Springload (RID)
- Springload is a Decepticon from the Robots in Disguise portion of the Aligned continuity family.
Springload has issues. This Amphiboid continually obsesses over the mythical Cybertronian city of Doradus, dreaming of discovering the ancient city so that he can lay claim to its myriad riches and its legendary fountain of Energon. Most other Decepticons might write this off as a harmless hobby... until they actually meet him. Delusional and paranoid, Springload believes that he's been chosen by the spirits of Doradus, and that everyone - and everything- else is out to stop him from fulfilling his destiny. And if you're not with him, then you're obviously against him. Springload displays a capacity for violence that puts even his fellow Decepticons on edge, boasting a toxin-tipped tongue, a powerful kick, and acidic armor to keep his pursuers at arm's length.
Fortunately, Springload's unbalanced mental state makes him extremely gullible, so if you feed him the right information it's all too easy to get him onto your side. This might work in the short term, but as soon as Springload finds out he's been had then he'll have no qualms about kicking his would-be benefactor into next week.
Now loose on Earth, he's ready to keep indulging his dangerous compulsion... and Primus help anyone who tries to stop him.
Fiction
2015 Robots in Disguise cartoon
- Voice actor: John Steven Rocha (English), Nobuo Tobita (Japanese), Luca Ghignone (Italian)
Springload's long search for Doradus resulted in him trashing museum staff and guards alike. He was imprisoned aboard the Alchemor in a stasis pod, and broke free when the ship crashed on Earth. He resumed his search in a South American forest, attempting to interrogate stone carvings in the belief they knew where Doradus was. The Autobots Bumblebee and Strongarm tracked him down, pursuing him into a ruined temple. His acidic skin allowed him to break free of his pursuers and after the pair narrowly escaped a collapsing room, Springload believed they had died and become ghosts. Strongarm impersonated a spirit and told him he was unworthy to find Doradus, confusing Springload enough to allow Bumblebee to trap him in a stone box. Rumble in the Jungle
Springload was later released by Quillfire, whose pod had been damaged in an accident, allowing him to escape. Seeing the Amphiboid's ferocity, the cowardly Quillfire quickly convinced Springload to join him (and provide protection) by claiming he was in touch with the spirits of Doradus. Escaping the scrapyard, the two eventually broke into a nearby human military base and commandeer a giant experimental tank; Quillfire assured his increasingly skeptical partner that the human vehicle would carry them to Doradus.
The tank proved adept at keeping the Decepticons safe, up until the Mini-Cons Jetstorm and Slipstream were deployed, slipping into the control room. Springload wound up accidentally kicking Quillfire in the scuffle, who accused his partner of harming "the leader of the revolution". Realizing that his companion had been lying to him all this time, Springload attacked him, so the Mini-Cons opted to stand back and let the two Decepticons finish one another off. The fight ended with Springload thwapping a control panel with his tongue, electrocuting himself. The Mini-Cons then forced the now-quill-less Quillfire to carry Springload out of the tank, burning Quillfire's hands in the process. Both Decepticons were then put back into functional stasis pods. One of Our Mini-Cons Is Missing
After Steeljaw broke into the scrapyard, he deactivated Springload's stasis pod, alongside several others, as part of a bid to bolster Glowstrike's forces. When Thunderhoof brought up Steeljaw's past failures at leadership, Steeljaw informed the Decepticons of his alliance with Glowstrike, and gave them coordinates to follow while he remained at the scrapyard. The escapees later reconvened at Steeljaw's coordinates, where they was inspected by Glowstrike, who seemed pleased by the new cadre of "elite warriors". Misdirection
Convinced that Steeljaw would show him the way to Doradus, Springload was sent to a rail yard to secure some high-grade power cable, and managed to get the jump on Grimlock when the Dinobot found the cable first. As the tired Autobots managed to end up shooting each other instead of him, he jumped onto a nearby departing train and rode cackling into the night. Bumblebee's Night Off
Springload gathered with Steeljaw's other remaining followers on the roof of the Island, where Steeljaw updated them on his plans to overthrow Glowstike, until she and Saberhorn arrived to talk with Steeljaw alone. Portals
Signature Robots in Disguise comic
Springload cunningly clinged to the side of that casket's lid and when the Autobots opened it to tip him into a stasis cell, he hopped it! The attempt to bring him in was undermined by Sideswipe ignoring orders, despite being unaware of what the Decepticon could do, such as "jump".
Luckily, the latest Crash Cragster film was being filmed nearby and Springload mistook the prop gold for real loot. Sideswipe, realising Springload was not quite in touch with reality, cornered him and then let him 'run away'... right into a studio set's wall, thinking it was outside. The Decepticon was knocked out and easily put in a stasis cell. Look Before You Leap
Toys
Kre-O
- Strongarm Capture Cruiser (2015)
- Set Number: B1549
- Kreons: Strongarm, Springload
- Pieces: 105
- Only available in the "Strongarm Capture Cruiser" set, the Springload Kreon uses the new 2015 style of Kreon hips and torso, with a hollow hip-peg and a central post inside the torso for increased grip... which also makes them incompatible with about four years' worth of Kreons.
- As US retailers almost wholly passed on Kre-O, this set got released in Canada and various European and Asian markets only. In late 2015, TJ Maxx and Marshalls stores in the US started to get the 2015 Kre-O sets, including this one... though this and the "Sideswipe Roadway Rundown" set were seemingly released in smaller numbers than the rest.
Robots in Disguise (2015)
- Part of the eighth wave of Robots in Disguise One-Step Changers, Springload transforms into sort of deformed pick-up truck that bears almost no resemblance to the pick-up truck in the cartoon. (If not for the rollbar struts in back to suggest a pickup bed, it'd be more of a muscle car.) His single-step transformation is hinged on his hindquarters: pulling his hindlegs out moves a spring-loaded (hah) gear system that flips the car hood back and releases his robot-mode legs. These legs actually dangle freely in robot mode, and require the weight of the figure upon them to set them in place. Thankfully they retract automatically when converting back to vehicle mode.
- His scan-badge is right on the hood/beast-head, easily scannable in-package.
- The TakaraTomy version of the toy adds a fair amount of paint operations, and changes the scan-badge to work with the Adventure checklist app.
Merchandise
Tiny Titans
- Springload (Tiny Titan, 2015)
- Series: 3
- Number : 11/12
- Part of the third blind-bagged assortment of Tiny Titans, this is a small, soft-plastic figurine of Springload with an oddly-extended head, making him look more like dragon than a frog.
- He comes with a trading card with a scan-badge for the Robots in Disguise mobile game, which unlocks a random amount of Energon "currency" and a randomized bonus power-up item.
Notes
Foreign names
- Japanese: Springload (スプリングロード Supuringurōdo)
- Mandarin: Tántiàoxiá (弹跳侠, "Springman")
