Sandstorm (G1)
| The name or term "Sandstorm" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Sandstorm (disambiguation). |
- Sandstorm is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Sandstorm gets bored easily, and has a very hard time concentrating on humdrum tasks. He craves excitement, and since the Transformers apparently don't have the X-Games (though they do have skateboarding apes), he goes in for fighting the Decepticons. The ever-present threat of deactivation or maiming doesn't frighten him, but he does fear that the war might end any chance for him to enjoy life. For Sandstorm, war may not be heaven, but it's a hell of an adventure.
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Sandstorm was one of three Triple Changers recruited by Emirate Xaaron to back up the Wreckers in Operation: Volcano, replacing Ultra Magnus after he went missing. In order to make a good first impression on Impactor, their new commander, Sandstorm and his buddies beat the titanium-coated stuffing out of him, thus proving that they'd fit right in with the Wreckers. Target: 2006
As a member of the Heroic Wreckers, Sandstorm's resume includes beating up Autobot leader Optimus Prime, The Harder They Die! beating up Autobot scientist Flame and destroying his life's work , Meltdown! NOT beating up Galvatron and letting him escape unmolested on Earth, Wrecking Havoc and routinely scaring humans and destroying entire towns. Wrecking Havoc Cold Comfort and Joy! In an alternate future, he murdered an unarmed fellow Autobot, starting a new Cybertronian Civil War between the Wreckers and the Technobots. Peace He was also in the immediate vicinity when his leader Impactor died, and did nothing to stop it. Twice.
Eh...hrm. Let's spruce up the old resume a bit, shall we?
As a member of the Heroic Wreckers, Sandstorm's resume includes capturing a potential spy who looked like Optimus Prime, The Harder They Die! stopping an evil genius and his army of zombies from destroying the world, Meltdown! sacrificing personal glory to save his leader Springer from the Decepticon Targetmasters, Wrecking Havoc and routinely interacting with the locals while assigned to Earth. Wrecking Havoc Cold Comfort and Joy! In an alternate future, he was personally responsible for destroying the last living Decepticon in the universe. Peace He also respected Impactor a great deal, in life and in death.
Ah. Much better. Meanwhile...
Oppressed under Grimlock's tyrannical rule, Sandstorm and several others on-board the Ark pleaded for Blaster to usurp Grimlock as leader of the Autobots. No one knows how Sandstorm got there. Spacehikers!
After being assigned to Earth duty and reporting to Cybertron about Galvatron amassing resources, Sandstorm joined a joint task force of Wreckers and Mayhems in confronting the evil Decepticon from the future. They were strong. They were numerous. They were annihilated. Galvatron's particle cannon ended up obliterating Sandstorm while the task force was in full retreat after losing more than half their members. Time Wars
Cartoon continuity
The Transformers cartoon
- Voice actor: Jerry Houser (English), Yoku Shioya (Japanese), Héctor Vieyra (Latin American)
Sandstorm is a native of Paradron. His Autobot ancestors fled Cybertron during what he called the Fourth Great War and ventured through a strange vortex, where they discovered a habitable world. There, they founded an energon-rich, democratic colony dedicated to non-violence.
But this came to an end when Cyclonus and Scourge stumbled through the vortex and crashed on Paradron. They had no idea where they were, but they knew it was a land ripe for the picking. They literally pushed the welcoming Paradronians around, then alerted Galvatron to the planet's existence. Sandstorm tried to rally his fellows against the two Decepticons, but no one wanted to fight. And he was proven terribly right in the middle of a speech, when Cyclonus abruptly shot him as Galvatron's invasion force descended from the sky.
Sandstorm was jailed, and the Decepticons forced the Paradronians into labor, building weapons. However, Sandstorm escaped rather easily and took an old shuttle back through the vortex. He put out a distress call and was found by the Cybertronian Autobots, whom he convinced to mount a counterstrike against Galvatron.
The Autobots infiltrated Paradron and took guerrilla action. They freed a group of Paradronians, and though the pacifists were still wary of Sandstorm's pleas to fight, they did finally take up arms. Despite this victory, though, the Decepticons still presented a daunting battle. Sandstorm gave little objection to Rodimus Prime's order to detonate the planet's energon core, destroying the world to keep it out of Galvatron's hands. In fact, he seemed downright happy to get some use out of the planetary escape pods. The Paradronians departed thusly while Sandstorm and Ultra Magnus planted a bomb on what Magnus called the most beautiful thing in the entire galaxy.
When it detonated five minutes later, Sandstorm and the Paradronians stood alongside the Autobots and watched their homeworld's destruction. "It's as beautiful in death as it was in life," Sandstorm eulogized simply. Rodimus openly mocked him and told him Cybertron was better. Fight or Flee
Maybe that's why he went to Earth instead. Though he was still on the abusive Rodimus' team investigating Trypticon's theft of famous monuments. Thief in the Night Interestingly, it was as a result of that caper that Octane was excommunicated from Galvatron's army. And then Sandstorm and Octane soon started hanging out, joyriding in and around Autobot City.
When the Combaticons tried to assassinate Octane, he and Sandstorm fled to a space station somewhere and had lunch. There, a Skuxxoid in Galvatron's employ tried to kill Octane several times but was comically thwarted by circumstance. Believing it would be safer, Sandstorm and Octane then went to Cybertron. But while Octane was alone there, he finally was captured by the Decepticons.
As he was being hauled away, Sandstorm tried to rescue him. And failed. Starscream's Ghost
The Headmasters cartoon
Alongside Springer and Broadside, Sandstorm was sent from Athenia to Cybertron in order to defend against a major Decepticon assault. Four Warriors Come out of the Sky The Triple Changers then traveled to Earth, where they helped Twincast sneak into Trypticon by keeping their Decepticon counterparts busy with a dogfight. Apparently, Sandstorm wasn't on friendly terms with Octane anymore. The Great Cassette Operation
Dreamwave comics continuity
Sandstorm served under Springer as part of the Wreckers faction during the Dark Ages. They were primarily interested in keeping Ratbat and the Ultracons from gaining control of the Tagan Heights, the primary manufacturing region of Cybertron. The Wreckers once fought a major battle in the Heights alongside the Protectobots against the combiner known as Devastator. War Within: The Dark Ages
Originally only able to transform into a ground vehicle, Sandstorm received an additional flight mode after the Great Shutdown, when Shockwave put him through Triple Changer engineering as part of the Pax Cybertronia between the Autobots and the Decepticons. New World Order Despite serving with Shockwave's Triple Changer Strike Force, Sandstorm and his partner Broadside grew uneasy about Shockwave's ultimate intentions, and allied themselves with the Autobot underground resistance. Sandstorm was killed by an assassin, Runabout, while secretly leading Optimus Prime through the Old Slave Trails to make contact with the resistance. Cold War
G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers
When a number of Autobots and G.I. Joes vanished while chasing Serpent O.R., Sandstorm and Springer were sent out to look for them. Unfortunately, Serpent O.R. jammed their radars, and they didn't find a thing. The Art of War #3
IDW comics continuity
Sandstorm was part of the elite Wreckers unit operating under Impactor's command. He participated in the final showdown between the Wreckers and Squadron X on Pova, dogfighting with Crosscut and Ferak in the air. Last Stand of the Wreckers #4 However, after the Decepticons were defeated and imprisoned, the Wreckers were told to release them due to Pova being neutral territory. The increasingly deranged Impactor refused, and chose to personally execute every single member of Squadron X rather than let them go. Like most of the Wreckers, Sandstorm only looked away in shame and did nothing to stop him. Last Stand of the Wreckers #5
In order to cover up Impactor's crime, a new story was written for the official records. In this version of the events, Squadron X broke out of their bonds and injured Sandstorm, who collapsed after limping to warn his fellow Wreckers. The Wreckers were then forced to destroy Squadron X in a grand battle. Last Stand of the Wreckers #4
Many years later, while Sandstorm and the other aerial Wreckers were assaulting the Decepticon Siege Mode Armature on Varas Centralus, Springer was ordered by Operations-Command to pull out and return to Cybertron to deal with the resurrection of Thunderwing. Stormbringer issue 2 Sandstorm participated in the short assault that crushed Bludgeon's cult, Stormbringer issue 3 and fought against Thunderwing himself when the creature was recalled to Cybertron. During the battle, he reported that their weapons were being shut down by Thunderwing charging the atmosphere and tried to tell Springer to get away, but he (along with several other Wreckers) were blasted away by the creature's microwave pulse. Stormbringer issue 4
Sandstorm and his fellow Wreckers were later dispatched to Corata-Vaz to gain control of the Nega-Core in place on that world, but had serious trouble getting past its watchdog, Thunderwing. They had a brief reprieve when Jetfire used the old Axis Cradle to remotely shut down the Pretender, but Jetfire was soon distracted and the battle was renewed. The Jumpstarters worked on overriding the Nega Core's programming while Sandstorm and the others held back Thunderwing. Eventually the Nega Cores were disabled and the Transformers of the Dead Universe defeated, causing Thunderwing to shut down once more. Spotlight: Sideswipe
During the Decepticons' devastating attack against the Autobots across the galaxy, Sandstorm was one of several Autobots who had been captured by Turmoil. When the ship made a stop at a neutral alien world, two attacks on the Decepticons occurred simultaneously: the Autobot veteran Kup led the remaining Wreckers to blast their way into the ship, while the factionless swordsman who called himself Drift snuck into the ship and helped the Autobots free their compatriots. Spotlight: Drift
Sometime later, after the defeat of the Decepticons in New York City, Springer remarked that Sandstorm was deep behind enemy lines. Why he was there, and if it was by his own choosing, is unknown. Bullets
Eventually, Sandstorm was one of the many Autobots seen stranded on Earth. After Optimus Prime turned himself into Skywatch, Sandstorm decided to leave the Autobots along with Hot Rod. New Arrivals, Old Encounters When Ultra Magnus had located Hot Rod's group, Sandstorm was one of the first Autobots to welcome him. Seasons in Flight
Sandstorm was among the Autobots poised to fight against Galvatron's army on Cybertron. Led by Silverbolt, he and the other Autobot fliers attacked Kimia Facility and fought with the many Sweeps defending it. Chaos Part Two: Numbers
Toys
Generation 1
- Sandstorm (Triple Changer, 1986/1991)
- Japanese ID number: C-83
- Accessories: "Sandblaster gun"
- As a Triple Changer, Sandstorm can transform from a robot to a "sand rail" dune buggy to a Sikorsky S-62 amphibious transport helicopter and back. Like many 1986 Transformers, there are two different versions; the initial releases use painted die-cast metal for his front bumper/robot-mode feet, while the more common later releases have orange-colored plastic.
- He was re-released in the European Classics line in 1991, this time with black plastic feet painted orange.
Machine Wars
- Sandstorm (Mega, 1997)
- Accessories: 2 cannons, rotor blade
- A redeco of the Generation 1 Rotorstorm toy, Machine Wars Sandstorm transforms into a Cybertronian helicopter with a US Air Force roundel added to his helicopter mode. Due to the small missiles of Rotorstorm failing US choke gate tests, the turbine launchers were retooled into non-firing cannons, with no missiles included. A button on the back of the rotor housing drops down both engines/cannons for an "attack mode" feature. In robot mode, Sandstorm has quite restricted articulation, and holds his turbine launchers in his hands. He can also hold his rotor blade as a somewhat odd sword.
Transformers (2010)
- Sandstorm (Legends, 2010)
- Sandstorm is an orange and tan retool of Universe Legends Beachcomber. He is a dune buggy. The spare tire and gun are all one piece and are removable for no obvious purpose.
- He was part of the Hunt for the Decepticons promotion.
Notes
Foreign names
- Japanese: Sandstorm (サンドストーム Sandosutōmu)
- French: Siroco (Canada)
- Italian: Ghibli
- Russian: Zatvor (Затвор, "Shutter")
