Trailbreaker (G1)
| The name or term "Trailbreaker" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Trailbreaker (disambiguation). |
- Trailbreaker is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
It's hard not to like Trailbreaker. He's a good-humored cheerleader, always ready with a joke or comment to lighten the mood when things get dark. Sadly, Trailbreaker's joking is often a cover for his low self-esteem. His form is the most fuel-consumptive of the Ark crew, and his vehicle mode is very slow. As such, he feels like a useless drain on their limited resources. The Autobots know better, of course. Trailbreaker's good humor, bravery, and impenetrable force field are all of great use, but convincing him of that is hard, especially when he begins to mope about his handicaps.
He is sometimes known as Trailcutter or Trailblazer.
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Generation 1
Trailbreaker was part of Optimus Prime's original crew, crashing to Earth four million years ago aboard the Ark. The Transformers
Trailbreaker was one of the Autobots who participated in the battle outside of Sparkplug's garage, and could be spotted among the Autobots returning to the Ark. Prisoner of War!Trailbreaker joined a detachment of Autobots investigating robot sightings in Merry Ol' England. After making contact with a young boy named Sammy, the Autobots were caught by surprise when the Seekers fire-bombed them from the sky. Trailbreaker was blasted before he could activate his force field. Like a freakin' drama queen, he went offline whimpering, "It's no good. Everything's gone... just plain ruined..." Man of Iron
Like many Autobots, Trailbreaker was too low on fuel to join Optimus and the others in what would've been their climactic battle with Megatron's forces, and was taken prisoner without a fight when Shockwave assumed command of the Decepticons and the Ark. He was revived after Ratchet and the Dinobots reclaimed the Ark, however. When the Autobots went to recover Optimus Prime's head and restore their leader to functionality, Trailbreaker was one of many Autobots caught off-guard by the false Prime created by Shockwave and was shot down before he could raise his force field. Prime Time!
On another occasion, the Dinobot Swoop was under the control of a human scientist and attacking the Autobots. Trailbreaker jumped in his path and tried to wrestle the pteranodon to the ground. Instead, he was lifted up and slammed into the cliffside...'cause he never turned on that force field. The Icarus Theory During the Dinobot Hunt, Trailbreaker joined Brawn and Mirage in hunting Snarl among the sands of the Black Rock Desert. They managed to collect him virtually without a fight once Snarl wandered into a secret military base and unleashed a molecular disintegrator bomb that ended his rampage. Dinobot Hunt!
When Galvatron and his future Decepticons arrived in the present, the Autobot chain of command was crippled as Optimus Prime, Prowl, and Ratchet vanished and Jazz was taken prisoner. Jetfire attempted to rise to command, accepting support from Ironhide and Smokescreen, but the Autobots were simply outclassed. Trailbreaker was part of a group of more than a half-dozen Autobots who collectively failed to bring down even one of Galvatron's lieutenants. In desperation, the Autobots turned to Megatron himself (who had quickly been disposed of by Galvatron when he first arrived) as a temporary ally and battlefield advisor.
Under the Decepticon's direction, the Autobots staged a trap for the lone future Decepticon Scourge in order to weaken Galvatron's power base. Unfortunately, Scourge's enhanced sensors detected the trap almost immediately, and his acid ray nailed Trailbreaker THROUGH a wall before the battle even began. (Too early to have activated that force field, huh?) Scourge was ultimately brought down, but Trailbreaker was left inactive for days until Ratchet was restored to the present and able to repair him. Target: 2006
Well, he was up and about soon enough, and accompanied Prowl and Jetfire on a mission to stop the Decepticons from accessing a NASA space transmission facility, only to get knocked around helplessly by Dirge, and beaten to the ground long enough for the Decepticons to escape... all because he didn't turn on that slaggin' force field to protect himself. Remember, Trailbreaker? The force field? You're not built for speed or energy efficiency; you were built for power, specifically that one power that makes you special and unique. Or is it "just plain ruined" these days? The Gift
Trailbreaker was present to watch Grimlock and Blaster duke it out on the Moon for Autobot leadership. Totaled!
Marvel UK future timelines
In 2008, Trailbreaker was one of the Autobots taken down and strung up by the Quintessons when they invaded Autobot City. Space Pirates!
Regeneration One
Template:Noterg1 In 2012 Trailbreaker worked under Ultra Magnus in the Cybertronian Civil Defense. When Kup and the Wreckers went rogue it fell to Trailbreaker to deliver the bad news to Magnus, who ordered him to investigate further. Loose Ends #2 In a report to Optimus Prime he revealed his investigations had led him to uncover Kup's journey to Earth aboard the Cosmic Carnival, that the Wreckers were in trouble and Megatron was back, prompting the Autobot leader to leave Cybertron to confront him. Loose Ends #3
Generation 1 cartoon continuity
The Transformers cartoon
- Voice actor: Frank Welker (English), Ken Shiroyama (Japanese), Roberto Alexander (Latin American), Toni Orlandi (Italian)
Trailbreaker was part of the bridge crew of the Ark spaceship when it blasted off from Cybertron to search for new sources of energy four million years in the past. When he was awakened in 1984, Teletraan I reformatted him so that his alt-mode was a terrestrial Toyota 4WD camper truck. Trailbreaker accompanied his fellow Autobots on their first mission to stop the Decepticons on Earth, a mission that took him to an off-shore oil rig. The Decepticons plundered the rig for energon and destroyed it, leaving it a flaming wreck that endangered its human crew. Trailbreaker used his force field to contain the fire, while Wheeljack used his built-in fire-suppression systems to douse the flames. More than Meets the Eye, Part 1
Later, Trailbreaker served as a spy despite his stated function as defensive strategist. (Mirage was apparently busy that day.) He, along with the humans Sparkplug Witwicky and Spike, camped out near the Decepticons' headquarters and eavesdropped on their plans to raid the ruby mines of Burma. Their surveillance did not go totally unnoticed, however, as a set of Seekers spotted the Autobot making his getaway. Trailbreaker summoned the brothers Sunstreaker and Sideswipe to fend off his pursuer and got the information safely back to Prime. More than Meets the Eye, Part 2
Trailbreaker watched Jazz fish Ironhide and Bluestreak out of a lake during the mission in Burma. He volunteered along with all of the rest of the Autobots to attempt to prevent the Decepticons from leaving Earth with the Energon they'd gathered. He fired on the Decepticons as they boarded the space cruiser they'd built. Though the ship still launched despite their efforts, Mirage brought it crashing back to Earth. More than Meets the Eye, Part 3 Trailbreaker was part of a group of Autobots who were lured into a cave by a reprogrammed Bumblebee and ambushed by the Decepticons. Transport to Oblivion He also took part in the assault on an antimatter laboratory when the Decepticons got their hands on an antimatter formula, and was damaged when the lab exploded during the Decepticon withdrawal. Roll for It
A team of Autobots, including Trailbreaker, rolled out to give Optimus backup at an ammunition plant, but arrived too late, and found Prime badly damaged. When Prime needed a new Cosmitron, Trailbreaker volunteered for a mission to Cybertron to retrieve a replacement from Wheeljack's workshop. Megatron had his forces on that planet use acid rain on the group, but after a pep talk from Chip Chase, Trailbreaker remembered he could use his force fields to protect them. They subsequently returned to Earth and, while the replacement Cosmitron was being installed, helped defend Headquarters against a Decepticon attack. Divide and Conquer When the Dinobots ran amok during their unveiling, Trailbreaker protected himself from Slag's fire-breath with a force field. Of course, this merely deflected the fire onto Sunstreaker. Some time later, Trailbreaker and most of the rest of the Autobots went to the Great Falls to try and stop the Decepticons from raiding it, and were all captured. They would have been terminated, had Wheeljack not come to the rescue with the upgraded Dinobots. S.O.S. Dinobots
Trailbreaker and Brawn were going for a drive one day, only to find two suspicious-looking jets. The jets revealed themselves as Decepticons who had come to a nearby refinery to make off with its steel to build a weapon. Brawn and Trailbreaker interrupted them, but Starscream blasted missiles at them, destroying the refinery, and made his getaway. The Autobots reported the incident back to Optimus Prime. Toward the end of the ensuing battle in Peru, Trailbreaker pitched in to fire at the new weapon. Fire on the Mountain
When the Autobots began studying a meteorite that had fallen to Earth, Wheeljack discovered the sample fragment was highly unstable and summoned Optimus and Trailbreaker to his laboratory. On command, Trailbreaker unleashed his force field around the meteorite to contain the explosive blast. War of the Dinobots In the aftermath of a Decepticon attack on Headquarters, Trailbreaker took part in cleanup efforts. The Ultimate Doom, Part 1 Following Cybertron's arrival in Earth orbit, he and Jazz mocked Thundercracker when the Seeker's was blasted by his own fire, whipped back by the strong winds. Trailbreaker volunteered for a mission to Cybertron to rescue Sparkplug, intending to use his jammer beam to mask their approach. Unfortunately he left it too late, but Skyfire was able to dodge the incoming missiles. The team arrived on Cybertron, but became separated, with Skyfire, Trailbreaker and Wheeljack left on the surface. The Ultimate Doom, Part 2
The trio made their way down and arrived in time to rescue Spike and the smaller 'bots from the Decepticons. After a swift retreat, they reached the relative safety of Wheeljack's workshop, where the scientist worked to construct a counter for the Decepticon hypno-chips. That done, they rescued Sparkplug, and headed back to Earth in time to liberate the enslaved humans and prevent Megatron from getting away with a shuttle full of Energon. The Ultimate Doom, Part 3 Trailbreaker was at headquarters when they discovered that Megatron was still operational and leading the Decepticons. Countdown to Extinction
With the emergence of the Insecticons in Bali, Trailbreaker was among the Autobots who went to investigate. They arrived in time to reinforced the smaller team who'd already found the Insecticons, and the foe, now teamed up with the Decepticons, took off. During the pursuit, Shrapnel used his control beam on Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, compelling the pair to try and ram their fellows, but Trailbreaker used a force field to sever the beam. They eventually reached an oil refinery, but during the battle, Shrapnel harnessed lightning from a storm that had moved in, and zapped Trailbreaker and Wheeljack. Both survived, and Trailbreaker was later able to use his force field to disable the Insecticon clones, rescuing Bumblebee and Spike. A Plague of Insecticons After Megatron challenged Optimus to a one-on-one duel, Trailbreaker and the rest of the Autobots turned out to cheer their leader on. To their horror, Optimus lost, meaning they'd have to leave Earth forever, but once they returned to headquarters, they used Teletraan I to establish that Megatron had cheated, rendering the result void. Heavy Metal War
During Sparkplug's demonstration of his latest invention, Autobot X, the creation went wild. Trailbreaker, Ironhide and Prowl tried to charge it, only to be blasted on their cans. Trailbreaker's force field provided his companions with cover so they could take down the beast. Autobot Spike He was on the ill-fated mission to come to the aid of some gold miners, during which Gears was captured by the Decepticons. He subsequently joined the effort to rescue Gears and disable Megatron's Solar Needle. When they found that Megatron had temporarily reprogrammed Gears to be a happy-go-lucky kind of Autobot, Trailbreaker was the one who voiced what everyone was thinking and said maybe they should just leave him that way. Changing Gears He was also on the mission to New York City when the Decepticons started replacing buildings in an attempt to create a new Cybertron, City of Steel and was turned evil by Megatron's personality destabilizer device. Attack of the Autobots
Trailbreaker witnessed the demonstration of the Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer, and protected his comrades with a force field when the Decepticons attacked. Though they managed to steal the Immobilizer, the Decepticons fell into a river and Trailbreaker lightened the situation with a healthy joke. The Immobilizer He took part in a charity race, though he wasn't the fastest of Autobots, and still managed to outrun Ironhide. When the old timer complained about a weird jolt in his circuitry, Trailbreaker suggested he was making an excuse, but it was actually the effects of Megatron's Transfixatron. Locked in their vehicle modes, the Autobots were taken to an old ghost town, and it looked like they were going to be destroyed, until the Autobots who'd remained at base turned up to rescue them. Ironhide and Trailbreaker took great delight in smashing the Transfixatron to bits. The Autobot Run Trailbreaker took part in the defense of Washington, D.C. when the Decepticons teamed up with the residents of Sub-Atlantica. Atlantis, Arise!
Trailbreaker was also a guard when Doctor Fujiyama the Famous Scientist revealed his Nightbird, though when Decepticons inevitably attacked, they blasted through the door Trailbreaker was standing in front of, sending him across the room. Enter the Nightbird After an apparently successful attack on the Decepticons at a crevasse, the Autobots found that they somehow had two Optimus Primes—the real one referring to Trailbreaker as "Trailblazer". Trailbreaker was one of the proponents of using a series of trials to work out which was the real thing. When that was unsuccessful, the Autobots ended up going on another mission to the crevasse to investigate strange readings, and once again encountered the Decepticons. After one of the Primes apparently destroyed Starscream, Trailbreaker announced that he must be the real thing, because he offed the Decepticons' "number two varmint". As it turned out, that Prime was a phony, trying to lure them into a ravine filled with dangerous korlonium crystals, as they discovered moments later when he disregarded a threat to Spike's life. A Prime Problem
When the Dinobots attempted to demonstrate their newfound "finesse" to the other Autobots, Slag accidentally set fire to the Ark, threatening Teletraan I. Thinking quickly, Trailbreaker projected his force field over the Autobot supercomputer, allowing Inferno time to extinguish the blaze. Dinobot Island, Part 1 The Decepticon's pillaging of Dinobot Island began causing time warps to appear across the world, and Trailbreaker flew to the island by jet pack to investigate with the rest of the Autobots. After a prolonged battle, the Autobots and Dinobots succeeded in chasing the Decepticons from the island. Dinobot Island, Part 2
On another occasion, the Autobots were forced to abandon Earth by Megatron aboard a spacecraft set on a course into the sun. After the Autobots discovered they couldn't alter their course, their ship exploded. Trailbreaker cast a massive force field large enough to contain the entire Autobot force safely; from within the field, Cosmos towed the group back to Earth. Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2 Trailbreaker was incapacitated by Cybertonium depletion, as were the rest of the Autobots. They were only saved when Spike, Carly and the Dinobots brought more back from Cybertron. Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2
Trailbreaker was among the Autobots who arrived too late to prevent the theft of the Voltronic Galaxer. When Megatron used the device to knock out radio transmissions during a blizzard, Trailbreaker's force fields proved to be a valuable asset, protecting humans and Autobots alike from snowfall. Blaster Blues He took part in an attempt to defend an Electrum pool from the Decepticons, The Golden Lagoon and a baseball stadium incident during which Optimus and a number of other Autobots were lost through the Decepticon space bridge. Child's Play
After that, a Decepticon coup by Starscream, Astrotrain and Blitzwing resulted in a city being flooded. Trailbreaker used his force field to protect himself and a small group of Autobots from a large tidal wave. Triple Takeover He rolled out with the majority of the Autobot forces to rescue Perceptor from the Decepticons, though it resulted in them all being infected with Cosmic Rust. Cosmic Rust He was also hanging around Headquarters when the Stunticons were captured, and a group of Autobots disguised as them in an attempt to find out what Megatron was up to. Masquerade
Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers comic
When Megatron sent Starscream, the Seekers and Menasor to raid Tokyo for energy, Trailbreaker accompanied Optimus Prime and a unit of Autobot vehicles to defend the city. Trailbreaker didn't perform very well, cowering in fright beneath Menasor's size and taking the combiner's humongous fist to the face. Luckily, his pummelling made the perfect distraction for Optimus Prime, Wheeljack and Smokescreen, who drove up a ramp and slammed Menasor and the Seekers directly in their faces, sending them into retreat. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #1
As a member of the 4-Wheel-Drive Brigade, Trailbreaker accompanied Kenji and the rest of the team to a crater in Kyushu where Decepticon activity had been discovered. Entering the crater, however, Trailbreaker and the Brigade were caught off-guard by numerous landmines that had been planted by the Insecticons. As they sunk toward as steaming pit of magma, the other four members of the Brigade managed to defeat the Decepticons by forming a human pyramid and using their "4-Wheel-Drive Robo Combination Scrumbuster" attack. Trailbreaker, unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), had to sit that one out because he was escorting Kenji within himself and couldn't transform to robot mode. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #3
Story of Binaltech
Trailbreaker was one of many Autobots who suffered from an outbreak of the Cosmic Rust virus after the Decepticons unleashed it on Earth. He was supposed to receive a new body thanks to the Central City Institute of Technology, but the Decepticons managed to infiltrate the Binaltech Project. Through the use of hypno-chip-controlled spies and pawns, Trailbreaker's new body was hijacked and used to upgrade the Combaticon known as Swindle instead. Expose All of Evil's Designs!
Wings Universe
Trailbreaker was among the Autobots chosen to be part of Optimus Prime's new military. He agreed with Jazz that dealing with Megatron would be a piece of oil cake. Battle Lines, Part 2 A week later, he was part of the Autobot forces at Iacon's city walls as the Decepticons broke through with Devastator. Battle Lines, Part 5 The battle was won, but not without casualties. In search for energy to replenish the Transformers, an Autobot crew including Trailbreaker left the planet in the Ark. Battle Lines, Part 6
Marvel Colouring Books
Trailbreaker, who looks... odd, was captured by the Decepticons under unknown circumstances and put in their special Autobot prison. He and the other prisoners were eventually freed by Bumblebee, after which they struck back against the Decepticons. Trailbreaker projected his force field around some of the villains in order to trap them, and after the battle was won, he and the other Autobots cheered for Bumblebee. Hip hip hooray! Bumblebee to the Rescue!
Dreamwave Generation One comics
Trailbreaker was present under the command of Grimlock at the battle of Altihex when the Decepticons destroyed a building full of neutral Cybertonians. Unable to save the city, the Autobots helped evacuate civilians before retreating. The War Within #1 When Decepticon Military Operations Commander Shockwave led a force of Decepticons against the Autobot capital of Iacon, Trailbreaker was among the Autobots who defended the city-state. The War Within #5
When Decepticon leader Megatron and Autobot leader Optimus Prime disappeared in an accident with a space bridge, the Autobot and Decepticon forces splintered into smaller factions. Trailbreaker stayed with the Autobots under the leadership of Prowl. He and Bluestreak filled in Jetfire on what was happening after Jetfire returned from a survey. Devastation Trailbreaker was later part of the group of reinforcements that helped battle the giant Trypticon. Revelation They returned to Autobase for repairs, only for The Fallen to break in to rescue Blitzwing. Confrontation
Trailbreaker was among the Autobots who followed Optimus Prime on his mission on board the Ark. They were attacked by Megatron's ship, the Nemesis. After being boarded, the Ark crash-landed on Earth, where all on board were preserved in emergency stasis. In 1984, a volcanic eruption awakened the Ark's computer, Teletraan I, and it repaired all on board.
Eventually, the combined forces of the Autobots on Earth and their human allies were able to capture the Decepticons. In 1999, a ship called the Ark II was built to take the Cybertonians back to Cybertron, along with some human companions, but the ship exploded shortly after takeoff. The human allies were killed, but the Cybertonians were lost in the ocean, again in stasis lock. Prime Directive #1 Three years later, Spike Witwicky assisted the US "Defense Ministry" in reactivating Optimus Prime by placing a piece of the Matrix into his chest. Optimus traveled to the remote Arctic shoreline where he'd been found after the crash and used the Matrix to revive Jazz, Mirage, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Superion, Trailbreaker and Wheeljack from where they lay under the waves. Prime Directive #2
Shortly afterwards, the Autobots assisted the US military in rescuing the survivors of the Smitco Oil Refinery attack. When Optimus Prime learned the attackers were Autobots and Decepticons under the control of terrorist arms dealer Adam Rook, he asked his Autobots to accompany him to fight for Great JUSTICE. Trailbreaker was among the Autobots who agreed to come along, stating that Prime only needed to point him in the right direction. Trailbreaker participated in the battle at Rook's destroyed base when General Hallo double-crossed them and attempted to destroy all the Transformers with a low-yield nuclear weapon. Prime Directive #3
After the Autobots extricated themselves from the nuke-absorbing hardened virus shell, Trailbreaker helped rescue the captive Autobots Megatron was using to fuel his technovirus. After Ironhide informed the other Autobots of Megatron's imminent attack on San Francisco, they flew there and engaged the Decepticons. Trailbreaker smashed Grimlock in the face with a steel girder and informed the former Dinobot commander that he'd made the wrong choice in leaving the Autobots and was now going to pay. Unfortunately, Superion was taken down by the Seekers and Devastator, prompting Trailbreaker to join Optimus Prime, Sideswipe and Megatron in a moment of dull surprise, gaping at Devastator as if they had never seen him before. Prime Directive #4
As Jazz and the Autobots in Canada were preparing to deal with the technovirus, Trailbreaker frantically radioed them for backup, reporting that Superion was down. As he was distracted, Devastator attempted to stomp on the Autobot. Trailbreaker caught the foot in time, but was crushed into the pavement. He was later retrieved and placed into restraint by the Decepticons as Megatron attempted to convince Optimus Prime to join his cause to wipe out the humans and rule the universe. Prime Directive #5 Once Prime managed to free the Autobots with assistance from human firefighters, Trailbreaker resumed his assault on Grimlock by sending him flying with a punch. After Superion sacrificed himself to save San Francisco from General Hallo's unauthorized nuclear strike, Trailbreaker called Optimus over when he and Sideswipe discovered the abandoned Grimlock under rubble. Prime Directive #6
While the Keepers were invading Earth, the Transformers also had to deal with an over-reaching American President who wanted to destroy all the Cybertronians. He offered the Autobots his help in setting up an ambush for the Decepticons, but Prime and his advisors quickly realized the President planned to eliminate all of them. Taking what seemed to be the lesser of two evils at the moment, the Autobots forged an alliance with the Decepticons before travelling to the ambush site. Trailbreaker was among the Autobot soldiers Optimus chose for the battle. He fought against the military forces and apparently survived the attack of the deconstructionites relatively unharmed. Fusion
Months later, the united Cybertronian army arrived on Earth, demanding the surrender of all combatant Autobots and Decepticons. Trailbreaker suffered serious injuries battling Ramjet and the Seekers and had to be placed in a CR chamber for repairs on the flight back to Cybertron. He fought alongside the Ark's crew and the various insurgency groups on Cybertron to reclaim Iacon for the Autobots and force Shockwave out of power. War and Peace Afterwards, he joined Prowl and the rest of the Ark's old crew in returning to Earth to work on the construction of a new Autobot City.
3H comics
Hundreds of years later, Trailbreaker and fellow Autobots Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Roulette and Shadow Striker arrived on the newly technorganic Cybertron roughly one year after the defeat of this era's Megatron. They were welcomed by the surviving members of Optimus Primal's band of Maximals, including Rattrap, who offered to share a vintage keg of Maccadam's Old Oil with the Autobot veteran. Unfortunately, Trailbreaker did not have an opportunity to take Rattrap up on his offer, because immediately afterwards, he and his associates were abducted by Unicron and teleported to the Cauldron. There, they were rebuilt against their will into new bodies... except Trailbreaker, because why mess with success? Abduction
Escape
Optimus Primal led the Children of Primus, which included Trailbreaker, into a final fight with the Minions of Unicron on the surface of Unicron himself. However, as their victory was imminent, Unicron began to dissolve beneath their very feet, and King Atlas had to carry Trailbreaker and Roulette to safety, through a transwarp portal back to their native Cybertron. Revelations Part 2
G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers
Trailbreaker was among the Transformers discovered on Earth by Cobra, and reworked into a piloted death mechanism known as a Stinger. The Transformers were eventually freed, and the Autobots fought both their Decepticon enemies and their Cobra oppressors. During the battle, Trailbreaker and several other Autobots located Cobra Commander and tried to capture him, but he was protected by Cobra troops in robotic S.N.A.K.E. suits. Unfortunately, the Autobots underestimated their human opponents, and Trailbreaker was decapitated by Storm Shadow during the battle. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #5
This was apparently not as fatal as it seemed, however, as Trailbreaker was up and fighting again shortly afterwards. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #6
IDW Generation 1 continuity
Before the war, Trailbreaker's force field ability marked him as an outlier: a Cybertronian with special powers that didn't match up with their alternate mode. This got him noticed by Senator Shockwave, who took him and other outliers in at the Jhiaxian Academy of Advanced Technology to nurture their abilities and protect them from functionists. An Intimate Beheading
Trailbreaker later began serving in the Autobot Security Forces under the command of Sentinel Prime, during which he participated in the battle of Kaon where the criminal known as Megatron began a rampage with his army of convicts. He was kicked off a walkway by Starscream when he attempted to grab him as he was flying away. Megatron Origin #4
When the war broke out, Trailbreaker responded to Optimus Prime's call of distress against Megatron and his Decepticon forces who had overthrown the government and were now ruling Cybertron. He participated in the battle at the Citadel and managed to block most of the Decepticon attacks with his force field but couldn't withstand Megatron's vamparc annihilator. Endgame
Many years later, Trailbreaker was called in by Springer to extract a deranged Kup safely from the planet where he had crash-landed. The planet possessed a radiation which was dangerous to Transformers without special protective covering, causing Kup, in his delusions, to believe his rescuers were monsters trying to attack him. Trailbreaker's force fields allowed him to walk on the planet without any protective gear, and his appearance shocked Kup for long enough that he could save the old bot's spark core from meltdown. Spotlight: Kup
Later, he was one of Blaster's old friends who took time off duty to greet the return of "The Voice". Spotlight: Blaster
A year later, Trailbreaker had joined Optimus Prime's team of Autobots on Earth. They made a plan to drive the Decepticons off the planet once and for all, but fell into a trap and were defeated by Devastator. All Hail Megatron #7 Trailbreaker and the rest were subsequently dumped on the ruined Cybertron to be finished off by the Insecticon swarm. All Hail Megatron #1 His primary role appeared to be playing bodyguard to Mirage, making sure nobody lynched the guy for being a suspected traitor. All Hail Megatron #4 After the Autobot starship Trion crashlanded on the planet, Trailbreaker and the others listened to Hot Rod's story about what happened. All Hail Megatron #5 They proceeded to mingle with the rest of Trion's crew. All Hail Megatron #6 Trailbreaker later oversaw the process of putting a giant cannon in place on the Autobots' temporary base. All Hail Megatron #9
After the Surge, Trailbreaker split his time between Earth and the Kimia Facility, where he served on the Ethics Committee alongside Xaaron and Animus. Around two years after the fall of Megatron, he attended a meeting over Ironfist's newest invention, cerebro-sensitive bullets, and openly disapproved enough of both the weapons and their inventor to see their usage banned. Bullets Subsequently returning to Earth, Trailbreaker was present when Hot Rod announced his plans to abandon the planet and what was left of the war, but chose not to join the Autobot cavalier or his followers. New Arrivals, Old Encounters When news of the threat of Galvatron's army reached the Autobots on Earth, however, Trailbreaker changed his tune and volunteered to join Optimus Prime in returning to Cybertron to combat the threat. Orphans of the Helix During the trip, he spent a lot of time staring at Megatron, now in Autobot captivity. Chaos Theory #1 Upon arriving at Cybertron, the Autobots were faced with Kimia Facility, which had been captured by Galvatron, transformed into a giant laser cannon and used to fire on the planet. Rodimus (formerly Hot Rod) grabbed Trailbreaker and had him project a force field around the cannon's muzzle, but it proved too weak to stop the next blast. The shock of having his force field ripped apart knocked him unconscious, and he had to be repaired by Garnak. Numbers
After the battle was won and peace was restored to Cybertron, Trailbreaker joined Rodimus's crew on the Lost Light. They left Cybertron to search for the Knights of Cybertron and were promptly lost in space. Hangers On Their quest already off to a bad start, things only got worse when the Duobot Shock was slain by a stowaway Sparkeater. When Whirl attempted to shoot the creature, Trailbreaker was forced to protect it with a force field in order to prevent the sparks it had consumed from igniting. The Chaos of Warm Things Trailbreaker was later seen hanging around Swerve's newly opened bar. Life After the Big Bang
Not long afterwards, the Lost Light was gouged open by a mysterious piece of space debris, but luckily Trailbreaker arrived the scene and used his forcefields halt the decompression. This gave the trio of Chromedome, Brainstorm and Highbrow long enough to reboot the vacuum shields and repair the hull. When Rodimus subsequently held a medal ceremony to reward those pivotal in stopping the breach, Trailbreaker was dismayed to find that he wasn't on the list, because making forcefields was just "what he did".
Drowning his sorrow at Swerve's, Trailbreaker was approached by Whirl, who spontaneously decided to help the sulking Autobot turn his life around. After offering the sage advice to 'be more rude' and 'big yourself up', Whirl suggested his pupil choose a new, cooler sounding name. After deciding on 'Trailcutter', the duo proceeded to consult Brainstorm about getting a the forcefield specialist a new gimmick in the form of an outlandish weapon. Eventually getting fed up with the situation, Trailcutter stormed off back to his quarters, where he angrily toyed with his forcefields as he shut down for recharge.
On awakening, he was confused to find every other crew member frozen in the middle of whatever they happened to be doing. Wandering through the bridge, Trailcutter was startled by a boarding party in the form of Chop Shop and Venom. Trying to defend himself, he found his forcefields inoperative, and only managed to escape by triggering the frozen Whirl's weaponry, giving him an opening to zip away along the walls using his magnawheels.
Fleeing to the medibay, Trailcutter ambushed the pursuing Decepticons with a well-timed door slam and some electrical resuscitation pads. Overhearing the other invaders' communications, he then headed to the shuttle bay for a confrontation, collecting a remote for the ship's artificial gravity system on the way. In the shuttle bay, he found the boarding party being led by Lockdown, who explained that their goal was the space debris from earlier, in actuality a part of the titan Metroplex.
Taking Whirl's advice about bigging himself up, Trailcutter used the gravity remote to sow the deception that his forcefields were still working, keeping himself grounded with his magnawheels, and proceeded to talk down Lockdown, culminating with him convincing the Decepticon that he'd created a potentially fatal forcefield in his spark. Rattled, Lockdown fled the ship with his crew in tow.
Later, Trailcutter learned that the paralysis effect had been caused by an errant Brainstorm invention, and the forcefields he'd been throwing had protected him, albeit becoming shorted in the process. Having received a medal from Rodimus for his efforts stopping the Decepticons, the forcefield specialist felt pretty pleased with himself until Hoist revealed that Rodimus had also given enormous honorary shields to the rest of the crew for enduring paralysis. The Reluctant Specialist
Grumpy once more, Trailcutter went to Swerve's again, where he watched Chromedome show off his ability to identify an Autobot just by their transformation sound. Still resentful of his own reputation as a one-trick pony and with a little too much engex in him, Trailcutter began tipsily ranting about Fortress Maximus's overblown reputation and leg guns, just as Max himself walked into the bar. He then began to compliment the bot on the exact things that Trailbreaker had just been ranting about. Fort Max ignored him in favor of shooting Pipes. Interiors Later, he and Jackpot made fun of Ultra Magnus after the toughened officer had smiled. You, Me, and Other Revelations Swerve stole a bottle of Nightmare Fuel from his secret stash to serve during one of Rewind's story sessions. An Intimate Beheading
At some point, Trailcutter had Brainstorm install guns in his legs. Hoist admired them as they traveled to Temptoria in the Leading Light to attack a Decepticon base. Before & After When, not that long afterwards, Overlord was freed onboard the Lost Light, Trailcutter was part of the assault led by Rodimus to stop the Decepticon. Under Cold Blue Stars In the aftermath of the battle, he suggested to Skids that bereaved Chromedome might be out on the ship's hull, a place that Rewind and the mnemosurgeon often spent time together. The Gloaming
Hearts of Steel
Trailblazer was one of Autobots active in 1888, and transformed into a locomotive. He formed a train with Hound and Ratchet in order to bring Wheeljack, Tobias Muldoon and Nikola Tesla to the glacier where Optimus Prime lay dormant. Infestation 2: The Transformers #1 He then helped launch the device Tesla made to generate the electricity needed to reactivate Prime, and along with the other Autobots, gave up his his own power reserves for it to work. Once Prime was back, he revived his troops and led them to Port Cenotaph to fight the minions of an Elder God. Infestation 2: The Transformers #2
Games
Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons
When Optimus embarked on his mission to rescue the Autobots' Minicar troops from the Decepticons, Trailbreaker could come to Optimus Prime's aid, helping him navigate more quickly through the Decepticons' maze-like base. Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons packaging blurb and game
3D Battle-Card Game
Trailbreaker 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
- Trailbreaker (1984, 2001, 2008)
- Japanese ID number: 25
- Accessories: 2 "Twin Blasters", 2 missiles, radar scanner, 2 fists (left & right)
- Trailbreaker transforms in a Toyota 4WD Hi-Lux camper truck. In robot mode, both of his lower arms are projectile launchers, able to load and fire either his fists or his projectiles, which consist of two vacuum metallized silver missiles and two silver "twin blasters". The Hasbro version of the toy severely weakened the springs for safety reasons.
- In 2001, Trailbreaker was given a short-run reissue (limited to only 1,000 pieces) by Takara as a convention-exclusive item, bundled together with Hoist. Since this toy was never reissued by Hasbro, it remained one of the more elusive reissues by Takara, until his 2008 Encore reissue. While the original had a red visor, the Encore reissue was notable for having a blue visor and a tampographed Autobot symbol on his hood/chest.
Transformers (2010)
- Trailcutter (Legends class, 2011)
- Part of the second wave of "Reveal the Shield" Legends Class toys, Trailbreaker is now renamed "Trailcutter" due to Trademark reasons. He converts into a camper truck again, but with a front section similar to that of a Cadillac Escalade. His head sculpt is essentially the Generation 1 toy's head, including the visor, with the more humanoid face of the cartoon model. The same "hybrid" design had been previously used by Dan Khanna for 3H's Universe comics and by Hasbro for Alternators Swindle (originally intended as Trailbreaker) and his redeco Rollbar. As with all "Reveal the Shield" toys, he has a heat-sensitive rubsign.
- The "Reveal the Shield" Legends toys were largely released in discount and closeout chains in the US, most predominantly at Five Below stores.
- This figure was also sold in the Transformers Chronicle line, and was used to make Generations Hoist.
Chronicle
- Trailbreaker (EZ Collection, 2011)
- Chronicle EZ Collection Trailbreaker is a redeco of the Transformers Legends Class Trailbreaker toy, sporting a tampographed Autobot symbol... which is not present on the stock photos. Like other Chronicle Legends toys, he is sold in a blindpacked box.
Generations
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- Trailcutter (Deluxe class, 2013)
- Accessories: Roof/weapon
- Part of the 'Thrilling 30' anniversary campaign for the Generations line, Trailcutter is a new design with a modern pick-up truck alternate mode. Additionally, many of his robot mode details are based on Alex Milne's Cybertronian design for the character in the More Than Meets the Eye comic series. His truck bed canopy is removable, and can be wielded as a weapon in robot mode.
- He comes packaged with a copy of IDW's 'Spotlight: Trailcutter', featuring a cropped version of its Clayton Crain retailer incentive cover, which is called out as a 'Hasbro Exclusive Cover' on its front.
Other attempts
There are quite a few Transformers toys that were at one point in their development supposed to be a new form for (or tribute to) Trailbreaker, but before the Universe Legends toy, all of these became other characters with other names, most likely due to Hasbro's inability to secure the trademark.
Trailbreaker's appearance in the 3H Universe comics stems from early plans to release a Trailbreaker redeco of the Robots in Disguise X-Brawn mold as a convention exclusive in 2003. Reportedly, Hasbro themselves also had the same idea for the mass retail Universe Deluxe assortment, but due to the aforementioned reasons, the toy was ultimately given a different deco and released as Autobot Ratchet instead.
Later, a redeco of the Robots in Disguise Spy Changer Ironhide was released as a Wal*Mart exclusive under the Universe banner, a black pickup truck with the distinctive red and yellow stripes from Trailbreaker's original toy. Ultimately, this toy would be released as Ironhide instead.
The next attempt was in the Alternators line, the toy that would eventually become Swindle and later Rollbar. A retool of the Hound Jeep Wrangler toy, its head is a cross between the original Trailbreaker toy's helmet and the cartoon model's face, surprisingly similar to Dan Khanna's rendition of the character in 3H's Universe comics. A black and white version of a proposed color guide for the unreleased Trailbreaker version of the sculpt was depicted in the Japanese The Transformers: Binaltech & TF Collection Complete Guide book.
Finally, the Cybertron Autobot Overhaul was originally going to be called "Trailbreaker", and the head sculpt was to have more elements from the Generation 1 character's design. These plans were again scrapped, but the character's upgraded form, Leobreaker, retains the "breaker" portion of the name, since "Leohaul" sounds really silly. (The name "Overcast" was temporarily considered, but quickly dropped again.)
Merchandise
Decoy
- Cybertron Hero Collection 9 (multi-pack, 1986)
- ID number: Collection No. 3
- In Japan, a red rubber mini-figure of Trailbreaker was available in part of a multi-pack of similar mini-figurines. The number etched into his back is the sum total of his tech spec ratings, as these figurines were used as game pieces for a variety of Transformers board games in which this number had some meaning to how the game was played or something.
- Trailbreaker (1987)
- Decoy number: 10
- 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.
3D Battle-Card Game
- Trailbreaker (2007)
- A 26-point "common" character in the 3D Battle-Card Game's "Energon Wars" expansion, Trailbreaker "transforms" into a black pickup truck with a camper shell. He uses the same parts layout as Payload and Ratchet.
- The Battle-Card may or may not actually represent the live-action movie version of Trailbreaker, as the design is clearly in the live-action movie aesthetic (and a version of the Trailbreaker character exists in the "movie" universe anyway). The card's listed abilities — an Invisible Force Field and a Radio Jammer — line up with Trailbreaker's G1 abilities, however, so who knows.
Notes
- Trailbreaker's mold was originally a Diaclone "4WD Hi-Lux", available in three different colors: black, blue or yellow. The blue version was sold by Takara in North America as the Diakron "DK-3" Car/Robot in 1983, seemingly just a few months before the toy would be rebranded as a Transformer. There is an easy way to tell the black Diaclone 4WD Hi-Lux apart from a Transformers Trailbreaker, though - the Diaclone toy's vehicle-mode stickers have a yellow background.
- Trailbreaker had the preliminary name of Guzzle.[1]
- Like many of the early Generation 1 Transformers, Trailbreaker's toy and animation model differ a lot, especially as far as the head design is concerned. In recent years, both comic book artists and toy designers typically aim for an amalgamation of both designs, usually with the toy's helmet and the animation model's face. However, no-one can seem to agree whether his force field projector is supposed to be directly attached to the back of the head (as it was on the toy) or attached to the back of the robot. The IDW comics originally had it attached to a massive "kibble"-like backpack before switching to a design more akin to the original animation model with All Hail Megatron. Meanwhile, had the Alternators Jeep Wrangler mold been released as Trailbreaker like originally intended, he would have lacked his characteristic force field projector entirely.
- Originally, Blurr was going to be used in Spotlight: Kup, but after re-looking at Trailbreaker's Tech Spec and bio, Nick Roche decided that his power and cheery personality would work better. "It's nice to use a character who gets no love."[2]
Foreign names
- Japanese: Trailbreaker (トレイルブレイカー Toreirubureikā)
- French: Glouton (Canada, "Glutton")
- Hebrew: Shovér Kronot (שובר קרונות, "Trailer Breaker")
- Hungarian: Ösvényvágó
- Italian: Tuono ("Thunder")
- Mandarin: Kāi-lù Hsīen-fēng (Taiwan, 開路先鋒, "Trailbreaker")
- Portuguese: Pica-Trilhos (Portugal comic), Abre-alas (Brazil comic)
- Russian: Sledopyt (Следопыт, "Tracker")
