Hydradread
- Hydradread is a Decepticon Stormtrooper from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Whatever is going on in the dark, sticky mind of Hydradread, it always spells an unfortunate, messy end for somebody. Even Decepticons who've been committing atrocities for millions of stellar cycles will admit that this guy here can come up with some really genius-level depravity. Rage can always count on Hydradread as the Stormtroopers' scientific advisor to give any attack strategy that extra twist of the knife.
Fiction
Fleetway Generation 2 comic
The Stormtroopers were part of Bludgeon's forces dispatched on Earth to basically wreck stuff until Optimus Prime came to stop them. Hydradread, having apparently found humans too small to be suitable targets, was eagerly anticipating going up against some Autobots... but instead, they found themselves up against Megatron, who had come to take leadership of the Decepticons back from Bludgeon. The Stormtroopers attacked, and Hydradread was the first to get blasted by Megatron. War Zone
TransTech
Hydradread was among the inhabitants of the multiversal hub city of Axiom Nexus. Transcendent: Part 4
Wings Universe
Hydradread was a weapons designer and technician working for Rage in the early days of the war. Their "Stormtroopers" were little more than thugs and bandits with delusions of grandeur, but had nonetheless scored a major coup when they captured a transforming base known as the Metrotitan. Their next venture was to recover the fabled "Heart of Darkness" that a dig team recovered from Median.
Hydradread supplied his teammates with pump-action rifles that fired streams of corrosive stasis gel. The pumping was silly, but the end result was still effective. The team secured the Heart and brought it back to the Metrotitan, where Hydradread rushed to install it in the proper frame. The Heart was actually a supernaturally powerful personality component, which Rage eventually hoped to install in the Metrotitan itself. But first, a test. The Mini-Con-sized dragon body dubbed "Brimstone" proved remarkably powerful for the Heart on its own once Hydradread was finished. Too powerful, in fact -- Brimstone eventually entered meltdown and exploded, taking the Metrotitan with him.
The survival of Rage and Hydradread remains uncertain. Flames of Yesterday
IDW comics continuity
Serving under Turmoil, Hydradread helped Drench restrain Deadlock when he got too rebellious and attempted to overthrow their leader. However, he was caught off-guard when Turmoil accidentally killed Drench, and the prisoner escaped. Drift #1
Toys
Generation 1
- Hydradread (Stormtrooper, 1993)
- Accessories: Water cannon
- Hydradread transforms into a modified 1991 Mitsubishi HSR-III supercar. His rear bumper contains a bellows that can be filled with water, shooting it from the nozzle that ends up on his car-mode roof. This assembly becomes a hand-held weapon in robot mode. His hood/chest piece is coated in color changing paint; when it gets warm, it turns from its normal blueish tint to a pale off-white.
- Hydradread was only available in various European markets during the two-year "transitional" period marking the changeover from the original toyline to Generation 2; in the original line's final year (1993), the toys were given redesigned Autobot and Decepticon symbols, but it wasn't until 1994 that "Generation 2" appeared on the packaging.
Generation 2
- Hydradread (Stormtrooper, 1994)
- Accessories: Water cannon
- This release is identical to the original, only this time in packaging specifically branded "Generation 2".
Notes
- A piece of internal documentation containing Hydradread's packaging copy once turned up on eBay, evidently from the collection of a former Hasbro employee. This document shows that Hydradread's name was intended to be Hydrodread; the write-up has the "A" in his name crossed out by hand and replaced with an "O". Evidently this correction never made through the system, as our boy here made it all the way to production as Hydradread.
- Hydradread gets the front-and-center spot on the 1993 cardback mural, facing off against Deluge. This seems a pretty random choice, as he's actually got the lowest Rank among the Stormtroopers... as does Deluge among the Aquaspeeders, for that matter.
Foreign names
- Dutch: Hydroshark
- French: Hydroshark
- Italian: Idrosqualo
