Crosshairs (G1)
| The name or term "Crosshairs" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Crosshairs (disambiguation). |
- Crosshairs is an Autobot Targetmaster from the Generation 1 continuity family.
As the Autobot weapons supervisor, Crosshairs oversees the procurement and maintenance of a dizzying arsenal of implements of death for his fellow Autobots. Long association with such machinery has made him meticulous and careful, possibly to a fault. Crosshairs will often refuse to fire his own weapon unless he's certain it won't miss.
Crosshairs enjoys a good relationship with his equally methodical Targetmaster partner Pinpointer, who is content to let Crosshairs call the shots.
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Marvel The Transformers comics
Crosshairs was Weapons Supervisor in his hometown on Cybertron; he had a long career of acquiring and maintaining his comrades' arsenal of boom sticks. He found the role disturbing, however, as he saw more and more casualties as a result of his work. Crosshairs's Universe profile Eventually, Scorponok's Decepticons came along and blew the place up and took everybody captive. Crosshairs was being shuffled off toward a messy end in the smelting pools when an attack by Fortress Maximus and company saved him.
Crosshairs quickly joined Maximus's band, and he was among the first to agree when Maximus decided to quit the war and seek a reprieve on Nebulos. However, even the peaceful alien world had its share of warmongers, and the Autobots' chance at a peaceful coexistence with the natives came under threat as soon as they arrived. Crosshairs was one of nearly a dozen Autobots who gave up their personal weapons to the Nebulans as a sign of cooperation. Ring of Hate!
When the Autobots' Nebulan allies feared that the Decepticons were planning to attack the Nursery, Crosshairs didn't care: he had already given away his gun to make peace with the Nebulans, so it's not like he could do anything about it. Instead, he suggested leaving Nebulos and traveling to Earth, but was voted down and forced to go save the Nursery. There, he partnered up for the first time with a Nebulan alongside the other Targetmasters. Unfortunately, the ensuing battle just ended up destroying the place, so the Autobots retreated. Brothers in Armor!!
Before leaving Nebulos, Sureshot, Crosshairs, and Pointblank were captured by Scorponok's Decepticons and word was leaked to their Headmaster comrades that it was because they were having trouble perfecting the Targetmaster process. However, when the Autobot Headmasters attempted to rescue them from the Fortress of Despair, they found that the Targetmasters were merely bait and that it was the Headmasters Scorponok was interested in. Freed by Hardhead, the Autobot Targetmasters broke out their partners Peacemaker, Pinpointer, and Spoilsport, and turned the tide against their opponents. Worlds Apart!
Crosshairs eventually ended up traveling to Earth like he wanted, though he remained aboard the Steelhaven while the Headmasters investigated the Ark's former crash site. Trial by Fire! Along with the other Targetmasters, he went on to participate in a failed attack on the Decepticons' island headquarters. The Desert Island of Space! He later watched Blaster and Grimlock fight it out over Autobot leadership on the moon, but the duel was interrupted by a full-scale Decepticon assault on everyone present. Totaled!
When Thunderwing took control of the Creation Matrix and went on a rampage within the Ark, he blasted Crosshairs. Hot Rod later mentioned that three Autobots were deactivated by Thunderwing, and since Crosshairs was never seen again, it's possible he was one of the casualties. All Fall Down
Earthforce
Crosshairs was among the "new age" Autobots who attended Optimus Prime's meeting with Grimlock and the Dinobots about their more brutal methods. When Grimlock threatened to quit the Autobots, Prime seemed all too willing to let him, and the two of them actually came to blows. After beating some sense into each other, however, Optimus Prime agreed to allow Grimlock his autonomy, to lead "Earthforce" while he and the Ark's crew took off for space. Break-Away!
Regeneration One
Crosshairs was stationed on Cybertron under the command of Hot Rod. Warning his commander about the return of the errant Grimlock, he formed part of a security detail alongside Dogfight, Backstreet, Sureshot, and Override to apprehend the Dinobot and render him to the Bastion-five lock-up the hard way. Natural Selection, Part Two
Following the arrival of the resurrected Scorponok and the spread of his Gene Key amongst Cybertron's populace the situation rapidly worsened, leaving Crosshairs, Grapple, Hosehead and Blurr as the only uninfected Autobots remaining. The group reconvened within the deserted Forum Senate, and thanks to Grapple's knowledge on the place's architecture, made their way to a secret passage which allowed them to bypass the chaos taking place outside. Natural Selection, Part Three Investigating a disturbance at the Nursery, they arrived to find Grimlock and his Dinobots now firmly on their side against Scorponok. Natural Selection, Part Four Together, they stormed the Civil Defense Hub and retook it from Wingspan and Pounce. After the Dinobots left to confront Scorponok in the Sonic Canyons, the Autobots discovered that the Hub's missile silos had been set to target the returning Autobot hypercruiser Valiant and when the Clones hesitated in giving up the passkey, Crosshairs shot Wingspan at point blank range. Pounce immediately gave up the passkey and the Valiant was saved. Natural Selection, Part Five
When Cybertron came under attack from Bludgeon's Warworld and Blitz Engines, Crosshairs joined Ultra Magnus, Prowl, Blurr, and Jazz on the front lines, fighting them off. Destiny, Part Five
His skills as a sharpshooter were employed when Rodimus Prime tasked him and Sureshot with covering his meeting with Jhiaxus at Eugenesis Plaza, though the former Senator quickly spotted the snipers. He would later respond alongside Ultra Magnus when Jhiaxus's Primum Fugae began attacking the Demons and Dinobots indiscriminately. The War to End All Wars, Part 2 Rodimus Prime decided to take the fight to the Cybertronians but Jhiaxus had anticipated their strategy and forced a surrender. Imprisoned in the Corral on the Hub Network's Throneworld, Crosshairs was summarily executed alongside Joyride, Sky High and Brainstorm for being "contaminated by external species' innovations". The War to End All Wars, Part 4
Generation 1 cartoon continuity
The Transformers cartoon
- Voice actor: Neil Ross (English), Jin Horikawa (Japanese), Thomas Rau (German)
Crosshairs does quite the Ronald Reagan impression. Or maybe Jack Nicholson. He is very concerned with "the hubbub".
Crosshairs was among the group of Autobots in 2007 which pursued Scourge into Cybertron's depths and into the Plasma Energy Chamber. The group's shuttle was subsequently blasted across the cosmos, crash-landing on Nebulos. They were captured by the natives, and only got released when the Decepticons attacked. While several of his teammates were knocked out and captured in the subsequent battle, the completely undamaged Crosshairs just stood there while Mindwipe grabbed him and flew off with him.
Seriously, he didn't even try to get away. The Rebirth, Part 1
Outnumbered, Crosshairs' friends created new Headmasters technology to rescue him and the others from the Decepticons. The 'Cons then countered with Headmaster and Targetmaster technologies, upping the arms race on Nebulos and stealing back the Key to the Plasma Energy Chamber from the Autobots. Still, Brainstorm managed to scan a Nebulan Targetmaster and duplicate the process, letting Crosshairs binary bond with a native sharpshooter named Pinpointer as a Targetmaster himself. The Rebirth, Part 2
After returning to Cybertron, Crosshairs and the Targetmasters helped stop Galvatron's plot to destroy Earth's sun, and ushered in a new Golden Age of Cybertron by recharging Vector Sigma with excess plasma energy. They then returned to Nebulos to clear the planet of the Hive's evil machines. The Rebirth, Part 3
Wings Universe
Following Hi-Q's kidnapping, Crosshairs turned out with Highbrow, Chromedome, and Brainstorm to brief Pyro's team. Crosshairs explained that Hi-Q was a recluse. A Flash Forward, Part 3
Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity
The Headmasters cartoon
- Voice actor: Hōchū Ōtsuka (Japanese)
Crosshairs was one of the top two lieutenants of Pointblank, a famed Autobot sub-commander of fantastic skill. They arrived on Earth shortly after the final defeat of Galvatron to join forces with Fortress and his men. Fortress was in the midst of dealing with some planetary-level explosives left behind by the Decepticons, and so Crosshairs and his comrades went with Fortress aboard the Battleship Maximus to dispose of the bombs. Out in space, they had just reached a safe distance from Earth when they passed a refugee ship being attacked by the Decepticons. Crosshairs, Pointblank and Sureshot went out onto the surface of the battleship to engage the enemy long enough for the refugees to get inside. The battle continued to rage outside until the refugees attempted to return the kind favor by removing the bombs to a safe distance themselves. The Decepticon sub-commander Slugslinger flew out after them, and Crosshairs joined his comrades in pursuing them, right up until the plasma bombs exploded, bathing Autobot and Decepticon alike with tremendous energies. Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 1)
The Headmasters recovered the unconscious Crosshairs and his friends from space. Miraculously, the three Autobots had not only survived the explosion, each of them had also been fused to one of the Master refugees in a kind of symbiotic combination. The smaller Master robot known as Pointech could now transform into a powerful weapon and affix himself to Crosshairs's hand, creating a Targetmaster. Pointblank and his men seemed cocky before, but their newfound power made them almost unbearable. Crosshairs and Sureshot had to get between Pointblank and the Headmasters when their leader simply would not shut up about how awesome he was. After the Autobots arrived on Master, Apeface and Snapdragon were triple-teamed by the new Targetmasters. Perhaps not considering the Horrorcons worthy of their new powers, Crosshairs and the Targetmasters spent the whole battle unarmed and in vehicle mode, and still royally smacked the chips out of the two Decepticons. Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 2)
Crosshairs continued to serve on Master with Pointblank and Fortress. He and his fellow Targetmasters were involved in the battle for data on the Master Sword. The Master Sword Is in Danger!! While in orbit around Master in the Battleship Maximus, the Targetmasters spotted Ratbat spying on them, and chased him and Soundblaster back to the planet's surface. Their pursuit was interrupted by the arrival of the Decepticon Targetmasters, who tried to eliminate the Autobots by blasting open a natural reservoir, washing Crosshairs and his friends away in a massive wave. The Targetmasters survived, however, and located the Decepticons' secret cavern base. They sent out their small partners to covertly investigate the base, but the loud and bolsterous arrival of Chromedome and the Headmasters made stealth impossible, and so a battle was joined. The Zarak Shield Turns the Tide
Legends comic
During a battle with Scorponok in 2021, Crosshairs and the Targetmasters battled their Decepticon counterparts, who managed to take away their gun partners as part of a plan to forcibly bond with them during another plasma energy detonation. Instead, the explosion caused all the Targetmaster partners to disappear and infected everyone else with "blackballs", small black holes that were shrinking their bodies until they would ultimately collapse in on themselves. Having no other choice, Crosshairs the other non-Headmasters agreed to have their heads removed and converted into Headmasters so they could leave their bodies behind. Headmaster Chapter Prologue Targetmaster Chapter Prologue While one account saw Crosshairs accompanying the other Autobots to the Legends World in search of new bodies, Bonus Edition Vol. 21 he and the other Targetmasters actually remained in their home universe to search for their lost partners. Targetmaster Chapter Prologue They eventually found them floating in space, only to find they had been supercharged with plasma energy and were emitting deadly doses of it. Before the trio could succumb to the energy, the Targetmaster partners suddenly vanished, whisked away to the Legends World by Alpha Trion. Mutant Targetmaster Birth Chapter
Ladybird Books continuity
When the Decepticons set up an energy interceptor at the Nebulan north pole, Crosshairs and the Autobots sabotaged the tower they constructed. Decepticons at the Pole
On one occasion, Kup was trapped in a field of magnetically-charged dust, leaving him unable to move. Highbrow managed to overcome the dust by inverting electromagnetic polarities, and found Crosshairs on patrol when he went for help. Crosshairs defeated the magnetic field holding Kup in place by lobbing a grenade at his comrade. Crosshairs assured Highbrow the plan was scientific. Autobots Strike Oil
3H comics
He was part of a crew of Autobot reinforcements led by Hot Spot with the unenviable task of rescuing Arcee, Daniel Witwicky, Wheelie, and Doctor Fujiyama the Famous Scientist from Fujiyama's latest blunder. There were a lot of Nightbirds to kill off. Departure
2005 IDW continuity
- First appearance: Stormbringer #1
During the early years of the war, Optimus Prime wanted to see a lineup and rollcall of all his newest warriors. Ironhide thought this was stupid, but Crosshairs and a few other newbies showed up for this anyway. Old Ways
In the modern day, Crosshairs was stationed out of the Autobot Orbital Command Hub and was seen acting as navigator for the crew of the Ark-27. Stormbringer #1 They transported Optimus Prime into battle with Thunderwing on Cybertron Stormbringer #2 and later brought him to Earth to follow up a lead on the Decepticons' resurrection and to investigate the why the Decepticon Infiltration unit there had assumed Siege Mode. Stormbringer #4
Later, Crosshairs was with the rest of the Ark 27's crew as they worked to recover the heavily-damaged Omega Supreme after his battle with Monstructor. Spotlight: Optimus Prime He was present on the Orbital Command Hub when Blaster announced his return to the airwaves, and was one of the trusted Autobots Silverbolt chose to help him apprehend the mind-controlled Beachcomber, who was programmed by Soundwave to kill Blaster. Spotlight: Blaster
Crosshairs also spent time as a weapons designer at the Kimia Facility. Whereas engineers like Brainstorm specialized in the absurd and unbelievable, Crosshairs focused more on developing new guns and conventional weapons. Ten months before Operation: Retrieval, he discovered Ironfist on the floor of his workshop, a victim of his own cerebro-sensitive bullet. Bullets
Alongside the rest of the Autobots at Kimia, Crosshairs was caught by surprise when Cyclonus and the Sweeps invaded the facility. Lamentations He and several others managed to escape, and drifted in a cramped escape pod for some time until they were rescued by Arcee. Kings She told the survivors about Galvatron's misguided plans to save the universe (which would actually destroy it), then brought them to Cybertron to put a stop to it. Crosshairs and the others bailed out of the ship before Arcee rammed it into the planet. Genesis
After the battle with Galvatron, Crosshairs joined the crew of the Lost Light on its search for the Knights of Cybertron. When Swerve opened up his bar, Crosshairs was present for the "Grand Secret Opening." No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases Later on in the journey, he participated in a battle with some Decepticons on Temptoria. Before & After
Commercial appearances
- When the Transformers' war resumed its course on Nebulon, Crosshairs could be seen fighting alongside his fellow Autobot Targetmasters against their Decepticon counterparts, while Fortress Maximus and Scorponok grappled in the distance. Headmaster comic book commercial
- Crosshairs and Sureshot battled Triggerhappy and Misfire in the middle of a mechanical city. Crosshairs and Pinpointer quickly shifted to their robot modes as Misfire and Aimless strafed them from above, only to be tackled down by their opponents as they also assumed their robot modes. Targetmasters commercial
Games
The Transformers (PS2)
Toys
Generation 1
- Crosshairs (Targetmaster, 1987)
- Japanese ID number: C-107
- Accessories: "Pinpointer"/"Pointech" Targetmaster partner
- Crosshairs transforms into a Cybertronic off-road-van-buggy-sorta-kinda-thing. As a Targetmaster, he can hold in his hand or mount on his vehicle mode roof any Targetmaster gun (or any weapon that uses a 5mm post). He was released with his partner, Pinpointer/Pointech.
- Like the other Targetmasters, his Japanese release lacks a rubsign.
Generations
War for Cybertron: Siege
- Crosshairs (Deluxe Class, November2019)
- ID number: WFC-S49
- Japanese ID number: SG-45
- Japanese release date: February 28, 2020
- Accessories: "W-35 LR Doomblast Forge Launcher"
- Part of the fifth wave of Siege Deluxe Class figures, Crosshairs is a new head retool (based on the character model used in the Marvel comics and Generation 1 cartoon) of Ironhide that transforms from robot to Cybertronian van and back. His vehicle mode takes several design cues from Titans Return Sergeant Kup, though it shares no parts or engineering with the mold. Despite being classified as a Deluxe-scale figure, Crosshairs is actually a full head taller than the other Deluxe figures of the same line. His own "W-35 LR Doomblast Forge Launcher," compatible with the C.O.M.B.A.T. System and can also convert into an equally gigantic hammer, is colored to resemble Pinpointer. As with all non-gimmick Siege figures, Crosshairs features "battle damage" paint applications on his lower shins, feet, and weapon. He also features multiple hardpoints all over himself and his weapons to accommodate "Fire Blasts" from the Battle Masters assortment, which can be used to simulate blaster fire or explosions.
- If one chooses, Crosshairs can pair with Legends Pinpointer.
- As he is a retool of the Ironhide mold, Crosshairs had slight modifications to his small hinges.
Notes
- Like the other new-for-1987 Targetmasters, the head design for Crosshairs was based on early design concepts,[1] where he had one of the more unique mouthplate designs in G1. The toy gave him a more generic faced head, and his Japanese Headmasters model (and subsequent comic books over the years) stayed closer to the toy design.
- Along with many other Generation 1 characters, Crosshairs's animation model appeared as a generic Autobot in the Transformers: Armada cartoon. Specifically, it's his Japanese model from The Headmasters cartoon.
- Crosshairs's voice in the American cartoon seems to be aiming for Dirty Harry, but lands on an impersonation of Ronald Reagan instead.
- An almost-realized BotCon exclusive from Fun Publications was a redeco of Generations Sergeant Kup into Crosshairs, paired with a redeco of either Universe Nightstick or an Arms Micron as Pinpointer.[2][3]
Foreign names
- Japanese: Crosshairs (クロスヘアーズ Kurosuheāzu)
- French: Échevelé (Canada)
- Italian: Cross
- Mandarin: Cross (克罗斯 Kèluósī)
- Russian: Meteor (Метеор)
- Spanish: Lisia (Latin America)
References
- Pages with image sizes containing extra px
- Character stubs missing fiction
- Beast Machines Autobots
- Generation 1 Autobots
- Headmasters
- IDW (2005) Autobots
- IDW (2019) Transformers
- Legends Autobots
- Lost Light crew
- Regeneration One Autobots
- Targetmasters
- The Headmasters Autobots
- Universe Transformers
- Wings Universe Autobots
- War for Cybertron: Siege Autobots
