Literally born in a wind tunnel, Firecracker shows no measurable amount of drag resistance while in his sleek vehicle mode. Octane ignition turbines feed his need for speed, which is only tempered by the system being linked to his internal coolant levels. When accepted norms are exceeded he automatically loses control of his accelerator, and enormous vented discs provide the braking power to slow him down. While these safety measures help keep his body from overheating and burning up like a meteoroid entering the atmosphere, they can't cool off his fiery temper. Hopefully Firecracker can channel his rage in a useful direction, such as sending Decepticons right where he feels they belong: to the junkyards!
Firecracker and the Go-Bots were part of the "second generation" of Transformers created on Earth in the 21st century, using a combination of human, Nebulan, and Cybertronian sciences. He became an Autobot working for Pyro when the new Transformers inevitably started to battle amongst themselves. In 2010, Firecracker and the Go-Bots arrived in Switzerland to assist Rapido's team against the Decepticons after Pyro was captured. They fought alongside Scorch against the massive Decepticon, Double Punch. Generation 2: Redux
Not trusting these strange new powers, Cliffjumper made Firecracker demonstrate his pyrotechnic field on Decepticon dummy targets alongside a number of other Autobots. A Flash Forward, Part 2
Of Masters and Mayhem
Firecracker was a soldier in Suppressor's unit at Gargoid. Long suspicious of the infiltration specialist Punch, even he was shocked when Punch finally turned on them, leading a squad of Decepticons to their secret base as Counterpunch. He confronted the traitor, but was shot in the back by Crash Test before he could get any payback. The Truth We Make
Part of the first assortment of Go-Bots, Firecracker transforms into a Lamborghini Diablo sports car with through-axle construction. At 1:64-scale, he can be used with many playsets from the "Hot Wheels" and "Matchbox" brand toy lines.
A slight redeco of this figure, with solid instead of clear plastic parts, was marketed as a separate character, namely Optimus Prime, in the United States, but was still sold as Firecracker himself in Europe (at least in the French/Dutch/German packaging variant). Subsequently, the figure was also redecoed into Sideswipe for a later wave of the same assortment, and later still into the 2001 Robots in DisguiseSpy ChangerR.E.V..
Firecracker is shown in packaging art for the unreleased Go-Bots Racing Rig as its driver while Greasepit ramps the rig and bursts through the Ring of Fire. Bet he's not happy about that.
David Willis considered pitching a TransTech Firecracker-centric Timelines text story to Fun Publications in 2009, inspired by the "Dux non Intruitus" law barring entry to Axiom Nexus for any Optimus Primes.[1] Firecracker would have found this ridiculous,[2] being just a normal speedster-type,[3] only to slowly find himself growing into a leadership role as the government's meddling started to reveal inequities.[4] Only a page or so was written,[5] with Firecracker leaving a meeting with Cheetor only to end up trailed by a Side Burn.[6]
