Lightspeed (G1 Technobot)
| The name or term "Lightspeed" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Lightspeed (disambiguation). |
- Lightspeed is an Autobot Technobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Looking in from the outside, you'd think Lightspeed had it all: He's highly intelligent, strong, fast, and considered dashingly good-looking by Transformers standards. And if any of that mattered to him at all, he'd be golden. Sadly, Lightspeed aches down to the core of his being for something more. His heart yearns to escape the bonds of gravity and fly free. Dreams of soaring between the stars and exploring the vast mysteries of space consume him, making him feel slow, trapped, and dissatisfied with what others would see as a charmed existence. Lightspeed would gladly pursue his dream of being rebuilt as an interstellar spacecraft if the Autobots' situation wasn't so grim. As it is, he knows the necessary resources are more valuable elsewhere and so puts his energy into winning the war and making his dream a possibility. His dreams tend to distract him from his current function as a data processor. He combines with his fellow Technobots to form Computron.
Lightspeed is allergic to energon (and most other fuels to a lesser extent) and must take a special lead sulfide additive when fueling or he experiences severe engine knocking and a bad rust rash.
- French-Canadian name: Luméclair
- Italian name: Starbot
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Lightspeed and his fellow Technobots were part of Fortress Maximus's crew on the Steelhaven. When Fortress Maximus decided to leave the war on Cybertron and head to Nebulos, Lightspeed and the other Technobots agreed to follow him on his quest for peace. Ring of Hate! However, the Decepticons followed the Autobots to Nebulos and brought the war with them. Broken Glass!
In the Nebulos resort city of Splendora, Lightspeed and the Technobots fought Abominus as the combined Computron. Though Abominus was defeated and routed, Splendora lay in ruins. Love and Steel! The Autobots and Decepticons ultimately left Nebulos for Earth.
After Starscream was mutated by his short exposure to the Underbase, he obliterated all of the Technobots, including Lightspeed, in Buenos Aires. Dark Star
Marvel UK future timelines
In the year 2510, Lightspeed and the Technobots had apparently fallen into a close alliance with Ultra Magnus. When Rodimus Prime announced the last Decepticon was dead and the war was therefore over, the Technobots attended the meeting at Magnus's side. Unfortunately, so did a Decepticon deep-cover operative named Triton. When Rodimus Prime decided to step down as Autobot leader and named Springer as his intended replacement, Triton saw his chance for treachery. He jumped into the conversation, saying Ultra Magnus was a far better choice to carry the Matrix—he had done so in the past and was more of a statesman than a warrior like Springer, and so better suited to lead in peacetime. Lightspeed quickly responded to Triton's logic, and the room divided between Technobots and Wreckers. After Scattershot killed the Wrecker named Roadbuster and Sandstorm killed Triton in turn, war tragically broke out again on Cybertron. Peace
American cartoon continuity
- Voice actor: Danny Mann (English), Takurō Kitagawa (Japanese)
Lightspeed was created along with the other Technobots by Grimlock when the latter gained super intelligence. Viewing Afterburner's excited mannerisms, he advised Afterburner to "mellow out". Good luck with that, Lightspeed. Grimlock's New Brain
In 2007, Lightspeed and the Technobots arrived at Mark Morgan's laboratory to stop the Terrorcons from stealing Morgan's heat-and-radiation-resistant alloy. Unfortunately the subsequent battle between Computron and Abominus caused much damage to Morgan's lab, injuring his daughter and leading to the Hate Plague crisis. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1 Shortly after Optimus Prime's return, Lightspeed was briefly involved with the battle for Autobot City that inadvertently led to the discovery of Nebulos. Lightspeed was hypnotized by Mindwipe into backing over a cliff, and he shook his head dazedly after he hit the ground. The Rebirth, Part 1
Japanese cartoon continuity
The Great Transformer War manga
The Headmasters cartoon
- Voice actor: Masashi Ebara (Japanese)
Transformers in 3-D
IDW comics continuity
Lightspeed, like the rest of the Technobots, was a crew man aboard the Autobot Science and Survey vessel Calabi-Yau. His specialty was a little ambiguous, and though he obviously had some pride in his ability to traverse ground in rough conditions, the low-gravity of Cybertron's surface made it tough going even for him. Iguanus impaled him just as he was about to get off the burned-out planet. Stormbringer issue 1
Lightspeed survived the techno-cannibalization being performed by Bludgeon's cultists and helped uncover the key to defeating the revenant Thunderwing. Afterwards, he reported not even the most basic molecular activity was present in Thunderwing. Stormbringer issue 4
Toys
Generation 1
- Lightspeed (Technobot, 1987)
- Team ID number: TK4
- Japanese ID number: C-89
- Accessories: "Light-Burst Gun", 2 "Infra-Red Missile Launchers"
- Lighstpeed transforms into a sleek Cybertronic car. He comes with a small handgun and a pair of missiles that attach to his car-mode side panels. Being a "Scramble City"-style combiner, he can form an arm or leg to any combination of compatible toys, but his nominal placement is as the right leg of Computron.
- There is a mold variant to Lightspeed. Initial releases had an indent for the rubsign on Lightspeed's hood/feet. Later-run releases filled in the indent, as rubsigns were phased out in 1988 (owing mostly to the deaths of most competitors in the reconfigurable robots toy arena).
- Computron (Multi-pack, 1987)
- Japanese ID number: C-91
- All five Technobots were also made available in a complete gift set. The gift set versions are identical to their individual releases.
Notes
- The rear view of Lightspeed's animation model misses the folding spoiler section completely, instead making his back a copy of his front, complete with windshield.
