Beachcomber (G1)
| This article is about the Generation 1 Autobot. For the Energon Autobot, see Beachcomber (Energon). |
- Beachcomber is an Autobot from Generation 1 continuity family.
Warfare holds no interest for Beachcomber; he much prefers to take long, lone journeys into the vast expanses of desert wilderness and along the rugged coastal shores that occupy so much of the American landscape. Only in these places of such stark, natural beauty does he feel he can completely escape the conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons. Only in these places can he purge himself of the tensions that sometimes interfere with his operating efficiency, and relax. He's cool-headed, low-key, personable; he's what Earthlings would refer to as "laid back." But despite his feelings to the contrary, he never shirks his responsibility to fight for the Autobot cause when called upon. Deep down he knows that until his side wins there is no true escape, no matter how far he travels into the desert.
Beachcomber has a hard time reconciling his love of peace and freedom for all creatures with the need to combat those who threaten it. However just the cause for which it was fought, the gruesome and destructive aftermath of any battle sickens him to the spark. Mental stress can interfere with Beachcomber's performance, often making him vulnerable in combat situations.
Sometimes, when the internal struggle gets too heavy, he simply has to wander into the wilderness and cleanse his soul. Even there, far from civilization, he sometimes finds strange substances to aid the Autobot cause, for Beachcomber is a skilled naturalist, and geology is his specialty. He often tries to preserve or even hide these discoveries, but he has seen too much evil done by the ruthless Decepticons to conceal any possible source of aid completely from his allies.
In vehicular mode, Beachcomber has a range of 800 miles and is capable of traveling over very rugged terrain. He's equipped with various magnetic, ionic, electrostatic, infrared, and sonic sensors, among others, which enable him to accurately determine the chemical composition of any terrain he visits, and he uses this ability to locate vital resources for the Autobots. He can use his magnetic sensors to navigate like a compass, but local magnetic disturbances can cause this to lead him astray. His sonic probes possess only limited range.
Beachcomber is neither very fast nor very strong, and his antiwar sentiments gain him little respect from the more martial of the Autobots, yet he has an unusually high agility, which makes him an elusive target. He is also fairly skilled in a fight, and his courage is beyond all reproach.
Greek name: Agelioforos (Αγγελιοφόρος)
French-Canadian name: Déferlo
Fiction
Animated continuity
He showed up out of nowhere in Season 2. Once he found a lagoon full of Electrum.
He also appeared in group shots from time to time.
Marvel Comics continuity
Beachcomber was a member of Perceptor's resistance cell on Cybertron, and with several comrades was accidentally transported to Earth after the raid on Darkmount.
Find Your Fate Junior
AOTI Beachcomer had to find a path to the surface from the cave system the Autobots were trapped in. He explored the system of underground lakes, marveling at the many strange and things that lived there. While recharging the Sun-Pak on the surface, he was attacked by Kickback, and had to be saved by Sparkplug. How humiliating.
In the 'unsuccessful' ending to this multipath adventure, Beachcomber became lost when his magnetic sensors erroneously led him directly to Megatron. He did not regret this error for long.
Earthquake Beachcomber discovered Rumble practicing his earthquakes near a concealed base, and learned of a Decepticon plan to destroy nearby Central City.
Optimus Prime decides that such grave news requires a pinpoint response with utmost secrecy. ...so he sends the recklessly impulsive Windcharger, the bombastic Powerglide, and Beachcomber to babysit the other two.
Dreamwave comics continuity
Toys
Generation 1
- Beachcomber (Mini Vehicle, 1985)
- Japanese ID number: C-63
Beachcombers G1 figure was one of the smaller figures of the line standing a mere three inches tall. He's surprisingly show and comic accurate however. Dark blue makes up his legs, arms, and head, with grey for the upper legs and head lamps, and silver for the chest. He has limited articulation having only shoulder and knee joints. The figure came with no weapons. The figure came in several variants, one with Hasbro stamped across the left arm and one without (both of these versions had the Takara stamp on the back of the head), with and without the rubsign which had begun to appear that year, as well as with and without the minispy figures that debuted the rubsigns and were packaged with the various mini cars.
Generation 2
- Beachcomber (Mini Vehicle, 1993)
Generation 2 Beachcomber used the exact same mold as his G1 counterpart, however this time around the blue was replaced with a chrome green and the grey of the upper legs and lamps was replaced with neon red, the silver of the main body remained the same. This version had the copyright information stamped on its left arm. A rare variant exists that may have been a testshot run with grey legs. These figures were apparently given out internally by Hasbro as Christmas ornaments as they have been found bagged with a string attached and a card reading "Transformers Christmas ornament" on one side and "Merry Christmas from the Boys' Toys Marketing" on the other.
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