Thrust (Armada)

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

Thrust is a Decepticon from the Armada portion of the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

Now a regular on "Spongebob Squarepants"

Thrust is one of Megatron's higher-ranking Decepticon soldiers (and a total wack job). His occasional Mini-Con partner is Inferno, plus sometimes he commands the Air Military Mini-Con Team.

Fiction

Armada cartoon

Voice actor: Colin Murdoch (English), Kōji Yusa (Japanese), Márcio Seixas (Portuguese), Jhonny Torres (Spanish, Latin America), Kai Taschner (German)

Thrust was a renowned tactician who orchestrated Decepticon victories on the planets Vector, Orga, and Duke. Linkup

He later joined Megatron on Earth in an attempt to improve his soldiers' relations. He picked his own Mini-Con partner, Inferno, from among the other Mini-Cons the Decepticons had locked up in the closet. Thrust then concocted a brilliant plan to eliminate Optimus Prime by luring the Autobots into a gully with a fake Mini-Con signal. While the Decepticons kept the trapped Autobots under constant fire, Megatron then singled out Optimus, separating him from his men and the Skyboom Shield. This would have been the end of Optimus if Jetfire, Optimus's second-in-command, hadn't arrived and thrown off Thrust's plans. Tactician Thrust then devised a new plan both to steal the Skyboom Shield and to destroy Jetfire in revenge for his interference. Thrust lured Jetfire to an area above the ocean where he, Starscream, Cyclonus, the Air Military Mini-Con Team, and the Air Defense Mini-Con Team attacked the Autobot. Though they'd underestimated Jetfire's reluctance to attack Mini-Cons, Thrust's force soon proved to be overwhelming for the Autobot vice-commander. When the other Autobots appeared on a nearby island to assist Jetfire, Megatron led a small attack intent on stealing the Skyboom Shield. But once again, victory was stolen from Thrust by the unforeseen: Optimus warped to Jetfire's location and Powerlinxed with him, allowing him to defeat the Decepticons. Thrust, however, was amused by the new change and said that the war had gotten more interesting. Linkup

Thrust later told Megatron there was a reason why his plans hadn't worked, besides the unexpected turn of events from the Autobots: The Autobots were inferior to the Decepticons in all aspects except for their ability to work as a team. Megatron took this as a slight against his ability to lead and nearly sliced Thrust apart with the Star Saber. Thrust explained that the reason the Decepticons hadn't been working together so well was because there was a lack of unity—all the while looking pointedly at Sideways. Sideways then determined that Thrust was a danger to his plan, so he convinced Demolishor that Thrust was going to overthrow Megatron and had him attack the tactician. However, Thrust had anticipated such an attempt, and he had Starscream tail Sideways when the mystery 'bot made his report to whomever his leader truly was. Megatron then allowed Thrust to take on Sideways himself. Thrust would have destroyed Sideways if the troublemaker hadn't transformed into a swarm of nanites and flown away. Detection Thrust later participated in a battle with the Autobots over a Mini-Con panel found on a beach. During the fight, an enormous Decepticon battleship called Tidal Wave landed in the ocean nearby. After a moment of pointing out Tidal Wave's capabilities, Thrust ordered Tidal Wave to open fire on the Autobots. Tidal Wave kept the Autobots under constant pressure until Hot Shot and Blurr dove down underneath Tidal Wave and attacked his underbelly. Tidal Wave sank, much to Thrust's consternation. But his confidence was restored when Tidal Wave emerged from the water in robot mode and began to attack the Autobots again. Awakening Tidal Wave swiftly changed the tide of battle for the Decepticons. Even Jet Optimus proved no match for him. Of course, Thrust did reserve the final blow to Optimus for Megatron and had Tidal Wave combine with the Decepticon leader. During the midair battle, Megatron successfully separated Optimus from Jetfire and left him to plummet to the ocean below. However, the Space Mini-Con Team appeared and combined to form the Requiem Blaster. Thrust immediately moved to take the powerful weapon, but Optimus kicked him away and used the Blaster to slow his descent and land safely. With the Requiem Blaster in Optimus's hands, Megatron ordered a retreat. Desperate Realizing that the Requiem Blaster was the key to the Decepticons' victory, Thrust began using satellites to keep an eye on the Autobots for a chance to steal it. He soon noticed the human kids on a bus with the Space Mini-Con Team. He watched the kids head to an abandoned barn away from the Autobots. Thrust then warped to the farm and attempted to steal the Mini-Cons. However, the kids had set several primitive, but oddly effective, booby traps to detain the Decepticon. Thrust eventually lost his temper and started smashing the barn they were hiding in. But then Optimus Prime appeared and fought Thrust off using his Super Mode. Thrust had no choice but to retreat, swearing that this wasn't over. Runaway

File:Screenshot-arm-32-2.jpg

I didn't crash! I just... fell down some stairs.

Thrust spotted Hot Shot on his way to fight Wheeljack and decided to follow. When Hot Shot was wandering around in the inferno looking for Side Swipe, Thrust divebombed him and started pelting him with laser blasts. Wheeljack was furious that Thrust interfered with his revenge and shot the Decepticon jet out of the skies. When Wheeljack came to join the rest of the Decepticons, an injured Thrust protested against it on the grounds that Wheeljack was crazy. Megatron dismissed Thrust's protests and welcomed Wheeljack to the Decepticon fold. Past II

Thrust conceived another plan that would end with the Requiem Blaster in Megatron's hands, which entailed giving the Star Saber to Starscream. The Decepticons lured the Autobots out into a jungle. There, Starscream started attacking them in the hopes that the Autobots would have to use the Requiem Blaster to fight back. However, none of the Autobots seemed to be using the Requiem Blaster. As Thrust was flying over the battlefield to investigate, Sideways sent him a series of images of the Autobot base and the Space Team Mini-Cons. While Thrust dismissed this a hallucination, he realized that the Mini-Cons that formed the Requiem Blaster were at the Autobot base. He informed Megatron and the Decepticons warped away, leaving Starscream behind. At the Autobot base, Megatron stole the Space Team Mini-Cons from Smokescreen and then used the Requiem Blaster to blast a hole through Smokescreen. However, Smokescreen was steadfast in his resolve to protect the Mini-Cons and limped towards Megatron. Intimidated by his refusal to die, Thrust suggested that the Decepticons leave since they had what they came for, to which Megatron agreed. The Decepticons warped back to their base, leaving Smokescren to grab empty air. Sacrifice At the base, Thrust was enjoying the praise Megatron was giving him for the success for his plan when Starscream stomped in. Bitter and angry for being left behind, Starscream threw Thrust into the wall and hit him with the hilt of the Star Saber. Starscream would have probably done more if Megatron hadn't ordered him to stand down and get himself repaired. Later, Megatron and Thrust were talking about Starscream's shortcomings as a warrior and his usefulness as a scapegoat. Thrust praised Megatron's ability to be so cold to his own soldiers and joined in his laugh. However, the entire conversation was overheard by Starscream. Infuriated at being considered worthless, Starscream attacked Megatron and Thrust before flying to Earth to join the Autobots, taking the Star Saber with him. Regeneration Starscream later returned and he brought the Autobots through the warpgate. When the invasion force entered the throne room, Megatron fired the Requiem Blaster at Starscream, but the rebuilt Smokescreen pushed him out of the way and blocked the blast with the Skyboom Shield, creating a large burst of light. While everyone was blinded by the light, Thrust offered to act as a decoy to cover Megatron's retreat, which Megatron agreed to. However, the Autobots eventually rescued the Decepticons' Mini-Cons and warped back to their base. Rescue

Angered by Starscream's betrayal and the loss of the Mini-Cons, Megatron took out his frustration on the lunar landscape. The other Decepticons were so interested in watching that Thrust had to remind them that without the Mini-Cons, they had to build the spaceship themselves. The Decepticons went off to work, obviously not caring much for Thrust. Thrust started to get rather irritated at the lack of respect he was getting. But then he heard a creepy laugh and ran out to the scrapyard to see what was causing it. Then Sideways appeared and told him that the Requiem Blaster's power is a mere fraction compared to the power it has with the Star Saber and the Skyboom Shield. Recalling previous examples, Thrust realize that the three Mini-Con weapons did have a greater power when they were together. He questioned whether the three weapons could combine, but Sideways had already disappeared. Nevertheless, Thrust was left with the inspiration to obtain the sword and shield to combine them with the gun. Thrust presented his information to Megatron, who was also intrigued. When a new Mini-Con was detected on Mars, Thrust sent Tidal Wave to 'greet' Jetfire and Starscream, who were the only two on the Autobot team who were capable of reaching Mars. Some time later, Tidal Wave reported that he'd found both of them and they had the Star Saber, the Skyboom Shield, and the new Mini-Con. Megatron immediately warped over there with Thrust close behind him. Thrust got there just in time to see the three Mini-Con weapons react to each other and unleash a huge burst of golden energy. The explosion scattered the Decepticons and allowed the Autobots to escape, but it confirmed that the three weapons were far more powerful when used together. Mars

Hated by all the other Decepticons due to his superior attitude, Thrust began to shrink into himself and got more desperate to prove his power. After forming an alliance, Thrust and Sideways discussed how to get all three Mini-Con weapons into the Decepticons' hands. Thrust conceived a plan to ensure this and presented to Megatron, who approved. Thrust sent a message to Starscream on the Autobots' communication frequency. Starscream went outside to investigate and Thrust approached him. Starscream angrily slashed at Thrust with his sword while Thrust dodged and turned invisible intermetidly. He told Starscream that he too was fed up with Megatron's rule and suggested that Megatron would be easier to bring down if he were back on the Decepticons' side. Megatron would surely welcome Starscream back if Starscream brought the Skyboom Shield with him. He left Starscream to ponder these thoughts. Later, the Decepticons launched an attack on the Autobot base. Thrust and Starscream met above the clouds where Thrust insisted that Starscream join up with him so they could defeat Megatron. Starscream lashed out at Thrust with the Star Saber, but was unable to make himself destroy the tactician. Realizing his time with the kids was making him softer, Starscream was able to be persuaded by Thrust to steal the Skyboom Shield and warp away with him back to the Decepticon base. Crack

As Thrust predicted, Megatron welcomed Starscream back with open arms when he presented him with the Star Saber and the Skyboom Shield. However, Starscream was still distrustful of Thrust and dragged him out to the scrapyard to learn what was really going on. Thrust gladly told Starscream about the Decepticons' project to build a weapon that would harness the power created when the three Mini-Con weapons were brought together. Starscream was still sore about being manipulated, but Thrust claimed that it was so that Starscream could be leader of the Decepticons and he had to hide it from the others so they wouldn't be suspicious. However, if Starscream didn't believe this, Thrust was willing to subject himself to any fate Starscream wished. Placated, the Seeker walked off, sparing Thrust. Sideways then congratulated Thrust on his act, Thrust saying that he learned from the best. Then Thrust told Megatron about his idea to build a large cannon called the Hydra Cannon that would be powered by the Mini-Con Weapons. The Hydra Cannon would be attached to the Decepticons' ship which would both make up the front half of the ship and name the ship. Deciding to test the cannon first, Thrust found a comet that was passing through the solar system and targeted it. He was not disappointed when the tremendous blast from the Hydra Cannon obliterated the comet. Thrust giddily suggested that they head back to Cybertron and conquer it. Megatron agreed, but he want to blast one last thing before they left: the Autobots' base along with the rest of the Earth. Threaten While Thrust prepared the Hydra Cannon for another shot, Megatron decided to pass the time by giving Thrust the new nickname 'Squidhead', which all the Decepticons found hilarious except Thrust. Megatron explained that he and the men were just giddy to return home. However, Thrust secretly retaliated by calling Megatron 'Flathead' under his breath and giggling about it. His actions prompted Megatron to call him a freak. When Starscream was chosen to fire the Hydra Cannon, the Seeker had doubts about destroying the Earth and Thrust tried to persuade him to do it or Megatron would cut him down. Starscream's moral debate was called off when Optimus and Jetfire attacked the starship while it was getting ready to fire. While the other Decepticons battled the two Autobots, Megatron gave Thrust the order to fire the Hydra Cannon. However, Optimus Prime stood in the path of the beam and blocked it from hitting Earth. Thrust watched as Optimus disintegrated into a thousand pieces and then had the ship retreat on Megatron's orders. Crisis

Eventually, Thrust joined Sideways with the lure of ultimate power, and managed to steal the three Mini-Con weapons that were the keys to reactivating Unicron's body. Thrust met his demise when he demanded Unicron attack his former master, Galvatron, only to have Unicron act totally unaware of Thrust's presence. Thrust fell into a seam on Unicron's surface which began to tighten and close as Unicron moved, and was crushed to death as Galvatron walked away.

Dreamwave comic continuity

Armada comic

Thrust was a somewhat cowboy-like entity that served the Decepticons loyally. He was devoted to Megatron, and followed his orders faithfully. Thrust first appeared via transwarp from Cybertron, carrying rocket boosters so the Decepticons could fly to the moon and capture the Mini-Cons stationed there. Dreamwave Armada issue 9 He stayed at the Decepticon base at Silver Ridge, where he failed to help Starscream deal with two Autobot intruders. Dreamwave Armada issue 10

Later, Thrust was sent to northern Alaska to back up Cyclonus, who was there to retrieve a fallen Mini-Con escape pod. First Thrust took a torch-blast to the face from Dune Runner of the Adventure Mini-Con Team, who was there to save his allies. Then he was knocked around by Cyclonus, who was feeling the effects of a triple-Powerlinx with the entire Destruction Mini-Con Team, which began to burn out his circuits and drive him mad with pain. Fire & Ice When he finally came to, between Cyclonus' breakdown, the arrival of the Autobots, and Megatron using an orbiting Solar Scalpel to melt the ice that buried the escape pod, Thrust decided maybe he'd better get the heck outta Dodge. Dreamwave Armada issue 13

Later, Thrust followed Starscream to a building lot in San Francisco, to investigate a weird transwarp disturbance. He got there just in time to get shot down by a herald of Unicron, who was seeking the refugee Mini-Con Over-Run. Worlds Collide, Part 1 of 4

When Megatron left to attack the Autobot base on Earth, Thrust was left behind to guard their Silver Ridge headquarters. Worlds Collide, Part 3 of 4 He quickly had the crap kicked out of him by the other heralds of Unicron. Worlds Collide, Part 4 of 4 Not a fatal beating, though, as he was repaired in time to journey back to Cybertron and face the planet-eater. The End

Energon comic

After the destruction of Unicron and the apparent death of Megatron, Thrust became a security officer in the new peacetime. When Starscream mocked the "rebel" Decepticons under Tidal Wave, his former comrade attempted to state his case that there were other Decepticons willing to fight, until Starscream pointed out that Thrust was happy with his "little sheriff's badge" and Demolishor never gave the rebellion a second thought. This Evil Reborn Later, Thrust joined Hot Shot's unit and defended Toronto, Canada from the Terrorcon Divebomb clones when they attacked Earth. When the revenant Megatron appeared and decimated the Terrorcons, Thrust tried to rejoin his former leader, but Megatron completely ignored him, warping to his next destination. Multiplicity, Pt. 4

Panini Armada comics

Thrust was among the Decepticons who assaulted Mini-Con villages on Cybertron as the war broke out, and he personally captured Mirage and Dirt Boss. He also participated in an attack on Autobot Command HQ alongside Starscream and Cyclonus. Counter-Strike!

Superdeformers

One day in a foresty area, Thrust found himself up against Hot Shot. Steeling himself, Thrust unleashed Thunderwing at the Autobot, only for Blurr to snatch the Mini-Con out of the air. As the two Autobots scurried away, thanking Thrust for the free Mini-Con, Thrust reflected that the encounter hadn't gone as he expected, unaware that an enraged Megatron was standing right behind him. Superdeformers

Toys

Armada

"Heeheehee... flathead.... boy, I can really dish it out!"

• Thrust with Inferno (Super-Con/Deluxe, 2003)
  • Japanese ID number: MD-05
  • Accessories: 2 missiles

Thrust transforms into a dark green F-35 Lightning II fighter jet. In jet mode, he has two pressure-launch missile launchers, and a space to store his Mini-Con partner Inferno in his (Inferno's) truck mode. Aside from his robot mode, he also has an "assault" robot mode, which turns his torso around 180 degrees and extends his winged backpack; attaching a Mini-Con to the Powerlinx plug on his chest and pushing it up and down causes the backpack to move as a spinning blade.

This mold was also used to make Universe Sunstorm.

• More information on Thrust at TFU.info

• Thrust and Thunder with Air Military Micron (Multi-pack, 2003)
  • Japanese ID number: MS-06
  • Accessories: 2 missiles

In Japan, Thrust was available both as an individual (well, with Inferno) and in a larger boxed set that also included the Air Military Mini-Con Team. There are no notable difference between the Japanese and US releases.

• Powerlinx Thrust with Powerlinx Inferno (Super-Con/Deluxe brown/blue version, 2003)
  • Accessories: 2 missiles

Part of the later-series "Powerlinx" line of redecos, Powerlinx Thrust got a new color scheme that was a "reversal" of the Generation 1 "conehead" Dirge, primarily light brown with dark blue and black accents.

The packaging for this release, however, showed him in a color scheme more like his G1 namesake, burgundy with black (and some bone-white accents). His coloration was changed to the brown-and-blue too late to change the packaging photography.

The change was made due to Takara choosing a mostly red color scheme for Demolishor (Demolishor's name in Japan was Ironhide and the color scheme was based on the G1 version of said character). Originally Hasbro had different plans for their redeco of Demolishor. But as a result, they changed their plans for Demolishor to match the animation, which was already based on Takara's products. Hasbro then thought there would be too much red on the shelves at the time, so Powerlinx Thrust's coloration was modified, as the figure would not appear on the cartoon. There are some similar colors used between the two versions of the toy, likely due to the quick change in scheme.

• More information on Powerlinx Thrust at TFU.info

The thrust of Spawn.

• Powerlinx Thrust with Powerlinx Inferno (Super-Con/Deluxe 2003)
  • Accessories: 2 missiles

Although Hasbro at one point expressed interest in releasing a running change variant of Powerlinx Thrust that reflected the originally intended color scheme, they never went through with it, at least not in the North American market. However, in December 2003 Takara released red Powerlinx Thrust as a "USA Edition" in Japan, exclusively available at the Toy's Dream Project members store Toycard, in Hasbro packaging (Takara had previously also released a "USA Edition" version of Powerlinx Thrust in Hasbro's colors, this time exclusively available at LaOX stores).

Curiously enough, Hasbro actually did produce a small run of red Powerlinx Thrust, but never released it in the North American market. Instead, the toy, in European packaging, popped up in Israel in mid-2004, later followed by sightings in Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. The toy was even found in Australia, but only in stores that also occasionally sell toys imported from other countries, and again in European packaging. Furthermore, some of the European countries saw the toy being sold at instant discount prices, which suggests it was old Hasbro warehouse stock which had never seen a shelf release that was now being cleared out.

• More information on USA Edition Thrust at TFU.info

Notes

• Thrust's demeanor and speech in the Dreamwave Armada comics are very reminiscent of Beast Wars Quickstrike, to the point of him even using the phrase "What in tarnation?" in one issue. Amusingly, Colin Murdoch voiced both characters in each respective cartoon series. It is unknown if this was an intentional move on writer Simon Furman's part or simply a coincidence.
• Like the Generation 1 Thrust, the Armada incarnation is portrayed as a braggart. In fact, just before his untimely demise, the angry Galvatron tells Thrust that "You always did like the sound of your own voice."
• Thrust is frequently called derogatory nicknames by his fellow Decepticons, including the notable 'Squidhead' coined by Megatron.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Thrust (スラスト Surasuto)
• Korean: Sniper (스나이퍼 Seunaipeo)
• Hungarian: Tengely ("Axle")
• Russian: Kolun (Колун, "Axe")