Topspin (G1)
| The name or term "Topspin" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Topspin (disambiguation). |
- Topspin is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Facing off against Decepticons isn't nearly enough of a challenge for Topspin. He'd rather pit himself against Nature itself. No mountain is tall enough, no river treacherous enough to give him pause. Alone against rough terrain, be it on land or in the sea, is where this Wrecker's fuel pump really gets going. Though he loves the challenge he's not fixated on conquering new terrain, he simply enjoys pitting himself against it. As he says, "The thrill is in the journey."
As Jumpstarters, Topspin and his brother Twin Twist can transform between modes in a fraction of an instant, significantly faster than most Transformers.
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Marvel The Transformers comics
Topspin was a member of the elite Autobot force the Wreckers. Along with his team mates he threw himself into preparations for Operation: Volcano practising against facsimile constructs based on their Decepticon targets. Impactor classified him as their 'resident glory-hog' as he tended to take on too many foes at once. Topspin was easily able to take care of two constructs based on Bombshell and Blitzwing but had to be rescued from the advancing Dirge and Ramjet by Twin Twist. After the practice session it was obvious that without Ultra Magnus the operation would be a suicide mission and along with the other Wreckers Topspin agreed to abandon it. Despite the unanimous decision Emirate Xaaron was able to convince Impactor to resume preparations for Operation: Volcano. When the Wreckers leader asked for volunteers Topspin and the rest of the unit did not hesitate to come forward and threw themselves back into their training. Unfortunately the operation to trap the Decepticons' deadliest killers was unsuccessful as Megatron recalled them to Polyhex before the trap could be sprung. Target: 2006
Topspin was next seen being led into battle by Optimus Prime attacking a Decepticon Energon distribution facility. Inspired by the return of the Autobot leader Topspin threw himself into battle leaping through the air and firing wildly. Resurrection!
Once Prime was transported back to Earth things returned to normal on Cybertron. Autobase was moved to Kalis and was soon rocked by a huge explosion, believing the explosion to be caused by an under-ground reactor Topspin and the other Wreckers searched in vain for the chamber. Upon their return the Autobots were overcome by a horde of zombies! Captured and detained by Flame, Topspin and the Wreckers eventually escaped and foiled the mad scientist's scheme. Legion of the Lost! Meltdown!
The Wreckers' next mission was to deal with Galvatron. Topspin attended the mission briefing and, along with his team mates, was able to correctly identify their foe and his primary weapon. The mission ended in failure when the team landed in the centre of a small town and were forced to defend the population rather than confront their target with their full force. Topspin was shot by Scourge but was not seriously injured. Wrecking Havoc
For the return bout the Wreckers teamed up with the Mayhems. The teams argued as they entered the Decepticon base only to discover that Galvatron had now teamed up with Megatron (or at least, a clone thereof). This proved a deadly combination and Topspin's over confidence lead to an angered Megatron blasting his head off before he could even get a shot in. The Wreckers and Mayhems were soon forced to retreat leaving Topspin's corpse where it had fallen. To add insult to injury Megatron gave it a good kick before he and Galvatron followed the survivors to brutally massacre them too. Time Wars
Marvel UK future timelines
In the year 2510, Topspin witnessed the end of the old war and the start of a new one. With the last Decepticon destroyed, the Autobots began arguing among themselves as to whether Springer or Ultra Magnus should be Rodimus Prime's chosen successor. A scuffle broke out and casualties happened on both sides, leading to a new Autobot Civil War between the Technobots and the Wreckers, with Rodimus sitting in the middle of the war zone bawling like a baby. Peace
Regeneration One
Topspin took part in taking down a bunch of neo-Decepticons who were holding up a bomb depot. He later volunteered to come with Kup and the rest of the Wreckers to go to Earth. Once they reached Earth's orbit, they dispatched drones to survey the planet, finding it in ruins, and Megatron at the head of it all. Megatron then launched a string of missiles, destroying their ship. Loose Ends, Part 1 After the Wreckers escaped the ship using its escape pods, they regrouped to try to think of a plan. Broadside and Topsin were both left injured, and, in Broadside's case, delusional. When Rack 'n' Ruin accidentally scared a handful of humans, Topspin tried to talk him down, explaining that the humans would naturally be scared of them after 21 years of Megatron's tyranny. They were then attacked by an enraged, cybernetically enhanced human calling himself Circuit Smasher. Loose Ends, Part 2 The man blasted Rack 'n' Ruin, disabling the robot. Topspin identified the super human as the Autobots former ally, Spike Witwicky, and stated his confusion at the fact that Spike would attack his former allies and hate Cybertronians, when he, being binary bonded to Fortress Maximus meant that he was also part Cybertronian. He then had to talk Springer and the others out of attacking Spike. He, and the other humans led the Autobots back to their base, which was led by G.B. Blackrock. Together, the Wreckers and the humans made a plan to take down the Ark, which Megatron had taken over. Loose Ends, Part 3 Topspin was part of the team sent to disable the Ark and its supercomputer Auntie. He transformed and began shooting out the Ark's defenses from the air along with Broadside. Once they were through the Ark's outer defenses, he helped the Wreckers battle Guardian units while Circuit Smasher disarmed Auntie Loose Ends, Part 5
Topspin left Earth with the rest of the Wreckers and the other Autobots. Natural Selection, Part One When they reached Cybertron's orbit, Scorponok ordered his troops to blow Topspin's ship out of the sky. Natural Selection, Part Four When the missiles launched were blown up before destroying the ship, Ultra Magnus suspected they were under attack, and ordered all Autobots and Wreckers to prepare for battle. This likely included Topspin. Natural Selection, Part Five
Find Your Fate Junior
Dinobots Strike Back
In one micro-continuity-nexus path, Skids came back to the Ark with a report about a Decepticon base in Mount Lomas where black coral from nearby Dolphin's Bay was being converted into a superfuel. The Autobots stationed Seaspray and Topspin in the water nearby, as they were apparently the only Autobots with seafaring alt-modes. That evening, either Prowl's or Windcharger's attack plan would ensure an Autobot victory, but the latter course of action led to a battle in which Skywarp dropped a heat-seeking missile on the Jumpstarter. It's unclear if Topspin survived, but he didn't really do anything else regardless. Dinobots Strike Back
Autobot Alert!
Topspin was present at the Autobot city of Metroplex when an Autobot Alert sounded.
He and the other Autobots learned of two Decepticon plots simultaneously occurring. One of which was the theft of a coded message meant for Ultra Magnus’s eyes only. If Ultra Magnus decided to prioritize theft of the coded message, Topspin was part of the captive audience that listened to Kup divulge information about an ancient Autobot formula. Topspin took off towards the Autobots’ desert research centre along with a number of other Autobots. Once there, they learned from Springer that the Cybertite sphere containing the formula was discovered by humans during the 16th century. If the Decepticons had decoded Springer's message, they would be searching off the coast of California, where the ship containing the sphere had sunk. If they hadn’t decoded the message, the Decepticons would still be digging in the nearby crater.
If Ultra Magnus decided to assume that the Decepticons had already decrypted the message, he ordered his forces to split up to more efficiently address the situation. Topspin was part of the main group of Autobot forces led by Ultra Magnus towards the California coast. Arriving at the scene, Ultra Magnus’s troops were informed by Powerglide (who had flown ahead of the land-bound group) that he had discovered the location of the sunken ship containing the cybertite sphere. Simultaneously, Blurr caught up with the group to inform them that the Decepticons were quickly approaching. The Autobots then needed to decide whether they would raise the ship themselves, or try and ambush the Decepticons after they had done so.
If Ultra Magnus decided to have his Autobots hide while the Decepticons raised the ship, Topspin found himself in a cave with Seaspray and and Springer. The three Autobots spied Devastator retrieving the sunken ship from the water, and decided that the three of them would snatch the sphere away from the Decepticons.
If Springer, Topspin and Seaspray executed their plan to retrieve the sphere from Decepticon clutches, Topspin and Seaspray headed out to sea, then doubled back in order to distract the Decepticons. With the evil robots preoccupied, Springer snatched the cybertite sphere and headed back to Metroplex. Seeing their ally had succeeded in his part of the plan, Seaspray and Topspin retreated out to sea. Autobot Alert!
Dreamwave Generation One continuity
In the Dark Ages, Topspin split off from the Autobots with his fellow Wreckers to act as an independent faction. Under Springer's command, they frequently clashed with Ratbat's Ultracons for territorial control, especially in the manufacturing area known as the Tagan Heights. War Within: The Dark Ages
In the modern era, Topspin continued serving with the Wreckers in the new Unified Cybertronian forces. The Wreckers now operated under Ultra Magnus as his personal guard. Brothers' Burden When the Stunticons were unleashed on Cybertron as Menasor, the Wreckers took arms to bring him down. After Twin Twist drilled the combiner in the foot and brought him down to ground level, Topspin shot Menasor right in the face with his electro-blasters. Passive Aggression The Jumpstarters remained in Magnus's command after Shockwave's deposing. The Route of All Evil
IDW Generation 1 continuity
The Jumpstarters have a branched spark: a rare condition that means the two of them can share each other's pain and feelings, and sometimes perceive each other's circumstances. Twin Twist went into the Wreckers first. Topspin was happy to just be a cartographer, but it was impossible to stay in such a role when his 'other half' was running around chasing down Squadron X. Last Stand of the Wreckers #3
Topspin fired heavy artillery at the Decepticon siege mode armature on Varas Centralus. Stormbringer #2 He medically treated Nosecone on Cybertron after the Wreckers rescued him and Afterburner from Centurion droids. He then voiced the Wreckers' PR campaign to the Technobots. ("Leave it to the professionals".) Stormbringer #3
He also led the hit and run against Thunderwing. He is a true Robot of All Trades. Stormbringer #4
When the Wreckers were again called upon to battle Thunderwing on Corata-Vaz, Topspin was there, trying alongside his comrades to get past the massive Pretender to a Nega-Core it was guarding; a device essential for bringing forth the Expansion. Spotlight: Hardhead Spotlight: Doubledealer
Jetfire managed to remotely override Thunderwing's predetermined directives for a brief time, so the Wreckers got by and found the Nega-Core. Topspin and Twin Twist then began attempting to decommission it, ultimately prepping it for transport through a space bridge portal. Once Autobot teams on different planets had reached the other Nega-Cores, it was Topspin who carefully explained to everyone the process by which to properly unlatch and move them. Jetfire lost control of Thunderwing by this point and it turned back to resume attacking the Wreckers, but they survived. Spotlight: Sideswipe
After a battle with the Decepticons, Topspin was taken prisoner by Turmoil alongside several other Autobots. Kup and Springer sprung them from the detention block on Turmoil's cruiser, but the Wreckers apparently went their separate ways after this mission. Spotlight: Drift
Over two years later, the Wreckers were reformed and were taking on new recruits; Topspin and Twin Twist were still part of the team. While meeting the new guys, they saw Ironfist briefly fall unconscious. Topspin was concerned, but Ironfist claimed he was fine... while Guzzle revealed that Ironfist was the secret identity of "Fisitron", the historian behind the Wreckers: Declassified datalogs. They were amused to find their official files were top secret, with Topspin joking (badly) he should call himself Top Secret. When Ironfist raised the idea of finding out what was in their files, Topspin remarked there was nothing special: they were just two normal guys. Last Stand of the Wreckers #1
After adding their old commander Impactor to the team, the Wreckers prepared for their mission: to infiltrate Garrus-9, which had been taken over by Overlord, rescue the Autobot prisoners there and find Aequitas. Topspin was teamed with Perceptor, Ironfist, Rotorstorm and Pyro, and to his chagrin, he soon learned that Verity Carlo had stowed aboard their pod as well. They successfully crashlanded on Garrus-9, only to find themselves face-to-face with Overlord himself. Last Stand of the Wreckers #2
Topspin felt a sting of pain as Twin Twist was injured on the other team, but that was the least of his worries: Rotorstorm was killed, and he and the others failed to even dent Overlord. They opted to make a run for it, but were tied down by Ironfist, who had gone into shock after witnessing Rotorstorm's death. Annoyed, Topspin slammed Ironfist against a wall and questioned why someone like him was even part of the Wreckers: they certainly hadn't voted him in. He went to tell the fanboy "People die in stupid, pointless ways. Deal with it.", which at least snapped him out of it and allowed them to keep going. As the team made their way toward Aequitas, Topspin told Pyro about his branched spark with Twin Twist and voiced his opinion on the late Rotorstorm, whom he hadn't been too fond of, but respected anyway because he had been a Wrecker. After Perceptor opened Aequitas's chamber, Topspin helped carry the comatose Fortress Maximus inside. Last Stand of the Wreckers #3
"We killed Kenny?!"
"We killed Kenny. We're bastards."
Topspin was unimpressed to learn that Aequitas was just a big computer, and that their important mission was to download its contents. Suddenly, he was struck with intense pain as Twin Twist began to be tortured by the Decepticons. After a few minutes of agony, he recovered in time to learn that Aequitas was password-protected and demanded a spark donation in order to boot up. He suggested that they force-feed the computer a Decepticon, but was told that the victim had to be willing to do it. The other Wreckers agreed that Topspin could not be sacrificed, as that would kill Twin Twist as well, which would be a waste of a life. However, Topspin began perceiving his brother's feelings as he pleaded for the torture to stop, and eventually got up and volunteered to take his life for both of their sakes. After explaining that since the two of them would die anyway, they could at least go out with some dignity, Topspin plugged himself into Aequitas and exclaimed "Wreck and rule!" as he let it take his spark. Last Stand of the Wreckers #4
After the liberation of G-9, Topspin's remains, as well as that of the other fallen Wreckers, were transported to Earth along with the survivors. Last Stand of the Wreckers #5 They were later interred in the Zone of Remembrance at Debris, the Wreckers' headquarters. Zero Point
Transformers Legends comic
Topspin was a founding member of the new Wreckers unit. Legends Comic: Business Trip Edition Vol. 7
Games
Transformers Legends
Topspin and Roadbuster were enlisted to assist Nova Prime in battle against Nemesis Prime, an evil future version of Nova. They were unable to prevail against this future threat. Prime Evil
Toys
Generation 1
- Topspin (Jumpstarter, 1985)
- Accessories: "Particle Beam Rifle"
- Topspin transforms into some kind of amphibious Cybertronic vehicle. He features a pull-back motor in vehicle mode that propels him forward on smooth surfaces; after a short run the latch that keeps his spring-loaded legs releases, causing him to flip forward and into upright robot mode.
- Early versions of Topspin contain the letters "D.A.R." on the wings. These are a holdover from the original pre-Transformers Diaclone release, and evidently stand for "Diaclone Attack Robo". Usually his face is painted silver; the red-faced toy shown in the picture here is one of the common Mexican IGA Plastico variations found in Europe.
- This mold was used to make Salt-Man X and Robot-Man X.
Merchandise
Tiny Titans
- Topspin (Tiny Titans, 2015)
- Series: 2
- Number: 2/12
Notes
- The Jumpstarters were originally Diaclone "Baku-ten (Blast-flip) Attack Robo" toys. The "Jet Type" that would become Topspin was available in two different color schemes: both had dark blue torsos, but one had red limbs while the other had light blue limbs.
- According to early Hasbro production materials obtained from the collection of Ron Friedman, Topspin was at one point going to be the "red pop-up vehicle". This notation presumably stems from his red-limbed Diaclone colors.
- A pair of Topspins appear on the 1985 packaging mural that do not match the colors of the released toy. They appear to be either in Topspin's light and dark blue Diaclone scheme or an inversion of his final blue and white scheme. The tininess of the images makes accurate color assessment difficult.
- The portraits of Topspin and Twin Twist on their box-back tech-specs were originally reversed, causing some children a bit of confusion. This was eventually fixed.
- Animation models were created for both Topspin and Twin Twist back in the '80s, but they were never animated, not even in a commercial.
Foreign names
- French: Virevolteur (Canada)
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