Dirge (BW)
| The name or term "Dirge" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Dirge (disambiguation). |
- Dirge is a Predacon Combatron from the Beast Era of the Generation 1 continuity family.
Dirge (ダージ Dāji) is one half of a "comedy duo" with his Combatron partner, Thrust. Together, they strike terror into the hearts of their Maximal adversaries by being completely unmotivated and displaying not so much as a shred of ambition. So no, Dirge doesn't intimidate anybody. He would very much like to be seen as a top brass among the Predacon forces, but only because he figures the guy at the top must do less work than the grunts at the bottom. And Dirge is all about doing less work.
If Dirge can perform one task with enviable skill, it's his prowess at micro-brewing oil and other energy concoctions. His brews are known for their taste and potency, which is probably the only reason Galvatron keeps him around, as the Emperor of Destruction is something of a fuel-guzzling wino.
Dirge was later mutated into the Cyborg Beast Dirgegun (ダージガン Dājigan) by Angolmois energy. While his shiftless lack of work ethic didn't change, his power on the battlefield received a noticeable boost. And much to Dirgegun's delight, now he doesn't have to try as hard to pummel his enemies.
Fiction
Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity
Beast Wars II cartoon
- Voice actor: Eiji Takemoto (Japanese)
The New Forces Arrive! White Lion, Run! Bighorn's Rage The Lake Trap Galvatron Revived The Insect Corps Arrive Friend or Foe? The Insect Robos The Strongest Tag Team?
After the Combatrons' several failures to eliminate the Insectrons, the Autorollers stepped forward to take the assignment. Starscream was worried the Autorollers would succeed and outshine his accomplishments. Dirge and Thrust, who had no accomplishments to speak of, said to let the Autorollers have their shot. Autorollers Roll Out!
Dirge and Thrust were out on patrol when the Autorollers brought their captives Tasmania Kid and Scissor Boy back to the Galvaburg II. Megastorm tried to call the Combatrons back to help him when the Maximals and Insectrons arrived to protect their friends, but they arrived too late and Megastorm had to move the ship to escape their enemies' onslaught. Danger! Scissor Boy
As Megastorm ordered a massive attack on the South Continent, Dirge, Thrust and the Combatrons fought against the Maximals and Insectrons once more. Predacon General Offensive!
The Combined Giant, Tripledacus
While supervising one of the Autorollers' construction projects, Dirge and Thrust spotted a beam of energy that revealed the location of the Maximal base. Seeing an opportunity to one-up Starscream, they conscripted Autostinger and Autocrasher to track the source of the signal. Finding a Maximal recon ship, Dirge and Thrust boarded it and found the Jointrons squabbling with the Maximals. Taking them hostage at gunpoint, the comedy duo warned their foes the Autorollers were outside pointing missiles at the fuel tanks in case they acted up. Unfortunately for Dirge and Thrust, once they had their captives, they didn't know what to do with them, especially after Gimlet smashed the radio so they couldn't call in to the Galvaburg II. They ordered Diver to fix the radio, but then were swept up in salsa fever as the cheerful Jointrons threw an oil party while being held captive. By the time Lio Convoy and the other Maximals arrived and disabled the Autorollers outside, Dirge and Thrust were too wasted to fight back. They were now the Jointrons' prisoners. Luckily, the bizarre trio were soon distracted by their own antics, letting Dirge and Thrust inch out of the ship and fly away home. The Festive Jointrons
Starscream soon had another brilliant plan, so naturally Dirge and Thrust ended up doing grunt work. The comedy duo worked a smoke machine to trick the Maximals into thinking another Angolmois-powered fortress was in production on the East Continent. The bait allowed Starscream and BB to test out a new bacteria bomb that sapped its victims' energy and rendered them unable to transform. It seemed remarkably effective against the Jointrons until Lio Convoy taught them the secret of friendship and sharing their energies to counter the bacteria. Tripledacus was then formed to demonstrate the Jointrons' displeasure towards Starscream. Dirge and Thrust somewhat sensibly chose not to get involved by that point. A Fearsome Combination Plan?
The Predacons' next plan involved capturing the Jointrons alive to study their combination abilities. Dirge and Thrust managed to net up DJ and Gimlet during the fray, and flew off to deliver them to the Galvaburg II. Bighorn and Diver followed behind them, though, and Bighorn's Buffalo Missile blasted them out of the air, freeing the captives and leaving Dirge and Thrust out of luck. Who Is the Leader!?
When the Autorollers discovered a Copy Machine in the ruins of Gaea, the Predacons learned it could create exact clones of anyone, except mono-chromatic in color. And super-evil. After observing a battle between BB and Black BB clone, Galvatron ordered the clone destroyed. Dirge and Thrust needed two guesses, but eventually pointed their guns at the correct BB and destroyed the clone. The Black Lio Convoy
Artemis and Moon once had a debate over who was the strongest of the Transformers, and convinced Lio Convoy and Galvatron to compare their troops. Dirge and Thrust were considered among the weakest, but Galvatron still though them superior to Lio Convoy's weakest troops, Tasmania Kid and Diver. Who Is the Strongest Warrior!? The Tentacular Scuba
Megastorm hired the Seacons to take out the Maximals for them, but did a poor job of negotiating and accidentally gave away ALL the Predacons' Angolmois energy if the Seacons were successful. Dirge and Thrust helped Megastorm construct a series of transmitters to lure the Maximals into separate battles with the Seacons, while secretly making the transmitters into bombs as well, hoping to steal the victories from the pirates. The comedy duo panicked when Lio Convoy snuck up on them at the last transmitter site, however, and dropped the trigger mechanism. This caused the bombs to go off in a premature and karmic fashion, somehow blowing up just in time to damage Megastorm at each site before blasting him to the next one. Megastorm's Reckoning
Face the Setting Sun The Final Battle
Dirge and Thrust watched on as Starscream conducted an operation to save Galvatron from the injuries he suffered fighting against Magnaboss. Megastorm Reborn As Megastorm evolved into Gigastorm, Dirge and Thrust quickly declared their loyalty to him when Galvatron was once again bedridden with injuries. They arrived long before Starscream and BB to help Gigastorm escape a Maximal trap. The New Weapon, Tako Tank
In a discussion on the nature of light versus darkness, Galvatron recalled Dirge and Thrust's involvement in the Seacons' escapades. The Artificial Planet Nemesis Gigastorm's Treachery
Dirge and Thrust finally outdid Starscream by capturing him and BB on film talking about how they tried to kill Megastorm when he was transformed into Gigastorm. They showed this footage to Gigastorm, who devised a plan to rid himself of Starscream. The End of Starscream
The Lio Convoy Assassination Plot Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger! The Great Angolmois Freezing Tactic Knock Out Nemesis Lio Junior's Revolt!? The Crisis of Planet Gaea Fly Out! Planet Gaea Assemble, Thirty-Nine Warriors Revenge of the Space Pirates Breaking into Nemesis Legend! The Green Warrior Farewell! Lio Convoy
The Maximal Brainwashing Operation
While out on patrol, Dirge and Thrust wandered near the Maximals' base and were shot down by a barrage of missiles. When Lio Convoy approached the two downed Predacons, Dirge and Thrust expressed confusion as to why the Maximals were attacking them... The shock to their systems had somehow turned the pair into Maximals!
Later, Dirge and Thrust helped the Maximals fight back against their former teammates when the Predacons launched an assault on the Yukikaze. Among the enemy ranks were Diver and Tasmania Kid, brainwashed into joining the Predacons by Starscream. When Starscream saw Dirge and Thrust fighting against alongside the Maximals, he became infuriated that Lio Convoy had "stolen his idea," and had BB shoot the pair out of the sky. The battlefield was then rocked by a powerful blast courtesy of Megastorm, badly injuring the Predacon forces. The Predacons retreated, with BB hauling the unconscious Dirge and Thrust along. The Maximal Brainwashing Operation
Cloud
Beast Wars Neo cartoon
After the defeat of Unicron, Dirgegun returned to Cybertron. There, he watched a tussle between Big Convoy and Magmatron. Graduation Ceremony!!
Beast Wars II manga
Theft of the Golden Disk
- Voice actor: Frank Todaro (English)
Dirge worked for the crime lord Cryotek and was part of the team he sent out to steal information about the whereabouts of the Golden Disk from the Cybertropolis Maximal Data Archive. While Megatron and Dinobot handled the filth, Dirge took the stolen data to Cryotek. Unfortunately for him, Megatron had switched the data with a Maximal tracking device, causing Dirge and his boss to be arrested for the theft while Megatron and his allies got clean away... Theft of the Golden Disk
IDW Beast Wars comics
Dirge was exposed to Angolmois by Gigastorm, which evolved the Predacon into the Cyborg Beast Dirgegun. Beast Wars Sourcebook #1
During one of Magmatron's astral journeys, Dirgegun was seen being throttled by Saberback. The Ascending #1
Toys
Beast Wars
- Dirge (Basic, 1998)
- Japanese ID number: D-14
- Accessories: "Dirge Gun" rifle & barrel
- A redeco of the Machine Wars Skywarp/Thundercracker mold, Dirge transforms from a Dassault Rafale fighter jet to robot mode with a single-step, spring-loaded transformation. The two halves of his "Dirge Gun" rifle store in his lower legs in jet mode.
- This mold was also used to make 2001 Robots in Disguise Skyfire, "Dawn of Future's Past" version of Waspinator and Robotmasters Wingstun. This toy was later repurposed as Generation 1 Dirge in the Collectors' Club magazine comic arc Beast Wars Shattered Glass.
- Showdown on the Land Horizon: Tasmania Kid VS Dirge (VS pack, 1998)
- Japanese ID number: VS-14
- Accessories: "Dirge Gun" rifle & barrel
- Dirge was available both as an individual release and in a two-pack with Tasmania Kid. Both toys are identical to their original releases.
- Dirgegun (Deluxe Cyborg Beast, 1998)
- Japanese ID number: D-26
- Accessories: "Needle Shot" missile launcher, 2 missiles
- An extensive retool of the original Beast Wars Waspinator mold, Dirgegun transforms into a cyborg wasp. His stinger becomes a hand-held "Needle Shot" spring-loaded missile launcher; the missiles are hidden in each of his wings. These missiles can also be used in the launcher mounted on his beast mode back. This mold has a pop-up gun in place of the mutant head found on the original, meaning you have to flip his head down if you want to use this feature in robot mode.
- This toy was retooled further into Thrustinator.
Notes
- A Japanese trading card Romanizes this character's name as "Darge". Needless to say, nobody takes this seriously.
- In Theft of the Golden Disk, Dirge plays the part of Peter Lorre, with vocal stylings to match. Like Cosmos, this only worked so well.
