Blowpipe (G1)
| The name or term "Blowpipe" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Blowpipe (disambiguation). |
- Blowpipe is a Decepticon Targetmaster from the Generation 1 continuity family.
The conniving brother-in-law of Lord Zarak, Blowpipe managed the political campaign that brought him and kept him in power. While a smooth political operator with endless connections, Blowpipe lacks the physical presence and style of a leader, causing him to resent his brother-in-law for taking all the glory when he did all the "real" work.
Treating combat like he would a political campaign, Blowpipe plots and plans things in advance, leaving nothing to chance, which puts him at odds with his binary bonded partner Triggerhappy, whose idea of combat tactics is to wave his gun around randomly as fast as he can and shoot really, really fast.
Blowpipe's nature varies. In most universes he is an organic Nebulan; in others he is a robotic Cybertronian.
Fiction
Marvel The Transformers comics
Blowpipe was brother-in-law to Lord Zarak, presumably Llyra's maternal uncle. Always cast in Zarak's shadow, he spent his career as a political manager for Zarak. Although Blowpipe's machinations won Zarak the prominence he coveted in the Council of Peers, it was ultimately Zarak's own charisma which was given credit for his rise to fame, leaving Blowpipe envious and unheralded. He remained a part of Zarak's political machine and, when Zarak joined forces with Scorponok and the Decepticons, Blowpipe underwent the Targetmaster process and binary bonded to Triggerhappy. This did little to raise his personal profile on Nebulos, however, as Zarak ordered the Decepticons to abandon Nebulos mere hours after the Decepticon Targetmasters had their first field mission, battling against a group of Autobot escapees in the streets of Koraja. Brothers in Armor!!
Blowpipe remained at Triggerhappy's side throughout the Decepticons' stay on Earth. He was remarkably silent when Triggerhappy and Mindwipe decided to desert Zarak and the Decepticons. The Gathering Darkness
The Transformers cartoon
- Voice actor: John Moschitta (English), Akimitsu Takase (Japanese), Gerd Wiedenhofen (German)
One of the Nebulan Hive, Blowpipe was bio-engineered into a weapon by the Targetmaster process. When he transformed and jumped into Triggerhappy's hand, he punned on his name by stating he wanted to BLOW the rebels away. Triggerhappy responded by cackling that the Autobots were as good as melted slag. This happy duo turned their glee on the Autobots, and successfully stole the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber. The Rebirth, Part 2
Despite their happy working arrangement, Blowpipe still turned on Triggerhappy when Zarak commanded it. He and the other Targetmaster partners demonstrated the ability to float, aim, and potentially shoot on their own when they got into an argument with their Decepticon partners. The Rebirth, Part 3
Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity
The Headmasters cartoon
Blowpipe and his five friends were refugees, having fled their home planet of Master when Scorponok and the Decepticons began an all-out siege on the world. They were being chased through space in their starship by the Decepticons when they came across the Battleship Maximus. Fortress gave them safe haven aboard his starship, and the Master citizens attempted to show their gratitude by removing the deadly plasma energy bombs Fortress was trying to dispose of. Their efforts came too late, however, as the plasma energy bombs exploded aboard their ship in space, bathing everyone nearby with energy. Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 1)
Although they survived the explosion, for Blowpipe and two of his fellow refugees, the ending was not a happy one. The plasma energy somehow fused each of them to a different one of the Decepticon trio who had been attacking them, creating Targetmasters. Blowpipe was now the eternal partner of Triggerhappy and became a member of the Decepticon army at his side. As a Decepticon, Blowpipe was forced to join in the invasion of his own planet. Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 2)
In a battle for the data of the Master Sword, Blowpipe bonded with Triggerhappy to fight the Autobots. The Master Sword Is in Danger!! Blowpipe again joined his partner when the Autobot Targetmasters landed on Master to investigate the possible presence of the Decepticons. The two forces battled each other, and the Decepticons were able to wash the Autobots away in a surge of water from an elevated lake. The Decepticon Targetmasters returned to the other Decepticons to report of their triumph over the Autobot Targetmasters. When the Autobot Headmasters sneaked into the Decepticon's hidden cavern base, the Targetmasters were there to greet them. A battle ensued that the Autobot Targetmasters joined, but the Decepticons eventually retreated. The Zarak Shield Turns the Tide
Caliburst, Blowpipe, and Aimless were later assigned to watch out for any intruders, and they spotted the Autobot Targetmasters. They went off to report their presence to the other Decepticons and joined their larger partners in attacking the Autobots. During battle, the Decepticons were distracted by an aircraft sent by the natives of Master, allowing the Autobots to escape. Nevertheless, the Decepticons were soon sicced on a Master city, killing the natives. The natives fought back with aircraft, and their combined efforts with the Autobots forced the lesser Decepticons to flee into Scorponok's transtector. After a showdown between the Zarak Shield and the Master Sword, the Decepticons left Master for Earth. Operation: Destroy the Decepticons
Blowpipe played part in the decisive battle with the Autobots at the North Pole. When the Final Formation put an end to Scorponok's machinations on Earth, the Decepticons retreated into space. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)
The Headmasters manga
Blowpipe and the Decepticon Targetmasters attempted to disrupt the Autobots' efforts to put out a blazing fire on Earth. The Autobots' split focus left them vulnerable, until the Battleship Maximus extinguished the entire fire in one sweep. Ricochet and Artfire then turned their full attention on Blowpipe and his allies, driving them from the scene. The Headmasters #7
Toy pack-in material
When the Decepticons got wind of the fact that Optimus Prime had become amnesiac and was wandering lost around Cybertron's Hemisphere of Darkness, Triggerhappy and Blowpipe formed a team with Mindwipe and Vorath called Seek and Terminate Optimus Prime and set out to find Prime before the Autobots could. As the Autobot leader's memory was completely shot, there was the risk that he would accept the Decepticons as friends if they found him first. Optimus Prime Is Back
Dreamwave Generation One continuity
Blowpipe was Zarak's half-brother who organized his illegitimate election. More than Meets the Eye Triggerhappy profile
Commercial appearances
- When the Transformers' war resumed its course on Nebulon, Blowpipe accompanied Triggerhappy into battle alongside his fellow Decepticon Targetmasters. As they fought against their Autobot counterparts, Fortress Maximus and Scorponok grappled in the distance. Headmaster comic book commercial
- Blowpipe aided Triggerhappy in gunning down Sureshot in the middle of a mechanical city. When the Autobot transformed, Triggerhappy did the same and both used their guns to fire at one another until they were in grappling range. Both of the larger combatants' guns then transformed and grappled with one another as well. Targetmasters commercial
Toys
Generation 1
- Triggerhappy (Targetmaster, 1987)
- Japanese ID Number: D-88
- Accessories: Cannon-pack
- Blowpipe transforms into a compression cannon with single large and smaller secondary barrel. Blowpipe's transformation, like Caliburst's, is slightly more involved than many Targetmasters weapons; his gun barrel is a separate piece that plugs into his back, and once his legs are folded up the barrel has to be snapped into place where the legs were, the resulting weapon longer than many of the other first year Targetmasters.
- Blowpipe could be placed in either Triggerhappy's hands or on top of his vehicle mode thanks to the use of 5mm posts and holes; as his backpack uses the same sized peg, it can also be used as a hand-held blaster on its own.
Generations
- Blowpipe & Triggerhappy (Deluxe, 2016)
- Available with Titans Return Triggerhappy, Blowpipe transforms into Triggerhappy's cartoon-accurate head compatible with any Deluxe-or-larger Titans Return figure.
Notes
- For reasons unknown, Triggerhappy's package art and Blowpipe's animation model have the Nebulan's colors reversed from the toy.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Blowpipe (ブロウパイプ Burōpaipu)
- Russian: Vzryvnoj (Взрывной, "Explosive")
