Rung (G1)
- Rung is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Rung is a psy-ops specialist for the Autobot army. His reports are added to the Autopedia entries for each Autobot. He transforms into a communications maintenance vehicle with a long ladder-like repair arm. As part of his duties, he performs the mental assessments of potential Wreckers-to-be.
Fiction
IDW Generation 1 continuity
While hanging out at Macadam's Old Oil House, Rung spilled a cadet's drink. After refusing to clean up the spill, the poor bot was tossed across the bar, right onto Impactor and Megatron's table. Chaos Theory Part 1
Rung did a psychological evaluation of Impactor before his trial for unlawful executions. He ended up being physically assaulted and threatened with extreme violence if he tried 'putting ideas' in Impactor's head, but managed to calm the situation down. In the end, Rung was left questioning whether Autobot High Command shared the blame for Impactor's crimes for turning a blind eye to the robot's growing psychopathy. Impactor's Autopedia entry
Rung later performed a pre-mission psych-screening on new Wreckers Rotorstorm, Ironfist, Pyro, and Guzzle to estimate if they were suited to be put on the Garrus-9 case. Rung was unimpressed by Rotorstorm's unrelenting bragging and joking, and found himself cutting through the charade when he mentioned Simanzi. Taking note of his dual personality, Rung declared him cleared for mission. Rotorstorm's Autopedia entry With Pyro, he diagnosed the robot as an extreme sufferer of Primus apotheosis and noted with sadness that the robot was suppressing his own engaging personality for a copy of another's. He cleared Pyro with reservations, noting that apotheosis sufferers were known for sacrificing themselves. Pyro's Autopedia entry With Guzzle, he cleared the 'bot as having personality flaws but no real psychological flaws, though he was unnerved by his disturbing habit of playing with his gun's safety. Guzzle's Autopedia entry
When screening Ironfist, he was impressed by his enthusiasm and knowledge, but not so much by his actual combat experience and mentality. Rung advised against Ironfist's participation, but retracted his negative conclusion when he received 'unsolicited advice' from an undisclosed party. Ironfist's Autopedia entry
Rung treated the shell-shocked Autobot Flattop. He discovered Flattop was a survivor of the Babu Yar atrocity, but that was not his immediate problem. What pushed him over the edge this time was an encounter with the Shimmer. Rung tried to give rational explanations for the appearance of Shimmer, but Flattop died right there in his office. Bullets
Kup, one of Rung's oldest friends, asked him to examine Springer after a zero point affliction had left him in a coma. Believing that certain emotional triggers could cause Springer's subconscious to force his spark across the zero point, Rung asked Roadbuster to read Wreckers: Declassified datalogs to him in hopes that the memories would have some effect. Zero Point
Rung was among the survivors of Cyclonus's attack on Kimia Facility. He and the others drifted in a cramped escape pod for some time until they were rescued by Arcee. Chaos Part Three: Kings
After Cybertron was reborn in the wake of the D-Void's defeat, Rung joined Rodimus's crew on the Lost Light in search for the Knights of Cybertron. Before he could get on the ship, his arm was detached by a wildly flying Cyclonus. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It After getting his arm repaired in Ratchet's care, Rung was choked by an irrational and unresponsive Whirl. The psychiatrist managed to get him to release his grip when he reminded Whirl that he would go back to prison, forever, if he didn't stay in line. When Skids joined the crew, Rung informed him of their quest. Hangers On Rung later had a close call with a Sparkeater, but was saved by Skids. Rodimus used the two to lure the Sparkeater so he could defeat it. The Chaos of Warm Things
Red Alert, having previously been one of Rung's longest-standing patients, returned to therapy shortly after the launch of the Lost Light. Rung was concerned that all the progress they had made on Red Alert's rampant paranoia over the years was coming undone. Red Alert informed Rung that he was hearing noises coming from a crack in the floor of the Sparkeater's chamber. He gave him a recording of the noise which Rung vaguely recognized as a voice, albeit tremendously slowed-down. When they sped the sound up, the words "kill...me" could be identified. How Ratchet Got His Hands Back
Rung held a session with the newly-returned Fortress Maximus, whose mental state had been called into question after he had suffered torture and humiliation at the hands of Overlord for three years. Rung urged him to open up and explore his trauma, to no avail. Maximus later snapped and went on a rampage across the Lost Light, gunning down Autobots that reminded him of Overlord. Rung was in the middle of a session with Whirl when Max broke in and took them both hostage. Rung was bound to his chair and Whirl was overpowered and pinned to the ground. Rung tried to reason with Maximus, while simultaneously recording and broadcasting what was happening in his office through the microphone in his thumb. When Maximus noticed it, he tore Rung's thumb off.
As the situation dragged on, Rung continued to try and break through to Maximus. Max kept dodging the issue, pinning the reason for his actions on Prowl's delay in sending help to Garrus-9, instead of acknowledging that Overlord was at the root of his psychosis. Maximus then confronted Whirl, who told Maximus about his life. Rung expressed wonder at this, as there were details that Whirl told Maximus that he's never told Rung. Whirl replied that Rung had never threatened any of his friends, to Rung's visible surprise. When a holo-image of Overlord torturing him was projected into the room by Rewind, Maximus froze up and crumbled to his knees. Rung tenderly comforted him and the hostage situation appeared to be at an end. Unfortunately, a shot from Swerve meant to disable Fortress Maximus instead hit Rung in the head. A memorial service was later held for Rung, which Rodimus presided over. Interiors
 Spoiler warning: Plot details for Rules of Disengagement follow. |
Surprisingly, Rung's spark and brain module survived and the medical staff believed he might pull through: something Ratchet said was akin to a miracle. Later, after a visit by Skids and a horrified Swerve, Red Alert came to see the comatose psychiatrist. Believing that Rung's near-death was a result of the recording he had played to Rung, the paranoid security officer said he couldn't tell anyone else the truth he'd discovered — the voice was Overlord's, the sadistic Decepticon "strung up and sedated" in the bowels of the Lost Light. Expecting to be killed himself, he left a data slug of his findings in Rung's hand and said goodbye. Unfortunately, a Diagnostic Drone had recorded Red Alert's confession, and summoned a mysterious figure who removed the slug... Rules of Disengagement
Notes
- A psychoanalyst named Rung was referenced in the unofficial Transformers novel Eugenesis, written by James Roberts.
- The name "Rung" is a reference to Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology.[1] The mention of "Rungian analysis" in "How to Say Goodbye and Mean It" is a further play on this.
- Incidentally, the above reference to "Rungian analysis" came from Tailgate on his way to the original Ark. This means Rung was an established psychotherapist as far back as six million years ago, in the times of Nova Prime, making him one of the few identified survivors of that era.
