Afterburner (G1)
| This article is about the Generation 1 Autobot Technobot. For the Generation 2 Decepticon Skyscorcher, see Afterburner (G2). |
- Afterburner is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Afterburner hates authority, hates being given orders, and is generally a seething cauldron of anger. Even innocuous remarks from teammates can send him into a furious rampage. He is ruthless and relentless in battle, giving him the greatest outlet for his rage. Somehow, he can get his temper under control long enough to form the giant Computron with his fellow Technobots, and it does not affect the combiner’s mental processes.
- French-Canadian name: Postpyro
- Italian name: Radarbot
- Russian name: Astrofakel (Астрофакел, Astrotorch)
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Afterburner was one of the Autobots who left Cybertron aboard the Steelhaven in order to start a new life away from war (maybe he was feeling sick that day). Ring of Hate! But the Decepticons followed them to their new home on Nebulos. Afterburner and the other Technobots repelled a Terrorcon attack on the resort city Splendora Love and Steel! before all of the Transformers left Nebulos. Brothers in Armor!!
When Starscream took control of the powers of the Underbase, Afterburner was part of the joint Autobot/Decepticon force that challenged him in the city of Buenos Aires, and one of Starscream's many, many victims. Dark Star!
Marvel UK future timelines
In the post-Time Wars version of 2009, Afterburner was stationed at Autobot City on Earth. He was seen racing to the rescue of Kup and his shuttle crew when Unicron possessed Rodimus Prime and turned him against the Autobots. Shadow of Evil
In 2510 of another future, Afterburner was present when Rodimus Prime announced the official end of the Autobot / Decepticon war. Unfortunately, hostilities were stirred up between the Technobots and the Wreckers at the peace ceremony, leading to a NEW war on Cybertron. Don't look at Afterburner—he really didn't have anything to do with it. Peace
American cartoon continuity
- Voice actor: Jim Cummings (US), Toshio Ishii (Japan)
The Technobots were created by Grimlock as a countermeasure to the new Decepticon Terrorcons, using the heightened intelligence he (Grimlock) had gained through an accident. Once their bodies had been built, Grimlock transferred his powerful intellect into them, returning to his original intelligence settings. Grimlock's New Brain
Later stationed in Autobot City on Earth, the Technobots helped EDC captain Marissa Faireborn track down a Quintesson base within the solar system, with the help (and occasional hindrance) of the smuggler Dirk Manus. Money is Everything
The Technobots responded to the Terrorcon attack on Mark Morgan's laboratory. Combining into Computron, they fought Abominus, but the battle inadvertently injured Morgan's daughter, leading the scientist and his friend Gregory Swofford to infect the Autobots with the Hate Plague. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1 Months later, the Technobots were present for the attack on Autobot City where the Decepticons stole the key to the plasma energy chamber. The Rebirth, Part 1
Japanese cartoon continuity
The Headmasters cartoon
Transformer: Big War manga
The Technobots, created with the help of the human scientist Dalton, faced off against the Terrorcon Abominus, but it was a trap set by Galvatron. Forcing Abominus to split into his components, the individual Terrorcons spat a mind-controlling substance at Computron. Before Galvatron could get far with his new warrior, Spike Witwicky came to the Technobot’s rescue in an exo-suit, firing a beam into Computron’s eyes that removed the mind-controlling effect.
IDW comics continuity
Afterburner was a member of the Autobot survey ship Calabi-Yau's crew, along with his fellow Technobots and Jetfire. They discovered mysterious signs of active energon on the supposedly dead world, and sent a team down to investigate. Afterburner and Nosecone stayed aboard the Calabai-Yau, but were shot down by Bludgeon and his hidden team of fanatics. Stormbringer issue 1 Hunted by Centurion droids and worn down by the planet's dangerous radiation levels, the two Technobots managed to survive until Optimus Prime and the Wreckers arrived and took them to safety. Stormbringer issue 3
When Optimus Prime came across a group of Cybertronians who had been grotesquely re-engineered into a combined form by the scientist Jhiaxus, he turned the sextet over to Jetfire and the Technobots for study and possible help. Spotlight: Optimus Prime Afterburner and his science team took up work at the Garrus-9 penitentiary, until it was assaulted by the Combaticons under the command of the Decepticon Secret Service. Under heavy fire, he and Scattershot were prepared to carry out Prime's instructions and terminate the combiners rather than let them fall into Decepticon hands, but ultimately failed to do so before Vortex triggered an orbital bounce and stole the sextet right out from under them. Spotlight: Arcee
Toys
Generation 1
- Afterburner (Technobot, 1987)
- Team ID number: TK1
- Japanese ID number: C-90
- Accessories: "Sonic Blaster Pistol", "Pulse Cannon", "Missiles" launcher
- Afterburner transforms into an orange and white Cybertronic motorcycle, with add-on (non-firing) missile launcher and cannon accessories. He combines with Lightspeed, Nosecone, Scattershot and Strafe to form the giant robot Computron. As with most of the Generation 1 team combiners, he uses the “Scramble City” style of combination, enabling him to form the arm or leg of any combiner combination.
- Computron (Gift set, 1987)
- Japanese ID number: C-91
- All five Technobots were available both separately and in a full-team gift set.
Trivia
- The rear view of Afterburner's animation model misses the second wheel and offsets the top wheel on to Afterburner's left shoulder, a misinterpretation of the animation model's front view. This model was seemingly only used in the AKOM-animated episodes Grimlock's New Brain and The Rebirth — in Money is Everything, Afterburner's back is drawn to match his toy.
- Strangely, Computron's animation model has Afterburner's wheels correctly represented.
