Blackout (Movie)
| The name or term "Blackout" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Blackout (disambiguation). |
- Blackout is a Decepticon from the Movie continuity family.
 Spoiler warning: Plot details follow. of the next episode/issue in the series or 30 days after release, whichever is sooner |
The massive Blackout has been described as the hound of Megatron. In better days he was always to be found looming powerful and silent behind his leader's right shoulder. When given a target he hunts it down with fierce determination. Blackout is not happy with the progress Starscream is making towards finding the missing Decepticon leader. He suspects (quite rightly) that Starscream would prefer Megatron to stay lost. Blackout is openly mutinous and will challenge Starscream's leadership at any opportunity, not for his own sake, but to better serve his ultimate goal of finding his lost master. Blackout has a sneaky side and uses his symbiotic companion Scorponok's small size to great advantage.
- Working names: Vortex (first), Incinerator (second)
Fiction
Ghosts of Yesterday novel
While Starscream is hoping not to find Megatron, Blackout is working against him in hopes of restoring the former leader. He attacks him but loses.
Prime Directives prequel comics
The Decepticon infiltration unit under the command of Starscream arrived on Earth in the year 2003. Blackout scanned a USAF MH-53 Pavelow helicopter, then destroyed the original human craft to cover his tracks, as did his fellow Decepticons when choosing their new forms.
Transformers (2007) movie
Spoiler warning: Plot details follow. of the next episode/issue in the series or 30 days after release, whichever is sooner |
Blackout flew into the airspace of US SOCCENT Forward Operations Base in Qatar and refused to identify himself, prompting base commander Colonel Sharp to dispatch two F-22 Raptors to escort the Decepticon into their base. One of the Raptors reported that Blackout had the registry number of 4500X on his vertical stabilizer, the number of the helicopter Blackout had scanned and destroyed three months earlier in Afghanistan.
Once landed, Blackout was surrounded by the soldiers stationed at the base and ordered to power down and disembark his crew, or deadly force would be used. Seeing no reason to hide himself any further, Blackout transformed under a hail of automatic weapons fire from the shocked humans. Activating his heavy machine guns and rocket launchers, Blackout made quick work of the soldiers in closest to him, then unleashed a massive EMP wave that killed the rest of the troops and shattered their vehicles and the windows of the operations control tower. Blackout made his way around the base, tossing tanks aside, crushing soldiers underfoot and blowing up aircraft. Eventually, he reached the operations bunker and tore off the roof to link up with their server and download its files in an attempt to find information on Project: Ice Man. Unfortunately, the base commander intervened, cutting the physical hard line of the server, severing Blackout's connection and thwarting the primary objective of his mission.
Still, Blackout carried out his second objective - the destruction of the human base. As he proceeded, a human soldier was nearly crushed. Instinctively, the soldier recorded images of Blackout, the Decepticon indulging this brief moment of curiosity by looking straight back at the human. Blackout then activated a chest-mounted laser cannon to put the fleshling out of its misery, but before he could do so, he was struck by a sabot round fired by another soldier, and the human made his escape. Enraged, Blackout fired flare countermeasures into the sky to confuse any other attempts to attack him, then ejected Scorponok from his back and sent the minion to track the fleeing soldiers. Blackout then turned his attention and his weapons back to the rest of the base, eventually destroying it, leaving no survivors.
Evidently, after the attack, Blackout flew back to the United States, as he was in the vicinity when Frenzy reported the discovery of All Spark's location and Starscream ordered their forces to move out. Blackout acknowledged the order, then perhaps to remind Starscream who his master was, rallied in Megatron's name.
Blackout arrived at Mission City just as the final battle was getting underway. He attempted to block ladiesman217's path as the boy was trying to get away with the All Spark before he was warded off by Ironhide. Then, as Optimus Prime and Megatron fought, Blackout went to help his lord by activating his hand-held rotor weapon, but soldiers—including survivors of the SOCCENT base attack—attempted to stop him by painting him with targeting lasers for friendly F-22 Raptors to fire upon. Underestimating the fighting spirit and desire for vengeance of the humans, Blackout tried to finish them off until Captain Lennox, using an abandoned motorcycle, charged at him and fired a sabot under his chest armour as F-22s pounded him with missiles, destroying his spark and killing him.
His remains were dumped in the deepest part of the ocean along with his fellow dead Decepticons. Transformers (2007)
Note: The possible period of time that Blackout acquired his vehicle mode in the movie appears to contradict the origin of his vehicle mode in IDW's Prime Directives prequel comics.
Transformers The Game (console)
Blackout and Scorponok were sent to the SOCCENT Base to destroy the human military installation there and download information from the military servers on the location of the AllSpark. The pair were successful, though Blackout's escape was briefly interrupted by the arrival of a squad of human jet fighters. After blasting them to tiny bits, he made good his escape.
Blackout joined Starscream at Hoover Dam, and fought off a squad of Autobot sports car drones that were defending the installation. He then followed the newly-revived Megatron to Mission City, where he got engaged in a final showdown with Ironhide, who certainly gave the massive Decepticon a run for his money. The huge number of Autobot drones backing Ironhide up didn't make things any easier.
Toys
Transformers
- Blackout (Voyager, 2007)
- Japanese ID Number: MD-01
- Blackout transforms into a reasonably accurate Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low heavy-lift helicopter, though his blue color scheme is quite inaccurate compared to the actual helicopter used in the movie and similar ones in USAF service. An aft 'cage' compartment can be opened to release a small PVC figurine of his partner, Scorponok. A button on the end of his tail can be pressed in a geared action to rotate his rotor blades, but this feature really comes into play when the user attaches the Deluxe-class Scorponok figure to the bottom of Blackout's helicopter mode via two pegs. A geared shaft linked to the rotor mechanism connects to a geared peg on Scorponok's back. Thus, pressing the button on Blackout's tail not only rotates his blades, but also rotates Scorponok's pincers. This gimmick is actually easier to activate by rotating the geared wheel on Scorponok's undercarriage.
- During transformation, Blackout's Automorphing gimmick is activated when the user swings down his legs, which in turn flips the grey chest section his head is mounted upon up and into position. Another, less impressive automorph is in his legs. If you pull on his knee, his shin pops out.
- In robot mode, Blackout is not quite as accurate to his CGI design as some of the other Movie toys are. His overall design and proportions are generally described as being closer to traditional Transformers than the aesthetics of the Movie robots. Yet, as expected with most of the movie toys he features excellent articulation, with multi-ratcheting joints in his shoulders, elbows, hips and knees. The entire rotor assembly on his back can be removed and converted into a gigantic fan, to vaguely represent the hand-held fan weapon he wields in the movie (also seen on the Titanium figurine). He's also much smaller than most Voyager class figures, barely larger than a Deluxe figure (particularly Barricade, only a head taller).
- There are some significant flaws in Blackout's design. Firstly, the pegs that hold his legs/helcopter fuselage to the rotor/tail assembly do not provide enough friction to withstand the weight of the legs themselves, causing them to detach from the body of the helicopter and droop down. Secondly, the gears in his head/chest's Automorphing gimmick can misalign themselves during usage and transformation back in to vehicle mode, enough so that the cockpit chest/head section refuses to align with the cockpit halves.
- An interesting side note is that the two hard points located on Blackout's shoulders, intended to support his abominably large weapon, are actually the same size as the Mini-Con points on most post-Armada figures. This basically means he is the only Decepticon from the movie continuity who can Powerlinx, though this is most likely by accident rather than design due to lack of Powerlinx port details at the base of these hardpoints.
- Decepticon Desert Attack (multi-pack, 2007)
- An unchanged Voyager Blackout was packaged with a similarly unaltered Deluxe Scorponok in this package, which is currently available only at Toys R Us.
- Blackout (Legends, 2007)
Fast Action Battlers
- Blackout (2007)
Titanium Series
- Blackout (3" Robot Masters, 2007)
- This small three-inch figurine of Blackout has a more CGI-accurate sculpt than larger Blackout toys. He is partially made of die-cast metal and plastic, sculpted holding his rotorblades as a hand weapon, as seen in the movie. His articulation is limited to his shoulders, head and waist and he comes with a Movie-style Decepticon logo display base.
Trivia
- Blackout was originally conceived as Soundwave, thus his symbiotic relationship with Scorponok, who was originally concieved as Ravage. Though clearly this changed, his portrayal in the Ghosts of Yesterday novel is rather Soundwave-esque. This portrayal is also somewhat reflected in the official bio as Blackout is described as "his leader's hound". Blackout's later working name, "Incinerator", is also accounted for in the bio, noting how Blackout will "fill the air with fire and burn the land clear to take his revenge."
- During a transmission from Burger King's website, Optimus Prime has decreed that we are not to ride this helicopter. The current rideability of other helicopters the world over is unknown. Standby for further updates as they become available.
