Smokescreen (Armada)
| The name or term "Smokescreen" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Smokescreen (disambiguation). |
- Smokescreen is an Autobot from the Armada portion of the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.
Few Autobots are as tough and steadfast as Smokescreen. He doesn't believe in giving up, and he's ready to lay down his life to defend the weak, be they Autobot, Mini-Con or human. Though he's ironheaded and unshakable in battle (and a little bit careless), showing no mercy to the Decepticons, around the base is another matter entirely. He's a kind, friendly bot who always seems to have a good word or good-natured joke ready.
This iron resolve only intensified after Smokescreen fell in battle from a near-fatal encounter with Megatron. Rebuilt entirely and now calling himself Hoist, his jovial moments come less frequently now, and his occasional lapses in judgment are a thing of the past. Even tougher than before, he sometimes quips that nearly dying was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Fiction
Dreamwave comics continuity
Dreamwave Armada comic
A million years ago, Smokescreen and Scavenger were guarding the entrance to the Loop when Hot Shot barged in, demanding to know where Optimus Prime. Smokescreen informed him that Prime was in the satellite room and asked if anything was wrong. All Hot Shot would say was that wrong doesn't begin to describe the situation. Armada #1 What had happened was that a group of renegade Cybertronians calling themselves "Decepticons" were attacking Mini-Con villages and capturing the inhabitants for some reason. While sifting through the rubble of Village C-52, Smokescreen lost his temper at the plight of the "poor little guys" and couldn't wait to get his hands on these Decepticon aggressors. Unfortunately, he got his wish when the Decepticon leader, Megatron attacked Cyber City, with his captured Mini-Cons re-engineered to Powerlinx with bulks, providing them great power. The Autobots were beaten up and forced to retreat. Armada #2
For a million years the civil war raged on; the once-proud Autobots struggled to defend themselves against the powerful Mini-Con-augmented Decepticons, who were in possession of Cybertron's only remaining Mini-Cons, the others having escaped at the beginning of the conflict. Hope came in the form of a Mini-Con Reactivation Signal sent from a distant world called Earth and the Autobots resolved to go there and fight for Truth, Justice and Freedom. Almost immediately after arriving on Earth, Smokescreen was destroying public property and suggesting that they simply smash their way across the planet to find the Mini-Cons, a plan that Scavenger agreed to, as Cybertron was their priority. This callous attitude earned them both a sharp, furious rebuke from Optimus Prime, who refused to stoop down to the level of the Decepticons. However, he also understood their frustration, telling them to save their anger for the Decepticons. Smokescreen apologised, as he was just longing for things to go back to the way they were before. Armada #4
Unfortunately for the Autobots, the Decepticons had already arrived and were chasing after Sparkplug's group of Mini-Cons and their human friends, Rad, Carlos and Alexis. While Optimus Prime kept Megatron distracted by trash talking the Decepticon's failure to defeat the Autobots with all of their power, Smokescreen snuck up and demolished the cliff face Megatron was perched upon with his head. This only succeeded in infuriating Megatron, who eventually got the upper hand in his fight with Prime when he powerlinked with all of the Decepticon Mini-Cons. Smokescreen tried to assist, only to have Prime thrown into him for his trouble. As things looked grim, Jolt's group of Mini-Cons arrived and powerlinked with the Autobots. Liftor linked with Smokescreen, giving him a mighty shoulder-mounted cannon. At a tactical disadvantage, the Decepticons were forced to flee. Armada #5
Soon after establishing their base, Optimus detected unusually high energy readings in the vicinity of Death Valley in California, and sent Smokescreen and Scavenger to investigate. After some time, they reported back that the Decepticons were readying to launch some sort of rocket. Unfortunately, the Autobots were occupied with a Mini-Con rescue operation in Alaska, so Laserbeak brought them orders to do whatever was necessary to stop the Decepticons... about twenty minutes after the rocket had been launched. Fire & Ice
After arriving back from Death Valley, Smokescreen and Scavenger found an extensively damaged Optimus Prime inside Autobase: Earth and rushed him to the medical bay. When the others returned from Alaska sans their Optimus Prime, together worked to save this Prime's life and find out what had happened to their Optimus Prime. Sadly, despite their best efforts, this Prime awakened momentarily to deliver a cryptic warning about the walls of reality crumbling and the coming chaos before dying. Worlds Collide, Part 1 of 4
When the Decepticons detected the Autobots searching the multiverse for Optimus Prime, Megatron launched an attack on Autobase: Earth, seizing the opportunity to hit the Autobots while their biggest guns was missing. During the battle, Smokescreen and Scavenger were the front-line defense sent to buy time, but were run off the narrow road they were on by Demolishor. Smokescreen tried to recover, but got blasted in the chest by Megatron's cannon at point-blank range. Worlds Collide, Part 2 of 4
Though the blast didn't kill him, it left him in critical condition. Worlds Collide, Part 4 of 4 He was taken to the Autobase on Cybertron for extensive repairs, though there was a fear he might never recover. During the final battle against Unicron, Hot Shot, Scavenger and Red Alert blasted Megatron into the Chaos Bringer to avenge Smokescreen. The End
Energon comic
Ten years later, Smokescreen returned to action with a new body and a new name, "Hoist". When thousands of Terrorcon clones attacked four Earth cities, Hoist was dispatched to handle the Divebomb clones invading Toronto as part of Hot Shot's unit. Multiplicity, Pt. 2
Armada cartoon
- Voice actor: Dale Wilson (English), Katsuhisa Hōki (Japanese), Gerhard Acktun (German), Håkan Skoog (Swedish)
When the signal released by the reactivation of the Mini-Con panels on Earth reached Cybertron, Optimus Prime quickly assembled a small team of Autobots to travel to the planet an investigate. As they were departing through the space bridge, Smokescreen came running through the crowd, intent on joining them. He leapt through the space bridge portal at the last second, just as it was closing, and as a consequence, was separated from his comrades and deposited on a different part of the planet.
Smokescreen was first encountered by the kids in a semi-abandoned subway complex, while they were helping the Autobots search for the Mini-Con Drill Bit. For some reason, Smokescreen did not make verbal contact with the humans, and instead decided to chase after them menacingly in vehicle mode, almost killing them with his crane hook. Only after the mission failed, with Cyclonus securing Drill Bit, did Smokescreen reveal himself, apologizing for scaring the children. Underground
Smokescreen went on to serve as a reliable and capable member of the Autobot team. In particular, his skills as a sniper through the use of his Powerlinx crane cannon were much valued for their ability to hit Decepticon aerial threats accurately most of the time. However, when the Race Mini-Con Team were recovered and formed the Skyboom Shield, Smokescreen was regularly assigned as being its wielder, changing his role in the unit from sniper to defender. Often, he would launch the Skyboom from his crane arm to his Autobot allies facing Megatron directly. Tactician
When Optimus Prime's old friend and informant Scavenger joined the Autobots, Smokescreen was the most vocal in voicing his distrust of Scavenger, whom he labeled a no-good traitor, and his overall dissatisfaction over Optimus's trust in the turncoat. He tried to convince fellow Autobots Red Alert and Hot Shot about Scavenger's alleged duplicity and lack of resolve during a battle. However, Scavenger's absence for the majority of the battle was due to a plan that only he, Optimus and Red Alert were privy to, and when Scavenger's involvement proved vital to the subsequent victory, all doubts Smokescreen had as to his teammate's loyalty were erased, forcing him to make an apology. Trust
When the awesome power of the Requiem Blaster was demonstrated, the Decepticons launched an all-out attack on the Autobot Base in a bid to seize the Space Mini-Con Team, who formed the weapon. Smokescreen was left alone in the base to guard the Mini-Cons while the rest of the Autobots counter-attacked their enemies. Unfortunately, Megatron created a diversion and broke into the base and wounded Smokescreen just as the Autobots realised they had been outmaneuvered and rushed back inside. As Megatron gloated and prepared to fire his new Mini-Con superweapon at the Autobots, Smokescreen used his towline to pull the Requiem Blaster's barrel away from his friends, toward himself, only for Megatron to fire it at point-blank range.
The terrible beam cut straight through Smokescreen, burying him into a wall, to the shock of everybody, including Megatron. Megatron then turned to Optimus Prime, intending to finish what he started, but Smokescreen staggered out of the hole and collapsed to his knees, his outer shell melting off its frame. As the dying Autobot reached out to the Decepticon leader, Thrust suggested that they retreat, and Megatron agreed. Smokescreen collapsed into a heap as Megatron warped away.
Optimus Prime cradled his soldier, who reported his failure to protect the Mini-Cons and went into stasis lock. Optimus Prime led the distressed Autobots into a military salute for their fallen comrade, before letting out a cry of anguish. Sacrifice
Red Alert rebuilt Smokescreen in a new body despite ninety percent of him being damaged and he returned just in time to stop Hot Shot and the recently defected Starscream from killing each other. He basically chucked boulders at them. Regeneration
He eventually decided to go by his toy's name. Miracle
Panini Armada comic
In the distant past, Smokescreen defended the main Autobot base on Cybertron from a Decepticon attack, and retreated when it turned out the base was lined with explosives. Counter-Strike!
Station on Cybertron while Optimus Prime went to Earth, Smokescreen and Scavenger were sent to the alien planet's moon by Jetfire to stop the Decepticons from searching for Mini-Cons there. Upon arrival, they didn't have time to do much other than complain about space bridges before they came under attack by Mini-Con-augmented Decepticons. The outgunned Autobots fled, but Smokescreen was shot and injured by Demolishor, who decided to end things by running him over. Luckily, the helpful Mini-Con Liftor showed up and power-linked with Smokescreen, allowing him simply to punch the Decepticon tank aside. With Scavenger also obtaining a Mini-Con of his own, the Decepticons gave up on the search and retreated. Between Two Worlds!
Later, the Decepticons returned to the Moon, where they constructed a base and planned to fire missiles at the Autobot base on Earth. Smokescreen and Scavenger were again summoned to help out (or maybe they never left the Moon to begin with), but the security around the Decepticons' missile silo was too much for them. However, the security around their space bridge controls was minimal, so the Autobots devised a new plan. When the missiles were fired, Smokescreen and Scavenger linked the Decepticons' space bridge to the Autobots' one on Earth, allowing them to transport the warheads straight back to the Decepticon base. Victorious, Smokescreen drove away as the base went up in flames. Earthshaker!
Lonesome Diesel
Smokescreen was part of the Autobot forces during a battle in Yellowstone National Park. After Optimus Prime warned that the area was too geologically unstable to battle in, he suggested that they find a more stable battleground. Lonesome Diesel
3H comics
A presumably alternate-universe incarnation of Smokescreen was engaged in a death-duel with a presumably alternate-universe incarnation of Primax Smokescreen within the Cauldron arena, deep inside the shattered remnants of Unicron. Both robots' minds corrupted by the dark god, crane-Smokescreen mercilessly killed car-Smokescreen, gaining in power, while Unicron fed on the defeated robot's released spark. Abduction
Toys
Armada
- Smokescreen with Liftor (Deluxe, 2002)
- Japanese ID number: MC-04
- Accessories: Missile
- Smokescreen transforms into a heavy Cybertronic truck with a large crane boom and tow-cable. Flipping a switch on his back end connects the tow-cable spool to his rear axle, reeling in the cable as he rolls in vehicle mode. Attaching a Mini-Con to the Powerlinx plug on his crane boom allows it to extend and unfold to almost three times its original length, forming a huge spring-loaded missile launcher. He comes with the Mini-Con Liftor.
- This toy proved to be one of the biggest shelfwarmers of the entire Armada line, with some lingering on pegs well into Energon's run.
- Grap w/ Lift and Race Microns (Multi-pack, 2003)
- Japanese ID number: MS-02
- Accessories: Missile
- In Japan, Smokescreen was available both as an individual and in a multi-pack with the Race Mini-Con Team. All of the toys in the set were identical to their individual releases.
- Smokescreen (Happy Meal, 2002)
- One of eight McDonald's Happy Meal Armada promotional toys, Smokescreen is an extremely simplified version of the Armada toy, transforming into a crane-truck. He features a "battle damage" gimmick where hitting a button on his front grill makes his crane-boom pop off, a gimmick similar to Happy Meal Demolishor.
- Hoist with Refute (Deluxe, 2003)
- Japanese ID number: MC-11
- Smokescreen returned in a new body with the name "Hoist", transforming into a Cybertronic excavator, with a new Mini-Con partner Refute (who, in Japan, was just the upgraded form of Liftor). Plugging a Mini-Con onto his right arm unlocks his shovel-arm punch attack. The feature remains unlocked until the block is manually returned to its latched position.
- The Takara version had a fairly significant color difference from the Hasbro version, replacing his dark brown plastic with a swirled, semi-translucent gunmetal.
- The same mold (with the molded Autobot sigil replaced by a smooth block for a sigil tampograph) is used by Universe Ransack. A heavily-retooled version of the mold is used by Cybertron Longrack and BotCon 2006's Darksyde Dinobot.
- This mold has a common misassembly error; his left arm's ratchet-joint is off a notch, preventing the arm from "clicking" to a proper level-with-the-ground position in vehicle mode.
- Grap Supermode w/ Spark Lift and Adventure Microns (Multi-pack, 2003)
- Japanese ID number: MS-07
- In Japan, Hoist was available both separately and in a multi-pack with the Adventure Mini-Con Team. All of the toys in the set were identical to their individual releases.
- Smokescreen w/ Liftor (Built to Rule, 2003)
- Accessories: Missile
- One of the smaller-scale Built to Rule sets, Smokescreen can be built from a truck-crane sorta resembling the original toy into a robot mode. His crane-arm contains a spring-loaded missile launcher. He came with a building-brick version of Liftor.
Universe
- Smokescreen with Liftor vs. Ransack with Refute (Battle in a Box, 2004)
- Accessories: Missile
- Smokescreen transforms into a heavy Cybertronic truck with a large crane boom and tow-cable. Flipping a switch on his back end connects the tow-cable spool to his rear axle, reeling in the cable as he rolls in vehicle mode. Attaching a Mini-Con to the Powerlinx plug on his crane boom allows it to extend and unfold to almost three times its original length, forming a huge spring-loaded missile launcher.
- Smokescreen was only available in a "market six" Battle in a Box set with his Mini-Con partner Liftor, against the Decepticon Ransack and his Mini-Con Refute.
Merchandise
Super Collection Figure
- Grapp (Colour, 2003)
- A soft-plastic PVC of Smokescreen was made for Act 10 of the Takara Super Collection Figure line in 2003. It came in both full-color and pewter-finish versions, one each per case of twelve.
- Grapp (Pewter, 2003)
Notes
- It is believed that the Hoist mold was originally planned to have a gear system that would activate gear-driven Mini-Con gimmicks (like those of Refute and the Adventure Mini-Con Team) when his shovel rod was pushed. This is supported by the gear gimmick on Refute, who is too big to fit onto Cyclonus. This is further evidenced on Hoist's card art, wherein the Mini-Con peg is missing from his left shoulder, with a Cyclonus-styled "clip" drawn where the peg would normally be on the finished toy. Oddly, the left arm was not the one with a gimmick.
- It is also believed that the Hoist mold was originally designed to be a separate character, but was changed to become a new Smokescreen body at the behest of Takara. Official confirmation or denial of this has not yet been obtained, however.
- The "S.D. 74" on the Hasbro version of the Hoist mold is an in-joke, according to Aaron Archer. He has pointedly and repeatedly refused to explain the joke, so its meaning remains a mystery. However, an explanation of sorts was offered at BotCon 2008: The marking evidently originates from an incident at the San Diego Comic Con involving an unfortunate mix of Hasbro employees, alcohol, and a construction crane. Whatever happened, apparently the Petco Park stadium was nearly not built because of it. Yowza. (How the 74 relates to this, exactly, remains uncertain.)
Foreign names
- Japanese: Grap (グラップ Gurappu)
- Hungarian: Füstfüggöny, Csörlő (as Hoist)
