Exhaust
From MediaWiki
- Exhaust is a Decepticon from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Exhaust (エグゾースト Eguzōsuto) is a huge gladiatorial games fan.
Fiction
Dreamwave Generation One continuity
Exhaust was one of many Decepticons in the Kaon gladiator arena to witness Megatron's execution of the corrupt Emirate Xeon, signaling the beginning of their uprising. Exhaust stood right next to a jet-helicopter Decepticon. The War Within #2
Exhaust and the jet-helicopter Decepticon were in Iacon when Starscream's botched mechaforming attempt leveled the city. They were unprepared when Shockwave ordered troops to fall back to Kolkular rather than be destroyed. The War Within #6
Toys
Masterpiece
- Masterpiece Exhaust is a retool of Wheeljack who transforms from an officially-licenced Lancia Stratos into a robot and back!
Notes
- Exhaust started out as a Diaclone variant of the toy that would become Wheeljack, featuring a retooled head and a different color scheme and endorsement decals based on Marlboro cigarettes—albeit misspelled as "Marlboor", so as not to infringe on any trademarks (similar to Mirage's toy misspelling "Gitanes", another cigarette brand, as "Citanes"). For lack of an official name, the character was for many years known as "Marlboor Wheeljack" until the Masterpiece toy was announced, finally bestowing the name Exhaust on the character, in the process paying homage to his, ah, smokey origins.
- However, US retailers would soon come under fire from the parent company of Marlboro, Philip Morris USA, due to Exhaust's car mode featuring a marking strikingly similar to the Marlboro logo itself. Now, if that wasn't enough, the issue also falls under the rules of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement as well as the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which partly explains that specifically smoking-related markings such as Marlboro's could not be used on products that could be intended for children. And so, unless Takara-Tomy elects to change the vehicle mode deco to ensure a worldwide release, it is now technically illegal to sell Exhaust in the US. Philip Morris eventually even went a step further, demanding that sellers based out of Asia may not sell Exhaust to US residents.
- The vehicle mode deco is specifically based on one of two Series 5 Stratos racing cars produced, the other being the car on which Wheeljack was based, though Exhaust's deco doesn't strive for the same level of accuracy. The original car on which the deco was based no longer exists as it was destroyed in a fire caused by its overheated engine.[1] Irony!
- Exhaust's deco was also homaged by Prime "Hyperspeed" Wheeljack.
- Exhaust is not the only Decepticon Wheeljack look-alike in the Transformers universe.
