Strafe (G1)
| The name or term "Strafe" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Strafe (disambiguation). |
- Strafe is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Strafe is a really nice guy, one of the kindest, gentlest mechanoids you could ever hope to meet, and he's a crack shot with his heat-ray rifle, too. It's said that Strafe can burn a hole in a screw head (size not specified) from two miles away. Too bad he can't tighten up the loose screws in his own cranial module, though. He's got a case of nerves that could very well cause Red Alert to fear for his job security, and when startled he tends to SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT FIRE FIRE BANG BANG BANG KILL KILL KILL IT DEAD DEAD DEAD without stopping to aim or analyze the threat, and doesn't quit until he's shot down or runs out of heat-ray charges. Sometimes, though, all is quiet... too quiet... and he doesn't like that, either. SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT FIRE FIRE BANG BANG KILL KILL KILL...
He can combine with the other Technobots to form Computron, and seems to make a rather calm limb. Sometimes he's a Targetmaster, in which case his partner is Rocketbot.
| “ | I mean, we got us some fast action! Hard action! Action hard and fast! Action to get the old pumps pumpin'! Action to — HUH? — YAHOOOO! | ” |
—Strafe, always excitable, "Money Is Everything" | ||
- French-Canadian name: Mitraille
- Italian name: Rocketbot
- Russian name: Shtraf (Штраф, "Fine")
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Strafe was part of Fortress Maximus's group of Autobots on Cybertron. Ring of Hate! When Fortress Maximus decided to leave the war and head to Nebulos, Strafe and the other Technobots agreed to follow him on his quest for peace, which would have done the high-strung fellow a world of good. Alas, the Decepticons followed the Autobots to Nebulos and brought the war with them. Broken Glass! In the Nebulan resort city of Splendora, Strafe and the Technobots fought Abominus as the combined Computron. Love and Steel! Though Abominus (and its component Terrorcons were defeated, Splendora lay in ruins. The Autobots and Decepticons ultimately left Nebulos for Earth. Brothers in Armor!!
Strafe fell bravely (and rather instantly) in the defense of Buenos Aires against the Underbase-powered Starscream. Dark Star
Marvel UK future timelines
In 2008, Strafe and several Autobots under the command of Ultra Magnus responded to a mysterious call for help on Cybertron. Astonishingly, the call came from the Decepticons. Even more astonishing, it was genuine. Strafe and the Autobots joined forces with their Decepticon counterparts in driving a marauding crew of Quintessons off the planet. Space Pirates!
After Time Wars rebooted future history, Strafe was next seen stationed at Autobot City in 2009. When the Autobot shuttle from Cybertron crashed down instead of landing safely, Strafe flew out to help alongside Blaster, Perceptor and Afterburner. Shadow of Evil What they found was Autobot commander Rodimus Prime, aglow with evil and possessed by the living malice of Unicron that had infected the Matrix a year earlier. Strafe was apparently killed in the resulting conflict before Rodimus regained control of his actions. White Fire
In another future, the last Decepticon was destroyed by Springer and the Wreckers in 2510. However, the Autobots soon came to blows over a misunderstanding, and war broke out again almost as soon as it ended. Strafe and the Technobots formed a new faction under Ultra Magnus against the Wreckers. Peace
Cartoon continuity
Generation 1 cartoon
- Voice actor: Steve Bulin (English), Kōji Totani (Japanese)
Strafe was created,like the other Technobots, by the temporarily super-intelligent Grimlock. Grimlock's New Brain Less than a week later, he and the other Technobots were sent to Earth to learn how to interact with humans, where they encountered the unscrupulous trader Dirk Manus and his business partners, the Quintessons. Money Is Everything
Along with the other Technobots, Strafe attempted to drive away the Terrorcons away from Dr. Morgan's lab, but was unsuccessful in preventing them from retrieving a heat-resistant alloy. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1
Strafe was at Autobot City with his fellow Technobots and the Throttlebots, talking about what a glorious day it was, and about how every day had been a glorious one ever since they ended the threat of the Decepticons once and for all, and the days would continue to be glorious as long as... okay, you know what's coming. The Rebirth, Part 1
The Headmasters cartoon
In 2011, Galvatron staged a major attack on Cybertron. Strafe and the Technobots joined the Dinobots on the front lines of defense. Four Warriors Come out of the Sky As Hot Rod began his search for the Matrix of Leadership on Earth, Ultra Magnus gathered Strafe and the Technobots to prevent the Decepticons from hampering his quest. When Hot Rod finally located the Matrix, Galvatron confronted him with the Decepticon Headmasters and Terrorcons, but the Technobots arrived to help even the odds. Scattershot ordered them to form Computron, and the mighty giant occupied the Decepticons so that Hot Rod could make a break for the Space Bridge. Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime
Later, Galvatron launched Metamorpho, a gravity-twisting meteorite, and the Aerialbots were its first victims. Strafe and the Technobots were sent out to recover their damaged comrades for repairs, but they were intercepted by the Terrorcons. The fighting escalated with new arrivals on both sides, as the Decepticons tried to keep their foes occupied until the meteorite reached Athenia, destroying the Autobots completely. The Battleship Maximus eventually arrived to carry the Headmasters into space to confront the meteorite, and so Strafe and the Technobots formed Computron and covered their retreat. Approach of the Demon Meteorite
When a giant carnivorous plant took root in San Francisco, Ultra Magnus sent Strafe and the Technobots to deal with the incident. The plant proved to be extraordinarily resilient, however, and it was also guarded by the Decepticons. The Technobots were distracted by combat with the Stunticons, first as individuals and later combined as Computron and Menasor. Head On!! Fortress Maximus After the Trainbots ran into trouble on Mars, Strafe and his team were on the way to help when Sixshot and Trypticon intervened. The Earthbound Decepticons succeeded in occupying the Technobots so that they couldn't make it to Mars. Explosion on Mars!! Maximus Is in Danger
Strafe and the Technobots were part of a strike team that flew to the moon to disrupt Scorponok's gathering of Decepticons. They immediately formed Computron upon entering the battle. Return of the Immortal Emperor Strafe's regiment later helped load the Trainbots with energon supplies for the destitute planet Sandra. They were attacked by the greedy Decepticons and fought back both as the mighty Computron and as individuals, using the Trainbots' large vehicle modes as a shield. SOS from Planet Sandra
The Technobots accompanied Fortress on his quest to prevent the Decepticons from stealing energy elsewhere in the galaxy. During this extended mission, Strafe and his teammates formed Computron to battle Predaking on the planet Paradise. Head Formation of Friendship
After returning to Earth, Strafe and the Technobots reassociated with Ultra Magnus at Autobot City on Earth. They were sent to Miami to counter a Decepticon attack, and battled Abominus as Computron. Unfortunately, the attack was a ruse to draw them away from Autobot City, and they were unable to stop Sixshot's assassination of Ultra Magnus. Ultra Magnus Dies!! The Decepticon attacks continued even after Magnus's death, as Sixshot launched five separate strikes at once around the world. Strafe and the Technobots were dispatched as Computron to one of the many battle sites. The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg When the Decepticons seemingly abandoned Earth, Strafe and the Technobots assisted Spike in rebuilding the planet after the enemy's departure. On one occasion, they located Sixshot's old command base. By combining into Computron, the Technobots helped Defensor and Raiden obliterate the base, wiping out all trace of the Decepticons' presence. Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 1)
As part of Computron, Strafe participated in the Autobots final battle with Scorponok's Decepticons at the North Pole. He lent his energies to the Headmasters' Head Formation to revitalize Fortress Maximus at the critical moment. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)
IDW comics continuity
Strafe and the other Technobots crew the Autobot vessel Calabi-Yau, under the command of Jetfire. Strafe was nervous about landing on the burnt our surface of Cybertron, but accompanied Jetfire, Scattershot and Lightspeed on a reconnaissance mission. Just as they were about to leave, they were captured by Bludgeon's group of Decepticon. Stormbringer #1 Strafe survived the techno-cannibalization being performed by the mad cultists and helped uncover the key to defeating the revenant Thunderwing. Stormbringer #4
S-Strafe had a n-noticeable s-stutter.
Sometime later, in the aftermath of Monstructor's attack on Omega Supreme, the Technobots and the crew of the Ark-27 arrived to take the combiners into custody. Spotlight: Optimus Prime They brought them to the Garrus-9 facility, where they tried to reform the Decepticons and rid them of their "group consciousness". Before the Technobots could make much progress, the Monstructor components were stolen during a Decepticon attack. Spotlight: Arcee
As the threat of the Expansion came to light, Strafe and the Technobots used Bludgeon's Pretender technology to make shells to protect Autobots from the hazards of the Dead Universe.Spotlight: Doubledealer Using the Nightbird, they then saved the crew of the Mirror-Manifold and gave them the shells. Spotlight: Sideswipe
Toys
Generation 1
- Strafe (Technobot, 1987)
- Team ID number: TK3
- Japanese ID number: C-87
- Accessories: "Heat Ray Rifle", 2 "Light-Pulse Blasters"
- Strafe transforms into a Cybertronic "rocket plane" (according to his instructions) with twin front-mounted "light-pulse blasters". These cannons can also be used as hand-held weapons in robot mode, making him the only Technobot that can use his vehicle-mode weapons in that manner. As a Scramble City-style combiner, he can form the limb to any similar-construction super robot, though his nominal placement is as the left arm of Computron.
- Later individual releases of all five Technobots were retooled to remove their rubsign indents. There is also a packaging variant for all four small Technobots, which included a random bonus Autobot "Decoy" mini-figurine.
- Computron (Multi-pack, 1987)
- Japanese ID number: C-91
- Accessories: "Heat Ray Rifle", 2 "Light-Pulse Blasters"
- All five Technobots were also made available in a complete gift set in multiple markets. The gift set versions are identical to their individual releases.
Generation 2
- Strafe (Cyberjet, 1995)
- Accessories: 2 missiles
- For Generation 2, Strafe was given an altmode much more closely conforming to traditional aircraft designs. As a redeco of the Decepticon Cyberjet Space Case, he is a foward swept wing fighter resembling the X-29 and Su-47 Berkut experimental aircraft. His right arm has a launcher that fires pressure-launch missiles. These missiles store on the undersides of his wings in vehicle mode.
- This toy was released with no deco changes (but with an extra decal sheet) in Japan as the former-Decepticon-turned-Autobot Strafe. This mold was also used for the 2004 Universe version of Space Case and Robot Masters X-Gunner.
Gentei! Gentei!
- Strafe (Deluxe, 2009)
- A redeco of the 2008 Universe series Cyclonus toy, replacing the purple with white, the three shades of gray with red, orange, white, and black, and clear red with colorless clear plastic. Strafe transforms into a Cybertronic starfighter. He comes with a partner figure named Rocketbot who transforms into a blaster that can be mounted on the vehicle mode's back or plugged into Strafe's wrist sockets to emulate the Headmasters style of Targetmaster connection.
- Strafe is an exclusive for members of the Transformers Basecamp web site in Japan, which is itself exclusive to those who own a Transformers-themed Visa credit card. The ordering period for Strafe ran from March 2nd through April 30th in 2009. Though his cardback and bubble placard are new, he comes with Cyclonus's instructions and comic/catalog.
- This mold was also used to make "Shattered Glass" Cyclonus and a cartoon-accurate version of Universe Cyclonus from the Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong Fair-exclusive "Challenge at Cybertron" set.
Notes
- In some printings of Stormbringer, Strafe's stutter occasionally pops up in Scattershot's lines. (Maybe it's contagious?)
