Punch (G1)
| This article is about the heroic Autobot double-agent. For his evil undercover journalist counterpart, see Punch (Shattered Glass). |
- Counterpunch is a Decepticon from the Generation 1 continuity family. His Autobot counterpart, Punch, is nearby. Real nearby.
Punch possesses a unique transformation ability that allows him to adopt a second robot mode. Using this secondary form, he poses as a Decepticon named Counterpunch, in order to infiltrate the villains' ranks and spy on them as a double agent.
On the surface, Punch is a silent, stoic individual who is able to easily take command in a crisis by virtue of the fact that his cool head keeps those around him calm by extension. But in truth, this calm, quiet personality is an act Punch puts on, and sadder still, he lies even to himself about his reasons for doing so. Although Punch would like to believe that he keeps silent because his job means that saying too much is a danger to his life, in truth, his real reason is that he is completely paranoid, distrusting everyone around him. Switching repeatedly from Punch to Counterpunch and venturing into the dark heart of the Decepticon camp has had an adverse effect on Punch, leaving him a twisted bundle of neuro-circuits. So complete a disguise has he made of the change from Autobot to Decepticon that Punch’s entire personality changes when he becomes Counterpunch. Although Counterpunch retains his Autobot sensibilities—at least enough to carry out his duties as a double agent, acquiring information for the Autobots while feeding the Decepticons just enough to maintain cover—the other aspects of his personality switch completely. The urges Punch holds in restraint all find savage, violent release as Counterpunch. Constantly walking the knife’s edge, Punch is suspicious of all those around him, seeing potential Decepticon spies where he should Autobot allies, fearing that there could be a double agent among them, operating as easily as he does among the Decepticons.
Punch is armed with a twin mortar launcher that fires highly-combustible firebombs. Conversely, as Counterpunch, he wields a photon cannon which fires a high-density stream of energy that can scramble a Transformer’s circuits. Luckily for the Autobots, all among their ranks are outfitted with damper devices that reduce the cannon’s effect, but produce enough pyrotechnics to keep Punch’s cover from being blown.
- French-Canadian name: Pugilil/Contrecoup
- Japanese name: Spacepunch/Counterpunch
- Italian name: Spy/Ultraspy
Fiction
Generation 1 cartoon
- Voice actor: John Moschitta (English)
In 2007, when the Decepticons attacked Autobot City after the end of a short-lived truce, Punch observed Pounce and Wingspan breaking into the city while the other Autobots were occupied with the battle. Seeking to discover their objective, he transformed into Counterpunch and caught up to them when they were breaking into a vault within the city. Informing them that Galvatron had told him to check up on them, Counterpunch's offer of help was rebuffed by the two clones, and Counterpunch departing, making a big noise about how he had heard his "Autobot counterpart" was "nearby... real nearby."
Naturally, Punch promptly transformed back to Punch as soon as he had stepped out of the clones' line of sight, and opened fire on them from behind. Wingspan was able to get behind Punch and grabbed him, holding him so that Pounce could savage him in puma mode. Punch collapsed, and the two clones made off with the contents of the vault – the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber. Optimus Prime soon discovered Punch's unconscious body and roused him, but Punch could only silently point to the empty vault, confirming Prime's worst fear.
Punch was subsequently part of an Autobot contingent led by Prime who pursued the Decepticons to Cybertron. At Prime's order, Punch, Cloudraker and Fastlane began searching the planet for the key, but unbeknownst to them, it had already been been used to briefly open the Plasma Energy Chamber. The resulting energy discharge blasted a group of Autobots led by Kup across the galaxy to the planet Nebulos, and the key with them. The Rebirth, Part 1 Punch and the Autobot clones soon reported back to Prime that there was no sign of Kup's team or the key, prompting Prime to consult Vector Sigma for answers. The Rebirth, Part 2
Japanese cartoon continuity
The Headmasters cartoon
- Voice actor: Masaharu Satō (Japanese)
When Punch made his debut, he was already installed within the Decepticon ranks as Counterpunch and serving as Scorponok's closely-trusted informant. Among the true information Counterpunch fed the Decepticon leader in order to maintain his cover were details of the movements of the Autobot Headmasters when they attempted an impassioned attack on Chaar after the destruction of Mars. Using the information, Scorponok repelled their attack, much to the chagrin of Soundblaster, who was particularly infuriated that Counterpunch had "somehow" turned up information that his own spying had failed to. Soon thereafter, Punch returned to the Autobot base on Athenia, and informed Autobot Supreme Commander Fortress that Scorponok was about to hold a ceremony on Earth's moon to coronate himself emperor of the Decepticons. During the ceremony, Galvatron returned from his prior apparent demise, and retook leadership of the Decepticons from Scorponok. Return of the Immortal Emperor
When both the Autobots and Decepticons received an SOS signal from the energy-deprived planet Sandra, Fortress was unsure how to proceed. Punch arrived to with information to help him come to a decision, as he let him know that the Decepticons had chosen to ignore the signal. SOS from Planet Sandra
Later, Punch informed the Autobots on Athenia of the arrival of the newest Decepticon warriors, the Horrorcons, on Chaar. Not long after, when Galvatron departed for Earth to conduct potential peace talks with Spike Witwicky, Punch soon received a nasty surprise when he discovered that Spike was actually debating with a disguised Sixshot, and that the true Galvatron was still on Chaar, preparing to lead the Decepticons on an interplanetary energy raid while the Autobots were distracted. Punch snuck away from the crowd to radio the Autobots on Athenia and clue them in, but unfortunately, even with Punch's inside information, the Autobots were unable to stop the Decepticons from departing on their mission of evil. Daniel Faces His Biggest Crisis Ever!!
As Counterpunch, Punch stayed with the Decepticons as they hopped from planet to planet. He met up with his Autobot comrades again when the Decepticons set down on the planet Darhos, informing them that Scorponok had sent the Decepticon Headmasters to kill a local Beastformer that knew of the location of Scorponok's secret weak spot. Punch informed the Autobot Headmasters that he believed the Beastformer, Tekna, to be hiding in the North-South Caves, and Chromedome and Hardhead set off to search for him. Find MegaZarak's Weak Spot!!
Eventually, the Decepticons returned to Chaar with a huge stockpile of energon cubes, and it was Punch's duty to find out what Galvatron's master plan for the amassed energy was. Ultra Magnus Dies!! Punch had little luck at first, bluffing his way through a carelessly-worded conversation with Galvatron and failing to learn anything more about the Decepticon leader's plan, other than that he was about to depart for Earth. Despite his lack of information, Punch raced to Earth to report his finding to Fortress with such speed that he almost forgot to transform out of his Counterpunch form before entering Autobot City. Completing his report, he then headed for the Decepticons' Earth base, in hopes of listening in on the schemes Galvatron was cooking up there. Again, he bumbled his way through an altercation with Scourge, claiming that he had been kneeling by a door because he had dropped something and quickly crawling off around a corner in search of this phantom object. He even considered switching out of his Counterpunch disguise, before he realized how foolish he was being. Finally, Punch found success with the time-honored tradition of listening through an air-vent, and discovered that Galvatron's master plan was to use the energy to fuse himself with the Earth itself. In the course of the conversation, Galvatron revealed that his head was his weakest point, and Punch quickly returned to Autobot City to reveal all he had discovered to Fortress. Fortress flew Punch to Alaska, where a battle was currently raging between Galvatron and the Autobot Headmasters, and Punch called out to inform them of Galvatron's weak spot. Enraged to discover that Punch was a spy, Galvatron soon found insult added to injury, as the Headmasters used Punch's information to finally defeat him and entomb him beneath the polar ice. The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg
With the demise of Galvatron, Scorponok once again seized Decepticon leadership, a fact which Punch quickly passed along to the other Autobots. I Risk My Life for Earth When Scorponok took the Decepticons back to planet Master, Punch, as Counterpunch, went with them, then returned to Earth after Scorponok successfully forged his Zarak Shield. Setting down in the Straits of Gibraltar, Scorponok instructed Counterpunch to observe the Autobots movements for him. Counterpunch leapt from Scorponok to the shore, but before he could even turn around, Scorponok had vanished beneath the waves, leaving Punch unable to inform Fortress of the evil emperor's whereabouts. Punch vowed to locate Scorponok for his commander. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 1) Little could Punch have known that Scorponok was operating out of the sub-oceanic ruins of Lemuria, and was using the sunken continent's Crysmag metal to forge "Death Towers" that would rip the Earth apart. Punch soon discovered that Scorponok was planning to outfit the Death Towers with energy induction boosters that would magnify their destructive effects, and informed Fortress and the Autobots that the villain was on his way to Egypt to do so with the Death Tower there. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)
Super-God Masterforce comic
Years later, Punch was among the Autobots on Athenia when the Autobot Godmaster Ginrai was brought to the planet so that Fortress could pass the mantle of Supreme Commander on to him. Unfortunately, this led to an attack by the Decepticons under the command of Devil Z. The Battle Begins! The United Earth-Space Troops
Dreamwave comics continuity
Outwardly, Punch is the consummate undercover man, but internally, he's a nervous wreck too paranoid of exposure even to open up with his fellow Autobots. That's a problem, as Punch has been under so long, his invented persona of Counterpunch is gaining an increasing life of its own, with Punch suffering worrying blackouts during his actions while masquerading as a Decepticon. More Than Meets The Eye #5
Commercial appearances
Punch/Counterpunch appeared in at least one television commercial:
- Within a mechanical room, Rodimus Prime handed Punch an unknown device while Goldbug looked on. Saluting, Punch assured Rodimus that he could trust him. He then transformed and drove off, speeding to a rocky area where Cyclonus and Galvatron awaited him. Changing from vehicle mode into Counterpunch, he gave Galvatron the device. Saluting, Counterpunch assured Galvatron that he could trust him.
Toys
Generation 1
- Punch/Counterpunch (Doublespy, 1987)
- Japanese ID number: C-111
- Accessories: "Twin Mortar Launcher", "Photon Cannon"
- Punch transforms into a blue Pontiac Fiero. He has two distinct robot modes, with separate guns and rubsigns for each. They have separate arms, but the backs of Punch's torso, legs, and even head are the fronts of Counterpunch's and vice versa. The top of their shared head tilts to disguise the face not currently being used.
- The transformation for Punch's robot mode depicted in the toy's instructions and animation is, in fact, not the intended transformation for the toy. Rather than extend all the way, as they do for Counterpunch, the legs are supposed to fold back at the "knee" with Counterpunch's feet folded out 180 degrees to become Punch's own (this, then, gives a purpose to the otherwise-pointless ridges on his feet, which now serve to keep the robot stable). This transformation—depicted in the toy's box art and on the front of his instruction booklet (sans feet)—creates a much smaller robot mode for Punch that serves to further distinguish him from Counterpunch.
Timelines
- Punch/Counterpunch (2010)
- This will make use of the Universe Sunstreaker mold.
Trivia
The Doublespy concept seems to have been kicking around for a while before actually being executed:
- A concept sketch exists that depicts Punch/Counterpunch as a hi-tech jet more in line with the 1986+ aesthetic which transforms in a way somewhat similar to the final car version.[1]
- Not one but two early patents were filed for a car Doublespy. The first patent depicts the car that can turn into a large robot or split straight across the middle, with the front and back ends of the car each transforming into a separate robot. It uses a car model identical to the final Punch/Counterpunch.[2]
- The second patent keeps the car as a single unit, however the car now folds along the center from the front bumper to the rear windshield. One robot mode is formed when the car is transformed normally, the other is formed when the car is transformed and folded to reveal a new head, chest, and arms. This model has an identical leg transformation to the final version.[3]
