Inferno (Transformers)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are four fictional characters named Inferno in the Transformers universes.
Contents |
[edit] Transformers: Generation 1 (1985)
| Transformers Character | |
 |
|
| Inferno | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Autobot |
| Sub-Group | Autobot Cars Action Masters |
| Function | Search and Rescue |
| Motto | "Where there's smoke, there's me." |
| Alternate mode(s) | Fire Engine |
| Series | Transformers: Generation 1 Transformers: Generation 2 |
| Voiced by | Paul Eiding (English) Takuro Kitagawa (Japanese) |
The toy of Inferno is based on a Japanese Diaclone toy. In the original Transformers toyline Inferno is a fearless Autobot who has a firetruck as his vehicle form. He relishes the attention he gets for saving lives and extinguishing fires any chance he gets, but Inferno's intentions are always noble, though he rarely gets involved in the battles.
Inferno would be a lot better at his job if he weren't so easily distracted. He genuinely wants to be responsible and perform his job well, but he simply cannot resist getting involved in combat. The rugged and powerful Inferno likes things to be as intense as possible, although he prefers the heat of battle to the heart of a burning building. He's not unaware of the seriousness of his function, and he does enjoy the chances it offers him to save innocent lives. It's just that Inferno can't turn down an opportunity to get into the thick of the action.
[edit] Action Master
Inferno was re-released in 1990 as an Action Master toy.
Tech Spec: "The hotter things get, the better I like it!" is Inferno's motto, and he's not just talking about fires. Would rather fight Decepticons than fires, but his strength and ceramic-plated armored skin, able to withstand temperatures as high as 14,000 degrees Fahrenheit, make him ideally suited for his job. His Hydro-Pack converts to a high-pressure cannon that can shoot any liquid substance from water to corrosive acid.
[edit] Transformers: Generation 2 (1993)
Inferno was re-released in Generation 2 of the Transformers with slight modifications, including a water squirter.
Function: Search & Rescue
Motto: "Where there's smoke, there's me."
The hotter things get, the better he likes it, and this goes for fires AND fights! Inferno can do anything Earth fire trucks can in vehicular Mode, but is often distracted from performing his job to engage in combat. His great strength is thanks to his ceramic-plated armored skin that can withstand 8000 degrees Celsius. He also has an extinguisher rifle that shoots flame-suppressing foam, an energy dampening beam to counter other beams, and forearms that shoot missiles. Unfortunately, he doesn't follow orders well and isn't very mobile as a robot.
[edit] Trivia
- &Inferno's original toy, slightly modified, was knocked off and used as the titular giant robot in the Korean animated film Phoenix King. Phoenix King was dubbed (horribly) and released in America by Digiview Entertainment as Defenders of Space, generally selling for the bargain price of $1.00. Scenes of "Inferno" from this movie were also incorporated into another bargain film distributed by Digiview Entertainment, Space Thunder Kids.
- In the late 1990s, a knockoff of G2 Inferno with some yellow parts was sold in discount stores on a card reading "Transformers: Generation 3."
[edit] Beast Wars (1996)
| Transformers Character | |
 |
|
| Inferno | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Predacon |
| Sub-Group | Mega Beasts Deluxe Vehicles |
| Function | Infantry Commander |
| Motto | None, but has said "For The Royalty!" and "Burn in the Fires of Inferno!" |
| Alternate mode(s) | giant fire ant |
| Series | Beast Wars Transformers: Universe |
| Voiced by | Jim Byrnes (English) Shinichiro Miki (Japanese) |
Inferno was originally a Maximal protoform converted into a Predacon by Tarantulas, who wanted to recruit a third arachnid loyal to him. However, the scanner in his stasis pod scanned a fire ant. A glitch in this process resulted in Inferno's beast instincts making him believe he's an actual ant, protecting his "colony" (stasis pod). When Tigatron destroyed the stasis pod, Inferno joined the Predacon ranks, believing Megatron to be his 'queen'. His impenetrable personal loyalty made Megatron (whom he often referred to as his "Queen", or "the Royalty" , much to Megatron's chagrin) forgive his quirks. Additionally, he referred to the Predacon Base as "The Colony"(and at one point "The Nest") and his comrades as "Drones", drawing some amount of dissatisfaction from them. Despite this, Inferno would prove surprisingly sociable, often playing cards with his fellow Predacons. Inferno had somewhat of a rivalry with Scorponok, as the brutish Predacon viewed the fanatically loyal Inferno as a rival to his own second-in-command position.
The matter was rendered moot in the season two opener as Scorponok died falling into a lava pit. After this, Inferno seemed to always act as sub-commander throughout the second and third seasons. Shadowing his ealier rivalry with Scorponok, Inferno had rivalry for the transmetal 2 Dinobot clone, who seemingly ousted him as Megatron's second in command. Inferno then took on any and every mission regardless of danger to hopefuly win back his place at the Royalty's side.
Insane and arsonistic, Inferno delights in causing pain and suffering while blasting opponents with twin flamethrowers. During his first encounter with Quickstrike, he claimed "Pain is my friend. Allow me to introduce you to it." When Megatron first witnessed Inferno's insane vigor for violence, he commented, "Oooh, I like him!" Inferno was extremely tough and powerful, while at the same time being amazingly simple-minded, even laughing during an energon overload while he ignited a patch of raw energon in an attempt to destroy Optimus Primal and Cheetor ( at the time fans believed Inferno died at this point as his body was obliterated, but he survived the explosion). In the finale, Inferno led Quickstrike and Waspinator in search of a new "colony" after the Predacon ship was destroyed by Tigerhawk. Inferno decided that the home of the cavemen would be suitable and he and Quickstrike attacked the base, after Waspinator defected. As Inferno tried to annihilate the caveman leader named Hammer, Megatron appeared in the Decepticon warship, the Nemesis and unintentionally fired upon Inferno and Quickstrike, blowing them up to pieces with one blast of energy. His parts along with Quickstrike's were used by the pre-human settlement.
Throughout the Beast Wars series, Inferno was one of only three characters to last the entire series without receiving some type of upgrade (the others being Rhinox and Waspinator) - although in the toy line he did become a transmetal with the third mode of a drilling vehicle - but with an alternate name: Scavenger.
[edit] Convention Comics
Inferno was one of the stars of the 1997 Botcon Convention Comics, a story set near the end of season one of the Beast Wars television series.
In the Convention Comics plot, Inferno and Blackarachnia watched as the Predacon scientist Fractyl attempted to invent energon armor capable of protecting them from energon build up. Although seemingly successful, the armor was stolen by the Maximal thief Packrat. Blackarachinia and Fractyl realized the energon armor was flawed and could destroy the planet if it came in contact with large amounts of energon. Inferno pursued Packrat, but since Packrat didn't need to assume beast mode with the armor on, he got the upper hand in the fight with Inferno. Hearing the battle, Airazor, Cheetor and Rhinox joined Packrat. Fractyl convinced Rhinox that the armor was a threat to them all. Rhinox was able to talk Packrat into giving up the armor, which Fractyl aided them in doing. When Blackarachnia arrived with Megatron, Packrat suggested that Fractyl pretend to be attacking the Maximals, who fled. Megatron was impressed with Fractyl's new found battle prowess.
[edit] Scavenger
There was a red transmetal ant released in the Beast Wars line called Scavenger, who was supposed to be Inferno, but was misnamed. He did however appear as a separate character in the IDW Beast Wars comics. In Japan however, the Scavenger toy was correctly sold as the Transmetal version of Inferno.
[edit] Antagony
There was a Black Ant (a recolor of Inferno) called Antagony, a Female Predacon Transformer, released as a Botcon Exclusive in 1998.
[edit] Transformers: Universe (2003 - 2004)
Inferno is the name of an Autobot toy, a recolor of Robots in Disguise Prowl who was colored as a homage to G1 Red Alert. Of all the initial characters in the Transformers: Universe toy line Inferno was the only one to lack any tech spec, bio, or appearance in any fiction, leaving his character a complete mystery. According to Glen Hallit, had the Transformers: Universe comic continued, this character would have been a reincarnation of Beast Wars Inferno.
According to rumors the toy was originally goint to be called Red Alert, and Universe Autobot Ratchet was to be called Inferno, but the named were swapped in a production mistake for this toy, so they had to rename the other toy as well.
[edit] Transformers: Armada (2003)
| Transformers character | |
 |
|
| Inferno | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Mini-Con  |
| Partner | Thrust Sunstorm |
| Motto | "The chosen exist to lead." |
| Alternate Modes | Cybertronian Missile Truck |
| Series | Transformers: Armada Transformers: Universe |
Inferno (Thunder in Japan) is the name of the Mini-Con partnered with the Decepticon, Thrust. He appeared in the cartoon series in this role.
Selected by Thrust to be his personal Mini-Con, Inferno has grown into the role of aiding his Decepticon partner. Inferno has become ever more enamored with the feeling of power that comes from being partnered with the respected veteran Decepticon, which has made him take on some of Thrust's arrogant characteristics. Swaggering among the other Mini-Cons and' even Decepticons with a cocky attitude, Inferno sometimes hinders Thrust's schemes by making them too many enemies, too fast. Despite the liability represented by Inferno's boasting, Thrust still values his partnership with the capable and formidable Mini-Con.
Although small, Inferno is quite powerful in both robot and tank mode. His vehicle mode can launch high-explosive shells up to 7 miles away with pinpoint accuracy. Inferno also possesses limited cloaking capabilities, which he can pass on to a larger Transformer during Powerlink along with increased speed and weaponry.
Inferno's arrogance is tolerated only as long as Thrust is in Megatron's good graces. Without Thrust, the other Decepticons would turn on Inferno in an instant.
[edit] Transformers: Universe (2003 - 2004)
Inferno is also the name of the Mini-Con partnered with the Decepticon, Sunstorm. This Mini-Con is a recolor of the original Mini-Con Inferno from Armada, as Sunstorm is a recolor of the Armada Thrust toy. These toys also came with recolors of the Mini-Con Street Action Team. Although Sunstorm and the Street Action Team appeared in the some fiction of the Transformers: Universe storyline, Inferno did not.
[edit] Transformers: Energon (2004)
| Transformers character | |
 |
|
| Inferno | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Autobot  |
| Sub-Group | Deluxe Vehicles |
| Motto | "Always look before you leap." |
| Alternate Modes | Cybertronian Fire Truck |
| Series | Transformers: Energon |
| English voice actor | Michael Daingerfield |
| Japanese voice actor | Nobutoshi Kanna |
Unrelated to Armada Inferno, this Inferno is an Autobot and physically a homage to the original Generation 1 Inferno.
Inferno is a true Autobot, always looking out for the safety and well being of those around him. In vehicle mode, he is a powerful firetruck capable of heroic, and often dangerous, search and rescue missions. In robot mode, he is a skilled targetmaster and sniper. Inferno thinks before he acts, aware of the consequences of his actions. He is able to powerlinx with Hot Shot and always provides a well thought-out approach before battle.
Besides being made as a Deluxe sized toy, a Built to Rule Inferno was release that was only sold in Cincinnati for a short period of time to test the market.
[edit] Animated Series
The level-headed master sniper of Team Optimus Prime, Inferno transforms into a fire engine and possesses the Spark of Combination, frequently combining with Hot Shot. He tended to play no major role until the Autobots were transported to a new region of space where Alpha Q had successfully recreated the planets destroyed by Unicron. Here, on Iron Planet, Inferno was charged with guarding Shockblast, but an attack by the Decepticons saw Megatron infuse Inferno with his own energies, trying to brand him with the Decepticon symbol and turn him to his side. Inferno fought the influence in a series of Jekyll-and-Hyde-like transformations, eventually plunging himself into the Energon Sun when he could hold it back no more. Thankfully, Jetfire was able to recover his Spark and had a new body constructed for him, recreating Inferno as Roadblock (Inferno V in Japan), who now transformed into a truck crane.
[edit] Dreamwave Comics
Inferno first appeared in issue #19 of the Dreamwave Transformers: Energon comic seres.
Transformers: Energon #22 - On Cybertron Optimus Prime gets a distress disgnal from Earth and gathers Hot Shot, Inferno, Jetfire and Ironhide. They all travel to Earth, but while in the space bridge Optimus is again spoken to by Megatron. As the Decepticons being to mine for energon the Autobots arrive. Although the Terrorcons initially seem more powerful than the Autobots, Optimus Prime is able to hold his own against Scorponok by going to super-mode. Rad and Alexis try to get away but are chased by Battle Ravage. During their escape they set off an explosion of the energon. With the energon gone, the Terrorcons leave.
Transformers: Energon #29 – Megatron teleports to Moscow where he turns the Battle Ravage clones back, aiding Inferno.
