Hauler
| The name or term "Hauler" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Hauler (disambiguation). |
- Hauler is an Autobot Constructicon from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Back on Cybertron, Hauler (aka Road Hauler and Load Hauler) was a Constructicon involved in the building of the Crystal City. When his teammates were reprogrammed as Decepticons, Hauler turned to the Autobots, joining their ranks. This choice would eventually put him on board the Ark for its doomed voyage that ended on Earth. When he awoke with the rest of the crew in 1984, he resumed his primary function: the discovery and procurement of energy sources. This task sends him far and wide across the planet, and his tendency towards capricious self-expression often results in him coming back with different colors and parts.
His crane mode can lift 60 tons, and in robot mode, he can launch his hands from their wrist-sockets. The hands can fly through the air under his remote-control guidance, allowing him to perform tasks normally beyond his reach.[1]
Fiction
Generation 1 cartoon continuity
The Transformers cartoon
Soon after the Autobots awakened in 1984, Hauler and Ratchet were brought by Cliffjumper to aid the fallen Hound, who had been sent tumbling into a ravine following a battle with Laserbeak. While Ratchet and Cliffjumper jumped down to check their buddy out, Hauler remained up top and used his winch to lift Hound to safety. More than Meets the Eye, Part 1
Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity
Hauler was among the Constructicons who built Megatron. This was later recounted by the Legends World's Waspinator to his own Megatron. Bonus Edition Vol. 13
Hauler also constructed Crystal City with the other Constructicons and joined the Autobots after the rest of his teammates were lost in an attack by Megatron. He was part of Optimus Prime's crew that crashed on Earth and lay dormant for four million years. He woke up with the others. After aiding in recovering Hound, Hauler then set out on his full-time mission to scour the Earth for new sources of energy, frequently changing his color scheme and optional equipment. Toy bio
In the late 1980s, Hauler was part of a team that attempted to protect the Transform Super Cog from being stolen by the Decepticons, but the Battlechargers were able to rev past Hauler and a few others into the Ark. Slugslinger's Ambition
In the 21st century, when the Constructicons tricked Grapple into rebuilding the Crystal City on Earth, Hauler participated as well. Crystal City Reconstruction Project
Wings Universe
Nine million years ago, Hauler was a member of the construction team that built Crystal City. It was during this project that he introduced Hook, Scavenger, Scrapper, Bonecrusher, Mixmaster, and Long Haul to Omega Supreme. Hauler grew suspicious of his colleagues when they returned to the construction site one day with seemingly drastic personality changes. Following the destruction of Crystal City, Hauler felt the six Constructicons were to blame, which led him to join the Autobots. Hauler's profile in Club magazine #42
Hauler was present alongside several other Autobots within Iacon when Megatron and his Decepticons smashed through the walls. The wall-smashing was made possible by his Robo-Smashed former friends, who had combined for the first time into Devastator. Battle Lines, Part 5 At Dion's suggestion, Hauler joined his fellow Autobots in shooting at Devastator's knees. This successfully disassembled the combiner, facilitating the Autobots' victory. Battle Lines, Part 6
During the third Cybertronian wars, Hauler and Erector were among the Autobots who ambushed the Constructicons at Elevation Recostalus, neutralizing the Decepticon team. Transformers I.Q. last issue review Five million years later, as he helped equip the Ark for its voyage, Hauler convinced Wheeljack to bring the Sky Spy on board. Battle Lines, Part 6
Many millions of years later, Hauler was one of the sparse defenders of Cybertron available to serve during the Machine Wars. Obsidian had Hauler and a motley collection of Autobots and Decepticons assembled to serve as guerrilla soldiers under his command. Termination
Of Masters and Mayhem
Following a battle on Cybertron that left the entire area in ruins, Hauler surveyed the remaining buildings and concluded that none were salvageable. The Toxic Transformer
Beast Wars: Uprising
Road Hauler was a Micromaster Builder who joined Buckethead's Constructicons in the wake of the Grand Uprising, forming the left arm of the newest incarnation of Devastator. Wideload, a Decepticon member of the team, worried about tension between the two, but found that their old factions didn't seem to matter anymore in the post-war era. The Inexorable March
2019 IDW continuity
A native of Velocitron, Roadhauler participated in the Speedia 500! Tread & Circuits Part 2 When Mayhem tried to sabotage the race, Thunder Clash temporarily used him as a stepping stone as the Wreckers leader hopped from racer to racer in his pursuit of Axer and Submarauder. Despite this interference, Roadhauler seemed to be one of the participants who finished the race. Tread & Circuits Part 3 Subsequently, Roadhauler was present at the inauguration of Velocitron's next First Senator, the winner of the Speedia 500, the Ascenticon Knock Out. He also raced towards the stage immediately following the attempted assassination of Knock Out and Mayhem's attack thereafter. Tread & Circuits Part 4
Origins
Hauler inexplicably appears in a single scene of the first episode of the original Transformers cartoon. The character appears only in vehicle mode, never speaking or transforming, and never appears in the show again after this one scene. Visually, he was clearly based on the Diaclone "Crane" figure, but this toy was not part of the 1984 Transformers assortment. Exactly who this character was, where he came from, and why he was included in the scene remain a mystery, but generally fans have assumed that Hasbro must have intended to release the "Crane" figure in 1984 as "Hauler," only for plans to be halted at the last minute, too late to remove Hauler's solitary cartoon appearance. The "Crane" figure would eventually be released in 1985 as the new character, Grapple, who received an entirely new animation model for his appearances in the show's second season. When the series was dubbed for release in Japan, Hauler was not even referred to by name, and most fans assumed him to be Grapple. To add a little more confusion into the mix, the 1985 Action Card depicting the scene also referred to Hauler as Grapple.
One piece of evidence that lends credence to the theory of a planned Hauler release is that the original 1984 Autobot Cars were shipped to stores in cases of twelve, but only eleven figures were released in the assortment (with an extra Mirage filling the empty slot, later replaced by Skids). This suggests that Hauler might have been intended to be the original twelfth figure in the case.
Nearly twenty years later, when Grapple's mold-partner Inferno was reissued as part of The Transformers Collection series, e-HOBBY decided to release an exclusive redeco of the Grapple figure. Someone at e-HOBBY, looking for a character that this toy could represent, found out about Hauler in Hirofumi Ichikawa's glossary info in the Transformers 2010 DVD box set and decided to turn the Grapple redeco into this Hauler character, now dubbed "RoadHauler".[2] Ichikawa himself was then asked to write a bio for "RoadHauler", in which he explained the character's perpetual absence. Since Hauler as he appeared in the cartoon would not have actually been a redeco of Grapple (as they were both orange), it was decided to render RoadHauler in the classic purple-and-green of the Constructicons. The character's bio then established that he was a former member of that team (which at the time was presumed to be in reference to the scene in "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4" that erroneously depicted the Constructicons with two extra members), and justified his different coloration in the cartoon by explaining that he often changed his color scheme. Eventually in 2015, a chapter of the Legends comic would confirm him to be one of the Constructicons present during the creation of Megatron, while the second "mysterious" member was established as Gravedigger in the United EX toyline three years prior.
Not as complicated a history as some characters, but there you go.
Toys
Collector's Edition
- RoadHauler (July 2003)
- ID number: 88
- Accessories: left & right fists, three Earth-auger missiles, vibro-force gun
- One of the first original-deco toys released as part of the e-HOBBY exclusive part of the Collector's Edition series, RoadHauler is a redeco of the Autobot Grapple, transforming into a Mitsubishi Fuso hook-crane truck. Both of his forearms contain a spring-loaded missile launcher so he can fire his own fists, or the included silver missiles. (As a Japanese release, this feature is fully functional, as they have different safety standards for projectiles in Japan.) Notably, the Autobot symbol on his cab/chest is a tampograph rather than an added sticker detail.
- He was sold only as part of a set with his fellow "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1" cameo-character Sunstorm. Pre-orders for the set closed on May 15, 2003. The toys shipped out in July.
| The Transformers mold: Inferno/Grapple | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Version 1 (Inferno):
Version 2 (Grapple):
| ||
Legacy
- Road Hauler (Voyager Class, 2022)
- Accessories: Blaster, claw, nozzle
- Velocitron Speedia 500 Collection Road Hauler is a slight retool of Earthrise Grapple, transforming into a neon green crane. Road Hauler features a tad more paint apps compared to Grapple, as well as a retooled screaming head. The pegs on Road Hauler that connect to the feet in the vehicle mode have also been changed to that of the Kingdom Inferno mold's; as they are shorter, much sturdier and won't break off.
- Road Hauler comes with the same accessories that Grapple had, that being his blaster, as well as a claw and nozzle that can peg into the 5mm ports on his wrists once the hands are folded away. The claw can also peg into the crane's boom when its hook is folded down.
- Road Hauler was exclusive to Walmart in the US, with Hasbro Pulse receiving limited quantities of the figure. The Velocitron Speedia 500 Collection went up for pre-order in July 2022. The design of the toy was seen about 7 months prior to its reveal in the comic series Tread & Circuits.
- This mold was also used to make Generations Selects Artfire.
Notes
- There is some conjecture over the Romanization of his toy's name, as many fans call him "Load Hauler". However, when the e-Hobby website featured the toy, it spelled the name "RoadHauler".[3] The The Transformers: Binaltech & TF Collection Complete Guide reinforces this spelling, calling him "ROADHAULER" in all caps, as it does with all names.[4]
- Hauler's profile in Club magazine #42 says he's called "Load Hauler" by some. It also calls his Cybertronian alternate mode a "binary load lifter", a reference to the droids of the same name from the Star Wars franchise.
- The Wings Universe profile for Devastator, published alongside Hauler's, eschewed the Japanese "Five Faces of Darkness" retcon by establishing that Megatron was created by an entirely-distinct splinter group of a much larger Constructicon faction. So no, despite appearances, that bit of artwork from issue #45 of the magazine isn't implying that Hauler and Erector were amongst the creators of Megatron.
- Speaking of Wings continuity, Hauler appears in Timelines #8 as a "virtual redeco" of Reveal the Shield Voyager Class Grapple.
- The 2008 Italian re-dub of The Transformers retroactively "fixed" the Hauler "error" by changing his name to Grapple.
- In the 2019 Transformers Hall of Fame poll, hilariously, Hauler was included alongside the other characters from the first season of the Sunbow cartoon. But in the end, he lost to Skywarp (you had ONE job!).
Foreign names
- Japanese: RoadHauler (ロードホーラー Rōdohōrā)
- Russian: Bol'shegruz (Большегруз, "Heavy Trucks")
References
- ↑ RoadHauler's pack-in bio card (see TFU.info link in the toys section)
- ↑ Interview with Hirofumi Ichikawa at Altered States Magazine
- ↑ Archived version of e-Hobby page for RoadHauler
- ↑ The Transformers Binaltech & TF Collection Complete Guide Romanization of his name.
