Strafe (AOE)
| The name or term "Strafe" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Strafe (disambiguation). |
- Strafe is a Dinobot from the Age of Extinction portion of the live-action film series continuity family.
You'd be forgiven if upon seeing Strafe appear on the battlefield, you had some sort of embarrassing evacuation. After all, a gigantic, two-headed Pteranodon swooping down on you would shake the toughest minds. Yet Strafe is an interesting contradiction in terms. A powerful and merciless warrior on the field, off of it Strafe is one of the most friendly and approachable individuals you're ever likely to meet. Strafe is very good friends with Bumblebee.
Fiction
How to Ride your Dinobot cartoon
Strafe found himself the unwilling target for Bumblebee's first Dinobot riding lesson. Strafe ensured the Autobot had a rough first lesson, flying out of his reach for the majority of the time while trying to feed on scrap metal. Bumblebee laid a trap for Strafe with a tasty gear, and finally held onto a rope that had snared around his leg... but Strafe happily flew Bumblebee into a mountain's wall. Bumblebee seemed to have learned not to mess with Strafe, since he destroyed the Dinobot-riding instruction manual and quit listening to that maddeningly unhelpful narrator.
Age of Extinction film
 Spoiler warning: Plot details for Transformers: Age of Extinction (film) follow. |
Strafe was among the Dinobots freed from Lockdown's ship, and subsequently yielded to Optimus Prime's command. During the battle in Hong Kong, Strafe aided Bumblebee as he battled Stinger. The two fought on Strafe's back until Stinger was defeated, and Strafe got to munch on Stinger's head. Strafe aided in escorting the Seed to safety until Lockdown returned and unleashed his magnetic vortex upon the group. Though he briefly freed Slug from the vortex, the Dinobots were trapped in it again until Optimus destroyed it. Strafe helped hold the line on a bridge until the Seed was transported to safety and Lockdown was defeated. The battle over, Strafe and the Dinobots were freed from Optimus' command and parted on good terms with their new allies. Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)
Toys
Age of Extinction
Robots in Disguise
- Dinobot Strafe (Power Battlers, 2014)
- Part of the initial wave of Power Battlers, Strafe features a simple transformation from a mechanical, two-headed Pteranodon into a robot. In robot mode, squeezing Strafe's legs together causes him to rotate at the waist for a spin attack.
- Bumblebee & Dinobot Strafe (Dino Sparkers, 2014)
- Part of the first wave of Dino Sparkers, this toy is a friction-motor pterosaur cast in semi-translucent plastic. When rolled along, "cold" sparks flash inside the creature's back end. Affixed to Strafe's back is a simplified figure of Bumblebee wielding one hella-long sword.
- Dinobot Strafe (One-Step Changers, 2014)
- Part of the fourth wave of One-Step Changers, Strafe transforms from robot to Pteranodon in a single step.
Generations
- Dinobot Strafe (Deluxe, 2014)
- Series: M4: #005
- Accessories: Crossbow/launcher, missile, 2 swords
- "Generations" Strafe is a more complex and less gimmick-focused version of Strafe than the "Robots in Disguise" toy. Strafe transforms into a twin-headed pteranodon monster. Like all the other DInobots, Strafe's design is based on medieval knights. Twin swords peg onto his wings, and the swords can also be hand-held in robot mode. He also comes with a pressure-launch missile-firing "crossbow". Pegs on the crossbow allow the swords to attach and create a larger weapon. Both the crossbow and the swords seem to stem from unused concept art, as seen in this page. His tails are made of soft rubber, but due to his packaging, they are almost always bent at an extreme angle out of the package. This can be fixed by soaking the rubber in hot water and then correcting the bends.
- Dinobot Strafe (Evolution 2-Pack, 2014)
- Accessories: Crossbow/launcher, missile, 2 swords
- Available only at ToysЯUs stores in the US, UK and Canada, this two-pack features the "Generations" Deluxe Strafe toy, with no known differences from the normal retail release, packed with a "Generation 1" iteration of the original Strafe... yes, thet actually used art of Technobot Strafe... which is just a seemingly-unchanged re-release of the Dark of the Moon Mini-Con Rav.
- We're as confused as you are, folks.
- Bumblebee with Dinobot Strafe vs. Decepticon Stinger (3-pack, 2014)
- Accessories: Crossbow/launcher, missile, 2 swords
- Another ToysЯUs exclusive pack, this is again the "Generations" Deluxe Strafe toy, with no known differences from the normal retail release, only this time he's packaged in a box with Cyberverse versions of Bumblebee (repainted from his Revenge of the Fallen Legends class toy) and Stinger (a repaint of Transformers: Prime Legion class Knock Out).
- Bumblebee & Dinobot Strafe (Legion two-pack, 2014)
- Accessories: Submachine gun
- This bizarre entry is a redeco of Beast Wars Terrorsaur, a mold nearly 20 years old at this point. He transforms from an organic Pteranodon to robot mode with a spring-loaded one-step transformation. A small gun stores in his robot mode back which can be removed, unfolded, and pegged into his robot mode fist.
- He was only available as part of a Walmart exclusive set with a Cyberverse Legion-class version of Bumblebee.
- This mold was also used for Terrorsaur, Fractyl, Lazorbeak, Hydra, and Terranotron.
Construct-Bots
Kre-O
Notes
- According to Transformers Manager of Global Brand Development Mark Weber at New York Toy Fair 2014, Strafe is named so not because of trademark reasons, but because the film's two-headed design was considered too great a departure from previous Swoop characters.
