Nebulon (Headmasters)
| The name or term "Nightstick" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Nightstick (disambiguation). |
- Nightstick is an Autobot Targetmaster from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Nightstick is Ricochet's Targetmaster partner. Originally an engineer from the planet Master, Nightstick volunteered to undergo a unique form of binary bonding with Ricochet in order to save the Autobot's life when he was fatally wounded. Unlike other Targetmaster partners, who are simply held in the hands of their larger partners, Nightstick plugs directly into a port on Ricochet's back, interfacing directly with his body and serving as a life-support system.
Nightstick transforms into a flame cannon, and utilizes the energy gathered by Ricochet's black body technology to fire blasts of up to 5000°C. This can cause backdraft problems at high speeds, but in another example of the unorthodox nature of their Targetmaster partnership, Ricochet also has an arsenal of other weapons he can rely upon.[1]
Nightstick's name can be cause for confusion, as Decepticon Cyclonus's partner isalso named Nightstick. Also, Ricochet hangs around with his fellow Targetmaster, Artfire, whose Targetmaster partner Fracas is also sometimes called Nightstick.
Nightstick's nature varies. In some universes he's a robotic Cybertronian; in others he's an organic Nebulan.
Fiction
Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity
Transformers Collection reissue bio
When Autobot Ricochet's metabolic functions were damaged in an unspecified "incident", Nightstick, an engineer on the planet Master, volunteered to help him by undergoing a unique form of binary bonding. While ostensibly becoming a Targetmaster, Nightstick's gun mode wasn't merely hand-held. He instead plugged into Ricochet's robot-mode back, serving as a life-support system.
The Headmasters manga
On Earth, the Decepticon Targetmasters Slugslinger, Misfire, and Triggerhappy set a blazing inferno. Chromedome and Daniel were having trouble controlling the fire when Ricochet and Artfire, accompanied by their partners Nightstick and Fracas showed up to help. The blaze was quickly quenched, and the Autobots then sent the Decepticons into a retreat. The Headmasters #7
United
A devastating nano-virus plagued the Earthbound Autobots, a plague that Headmasters or Targetmasters like Ricochet were mysteriously immune from. Perceptor charged Ricochet and Nightstick with leading a team of unafflicted Autobots to Nebulos, where the supreme scientist Zella had crafted an antidote.
As Ricochet and Nightstick's team arrived on Nebulos, an army of Decepticons led by Straxus appeared via an inter-dimensional portal. The nano-virus was part of a larger plot to draw out the Headmasters and Targetmasters so that their Nebulan partners (such as Nightstick) could be collected. As the Autobots concentrated their attacks on Straxus, Ricochet and Nightstick slipped through the battle to pick up Zella's antidote, blasting his way through Rumble and Frenzy in the process. By the time they returned with a cart full of the stuff, their Autobot team had defeated the Decepticons. The Fierce Fighting on Planet Nebulos
Toys
The Headmasters
- Stepper (Targetmaster, 1987)
- Japanese ID number: C-109
- Nebulon, effectively the same toy as Decepticon Targetmaster Nightstick, comes packaged with Stepper, who is a minor retool of Jazz. Nebulon transforms into a single-barrelled, non-firing hand-cannon that can peg into Stepper's car-mode spoiler or attach to a separate bracket mounted over his robot-mode shoulder. This was the only release of Nebulon's mold in Japan at the time; Cyclonus was never sold as a Targetmaster.
Commmorative Series
- Ricochet with Nightstick (Targetmaster, 2003)
- Japanese ID number: TFC-15
- For the 2003 reissue of Ricochet/Stepper both stateside and in Japan, Nightstick/Nebulon was retooled with a slender peg extension to allow Ricochet to actually hold him in his hand as well as changing the plastic clasp that held his legs in (this part was easily broken) to the more sturdy pin and solid plastic holder.
United
- Stepper (Deluxe, 2011)
- Accessories: Nebulon Targetmaster
- Available only as a mail-away exclusive offered through Transformers Generations 2011 Vol. 1, Stepper is a redeco of Reveal the Shield Special Ops Jazz, and includes Nebulon, a redeco of Universe Nightstick. He's black with silver paint and an orange face. Unlike the other decos of this mold, Nebulon's eyes and face are all the same color (likely in an effort to match the original toy's deco and differentiate him from the many other black and silver decos of the mold).
- This marks the first time this figure was released without the accompanying gang-molded Cyclonus. Whether this means the molds were separated or the accompanying Cyclonus parts discarded/recycled, is unknown.
- This mold was also used to make Rocketbot, Vector Oracle, Shattered Glass Krunix, and Tornado.
| Universe (2008) mold: Nightstick | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
Notes
- So about the name. Cyclonus and Scourge weren't Targetmasters in Japan, but Takara still sold their weapons, partnered with the Autobots Ricochet and Artfire. Takara carried their names over as well: one was called "Nightstick," the other was called "Nebulon" (which is how Scourge's on-package bio referred to his partner). However, through error or design, the names were switched: the Nightstick-lookalike partnered with Ricochet was called "Nebulon", while Artfire's partner became "Nightstick". To the Japanese audience, of course, this wasn't a problem at the time, but years later, it would get worse...
- When Hasbro released a Commemorative Series Stepper as "Ricochet" in 2003, his partner, Nebulon, was given the "corrected" name of Nightstick. So now, we've got a Decepticon Nightstick, partnered with Cyclonus, an Autobot Nightstick, partnered with Ricochet.
- Thankfully, the little guy partnered with Artfire, after many decades, was given an English-market name different from this guy. Fracas, for those keeping score.
- The bio of Nightstick at the head of this article is based mostly on info from Ricochet's Japanese Transformers Collection bio. When he was reissued in America, however, Ricochet's bio did not include any information about Nightstick, making him a total cipher as far as English-language continuity goes. Is he an organic Nebulon from Nebulos, like all the other English-continuity Targetmasters? We may never know.
- The package art for Nightstick used for both Transformers Collection Stepper and Commemorative Series Ricochet was recycled from Dreamwave's More Than Meets The Eye profile for the Targetmaster version of Cyclonus, which depicted the other Nightstick.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Nebulon (ネブロン Neburon)
References
- ↑ Ricochet's The Transformers Collection reissue bio. Nightstick had gone all but unmentioned in Ricochet's original 1987 bio; this reissue bio finally explained who he was and why he combined with Ricochet in such an odd way.
