Blast Off (G1)
| This article is about the Generation 1 combiner. For the Revenge of the Fallen combiner, see Blast Off (ROTF). |
- Blast Off is a Decepticon Combaticon from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Blast Off doesn't need a write-up in some pathetic, grubby little human database. It might matter to some robots what others think of them, or if they think of them at all, but Blast Off couldn't care less. No, he's literally and figuratively above your average Cybertronian riff-raff. The other Combaticons could completely forget he's up here, orbiting so far above the Earth, distant and alone... with only the empty void for company... and he couldn't care less. No, certainly not.
Lesser robots could hardly understand the joy... yes, that's it, the joy, he finds in efficiently and remorselessly annihilating targets from such a great distance. Blast Off was quite simply "built better" than the rest, you see, and so needs nothing from those tiny beings moving about so... so very... far away below. Blast Off... Blast Off is quite happy with his superior position, yes, quite happy and... and quite alone.
Blast Off condescends to combine with his fellow Combaticons to form Bruticus.
- Italian name: Exploder (ouch)
- Hungarian name: Kilövő
- French-Canadian name: Propulsio
Fiction
Cartoon continuity
Generation 1 cartoon
- Voice actor: Milt Jamin (English), Show Hayami (Japanese)
Blast Off was one of several Decepticon political prisoners who were "liberated" by Starscream and given new bodies on Earth. Somehow he turned from the chassis of a World War II bomber into a space shuttle once he was activated. He would probably place this on him being a sophisticated Transformer. Unfortunately, Blast Off's new body lacked an energy absorber, an "oversight" Starscream used to control him and his fellow Combaticons. In return for the vital components (taken from captured Transformers), Blast Off helped Starscream lead his latest coup against Megatron. The coup almost succeeded, until the Stunticons interfered, leading to Blast Off's (and the rest of the brigade's) exile on a distant asteroid. Starscream's Brigade
His exile would prove to be short-lived. With Blast Off providing the locomotion, the Combaticons returned to Cybertron, where they defeated Shockwave and his drone army. It took a temporary Autobot-Decepticon alliance to defeat the Combaticons, and the Autobots believed them destroyed after Cybertron's sort-of liberation. In reality, Megatron had Bruticus (and thus, Blast Off, we guess) reprogrammed to be more loyal. The Revenge of Bruticus
The Combaticons later ambushed the Aerialbots in a Middle Eastern country, and Blast Off heavily damaged Slingshot during the battle. He and the others then went off to help Megatron with his scheme to steal fighter aircraft from the country, and to protect his Giant Purple Griffin. Blast Off somehow failed to notice the Autobot insignias on the stolen and disassembled Slingshot and Skydive before deeming both jets "cheap junk" and leaving. Although to be fair, he probably would've said that even if he knew who they were. Blast Off participated in the following battle against the Aerialbots, but lost when they ignited an oil well, creating an explosion that sent Bruticus flying. Aerial Assault
Later, Blast Off and his teammates were driving around a city before abruptly forming Bruticus and just as abruptly getting blown to scrap by Defensor. Only Swindle was left in one piece, and he quickly took the opportunity to sell the parts of Blast Off and the others to various people. As soon as Megatron found out, he forced Swindle to get them back, and Blast Off was soon repaired. Then Bruticus was defeated by the Autobots again. B.O.T.
In 2006, the Decepticons were driven off Cybertron and took refuge on Chaar. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1 Blast Off was with them, and when the Decepticons were offered energon by the Quintessons, the Combaticons joined up with them. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3 For this decision, Blast Off was shot in the back by Galvatron. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4
"Aw, shut up, Runamuck!"
Later, Blast Off was patrolling a litter void in Decepticon territorial space when he found a Skuxxoid on a rocket sled making target practice out of the junk. After running the little punk to ground, Blast Off "convinced" him to give over his impressive blaster cannon. In addition, the alien told him how to find the weapon's rare ammunition, death crystals, from Quig Mountain on the planet Dread. When the Autobots came to investigate, Blast Off and Runamuck attempted to chase them off the scene. Sky Lynx, another egotistical space shuttle, gave them a merry chase, but Runamuck managed to blow up a comet to cover their escape. Chaos
The Combaticons later failed to assassinate Decepticon exile Octane at Autobot City. Starscream's Ghost Some time after that, they showed off some guerrilla tactics by appearing out of nowhere to damage a peace conference shuttle before escaping aboard Blast Off. Surprise Party When the Decepticons conquered Paradron, Blast Off and Swindle guarded jail cells, but didn't do very well when Rodimus Prime and his troops arrived to rescue the prisoners. Meanwhile, Blast Off was also part of Bruticus, who was watching the whole affair alongside Galvatron. Fight or Flee
In 2007, the Combaticons were infected by the Hate Plague. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1 Later that year, the Decepticons attacked Cybertron in order to take control of the Plasma Energy Chamber. As the other Combaticons built a giant engine on the planet's surface, Blast Off shot down Silverbolt before reporting to Galvatron that the Aerialbots had been vanquished. He then ripped out Ultra Magnus's power pack to fuel the engine. The Rebirth, Part 3
Japanese cartoon continuity
Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers comic
As part of Bruticus, Blast Off came to the Stunticons' aid when their new command outpost was attacked by the Aerialbots and Protectobots. Together with Menasor, Bruticus defeated Defensor, only for the two combiners to get their leg components shot off by Superion. First Aid and Streetwise took control of Bruticus's legs and flew away with Blast Off, Vortex and Onslaught, planning to drop them off somewhere over the ocean. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 5
Blast Off later joined the Combaticons in hunting down an escaped dog on which the Decepticons had experimented. He reacted with horror when the Minibot warriors came to stop their evil activities, and the Combaticons combined into Bruticus. However, Powerglide, imbued with the dying dog's Scramble Power, defeated the giant using the "Minibot Warrior Spiral Attack". Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 8
Scramble City
The Combaticons were dispatched to assist the Stunticons in a battle against the Aerialbots. Together, the two teams overwhelmed the Autobot fliers, but before they could finish their enemies off, they were defeated by the newly constructed Scramble City. Scramble City
The Headmasters cartoon
In the year 2011, Galvatron ordered a large-scale Decepticon assault on Cybertron in order to get his hands on Vector Sigma. The Combaticons were part of the attack forces, and Blast Off was seen bombing random targets until he was shot out of the sky by Jazz. Four Warriors Come out of the Sky As the battle continued, Blast Off merged with his team to form Bruticus, but even alongside the other Decepticon combiners, he was no match for Battleship Maximus. The Mystery of Planet Master The Combaticons were driven away, and were instead sent to Earth with orders to stop Hot Rod from bringing the Matrix of Leadership to Optimus Prime. Before they got very far, they were ambushed by the Protectobots and were buried in a rockslide in the ensuing battle. Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime Blast Off subsequently helped defend Trypticon against Twincast's infiltration, but the Autobot spy snuck past when the Combaticons were distracted by the timely arrival of the Aerialbots. The Great Cassette Operation
Blast Off later participated in another attack on Cybertron, this time because Galvatron wanted Cybertonuron. Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1 The Combaticons ended up facing Defensor yet again, and Bruticus was defeated by a swift kick to the neck. Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2 As part of Bruticus, Blast Off later defended a giant carnivorous plant in San Francisco from Raiden. Head On!! Fortress Maximus Sixshot then took command of the Combaticons, who sent them to attack an Autobot energy facility in Miami alongside the Terrorcons and Horrorcons. Ultra Magnus Dies!!
When Scorponok officially took over leadership after Galvatron's death, Blast Off was amongst the cheering Decepticons. I Risk My Life for Earth On the planet Master, Bruticus later tried to divert attention away from the Decepticon base, to no avail. The Zarak Shield Turns the Tide Later, back on Earth, Bruticus stood by and laughed as Predaking sank the luxury liner Queen World in the Atlantic Ocean. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 1) Blast Off was present at the massive Autobot-Decepticon battle in the Arctic, if only as part of Bruticus. The combiner fled into space when it seemed Scorponok was going to tear Earth apart for plasma energy. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)
Super-God Masterforce comic
Blast Off formed the right arm of Scramble 7, a Decepticon combiner using various combiner team members in a supposedly "ideal" configuration. Scramble 7 attacked the Autobot base on Athenia, but was defeated by Super Ginrai, Lightfoot and Ranger thanks to their use of Chōkon Power. The Battle Begins! The United Earth-Space Troops
Zone OVA, manga and story pages
Seeking to create a Decepticon Zone to counter the Autobot Zone, Decepticon Emperor Violen Jiger gathered together the Nine Great Demon Generals, upgrading them with powerful new armor and weaponry, then sent them forth to conquer planets. Blast Off was of those summoned, but only as part of Bruticus. Zone Part 1 Transformers: Zone Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!
Marvel Comics continuity
Generation 1
Buster Witwicky, who had held the power of the Creation Matrix inside his mind, once experienced nightmares of strange new Transformers, Special Teams with the ability to merge into a giants. Blast Off and his Combaticon teammates appeared in one of Buster's earlier dreams, before he sought help from the Autobots. To make sense of these dreams, Buster linked his mind with Optimus Prime's, and they both witnessed a scenario where the Combaticons and Stunticons lost against their Autobot counterparts, the Protectobots and Aerialbots. However, the dream was also spied into by Soundwave, and so the Decepticons started building the Decepticon Special Teams seen in the vision. Second Generation!
Blast Off and the other Combaticons were led by Megatron to steal the human hydrothermocline power plant, only to be faced with Optimus Prime and his Protectobots. After some advice by a nearby human named Ethan Zachary, the two groups decided to fight virtually rather risk damage to the power plant. Transferring his mind into a computer, Blast Off teamed up with Vortex and ambushed Groove and Blades in the area called the "Cloud-Steppes". They did well at first, until the local AI turned against them and blinded the two fliers with a cloud, leading to them crashing into each other and losing the game.
That's right. Blast Off, Lord of the Skies, was beaten up by a cloud. Afterdeath!
On a mission for Commander Shockwave, Blast Off and the Combaticons secured a volcano where the nemeses Galvatron and Ultra Magnus had been found frozen in the cooled lava like flies in amber. Shockwave saw Galvatron as a threat to his power base and wanted the volcano destroyed with Galvatron stuck inside it. The Combaticons' mission was interrupted, however, by several female fleshlings trying to save Ultra Magnus. They sent a speeding jeep towards Blast Off and his comrades, but the Combaticons stopped the vehicle easily. However, they didn't fare as well against a tank the women had appropriated, which fired at the jeep and set off the storage of explosives the women had put inside it. Ladies' Night
He and his fellow Combaticons were sent on a hunting mission by Decepticon command and spent several weeks tracking and tormenting Blaster and the Throttlebots, who had recently interfered with their schemes. They were interrupted by the Protectobots, though, and engaged in battle with their foes. Blast Off demonstrated his unmitigated superiority by beating up a pacifist. Darn peace-niks. Used Autobots In a later combat, the Combaticons joined to form Bruticus but were beaten by Blaster and Defensor. Afterwards, Blast Off was slapped with a mode-lock device so that Blaster could remote-control him, taking his human friends the Spacehikers for a spin around outer space. Child's Play Unfortunately, Blaster was at odds with Autobot leader Grimlock at the time as well, and Blast Off and his passengers were forcibly captured by the Ark. Spacehikers! The Decepticon later either escaped Autobot custody on his own or was rescued along with Omega Supreme's victims by the Constructicons. Totaled!
Marvel UK future timelines
In 2008, Blast Off was briefly seen racing through the skies with his fellow Decepticons on the way to attack Autobase. Space Pirates!
Generation 2
Blast Off was one of the Decepticons who fell back under Megatron's command after Bludgeon was destroyed. He was among the crowd of Decepticons Megatron whipped up into a warrior frenzy before first confronting Jhiaxus and his second-generation Cybertronians. New Dawn He later showed concern when Onslaught had a tummy-ache, particularly because Combaticons (strictly speaking) don't have tummies. Swarm Blast Off and his fellow Combaticons were the first Decepticons aboard the Warworld to meet the boarding party of Cybertronians led by Starscream. They didn't fare so well. Total War!
Young Corgi continuity
When the humans discovered a city buried beneath the ice, Blast Off and the Decepticons came looking for an opportunity to loot it. Initially blamed for shooting down a research plane, Blast Off and the Combaticons fought the Aerialbots until Ravage alerted them that the city-dwellers were the true enemy of them all. After the Autobots and Decepticons worked together to neutralize the city-dwellers, Blast Off transformed to shuttle mode and ferryed his fellow Combaticons and Ravage back to Megatron. Battle Beneath the Ice
Dreamwave comics continuity
Shortly after Optimus Prime became the new Autobot Supreme Commander, Blast Off took part in the Decepticon assault upon Iacon. Blast Off enjoyed strutting his stuff in his less aerodynamic but more heavily armed original form.
Millions of years later, Blast Off, along with his fellow Combaticons, was imprisoned by Shockwave, until they were released by Starscream.
When Sunstorm appeared on Earth, the battered Combaticons were ordered by Starscream to combine into Bruticus and deal with the crazed zealot. It did not end well. Black Sunshine
The repaired Combaticons were brought to Guadalcanal, where they could hone their somewhat lackluster combat skills and listen to Starscream's long-winded aspirations of glory. Starscream ordered them to defeat the Autobot Sky Lynx as a means to train themselves for greater battles. Blast Off ordered Vortex to "take Sky Lynx down", but unfortunately, the Combaticons did not fare well when the Autobot split into his two forms, and Blast Off was embarrassingly grabbed in the flying form's jaws.
This was the least of their troubles, however, as Predaking showed up as soon as Sky Lynx was deactivated. This encounter also did not end well. The Route of All Evil
G.I. Joe vs the Transformers
As part of Serpent O.R.'s forces, Blast Off defended the newly unified Decepticon army's base against a combined Autobot/G.I. Joe strike force. The Art of War issue 5
IDW comics continuity
Blast Off was part of the troop complement aboard the Decepticon warship Thanatos under the command of Razorclaw. With respect to the desperate defence the Wreckers were mounting against Thunderwing, Razorclaw sent out two squads of Decepticons to assist the Autobots; Blast Off was among the aerial forces led by Divebomb. Stormbringer issue 4
He was later reassigned to the Combaticons operating under Banzai-Tron's Decepticon Secret Service. The Combaticons were used as an elite storming brigade in the attack on the Garrus-9 penitentiary in an effort to capture the prison's newest inmates and their so-called gestalt technology. Blast Off was right in the middle of chortling over the fun of killing folk when he was skewered by Arcee. The other Combaticons carried him out with them when they evacuated with their prizes. Spotlight: Arcee
After a deal was negotiated between Arcee and Banzai-Tron, Blast Off and the other Combaticons later helped her in an attempt to recapture Monstructor (who had been stolen by Jhiaxus and Nemesis Prime's forces), though the insane Autobot disappeared mid-battle. Spotlight: Sideswipe
Toys
Generation 1
- Blast Off (Combaticon, 1986/1990)
- Team ID number: C3
- Japanese ID number: D-65
- Accessories: Left & right cannons, pistol
- Blast Off transforms into yet another International NASA Space Shuttle. In this mode, he is armed with two laser cannons mounted to his engines.
- In robot mode Blast Off is armed with a small laser pistol and his two laser cannons, which are now mounted on his legs. Along with fellow Combaticon Vortex, Blast Off is the first Transformer figure to use ball joints, located in his shoulders. He usually forms Bruticus' right arm, but as a Scramble City toy, he can be connected with any limb slot on Bruticus.
- This mold was also used to make Operation Combination Shuttle Gunner, Robots in Disguise Movor and Universe Movor.
Generation 2
- Blast Off (Combaticon, 1994)
- Team ID number: C3
- Accessories: Left & right cannons, pistol
- In Generation 2, Blast Off was redecoed white with purple camouflage... for all the times you need purple camouflage in space.
Universe (2008)
- Bruticus Maximus (2008)
- Accessories: Energon Gun-radar/hand, Decepticon-type energon star
- Universe Blast Off is a redeco of Energon the Kickback/Blight mold, transforming into a brown Gepard anti-aircraft tank. His markings include his initials on his tread housings and a five-pointed star which, combined with his color scheme, gives his tank mode a somewhat Soviet feel. He was only available with Universe Bruticus Maximus giftset. When combined with the other Combaticons, Blast Off is nominally Bruticus Maximus' right arm, though he can be used in any other limb position.
- This mold was also used to make Fun Publications Transformers Collectors' Club-exclusive Landquake and Universe (2008) Decepticon Brawl.
Merchandise
Generation 2
- Blast Off (199?)
- A digital wristwatch of Blast Off's shuttle mode was released during Generation 2, in the same white and purple coloration as the toy. This did not have a robot mode, however.
Notes
- The character models of the Combaticons are heavily... okay, heavily made-up. Early models of the team which were a bit more accurate to the toys — except for the heads, oddly enough, where the show models are quite accurate — have shown up in various sourcebooks, though Blast Off's is still off in some very odd ways.
- Blast Off's final animation model apparently mis-interpreted his forehead crest as a visor, giving him one funkily arranged face.
- Normally, the word "blast" is rendered in katakana as ブラスト (burasuto)—like in Blastarm or Broadblast. However, the katakana used in Blast Off's Japanese name is most decidedly ブレスト (buresuto)—which is usually used to render the English words "breast" or "blessed". It appears that this is not an uncommon misspelling, so it is uncertain as to whether Takara were intentionally trying to give Blast Off the name "Breast Off"/"Blessed Off". However, it is somewhat notable that this same spelling was later used to render the first part of Blast Master's name, an unrelated shuttle character released years later. It's possible the common katakana "spelling" of the word changed at some point, but we can't say for sure.
- The packaging of the 1990 European Classics release of the original Onslaught toy depicted the Combaticons in (mostly) new color schemes, despite the fact that the actual toys looked identical to their original releases. While it may never be known for certain, it has been theorized that these colors originated from a packaging printing error rather than a legitimate attempt to redeco the Combaticons.
