Overload (RID)

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

Overload is a Decepticon from the Robots in Disguise portion of the Aligned continuity family.

Raise the curtain and let Overload take center stage— the most daring, dashing Decepticon saboteur and spy Cybertron has ever known. No mere bit player is he; this roguish thespian combines his natural strength and impenetrable armor plating with the quick wit and charisma befitting a lead player. If Overload has any weakness, it's perhaps that his own vanity overrides his better tactical judgment, particularly when it comes to that utter plebian Optimus Prime.

Fiction

2015 Robots in Disguise cartoon

Plot details for Overloaded, Part 1 follow. Spoilers have expired, you may remove this tag

Voice actor: Dave Fennoy (English)

During the war, Overload was the top spy for the Decepticons and his work resulted in the destruction of a number of Autobot installations. Optimus Prime eventually found him out and stopped him. He was placed in stasis and eventually stored aboard the Alchemor. When the ship crashed on Earth, his stasis pod was lost. Overloaded, Part 1

Micronus Prime used an illusion of Overload to challenge Optimus Prime. The robot deployed his Mini-Cons to terminate a group of humans who had made their way into the Realm of the Primes. The robot spent most of his time just standing around while his Mini-Cons did most of the dirty work. Overload and the Mini-Cons were ultimately defeated when Optimus climbed a hill to activate his Prime Decepticon Hunter and it turned out the Decepticons and humans were mere illusions. Out of Focus

After reviving from stasis, Overload sensed Optimus Prime and went looking for his old foe. Arriving in the scrapyard, he found only Bumblebee, Strongarm and Grimlock. He dealt with them and opted to head for Crown City, reasoning he could draw out Prime by threatening humans, and on the way teamed up with the Cyclone Mini-Cons. Overloaded, Part 1

2015 Robots in Disguise shorts

Overload shot a Cyclone at a young Slipstream, which stole his first ball bearing, causing him to go live a life a crime. The Tragedy of Slipstream Overload appeared to be listed in the Alchemor's prisoner manifest in the same pod as Ransack and Backtrack. The Power of Dibs

Toys

Robots in Disguise (2015)

File:RID2015-Deployers-Overload-and-Backtrack.jpg

• Decepticon Overload and Backtrack (Deployer, 2015)
  • Japanese ID Number: TAV46
  • Accessories: Backtrack Mini-con and Armor sprue (with Left & right blasters, jetpack, crest armor, 4 "legs")

Overload transforms into a Cybertronian tank and can launch his Mini-Con partner Backtrack. Although he is not designed to, he is capable of launching torpedo-style Mini-cons. He has a battle mask - a feature intended to cover his face in vehicle mode also doubles as an homage to the rectangle-eye of the robot in the cartoon which he's based on. Unlike Deployers Fracture and Drift, Overload is incapable of launching Mini-Cons in robot mode and as such lacks the "pointing" action they also use.

Notes

• Overload and Backtrack's bodies are based on the illusionary Decepticon warriors Micronus Prime used to challenge Optimus Prime in "Out of Focus". The major difference is that they gave Overload a proper robot head rather than the featureless rectangle of the robot in the show. However given the toy also provides Overload with a battle mask that resembles the "head" of the robot, it is entirely possible that the robot simply had his battle mask deployed.
• The Cyclones are said to be unaligned by Divebomb, though Overload and Backtrack's toys are marketed as Decepticons. While Overload appears with a Decepticon insignia in the show, the exact allegiance of the Cyclones remains vague.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Overload (オーバーロード Ōbārōdo)