Strafe (G1)

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

Strafe is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.

What happens when you cross-breed Starscream and Shockwave. Logical and psychopathic.

Strafe is a really nice guy, one of the kindest, gentlest mechanoids you could ever hope to meet, and he's a crack shot with his heat-ray rifle, too. It's said that Strafe can burn a hole in a screw head (size not specified) from two miles away. Too bad he can't tighten up the loose screws in his own cranial module, though. He's got a case of nerves that could very well cause Red Alert to fear for his job security, and when startled he tends to SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT FIRE FIRE BANG BANG BANG KILL KILL KILL IT DEAD DEAD DEAD without stopping to aim or analyze the threat, and doesn't quit until he's shot down or runs out of heat-ray charges. Sometimes, though, all is quiet... too quiet... and he doesn't like that, either. SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT FIRE FIRE BANG BANG KILL KILL KILL...

He can combine with the other Technobots to form Computron, and seems to make a rather calm limb. Sometimes he's a Targetmaster, in which case his partner is Rocketbot. And sometimes he's a Mini-Con Dinobot, like, we don't even know anymore.

“	I mean, we got us some fast action! Hard action! Action hard and fast! Action to get the old pumps pumpin'! Action to — HUH? — YAHOOOO!	”
—Strafe, always excitable, "Money Is Everything"

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

This is seriously my only American appearance as just myself and not an arm.

In the Nebulan resort city of Splendora, Strafe had an uncredited part as Computron's arm as he fought Abominus. Love and Steel!

Strafe fell bravely (and rather instantly) in the defense of Buenos Aires against the Underbase-powered Starscream. Dark Star

Marvel UK future timelines

Yep, that's me, way in the back.

In 2008, Strafe and several Autobots under the command of Ultra Magnus responded to a mysterious call for help on Cybertron. Astonishingly, the call came from the Decepticons. Even more astonishing, it was genuine. Strafe and the Autobots joined forces with their Decepticon counterparts in driving a marauding crew of Quintessons off the planet. Space Pirates!

After Time Wars rebooted future history, Strafe was next seen stationed at Autobot City in 2009. When the Autobot evacuation ship from Cybertron crashed down instead of landing safely, Strafe flew out to help alongside Blaster, Perceptor and Afterburner. Shadow of Evil What they found was Autobot commander Rodimus Prime, aglow with evil and possessed by the living malice of Unicron that had infected the Matrix a year earlier. Strafe was apparently killed in the resulting conflict before Rodimus regained control of his actions. White Fire

In another future, the last Decepticon was destroyed by Springer and the Wreckers in 2510. However, the Autobots soon came to blows over a misunderstanding, and war broke out again almost as soon as it ended. Strafe and the Technobots formed a new faction under Ultra Magnus against the Wreckers. Peace

The Transformers cartoon

Voice actor: Steve Bulen (English), Kōji Totani (Japanese), Kenichi Sakaguchi (Japanese, "The Rebirth"), , Ulrich Bernsdorff (German, Grimlocks New Brain), Reinhard Brock (German, Money is Everything), Hans-Rainer Müller (German, The Rebirth, Part 1)

Here I am!

Strafe was created, like the other Technobots, by the temporarily super-intelligent Grimlock. Grimlock's New Brain Less than a week later, he and the other Technobots were sent to Earth to learn how to interact with humans, where they encountered the unscrupulous trader Dirk Manus and his business partners, the Quintessons. Money Is Everything

Along with the other Technobots, Strafe attempted to drive away the Terrorcons away from Dr. Morgan's lab, but was unsuccessful in preventing them from retrieving a heat-resistant alloy. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1

Strafe was at Autobot City with his fellow Technobots and the Throttlebots, talking about what a glorious day it was, and about how every day had been a glorious one ever since they ended the threat of the Decepticons once and for all, and the days would continue to be glorious as long as... okay, you know what's coming. The Rebirth, Part 1

Japanese cartoon continuity

The Great Transformer War

Strafe and his Technobot comrades were under construction at Metroplex when the Autobots sought the aid of Doctor Dalton in improving their abilities. The Great Transformer War #1 Dalton heavily upgraded the Technobots' weaponry, allowing the combined Computron to easily outmatch the Decepticon combiner, Abominus. As the Decepticon motto goes, however: When in doubt, cheat. Galvatron outfitted the Terrorcons with "control liquid", a substance that enabled them to assume control over Computron. Dalton arranged for Spike Witwicky to use a special exosuit to approach Computron safely and administer an antidote. The Great Transformer War #2

The Headmasters cartoon

In 2011, Galvatron staged a major attack on Cybertron. Strafe and the Technobots joined the Dinobots on the front lines of defense. Four Warriors Come out of the Sky As Hot Rod began his search for the Matrix of Leadership on Earth, Ultra Magnus gathered Strafe and the Technobots to prevent the Decepticons from hampering his quest. When Hot Rod finally located the Matrix, Galvatron confronted him with the Decepticon Headmasters and Terrorcons, but the Technobots arrived to help even the odds. Scattershot ordered them to form Computron, and the mighty giant occupied the Decepticons so that Hot Rod could make a break for the Space Bridge. Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime

Later, Galvatron launched Metamorphose, a metal-twisting meteorite, and the Aerialbots were its first victims. Strafe and the Technobots were sent out to recover their damaged comrades for repairs, but they were intercepted by the Terrorcons. The fighting escalated with new arrivals on both sides, as the Decepticons tried to keep their foes occupied until the meteorite reached Athenia, destroying the Autobots completely. The Battleship Maximus eventually arrived to carry the Headmasters into space to confront the meteorite, and so Strafe and the Technobots formed Computron and covered their retreat. Approach of the Demon Meteorite

When a giant carnivorous plant took root in San Francisco, Ultra Magnus sent Strafe and the Technobots to deal with the incident. The plant proved to be extraordinarily resilient, however, and it was also guarded by the Decepticons. The Technobots were distracted by combat with the Stunticons, first as individuals and later combined as Computron and Menasor. Head On!! Fortress Maximus After the Trainbots ran into trouble on Mars, Strafe and his team were on the way to help when Sixshot and Trypticon intervened. The Earthbound Decepticons succeeded in occupying the Technobots so that they couldn't make it to Mars. Explosion on Mars!! Maximus Is in Danger

Strafe and the Technobots were part of a strike team that flew to the moon to disrupt Scorponok's gathering of Decepticons. They immediately formed Computron upon entering the battle. Return of the Immortal Emperor Strafe's regiment later helped load the Trainbots with energon supplies for the destitute planet Sandra. They were attacked by the greedy Decepticons and fought back both as the mighty Computron and as individuals, using the Trainbots' large vehicle modes as a shield. SOS from Planet Sandra

The Technobots accompanied Fortress on his quest to prevent the Decepticons from stealing energy elsewhere in the galaxy. During this extended mission, Strafe and his teammates formed Computron to battle Predaking on the planet Paradise. Head Formation of Friendship

After returning to Earth, Strafe and the Technobots reassociated with Ultra Magnus at Autobot City on Earth. They were sent to Miami to counter a Decepticon attack, and battled Abominus as Computron. Unfortunately, the attack was a ruse to draw them away from Autobot City, and they were unable to stop Sixshot's assassination of Ultra Magnus. Ultra Magnus Dies!! The Decepticon attacks continued even after Magnus's death, as Sixshot launched five separate strikes at once around the world. Strafe and the Technobots were dispatched as Computron to one of the many battle sites. The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg When the Decepticons seemingly abandoned Earth, Strafe and the Technobots assisted Spike in rebuilding the planet after the enemy's departure. On one occasion, they located Sixshot's old command base. By combining into Computron, the Technobots helped Defensor and Raiden obliterate the base, wiping out all trace of the Decepticons' presence. Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 1)

As part of Computron, Strafe participated in the Autobots final battle with Scorponok's Decepticons at the North Pole. He lent his energies to the Headmasters' Head Formation to revitalize Fortress Maximus at the critical moment. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)

Gentei! Gentei!

When Grimlock created the Technobots, he didn't build them from scratch: In actuality, he reconstructed a number of dead bodies he found within Unicron's head, former victims of the planet-eater. In the midst of a battle with the Decepticons, Strafe took the full brunt of an attack from the villains, triggering the inexplicable transformation of his body back into its original form, a body whose design Unicron had evidently mimicked when he created Cyclonus. This baffling reconfiguration merely invigorated Strafe, who gained hugely increased flight speed and a new Targetmaster partner, Rocketbot. Strafe's Gentei! Gentei! toy bio

IDW Generation 1 continuity

"Oooh... Strafe feels much damage coming on."

Strafe and the other Technobots crew the Autobot vessel Calabi-Yau, under the command of Jetfire. Strafe was nervous about landing on the burnt out surface of Cybertron, but accompanied Jetfire, Scattershot and Lightspeed on a reconnaissance mission. Just as they were about to leave, they were captured by Bludgeon's group of Decepticon. Stormbringer #1 Strafe survived the techno-cannibalization being performed by the mad cultists and helped uncover the key to defeating the revenant Thunderwing. Stormbringer #4

S-Strafe had a n-noticeable s-stutter.

Sometime later, in the aftermath of Monstructor's attack on Omega Supreme, the Technobots and the crew of the Ark-27 arrived to take the combiners into custody. Spotlight: Optimus Prime They brought them to the Garrus-9 facility, where they tried to reform the Decepticons and rid them of their "group consciousness". Before the Technobots could make much progress, the Monstructor components were stolen during a Decepticon attack. Spotlight: Arcee

I am a very important character!

As the threat of the Expansion came to light, Strafe and the Technobots used Bludgeon's Pretender technology to make shells to protect Autobots from the hazards of the Dead Universe.Spotlight: Doubledealer Using the Nightbird, they then saved the crew of the Mirror-Manifold and gave them the shells. Spotlight: Sideswipe

Following the end of the war, Strafe joined the crew of the Lost Light on their journey to find the Knights of Cybertron. He participated in a battle with a group of rogue Decepticons on the planet Temptoria. Before & After

Games

Transformers Legends

Strafe, along his Technobot teammates, were ambushed by the Terrorcons, who feared the power of Computron. Strafe attempted to pin down the assailants while Afterburner attempted to call for reinforcements. Circuit Breaker

Toys

Generation 1

File:G1Strafe toy.jpg

Only a Technobot could get this much firepower from a pair of Cheetos.

• Strafe (Technobot, 1987)
  • Team ID number: TK3
  • Japanese ID number: C-87
  • Accessories: "Heat Ray Rifle", 2 "Light-Pulse Blasters"

Strafe transforms into a Cybertronic "rocket plane" (according to his instructions) with twin front-mounted "light-pulse blasters". These cannons can also be used as hand-held weapons in robot mode, making him the only Technobot that can use his vehicle-mode weapons in that manner. As a Scramble City-style combiner, he can form the limb to any similar-construction super robot, though his nominal placement is as the left arm of Computron.

Later individual releases of all five Technobots were retooled to remove their rubsign indents. There is also a packaging variant for all four small Technobots, which included a random bonus Autobot "Decoy" mini-figurine.

• More information on Strafe at TFU.info

• Computron (Multi-pack, 1987)
  • Japanese ID number: C-91
  • Accessories: "Heat Ray Rifle", 2 "Light-Pulse Blasters"

All five Technobots were also made available in a complete gift set in multiple markets. The gift set versions are identical to their individual releases.

Generation 2

Now with white cheddar flavored Cheetos!

• Strafe (Cyberjet, 1995)
  • Accessories: 2 missiles

For Generation 2, Strafe was given an altmode much more closely conforming to traditional aircraft designs. As a redeco of the Decepticon Cyberjet Space Case, he is a forward swept wing fighter resembling the X-29 and Su-47 Berkut experimental aircraft. His right arm has a launcher that fires pressure-launch missiles. These missiles store on the undersides of his wings in vehicle mode.

This toy was released with no deco changes (but with an extra decal sheet) in Japan as the former-Decepticon-turned-Autobot Strafe. This mold was also used for the 2004 Universe version of Space Case and Robotmasters X-Gunner.

• More information on Cyberjet Strafe at TFU.info

Gentei! Gentei!

File:Gentei-strafe-g1-toy.jpg

The Robot with the Golden Gun

• Strafe (Deluxe, 2009)

A redeco of the 2008 Universe series Cyclonus toy, replacing the purple with white, the three shades of gray with red, orange, white, and black, and clear red with colorless clear plastic. Strafe transforms into a Cybertronic starfighter. He comes with a partner figure named Rocketbot who transforms into a blaster that can be mounted on the vehicle mode's back or plugged into Strafe's wrist sockets to emulate the Headmasters style of Targetmaster connection.

Strafe is an exclusive for members of the Transformers Basecamp web site in Japan, which is itself exclusive to those who own a Transformers-themed Visa credit card. The ordering period for Strafe ran from March 2nd through April 30th in 2009. Though his cardback and bubble placard are new, he comes with Cyclonus's instructions and comic/catalog.

This mold was also used to make "Shattered Glass" Cyclonus and BotCon 2014 Ferak.

• More information on Gentei Strafe at TFU.info
• More images of Gentei Strafe at Autobase Aichi

"Gentei!" is Japanese for "Exclusive!", and a pun on the normal "Henkei!" line name.

Transformers (2014)

Exactly as we remember him.

• "Classic" Strafe (Evolution 2-Pack, 2014)
  • Accessories: none

Available only at ToysЯUs stores in the US and Canada, this two-pack features the "Generations" Deluxe Strafe toy, with no known differences from the normal retail release, packed with a maybe slightly redecoed iteration of Dark of the Moon Mini-Con Rav with possibly darker blue or other negligible changes. It's got the original Generation 1 packaging art of G1 Strafe on the side of the card bubble, plus it says his function is "stealth fighter," which is what our wiki describes the previous Strafe as, so, uh...

We're as confused as you are, folks.

Notes

• In some printings of Stormbringer, Strafe's stutter occasionally pops up in Scattershot's lines. (Maybe it's contagious?)

Foreign names

• Japanese: Strafe (ストレイフ Sutoreifu)
• French: Mitraille (Canada)
• Italian: Rocketbot
• Russian: Shtraf (Штраф, "Fine")

External links

• Strafe's Universe profile at NTFA.net