Rodimus (SG)
| This article is about the evil Autobot Seeker. For his heroic non-Seeker counterpart, see Hot Rod (G1). For a list of other meanings, see Rodimus (disambiguation). |
- Rodimus is an Autobot from the Shattered Glass continuity family. He later takes the name Rodimus Prime.
How you doin'?
Yo, remember the Wreckers? Dat mercenary team o' big guns? No? Fuhgeddaboudit. Eh, Rodimus used to lead them, 'till, I dunno. Sumpthin. But one day, badda bing, badda boom, all his Wreckers are dead, 'cept for him! Slag that noise! Joins the Autobots. So let me tell you, this Rodimus is a smooth operator. He had a van dyke beard added to his facial superstructure a few cycles back. He feels it makes him look, ya know, distinguished or sumpthin. I tell you what, though, he's got his eye on dat Prime dude. Not that nobody doesn't know it. But dat Prime, he'll get his whatfor, and then? Our guy Rodimus will turn the Autobots into the greatest mercenary team known to the universe, capisce?
Fiction
Shattered Glass
Though Rodimus bought into Optimus Prime's vision for a ruthless and violent Cybertron, he'd rather he be the one in charge. As such, Rodimus led a team of ruthless mercenaries called the Wreckers. The battle of Praxus-Delta would be their last; Optimus Prime hired the Wreckers to bolster the Autobot ranks, but every Wrecker save Rodimus was destroyed. Rodimus believed in little else but his business contracts, and so despite his heavy losses he continued to fight for the Autobots. Eventually, when a spot on the roster "opened up," Prime made him a member of the elite Seeker trio. [1]
One day, Rodimus was investigating a strange energy buildup when he stumbled onto Cliffjumper, who he'd thought long dead. After gunning down Ruckus when the Decepticon got in Cliffjumper's face (and explaining his facial hair), he led Cliffjumper back to Iacon to reunite with Optimus Prime.
However, it didn't take long to discover that this Cliffjumper was not the Cliffjumper Rodimus thought he was, but a doppelganger. As Cliffjumper lay in smoking ruin, Rodimus laughed with the others at his misfortune. The Seekers were ordered to drop Cliffjumper in the Rad Zone. This backfired when Cliffjumper fell in with the Decepticons, who quickly mounted an attack. Rodimus and the other Seekers were ordered to destroy the Decepticon armies before they could destroy the launching platform to the Ark, a starship that would lead the Autobots to other planets to conquer. Ultimately, the Autobots failed to protect the launching platform, and Rodimus and the others were defeated and lay crumpled. Shattered Glass
Rodimus was present at a pitched battle between Autobot and Decepticon forces, contesting who held the sizable fuel dump at Arch-Ayr. Things started to go badly for the Autobots with the arrival of the Mayhem Suppression Squad, whose members Dirge and Thundercracker managed to disable him. This failure was only punctuated by the timely arrival, and destructive rampage, of Wheeljack's new creations, the Dinobots. The Autobots were forced to retreat. After the ignoble defeat, Optimus Prime sent the Autobots out to retrieve the wayward mad scientist's creatures, theorizing that they still could be put to good use. Rodimus and Blurr rendezvoused with Goldbug and Jazz, who had cornered Swoop. There he joined his fellow Autobots in insisting that Jazz climb the observation tower that the winged monstrosity was perched upon. The plan worked like a charm, with Jazz managing to weigh the flying Dinobot down enough that he couldn't truly flee. One crack shot from Goldbug later, the group had bagged their quarry. Just to prove what a swell guy he was, Rodimus let Goldbug and Jazz drag Swoop back to base. After all, he'd just received a tip from Huffer as to Grimlock's whereabouts, and decided the original Dinobot was a bigger prize.
Traveling deep into the Rad Zone, Rodimus and Blur found that they weren't the only ones following the trail of Grimlock. Blurr was suspicious of the proficiency Rodimus showed in tracking, but admitted he was mostly leery of a mutant attack. Descending into the catacombs Grimlock had holed up in, Rodimus' greed got the better of him when he spotted a pile of Energon rods. Foolishly reaching out for them, he found his hand stuck in an invisible forcefield that was slowly drawing him in and eroding his structure. Blurr theorized that it was some custodial mechanism of the catacombs, and attempted to free Rodimus with weapons fire, much to his companion's distress. Agitated by Blurr's failure to free him, Rodimus pleaded with his fellow Seeker, only to be rebuffed. Changing tactics, he instead threatened to execute Blurr on the spot if he didn't help. This provoked a response, and Blurr's retaliation freed Rodimus, though he was in no shape to fight upon his liberation. This was unfortunate, as at that moment Cliffjumper and Sideswipe found the duo. About to have his chassis dragged out of the catacombs, Rodimus revealed that he had been feigning unconsciousness, and attacked Cliffjumper. This proved disastrous, as he managed to knock the otherworldly Autobot into the doorway to a hidden passage, sending them both tumbling to the levels below.
With Cliffjumper's jetpack smashed beyond repair and the stone of the chamber not yielding to Rodimus' blasters, it quickly became obvious they were trapped, the walls closing in to crush them. Rodimus theorized that there was a reset mechanism in the walls, which with his urging Cliffjumper was able to locate. Barely managing to trip the catch in time, Rodimus further surmised that the lack of wreckage in the chamber either meant that they were the first to trigger it, or that it had an evacuation system. This proved also to be correct, as they were sent barreling down a chute. As they hit bottom, it finally occurred to Rodimus what catacombs they were in, the chamber of Omega Terminus! Seeing an opportunity, he regaled Cliffjumper with the possibilities of raising an army of bots granted life by the enigmatic entity. The little red Autobot wasn't buying any of this, but Rodimus' luck held up when he found a bottle of scraplets. Ever magnanimous, he offered his fellow traveler some, but given Cliffjumper's wariness of the creatures was able to have their healing properties all to himself. Score! Shortly afterwards, he managed to lead Cliffjumper to Omega Terminus itself, meeting up again with Sideswipe and Blurr. Rodimus again tried to sway them to his goal of using Omega Terminus to birth a new mercenary company that would beggar the Autobots and Decepticons. His sales pitch unfortunately was cut short by the arrival of Grimlock. Though they expected a thrashing, all were stunned as Grimlock transformed to robot mode and revealed a keen intelligence and newly-granted ember! Rodimus tried to take advantage of the situation, buttering up Grimlock. However, the Dinobot saw through this transparent ploy, and quickly transformed, biting off Rodimus' hand. Grimlock then bade them leave, and when they refused summoned a shambling horde of undead Cybertronians. As the fight wore on Cliffjumper called for Rodimus to toss him the scraplets, which quickly devoured the dead metal of their opponents. Finally, Omega Terminus ejected all and sundry from the chamber.
Upon his return to base, Optimus Prime ordered that Rodimus undergo repairs from the tender hands of Ratchet. Much to his displeasure, he found his maimed hand replaced by a whirring saw-blade.Dungeons & Dinobots
Rodimus saw his next chance when Optimus Prime was distracted by Ricochet's capture of Megatron, just prior to the Ark's launch. Feigning communication trouble as Prime set off for the Temple of Knowledge, and proceeded to try to trick his fellow Autobots into believing their leader had given the order to launch without him. This lie didn't go over very well, so he tried instead to recruit them to his little conspiracy. Blurr was about to dismiss this as well and contact Prime, but Goldbug dissuaded him... with a blaster. After a purge of anyone deemed too loyal to Prime, the Ark took off for Earth! En route, the Nemesis caught up with the ship and staged a daring assault. With Decepticons crawling on the hull, Rodimus ordered the ship to make controlled planetfall, hoping to burn the attackers off. When said planetfall became much less controlled, the opportunist Autobot decided to embrace 'that oldest and noblest of pirate traditions' and boarded an escape pod. Do Over
After exiting the pod, Rodimus successfully infiltrated a civilized area disguised as a sports car. Though not identifiable as an alien robot, he was far from inconspicuous and thus gained the attention of fledgling car thief Butch Witwicky. The young ne'er do well was confused by a detail which Rodimus had missed in his disguise: a keyhole on the car's door. Thanking Butch and his brothers for the tip, Rodimus transformed into his robot mode and informed them in no uncertain terms that they were now working for him. Driving the human brothers to the wreckage along the shores of the Arizona Bay, Rodimus met up with the rest of the Autobots crewing the Ark. The reunion was less than happy, as his earlier cowardice incited them to draw weapons on him. Rodimus begged them to hold off as he transformed and showed them the Witwicky brothers. Goldbug regarded the creatures as nothing more than vermin, but Rodimus stressed that as thieves they were kindred spirits to the Autobots. Big Daddy agreed, and with Goldbug apparently deterred for the moment they proceeded to the Ark. Finding large portions of it flooded and major systems inoperable, it was obvious to Rodimus that the vessel wasn't budging. Though his reception onboard the ship was cold at best, Rodimus' new allies proved themselves when they correctly identified what Seaspray had dredged up from the bottom of the Arizona Bay: a mind-boggling amount of American currency. Though a mercenary, the barter-based commerce of Cybertron had left Rodimus with no real concept of money, and so the Witwickys set out to educate the Autobots on the finer points of larceny. Rodimus began to see the merit in not completely pillaging a resource-rich planet, allowing for greater returns. Though Goldbug was still skeptical it could be pulled off, Rodimus revealed his ace in the hole by having the Witwicky brothers replay a news broadcast detailing a new defense satellite that had recently been launched. Goldbug chose this moment to pointedly question Rodimus' ability to lead. The mercenary Autobot asked Goldbug if this was a formal challenge, which his fellow Seeker confirmed by attacking. After a few blows the more fuel-efficient Goldbug seemed to be gaining the upper hand, until the canny Rodimus deleted his opponent's personnel file from the ship database. The ploy had its desired effect as the shipboard security mechanisms painfully detained Goldbug, his attempts to order Teletraan-X unrecognized by the computer. As Goldbug conceded defeat, Rodimus allowed his release and claimed a new title: Rodimus Prime.
Rodimus and Wheeljack were able to infiltrate Burpleson Air Force Base under the pretense of the Witwicky brothers being arrested by the guards of the facility. Impounded as evidence, they were able to overwhelm the base from within once Blaster's diversionary attack was underway. Shortly after, Rodimus' human allies were freed by another Witwicky sibling, Sergeant Bruce Witwicky. The defense satellite successfully taken over, Rodimus broadcast on all human frequencies to announce that all human government and commerce would pay tribute to the Autobots. Soon, the Decepticons mounted an attack on the base to stop him, and Rodimus was frustrated by his troops' inability to repel the enemy, in spite of superior numbers. He soon found the control room he resided in breached by the fleeing Goldbug, apparently terrified of the diminutive Decepticon Frenzy. This proved to be with good reason, as the frothing little bot began pummeling them both, allowing the Decepticons' human allies access to the console. His control of the satellite usurped by Heatwave, Rodimus was forced to flee the base as the weapons system fired upon it.Eye in the Sky
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Some months later, Rodimus was in communication with Alpha Trion, who had returned to Cybertron from his exile. They discussed their plot to assassinate both faction leaders as the final step in their paths of personal conquest, with Trion's agents going after Megatron while Rodimus' agents took down Optimus Prime. Rodimus concluded the conversation by saying that once Prime and Megatron were out of the way, Trion would be free to rule Cybertron, while Rodimus would have complete control over Earth. Reunification: Part 3
Toys
Botcon 2008
- Megatron & Rodimus (Convention Souvenir 3-Pack, 2008)
- Accessories: Thruster-cannon, flame-missile
- Rodimus is a redeco of Deluxe-class Classics Rodimus with a color scheme similar to Titanium Series Menasor, using glittery-black plastic with gray and clear-red. He comes with Megatron and Divebomb as a bagged set, limited to 1100 pieces as a BotCon 2008 souvenir set.
- Rodimus transforms into a into a heavily-altered black, purple and silver Dome Zero. His rear-mounted thruster engine becomes a hand-held weapon in robot mode, launching a spring-loaded missile. His left arm also hides a flip-out "comm unit" that is clearly supposed to be the buzzsaw his Generation 1 counterpart used for a brief period in the Movie. The deco has a different pattern for the flames than his Classics counterpart, and also features a new paint application on his robot-mode face to accommodate his beard.
- This mold was also used to make the rather-similar-looking Gentei! Gentei! Wildrider.
Trivia
- Rodimus's speech and mannerisms are modeled after Vinnie Barbarino, the smart-mouthed teen-heartthrob from Welcome Back, Kotter, played by John Travolta. This is, presumably, a roundabout homage to the fact that Generation 1 Hot Rod was voiced by Judd Nelson, who also played a smart-mouthed teen-heartthrob, in The Breakfast Club.
- His goatee slightly resembles Spock's from the Star Trek Mirror universe, one of the main inspirations for Shattered Glass.
- The Fun Publications photography incorrectly shows Rodimus and Megatron with Rampage rather than Divebomb.
References
- ↑ Rodimus's bio card
