Impactor (G1)
| The name or term "Impactor" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Impactor (disambiguation). |
- Impactor is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Impactor is the legendary former leader of the Wreckers, an elite Autobot strike team, and as such is a deadly force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. His body is covered with weaponry, from the tank cannon on his shoulder, to the missiles hidden in his chest[1] , to the handgun strapped to his leg, and finally his signature harpoon weapon that replaces his right hand. His audacity and resolve is what puts him in the history books, for better or for worse.
Impactor's first officer, Springer, is inevitably his replacement, once terrible things occur. Springer's feelings regarding his filling of Impactor's immense shoes are always a source of angst. Just when Springer thinks these emotions are dealt with and buried, Impactor somehow returns to mix things up again. In one timeline, he has the nickname Kiloton.
Sometimes, Impactor combines with his fellow Wreckers to form Wreckage.
Fiction
Marvel The Transformers comics
After the departure of Optimus Prime, Megatron and their troops from the war, Emirate Xaaron assigned the Wreckers to assassinate the warlord Trannis, who came into power in Megatron's absence. Impactor was chosen to lead this team. Though the assassination attempt was successful, other leaders quickly sprung up to take Trannis' place.
Though Impactor was dedicated to his troops, he was not so dedicated to his superiors, and was not above directly insulting them. Emirate Xaaron took this attitude in stride, and could give as well as he received. Impactor referred to the Autobot resistance leader as a "wily old buzzard," as he was often surprised by Xaaron's blunt yet indirect ways of making his point and getting what he wanted. Despite this, their difficulties masked a genuine friendship.
Countless years later, after Optimus Prime and his Autobots had awoken on Earth, Impactor and the Wreckers were responsible for executing Operation: Volcano, a planned ambush of the Decepticons' fiercest warriors using Xaaron as bait. Ultra Magnus was assigned to the Wreckers to help them bolster their ranks for the mission, but he was quickly needed to travel to Earth to investigate the disappearance of Optimus Prime. Impactor's commitment to the mission wavered and he at first refused to deploy his team without Magnus there as back-up, but he changed his mind after a conversation with Xaaron. Impactor's doubts were further quelled when Xaaron convinced him that Springer, Broadside, and Sandstorm were an adequate replacement for Magnus, which Xaaron accomplished by having them disguise themselves as Decepticons and beat Impactor up. Operation: Volcano was once again on track.
Xaaron, the bait for the Wreckers' trap, was placed according to plan, but suddenly Megatron called his warriors to Earth, overriding all other commands, including the planned ambush on Xaaron. Disappointed that their trap was ruined, the Wreckers let down their guard long enough to allow an assassin named Macabre, ignoring Megatron's orders, to fire upon Xaaron. Impactor was the first to react and pushed Xaaron out of the way, taking the shots meant for the Autobot underground resistance leader. Immediately, the other Wreckers turned and fired upon Macabre, killing him, but Impactor was fatally wounded. With his last words he named Springer the next leader of the Wreckers before dying in Xaaron's arms, again calling him a "wily old buzzard." Target: 2006
Impactor's death would haunt several other Autobots for some time to come. Though he sought to deny it, Ultra Magnus felt guilty for not returning to Cybertron in time, and this led to his taking an excessive approach when dealing with Optimus Prime, whom intelligence reports stated was a traitor. Under Fire! Subsequently Magnus found a fight with Megatron proved the opportunity to release his pent-up aggression over Impactor's death. Resurrection! Even after that, the sight of a volcano on Earth left him uneasy, and cause him to flashback to Impactor's death. Burning Sky!
Springer was also severely affected by Impactor's death, and felt inadequate in the shadow of his legacy. So when a rogue Autobot scientist named Flame discovered a way to reanimate dead Transformers, Springer was crippled from action when he was met with the reanimated corpse of Impactor. After being captured by the zombies' controller, the mad scientist Flame, the Wreckers were put in an underground cell, guarded by their former team leader. Managing to find his courage once more, Springer made use of his leaping abilities to escape, but Impactor grabbed a hold of him, dragging him outside of the cell as well. Springer reluctantly fought his predecessor until he managed to jar Impactor into remembering his past life. Confused, Impactor wandered away while Springer pursued his mission to foil Flame's machinations. Legion of the Lost! Eventually, Impactor shambled into Flame's inner sanctum, where the rest of the Autobots were facing off both against the crazed scientist, and what remained of his zombie horde. As Flame lunged for Xaaron, Impactor launched his harpoon, impaling the Flame through the forehead and killing him. But though Flame had now been dealt with, his machines were overloading, threatening to take the whole planet with them in a chain reaction. The only means to shut them down was to enter a control room bathed in deadly radiation. Though Xaaron had initially planned to sacrifice himself, Impactor took his place, arguing he was already dead anyways. In his second death, Impactor saved Cybertron once more. Meltdown!
IDW Generation 1 continuity
Impactor was constructed cold before the war. The Divided Self He worked as a miner near Nova Point, and befriended a fellow mine grunt, Megatron there. The two became best friends[2] despite their differences, and were together when miners were shipped to Luna 2 when Cybertron's need for energy rose. Chaos Theory #1 Shockwaves Impactor thought Megatron's nonviolent solutions to Cybertron's class warfare were cute, and reminded him that there would always be a pecking order, no matter how large or small the equation. Megatron's naïveté was underscored when the lowly Rung was ganged up on by a much larger pair of military cadets and tossed across their table. Impactor, drunk, got up to deal with them the only way he thought mattered. Megatron was put off by the violence and stayed out of the fight, but was arrested anyway; Impactor was taken to Deltaran Medical Facility, but not before he'd torn the cadet's legs off and shoved them into a garbage grinder. Chaos Theory #1 Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet
When Whirl was arrested for the beating he gave Megatron during the latter's brief incarceration, Impactor ended up being his cellmate on Garrus-1. Impactor proceeded to beat up Whirl to the brink of fade-out, leaving him in critical condition. Patternism
At some point after war broke out, Impactor joined the Wreckers, when they were not yet the war heroes they would come to be known as, but merely a rumor. Zero Point During this time, he was approached by Prowl who had formed a partnership with the depraved scientist Mesothulas. In exchange for releasing his friend Roadbuster from prison early, Impactor would take down Mesothulas and destroy everything they had built together. Clad in a suit of early Anti-rad armor, Impactor did just that, shoving the scientist into his own experimental weapon and annihilated Mesothulas's various weapons. Impactor found, however, that neither he nor Prowl could bring themselves to kill Mesothulas's pet project: an artificial Cybertronian named Ostaros. Instead, they enlisted him as an Autobot under the name "Springer". Sins of the Wreckers #3 Sins of the Wreckers #5
He battled Black Shadow in the 11th iteration of the team, under the command of Crest. Rules of Disengagement He would go on to become leader of the Wreckers in turn and still holds the record as their longest-serving member to present day. It was he who coined the phrase "Wreck and Rule!" while saving Xaaron at the Sonic Canyons. Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2 He left an impact on Springer at Sherma Bridge, when he took control of a flaming Decepticon shuttle pod by disposing of its headless pilot, landing it safely. The incident would inspire Springer to sign up for the Wreckers reservists. Zero Point In a minor incident at the Vosian Citadel, Impactor also unknowingly inspired Ironfist to become a major Wreckers fanboy and hagiographer. Bullets
Much later, Impactor personally approached Springer at Toxic Sludge Swamps to recruit him into the 17th line-up of the Wreckers. With his entrance, he took down eight hidden Decepticons. Springer was impressed but didn't realise at the time that it was all a scripted part of the Wreckers mythology and that Impactor never gave him a choice. Dead Men's Boots Impactor took Springer under his wing, and the two shared a close bond not much unlike brothers. He even nicknamed Springer "my little green circuit booster" after the effect he had on him with his speeches. But during Impactor's leadership as the war got dirtier and dirtier, so did the Wreckers. His Wreckers were barely Autobots at that point—they would abuse prisoners, cause unnecessary pain unto their enemies and kill Decepticons even when not needed.
When Megatron responded with Squadron X, that sent Impactor into a single-minded rage. As any Autobot would, he hated Squadron X but for him it was personal as he saw an echo of the Wreckers in the team. Impactor then proceeded to chase the enemy team across nine star systems, ignoring significant war events such as the Black Epoch, the Simanzi Massacre, and the Crucible, and the "Rise of the Dethroner". Zero Point
He was among the Autobots fighting atop a Decepticon warcruiser during the Battle for Hell's Point, The Gloaming where he picked up the nickname "Kiloton" for the number of Decepticons he slaughtered during the battle. Over time, his mental state became increasingly unstable, something both his superiors and his fellow Wreckers chose to ignore. Impactor was inspired to replace his hand with a harpoon weapon after a run-in with a dimension-hopping "freelance peacekeeping agent". After a long string of suicide missions, Impactor became an alarmingly obsessed individual, especially regarding Squadron X, the team Megatron assembled in answer to the Wreckers. Impactor felt indirectly responsible for the atrocities Squadron X committed. Impactor's psych-screening
As described in Ironfist's The Wreckers' Air Attack, Impactor met his old friend Megatron at the Manganese Mountains where they fought on a drilling platform. Eventually, Impactor lost his hand, chin, and had Megatron's fusion cannon pressed to his head. Before giving the killing blow, Megatron gave a poetic speech of Impactor's coming death. Even with no power to lift his harpoon, Impactor replied by scratching the words "NOT MORE POETRY" on the platform, and gave Megatron pause. (That moment, at least, appears to be entirely factual as Fisitron is unaware of why these "random" words affected Megatron) At that window of opportunity, Springer used a sky sled to knock Megatron down, sending him to fall thousands of feet into the Mountains.
After gathering his mouth, Impactor proceeded to inform Springer what they'd have to do in four minutes: save Xaaron, rescue Sandstorm from his antimatter duplicate, deactivate Bludgeon's necrocannon and stop the platform they were on from crashing into a nucleon reactor. Springer was unsure if they could manage all that in the given time so Impactor told him that they actually had two minutes, but assured him that he had a plan. Years later, Roadbuster would consider this account full of embellishments and fabrications, but the essence was true.Zero Point
After chasing Squadron X across the galaxy, the Wreckers' rivalry with them came to an end on the planet Pova. The Wreckers, however, found themselves in a bad way after Impactor's first officer, Springer, was trapped under some collapsed rubble. Despite Springer's pleas, Impactor used Springer's own body as a shield against Squadron X's advancing troops, firing through it. This helped turn the tide, and the Wreckers rounded up all of Squadron X for transport offworld. Unfortunately, Impactor snapped when Prowl told him that Pova was neutral territory, and that he was ordered to set them free or else the Autobots would face diplomatic repercussions. Impactor personally executed every member of Squadron X while they were restrained. Last Stand of the Wreckers #5
When the Wreckers were on their way back from Pova, they stopped at G'th Semane. Springer made a call to Autobot High Command, and gave Impactor in. The mech he was talking to had been waiting for the opportunity to arrest Impactor for hundreds of years. Impactor detached his harpoon, passive, much to Springer's surprise. Zero Point
Springer testified against Impactor, and the disgraced Wreckers leader was imprisoned on Garrus-9. A cover story for what happened on Pova was released which involved Springer suggesting Impactor fire through his torso and Squadron X later escaping their restraints, necessitating their execution. Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4 As extra punishment for refusing to show remorse for what he'd done, Impactor was not granted the mercy of spark removal, and instead was imprisoned normally. In jail, they called him "the Autobot that went too far". Last Stand of the Wreckers #2 As Impactor was dragged to his cell, Springer said something he didn't want to hear, something he would dwell upon for the length of his incarceration: Squadron X deserved to die, but that didn't give Impactor the right to kill them. Last Stand of the Wreckers #5
Twenty years later, Overlord seized control of G-9, and Springer's Wreckers were sent to liberate it. Springer was trying hard not to think of Impactor. Last Stand of the Wreckers #1 However, the Decepticon Snare, wanting Overlord gone, released Impactor from his cell in the hope he could escape the planet and get help. Last Stand of the Wreckers #2 As the current-day Wreckers arrived at Garrus-9, a decrepit Decepticon dropship blocked their path. It exploded before their eyes, but not before the battered form of Impactor ejected from the craft. Appearing before the shocked Wreckers, Impactor sneered, requesting to be let aboard. Last Stand of the Wreckers #1
He filled the new Wreckers in on the situation and how he'd escaped, while continuing to clash with Springer. He not only refused to recognize his former soldier was now in charge, he snarled that he used to think Springer would've done the same thing Impactor himself did on Pova...and was now sickened that Springer wouldn't. Conflict aside, Springer knew Impactor was needed for the mission. Given a new harpoon/hand, he was placed in Springer's drop-team and deployed to G-9...and he recognized, with visible glumness, the name of their secondary objective, "Aequitas".
Descending towards G-9 in two ejected escape pods, they met with tough Decepticon resistance. Despite their maneuvering, Impactor's ship was the first to go down, though the other wasn't far behind. Last Stand of the Wreckers #2 After their crash-landing, Impactor led them towards where the Autobot prisoners were being held. Cell Block G was directly below him, best he recalled, but Twin Twist's drilling only sent them tumbling into a large, empty chamber. At the bottom, Impactor found the twisted remains of Kick-Off, whom he regarded as one of the few guards who treated G-9's prisoners with respect. Their presence in this chamber signaled G-9's defenses, and after he, Springer, and Twin Twist were electrocuted, they woke up strapped to tables in the care of Stalker. A sadist, Stalker grabbed his tools of torture and gleefully went to work on them. Last Stand of the Wreckers #3
Unlike Springer and Twin Twist, Impactor had grown used to the Decepticons' methods in the time since their takeover of G-9, so he alone managed to stay online during Stalker's "work". Twin Twist was looking terrible and mangled, and Springer had just woken up when he and Impactor began talking about their murky past. Impactor accused Springer of betraying the Wreckers with the testimony against him, while Springer was surprised to learn that Impactor still had no remorse for what he'd done. So long as Impactor refused to realize that he'd done wrong, their feelings were at an impasse.
Stalker returned with a new torture device but his work on Twin Twist was interrupted when his brother Topspin sacrificed his own life elsewhere, extinguishing both sparks. Disappointed, Stalker turned his attentions to Impactor, but was again interrupted. Kup, Guzzle, and the turncoat Decepticon Snare blasted into Stalker's lair. Snare was mortally wounded in the following skirmish, and Stalker was killed. As Snare lay dying, Impactor questioned him, wondering why the Decepticon had saved them. Snare told them that Overlord was on his way and asked that he himself be killed, which Impactor did curtly before Snare could finish his final words.
True to Snare's last warning, Overlord arrived with a boom. Unknown to them, elsewhere, the other half of the Wreckers had completed their objective by hacking the supercomputer judge Aequitas and downloading it into Ironfist's brain. They were surrounded by Decepticons whom they could easily deal with if they simply signaled all the deterrence chips in their heads, killing them. But they knew this would also kill Impactor, who was also an ex-prisoner, and so his and their fate came to a vote. Perceptor voted for killing him for the sake of many, Pyro voted against, and...Ironfist, Impactor's greatest fanboy and new host to Aequitas's judgment of Impactor, came to the sad realization that his hero very much deserved to die. Last Stand of the Wreckers #4
Fortunately for Impactor (and the Wreckers), Verity Carlo convinced the others to spare Impactor. After Overlord pulled Guzzle apart and used the pieces to put Kup down, Impactor removed Overlord's eye with his harpoon. In response, Overlord stomped Impactor into the ground, forcing him offline.
When Impactor came to, Overlord had been reduced to a flaming skeleton facing only the fragile Verity Carlo. Impactor blasted Overlord's arm off and attacked him, but Overlord had lost the will to fight, as he'd learned that Megatron had perished, robbing Overlord of his final showdown with him. Overlord beckoned Impactor to kill him, but Impactor refused. In honor of Springer, whom Impactor thought had died, the former Wreckers commander promised that Overlord would serve trial as a criminal, and himself finally came to terms with the crimes he committed on Pova.
Impactor was pardoned in exchange for his help retaking Garrus-9, and he immediately left for parts unknown on a shuttle with the repaired Guzzle. Last Stand of the Wreckers #5
Things didn't go well for the new pair: Guzzle became increasingly violent and obsessed with racking up a bodycount, something that struck Impactor too close to home, and which got him captured in a rescue mission against Decepticon Harvesters. The fact Impactor cared about Guzzle and the alien hostages enough to rescue them was a sign that he was improving... but when the hostages were killed, Impactor allowed himself to succumb to bloodlust once more, realising to his horror that he could not escape it. Escape Eventually, Impactor balked and had Guzzle imprisoned at Debris for butchering prisoners, something that a raging Guzzle felt was hypocritical. All Impactor could now do was wile away his days with Roadbuster, lamenting the state of the Wreckers and their lack of purpose. Roadbuster comforted Impactor by pointing out he didn't join the killing and was trying to care for a comrade. Such caring was a point of contention between the two as Impactor felt it was wrong for his teammate to keep Springer alive, after years of no mental activity, and tried to drag Debris administrator Hubcap into the debate.
Shortly after, Springer did in fact regain consciousness: just in time for the Wreckers to be gathered once again to try and rescue a captured Prowl. Sins of the Wreckers #1
On Earth, Impactor and the Wreckers found Prowl's old collaborator Arcee hunting for him, after he went missing en route to Verity Carlo and her copy of the Aequitas data slug, a gift from Ironfist. When a "rabbit" stole the data slug, Impactor and Guzzle took off after the creature, but soon encountered several Chimeracons, robots in disguise as Earth creatures. A massive Chimeracon name Tidal Wave appeared, and the Wreckers surmised that Prowl was being held inside him. While Springer led a squad into the 'bot, Impactor and Kup remained outside to draw fire and divert their other attackers. Sins of the Wreckers #2
When Kup was equipped with a rocket pack for travel to the Moon, he stated in elation, "If only Impactor and the guys could see me now!" Enter the Shadow
Wings Universe
Impactor led the Wreckers during their campaign against Squadron X on Frellus IV. There, he willingly sacrificed members of the Hasmata in order to flee from Squadron X’s siege. Impactor and the Wreckers then stole Squadron X’s ship to escape the planet. Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur, 2014/05/15
Cloud
Of Masters and Mayhem
Impactor was the leader of the Wreckers, with missions such as Operation: Volcano, the Battle of Hell's Point, and the Garrus 9 Incursion being the stuff of legend among Autobots and Decepticons alike. The story of Impactor and his Wreckers was cut short, however, when Cybertron was left ravaged by Decepticon combiner Thunder Mayhem. Vowing revenge, Impactor set out across the planet to build a new team with which to destroy the apocalyptic gestalt. Impactor's profile in Club magazine #68
His first recruit was the spy Punch, who Impactor found critically injured in the ruins of an Autobot outpost on Gargoid The Truth We Make and then took to Paradron for medical care. Impactor was initially outraged that Lifeline could only save one of Punch's robot forms, but after storming out, he had second thoughts. Insight It was also on Paradron that Impactor installed some medical equipment with lethal capabilities into himself. Impactor's profile in Club magazine #68
After the spy awoke, he gave Impactor the shocking news that Punch had been the fiction and Counterpunch the true identity all along. The Wrecker leader was angry at this long-term deception, but put this aside to make Counterpunch an offer: join him the Wreckers and stop the monster that destroyed Cybertron. The Truth We Make
Impactor and Counterpunch subsequently followed a distress signal to a mysterious planet where they found found a small group of Cybertronians who had taken on bestial alternate modes. After donating a universal translator from Paradron to help the "Raptoricons" clear up their relations with the planet's local lifeforms, Impactor recruited their newest associate, Decepticon geochemist Fractyl, to the Wreckers. Life Finds a Way
Games
Transformers Legends
Impactor was the leader of the fearless Wreckers squad which liberated Garrus-9 from the grip of Dreadwind and the Air Strike Patrol, though they destroyed most of the facility in the process. The Wreckers
Toys
Generations
- Impactor (Deluxe, 2013)
- Series / Number: 01 / #014
- PART 1 OF 5!
- Accessories: Dual cannon, harpoon launcher, harpoon missile
- Part of the fourth wave of 2012-onwards Generations Deluxe Class toys, Fall of Cybertron Impactor is an orange and purple redeco and retool of Fall of Cybertron Onslaught, with a new robot head sculpt based on Nick Roche's rendition of Impactor in IDW's Last Stand of the Wreckers, and a new combiner head based on Emirate Xaaron. He transforms into a Cybertronian "missile carrier" truck.
- Impactor comes with a twin-barreled cannon that can be attached to two small pegs on top of the vehicle mode, completing his "missile carrier" mode, and a brand new spring-loaded missile launcher accessory (with the missile shaped to resemble a harpoon) that can be attached on top of the twin-barreled cannon. Both weapons can be held via 5mm post, and feature additional pegs and peg-holes for mounting/storage.
- In addition to his robot and vehicle modes, Impactor can also combine with his fellow Wreckers into Ruination, serving as the gestalt torso. The twin-barreled cannon can either be combined with the other Wreckers' weapons into a huge "phase cannon" for Ruination to wield, or the twin-barreled cannon can be attached to Ruination's back. As the result of a design flaw, two small tabs that are used to attach the cannon more securely are very prone to showing stress marks, and eventually breaking.
- In addition to a tampographed orange regular Autobot insignia on his lower chest, Impactor also sports a tampographed light blue version of the "Wreckers" insignia from 3H's Wreckers and Universe comics. Oddly, even though both the official Hasbro stock photos that depict a hand-painted prototype (which are also featured on the back of the packaging) and the ones that depict a (pre)-production sample show the Wreckers insignia, at least one specimen from Asia sports a light blue regular Autobot insignia instead.[3], thus matching the one on display at Toy Fair 2013.[4]
- The original version of this mold was also used to make Generation 2 Onslaught.
...right?
- Impactor (Deluxe Class, 2016)
- Accessories: Clamp weapon, combiner hand/foot, assorted hand attachments
- Part of the Figure Subscription Service 4.0, Impactor is a retool of Combiner Wars Rook with a new head. He transforms into an armored personnel carrier, and can also form an arm or leg for any compatible Combiner Wars and Unite Warriors Voyager figure. One of his hands is unpainted purple so as to replicate the character's traditional one-handed appearance. He includes the mold's 5mm clamp weapon, along with redecos of Generations Arcee's four accessories. Of those, the swords are intended to be used to recreate Impactor's traditional harpoon-hand, whilst the larger pistol is decoed to resemble his shoulder cannon.
- The original version of this mold was redecoed into Unite Warriors Wandering Roller, slightly retooled into BotCon 2016 Predacon Tarantulas, and heavily retooled into Combiner Wars Swindle and Hound, and even further retooled into Unite Warriors Nosecone. Additionally, this mold also served as the basis of the non-toy Shattered Glass version of X-Brawn.
| Combiner Wars mold: Rook | ||
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Version 1:
Version 2:
Version 3:
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Notes
- According to Dreadwind in issue #221's letters page, Impactor transformed into an "earth-boring vehicle". In the letter page to issue #238, Dreadwind clarified that he transformed into a drill tank but didn't have an earth mode. Later, in Last Stand of the Wreckers, he transformed into a non-drill tank. Later still, but earlier in IDW's timeline, he gained a drill replacement for his hand.
- In the Marvel comics, Impactor's right hand can be interchanged for a harpoon. This emulates the wrist-launcher gimmick found in many Diaclone-based toys. He is frequently seen carrying a club which looks an awful lot like a gun barrel, and which may be a gun attachment for his right arm; but being Impactor, he only ever uses it to smack guys around.
- Impactor was the one Wrecker in Last Stand who was never going to die! [5]
- "The Divided Self" revealed that all the Aequitas defendants were "constructed cold": their sparks taken from the Matrix itself and slapped into a body. That same issue also said Impactor was a Point One Percenter, i.e. not constructed cold, causing some confusion until James Roberts confirmed that was a mistake.[6] The trade paperback snips Impactor's name from the Point One line.
- In IDW's Generation 1 continuity, Impactor was once a friend of Megatron, and later gains the nickname Kiloton. In reference to this, Ask Vector Prime christened Megatron's unnamed friend from the Generation 2 manga "Kiloton."
References
- ↑ Nick Roche's twitter
- ↑ James Roberts' MTMTE2015 twitter Q&A
- ↑ TFW2005 thread with a Taiwan-based fan's photos of the Wreckers, depicting Impactor with a light blue regular Autobot insignia
- ↑ Hasbro Fan Media Event 2013 at TFU.info.
- ↑ Moonbase 2's AA2010 interview, 21:22
- ↑ moonbase2 interview with James Roberts
