the council of Autobots who served to represent their faction in the alliance. Few of the council members were actually suited for leadership, however, and slowly found themselves giving more and more control to Shockwave. Eventually, the example shown by the Ark's returning crew and several homegrown Autobot insurgency cells tore the blinders from the council's optics, and Skids gathered his fellow councilmen in taking to the streets and ousting the Decepticons from power. Revelation

G.I. Joe vs. The Transformers

During an Autobot peace ceremony on Cybertron, Skids reported to Optimus Prime that Hot Rod, Springer and Sandstorm had yet to find the Autobots and Joes that had gone missing while chasing Serpent O.R. Their conversation was then interrupted due to a Decepticon attack. The Art of War #3

Skids was later stationed on the Arc II on Earth, where he helped his comrades in the field by warning them about incoming G.I. Joe S.H.A.R.C.s. When the ship came under attack by the Pretender Monsters, Skids was knocked out by Icepick while alerting the others on board. Black Horizon, Part 1 of 2 He was sent to the Pit for repairs and was expected to quickly recover from his injuries. Black Horizon, Part 2 of 2

TransTech

In an Offworld Zone of Axiom Nexus, a Skids was yet another victim of Bulletbike, murdered for a cred-key. I, Lowtech

IDW Generation 1 continuity

File:Skidsbacksoff.jpg

-gulp-

Before the war, Skids trained as a theoretician at the Senator Shockwave's Academy of Advanced Technology, Patternism secretly recruited to the school because of his status as an "outlier" with special powers—in Skids's case, a "super-learning" ability that allowed him to master many skills. An Intimate Beheading He was present at the academy on the day that Roller and Ratchet arrived to take Shockwave into protective custody, and his attempt to stop them was quickly quashed when the towering Roller intimidated him into silence. Patternism It was not long, however, before Skids's teacher returned and recruited him and classmates "Glitch" and Windcharger for a plan formulated by Orion Pax to steal a bomb disguised as the Matrix from Nominus Prime's body as it lay in the Primal Basilica. Skids was somewhat disappointed that his sole contribution to the plan was not one of his many skills, but merely the fact he had a grappling hook in his arm that they could use to lower Pax into the Basilica, but despite a minor snag when the technology-disrupting Glitch accidentally jammed his hook's winch, the mission was a success. An Intimate Beheading

After graduating to full-fledged theoretician status, Skids went on to join the Diplomatic Corps, to work to persuade other races to support the Autobot cause. Who's Afraid of the DJD? At some point, he disappeared under currently unknown circumstances and was believed dead, Hangers On though the first clue that he yet lived came in the form of a mysterious message from the future that was sent—albeit too late to be heeded—to the Autobots departing to find the lost Knights of Cybertron, which warned: "Don't let them take Skids". How to Say Goodbye and Mean It

How do you like me now?

Skids exploded back to the land of the living when he arrived on the planet where the Lost Light had crashed, piloting a strange mode locked spaceship. Amnesiac, wearing an inhibitor claw, clutching a strange gun, and with an unknown piece of music constantly running through his mind, Skids was unable to recall how he had wound up on the ship. Abruptly, the mode lock deactivated and the ship began transforming, so Skids made an impulsive decision: he reactivated the lock, sent the ship crashing into the surface, and bailed out. Making it to the ground safely, Skids found that the ship had been composed of a trio of mysterious warrior robots, one of whom was killed in the crash... while the other two were coming after him with giant swords and fire breath. Skids came upon the deceased bodies of two Autobots who had failed to survive the Lost Light crash—Hyperion and Polaris—and used their weapons and abilities to eliminate another of the pursuing robots. Running from the lone survivor, Skids came upon a small party of Autobots from the Lost Light, who deactivated the inhibitor claw for him, allowing him to access his weapons and destroy the robot. Skids was invited to join the crew of the Lost Light, though he was less than enthusiastic about Swerve's proposition that the pair of them should team up. Hangers On

MEANWHILE IN A 20 MILE RADIUS OF THIS EVENT

When a Sparkeater got loose aboard the Lost Light, requiring the crew to be sealed in their quarters, Skids, having decided to exploit his missing memories to entirely reinvent himself and deciding he disliked confinement, left through the ventilation system. Drawn by Rung's cries, he saved the psychiatrist from a close call with the Sparkeater, and at Rodimus's request, led the creature through the vents to the engine room where Rodimus disposed of it. The Chaos of Warm Things As a celebration of the death of the Sparkeater, Swerve opened a bar where Skids got drunk together with Chromedome. He failed to notice that Chromedome stole his gun while he was messing around with his grappling hook and a server-robot. Life After the Big Bang Rules of Disengagement After attending a ceremony to commend Chromedome, Brainstorm and Highbrow on recent heroics, The Reluctant Specialist Skids was next spotted still hanging out at the bar with some other Autobots as Trailbreaker put Chromedome's ability to identify an Autobot based on their transformation sound to the test. Interiors He later tried to comfort Swerve following his accidental shooting of Rung. Rules of Disengagement

When a swarm of Nanocons that had lain dormant inside Ultra Magnus's body were mysteriously reactivated, Skids and a few others were shrunk by Brainstorm's mass-displacement gun and sent inside Magnus to eliminate them. Once that was dealt with, Skids attended Tailgate's Autobot Initiation Ceremony, during which he relayed Swerve's report from the engine room that dead crewmember Ore had come back to life. The chaos only continued when Skids and a team of Autobots were abruptly teleported by Galactic Council to the planet Theophany, there to investigate the razing of Crystal City. Beneath the city, they found a slumbering Metrotitan, leading to discussions on the Transformers' creation myths and the meaning of life; Skids and Chromedome shared a belief that life was shaped not by destiny or gods, but by interactions with others. Skids theorized that both the Nanocons and Ore had come back to life thanks to the psychic emanations of the Metrotitan, then helped Whirl fend off the Galactic Council's forces until the Autobots could free the Metrotitan, which teleported them all back to the Lost Light and quantum-jumped the ship to safety. You, Me, and Other Revelations

"Legs: Yes. Bow-tie: Cool...I can buy a fez."

Inspired by their talk, Skids requested that Chromedome use his mnemosurgery to unlock his lost memories; Chromedome discovered that only Skids's last year of memories had been erased, while the others had been repressed by a trauma so horrific he did not dare restore them. Chromedome was, however, able to identify the music in his head as the "The Empyrean Suite", and hoped he would never learn its significance. Who's Afraid of the DJD?

Skids was among the group of Autobots gathered by Rewind in Swerve's bar to help tell a story to aid in Rung's mental recovery. Post Hoc When his old altercation with Roller came up, Whirl called him a wuss, and he countered that his skills as a theoretician wouldn't have been useful in a fight. Patternism At the culmination of the story Rung still showed no signs of recovery...until Skids deliberately mispronounced his name a couple of times, prompting the psychiatrist to speak and correct him. An Intimate Beheading The storytelling session was brought to an end by the sounding of alarm to ready the crew for a battle with Decepticons on the planet Temptoria; during the fight, Skids, Chromedome and Steeljaw battled Overkill. Before & After Later, to unwind, Skids joined the crew of the Lost Light on some "shore leave" on the planet Hedonia, where he tried out his new personality-generated holomatter avatar, only to find his amnesia kept it from creating a fake identity for him. As the group played the "Nemesis Game", Skids identified Misfire as his worst enemy, and then wound up getting into a drunken brawl with Cyclonus. Cybertronian Homesick Blues Skids bought Rodimus a Galactic Council captain's hat as a souvenir of the trip. Signal to Noise

When the mass-murdering Decepticon Overlord ran wild on the ship, Skids joined in the futile effort to hold back his rampage. Under Cold Blue Stars Overlord was ejected from the ship thanks to the sacrifice of Rewind, and Skids tried to console Chromedome over the loss of his lover, only to find that the mnemosurgeon was eerily calm about the whole thing. The Gloaming When the Lost Light encountered the long lost satellite Luna 1, Skids got Chromedome to accompany the band of Autobots heading to the surface to see if the satellite had a way to return Skids's memories. The Fecund Moon He went to the ship's oil reservoir for some alone time, where he was attacked by a number of Legislators. While he managed to hold them off long enough for Swerve to arrive to help, a mysterious and enigmatic robot appeared behind him, and impaled him with a large sword. House of Ambus
Fortunately for Skids, he survived this, and was later teleported by Star Saber into a cell which contained Rodimus' crew. Perceptor examined his wound, while Swerve explained what happened to them. After Skids said that he would apologize for whatever he had done to Tyrest, Star Saber returned to the cell, carrying his "Partner in crime" with him. Chromedome then explained that when he read Skids' mind, he had done it wrong, and misinterpreted the remnant memory as an "Imperative to escape". In actuality though, it was a name, Getaway. The Divided Self

Games

3D Battle-Card Game

Skids was one of Optimus Primal's many Autobot allies in a fight against Megatron's Decepticon forces, in what might possibly have been an inter-universe battle. Energon Wars Expansion Set

Toys

Generation 1

Introducing the new Nikahimi Deathtrap. With its poly-cotton body shell, it's the fastest car in the world... to open with the jaws of life. The Nikahimi Deathtrap—the last car you'll ever drive.

• Skids (Autobot Car, 1984/1985)
  • Accessories: "Liquid nitrogen rifle", "twin electron blaster", "rocket pod" launcher, 3 rockets

Skids began life as part of TakaraTomy's Diaclone toyline, where he was known simply by the name of his alternate mode, the Honda City Turbo, and was available in blue, red or black color schemes (see Notes, below). The blue version of the figure was used by Hasbro as part of the Transformers toyline, sans a small scooter accessory that the Diaclone figure had come with which stored inside his trunk. Despite sharing this common point of origin with many of his fellow Autobot cars, he features a few unusual touches: his rear wheels fold into his feet for added robot-mode stability, and his weapons attach by clipping over his forearms, rather than plugging into his fists. Among his armament is a "rocket pod", the spring-loaded missile-firing mechanism of which was neutered for Hasbro's release of the figure.

Because Skids was not one of the original eleven Autobot Cars released at the line's inception, he is commonly grouped in with the later 1985 Autobot Cars both fictionally and in the minds of fans. However, Skids was actually added to the 1984 assortment some time before the 1985 wave was released (December 1984 is the current earliest confirmed availability of the figure), during which time he came in 1984 packaging including a "TM" mark by the "Transformers" logo, rather than a "(R)" mark. Like the other 1984 cars, at least some of these early Skids releases lacked the rubsign on the roof that would later be added to all Transformers toys in 1985. He was also one of the rarest mass-release G1 figures, with just one Skids included per every two shipping cases.

Skids has been reissued several times; this article lists each reissue separately where appropriate. This mold itself is a retool of an earlier Diaclone toy, the Honda City R; this earlier tooling was used to make Crosscut and the Transformers Generations 2009 exclusive Screech.

• More information on Skids at TFU.info

• Skids & Sunstreaker vs Buzzsaw (multi-pack, 1985)
  • ID number: VSZ
  • Accessories: "Liquid nitrogen rifle", "twin electron blaster", "rocket pod" launcher, 3 rockets

Skids was not released on his own in the Japanese Generation 1 toyline, and was instead available only in a multi-pack with Sunstreaker and Buzzsaw, which was also the only way to get the other two on the Japanese market at the time. This box set remains a considerable rarity on the secondary market.

The Transformers Collection

• Skids (reissue, 9-27-2002)
  • ID number: 3
  • Accessories: "Liquid nitrogen rifle", "twin electron blaster", "rocket pod" launcher, 3 rockets

Skids received his first reissue in 2002, when Takara made him available as part of their "book-box" Transformers Collection series, surprising many with the inclusion of such an overlooked character so early in the line. He features no significant differences from the original (save for a working missile launcher, as with the original Japanese release), though the figure suffered from a common, if not universal, problem: an excess of plastic on the underside of Skids's right foot means that his rear wheel can not fold down flat beneath it, resulting in a slightly unstable robot mode. Since the original Japanese figure was released only in a giftset, Skids did not get a Japanese ID number at the time, a situation this reissue rectifies by retroactively giving him the ID number 96 on the included Tech Spec and bio card.

The aforementioned Crosscut was released exclusively through e-HOBBY in conjunction with this reissue.

• More information on Transformers Collection Skids at TF-1.com

Commemorative Series

• Skids (reissue, 2004)
  • Accessories: "Liquid nitrogen rifle", "twin electron blaster", "rocket pod" launcher, 3 rockets

Skids got his first Hasbro reissue as part of the eighth wave of their Commemorative Series line, exclusive to Toys"R"Us stores. He features no notable differences from the earlier Takara Transformers Collection release, except for the fact that his launcher's spring has been removed.

Alternators

Heavily clearanced so fanboys could customize him into Ironhide.

• Autobot Skids (2005)
  • Alternator ID number: 17
  • Japanese ID number: BT-16
  • Accessories: Engine-rifle

Skids transforms into a 1:24-scale blue Toyota Scion xB. All four doors open, revealing a fully-detailed realistic interior with seats for a driver and passengers, plus his hood pops open to reveal his engine. His robot mode is very reminiscent of his original toy, with his head sculpt based off his animation model with toy details. His engine pops out and unfolds to become his hand-held pistol.

The Hasbro Alternators release (part of the first wave of new "bubble packaging" toys) differs from the Takara Binaltech release in that it has a much darker shade of blue, tinted windows, and various Scion-type tampographed flame decals. The Japanese release naturally has die cast metal parts, is painted a lighter shade of blue, and has different paint decos. It also includes a sheet of stickers, including flames resembling the ones printed on the Alternators version, as well as some Generation-1-style red stripes, and most humorously, a Japanese "New Driver" badge.

This mold was also used to make Binaltech Asterisk Broadblast.

• More information on Alternators Skids at TFU.info

Encore

• Skids (reissue, 2009)
• ID number: 18
  • Accessories: "Liquid nitrogen rifle", "twin electron blaster", "rocket pod" launcher, 3 rockets

TakaraTomy reissued Skids again in October 2009 as part of their Transformers Encore series. This version of the figure shifted its colors a little, changing him from tomato-red and blue to cherry-red and blueish-purple, as well as noticeably lightening the translucent blue plastic used for his windows. His Autobot symbol and tail light stickers were replaced with tampographs, while some of his other stickers were updated slightly, including his factory-applied front grill sticker. Like past reissues, this figure too suffered with an unstable robot mode, and both feet had wheels that would not fold away flat.

You sure you can call this an homage?

• Skids & Screech Quantum Operative Ver. (exclusive multi-pack, 2009)
  • Accessories: "Material acceleration pistol", dual-barreled gun, "quantum shield" launcher, 3 rockets, scooter

"Quantum Operative" Skids is a green redeco of the original Generation 1 toy, available in conjunction with his Encore release, and including for the first time the scooter accessory that was eliminated from the Diaclone toy for his original Transformers release. He was sold in a set with Screech that was a mail-away exclusive available only with volume 3 of Million Publishing's Transformers Generations 2009. While Skids's colors are an homage to Revenge of the Fallen Skids, Screech is likewise a match for Skids's twin Mudflap.

Amusingly, the color scheme for this exclusive was accidentally revealed early by TakaraTomy when they mistakenly included its missile launcher, denoted by its bright green launching tab, with the normal Encore version that was on display at Tokyo Toy Show 2009.

• More information on Quantum Operative Skids at TFU.info

Generations

....THANK YOU, HASBRO!!!

• Autobot Skids (Deluxe, 2014)
  • Accessories: two guns

Skids transforms from a contemporary-looking hatchback into a robot mode largely based on Alex Milne's design for IDW's More than Meets the Eye comic, most notably featuring that body's numerous integrated weapons. He also includes both the "binary gun" carried by Skids in said comic, and a new version of the liquid nitrogen rifle from his original toy.

Merchandise

Decoy

• Cybertron Hero Collection 22 (multi-pack, 1986)

Skids was among the many characters rendered by Takara as part of their series of 1.5" soft rubber keshigomu figurines. Like all the figures in the series, Skids featured a number sculpted into his back that was the sum total of his Tech Specs, for use in the various games that could be played with the figurines. He was available in red as part of a 22-piece box set of Autobot figures, in peach as part of various other randomly-packed box sets released by Takara subsidiary Seven, and in a wide variety of different colors in "gachapon" capsule machines.

• Skids (1987)
  • Decoy number: 12

The Skids figurine was later brought over to Hasbro markets as part of the Decoy promotion, largely identical to the Japanese release except for the fact that the number on his back was replaced with a simple "checklist" number. Like all Autobot Decoys, he was a randomly-chosen pack-in available with the carded Throttlebots, Aerialbots, Protectobots and Technobots.

• More information on Decoy Skids at TFU.info

3d Battle-Card Game

Are, uh, you sure you're a G1 character?

• Skids (3D Battle-Card, 2007)

A 26-point "common" character in the 3D Battle-Card Game's "Energon Wars" expansion, Skids "transforms" into a grey pickup truck of indeterminate make. He uses the same parts layout as Ironhide and Dropkick.

He is equipped with a LN2 Cryo Rifle, an Electron Blaster, and a Rocket Launcher, which are similar to his G1 weapons — but due to the interdimensional nature of the Energon Wars subset, the Battle-Card may or may not also represent the live-action movie Skids.

Notes

A rainbow of theoretical flavors.

Suck it, Ironhide! This head was mine first!

• The Diaclone version of Skids was additionally available in black or red. Neither of these color schemes has been used within the Transformers toyline as yet, but with Takara, you never know.
• Skids' animation model head appears to be based on early Diaclone promotional concept art. The toy's head would be different... and ultimately different from the Crosscut head shown in his instructions, which also popped up a few times in the UK comics.
• Though Skids' toy turned into a Honda City Turbo, his car mode was often misinterpreted in Transformers fiction as one of the then-new minivans, despite the fact that a Honda City Turbo is a subcompact car, and as such, could theoretically be stowed in the back seat of an actual minivan. This is likely because most Americans in 1985 wouldn't know what a subcompact car is.
• As Skids was released in the interim between the original 1984 launch and the big push of new 1985 figures, the character consequently fell by the wayside in the Generation 1 fiction of the 1980s. He was not included in the commercial promoting the new 1985 range of Autobot Cars, as he wasn't technically part of it. Similarly, he was also left out of the list of new 1985 product in the Generation 1 cartoon's production bible intended for inclusion in the show's second season, and as such, only managed to appear in little more than cameo roles in just two episodes, speaking one line in each and voiced by a different actor each time. He fared a little better in the Marvel comics, debuting alongside (an incomplete roster of) the other 1985 cars, but after getting an issue dedicated to himself, he all but completely vanished from the book and was banished to limbo by the UK comic for upwards of 100 issues, abandoned and forgotten.
• In the "Survivors!" story, Skids was suddenly drawn with the original Diaclone toy's head (which years later would be used for the new character Crosscut). "Survivors!"' artist, Dan Reed, previously drew him with his real head, so it'd be interesting to learn why and how this change happened. (He would later mysteriously regain his own face.)
• In more recent years, toys sporting the name "Skids" have required an additional "Autobot" prefix for trademark reasons, hence making the official name "Autobot Skids".

Foreign names

• Japanese: Skids (スキッズ Sukizzu)
• French: Platon ("Plato")
• Hungarian: Szán
• Italian: Furetto ("Ferret")
• Portuguese: Patins (Brazil comic, "Skate"), Pe-de-cabra (Portugal comic, "Crowbar")
• Russian: Tormoz (Тормоз, "Brake")

External links

• Skids's Universe profile at NTFA.net