Impactor (G1)
| This article is about the Generation 1 Wrecker. For the Allspark Almanac-only Animated character, see Impactor Major. |
- Impactor is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Impactor is the legendary former leader of the Wreckers, an elite Autobot strike team, and as such is a deadly force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. His body is covered with weaponry, from the tank cannon on his shoulder, to the missiles hidden in his chest, to the handgun strapped to his leg, and finally his signature harpoon weapon that replaces his right hand. His audacity and resolve is what puts him in the history books, for better or for worse.
Impactor's first officer, Springer, is inevitably his replacement, once terrible things occur. Springer's feelings regarding his filling of Impactor's immense shoes are always a source of angst. Just when Springer thinks these emotions are dealt with and buried, Impactor somehow returns to mix things up again.
Fiction
Marvel Comics UK continuity
After the departure of Optimus Prime, Megatron and their troops from the war, Emirate Xaaron assigned the Wreckers to assassinate the warlord Trannis, who came into power in Megatron's absence. Impactor was chosen to lead this team. Though the assassination attempt was successful, other leaders quickly sprung up to take Trannis' place.
Though Impactor was dedicated to his troops, he was not so dedicated to his superiors, and was not above directly insulting them. Emirate Xaaron took this attitude in stride, and could give as well as he received. Impactor referred to the Autobot resistance leader as a "wily old buzzard," as he was often surprised by Xaaron's blunt yet indirect ways of making his point and getting what he wants. Despite this, their difficulties masked a genuine friendship.
Countless years later, after Optimus Prime and his Autobots had awoken on Earth, Impactor and the Wreckers were responsible for executing Operation: Volcano, a planned ambush of the Decepticons' fiercest warriors using Xaaron as bait. Ultra Magnus was assigned to the Wreckers to help them bolster their ranks for the mission, but he was quickly needed to travel to Earth to investigate the disappearance of Optimus Prime. Impactor's commitment to the mission wavered and he at first refused to deploy his team without Magnus there as back-up, but he changed his mind after a conversation with Xaaron. Impactor's doubts were further quelled when Xaaron convinced him that Springer, Broadside, and Sandstorm were an adequate replacement for Magnus, which Xaaron accomplished by having them disguise themselves as Decepticons and beat Impactor up. Operation: Volcano was once again on track.
Xaaron, the bait for the Wreckers' trap, was placed according to plan, but suddenly Megatron called his warriors to Earth, overriding all other commands, including the planned ambush on Xaaron. Disappointed that their trap was ruined, the Wreckers let down their guard long enough to allow an assassin named Macabre, ignoring Megatron's orders, to fire upon Xaaron. Impactor was the first to react and pushed Xaaron out of the way, taking the shots meant for the Autobot underground resistance leader. Immediately, the other Wreckers turned and fired upon Macabre, killing him, but Impactor was fatally wounded. With his last words he named Springer the next leader of the Wreckers before dying in Xaaron's arms, again calling him a "wily old buzzard." Target: 2006
Impactor's death would haunt several other Autobots for some time to come. Though he sought to deny it, Ultra Magnus felt guilty for not returning to Cybertron in time, and this led to his taking an excessive approach when dealing with Optimus Prime, whom intelligence reports stated was a traitor. Under Fire! Subsequently Magnus found a fight with Megatron proved the opportunity to release his pent-up aggression over Impactor's death. Resurrection!
Springer was also severely affected by Impactor's death, and felt inadequate in the shadow of his legacy. So when a rogue Autobot scientist named Flame discovered a way to reanimate dead Transformers, Springer was crippled from action when he was met with the reanimated corpse of Impactor. Legion of the Lost! His route to the kidnapped Wreckers and Xaaron blocked, he reluctantly fought his predecessor until Springer managed to jar Impactor into remembering his past life. Impactor sacrificed his life again when he stopped Flame's reactors from destroying Cybertron. Meltdown!
IDW Generation 1 continuity
 Plot details for Chaos Theory part 1 follow. |
Before the war, Impactor was friends with fellow mine grunt, Megatron. Impactor thought Megatron's nonviolent solutions to Cybertron's class warfare were cute, and reminded him that there would always be a pecking order, no matter how large or small the equation. Megatron's naivete were underscored when the lowly Rung was ganged up on by a much larger pair of Transformers and tossed across their table. Impactor, drunk, got up to deal with them the only way he thought mattered. Though Megatron was at first put off by Impactor's violent intent, he too ultimately joined in. After defeating the two upper class thugs, Megatron was questioned and Impactor, who was damaged pretty badly, was taken to Deltarian Medical Facility. Chaos Theory part 1
Impactor was the original leader of the Wreckers as well as their longest-serving member. It was he who coined the phrase "Wreck and Rule!" while saving Xaaron at the Sonic Canyons. Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2 Impactor personally approached Springer in the midst of battle to recruit him into the Wreckers. Springer was impressed, but didn't realise at the time that it was all a scripted part of the Wreckers mythology, and that Impactor never gave him a choice. Dead Men's Boots
After a long string of suicide missions, Impactor became an alarmingly obsessed individual, especially regarding Squadron X, the team Megatron assembled in answer to the Wreckers. Impactor felt indirectly responsible for the atrocities Squadron X committed.
Impactor was inspired to replace his hand with a harpoon weapon after a run-in with a dimension-hopping "freelance peacekeeping agent." He picked up the nickname "Kiloton" for the number of Decepticons he slaughtered at The Battle for Hell's Point. Over time, his mental state became increasingly unstable, something both his superiors and his fellow Wreckers chose to ignore. Impactor's psych-screening
After chasing Squadron X across the galaxy, the Wreckers' rivalry with them came to an end on the planet Pova. The Wreckers, however, found themselves in a bad way after Impactor's first officer, Springer, was trapped under some collapsed rubble. Despite Springer's pleas, Impactor used Springer's own body as a shield against Squadron X's advancing troops, firing through it. This helped turn the tide, and the Wreckers rounded up all of Squadron X for transport offworld. Unfortunately, Impactor snapped when Prowl told him that Pova was neutral territory, and that he was ordered to set them free or else the Autobots would face diplomatic repercussions. Impactor personally executed every member of Squadron X while they were restrained. Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5
Springer testified against Impactor, and the disgraced Wreckers leader was imprisoned on Garrus-9. A cover story for what happened on Pova was released which involved Springer suggesting Impactor fire through his torso and Squadron X later escaping their restraints, necessitating their execution. Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4 As extra punishment for refusing to show remorse for what he'd done, Impactor was not granted the mercy of spark removal, and instead was imprisoned normally. In jail, they called him "the Autobot that went too far". Last Stand of the Wreckers #2 As Impactor was dragged to his cell, Springer said something he didn't want to hear, something he would dwell upon for the length of his incarceration: Squadron X deserved to die, but that didn't give Impactor the right to kill them. Last Stand of the Wreckers #5
Twenty years later, Overlord seized control of G-9, and Springer's Wreckers were sent to liberate it. Springer was trying hard not to think of Impactor. Last Stand of the Wreckers #1 However, the Decepticon Snare, wanting Overlord gone, released Impactor from his cell in the hope he could escape the planet and get help. Last Stand of the Wreckers #2 As the current-day Wreckers arrived at Garrus-9, a decrepit Decepticon dropship blocked their path. It exploded before their eyes, but not before the battered form of Impactor ejected from the craft. Appearing before the shocked Wreckers, Impactor sneered, requesting to be let aboard. Last Stand of the Wreckers #1
He filled the new Wreckers in on the situation and how he'd escaped, while continuing to clash with Springer. He not only refused to recognize his former soldier was now in charge, he snarled that he used to think Springer would've done the same thing Impactor himself did on Pova...and was now sickened that Springer wouldn't. Conflict aside, Springer knew Impactor was needed for the mission. Given a new harpoon/hand, he was placed in Springer's drop-team and deployed to G-9...and he recognized, with visible glumness, the name of their secondary objective, "Aequitas".
Descending towards G-9 in two ejected escape pods, they met with tough Decepticon resistance. Despite their maneuvering, Impactor's ship was the first to go down, though the other wasn't far behind. Last Stand of the Wreckers #2 After their crash-landing, Impactor led them towards where the Autobot prisoners were being held. Cell Block G was directly below him, best he recalled, but Twin Twist's drilling only sent them tumbling into a large, empty chamber. At the bottom, Impactor found the twisted remains of Kick-Off, whom he regarded as one of the few guards who treated G-9's prisoners with respect. Their presence in this chamber signaled G-9's defenses, and after he, Springer, and Twin Twist were electrocuted, they woke up strapped to tables in the care of Stalker. A sadist, Stalker grabbed his tools of torture and gleefully went to work on them. Last Stand of the Wreckers #3
Unlike Springer and Twin Twist, Impactor had grown used to the Decepticons' methods in the time since their takeover of G-9, so he alone managed to stay online during Stalker's "work". Twin Twist was looking terrible and mangled, and Springer had just woken up when he and Impactor began talking about their murky past. Impactor accused Springer of betraying the Wreckers with the testimony against him, while Springer was surprised to learn that Impactor still had no remorse for what he'd done. So long as Impactor refused to realize that he'd done wrong, their feelings were at an impasse.
Stalker returned with a new torture device, but his work on Twin Twist was interrupted when his brother Topspin sacrificed his own life elsewhere, extinguishing both sparks. Disappointed, Stalker turned his attentions to Impactor, but was again interrupted. Kup, Guzzle, and the turncoat Decepticon Snare blasted into Stalker's lair. Snare was mortally wounded in the following skirmish, and Stalker was killed. As Snare lay dying, Impactor questioned him, wondering why the Decepticon had saved them. Snare told them that Overlord was on his way and asked that he himself be killed, which Impactor did curtly before Snare could finish his final words.
True to Snare's last warning, Overlord arrived with a boom. Unknown to them, elsewhere, the other half of the Wreckers had completed their objective by hacking the supercomputer judge Aequitas and downloading it into Ironfist's brain. They were surrounded by Decepticons whom they could easily deal with if they simply signaled all the deterrence chips in their heads, killing them. But they knew this would also kill Impactor, who was also an ex-prisoner, and so his and their fate came to a vote. Perceptor voted for killing him for the sake of many, Pyro voted against, and...Ironfist, Impactor's greatest fanboy and new host to Aequitas's judgment of Impactor, came to the sad realization that his hero very much deserved to die. Last Stand of the Wreckers #4
Fortunately for Impactor (and the Wreckers), Verity Carlo convinced the others to spare Impactor. After Overlord pulled Guzzle apart and used the pieces to put Kup down, Impactor removed Overlord's eye with his harpoon. In response, Overlord stomped Impactor into the ground, forcing him offline.
When Impactor came to, Overlord had been reduced to a flaming skeleton facing only the fragile Verity Carlo. Impactor blasted Overlord's arm off and attacked him, but Overlord had lost the will to fight, as he'd learned that Megatron had perished, robbing Overlord of his final showdown with him. Overlord beckoned Impactor to kill him, but Impactor refused. In honor of Springer, whom Impactor thought had died, the former Wreckers commander promised that Overlord would serve trial as a criminal, and himself finally came to terms with the crimes he committed on Pova.
Impactor was pardoned in exchange for his help retaking Garrus-9, and he immediately left for parts unknown on a shuttle with the repaired Guzzle. Last Stand of the Wreckers #5
Notes
- According to Dreadwind in issue #221's letters page, Impactor transformed into an "earth-boring vehicle". In the letter page to issue #238, Dreadwind clarified that he transformed into a drill tank but didn't have an earth mode. Later, in Last Stand of the Wreckers, he transformed into a non-drill tank. Later still, but earlier in IDW's timeline, he gained a drill replacement for his hand.
- In the Marvel comics, Impactor's right hand can be interchanged for a harpoon. This emulates the wrist-launcher gimmick found in many Diaclone-based toys. He is frequently seen carrying a club which looks an awful lot like a gun barrel, and which may be a gun attachment for his right arm; but being Impactor, he only ever uses it to smack guys around.
- Impactor was the one Wrecker in Last Stand who was never going to die! [1]
References
- ↑ Moonbase 2's AA2010 interview, 21:22
