Earthhog
- Earthhog is an Autobot-allied Beastformer from the Generation 1 continuity family.
The short-tempered Earthhog (アースホッグ Āsuhoggu) is a proud fighter ready to endure any hardship for his country. A solid, dependable and intelligent soldier, he works best out on the open fields where his rapid tunneling ability allows him to surprise opponents.
Following the war with the Decepticon-backed insurgents, he became Emperor of his homeland Hamanan, working under King Slo. This position seems to have mellowed him out considerably, allowing his talents as an entertainer and shrewd business-beast to come into play. He's used the power of weather control, focused by his Earth Scenery (アースシーナリー Āsu Shīnarī) trident, to make their nation a verdant resort for all to enjoy... for a small fee, of course. This position also allows him to travel the globe, entertaining and advertising Hamanan's beauty, book your reservations now!
Naturally (hah!) his weather control abilities make him a dangerous opponent when he or his home are threatened. Properly riled, he can create powerful thunderstorms and even tornadoes.
Fiction
Legends comic
In 2038, the then-peaceful Beast was invaded by Galvatron II's Decepticons. Earthhog was part of the joint Beastformer-Laser Beast alliance that fought against the invaders. He was hurt in battle, but was healed by Tigerburn's Medical Aid Laser. The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 3
Toys
Transformers: Beastformers
- Earthhog (Beastformer, 1987)
- Beast ID number: 67
- Accessories: Trident
- Released in the third series of Takara's Transformers-branded Beastformers assortment, Earthhog is an anthropomorphic aardvark wearing high-tech orange armor, with a two-pronged claw in place of a left hand. He has a rubsign on his chest, revealing the elemental power of Fire, Wood, or Water.
- Reportedly, some releases of Earthhog have a more red-hued purple trident than the usual bluish-purple; this kind of weapon variant has also been found with other purple-weapon Beastformers (but only the Beastformers, no Hasbro Battle Beasts have been found with this weapon color).
- As he was only released in the third series, he only had the third style of Beastformer bio card, with the forest backdrop and the comic-style line-art used on the Hasbro Battle Beasts checklist-poster. Depending on what "Pack" box he came in, there was a chance of his bio card being replaced with a rare "Secret Photo", "Bewitching Serpent Seal", or "VS Holography Mirror" card.
- Burst Sun Special Set (Multi-pack, 1987)
- Accessories: Trident
- The first Beastformers multipack, the Burstsun Special Set (バーストサンスペシャルセット Bāsutosan Supesharu Setto) contained ten figures. It could have one of two special editions of the faction leaders: either a clear-plastic "Ghost" version of Alligatron, or White Leo with the then-unique "Burstsun" rubsign (but no other notable changes). The other nine slots were filled out from a possible roster of twelve other figures, all unchanged from their individual releases. The box contained no windows, so you didn't know which toys you got until you opened it up.
- The twelve possible standard Beastformers in the set were Black Jaguar, Būpink, Crowmax, Dog Hunter, Dream Eater, Earthhog, Mingo Kid, Muskhorn, Pangol, Slo, Udan, and White Cow.
Beastformers
- Earthhog (Beastformer, 1988)
- Beast ID number: 67
- Accessories: "Earth Scenery" MVP Weapon
- Re-released in the Transformers-less Beastformers sequel series, Earthhog was given a straight re-release with new packaging and a new, more filled-out bio card with corrected coloring. This new card also gave his weapon, now branded an "MVP Weapon", the name "Earth Scenery".
- He was sold in two similar-but-different styles of boxes. One wholly-generic version, sold in large display boxes like the Transformers releases, advertised the chance for the included bio card to instead be a rare holofoil card of White Leo with a "Burstsun" rubsign in a baggie taped to the back, so you could apply it to the Beastformer of your choice. The more common version has a slightly different box with a peg-hole in the top flap, and has a sticker on the bottom with his name and role on it.
- Late in the run, the "mood ring" styled rubsigns were replaced with new rubsigns that revealed full-color Fire/Wood/Water images on black backdrops. (These rubsign variants also happened at the same time in the Hasbro Battle Beast version of the line.)
Notes
- "Earthhog" is a calque of tsuchibuta (土豚 or ツチブタ), the Japanese word for the aardvark, and of the original Afrikaans meaning of aardvark.
- His 1988 Beastformers bio card gives him the nickname "Hog" (ホッグ Hoggu).
Foreign names
- English: Ardent Aardvark
