Rad White
- Rad is a human from the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.
Bradley "Rad" White is your typical kid who's the son of brilliant scientists. He likes to ride his bike, he likes to explore caves, he likes to grab excitedly at radioactive things—wait, what?
Basically, Rad has a natural, insatiable curiosity about all things. Unfortunately, this curiosity goes unchecked when he's hanging out with his best friend Carlos, so it takes the watchful eye of the intelligent-but-much-more-reserved Alexis to keep them both out of trouble. His parents hope that some day Rad can channel this curiosity more productively.
Fiction
Cartoon continuity
Armada cartoon
- Voice actor: Kirby Morrow (English), Masataka Nakai, Akiko Toda (young) (Japanese), Christian Jernbro (Swedish), Vincent Barazzoni (French)
One day, Rad and Carlos went exploring into the caverns deep beneath the local observatory. Inside, they found the curious remains of a clearly artificial construction, seemingly far in advance of human technology. Against the advice of Carlos, Rad was drawn towards a glowing, green, pentagonal artifact half-buried in the rubble. When he touched it, the entire structure began to shake, suddenly springing to life as thousands of computers lit up the walls.
At home, Alexis felt the tremors and used her computer to pinpoint the epicenter of the apparent earthquake as the mountain caverns that Rad and Carlos were exploring. Similarly, the scientists and researchers at the observatory were baffled by the sudden movement of the Earth. As Rad and Carlos made their escape with the artifact, a bright light engulfed the chamber they were in, simultaneously shutting down all electronic equipment in Lincoln, as well as emitting three distinctly coloured distress signal beams into the sky.
One beam, green, reached an |ancient starship wreck on the dark side of the Moon, causing it to fire hundreds of smaller beams of green light at the Earth. The two remaining signal beams, coloured red and purple, continued deep into space until they reached a cold, distant, metal world.
Little did Rad know that he had unwittingly set in motion the next destructive phase in the great Transformers war, an endless battle of rage and hatred between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons. Thanks a lot, kid. First Encounter
The kids attempted to flee on High Wire, but were stopped by the arrival of Starscream and Demolishor. Demolishor tried to grab the boys, but they were saved by the arrival of Hot Shot and Red Alert. Rad fled back into the cave, calling Carlos and Alexis after him. Rad was sure they'd be safe there, but Alexis was concerned that the bigger robots might still follow them. High Wire led the three into a smaller room, to Alexis' further distress; Rad and Carlos, however, assured her that they'd be safer there. While in there, he accessed the ship's computer and the kids learned about the Transformer conflict.
At this point, High Wire activated a hidden storage panel, revealing Grindor and Sureshock, who bonded to Carlos and Alexis. They took their new friends out to play in the woods, but ran into Megatron. The timely arrival of Optimus Prime initially seemed to Rad and Carlos to make things worse, but when Alexis trusted the big Autobot, the boys did as well.
Optimus Prime took them into his cab and sped off to a distant location, where he set them down. Unfortunately, Megatron had followed close behind, and so Optimus had to combine with his trailer to fight him off Metamorphosis. The commanders' battle caused a landslide to fall on the kids, but they were shielded by Hot Shot. They then dug up some more Mini-Cons, but two of those were stolen by Cyclonus.
The Decepticons retreated, and so the kids and robots made proper introductions. Rad was particularly upset by the idea that he had started a massive war by reactivating High Wire
The next day at school, Billy grilled them over recent earthquakes; Rad and Carlos played dumb, while Alexis pointed out that if there was an earthquake, it would have been mentioned on the news. When Billy asked where Rad got his new bike, Rad claimed it was a birthday present from his grandmother. He and Carlos headed on up to the mountain; on the way, Alexis chewed them out for almost blowing their cover.
At the Autobots' base, Optimus Prime presented them with Laserbeak to aid them with their reconaissance work; right then, another Mini-Con was detected Base in the Big Canyon. The kids ran out with the Autobots, Rad falling slightly behind, and got spiffy new adventure suits on the way.
When they got to the canyon, Rad was initially left alone once again when Alexis and Hot Shot sped off, forgetting him. They came back, though. Hot Shot then sped off as fast as he could over the rough terrain, severely shaking up the two humans. Rad sent Laserbeak off to find the Mini-Con, and was himself chided by Alexis for being a coward.
When the Mini-Con was finally found, Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Starscream simultaneously tried to claim it. Rad gave a yell of concern, which inspire High Wire, Grindor, and Sureshock to combine into Perceptor, who managed to hold off both Megs and Screamer. Optimus Prime claimed the Mini-Con - who turned out to be his old partner, Sparkplug - and the kids helped dig up Hot Shot form where he'd gotten himself buried Comrade.
Later, they played tag with Hot Shot, which got him in trouble with Optimus Prime as he was supposed to be helping Red Alert install some equipment. They then went to find a new Mini-Con in Antarctica, where Rad and Alexis rode in Red Alert while Carlos went with Hot Shot. Red Alert ended up having to save Carlos and Hot Shot from Starscream Soldier.
Rad later came up with the sensible notion of bringing some camping supplies to the Autobot base in case they ever had to stay the night. Soon after he got them to the base, another Mini-Con was detected, and so the good guys all warped over to a forest. Carlos found a path that had been cut down by illegal loggers, prompting Rad to make a speech about how important it is to protect the environment.
During this mission, Rad used Laserbeak to find the Mini-Con, Swindle. However, the Decepticons also found him, and started a forest fire. At Rad's insistence, the Autobots temporarily broke off their search to protect the animals, allowing Starscream to make off with Swindle. Rad felt guily about this, but Optimus Prime assured him that his heart was in the right place Jungle.
Back at the base, the kids tried to wake up the dormant Mini-Con they'd found in Antarctica, but to no avail. Rad and Carlos fell for the old "pass me that spanner that's clearly too big for your species to lift" joke and, seeing there was nothing they could do to help, decided to take High Wire and Grindor to a local carnival, followed by Sparkplug, Longarm, and Jolt.
At the carnival, the boys were initially concerned that bringing five alien robots to a crowded area might blow their cover, but quickly came up with the idea of telling everyone they were super-advanced human-developed robots that would be available for purchase in the future. After a while, the boys tried to take the robots home, but it turned out that Billy and Fred were also at the carnival, and got suspicious. They tried to capture one of the Mini-Con, causing the entire situation to descend into slapstick farce.
They were saved by the timely arrival of Hot Shot, Sureshock, and Alexis, who managed to get things under control, swore Billy and Fred to secrecy, and gave the lads a good scolding. As punishment, Rad and Carlos had to clean up their quarters back at the base. Carnival.The kids later accompanied the Autobots to the Sahara Desert, and fell into a sand pit after an altercation with Demolishor. They found themselves in an ancient temple, where they were attacked by ancient guardian robots, but fortunately Demolishor was there to blow them up. Further into the temple, they found a Mini-Con storage panel; Carlos accidentally activated a trap, and Rad knocked him out of the way. After that, the floor collapsed, but Perceptor was able to rescue them. Demolishor got the Mini-Con Palace.
The next day, back in America, Billy and Fred pursued the three to the Autobot base. Rad, Carlos, and Alexis all tried to outrun them, but soon had to split up when Cyclonus attempted to capture them. Cyclonus chased after Rad, but was thrown off the trail by Laserbeak and so captured Billy and Fred instead, intending to hold them for ransom. They tracked Laserbeak to a ghost town, where the kids tried to rescue the bullies, but all ended up being captured by Megatron, who demanded Optimus Prime hand over all their Autobots' Mini-Cons in exchange for the humans' lives. Optimus Prime went through with it, but Megatron, naturally, refused to hand them over. However, Rad was able to use Laserbeak to free all the other humans, and Hot Shot was able to rescue Rad with Fred's surprising help Confrontation.
The day after that, when Hot Shot whined about having to do work on the ship, Rad facetiously offered to take his place. Before anything could come of this, however, a new Mini-Con was detected in a disused subway system. The kids accompanied the Autobots in their search and actually managed to find the storage panel; as soon as they did, however, Smokescreen, who had been discreetly following them, decided to attack.
A while after that, the Autobots received a transmission from Atlantis and took the kids with them to search for yet another Mini-Con. At the ruins, while the Autobots fought the Decepticons, the kids went inside to look around. A holographic display activated, and Carlos chased after the hologram of Amphitrite; Rad and Alexis followed. 'Amphitrite' gave them a canned history of Atlantis, focusing on how its inhabitants used the Star Saber to dominate the world, and were eventually defeated by another civilisation who wielded the Skyboom Shield. Despite this warning of the danger of the Mini-Cons' power, the kids decided to find the Mini-Con in Atlantis anyway, but it was claimed by Leader-1 for the Decepticons. Dejected, the kids left with Optimus Prime. Rad tried to comfort Carlos Ruin,and when they got back, mused that at last he knew what happened to Atlantis.
He asked Optimus Prime if there was any way to end the war with the Decepticons, to which Optimus gave him the origin of the war and what he knew of the Mini-Cons. Rad changed his line of questioning, asking if there was a way to fight without involving the Mini-Cons; Optimus responded that the Decepticons would use Mini-Cons to fight anyway, and so the Autobots had to do the same to prevent them from capturing any more than they alreadt had.
While searching for the Mini-Con of the week, this time on a volcanic island, Rad sent Laserbeak to look for it at Alexis' prompting. They found it, but it was carried off in a lava floe, and eventually claimed by Red Alert Prehistory.
After that adventure, the trio decided to give Billy and Fred a tour of the Autobot base, but were separated when the Decepticons attacked. Since the bullies were in danger of the automatic defenses, said defenses were shut off, allowing the Decepticons to penetrate deeper into the base that anyone would have liked. However, after a battle, the Star Saber was reassembled and in the hands of Hot Shot, so the day ultimately turned out all right Swoop.
The next day, Rad and Carlos tried to sort out the human quarters on the base while Alexis and Sureshock were out shopping. For some reason, the fridge was full of tools Overmatch.
When Alexis tracked down the next Mini-Con, the trio, plus Billy and Fred, rushed off with the Autobots to cheer them on; Rad and Carlos rode in Hot Shot.
Rad and Carlos were let out by Hot Shot so the Autobot could focus on fighting Cyclonus. At that point, Sideways arrived and dropped off Billy, who hugged Rad. Alexis arrived momentarily.
Back at the base, Alexis and Rad discussed Sideways. Both were deeply suspicious of him , but they decided not to raise their misgivings with Optimus Prime in case it turned out their first impressions were false Gale.
With Hot Shot feeling naturally depressed about this disaster, all five kids tried to cheer him up by making silly faces. They also accompanied the Autobots on their search for the next Mini-Con, andmanaged to find it at the same time as Blackout, and after a scuffle, it was taken by Scavenger for the Decepticons. Soon after, however, Scavenger came over to the Autobots, and revealed he had been a double agent all along Conspiracy.
In the aftermath of Sideways' betrayal, the trio weren't exactly eager to trust Scavenger. He seemed to be more interested in sleeping than mentoring Hot Shot, but when the kids tried to raise this with Optimus Prime, his explanation was cut short by the detection of still another Mini-Con. The Autobots warped off to somewhere with a lot of snow, while the kids observed from back at base. Scavenger heroically saved Optimus Prime's life, very nearly plunging to his own death, and so the kids (and Smokescreen) apologised to him for their earlier suspicions when he got back, Scavenger accepted with characteristic stoicism Trust.
At some point after that incident, the boys went on a camping trip with Hot Shot and Red Alert, forgetting to tell Alexis. Carlos, Fred, and Billy played in the water and invited a little boy named Shaun to play with them, while Rad tried his hand at fishing.
That evening, a storm blew in, resulting in a landslide which trapped Red Alert, Carlos, and Shaun beneath a massive pile of mud. Optimus Prime ordered Red Alert to transform in order to escape, but Rad expalined that there was a human news crew present, and so Red Alert transforming would completely blow the Autobots' cover. Hence, he deployed Laserbeak to distract the reporters while the rest of the Autobots rolled in and saved the day in their altmodes. Everybody returned to base post haste, where they found Alexis waiting with baited breath. Fond reunions were had be all Vacation.
All five kids were present at the battle in which Blurr made his first appearance. They tried to make friends with the new arrival, but he turned out to belong to the monosyllabic loner school of heroism.However, Blurr did mellow out a little when his refusal to work as a team led to the Decepticons getting their servos on Downshift, so it mostly turned out all right Reinforcement.
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Energon cartoon
- Voice actor: Kirby Morrow (English), Masataka Nakai (Japanese), Christian Jernbro (Swedish), Vincent Barazzoni (French)
By 2020, Rad had been shipped off to Cybertron and was working as an assistant to Dr. Brian Jones, presumably because he wouldn't shut up about the Transformers. Cybertron City
Much to Dr. Jones's chagrin, his daughter appeared to have a thing for Rad.
Eww...
Cybertron cartoon
In 2030, Rad, Carlos, and Alexis were still alive. They were present at the launching of the four ancient colony ships as they began the second attempt at a galaxy-spanning Space Bridge network.
Rad looked pretty damn dapper in a suit. Beginning
Dreamwave comics continuity
Armada comic
Rad was the one to activate the crashed Mini-Con vessel, bringing to life its crew and alerting the Autobots and the Decepticons to Earth. Armada #3 After being saved, Rad, Carlos, and Alexis, having bonded with the Mini-Cons, wanted to help, but Optimus Prime stated that they shouldn't be involved. Armada #6
Much later, Rad was made a prisoner of the Mini-Con Destruction Team, held captive on their moonbase and strapped to a bomb. Armada #9 He was saved in time, of course, Armada #11 then again told by Optimus Prime to stay clear of harm's way as the Autobots departed to confront Unicron.
Energon comic
Ten years later, after Kicker Jones and Alexis were captured by Terrorcons, and taken to Scorponok, the Autobots mounted a rescue effort. Rad snatched Alexis from the jaws of danger as the Autobots and Terrorcons battled before using his hovercraft to blow up the energon collection rigs. What Lies Beneath, Part Three
Rad later whined a lot about Alexis being worldly and active as a peace activist. She tried to say a tender goodbye, but he brushed her off and upset her. An attack from Battle Ravage caused a series of explosions that seem to eliminate Alexis, upsetting Rad. Multiplicity Alexis turned out to be alive, and he embraced her before urging her to get into his jeep to escape the destruction. Multiplicity, Pt. 2
Panini Armada comics
After accidentally dropping down a hole one day, Rad found the remains of a spaceship hidden underground. He brought Carlos with him to explore it, but ended up bumping into some machinery and reawakening the Mini-Con High Wire. After leaving the caves and meeting with Alexis, the kids tried to communicate with High Wire, only to come under attack from Megatron. They were saved by Optimus Prime, and High Wire grabbed Rad and his friends and took them to the other Mini-Cons. First Encounter! When he heard that the Mini-Cons weren't getting involved with the Autobot-Decepticon war again, Rad became angry—Optimus Prime was getting his aft handed to him by Megatron, and they were just going to abandon him? Rad decided to take matters into his own hands and confronted Megatron, offering to take him to the Mini-Con ship in exchange for sparing Optimus Prime. However, Megatron wasn't big on deals, and merely threatened to kill Rad if he didn't show him the ship right away. He ended up being saved by High Wire and the other Mini-Cons, who had changed their minds upon witnessing his feat of bravery. After Megatron had been chased off, Optimus Prime also complimented Rad on his courage, even if it hadn't been the smartest move. Friends and Foes!
Rad and his friends quickly befriended the Street Action Mini-Con Team and had a great time racing in the desert on them. Their fun and games ended when Optimus Prime ordered both humans and Mini-Cons to go get the locator log from the wrecked Mini-Con ship. When they found the log, they were attacked Demolishor, who incapacitated the Street Action Team. Quickly improvising a plan, Rad grabbed the locator log and hid it in an unstable part of the caves. When Demolishor followed, he accidentally caused it to explode, and was buried in the ensuing rockfall. Deep Trouble! Some time later, Rad was learning chemistry at school when the troublesome twosome Billy and Fred messed up his experiment behind his back. Not only did this get him into trouble with the teacher, but he also noticed that High Wire was sneaking around on the school grounds. Rad decided to bolt, and found that Carlos and Alexis had had similar problems with their Mini-Con friends trying to adapt to life on Earth. He didn't really mind the Mini-Cons' little mistakes, and promised to guide them personally. Just a Memory!
When the Autobots decided to send the Mini-Cons back to their home planet, Rad said he refused to let it "end like this", but didn't actually do anything about it. When Megatron arrived to put a stop to it, Rad tried to trick him that the Mini-Cons were already gone, so he might as well leave too. When Megatron made it clear he wouldn't leave Earth just because some five or six Mini-Cons went home, the plan was canceled and the Mini-Cons remained on Earth. No Way Back! Some time later, Rad caught wind of Sparkplug's plan to save the Mini-Cons held in the Decepticon headquarters. He thought it was a stupid plan, and convinced the Autobots to send a shuttle to stop him. Into the Lions' Den!
During another race around the desert, Rad and his friends were interrupted by Starscream, who would very much like to capture the Street Action Team. High Wire threw Rad off of him and told him to get help. When Rad expressed doubt that the Street Action Team could stand up to Starscream, the three Mini-Cons proved him wrong by combining into Perceptor. In the aftermath of the battle, an impressed Rad was hi-fiving with High Wire when they were suddenly approached by a man named Amos Hume. The Two-Edged Sword Amos explained that he had been given a message by a Mini-Con long ago, which Rad didn't find too hard to believe. After introducing Amos to the other Mini-Cons, the kids and Autobots used the message he had received to locate and rescue the Land Military Mini-Con Team. Sale of the Century!
Legends anthology
One Halloween, the kids attempted to explain the holiday to their three Mini-Cons, and ended up taking them Trick-or-Treating. Rad explained they could t.p. the houses of people who didn't give them candy. Something Robotic This Way Comes
Associated characters
- In the Dreamwave comic, Rad's unnamed parents, Mr. and Mrs. White (Dr. and Dr.?), work at the Cosmoscope Research Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
- In the animated series, they looked totally different.
Notes
- According to the now-defunct TV Tokyo Micron Legend website, Rad was 12 years old at the start of Armada. The page also stated that he enjoyed outdoor sports, and implied that Optimus Prime gave him Laserbeak as a personal possession.
- The Transformers Armada Official Guidebook backs up that Rad was 12 years old at the start of Armada, and that he enjoyed outdoor sports, specifically on his BMX bike.
- Rad's catchphrase "I'm here to tell you about the Transformers!" (sometimes varies as "I want to tell you about...) is from his introductory narration during the main titles sequence of the earlier episodes of Armada. Needless to say, this became rather repetitive after twenty or so episodes.
- Rad has the unfortunate penchant of saying '"Wicked Sweet!", usually when something impresses him greatly. It is quite possible that by 2010 this will be an acceptable form of slang. Alternately, perhaps Rad was from Boston originally.
