Runamuck (Cybertron)
| The name or term "Runamuck" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Runamuck (disambiguation). |
- Runamuck is a Decepticon from the Cybertron portion of the Unicron Trilogy.
Runamuck was very very bored during the years Megatron was gone. Having served under him as a spy and messenger for centuries, the peacetimes under Autobot rule gave him little opportunity for his brand of fun: blowing stuff up.
With most of Cybertron's population on Earth due to the appearance of the Unicron Singularity, Runamuck has been given a chance to cause some real havoc, knowing that the Autobots are forbidden from revealing themselves to the inhabitants of the haven planet. He likes striking human settlements directly under the nose of the hidden Autobots and relishes their frustration in not being able to use their robot modes to stop him.
He was once hog-tied by Swindle.
- Japanese name: Runabout
Fiction
Cybertron cartoon continuity
Runamuck was assigned to the Upstart by Megatron, operating under Brushguard's command while they searched the galaxy for more Cyber Planet Keys. Their search took them to Combatron, a world devastated by conflict between more than a half-dozen factions. The factions had beaten themselves into extinction nearly 350 megacycles ago, but some of their hardware still existed. The Decepticons uncovered a massive bunker heavily guarded by corpses, which spoke to the possible riches inside. After using Swindle as bait to draw out any traps, Brushguard sent Runamuck in to...knock. With his Cyber Key firmly in place, Runamuck's strength increased by a factor of 10, and his fists turned into burning pistons of injustice. After giving the doors a tremendous battering for several minutes, Runamuck used the hole he had punctured to tear open the doors. Behind the door was a virtual treasure trove of death -- weapons and armaments of all possible varieties, just ripe for the taking. Runamuck found a pair of still operational Mini-Con panels, and shared his find with Buzzsaw. Runamuck's new partner, Skidmark, gave his fists another powerful boost.
When they finally encountered the Autobots, the 'Cons were backed by an army of newly-minted Decepticlones. Runamuck and Skidmark took off after the Velocitronian speedster, Blurr. After an exciting chase scene, they finally drove him off the road. Capturing most of the Autobots, the Decepticons were on the verge of victory before some local Mini-Cons stole their shuttle...and the missing Autobot Armorhide crashed their shuttle straight down on the Decepticon position. Runamuck and the other Decepticons were left behind on Combatron for three weeks waiting for pick-up...with nothing but Hardtop's supply of comic books to keep them entertained. Force of Habit
Sometime later, Runamuck had joined the crew of the Kalis' Lament, a Decepticon space pirate ship under the rule of Captain Cannonball. Learning of an Autobot shuttle that was shot down over Sandokan, the pirates were interested in retrieving the Force Chip the Autobots had aboard. After sending an independent contractor named Astrotrain in to trigger any traps or defenses, Runamuck and Cannonball's pirate crew confronted Sandokan's malicious guardian, Synthos. Distracted by this powerful foe, however, the Decepticon pirates missed the stranded Autobots sneaking aboard their shuttle, and Runamuck once again ended up stranded on a distant planet waiting for pickup. Some 'Cons never learn... The Dark Heart of Sandokan
Toys
Cybertron
- Longrack / Runabout (Multi-pack, 2005)
- Japanese ID number: GS-02
- Accessories: Gun, Earth-planet Cyber Planet Key
- A retool of the Armada Autobot Side Swipe, Runamuck transforms into a Nissan Skyline R32 street car with exposed engine block. Inserting a Cyber Planet Key into his engine activates his spring-loaded transformation to "dragster" mode. In robot mode, this becomes individual trigger-activated arm-mounted attacks. In both modes, he can store his rifle in his rear-window compartment (which can also store the Mini-Con Nightbeat mold). The mechanism for the Mini-Con Powerlinx-activated left-arm "punching" gimmick from previous versions of the mold is still present, but may not work at all due to mold-wear. He came with a silver-bordered Earth-style Cyber Planet Key, plus an all-new, non-firing hand-weapon.
- In Japan, he was only available in a double-pack with Longrack. He is one of the very few regular-retail Galaxy Force toys to not appear in the cartoon.
- Though the other versions of this mold included a Mini-Con partner, no release of Runamuck had one. The Mini-Con partner mold was released only in the Galaxy Force Micron Booster wave as Gauge.
- The pistol and dagger from the other versions are also omitted, likely because the Cyber Key used up their portion of the plastic-per-item budget.
- Runamuck (Deluxe, 2005)
- Accessories: Gun, Earth-planet Cyber Key
- Sold individually by Hasbro, this version is identical to the Takara release, save his Cyber Planet Key, which has the Cyber Key Code "dw3e" tampographed on its back.
Universe (2008)
Cybertron Series
- Battle for the Cyber Keys (Figure multi-pack, 2008)
- Accessories: Cybertron Autobot Cyber Key
- An unchanged Runamuck was re-released alongside similarly unchanged Longrack, Buzzsaw, Blurr and a redeco of Armada Deluxe class Optimus Prime in a Sam's Club-exclusive box set.
Trivia
- Runamuck was originally created by Takara as an homage to the Generation 1 Decepticon Runabout and had that name. But for his Hasbro release, he was given the name of the G1 character's similarly named partner, "Runamuck", due to inability to secure the trademark on "Runabout".
- The online version of Runamuck's Hasbro bio is different from the card-back version; while the front half is the same word-for-word, the final portion of the online bio places him on Cybertron, causing trouble for Longrack.
