Musket laser

One of these babies is worth more than a thousand of those new-fangled peashooters.

Some weapons are so old, they're classics. Such is the case with Kup's musket laser, which shoots bursts of metal-corrosive hydrochloric acid. Some whippersnappers call it a laser musket, which just shows you how much today's kids know, which is nothing. World's going to hell in a handbasket, swear to primus.

Toys

Generation 1

This is how we did it back in the day.

• Kup (Autobot Car, 1986)

Kup's musket laser was a fancy cyan number, if you can believe it. It didn't even stow anywhere in vehicle mode, but that's what you had to put up with back then. We took our lumps and we liked it.

Watch this one closely. I think it's going to steal my medicine.

• Kup w/ Recoil (Targetmaster, 1987)

Kup's cyan gun was an "old-style musket laser," and so was this thing which transformed into a little fleshy dude named Recoil. Whatever constitutes an old-style musket laser must involve fairly lax parameters.

Timelines

Unorthodox, but it worked, by gum!

• Wings of Honor (BotCon 2009 box set)

Back when Kup was fresh off the assembly line, his laser musket was a fancy-pants state-of-the-art doohickey that mounted from his left wrist. It could also convert into a magnetic clamp or an experimental kinetic energy hammer. Oh, those were the days.

Generations

They changed it now it sucks.

• Sergeant Kup (Deluxe Class, 2011)

Oh, so it has to look like an actual musket now, does it? Kids today, they have to have this stuff hand-fed to them. No subtlety at all, this generation. Well, at least it can clip just about anywhere, plus it can transform into an exhaust pipe in a pinch. Don't make 'em like they used to.

When Kup was later retooled into Swerve, the musket was renamed into a "Blaster". I tell ya, there's just no imagination and creativity nowadays.

Notes

• Kup's musket laser follows The Transformers: The Movie's trend of giving themed lasers to its featured characters. Galvatron carries an electrochemical laser (it galvanizes, get it?), Wreck-Gar carries a "decelerator laser" which makes you stupid (Wreck-Gar ain't quite all there, get it?), and Kup has a "musket laser," which pokes fun at Kup's age. Muskets are old, see!
• Kup's later toys would call his musket laser a "laser musket," which is totally backwards. Man, whatever.

External links

• Kup's Universe profile @ NTFA.net