Cannonball (Transformers)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Transformers character | |
 |
|
| Cannonball | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Decepticon  |
| Sub-Group | Deluxe Vehicles |
| Function | Pirate |
| Alternate Modes | Dodge Magnum Hearse |
| Series | Transformers: Cybertron |
Cannonball is the name of a character in the Transformers: Cybertron toy line.
[edit] Transformers: Cybertron
Cannonball is a repaint of Cybertron Red Alert, and is a US exclusive character created by Hasbro. Since the television series was created by Hasbro's Japanese partner Takara, Cannonball does not appear in the Cybertron television series.
Cannonball is a Decepticon space pirate. In the online bio for Cannonball it reveals that he's the 10th space pirate named Cannonball in a long line of pirates, and he seems to be a homage to the Dread Pirate Roberts. Where Red Alert turns into an ambulance, Cannonball turns into a hearse. He even has an eye patch painted on his head, stylized skulls and bones, and a tool replacing his left hand.
In 2006 a special edition of Cannonball was available in Walmart stores which contained a DVD with the episode "Cybertron" as a promotional item - despite the fact that he wasn't in that episode.
His tech spec indicates that he had terrorized the spacelanes for centuries, targeting defenceless Autobot merchant ships. His crew return to Cybertron only to blow their loot on Energon stars and to improve the look of their vehicle modes. He only tolerates being under Megatron's command as long as the Decepticon leader allows him the independence to pillage only Autobot ships. The Cyber key info available on the Hasbro website indicated that this Cannonball was merely the latest in a long line of pirates bearing the name. The original elected to keep his legend alive by recruiting other Decepticons (and occasionally ex-Autobots) to his ship the Sea Slag, where he would train them as his replacement. The cycle continued until the present day, as this Cannonball is the tenth bearer of the name.
[edit] Fiction
The only appearance of Cannonball in official fiction is in the Official Transformers Collectors Club magazine story concerning Cybertron Astrotrain, where it is revealed that Cannonball hired Astrotrain to recover a treasure from a dead planet.
