Axer (G1)

Axer is a Decepticon from the Generation 1 continuity family who has also visited the Robots in Disguise universe.

Axer? But she seems so nice!

A bounty hunter, Axer gained experience by stalking in the slag swamps of Cybertron for microchip smugglers. He custom-built his Turbo Cycle, a heavily-armed motorcycle that converts to a small battle station.

He is renowned across Cybertron for his intuitive prowess as a tracker and detective. He eschews equipment and devices, preferring instead to rely on knowledge and instinct. This personal involvement in his craft extends right to the end, when he gets to unleash his sadistic pleasures on his terrified victims. The joy he feels at the sight of helpless targets' faces when he blows them away is worth more to him than the money he gladly collects for doing so.

Axer has also traveled to a different dimension, where he doesn't ride a "turbo cycle," but rather he transforms into one instead. While this alternate mode doesn't look like its namesake, it does bear much of the same weaponry.

Fiction

Generation 1 toy packaging blurb

Axer used Nucleon fuel to make himself stronger, faster, and more alive. This came at the cost of his ability to transform out of robot mode.

Robots in Disguise toy bio

Axer went through a black hole on a rescue mission, and he ended up joining Galvatron in order to monitor his "operation." Galvatron placed him under Scourge, whose leadership Axer resented.

Dreamwave Generation One comics

Before joining the Decepticon army, Axer was a "freelance peacekeeping agent" both on Cybertron and across the galaxy. But he was willing to take a pay cut to work for the Decepticons exclusively, since they gave him the freedom to indulge his murderous sadism without consequence. The Decepticon high command employed him not just as a bounty hunter but also as a full-on assassin.

Despite being classified as an Action Master, Axer was never known to lose his ability to transform. The Turbo Cycle made up not for a lack of an alt-mode, but for a particularly slow alt-mode. More Than Meets The Eye

IDW Generation 1 comics

Axer was a part of Banzai-Tron's Decepticon Secret Service team, serving aboard the starship while they raided the Garrus-9 penitentiary for the Monstructor-Six gestalt team. Spotlight: Arcee Some time later, Banzai-Tron's own base was leveled by Nemesis Prime's Dead Universe minions, and Axer was one of the few survivors. Spotlight: Hardhead He later assisted the Autobot Arcee in fighting Monstructor. Spotlight: Sideswipe

Three years later, Axer was captured on Earth by the Autobots for Skywatch. The Hanging Sword

Toys

Generation 1

File:G1Axer toy.jpg

The axe is his penis.

• Axer (Action Blaster Vehicle, 1990)

A non-transforming robot action figure, Axer does have hints of an alternate mode to his design, possibly some form of off-road car. He came with the Off-Road Cycle, an off-road motorbike with sidecar that can transform into a gun emplacement. The sidecar has a flip-down panel so another Action Master figure can stand on it.

Axer's figure mold was used to make Circuit.

• More information on Generation 1 Axer at TFU.info

Robots in Disguise

• Sideways vs Axer (Mega-level 2-pack, 2002)

Part of a Wal-Mart exclusive 2-pack with Sideways, Robots in Disguise Axer is a redeco of the Generation 2 Laser Cycle Road Pig, transforming into a Harley-Davidson Electra Glide motorcycle. His tailpipe has an LED that lights it up, becoming an arm-mounted weapon in robot mode. This mold is slightly different from the original, using the new-mold handlebars that were made for the Laser Cycles' Japanese Microman release.

This mold was also used to make Robot Masters Sideways. It was going to be used for Generation 2 Soundwave, but that release was canceled.

• More information on Robots in Disguise Axer at TFU.info

Notes

• Axer was the first Transformers character to cross over physically from one continuity family to another. His toy package-mate Sideways was technically also a dimension-hopper, but only retroactively.
• The Axer figure shown in the 1990 catalog has different coloring from the final version, but then again, so do most of the Action Masters shown there.
• Axer's vehicle has two names. In all forms of fiction (bios, comics) it's called a "Turbo Cycle," but in descriptions of the toy (packaging, instructions, catalog) it's called an "Off-Road Cycle." Note that Action Master Prowl's vehicle was also called a "Turbo Cycle."