40. Rodimus Prime (Animated)
First Appearance- Transformers Animated episode # 30- "TransWarped, Part 1" (2009)
I like Rodimus Prime in general, but this is probably my favorite
version of him. Similarly to Atomizer, he uses a bow and arrows as his
primary weapon and even better, his head design appears to be a slight
homage to Marvel Comics’ Hawkeye. So yeah, there’s gonna be some
built-in affection right there from me.
This Rodimus actually didn’t get a lot to do in the cartoon. He showed
up in a speaking role (voiced by Judd Nelson!) once, got hit with some
Cosmic Rust (as mentioned in Oil Slick’s entry on this list) and that
was the end of his involvement with the events of the show. He did get
to star in a short Japanese manga story where his unit- Team Athenia,
took on a Rock Lord and Rodimus delivered the coup de grâce in typical
hot-blooded style.
There is some interesting background material on this version of Rodimus
though, both in and out of universe. Rodimus was originally intended
by the creators of the show to be the “jerk” character who was always
hassling Optimus Prime. However, it was eventually (and rightfully)
decided that some viewers would not appreciate Rodimus being cast in
such a light. The guy DOES have his devoted fans after all and I am one
of them, although not as BIG a fan as my fellow Fanhole Derek! So the
“jerk” role went to Sentinel Prime, and Rodimus was put on a shelf until
they finally decided to use him in Season 3.
Amusingly, his Team
Athenia is mostly composed of other characters that were originally
going to be used in Animated’s core cast (like Hot Shot instead of
Bumblebee and a female Red Alert instead of Ratchet) but were swapped
out later in the production process. Team Athenia; it’s where the
unused ideas go!
The essential guide to Transformers Animated- the Allspark Almanac, had a
fairly intriguing in-universe write-up on Rodimus too. It describes
(as told by Kup) how Rodimus was a prodigy in the Autobot Academy and
his meteoric rise in the ranks led to many labeling him “The Chosen
One.” Kup also expresses concern about the flames painted on Rodimus’
chest, likening them to “the Pit-damned Fallen!” That stuff obviously
made me think of Anakin Skywalker and wondering if, had Animated
continued, would Rodimus have traveled down a dark path too? Maybe not,
but it was this kind of attention to creating a detailed, expansive
universe for Animated outside of what was seen solely on-screen that
gripped the imagination of many a fan.
Rodimus got a decent deluxe-class toy at the very tail-end of Animated's
run, squeaking in as a Toys"R"Us exclusive alongside his teammate
Ironhide as the last two new figures in the line. Weirdly, in Animated
continuity, Ironhide is YOUNGER than Rodimus. I wonder if Rodimus calls
him "lad"...?
39. Obsidian (Beast Machines)
First Appearance- Beast Machines episode # 20- “Sparkwar, Part 1: The Strike” (2000)
I wasn’t a big fan of Beast Machines, but there were two elements of the
show that clicked with me. One was Cheetor’s character arc, and the
other was the introduction of Obsidian and Strika. That first batch of
Vehicon generals were kind of...let’s say...
cartoon-y, with
on-the-spot defining character traits. Jetstorm was gabby, Thrust
laconic (at least, at first), and Tankor stupid...and most of the first
season was spent teasing the fact that they might be existing characters
we already knew in new bodies. Once that mystery was
somewhat-unsatisfyingly wrapped up and the second season was well
underway, Megatron decided he should get some actual professionals to be
his new generals. Thus, Obsidian and Strika were introduced and they
quickly proved their cred, outfoxing the Maximals and luring them into a
trap by pretending to be as one-note as their predecessors.
I was never totally comfortable with the claims in the show of Obsidian
and Strika being on the winning side of “thousands of wars.” I mean, if
they were so great...how come I had never heard of ‘em??? However, as
their characters grew on me over time, I accepted that notion and later
fiction would retcon them as being one-time Autobots. They had simply
eschewed the spotlight for their various lofty accomplishments, and
preferred to simply fade unnoticed into history.
Obsidian in particular
appealed to me, as he was a cold, calculating military strategist and
tactician, similar to other favorite characters of mine who are much
higher on this list. He also had a cool name, voice and a unique
character design. When he popped up on the show, it took me an episode
or two to realize; hey! Doesn’t this new guy ALREADY have a toy out on
shelves? How did I miss such a cool-looking design in toy form?
Oh right.
Don’t get me wrong; that basic Obsidian toy is a pretty good mold for
that size-class. It’s been repainted a number of times and you can
definitely find it in a better color scheme than that original blinding
green. It just doesn’t reflect the show model as well as it could and I
was also disappointed when I read that a larger, more show-accurate
Obsidian figure had been planned, but canceled just before Beast
Machines ended.
Aside from that original basic toy, Obsidian has had a
Botcon exclusive figure retooled from Movie-verse Highbrow that turns
into a World War II-era plane. That alt-mode seems entirely-appropriate
for an old military general like Obsidian, but it still wasn’t the
definite version of the character that I wanted. There’s also an
upcoming third-party option that looks neat...but doesn’t quite capture
the CG show model exactly either. Maybe one day they’ll finally make
the lean, coiled, spidery-fingered version of Obsidian that I demand in
toy form, but until then...I guess I’ll have to make do with what’s
available.
Obsidian can currently be found as a supporting cast member in
Mairghread Scott’s IDW Transformers comic “Till All Are One”, where he
serves his usual purpose alongside Strika as military generals of a
stern ruler- in this case, Elita One. He’s like...totally the coolest
character in that book, but perhaps I’m just biased...
38. Dinobot II
First Appearance- Beast Wars episode # 44- “Feral Scream, Part 1” (1999)
Obviously, fans love the original Dinobot and he had the most complete
and compelling character arc on Beast Wars. Megatron loved Dinobot so
much that he cloned him; twice! The first clone was the subject of a
somewhat-silly episode in season one, appropriately titled “Double
Dinobot.” That episode ended with the real Dinobot eating his clone and
hanging its hide on the wall in his quarters...so...yeah. However,
Dinobot "II" (Hmm, I guess it should be "III", shouldn't it?) had a
starring role for half of the third season.
Undoubtedly cottoning to how popular Dinobot had become, the
powers-that-be decided to bring him back. I am really not sure how much
of that was Hasbro wanting to sell a new Dinobot toy and how much of it
was the writers actually wanting to bring him back, but it happened and
we got Dinobot II. I remember Dinobot II was perhaps the last time
ever that a toy spoiled me on what was going to happen in a Transformers
TV show. I had read rumors that Dinobot would return in the third
season on the Internet but the Transmetal 2 Dinobot figure, gifted to me
by a friend for Christmas, was the first time I had tangible
confirmation of it. I got him before I saw the episodes that introduced
him, and it lent a certain amount of anticipation for them.
While he had an impressive debut, I did feel like the gravity of Dinobot
returning- even as a clone, was somewhat muted in the show. The cast
mostly acknowledged that he was back in some form, quickly got over it,
and thereafter Dinobot II just became another dastardly Predacon to
them. Come to find out, we were denied an episode that would have
focused exclusively on Dinobot II, a script called “Dark Glass” that
dealt with Rattrap trying to restore the original Dinobot in the clone’s
body. Unfortunately, the subject matter was somehow deemed “too mature
and dark” by higher-ups, and the show creators were forced to scrap
Dark Glass and replace it with the worst Beast Wars episode of all; “Go
With The Flow.”
The scrapping of Dark Glass also diluted the finale of
Beast Wars, where Dinobot II would betray Megatron and side with Optimus
Primal once again. We all more or less accepted how things went down
in “Nemesis, Part 2”, but clearly there was a missing part in the
mechanism used to facilitate Dinobot II’s conversion to the “light
side.”
However, I think what appeals to me about Dinobot II is that very sense
of untapped potential and unexplored ground. There was so much that
could have been done with his fractured psyche; one part the original
Dinobot, one part his “half-brother” Rampage, and possibly the genesis
of someone entirely new. Sadly, we were never really given the chance
to fully explore that in the series and presently, most people would
rather just talk about the original Dinobot anyhow. Dinobot II
simply...missed the boat to becoming a more fully-realized character. I
did like that metallic grate they added to performer Scott McNeil’s
voice in post; really helped sell the “artificial” nature of the
character without being too obvious.
That Transmetal 2 deluxe toy is alright...although I feel like it
doesn’t do as much justice as it could to the CG character model.
Dinobot II had some real menacing heft and presence to him on the show,
and the toy doesn’t quite sell that...but I guess that’s really just the
fault of the animators beefing the basic design up on-screen. I really
like the whole “skeletal raptor” thing Dinobot II’s got going on, which
works both visually and thematically. The laser-eye monocle,
hand-claws, and rapid healing factor kind of evoke some kind of badass
Terminator/Predator hybrid-thing. In fact, the episode “Proving
Grounds” where Dinobot II hunts Blackarachnia in a forest setting is
affectionately referred to by one of my close friends as “the Predator
episode of Beast Wars.”
With a Masterpiece toy of the original Dinobot on the way, I seriously
doubt we’ll get a new version of Transmetal 2 Dinobot in the near
future. He did receive a bizarre homage in the Prime: Beast Hunters
line with the Ratchet figure...although I couldn’t tell you what Ratchet
has to do with Dinobot.
37. Sideswipe (Movie)
First Appearance- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
Hey, it’s Stabby McWheelfeet! That’s what the Transformers Wiki
affectionately calls Movie Sideswipe at least, and it’s a pretty fair
assessment of him. His key design attributes are his arm-mounted swords
and having wheels for feet...so, there ya go. Sideswipe’s on-the-roll
fighting style in the films is pretty eye-catching...at least for the
few scenes he has. As a warborn Autobot, he’s mercilessly efficient in
combat and has no issues with taking out fleeing enemies...just ask
Sideways. His arm-swords are his primary weapons, but he’s not hesitant
to switch to firearms either, as evidenced by the “Mexican stand-off”
scene in Dark of the Moon.
As far as personality goes, well...just like most other Movie
characters, you pretty much have to rely on tie-in fiction for this guy.
He’s kind of a merge of G1 Sideswipe and Sunstreaker into one
individual, being an impulsive street fighter as well as kind of a vain
jerk. The IDW comics also added in a rivalry with the Decepticon
Demolishor for him- Demolishor having once destroyed an Autobot colony
that Sideswipe was charged with defending. It was all shades of Beast
Wars Depth Charge and Rampage, except Sideswipe never gets a chance to
settle the rivalry himself. As you may know, Optimus Prime himself was
the one to put Demolishor down at the beginning of Revenge of the Fallen
while Sideswipe was busy bisecting Sideways. This bothered me enough
that I once wrote a Transformers: Mosaic fan-comic that attempted to
address this disconnect.
The IDW comics also gave Ironhide and Sideswipe a long-standing
mentor/pupil relationship similar to G1 Hot Rod and Kup, although in
present day Sideswipe had since become resentful of his former teacher
and dismissive of his counsel. The two work together quite well though,
both in the comics and in Dark of the Moon (the aforementioned Mexican
stand-off) and it would have been nice to see some kind of reaction from
Sideswipe over Ironhide’s death at Sentinel Prime’s hands. However,
that would be asking for Michael Bay to actually care about the
Transformers’ character development in the films, which would JUST BE
CRAZY.
There is a subtle, although likely unintentional, notion that Sideswipe
has since taken up Ironhide’s role as Optimus Prime’s battlefield second
later in Dark of the Moon. Sideswipe is suddenly the one giving orders
to the other Autobots in Prime’s absence during the final battle of
that movie, which is just what you’d expect Ironhide to be doing were he
still there. Gotta take what you can get, I guess. And as long as
we’re headcanon-ing...there’s no WAY Sideswipe died off-screen between
Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction- I don't care WHAT your stupid
trading cards say, Frasier!!
As far as toys go, Sideswipe, like most on-screen Movie guys, has had
quite a few. I liked his original Revenge of the Fallen deluxe figure
and the later “Sidearm” version that emphasized his firearms over his
blades. They’re both solid figures but they somehow didn’t quite
precisely capture the sleekness of his CGI character model and seemed a
little too chunky to me. None of the other available Sideswipe toys
looked like they fit my admittedly-picky tastes either and I even bought
the non-transforming “Robot Replica” figure of him in an attempt to
correct that nagging dissatisfaction. I certainly wouldn’t say no to
another new Movie Sideswipe figure somewhere down the pipe, and with the
Movie line not going anywhere for awhile, I’m sure I’ll get another
chance one day.
Damn, he’s good...
36. Guzzle (G1)
First Appearance- Marvel Transformers UK # 152 (1988)
Guzzle’s spot on this list is owed entirely to his portrayal in IDW’s
“Last Stand of the Wreckers” mini-series. Before that, Guzzle was just
some short tank dude with a character design vaguely more interesting
than his two Sparkabot teammates and who somehow managed to become one
of the last seven surviving Autobots in an alternate future in Marvel US
# 67. However, Nick Roche and James Roberts took this cute little guy
and made him a bit more memorable.
By the second issue of Last Stand, we pretty much knew what the deal was
with the other three rookie Wreckers, but all we knew about Guzzle was
that he was short and trigger-happy. His motivation for joining the
team and the sinister connection between him and Kup was revealed in
issue three, and suddenly all his scenes and dialogue in the previous
couple issues had to be reexamined from a different angle.
See, Kup once murdered a bunch of Guzzle’s friends when he was
temporarily-insane, and Guzzle just can’t let that go. This reveal was a
great storytelling moment, even if the writers still had to use an
editor's note to refer back to those events in Spotlight: Kup just in
case it wasn't obvious. While there wasn’t space to wrap up this
subplot in Last Stand, it eventually came to its stark conclusion in the
sequel series “Sins of the Wreckers” and...well...these things never
end happy when it comes to the Wreckers.
That aside, I like Guzzle. He's a simple guy with simple tastes,
violent as they may be, and he made a good foil for Impactor, Kup,
Ironfist or anyone he was paired up with. Nick Roche and Guido Guidi
gave him a lot of personality with their visuals, and I still want a new
toy inspired by that first, stout Roche design. Guzzle did receive a
homage toy in the Movie-verse line, but it was not quite what I had in
mind. And his original G1 toy is...uh...a thing.
Make a new Legends class G1 Guzzle, Hasbro! And make sure to include his signature handgun- "The Judge" this time!
35. Rampage (G1)
First Appearance- The Transformers episode # 70- "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5" (1986)
Most people would probably name the Beast Wars guy their favorite
Transformer named “Rampage”, but not me! I do like BW Rampage, but I
liked THIS guy ever since I first read his Marvel Transformers Universe
profile. G1 Rampage is excitable and aggressive...until he is put in
front of a TV, and then he's completely transfixed by Earth television
shows. This seemed so awesomely ridiculous to me that I once had to
write a Transformers Mosaic fan-comic about it, which was realized in
art by several talented collaborators, including my fellow Fanhole and
Bottalker Tony Jackson.
That aspect of Rampage is kind of emblematic of the G1 Predacons in
general; badass on the surface, but when you honestly look at their
given personalities and “accomplishments” in fiction...you'll see that
they’re actually kind of a bunch of failure-prone goofballs. I mean,
sure- they’ve taken on Megatron himself on a number of occasions...but
they’ve never really actually beaten him or anything. They were Sky
Lynx's chew-toys in the original cartoon and the only fights their
combined form Predaking has ever actually WON in-canon were against
fellow Decepticon combiners Bruticus and Piranacon.
The Predacons
simply just LOOK awesome and cool and that’s pretty much contributed to
their inflated fan aura and reputation. Of course, you could say that
about a LOT of Transformers characters, so maybe I’m just being
harsh...but then, I do like taking the piss out of severely-overrated
guy
s.
COUGHWOLVERINECOUGHBATMANCOUGH.
I do think Rampage is the second-coolest-looking Predacon after
Razorclaw and he is the only individual G1 Predacon toy I've ever had my
hands on for any extended amount of time. An old childhood friend
owned him and I can remember enjoying playing with the figure and
marveling at how much bigger Rampage was than your average gestalt team
member toy. Maybe one day Hasbro will make some new G1 Predacons...but
there certainly are enough super-expensive third party options out there
now!
One last thing; when Don Figueroa redesigned the Predacons in IDW to
give them Cybertronian vehicle modes, he made Rampage a treaded
catapult. Get it? CAT-a-pult!! Haw!
34. Scavenger (Armada)
First Appearance- Dreamwave Transformers: Armada # 1 (2002)
Scavenger debuted on the Armada cartoon wearing a giant cool-ass
cloak/poncho, and as I mentioned in my entry for Lockdown- robots
wearing cloaks are almost always awesome to me. Like Lockdown, he was
also an unaligned mercenary and he talked some serious smack to Megatron
and Megatron just sat there and took it like a little bi- ...errrrr,
like a
perfect gentleman.
He was employed by the Decepticons for
a span of episodes and frequently pointed out how incompetent they
were. Of course, we already knew by that point thanks to the toy and
the Armada comic that Scavenger was actually an Autobot, so there was no
real surprise when he revealed that on the show. Still, for a while
there he was an intriguing wildcard who had even been Optimus Prime’s
mentor once upon a time. It would have been cool if they let that
set-up run for a little longer than it did, and Scavenger and Optimus
were forced to clash in a more serious manner.
Once he permanently joined the Autobots, Scavenger became a mentor to
kid-appeal character Hot Shot. Even though Scavenger was voiced by Ward
Perry and not Scott McNeil in the English dub, I couldn’t help but be
reminded of Piccolo from Dragon Ball Z. I mean, he wore a cloak, was
green, and was a mentor for the “kid” character. Being that Piccolo is
my favorite Dragon Ball character, that archetype obviously appealed to
me.
I also enjoyed how Scavenger used the bulldozer treads that made up
his arms in robot mode as part of his hand-to-hand fighting style. He
was certainly more distinct in general on the cartoon than he was in the
Dreamwave comic. In the comics, Scavenger’s just some rando Autobot
whose most notable scene was losing a game of “chicken” against the
tank-mode Decepticon Demolishor. C’mon dude, you’re a literal
bulldozer!
In whatever case, Scavenger’s got a great character design and a color
scheme (and name) that homages the Generation 1 Constructicons. It’s
kind of funny that his English name is Scavenger and his Japanese name
is “Devastor”, or Devastator. So in the West he has the name of the
wimpiest Constructicon and in the East he has the name of the ULTIMATE
BADASS Constructicon! His toy has some of the more involved sound
gimmicks of the Armada line, although they come at the cost of any kind
of leg articulation. Still, “walking” Scavenger around and making that
stomp-y noise is super-fun. I wouldn't mind an updated version of him
with more articulation in the future, but he’s probably quite far down
the list of potential “Unicron Trilogy” figure remakes.
PEW-PAW PEW-PAW PEW-PAW PEW-PAW PEW-PAW!!!
(Toy gimmick clip courtesy of -
JTMitchell87's toy reviews)
33. Snarl (BW)
First Appearance- Beast Wars: The Gathering # 1 (2006)
I remember first becoming aware of Beast Wars Snarl when my cousins
bought him back in 1997. I hadn’t ever seen the toy before in stores
and it was a time when you couldn’t always find everything on the
Internet. I was struck by two things; one- he had the name of my
favorite G1 Dinobot...and two- he was (supposedly) a Tasmanian devil. I
thought it was a neat idea for a beast mode, even though
nowadays...most have realized that Snarl doesn’t really even look like a
Tasmanian devil. His beast mode more actually resembles a similar
Tassie marsupial predator- the quoll. But hey...when I was twelve it
didn’t really matter- all I wanted was the toy.
I never found it in a
store during the run of Beast Wars and just settled for playing with
Snarl whenever I was at my cousins’ house. It was a decent little basic
figure, even though the “air launch” gimmick never really worked that
well. You could supposedly propel Snarl’s beast mode forward thanks to a
spring-loaded mechanism in his...uhm, butt. However, it never really
sent him sliding forward more than an inch or two.
Flash-forward to 2006, and Snarl received his first real fictional
appearance in IDW’s “The Gathering” mini-series. Simon Furman portrayed
him as a youthful and restless little guy, but also one who was totally
competent, independent, and a real asset to Razorbeast’s team. Snarl
could turn invisible like G1 Mirage and he ended up being instrumental
to most Maximal victories in both The Gathering and its sequel series
“The Ascending." In short, he was a pretty cool and capable dude and I
decided I finally had to go track one down and buy him...which I did off
eBay. People like to call that “The Furman Effect”, where he makes a
seemingly run-of-the-mill toy into a striking fictional character,
prompting people to suddenly develop an interest in buying it. I had
always wanted a Snarl of my own, but The Gathering certainly lit the
fire under my ass to track one down years later.
Snarl’s character model and toy were used in Japan for their Beast Wars
II series, as a new character named “Tasmania Kid." Tasmania Kid was
kind of the “Hot Rod/Cheetor” archetype of Beast Wars II, and he does
share Snarl’s youth and exuberance. He didn’t quite always pull his
weight on the battlefield though, and ironically...Snarl was probably
what Tasmania Kid would eventually mature into after some
experience and tempering. There’s enough similarity between the
characters that I personally would have just merged them into the same
guy when IDW decided to introduce elements from the Japanese series into
their Beast Wars stories. Unfortunately, they didn’t go in that
direction, and so Snarl and Tasmania Kid remain two different, if quite
similar characters.
Like I mentioned, Snarl does have the name of my favorite G1 Dinobot,
which I was mostly okay with as there were a lot of name reuses in Beast
Wars. However, to cut down on the name recycling that had since become
rampant in the Transformers franchise in general, the writers of the
“Beast Wars: Uprising” series of prose stories would instead use Snarl’s
Italian name “Diablo” for him when he was briefly mentioned. I kinda
like that name for him; it seems fitting and it does make the character
more unique. A lot cooler than “Tasmania Kid” in whatever case! And
what was Diablo’s claim to fame in Uprising? Killing the Micromaster
Erector while in his cloaked mode.
I guess nothing kills an Erector like an invisible Tasmanian devil in the room.
32. Hardhead (G1)
First Appearance- Marvel Transformers: Headmasters # 1 (1987)
Much like his fellow Autobot tank Guzzle, this spot on my list is owed
to Hardhead’s portrayal in the IDW comics, most specifically under Simon
Furman. Hardhead was introduced into IDW continuity as part of the
reinforcements for Optimus Prime’s team of Earthbound Autobots alongside
Hot Rod and Nightbeat. Those two already had solo stories in the
Spotlight series by that point and were fairly popular characters on
their own, but Hardhead was a relatively-surprising addition to the main
cast.
Up until IDW, Hardhead had just been your standard generic
gung-ho Autobot who happened to be a Headmaster. The most lasting
memory I had of him before IDW was pretty much Hardhead getting stepped
on by Unicron in the landmark issue # 75 of the original Marvel US comic
run. In the Japanese Headmasters cartoon, he once got drunk and sung
karaoke, but other than those moments...he wasn’t the most unique guy.
In IDW's "Spotlight: Hardhead", Simon Furman developed the character into a
sort of Winston Wolf-type guy- someone who “solves problems” for the
Autobots. Hardhead makes troubles go away and gives the higher-ups some
measure of plausible deniability. In that issue, Hardhead is forced to
put down his mind-controlled comrade Nightbeat. Normally I’d be down
on that kind of thing (especially since Nightbeat is another favorite
character of mine and farther up this list!) but it was a
truly-effective dramatic moment in the story and Nightbeat had even
previously ASKED Hardhead to do it if he started displaying signs of
being controlled. Too often in fiction, I had seen characters in that
situation back down from killing their friend and ending up making
things even worse for everyone, so seeing Hardhead make the hard choice
earned him some cred with me.
Writers that followed Furman on IDW
mostly downplayed this aspect of Hardhead and just focused on portraying
him as a career soldier, but I have still maintained my fascination
with that initial conceit. Nowadays, Autobots that skirt that line of
morality and live in the gray area are a dime-a-dozen, but back then it
was actually kind of refreshing and made Hardhead stand out more as a
character in general.
In fact, I can’t help but hear actor Patrick Warburton's voice when I
read IDW Hardhead’s lines. He reminds me of Brock Samson from Venture
Bros. and even has that same kind of perpetual frown-y thing going on.
If Hardhead is ever included in some new animated project, they should
totally get Warburton to voice him!
As far as toys go, Hardhead’s had several by now and they’re all pretty
decent. Never owned his original G1 Headmaster figure, but his ‘08
Universe Ultra-class toy was a nice attempt to capture his then-current
IDW design that had an APC vehicle mode. That toy was originally made
as Combaticon Onslaught and was just straight-up repainted, so I had to
buy a third-party upgrade kit to give Hardhead his proper head design.
Likewise, his most current “Titans Return” deluxe figure closely homages
his original toy...right down to the usually-unused-in-fiction head
design. I preferred the visored head design that originated with
character model artist Floro Dery and which was used in the Sunbow
cartoon, and Marvel and IDW comics. So of course, I had to purchase a
Shapeways reproduction of the preferred face to replace the official
one.
I guess my caveat to “Hardhead’s had several decent toys” is “-except for the heads, which I have to replace at my own expense!”
31. Injector
First Appearance- Beast Wars: The Gathering # 1 (2006)
The picture above is probably what most people are familiar with when it
comes to ol’ Fishbughead. Injector is well-known across the fandom for
being a hideous shelf-clogger. I say “being”, present-tense, because
it’s quite likely one can still find boxed Injectors hanging on a retail
peg SOMEWHERE in the United States to this day. Kids just didn't go
crazy for the whole bee-with-a-lionfish-head thing...go figure. For my
part, I could walk into a Kaybee Toys when that was still a thing and
find Injector on a peg well after Robots in Disguise had ended its run
on shelves, some four or five years after his initial release.
I actually did buy Injector when he was new though, and frankly...I
think he’s a pretty neat figure! He's got an opening mouth in his robot
mode thanks to the transformation, which allowed for all sorts of
“screaming” poses. That, combined with the splaying head-fin gimmick,
always made me imagine he had some kind of sonic attack and his bee
stinger could become a well-integrated arm weapon for him. I always had
a lot of fondness for Injector, and thought he and Sky Shadow (his
fellow deluxe Predacon Fuzor) complimented each other well visually.
Both of those figures had a lot of somewhat-gaudy personality in their
designs, but Sky Shadow is usually spared from the scorn Injector
receives. I guess it’s because Sky Shadow just looks cooler in
general...but Injector still seems more unique to me.
Injector's toy bio paints him as incredibly vain, which I thought was
pretty funny and ironic. He's largely considered one of the most ugly
Beast Era designs by everyone, but he personally thinks he's beautiful.
The IDW Beast Wars Sourcebook write-up on him tries to rework that as
“Injector secretly knows he's ugly, but acts vain to cover it up”, which
is not really as fun. Most people ignore a lot of stuff from the Beast
Wars Sourcebook anyhow, and as far as Injector goes, so do I.
Injector’s character model and toy were reused across the pond in
Japan’s Beast Wars Neo series as “Rartorata”- don’t ask me what the hell
that name means. Rartorata was an agent of Unicron alongside recolors
of two of his fellow Fuzors, including Sky Shadow. Their grotesque
chimeric forms certainly seem suited to serving a god of chaos, so good
eye, Takara. In the IDW Beast Wars series "The Ascending", Injector
even gets to fight Rartorata and refuses to acknowledge their clear
resemblance when pressed on it. Injector's one of a kind, foo!
In any case, I’ll always have some positive regard for Mr. Fishbug, and
I’m not alone; IDW writer Mairghread Scott has professed love for
Injector as well, so perhaps he’ll get a starring role in Transformers
comics one day. Until then, just know that there are probably still
enough Injectors out there on retail shelves to wipe out humanity...so
be nice to that toy.
