Roadbuster (G1)
- Roadbuster is an Autobot Deluxe Vehicle from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Roadbuster is a powerful and charismatic fighter. Usually armed to the teeth, he's an inspiration to other Autobots in combat and a natural leader on any battlefield. Outside of combat though, his natural ease and surety fail him. He simply doesn't know how to handle life out of combat. He becomes the quietest of the Autobots, grows withdrawn and depressed, and is easily bored. He counters this by spending most of his free time between battles either planning for the next one or "demolishing" any random Decepticons he can find. Some Autobots worry about what will become of the heroic and well-loved Roadbuster they know if the war ever ends. Combat truly is his life and without it, he might just fade away.
Roadbuster is a member of the elite Wreckers unit in, well, every universe he's been in.
- French-Canadian name: Cahot
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Roadbuster was a rather hardened soldier, deliberately feeding false information to an Autobot who had turned informant for the Decepticons, and stood by in the shadows while Shrapnel tortured the Autobot for the info and then executed him. Despite allowing this to happen, he still felt that even a traitor deserved better than that. Roadbuster took part in a training session with the rest of the Wreckers involving facsimile constructs. The training session was in anticipation of Operation: Volcano, an effort to assassinate some of the Decepticons' deadliest warriors. When Impactor decided that the Wreckers were going to bow out of Operation: Volcano, Roadbuster, Whirl, and Twin Twist took some down-time at Maccadam's Old Oil House. Both Twin Twist and Roadbuster felt distinctly uneasy about Impactor's decision. When a Decepticon by the name of Fang started bullying one of the bar's patrons, Roadbuster urged Twin Twist not to get involved. But Twin Twist trashed Fang anyway, coming to the realization that as Autobots, it was always their duty to stand in the Decepticons' way. Casting their doubts aside, Roadbuster, Whirl, and Twin Twist all decided to go ahead with Operation: Volcano. Likewise, Impactor was convinced by Emirate Xaaron to go through with the mission, despite his earlier doubts. Unfortunately, Volcano was a bust, leaving Impactor dead and Springer the new leader of the Wreckers. Target: 2006
Roadbuster was strangely absent from the Wreckers for awhile, but returned to take part in the so-called Time Wars. The Wreckers were forced to temporarily ally with the Mayhem Attack Squad in order to combat the combined threat of Megatron and Galvatron. The mission to eliminate the two powerful Decepticon leaders was a complete disaster, with most of the Wreckers and Mayhems meeting violent ends. For Roadbuster's part, he managed to blow off a chunk of Galvatron's face with an experimental Decepticon Pathblaster weapon. However, as Roadbuster took the time to celebrate his shot, the weapon's power core exploded, killing him. Time Wars
Marvel UK future timelines
In the year 2510, Roadbuster joined the Wreckers on Cybertron's northern front, where they finally exterminated the last Decepticon outpost, bringing the war to an end. Later on, Rodimus Prime called an official end to the war effort, and announced his plans to pass the Matrix on to Springer. The Decepticons were not totally gone, however—a deep cover agent named Triton lived on inside the Autobot ranks. In order to stir up discord, Triton challenged Prime's decision, declaring that Ultra Magnus was a better choice to carry the Matrix. Whirl manhandled the little creep to make him pipe down, but Triton punched the Wrecker to the ground. Roadbuster raised his gun in anger, but it was the Technobot Scattershot who fired first in defense of Triton and Magnus's reputation, blowing up Roadbuster's head. This disastrous turn of events led to a new Autobot Civil War between the forces of Ultra Magnus and Springer. Peace
Marvel books
Roadbuster was stationed on Earth. The Autobots' initially failed to stop a new plan of Megatron's to take millions of people hostage, but came back to fight again once they were repaired. Roadbuster blasted a hole in the Decepticons' fortress's wall so the Autobots could get inside. Battle for Earth
Dreamwave comics continuity
When Optimus Prime and Megatron went missing in a Space Bridge accident, Roadbuster was part of an elite force of Autobots known as the Wreckers who broke off as an independent faction, led by Springer. Much of their efforts were concentrated on keeping Ratbat's Ultracons contained inside Polyhex and away from the Tagan Heights, an area which contributed to a full 40% of Cybertron's manufacturing potential. They ran into more than a few difficulties with that defense protocol. The War Within: The Dark Ages
Much later Roadbuster, critically low on energy, was ambushed by a group of Decepticon Micromasters and defeated by them. A group of Autobot Micromasters led by Big Daddy intervened and managed to pull Roadbuster's inert chassis out of there, sparing him the indignity of having what little Energon that remained in his system drained. Destined For Nothing
During Shockwave's rule of Cybertron, Roadbuster was a member of the new Wreckers, a small unit of Autobots under Ultra Magnus's command, dedicated to keeping the peace wherever (and however) necessary. When Starscream released the Stunticons from their imprisonment in Cybertron's Detention Banks, the Wreckers were sent in to deal with the escapees. Unfortunately, both Roadbuster and Whirl were crushed before Magnus brought the Stunticon combined form, Menasor, down. Passive Aggression
IDW comics continuity
Before the war Roadbuster fulfilled his violent desires by being a member of the Kaon security services. However, while he attended mission briefings he seemed mysteriously absent from funerals and actual battles. Maybe he was actually an overly emotional pacifist back then. Megatron Origin issue #1
Many stellar cycles later, Roadbuster was operating in the elite Autobot special ops Wreckers unit. As a heavy weapons specialist, he carried more armament than an entire Decepticon Assault Group. He used this armament against the Decepticons holed up in their siege mode armature on the world of Varas Centralus in the Kol system. During the battle he handed Springer a comm-unit with an urgent call from Operations Command: orders from Optimus Prime himself redeploying the Wreckers to Cybertron. Stormbringer issue 2
After the Wreckers arrived on Cybertron, Roadbuster saved Nosecone and Afterburner from a group of Centurion droids, before having Whirl evacuate the two unconscious Technobots out of the area. After the Wreckers blasted their way into Bludgeon's base and very, very, very quickly defeated the cultists, Roadbuster and Whirl rescued Jetfire from where he and the other Technobots were being recycled into raw materials. Stormbringer issue 3 After Thunderwing returned to Cybertron, Roadbuster, Scoop and Broadside served as advanced scouts, watching the giant Pretender's activity. They legged it when Thunderwing unleashed a wave of destruction in memory of his failed attempts to convince Megatron and the scientific community of Cybertron to support his experimentation. As the battle was joined, Roadbuster's group tried to get Thunderwing's attention, but were blown away by a thunderous clap of his giant hands. Stormbringer issue 4
Much later, the Wreckers were called in by Hound's unit to fight Thunderwing on Corata-Vaz. Roadbuster was part of the vehicle mode ground assault, but all the Autobot combatants were blown away by the monster's ionic discharge. Spotlight: Hardhead Thunderwing eventually assumed his powered-up Ultra Mode, and Roadbuster poured hundreds of rounds into the being's left flank before Jetfire came up with an idea to take control of Thunderwing. Spotlight: Doubledealer
Jetfire managed to gain remote control using Bludgeon's old axis cradle trick, and the Wreckers slipped past to disable the Nega-Core that Thunderwing had been guarding. Jetfire eventually lost control and Thunderwing turned back to advance on Roadbuster and the others as they futilely poured firepower into the massive Pretender. Spotlight: Sideswipe
Some time later, more than half of the Wreckers were captured and imprisoned by the Decepticon commander Turmoil and his crew. The recently rehabilitated Kup led a rescue team that included Roadbuster to infiltrate Turmoil's ship. There, they ran into Drift, who was also trying to rescue the captured Wreckers. Roadbuster and the others managed to rescue their comrades and Kup formally offered Drift a spot on a new unit he was planning to form. Spotlight: Drift
Subsequently, Roadbuster appeared as part of the crew of the starship Trion, under Kup's command. Receiving a distress call from Hot Rod, Kup's team went to rescue him. They found Hot Rod being menaced by Bludgeon and the Monstructor Six. Bludgeon quickly commanded the team to merge into Monstructor and the gestalt easily brushed Roadbuster aside, knocking off his shoulder cannon. But Monstructor was soon thereafter defeated when Perceptor demonstrated his newly-honed sniping skills. Bludgeon opted to retreat in his ship and the crew of the Trion, now joined by Hot Rod, went in pursuit of the fleeing Decepticons. All Hail Megatron issue 15
The Trion was eventually lured into an enemy ambush, and had its defenses disabled due to its command codes having been gleaned from an Autobot traitor. Forced to crash-land, Roadbuster was stranded with the remainder of the ship's crew on the surface of Cybertron, using their former ship as a base of operations. They eventually met up with the demoralized crew of the incapacitated Optimus Prime. All Hail Megatron issue 5
After the Trion's crew had settled in, Ironhide and Roadbuster had a little chat outside, where Roadbuster revealed how frustrated he was that they had been taken down by the Decepticons without even a chance to shoot back. Noting Roadbuster's eagerness for a fight, Ironhide began to tell him something, but caught sight of a strange creature in the distance. It turned out to be an advance scout of the Insecticon swarm, and Roadbuster immediately notified Kup of its presence. All Hail Megatron issue 6
The Autobots soon relocated their base-camp, and in his vehicle mode, Roadbuster served as a mobile command platform for Kup to ride on and Perceptor to snipe from as they traveled. All Hail Megatron issue 7
After Optimus Prime was repaired and the Autobots prepared to make their final stand against the Insecticon swarm, Wheeljack removed and modified one of the Trion's cannons to be used as a mounted turret for Roadbuster to fire. Roadbuster was quite enamored with the weapon and wanted to give it a name. When the swarm attacked, Roadbuster managed to destroy quite a few of them with his new cannon. But eventually he was forced to shove the cannon off its mount to crush a few of the Insecticon horde as they scaled the walls of the Autobots' temporary fortress. All Hail Megatron issue 10
After the Autobots returned to Earth aboard Omega Supreme, Roadbuster jumped into battle alongside his comrades against the Decepticons. He grappled with Astrotrain and overpowered him, disappointed that the Decepticon turned out to be a "lightweight". Roadbuster was then blasted away by Megatron. All Hail Megatron issue 11
He survived though, and stood victorious behind Optimus Prime and the others as the Decepticons retreated. All Hail Megatron issue 12
Two years later, he was still on Earth. When Optimus Prime chose to surrender to Skywatch, Hot Rod and some like-minded individuals broke off from the main Autobot force to find a way off the planet. Roadbuster chose to stay behind with the remaining Autobots, who elected Bumblebee as their new leader. The Impossible Knot
At some unspecified point, an event known only as "the Roadbuster affair" occurred. It's one of Ironfist's favorite subjects in the entire history of the Wreckers. Last Stand of the Wreckers #1
Toys
Generation 1
- Roadbuster (Deluxe Vehicle, 1986)
- Accessories: Laser rifle, Linear Blaster Gun, Shrapnel Missile Launcher, 5 missiles, Control Pack (with 2 Handles), power pack, antenna, Infrared Range Finder, large wheel covers (left & right), small wheel covers (left & right)
- Roadbuster transforms into an orange and green cybertronic jeep armed with a large gun. In robot mode he can hold the jeep's gun, and also has another rifle resembling a real world M16 rifle, and a shoulder-mounted missile launcher. He also wears a large backpack that has a very tall antenna and two articulated handlebars slung beneath his arms. Oh, and mustn't forget the snap-on armor plating that hides the jeep's tires.
- For a toy of his size class, Roadbuster has an enormous number of accessories, of which the rangefinder for the jeep's gun may well be the smallest ever produced for any Transformer. Finding a loose complete Roadbuster can be very challenging—are you sure all the spare missiles are there? Better count again!
Universe (2008)
- Autobot Ambush (Voyager Deluxe Comic 2-Pack, 2008)
- Accessories: Close-combat blade, Key
- A Target exclusive redeco of Cybertron Cybertron Defense Hot Shot, Roadbuster transforms into a modified M117 Guardian Armored Security Vehicle, in the same green, orange, and brown color scheme as the previous Roadbuster. When a Cyber Key is inserted into the back of the turret, the two recoilless rifle barrels open up into dual (non-firing) missile launchers. Compartments on his shoulders and his thighs can also open up to reveal additional missile launchers, while the front bumper halves flip outward to reveal machine guns and more missile launchers. Roadbuster also comes with a dagger that stows between his legs in vehicle mode, and when in robot mode, the dagger can be hand-held, peg into the front of his fist, or be put away in a sheath on his leg.
- He is packed with Dirge (a redeco of the Voyager-class Cybertron Starscream) and a reprint of "Target: 2006" parts 5 & 6 (although the Canadian version had no comic included). Initial releases of the set have the wrong comic, using the The War Within: The Dark Ages issue "Escalation" meant for the Springer/Ratbat two-pack instead.
- This mold was also used to make BotCon 2007 Springer.
Notes
- Both Deluxe Vehicles were licensed from Takatoku Toys by Hasbro for inclusion in the 1985 line, and hence were not included in the Japanese line, the cartoon, or the US Marvel comics. Roadbuster was originally "Mugen Calibur" from the Dorvack toyline.
- What is simultaneously hilarious and sad is that although Roadbuster is listed as a "Ground Assault Commander" in his tech specs, he serves as an underling or even cannon fodder in every continuity in which he's appeared. It's possible that this was a typo in the style of Blitzwing, and that Roadbuster was instead supposed to be a Ground Assault Commando, but Roadbuster's rank of eight is closer to the "commander" range than Blitzwing's rank of six. You be the judge.
- The Transformers Generations guidebook mistakenly spelled Roadbuster's name as "Roadbaster". This would seem to imply that the cannon on his shoulder is loaded with piping hot giblet gravy.
- RoadBuster Ultra Magnus is a clear name AND colour homage to G1 Roadbuster.
