Frenzy (G1)

The name or term "Frenzy" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Frenzy (disambiguation).

Frenzy is a Decepticon Mini-Cassette from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Frenzy is blue, but the sound effect's still confused.

For Frenzy it's not about any "Decepticon cause," it's not about any quantifiable cause, or goal, or purpose at all. It's about violence, fear, destruction, and mayhem. Frenzy lives to fight. He lusts to destroy with an intensity that borders on insanity. War is his fuel, his oxygen. Despite his small stature he'll lead a charge into battle against robots many times his size, screaming for destruction with every microchip of his being. This single-minded obsession makes him a hard bot to associate with personally, but a frightening asset on the battlefield. His partner and brother, Rumble, is only too eager to back him up.

Frenzy's manic attack style and his "battle cry" (a sonic attack produced by special drums in his torso that can severely disrupt electrical flows, resulting in all sorts of mechanical malfunctions and balance issues) make him difficult to get close to in combat, but cool and measured reaction to his wild ragings is usually the most effective strategy.

His nickname is Maddog.

“	Yeah, let's kick tailgate!	”
—Frenzy, bravely preparing to blindly attack Devastator, The Transformers: The Movie

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Generation 1

Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.

When the crew of the Nemesis boarded the Ark four million years ago, Frenzy was among the warriors who took the fight to the Autobots. Their battle was interrupted when Optimus Prime threw that fateful switch and crashed the ship into the planet below, leaving all on board inactive until the volcano they crashed into exploded in 1984, shaking the repair systems back online. Frenzy and the other Decepticons abandoned the Ark immediately, and began making plans to claim the planet's vast resources. They began by disassembling a nuclear power plant as raw materials for a vast fortress on an Oregon cliffside. Power Play! They then kidnapped a local mechanic (and potential friend of the Autobots) named Sparkplug Witwicky to devise a method of transforming Earth fuel into a form they could properly intake. The Autobots came to rescue their friend, and so Rumble and Frenzy confronted the enemy. Rumble attempted to disable their foes with some seismic tremors, but the burly Brawn fought through the shaky ground to punch out the "junk punk" Decepticon. Enraged, Frenzy used a sonic blast to disable the Autobot, and carried his brother back to the fortress for repairs. On the way, though, they encountered Gears and Spider-Man infiltrating the base, and were tripped up by some webbing, taking them out of action. Prisoner of War!

Frenzy and Rumble were repaired several days later, after Shockwave arrived and took control of the Decepticons from Megatron. The New Order Though he didn't particularly care which master he had to serve, Frenzy was still a robot of action. Shockwave's slow and methodical approach to conquest grated on Frenzy's nerves and, after several days of inaction in a hastily-occupied aerospace assembly plant, Frenzy was climbing the walls. He threw a temper tantrum in front of their human slaves after overhearing on the news that G.B. Blackrock had designed a new "anti-robot cannon" to take back his plant. Shockwave nearly bit his head off for the insubordination (or rather, he would've had Buzzsaw do it), but Starscream stepped in and suggested a day out for mayhem and carnage would be good for troop morale. However, their attack on Blackrock was interrupted not only by Jazz and Wheeljack (who had recently made a protection deal with the business magnate in exchange for fuel), but also the neophyte robot hunter named Circuit Breaker. Things got too hot for the Decepticons, and they fled. DIS-Integrated Circuits!

Good plan, Buster.

It got a little confusing to be a low-ranking Decepticon for a few months after that. Shockwave was tossed into a bog by Optimus Prime, and Soundwave briefly took command before Megatron returned as well. This led into a period where Soundwave, the cassettes, and Seekers would sometimes serve Shockwave, and other times Megatron, often without even informing the respective commanders that they were pulling "double shifts". Frenzy in particular got the short end of the stick when he was ordered to accompany Shockwave to the Decepticon's old fortress. Supposedly their mission was "salvage", but Frenzy clearly saw Shockwave was on edge because of Megatron's rumored return. Frenzy was sick of dealing with this balancing act, and really wanted a chance to hit something. He was given a chance, because Buster Witwicky was also spoiling for a fight. The young human had been given a robot suit by Wheeljack and Ratchet so that he could protect himself. Looking for a chance to prove himself after Prime tried to shut down the project, Buster came to the old fortress and spotted Frenzy. He shot the Decepticon in the back, but even the littlest Decepticon could easily shrug off Buster's onboard weaponry. Only by employing an echo cell Wheeljack had installed did Buster survive, reflecting Frenzy's own sonic power back at him. Still, that HAD to be humiliating. Robot Buster!

On a subsequent mission, Frenzy accompanied Megatron and several others in an attack on the unguarded Ark. Unfortunately, they ran into the Autobots' new defense system, by the name of Omega Supreme. Frenzy was one of a half dozen Decepticons who didn't walk away from that fight, and was taken prisoner by the Autobots for an extended period of time. Command Performances! He was eventually recovered by the Constructicons who, under Ratbat's orders, used a major Decepticon assault on the Autobots as cover to sneak aboard the Ark and retrieve their fallen comrades. Totaled!

In the UK comics, Frenzy revived earlier than he did in US stories, coming back online in late 1986. This was during the period that Galvatron first travelled to the past. Frenzy (along with Thundercracker and Shockwave) was thus soon shunted off to Limbo when three Autobots also travelled to the 20th century to deal with the future Decepticon. When he was returned, he remained active amongst the Earth Decepticons. Since as far as the US strip was concerned he was still dormant in the Ark during this time, he only appeared in original UK stories for some time, presumably forever 'just off camera' in the reprints of US material. When the Constructicons' retrieval of the fallen Decepticons was reprinted in the UK title, the name-label on Frenzy's box was edited out.

Frenzy's revival did him little good, however, as he remained largely unheard from for the next few years.

Generation 2

You think your health plan's bad?

Like most Decepticons, Frenzy was among Bludgeon's warriors until Megatron resumed command of the Decepticons. He was part of the team assigned to revive and rebuild Darkwing, who had been all but destroyed by Megatron while defending Bludgeon. Tales of Earth Part Three He was on the Warworld's bridge when Jhiaxus's Cybertronian forces attacked and reported to Soundwave that the combat sequencers had been disabled. Total War! He apparently took an escape pod down to the surface, because he was seen on Earth during the fight with the Swarm. In final combat, Wheeljack cooked up a way to supercharge Frenzy's sonic powers and fend off their attacker. The feedback overloaded his body, destroying him. A Rage in Heaven!

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Transformers cartoon

Voice actor: Frank Welker (English), Keiichi Nanba (Japanese), Ken Yamaguchi (Japanese, The Transformers: The Movie only), Roberto Alexander (Latin American) (see note below regarding Japanese cartoon)

Wait Soundwave, it's not what it looks like! He just fell, and I was helping him up.

Frenzy first saw duty on Earth shortly after Cybertron was pulled into Earth's orbit. He was performing some menial work in the Decepticons' base, and voiced his discontent with the workload, requesting Skywarp's job instead. When Skywarp stomped on Frenzy in return, Frenzy threw the Seeker into a wall, where he was pummeled in the face by Rumble. Countdown to Extinction

Frenzy proceeded to accompany Rumble upon occasion during missions. He also traded in his "battle cry" for a pair of piledrivers exactly like Rumble's, and talked practically the same way. The two of them were part of Megatron's attack on New York City, where they faced off against a group of Autobots in Central Park. Frenzy later tried to ram a train into Bluestreak and Hound, but his vehicle was blown apart before he reached them. City of Steel

Megatron would later take Frenzy and Rumble with him to help take control of a fleet of oil tankers by using circuit linker cards connected to TORQ III. Frenzy was then assigned to defend the force field generator around the oil platform where the Decepticons were emptying the tankers, but failed in this task when he was distracted by Skyfire taunting him, letting Hound sneak up and destroy the generator. Day of the Machines

Frenzy took part in the Decepticon attack to steal the human-built ninja robot Nightbird, raining rapid-fire laser death down on the humans while Rumble used his pile drivers to shake things up. Enter the Nightbird

Frenzy and Rumble later accompanied Soundwave on a mission to secure the Negavator for the Decepticons. They failed, but not before A.) Frenzy single-handedly tackled Optimus Prime and B.) Rumble nearly disintegrated him with that oh so indiscriminate Negavator. All in all, a very interesting day for Frenzy. Auto Berserk

Frenzy can be briefly seen aboard Megatron's drone-plane-mothership griffin, driving it alongside Rumble. Aerial Assault

"Frenzy's going for the ball...he's at the 30, the 20, the 10... when the quarterback sacks him from behind on the 1 yard line! It's unbelievable! The crowd is going—" "Will you shut up and FIGHT?!"

In 2005, Frenzy was involved in the assault on Autobot City. He joined Rumble, Ratbat and Ravage in preventing Blaster's distress call to the Moonbases. After swarming over Blaster and Perceptor like scraplets, however, Blaster unleashed his Mini-Cassettes to even the score, and Frenzy got into a fistfight with Eject.

After Megatron was defeated, the Decepticons fled Earth aboard Astrotrain and Starscream tossed their injured commander into space, a fight for control of the army broke out. Soundwave called the Constructicons inferior, Hook called him uncrazamatic and, well... it got ugly. Rumble and Frenzy popped out just as the Constructicons began to merge into Devastator (slag, Astrotrain is roomy) and turned their piledrivers on the floor to upset their combination ritual (slag, Astrotrain is sturdy). This Decepticon Civil War was shortlived, however, as Starscream assumed command by the time they reached Cybertron. The Transformers: The Movie

Japanese cartoon continuity

The events of the Generation 1 cartoon occur in Japanese continuity as detailed above, save for one major difference: the Japanese dub of the cartoon fixes the production error that switched Rumble and Frenzy's color schemes by switching the characters' names! Thus, it is the blue Frenzy who shows up frequently, and the red Rumble, voiced by Keiichi Nanba, who appears only sparingly and experiences the events related above. Japanese continuity proceeds to insert many new storylines and events in, around, before and after the events of the Generation 1 cartoon, as covered below. In the name of consistency with the American cartoon, this article considers the red robot in these events to be Frenzy.

Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers comic

In the late 1980s, the Decepticons tried to frame the Autobots for attacking Earth by giving the Stunticons fake sigils and sending them on a mayhem spree. Dressed in snazzy robes to hide their identities, Frenzy and Rumble then began fanning the flames by preaching openly against the Autobots in human cities. Their cover was blown, however, when Inferno and Hot Spot washed the fake insignia off the Decepticons. Frenzy and Rumble were zapped by Eject and Rewind, revealing their identities as well. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #7

Full Throttle Scramble Power!

When Metroplex arrived to bust up the Decepticons' plan to terrorize the world with their Omega Whip cannon, Frenzy (or Rumble) was among the robots shown being scattered by the shockwaves created by the landing of the titantic Autobot. Full Throttle Scramble Power!

The Stargate Battles

In the late 1990s, Starscream forged a clandestine alliance with the Prime Minister of Japan, promising that the country would be safe from attack by the Decepticons if they were allowed to freely and harmlessly collect energy within its borders, in secret from the rest of the world. Naturally, however, Starscream had no intention of actually honoring this agreement, and sent Frenzy and Rumble to the bottom of the sub-oceanic Japan Trench, where they used their piledrivers to stimulate the tectonic plates of the trench and cause small earthquakes throughout Japan. As Starscream predicted, the quakes supplied massive amounts of energy for the Decepticons to gather, but were perceived as natural occurrences by the populace. Megatron was not impressed by the scheme, however, suspecting the Autobots would soon realize the truth... and he was, of course, completely right. When Optimus Prime and a team of Autobots arrived to investigate and caught the Decepticons in the act, Megatron had Frenzy and Rumble kick things into overdrive, causing a catastrophic quake that devastated Tokyo and covered the Decepticons' escape. The quake was so powerful that it actually threatened to sink the entire island of Japan, but before that could come to pass, Hound confronted Frenzy and Rumble and overpowered them by confusing them with his holograms. Activation

The Headmasters cartoon

Damn you, bloody bolo!

In the year 2011, when Soundwave was destroyed in battle with Blaster, Frenzy and all the other cassettes gathered on Chaar to watch as the Decepticon Headmaster leader Scorponok used the super-technology of the planet Master to resurrect their master as Soundblaster. The cassette team then helped to defend Soundblaster when he was focused on using a sonic control to remotely direct the actions of the Decepticons' new Madmachine, but Blaster—now reborn as Twincast—was able to get past them and stop his rival. The Great Cassette Operation

I don't think this qaulifies as Masterbation.

Some time later, either Frenzy or Rumble was dispatched by Soundblaster to deal with Twincast's cassettes when the Autobot communicator came to Chaar to spy on the unveiling of Scorponok's Transtector. Explosion on Mars!! MegaZarak Appears

We can't tell if it's Frenzy or Rumble because... well, dude, look at the picture.

The arrival of Scorponok's new information officer, Counterpunch, put Soundblaster in a bad mood, as he had the ability to dredge up Autobot info that even Soundblaster and his expert team of spies could not. They had no idea, of course, that this was because Counterpunch was actually the undercover Autobot double agent Punch, but nonetheless, Frenzy and the other tapes consoled their boss and promised to try harder. Return of the Immortal Emperor

While on the planets of Twin Star, Soundblaster deployed Frenzy and Rumble to search for the energy supposedly hidden somewhere on the planet. Battle for Defense of the False Planet Some time later, Frenzy and the rest of Soundblaster's cassettes were seen standing guard outside the subterranean cavern on Master in which Scorponok was constructing his Zarak Shield. Operation: Destroy the Decepticons

The Headmasters comic

When the Decepticons were finally forced off Earth, Soundblaster and his cassettes stayed behind on the planet to gather information. After a run in with Chromedome, Soundblaster was hurled over the horizon by the Autobot Headmaster's "Master Chrome Hurricane-Throw to the End of Hell" attack. Frenzy and Rumble attempted to wake their boss up as Sixshot approached, warning him that he was going to get in trouble. The Headmasters #8

Dreamwave comics continuity

Events from The Transformers Trilogy novels are in italics.

Frenzy was one of the earliest recruits into Megatron's Decepticons over nine million years ago, apparently associated with Soundwave and his "Cassetticons" from the very beginning. Frenzy was possibly involved with Shockwave's major assault on Iacon, shortly after Optronix rose to become Optimus Prime. The War Within In later years, he and the other cassettes joined Soundwave under Shockwave's command during the Dark Ages, as part of the main Decepticon faction.

Four million years ago, Frenzy was onboard the Nemesis when Megatron and its crew attempted to hijack the Ark, and crashed on the planet Earth to spend millions of years in stasis lock. In 1984, a volcanic eruption woke the sleeping Transformers, and they reactivated to carry on their war for nearly a decade on our planet. No further information is given about this time. The Decepticons were eventually defeated and captured by the Autobots, who placed Frenzy and the others on-board a spacecraft called the Ark II which they planned to fly back to Cybertron. The craft was sabotaged, however, and exploded on its maiden flight, leaving the world believing the Transformers dead when in fact they had plummeted into the Arctic waters.

Many Transformers were salvaged by the human arms dealer known as Lazarus, who wanted to turn them into Weapons of Mass Destruction for the highest bidder. Frenzy was not seen among Lazarus's stock, though, implying he was too damaged to be activated at the time, or was only recovered by the Decepticons later after they regained control of their facilities.

Frenzy was almost completely absent from the Keepers Trilogy. He had only one line of dialogue in the second novel, Annihilation, among the Decepticons who chose to serve Megatron instead of Starscream. Still, this may have been an error—Frenzy "growled" and was supposedly "almost invisible in the dark". And, while Frenzy had not been name dropped as one of the Decepticons leaving with Megatron earlier in the chapter, Ravage was.

Soon after the Decepticons reorganized and began fighting the Autobots again, both sides were confronted with an unexpected visit from Cybertron—Shockwave and Ultra Magnus working side-by-side in a unified Cybertronian government. Quickly dispatching Megatron, Shockwave demanded the loyalty of the remaining troops from the Nemesis. New World Order Back on Cybertron, he used Rumble and Frenzy to further his own purposes by freeing the psychopathic Stunticons from the Detention Banks, distracting Magnus and the Wreckers. Starscream was also making schemes, though, and intervened on their mission to extract the Combaticons as well. Cold War With Soundwave's assent, Frenzy and the rest of the Nemesis crew agreed to follow Starscream back to Earth and pillage and plunder its energy resources. Revelation

Things didn't quite go as planned. Starscream's "brigade" and the remaining Autobots posted on Earth each imposed heavy losses on each other, and Frenzy was one of the Decepticons taken prisoner aboard the Ark. Night of the Combaticons They were freed by Bruticus, but ran smack into Sunstorm: exposure to his energon radiation quickly took Frenzy and friends off-line once more. Black Sunshine They were quickly taken back into Autobot custody. In order to deal with Sunstorm, however, the Autobots were forced to deal with Starscream, and he bartered for his troops' release at 50% power levels in exchange for his help. Skyfire That was meager compensation, though, and so when Megatron made contact with Soundwave shortly thereafter, the Decepticons jumped at the chance to mutiny against Starscream. Frenzy was last seen sliding comfortably back into Megatron's command. The Route of All Evil

Devil's Due G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers comics continuity

Frenzy was one of the many Transformers recovered from the crashed Ark by Cobra. He was repaired and retrofitted by Doctor Mindbender, who proudly displayed him, Soundwave, and his fellow Mini-Cassettes to Destro. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #2 Frenzy was released by Soundwave, along with Laserbeak, Rumble, Ratbat, and Ravage, during an attack on the SPS Center. Frenzy was the first of the Battle Android Troopers to fall when Sci-Fi fired a laser through his head. His body was taken into custody by G.I. Joe. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #3

Dreamwave Transformers/G.I. Joe comics continuity

Frenzy was among the Decepticons that were pressed into the service of Cobra in 1938. When G.I. Joe attacked Cobra's base on the Fera Islands the following year, Frenzy was guarding the airfield. He found Beach Head trying to sneak into the air control tower, and attacked the soldier when he didn't know the password. Beach Head attempted to electrocute Frenzy, but the Decepticon was unimpressed, responding that he always enjoyed that humans had something Autobots don't—a capacity for pain. Wolves During the fight, Frenzy was lured out on the airfield, where Beach Head poured airplane fuel on him. Grunt then opened fire on the airplane's fuel tank, causing an explosion that heavily damaged Frenzy and enveloped him in flames. Defiant till the end, Frenzy got back up, sneering at the "meat" trying to cook him, but the Joes continued to pepper him with bullets until he went down. Trenches

Hearts of Steel

Oh man! When did Frenzy have time to become a coal-miner?

Frenzy was among the Decepticons present in Death Valley when Starscream and Tobias Muldoon discussed the pros and cons of constructing a base there. Hearts of Steel #2 Some time after the factory was completed, Frenzy was guarding its borders when Jacob Lee Bonaventure arrived. At Bonaventure's request, Frenzy escorted him to Starscream. Hearts of Steel #3

Frenzy is not named outright, so he could be Rumble instead. However, he is colored blue, so to be consistent with his portrayal in comic books, we've assumed he's Frenzy.

IDW comics continuity

This section covers fiction that is ongoing. It will be added to as the story progresses. If it isn't current, you can help by updating it.

Either a typo, or extremely early practice of his Brooklyn accent.

Millions of years ago, Frenzy and Rumble were working together as "industrial equipment" on Mining Outpost C-12, harvesting energon veins for Cybertron. Their services were suddenly declared "not necessary" by the Senate, however, as the mines were being retrofitted to require only automated workers. When Megatron took violent action against the Senator delivering the news, a riot broke out and Frenzy and Rumble joined in the melee. They and the other surviving members of the uprising were taken into custody after a brief skirmish, and prepped for transport to Penal Facility H-3. Rumble broke out of his chains and attacked the guards on their transport shuttle, prompting Megatron and the other prisoners to join in. They hijacked the ship and took it to ground in the bad part of Kaon, fleeing into the underground. Megatron Origin #1

Staying together, Frenzy, Rumble, and Megatron hooked up with a deathsport tournament that had been growing under the direction of a robot named Clench. In only a short period of time, Clench was "retired" and Megatron assumed control of the deathsport, with Rumble and Frenzy as his top lackeys. As his power grew, so did Megatron's ambition, and he forged an alliance with Soundwave, middleman for the corrupt Senator Ratbat who was feeding information and technology to the gladiators. Once Soundwave was firmly in Megatron's camp instead of Ratbat's, the up-and-coming "Decepticon" leader began planning to take the games out into the streets. As part of the endgame, Frenzy and Rumble were modified to lose their vehicle modes and instead fit inside Soundwave's chest compartment. They were not too happy with this, but didn't dare to protest against Megatron's orders. Megatron Origin #3

When Sentinel Prime and his security services team raided the arena and took the gladiators prisoner, Frenzy and Rumble played a key role in the Trojan Horse plan. Soundwave received clemency due to his Senate connections, and was given free roam of the facilities. When the word was given, Soundwave unleashed Frenzy, Rumble and his other cassettes and chaos reigned through the Kaon Council chambers. The other newly-minted Decepticons were released, given weapons and badges, and went out to lay waste to the city. Frenzy and Rumble were present for Megatron's final beatdown on Sentinel Prime. Megatron Origin #4

This is why I hate dentists.

Frenzy's activities over the next few million years are unknown, but he and his capabilities were acknowledged and respected by other Decepticons. He was apparently not with Soundwave in 1984 when the communications officer was mode-locked and trapped on Earth for decades by Bludgeon and his minions. Frenzy did eventually reconnect with Soundwave alongside Megatron and the Decepticon detachment on Earth by the time they tricked and defeated the Autobots on the planet. All Hail Megatron #7 As the Decepticons declared open warfare on the human populace and were faced with hundreds of armed troops on the Great Lawn of New York City's Central Park, Soundwave unleashed Frenzy to single-handedly annihilate the entire human detachment. All Hail Megatron #2

Frenzy's heard about bovine contributions to the greenhouse effect and decided to go proactive.

Frenzy was one of the unfortunate Decepticons who failed to make it to Astrotrain before Starscream blasted off at the end of the fighting in New York. As a result, he was left stranded on Earth for the next two years. Whether it was because of separation from Soundwave or something else, Frenzy appeared to have degenerated mentally during his isolation. He began talking to himself, and engaged in regular cattle mutilation and slaughter. He was tagged for capture by Skywatch, and they sent their new allies, Bumblebee and the Autobots, to detain the crazed Mini-Cassette. Frenzy was captured and turned over to the humans. The Hanging Sword

At the same time, Frenzy was, uh, one of the Decepticons who did make it off Earth. Somehow. On the Decepticons' remote asteroid base, he assisted Soundwave and Shockwave as they built a new body for Megatron and used his old one to mass-produce human-sized guns. Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon He also switched colors with Rumble for some reason. Four months later, led by Soundwave, the two cassettes returned to Earth and attacked a Skywatch base holding a number of captured Decepticons. Frenzy used his sonic attack to bring the pain to Brawn, Silverstreak and Ultra Magnus. Revenge of the Decepticons Part 1: The Demolished Man Later at the Decepticon base, he was amongst those who prepared to watch a fight between Optimus Prime and Megatron, and was presumably caught in the blast when Prime ended the fight early by having a satellite dropped on the base. Revenge of the Decepticons Part 5: Enemy Mine

United comic

At some undetermined point in time, Frenzy stood in close proximity to Lugnut and Scourge. A New Battle!

Games

Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons

When Optimus embarked on his mission to rescue the Autobots' Minicar troops from the Decepticons, Frenzy could hinder Optimus Prime's progress, by driving him temporarily crazy, causing the Autobot hero to briefly break down. Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons packaging blurb and game

The Transformers (Commodore 64)

The Transformers

Transformers G1: Awakening

Transformers G1: Awakening

Toys

Generation 1

• Frenzy & Laserbeak (Mini-Cassette 2-pack, 1984/1985)
  • Accessories: 2 "Thruster Guns" (left & right)

Beginning life as a Micro Change "Micro Cassette Robo Micross", Frenzy was part of the first wave of Transformers toys released in 1984. He transforms into a blue microcassette that can fit into the tape doors of the Soundwave and Blaster toys, and is armed with two silver chromed "Thruster Guns" that can either plug into the cassette spool holes on his back or slot onto his arms. Sold in a two-pack with Laserbeak, Frenzy was originally released with a Decepticon insignia sticker on his stomach, which was removed in 1985 in favor of a heat-sensitive rubsign on his cassette-mode front.

This mold was redecoed to create the simultaneously-available Rumble, and was the basis for Enemy.

• More information on Frenzy at TFU.info

• Frenzy (Cassettron, 1985/1986/1987)
  • ID number: 18 (1985), D-58 (1986), D-103 (1987)
  • Accessories: 2 "Thruster Guns" (left & right), cassette case

1985 saw Takara release Frenzy in Japan, all on his lonesome. Like all his cassette contemporaries, he was packaged in a small box and came with a clear tape case he could be stored in. He was still available in 1986, this time on a blister card with a new ID number, golden weapons (see below), and without his case, and under the Headmasters banner in 1987, with his original packaging and case reinstated and with yet another ID number.

• Grimlock vs Soundwave (giftset, 1985)
  • ID number: VSY
  • Accessories: 2 "Thruster Guns" (left & right), cassette case

Frenzy was included as part of a "versus" giftset that squared Soundwave off against Grimlock. The set also included an audio cassette, and has become the rarest of the three "VS" sets Takara produced.

• Frenzy & Ratbat (Mini-Cassette 2-pack, 1986/1987)
  • Accessories: 2 "Thruster Guns" (left & right)

In 1986, when Hasbro released their sole new cassette for the year, Ratbat, they needed another cassette to package him with. To this end, Laserbeak was retired from the toy store shelf, and Frenzy became Ratbat's pack-in partner. As a result, Frenzy holds the distinction of being the Generation 1 figure to last the longest during the toyline's original run, the only 1984 figure still available in 1987. Of course, this also meant that people who wanted both Laserbeak and Ratbat had to buy Frenzy twice.

Frenzy and Ratbat's weapons were available in both the original silver and new golden chrome colors; as Ratbat was depicted with golden weapons in-fiction, this tends to be the color most associated with the set. Late in 1986, Frenzy was one of several figures who underwent some change in materials; his die-cast metal toes and shoulder hinges were replaced with black plastic, as were his light blue thighs, and the stickers on his thighs and shins were removed.

Generation 2

File:G2toy gobot frenzy.jpg

• Frenzy (Go-Bot, 1995)
  • Accessories: Gun

Generation 2 saw the return of Frenzy as a redeco of the Go-Bot Blowout, transforming into a Porsche 959 sports car in purple and gray. He features through-axle wheels for super-fast rolling on smooth surfaces, and is designed to work with most "Hot Wheels" and "Matchbox" car sets, despite being made by competitor companies.

This mold was redecoed for Generation 2 Go-Bots Megatron, then later to make Robots in Disguise Hot Shot.

• More information on Go-Bot Frenzy at TFU.info

Music Label

Is it really wise to put an expert at sonic warfare right on your ear?

• Frenzy & Rumble Playing Earphones (2007)

Released as part of TakaraTomy's Music Label toyline, Frenzy and Rumble share a fairly simplistic transformation from robots to white, circular, working earphones. Although sold separately, they were designed to go well with the Music Label Soundwave MP3 player.

Encore

• Great Cassette Operation Vol.3 (2009)
  • ID number: 19
  • Accessories: 2 "Thruster Guns" (left & right), cassette case

The original Frenzy toy was reissued for the first time as part of the Takara's Encore line, in a multi-pack with Rumble, Laserbeak and Overkill. Long a notable absentee from past reissue lineups due to the severe degradation of his mold, this edition of Frenzy has either been heavily restored—his head and weapons, at the very least, feature some notable differences in detail from the original—or might even be an entirely new mold based off of the original figure, a theory supported by the presence of a 2009 Tomy copyright on his leg, rather than an original 1980s Hasbro or Takara one.

This version of Frenzy winds the figure back to the materials and colors of his pre-1986 releases, with metal feet and hinges, light-blue thighs and silver weapons, even reinstating his tummy-sticker from 1984 in addition to his rubsign. In a major change, his shin decals and all of his cassette-mode labels are now paint operations rather than stickers, while the stickers that previously decorated his thighs, wrists and biceps have been removed outright and not replaced.

United

File:Unitedtoy frenzy.jpg

• Rumble & Frenzy (Multi-pack, 2011)
  • ID number: UN-20
  • Accessories: Two guns

United Frenzy is a redeco of 2010 Transformers Demolition Rumble, transforming into a dual-cannon anti-aircraft vehicle. Since Demolition Rumble was already blue, Frenzy's deco is relatively similar, but replaces the black plastic with light blue and renders the blue plastic a cartoon-inspired purpleish shade, along with several other different details, notably silver cannons instead of gold. In robot mode, his arms can transform into pile-driver weapons, and his guns can be attached to either his arms or his back. United Frenzy was only available in a two-pack with Rumble, who shares the same mold.

Although a Hasbro edition of Frenzy rendered in black and red seemed like a certainty in the face of their blue Rumble, it was never officially solicited. The subsequent cancellation of Hasbro's Rumble makes it all look far less likely now.

Merchandise

Transformers Milk Caramel

• Frenzy (1985)

A soft rubber figurine—known in Japan as a keshigomu— of Frenzy was released as part of the second wave of Kabaya's Transformers Milk Caramel candy toy range. He came packaged with chocolate-covered caramel candies, and was available in red, white and yellow.

Transformers Choco

• Frenzy (1985)

A solid-color, snap-together model kit of Frenzy was released by Kabaya as part of their Transformers Choco line of candy toys. It was available in various colors, came with candy-coated chocolates, and could fit inside the chest of the larger Transformers Gum model kit of Soundwave.

Transformers Gum

• Frenzy and Jaguar (1986)

A larger model kit of Frenzy was sold by Kabaya as part of their Transformers Gum line, in a two-pack with Ravage. Sculpted from red and grey plastic (and consequently looking more like Rumble) and featuring stickers for detail, Frenzy is basically identical to his original toy, except he's actually a little bit larger than it! He's also too large to fit in the chest of the Transformers Gum Soundwave figure, but you can console yourself with the gum he comes packaged with.

Decoy

• Destron Hero Collection 22 (multi-pack, 1986)

Frenzy was among the many characters rendered by Takara as part of their series of 1.5" keshigomu figurines. Like all the Decepticons in the series, Frenzy was molded in soft purple rubber, and featured a number sculpted into his back that was the sum total of his Tech Specs, for use in the various games that could be played with the figurines. Frenze was available as part of a 22-piece box set of Decepticon figures, and later, in a peach coloration randomly packed as part of various other box sets.

• Frenzy (1987)
  • Decoy number: 50

The figurine was later brought over to Hasbro markets as part of the Decoy promotion, largely identical to the Japanese release except for the fact that the number on his back was replaced with a simple "checklist" number. Like all Decepticon Decoys, Frenzy was a randomly-chosen pack-in available with the carded Throttlebots, Aerialbots, Protectobots and Technobots and was, very early on in the promotion, available in an alternate red coloration that was only packed in with the Throttlebots. Unsurprisingly, this red figurine is much rarer.

• More information on Decoy Frenzy at TFU.info

Transformers - Mini Bust

• Frenzy & Ravage (Diamond Select, 2009)

An exclusive to online retailer BigBadToyStore, this Frenzy bust was sculpted by Mark Wong of Art Asylum and limited to 600 pieces worldwide. Frenzy is colored red and black after his cartoon appearance, and sculpted wielding one of his thruster guns as Ravage pounces beside him. In addition, Frenzy's tape mode is sculpted at the front of the bust's base.

Notes

Boy, times change.

• According to his toy's bio, he "Can roll his drums to produce high-pitch, grating sound of 200dB." This is about 100 times as loud as the famous Krakatoa volcanic eruption, which was audible 3,000 miles away, and is actually louder than the theoretical limit for noise in a normal Earth atmosphere.

• The US cartoon accidentally reversed the colors of the two Decepticon cassettes, portraying Rumble as blue and Frenzy as red. (See FIRRIB.)

• Sunstreaker's character model in Frenzy's colors is seen retreating with the Decepticons at the end of "Attack of the Autobots". Frenzy himself does not otherwise appear in the episode, making the actuality of his appearance in it arguable.

• Sunbow casting documents indicate that "Frenzy" was originally considered as a name for the Terrorcon, Rippersnapper, but was dropped—presumably because that name was already in use.

• According to the cardbacks of Generation 2 figures, the Go-Bots version of Frenzy was originally planned to be in red... which would've just added more fuel to the FIBRIR/FIRRIB debates.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Frenzy (フレンジー Furenjī)
• French: Frénétik (Canada)
• Hungarian: Tomboló ("Rampager")
• Italian: Tartar
• Portuguese: Frenesim (Portugal comics), Frenético (Brazil comics)
• Russian: Dikiy (Дикий, "Wild")

External links

• Frenzy's Universe profile at NTFA.net