Trailbreaker (G1)
- Trailbreaker is an Autobot in the Generation 1 continuity family.
It's hard not to like Trailbreaker. He's a good humored cheerleader, always ready with a joke or comment to lighten the mood when things get dark. Sadly, Trailbreaker's joking is often a cover for his low self-esteem. His form is the most fuel consumptive of the Ark crew and his vehicle mode is very slow, as such he feels like a useless drain on their limited resources. The Autobots know better of course, Trailbreaker's good humor, bravery, and impenetrable force field are all of great use, but convincing him of that is hard, especially when he begins to mope about his handicaps.
- French-Canadian name: Glouton
- Hungarian name: Ösvényvágó
- Italian name: Tuono
- Preliminary name: Guzzle
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
- (Note: Events in italics occurred only in the Marvel UK books.)
Trailbreaker was part of Optimus Prime's original crew, crashing to Earth four million years ago aboard the Ark.
Trailbreaker joined a detachment of Autobots investigating robot sightings in Merry Ol' England. After making contact with a young boy named Sammy, the Autobots were caught by surprise when the Seekers fire-bombed them from the sky. Trailbeaker was blasted before he could activate his force field. Like a freakin' drama queen, he went offline whimpering "It's no good. Everything's gone...just plain ruined..." Man of Iron!
Like many Autobots, Trailbreaker was too low on fuel to join Optimus and the others in what would've been their climactic battle with Megatron's forces, and was taken prisoner without a fight when Shockwave assumed command of the Decepticons and the Ark. He was revived after Ratchet and the Dinobots reclaimed the Ark, however. When the Autobots went to recover Optimus Prime's head and restore their leader to functionality, Trailbreaker was one of many Autobots caught off-guard by the False Prime created by Shockwave, and was shot down before he could raise his force field. Prime Time!
On another occasion, the Dinobot Swoop was under the control of a human scientist and attacking the Autobots. Trailbreaker jumped in his path and tried to wrestle the pteranodon to the ground. Instead, he was lifted up and slammed into the cliffside...'cause he never turned on that force field. The Icarus Theory! During the Dinobot Hunt, Trailbreaker joined Brawn and Mirage in hunting Snarl among the sands of the Black Rock Desert. They managed to collect him virtually without a fight once Snarl wandered into a secret miltary base and unleashed a molecular disintegrator bomb that ended his rampage. Dinobot Hunt
When Galvatron and his future Decepticons arrived in the present, the Autobot chain of command was crippled as Optimus Prime, Prowl, and Ratchet vanished and Jazz was taken prisoner. Jetfire attempted to rise to command, accepting support from Ironhide and Smokescreen, but the Autobots were simply outclassed. Trailbreaker was part of a group of more than a half-dozen Autobots who collectively failed to bring down even one of Galvatron's lieutenants. In desperation, the Autobots turned to Megatron himself (who had quickly been disposed of by Galvatron when he first arrived) as a temporary ally and battlefield advisor. Under the Decepticon's direction, the Autobots staged a trap for the lone future Decepticon Scourge in order to weaken Galvatron's power base. Unfortunately, Scourge's enhanced sensors detected the trap almost immediately, and his acid ray nailed Trailbreaker THROUGH a wall before the battle even began. (Too early to have activated that force field, huh?) Scourge was ultimately brought down, but Trailbreaker was left inactive for days until Ratchet was restored to the present and able to repair him. Target 2006
Well, he was up and about soon enough, and accompanied Prowl and Jetfire on a mission to stop the Decepticons from accessing a NASA space transmission facility, only to get knocked around helplessly by Dirge, and beaten to the ground long enough for the Decepticons to escape...all because he didn't turn on that slaggin' force field to protect himself. Remember, Trailbreaker? The force field? You're not built for speed, or energy efficiency; you were built for power, specifically that one power that makes you special and unique. Or is it "just plain ruined" these days? The Gift
Trailbreaker's role in the war soon became greatly reduced, and was more than likely destroyed by Starscream during the Underbase Saga. Dark Star!
Animated continuity
- Voice actor: Frank Welker (US), Ken Shiroyama (Japan)
Trailbreaker was part of the bridge crew of the Ark spaceship when it blasted off from Cybertron to search for new sources of energy four millions years in the past. When he was awakened in 1984, Teletraan-1 reformatted him so that his alt-mode was a terrestrial Toyota 4WD camper truck. Trailbreaker accompanied his fellow Autobots on their first mission to stop the Decepticons on Earth -- a mission that took him to an off-shore oil rig. The Decepticons plundered the rig for energon, and destroyed it, leaving it a flaming wreck that endangered its human crew. Trailbreaker used his force field to contain the fire, while Wheeljack used his built-in fire suppression systems to douse the flames. More Than Meets the Eye, Part 1
Later, Trailbreaker served as a spy despite his stated function as defensive strategist (Mirage was apparently busy that day). He, along with the humans Sparkplug Witwicky and Spike, camped out near the Decepticon headquarters and eavesdropped on their plans to raid the ruby mines of Burma. More Than Meets the Eye, Part 2
When the Dinobots attempted to demonstrate their newfound 'finesse' to the other Autobots, Slag accidently set fire to the Ark, threatening Teletraan-1. Thinking quickly, Trailbreaker projected his force field over the Autobot supercomputer, allowing Inferno time to extinguish the blaze. Dinobot Island, Part 1
After that, a Decepticon coup by Starscream, Astrotrain and Blitzwing resulted in the city being flooded. Trailbreaker used his force field to protect himself, and a small group of Autobots from a large tidal wave. Triple Takeover
In storyboards for the movie, Trailbreaker's dead body is seen at the end of the Autobot City battle. However, this didn't make it into the final film, leaving his status after the battle up in the air just like any other character who didn't appear.
Dreamwave comics continuity
Trailbreaker was present under the command of Grimlock at the battle of Altihex the Decepticons destroyed a building full of neutral Cybertonians. Unable to save the city, the Autobots helped evacuate civilians before retreating.
When Decepticon Military Operations Commander Shockwave led a force of Decepticons against the Autobot capitol of Iacon, Trailbreaker was among the Autobots who defended the capital.
When Decepticon leader Megatron and Autobot leader Optimus Prime disappeared in an accident with a space bridge, the Autobot and Decepticon forces splintered into smaller factions. Trailbreaker stayed with the Autobots under the leadership of Prowl. He was part of the group of reinforcements that helped battle the giant Trypticon.
Trailbreaker was among the Autobots who followed Optimus Prime on his mission on board the Ark. They were attacked by Megatron's ship, the Nemesis. After being boarded the Ark crash landed on Earth, where all on board were preserved in emergency stasis. In 1984 a volcanic eruption awakened the Ark's computer, Teletran-I, and it repaired all on board.
Eventually the combined forces of the Autobots on Earth, and their human allies were able to capture the Decepticons. In 1999, ship called the Ark II was built to take the Cybertonians back to Cybertron, along with some human companions, but the ship exploded shortly after takeoff. The human allies were killed, but the Cybertonians were lost in the ocean, again in stasis lock. Prime Directive, Part 1 Three years later, Spike Witwicky assisted the US 'Defence Ministry' to reactivate Optimus Prime by placing a piece of the Matrix into his chest. Optimus traveled to a remote Artic shoreline (where he was found after the crash) and used the Matrix to revive Jazz, Mirage, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Superion, Trailbreaker and Wheeljack. Prime Directive, Part 2
Shortly afterwards, the Autobots assisted the US military in rescuing the survivors of the Smitco Oil Refinery attack. When Optimus Prime learned the attackers were Autobots and Decepticons under the control terrorist arms dealer Adam Rook, he asked his Autobots to accompany him to fight for Great JUSTICE. Trailbreaker was among the Autobots who agreed to come along, stating that Prime all but needed to point him in the right direction. Trailbreaker participated in the battle at Rook's destroyed base when the General Hallo double-crossed them and attempted to destroy all the transformers with a low-yield nuclear weapon. Prime Directive, Part 3
After the Autobots extracated themselves from the nuke-absorbing hardened virus shell, Trailbreaker helped recue the captive Autobots Megatron was using to fuel his technovirus. After Ironhide informed of Megatron's imminent attack on San Francisco, the Autobots flew there and engaged the Decepticons. Trailbreaker smashed Grimlock in the face with a steel girder and informed the former Dinobot commander that he made the wrong choice and was now going to pay. Unfortunatly, Superion was taken down by the Seekers and Devastator, prompting Trailbreaker to join Optimus Prime, Sideswipe and Megatron in a moment of dull surprise as they gaped at Devastator as if they had never seen him before. Prime Directive, Part 4
As Jazz and the Autobots in Canada were preparing to deal with the technovirus, Trailbreaker frantically radioed them for backup, reporting that Superion was down. As he was distracted, Devastator attempted to stomp of the Autobot. Trailbreaker caught the foot in time, but was crushed into the pavement. He was later retrieved and placed into restraint by the Decepticons as Megatron attempted to convince Optimus Prime to join his cause to wipe out the humans and rule the universe. Prime Directive, Part 5 After Optimus Prime manages to free the Autobots with a assistance from human firefighters, Trailbreaker resumes his assault on Grimlock by sending him flying with a punch. After Superion sacrifices himself to save San Francisco from General Hallo's unauthorised nuclear strike, Trailbreaker calls Optimus over after he and Sideswipe discover the abandoned Grimlock under rubble. Prime Directive, Part 6
Months later, the united Cybertronian army arrived on Earth, demanding the surrender of all combatant Autobots and Decepticons. Trailbreaker suffered serious injuries battling Ramjet and the Seekers, and had to be placed in a CR chamber for repairs on the flight back to Cybertron. He fought alongside the Ark's crew and the various insurgency groups on Cybertron to reclaim Iacon for the Autobots and force Shockwave out of power. War and Peace Afterwards, he joined Prowl and the rest of the Ark's old crew in returning to Earth to work on the construction of a new Autobot City.
Binaltech
Trailbreaker was one of many Autobots who suffered from an outbreak of the Cosmic Rust virus after the Decepticons unleashed it on Earth. He was supposed to receive a new body thanks to the Central City Institute of Technology, but the Decepticons managed to infiltrate the Binaltech Project. Through the use of hypno-chip controlled spies and pawns, Trailbreaker's new body was hijacked and used to upgrade the Combaticon known as Swindle instead.
IDW Comics continuity
Trailbreaker is a specialist called in by Springer to safely extract a deranged Kup from the planet where he had crash-landed. The planet possessed a radiation which was dangerous to Transformers without special protective covering, which Kup, in his delusions, believed were monsters trying to attack him. Trailbreaker's force fields allowed him to walk on the planet without any protective gear, and successfully convinced the old bot that he was trying to help him. This also marks the first time he accomplished anything of note since 1985. Spotlight: Kup
Universe
Trailbreaker and fellow Autobots Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Roulette and Shadow Striker arrived on the newly technorganic Cybertron roughly one year after the events of Beast Machines. They were welcomed by the surviving members of Optimus Primal's band of Maximals, including Rattrap, who offered to share a vintage keg of Maccadam's Old Oil with the Autobot veteran. Unfortunately, Trailbreaker did not have an opportunity to take Rattrap up on his offer, because immediately afterwards, he and his associates were abducted by Unicron and teleported to the Cauldron. There, they were rebuilt against their will into new bodies... except Trailbreaker, because why mess with success?
Toys
Generation 1
- Trailbreaker (1984)
- Japanese ID number: 25
- Trailbreaker was part of the original 1984 assortment of Autobot cars released in the first series of Transformers. His mold was originally a Diaclone Toyota 4WD Hi-Lux camper truck.
- In robot mode, both of his lower arms are projectile launchers, able to load and fire either his fists or his projectiles consisting of two silver rockets and two silver 'twin blasters'.
Other attempts
There are quite a few more recent Transformers toys that were at one point in their development supposed to be a new form for (or tribute to) Trailbreaker, but so far all of these have become other characters with other names, most likely due to Hasbro's inability to secure the trademark.
Trailbreaker's appearance in the 3H Universe comics stems from early plans to release a Trailbreaker redeco of the Robots in Disguise X-Brawn mold as a convention exclusive in 2003. Reportedly, Hasbro themselves also had the same idea for the mass retail Universe Deluxe assortment, but due to the aforementioned reasons, the toy was ultimately givven a different deco and released as Autobot Ratchet instead.
Later, a redeco of the Robots in Disguise Spychanger Ironhide was released as a Wal*Mart exclusive under the Universe banner, a black pickup truck with the distinctive red and yellow stripes from Trailbreaker's original toy. But, ultimately, this toy would be released as Ironhide instead.
The next attempt was in the Alternators line, the toy that would eventually become Swindle and later Rollbar. A retool of the Hound Jeep Wrangler toy, its head is a cross between the original Trailbreaker toy's helmet and the cartoon model's face, surprisingly similar to Dan Khanna's rendition of the character in 3H's Universe comics. A black and white version of a proposed color guide for the unreleased Trailbreaker version of the mold was depicted in the Japanese Transformers: Binaltech & TF Collection Complete Guide book.
Finally, the Cybertron Autobot Overhaul was originally going to be called "Trailbreaker", and the head mold was to have more elements from the Generation 1 character's design. But these plans were again scrapped, but the character's upgraded form, Leobreaker, retains the "breaker" portion of the name, since "Leohaul" sounds really silly.
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