Hardtop (ES)
| The name or term "Hardtop" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Hardtop (disambiguation). |
- Hardtop is a Decepticon from the EarthSpark continuity family.
Hardtop is the muscle of the two-bot crime spree he forms with his brother Swindle. Heavily armed in both modes, he's able to run-and-gun, providing cover for the pair's various crimes.
Fiction
EarthSpark cartoon
- Voice actor: Nolan North (English)
 Plot details for House Rules follow. |
Hardtop and Swindle traveled to a trainyard in Witwicky on a hot tip, eager to score some unguarded energon. However, the hot tip turned out to be a hot trap, set up by Elita-1, and the pair ended up facing both her and Optimus Prime. Elita alone proved to be more than a match for both Decepticons, boxing them both into an arena of fallen train cars, a perfect setup for Optimus to hurl a boxcar at them. Hardtop pushed his brother out of the way, taking the brunt of the blow. Swindle managed to escape (thanks to interference from a swarm of Arachnamechs), and Hardtop was taken into custody by G.H.O.S.T. agents.
As he was being transported to G.H.O.S.T. headquarters for incarceration, the convoy was attacked by another squad of Arachnamechs, and Hardtop was captured a second time. Secret Legacy, Part 1 The mechs took him to the secret base of their creator, Dr. Meridian, who promptly removed the Decepticon's right arm in order to replace his own missing limb. He then put Hardtop under mental control, turning him into a silent enforcer. Hardtop and several other captured Decepticons were then sent to cover Meridian's escape when Optimus, Megatron, Dot Malto and Elita-1 arrived to rescue his latest prisoners, the new "Terran" Transformers Twitch and Thrash. Hardtop took multiple clumsy swings at Elita, but between the missing limb and the rudimentary mind control dulling his movements, she was able to very quickly take him down.
Following the battle, whatever Meridian had done to the Decepticons wore off, and Hardtop found himself a prisoner once again, this time of his former commander. He and the others were then taken into G.H.O.S.T. custody. Secret Legacy, Part 2
Swindle continued to look for his brother, attacking G.H.O.S.T. trucks and installations to steal gear and info in the hopes of locating Hardtop. Spotting easy suckers in Thrash and Mo Malto, he was able to quickly convince them he was really a good guy just out looking for his missing brother... and while the latter half of that was true, the first part definitely wasn't. He used them to try and steal equipment from a G.H.O.S.T. truck, with Mo able to get through the Transformer-proof energon force field, though he had to drop the ruse and threaten their lives to get her to do so. The timely arrival of Dot and Bumblebee foiled his plans, and Swindle had to run off empty-handed, no closer to finding Hardtop. House Rules
Toys
EarthSpark
- Bumblebee (Deluxe, 2022)
- ID number: 1
- Hardtop's right arm is included with the EarthSpark Deluxe-class Bumblebee toy. This piece is part of the Mandroid "build a figure", with the other six parts packaged with the other toys in the assortment.
