Skids (G1)
| The name or term "Skids" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Skids (disambiguation). |
- Skids is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Skids is a theoretician. This is appropriate, as some would say his existence is merely theoretical; everyone forgets who he is or that he was there. But if they got to know him, they'd learn that he likes to daydream, get built into furniture, and pick up cowboy chicks.
Fiction
Generation 1 cartoon continuity
The Transformers cartoon
- Voice actor: Michael Chain and Dan Gilvezan (English), Keiichi Nanba (Japanese), Roberto Alexander (Latin American)
Like many of the Autobots who first appeared in 1985, the exact circumstances behind Skids joining the original group of Earth-based Autobots remain unknown. Skids first appeared as part of a strike force that was sent to stop the Insecticons from ravaging a human farm, only to meet with failure. Apparently injured in the battle, Skids underwent some repairs by Hoist upon return to Autobot Headquarters, where he responded incredulously to Bumblebee's report that he had retrieved robotic insecticide from the planet Floron III to deal with the Insecticon threat. Quest for Survival
Later, Skids was part of a team sent to investigate bombs that were raining down on a city from a football stadium (the work of the Triple Changer Blitzwing). Blitzwing, however, had the stadium surrounded by a massive "Zone Defense" maze built by the Constructicons, and while attempting to traverse it, Skids crashed into Prowl and was driven over by tank-mode Blitzwing. Skids and the other Autobots' remains were then gathered by Scrapper, who built a throne for himself out of them. These Autobots were soon rescued and quickly rebuilt, and participated in the crises that ensued as Blitzwing, Astrotrain, Megatron and Devastator vied for Decepticon leadership. Following that skirmish, Prowl opined that Optimus Prime was the greatest leader in the universe, which prompted himself, Skids, Bluestreak and Tracks to form themselves into a throne for Prime; Prime refused to sit, saying that thrones were for Decepticons—he'd rather roll. Triple Takeover
Japanese cartoon continuity
Story of Binaltech
Skids was the first of the Binaltech Autobots created simply with the intent of upgrading an existing, healthy Transformer, rather than in the name of repairing one that had been injured. Outfitted with self-repairing nanomechanical antibodies, Skids's body can, barring heavy damage in battle, theoretically function for thousands of years without maintenance. In both his original and new body, Skids dedicated time to studying the chronal warp on Dinobot Island, which gave rise to the Autobot strategy known as "Operation: Distant Thunder", a last-ditch scheme should the Decepticons tamper with the fabric of space-time. That horror occurred in 2004 when Ravage used the Kronosphere to alter the timeline, and Skids prepared to initiate the plan and send Wheeljack's memory data back in time to avert the catastrophe. Darkest Hour
The data probe was launched, but as the timeline was righting itself a Nemesis Prime arrived, and manipulated the temporal wave to preserve the Binaltech timeline separate from the original continuity. Possessed by the Spark of the Protector, hailing from some future point in time, Nemesis Prime informed Skids and the others that their timeline was destined to produce great warriors capable of safeguarding the entire multiverse, and therefore must continue on its new course. Binal Time
Henkei! Henkei!
When Skids successfully proved the existence of particles able to cross over between dimensions, he put his discovery to work for the forces of good, coating his armor in these "Dimension Slide" particles and endowing himself with the power to move between realities, as well as a snazzy new green paintjob. In this quest to examine anomalies within the multiverse, Skids found he could summon other versions of himself from different dimensions to aid him, but for unknown reasons, one of these alternate versions wound up trapped in Skids's home dimension, unable to return to his own world. Named "Screech" (presumably to save all the Autobots a headache), this alternate Skids teamed up with his counterpart, and together, the pair worked as "Quantum Operatives" policing the multiverse while searching for a way to get Screech home. Skids's toy bio Screech's toy bio
Hot on the trail of one such multiversal anomaly, Skids and Screech pursued Starscream's ghost across the multiverse to a parallel dimension where he was causing trouble. While the two dimension-hoppers kept the ghost busy with wordplay and pop culture references, the Mirage of that world used his illusion casting powers to scare Starscream into fleeing the dimension by projecting an illusion of his greatest fear: Galvatron! Starscream's New Body
Marvel Generation 1 comics
In the event that the Ark's mission would require more manpower, Optimus Prime had several Autobots encode copies of their personalities as light patterns within crystals, including Skids. When a large number of Prime's troops were then injured during the opening volleys of the war on Earth, Prime arranged for the construction of new bodies, which the personalities were then programmed into, bringing Skids and the others to life "for a second time." Now in a new body that transformed into a blue van, Skids' first mission was to aid in preventing Shockwave from stealing sonic energy from a Brick Springhorn concert, and he immediately took a liking to the music of Earth and the possibilities of what could be learned from interacting with mankind. Rock and Roll-Out!
When Megatron ran out of fuel in the middle of the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, Optimus Prime took Skids and a few other Autobots to prevent harm to the humans who had discovered him. Unfortunately, these humans (and their military) forced the Autobots into a retreat. I, Robot-Master!
On the way to raid the Decepticon base, Skids accidentally clipped the car of hot-tempered Jake Dalrymple, who pursued the Autobots on their mission and distracted Skids just enough for Ravage to blast him off a cliff. Although Optimus Prime mourned the loss of Skids, neither the Autobot leader nor any other Autobot thought to recover the believed deactivated body of Skids later after their mission had been completed. Command Performances! Lying crippled and unable to transform, Skids was shortly discovered by register girl Charlene, who, thinking he was an ordinary van, had him fixed up with the intent of keeping him for herself. Skids was open to the idea at first, preferring a peaceful life to that of a warrior, but after another bout of road rage with Dalrymple, the unearthly stunts he performed left him no option but to reveal his true nature of Charlene.
A somewhat unusual relationship ensued between the two, but more trouble soon came Skids's way in the form of Donny Finkleberg, who was being hunted down by Ravage. Fleeing from the Decepticon with Charlene and Donny, Skids hid out at an abandoned mining town, but yet again, the raging Dalrymple tracked him down and shattered his windshield, knocking him unconscious and into a dream where he died through his refusal to attack Megatron and save Charlene. Reawakening, he engaged Ravage in battle again, finally finding the strength to act, and causing his foe to tumble down a mineshaft. Skids then parted ways with Charlene, having come to the realisation that their two roles in life were too different for their relationship to work out. Showdown!
Skids returned to the Ark with Finkleberg, and later embarked on a mission with him to track down a group of missing Autobots who had been captured by the Rapid Anti-robot Assault Team. Unfortunately, money still governed Finkleberg's actions, and he promptly sold out Skids to RAAT's leader Walter Barnett when Skids was deactivated for the night. Heavy Traffic! Skids was disassembled for study, but when the Decepticons Runabout and Runamuck appeared on Earth and began defacing landmarks, RAAT operative Circuit Breaker was forced to enter into a deal with the Autobots to stop them. Skids and the other Autobots' components were combined to form a jury-rigged robot that Circuit Breaker used to stop the Battlechargers, but in return for their co-operation, Skids and the Autobots were allowed to go free. Decepticon Graffiti!
On the return trip to the Ark, however, Skids was abruptly torn from reality when the future Decepticon Galvatron traveled back in time from 2006, shunting Skids into limbo to maintain temporal balance. Fallen Angel Skids remained in limbo for two years while Galvatron ran amok on Earth, his mind steadily succumbing to the dream-illusions created by the parasites native to the realm.
With Galvatron's eventual destruction during the Time Wars, Skids was finally returned to Earth, but he had spent too long in Limbo—the limbo-creatures had succeeded in shaping a reality from his dreams, and the nightmarish monsters that he had imagined materialised on Earth with him. Fleeing from the beasts, who desired to merge with Skids so that they might become more powerful, Skids lured them into a nuclear power plant which he had planned to detonate, wiping out the monsters and himself, but the remnants of the Autobot Wreckers—joined by Catilla and Carnivac of the Decepticon Mayhem Attack Squad—arrived to aid him, defeating the monsters. Skids joined with this group of Transformers, forming the Survivors. Survivors!
Grimlock traveled to Hydrus Four to use Nucleon to revive the Dinobots. Returning to the Ark, he also pumped Nucleon into the med bays, reviving Skids and several others, and headed towards Cybertron. Grimlock used the Ark as a blunt instrument across Unicron's head, forcing Skids and the others to evacuate and join the battle against the Chaos Bringer. On the Edge of Extinction!
Earthforce
When Carnivac ran off on his own to avenge Catilla's death, Skids and the other Survivors insisted Springer contact Grimlock and the Earthforce for back-up. Hooked up with these Autobot reinforcements, they stormed the Mayhem Attack Squad's tropical island base to save their friend. Skids personally confronted Octopunch in single combat, holding his own against the murderous Pretender. Where Wolf?
On a later mission for Earthforce, Skids and the Survivors protected an oil tanker from Starscream, while the rest of the Decepticons were trying to distract the Autobots with an all-out assault on their base. Undeterred by the sleight-of-hand, the Survivors caught up with Starscream in the Gulf of Mexico. Skids used a flying leap by Carnivac as a distraction to catch Starscream with his liquid nitrogen cannon, and then Inferno knocked the Decepticon commander into the drink. Divide and Conquer!
3H comics
Skids was among the senior scientists (including Perceptor, Quickmix, and Rad) who questioned Rodimus Prime's plan to send out the best of the remaining Autobot science and research members to establish deep-space reconnaissance posts. Betrayal
Dreamwave Generation 1 comics
8.2 million years ago, Skids was in the Chamber of the Ancients, observing the ceremony in which Optronix was given the Matrix of Leadership and transformed into Optimus Prime. Immediately, three Decepticon assassins attacked, and though Skids acted to protect the new Prime, his arm was cut off by Umbra. The War Within #1
Skids was repaired and he returned to his post at the Decagon. While Prime was absent, Skids picked up radar of incoming Decepticon invaders and a transmission from the force's field commander, Shockwave. The War Within #2 Skids manned auto-defenses from inside the Decagon until they and their Omega Sentinel units were destroyed. Picking up their personal weaponry, Skids and the other Autobots were all that was left to defend Iacon, but defend it they did and Shockwave's forces were driven back. The War Within #3
During the Dark Ages, Skids served with Prowl's faction of Autobots. Devastation The team got involved in a skirmish with Trypticon and the giant Decepticon jumped onto a building in which Skids was trying to hide, crushing him. He survived though. Revelation
Skids was not among the Autobots who traveled to Earth aboard the Ark, remaining behind on Cybertron as the planet slipped into the deactivated state known as the Great Shutdown. When Shockwave began reactivating the planet and successfully unified the Autobot and Decepticon factions, Skids was a member of the council of Autobots who served to represent their faction in the alliance. Few of the council members were actually suited for leadership, however, and slowly found themselves giving more and more control to Shockwave. Eventually, the example shown by the Ark's returning crew and several homegrown Autobot insurgency cells tore the blinders from the council's optics, and Skids gathered his fellow councilmen in taking to the streets and ousting the Decepticons from power. Revelation
G.I. Joe vs. The Transformers
During an Autobot peace ceremony on Cybertron, Skids reported to Optimus Prime that Hot Rod, Springer and Sandstorm had yet to find the Autobots and Joes that had gone missing while chasing Serpent O.R. Their conversation was then interrupted due to a Decepticon attack. The Art of War #3
Skids was later stationed on the Arc II on Earth, where he helped his comrades in the field by warning them about incoming G.I. Joe S.H.A.R.C.s. When the ship came under attack by the Pretender Monsters, Skids was knocked out by Icepick while alerting the others on board. Black Horizon, Part 1 of 2 He was sent to the Pit for repairs and was expected to quickly recover from his injuries. Black Horizon, Part 2 of 2
TransTech
In an Offworld Zone of Axiom Nexus, a Skids was yet another victim of Bulletbike, murdered for a cred-key. I, Lowtech
IDW Generation 1 comics
 Plot details for Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On follow. |
Skids was believed to have gone missing or dead long ago due to yet-unrevealed circumstances. Hangers On
Though too late to be heeded, a mysterious message from the future was sent to the Autobots departing to find the lost Knights of Cybertron—warning stating "Don't let them take Skids". How to Say Goodbye and Mean It
Piloting a shapeshifting craft, Skids arrived through a portal above the planet where the Lost Light had crashed. He was amnesiac, had an inhibitor claw clinging to his back, and was followed by mysterious warrior robots, but he slowly began to regain his memory. After ejecting the craft and exploding it, he battled the warrior robots on the ground, as they repeated one phrase over and over: "Nineteen eighty-four." Skids didn't fare well against the robots without much of his memory and an inhibitor clamp, so thankfully he ran into a small party of Autobots from the Lost Light. After Chromedome removed the clamp, Skids destroyed the robots with some impressive moves. Swerve asked Skids if he were an ex-Wrecker or some other sort of elite fighting unit, but Skids, who was slowly recalling more and more of himself, responded that he was merely a theoretician.
Skids was brought on board. Hangers On
Games
3D Battle-Card Game
Skids was one of Optimus Primal's many Autobot allies in a fight against Megatron's Decepticon forces, in what might possibly have been an inter-universe battle. Energon Wars Expansion Set
Toys
Generation 1
- Skids (Autobot, 1985/2004/2009)
- Accessories: "Liquid nitrogen rifle", "twin electron blaster", "rocket pod" launcher, 3 rockets
- Skids's toy transforms into a blue Honda City Turbo with a red stripe. His robot mode is similar to other hood-chest Autobot Transformers, but is unusual in that his rear wheels fold into his feet, aiding in stability. Also unusual for Transformers figures, his hand weapons actually attach onto his forearms rather than being held in his fists. He is also armed with a spring-loaded rocket launcher.
- Skids is one of the rarest mass-release G1 figures, as just one was included per every two shipping cases.
- Skids was reissued by Takara on September 27 of 2002 as part of their "book-box" Transformers Collection series. In 2004, Hasbro re-released him as part of the Toys"R"Us exclusive Commemorative Series VIII. The Takara version features a fully functional spring-loaded rocket launcher, whereas the Hasbro version has the launching spring removed.
- In October of 2009, TakaraTomy reissued Skids as part of their Transformers Encore series. This version of Skids featured tampographed Autobot symbols and rear tail lights. He also featured cherry red plastic and stickers as opposed to tomato red, and his blue plastic was changed to a blueish purple plastic. The clear blue used for his windows, is a much lighter shade then the previous versions. Some of his stickers were also updated, including the pre-applied grill sticker.
- This mold was retooled to make the e-HOBBY Autobot Crosscut and the Transformers Generations 2009 exclusive Screech.
- Skids & Sunstreaker vs Buzzsaw (Multi-pack, 1985)
- Japanese ID number: VSZ
- In the original Japanese toyline, Skids was released only in a multi-pack with Sunstreaker and Buzzsaw. This box set remains a considerable rarity on the secondary market.
- Skids & Screech Quantum Operative Ver. (2009)
- Accessories: "Material acceleration pistol", dual-barreled gun, "quantum shield" launcher, 3 rockets, scooter
- Skids is a green redeco of his Generation 1 toy. He transforms into a Honda City R hatchback. He also comes with a "scooter" accessory that fits in his hatchback. Skids was an exclusive to Million Publishing, sold only in a set with Screech with volume 3 of Transformers Generations 2009. While Skids' colors are an homage to Revenge of the Fallen Skids, Screech is likewise a match for Skids' twin Mudflap.
Alternators
- Autobot Skids (2005)
- Alternator ID number: 17
- Japanese ID number: BT-16
- Accessories: Engine-rifle
- Skids transforms into a 1:24-scale blue Toyota Scion xB. All four doors open, revealing a fully-detailed realistic interior with seats for a driver and passengers, plus his hood pops open to reveal his engine. His robot mode is very reminiscent of his original toy, with his head sculpt based off his animation model with toy details. His engine pops out and unfolds to become his hand-held pistol.
- The Hasbro Alternators release (part of the first wave of new "bubble packaging" toys) differs from the Takara Binaltech release in that it has a much darker shade of blue, tinted windows, and various Scion-type tampographed flame decals. The Japanese release naturally has die cast metal parts, is painted a lighter shade of blue, and has different paint decos. It also includes a sheet of stickers, including flames resembling the ones printed on the Alternators version, as well as some Generation-1-style red stripes, and most humorously, a Japanese "New Driver" badge.
- This mold was also used to make Binaltech Asterisk Broadblast.
Merchandise
Decoy
- Cybertron Hero Collection 22 (multi-pack, 1986)
- Skids (1987)
- Decoy number: 12
- 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 Autobot Decoys, he was a randomly-chosen pack-in available with the carded Throttlebots, Aerialbots, Protectobots and Technobots.
- Skids (3D Battle-Card, 2007)
- A 26-point "common" character in the 3D Battle-Card Game's "Energon Wars" expansion, Skids "transforms" into a grey pickup truck of indeterminate make. He uses the same parts layout as Ironhide and Dropkick.
- He is equipped with a LN2 Cryo Rifle, an Electron Blaster, and a Rocket Launcher, which are similar to his G1 weapons — but due to the interdimensional nature of the Energon Wars subset, the Battle-Card may or may not also represent the live-action movie Skids.
Notes
- The Diaclone version of Skids was additionally available in black or red. Neither of these color schemes have been used within the Transformers toyline as yet, but with Takara, you never know.
- Skids' animation model head appears to be based on early Diaclone promotional concept art. The toy's head would be different... and ultimately different from the Crosscut head shown in his instructions, which also popped up a few times in the UK comics.
- Though Skids' toy turned into a Honda City Turbo, his car mode was often misinterpreted in Transformers fiction as one of the then-new minivans, despite the fact that a Honda City Turbo is a subcompact car, and as such, could theoretically be stowed in the back seat of an actual minivan. This is likely because most Americans in 1985 wouldn't know what a subcompact car is.
- Skids is noteworthy for his almost complete absence from the original television series. He had but two lines in two different episodes by two different voice actors.
- In the television commercial that introduced all the rest of his assortment, Skids was totally absent. Burnsauce!
- His bad luck doesn't stop there. Though Skids had an issue all to himself in the Marvel Comics, he spent upwards of 100 (UK) issues abandoned and forgotten in limbo while parasites ate his brain.
- In the "Survivors!" story, Skids was suddenly drawn with Crosscut's head. "Survivors!"' artist, Dan Reed, previously drew him with his real head, so it'd be interesting to learn why and how this change happened. (He would later mysteriously regain his own face.)
- In more recent years, toys sporting the name "Skids" have required an additional "Autobot" prefix for trademark reasons, hence making the official name "Autobot Skids".
- TakaraTomy accidentally revealed the color scheme for the Transformers Generations 2009 exclusive Skids figure by including the missile launcher from the exclusive version with the normal Encore version at Tokyo Toy Show 2009.[1]
- Mockup images showed Skids with black shoulders, shins, and legs, but the final product's shoulders, shins, and legs are gray. His face was also shown as gray, but ended up silver.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Skids (スキッズ Sukizzu)
- French: Platon ("Plato")
- Hungarian: Szán
- Italian: Furetto ("Ferret")
- Portuguese: Patins (Brazil comic, "Skate"), Pe-de-cabra (Portugal comic, "Crowbar")
- Russian: Tormoz (Тормоз, "Brake")
