Blackout (Transformers)
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Blackout is the name of four different fictional characters in the various Transformers universes.
Contents |
[edit] Transformers: Generation 1
| Transformers character | |
| Blackout | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Decepticon |
| Sub-Group | Micromaster |
| Function | Ground infantry |
| Partner | Spaceshot |
| Alternate Modes | B-1B Lancer bomber jet |
| Series | Transformers: Generation 1 |
Blackout was one of a team of two Micromaster Combiners. They came with a Gepard air defense vehicle that could transform to a base. Because Blackout and his partner Spaceshot are regularly pictured together and that they are amongst the lesser-known Micromasters, the exact identity of each Transformer is regularly mistaken for the other. Blackout has never appeared in Transformers fiction, except for a profile in Dreamwave Productions' Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye series. His bio painted him as a brave Decepticon warrior, but liable to flee if the odds turned against him. Only Spaceshot's disapproval often keeps this from happening.
[edit] Toys
- Generation 1 Blackout and Spaceshot (1990)
[edit] Transformers: Armada
| Transformers character | |
| Blackout | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Mini-Con |
| Japanese name | Search |
| Partner | Demolishor |
| Motto | "Sometimes your inner voice is the best leader." |
| Alternate Modes | Mobile missile platform |
| Series | Transformers: Armada Transformers: Energon |
[edit] Dreamwave Productions
Blackout appeared among the Mini-Cons in issue #18 of the Transformers: Armada comic book who aided Over-Run using the Mini-Con Matrix in the defeat of Unicron.
Blackout's bio painted him as aggressive and independent—something which contrasts with Demolishor's blind loyalty to Megatron. He would voice his thoughts and feelings, even at the risk of a severe beating. In the cartoon, Demolishor used him to find other Mini-Cons.
[edit] Toys
- Armada Blackout (2002)
- Blackout was one of the first-released Mini-Cons that were included with a larger Transformer. He was later recolored when Demolishor received his Powerlinx upgrade. Blackout was able to attach to Demolishor to form the front section of the Decepticon's tank mode, or he was able to sit on the seat on Demolishor's back. When attached to a special Mini-Con port, he can fire Demolishor's shoulder missiles.
- Built to Rule Blackout (2003–2004)
- Blackout was also part of the Built to Rule toy line, again as Demolishor's partner, and during 2004, he was recolored with a 'Night Attack' scheme which was not based on an existing Transformers toy. In the Japanese series, Blackout was named Search and later Spark Search when he was recolored.
- Energon Blackout (2004)
- Ten years after the events in Armada, Demolishor retained his original form, only with a new color scheme. Blackout also received a new color scheme to match Demolishor's. However, Blackout did not appear in the Energon animated series. Blackout did not reappear when the Armada Demolishor toy was repainted for Transformers: Cybertron.
[edit] Transformers: Energon
| Transformers character | |
| Blackout | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Decepticon |
| Japanese name | Blast Off |
| Sub-Group | Destruction Team |
| Alternate Modes | Cybertronian Helicopter |
| Series | Transformers: Energon |
Blackout was a member of the Decepticon Destruction Team and transformed into a helicopter. He was able to combine with his team to form a limb of the giant robot, Bruticus Maximus.
[edit] Animated series
In the Energon animated series, Blackout was a seemingly non-sentient drone commanded by team leader, Barricade. As with all of the Energon combiner limbs, Blackout has a twin brother on his team—Stormcloud. Their energon weapons were a cannon and a pair of guns. In the Japanese series, each member had the name of a G1 Combaticon—Blackout's name was Blast Off.
[edit] Dreamwave Productions
Although the Transformers: Energon comic book series by Dreamwave Productions was canceled before Blackout could appear in them, the Energon "More Than Meets The Eye" guide book was under development at the time. Pencil art by Guido Guidi was released later showing the art that would have been used with Blackout's profile. [1]
[edit] Toys
- Energon Blackout (2005)
- Shared a mold with Storm Cloud. Later redecoed into Timelines Topspin.
[edit] 2007 Transformers movie
| Transformers character | |
.png/240px-Blackout_(1).png) Blackout in the 2007 Transformers movie |
|
| Blackout | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Decepticon |
| Sub-Group | Micro Vehicles Voyagers |
| Partner | Scorponok |
| Motto | "He who cares for the opinions of others is lost." |
| Alternate Modes | MH-53M Pave Low IV helicopter |
| Series | Transformers movie toys |
| English voice actor | Brian Stepanek (animated prequel) Noah Nelson (video game) |
Early leaked scripts of the 2007 live-action film had a Decepticon helicopter named Vortex, after the Generation 1 Combaticon. Possibly due to Hasbro's lack of a trademark on the name Vortex, they changed the name to Blackout. Blackout has had various different names before being finalized—Soundwave, Vortex and Incinerator; all names have been used on a Transformers toy at some point before. Leaked concept art for the character had the name "Incinerator" on it.
Blackout transforms into an MH-53M Pave Low IV helicopter. According to screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, Blackout is the largest Decepticon, (even though Starscream is 55 feet tall, while Blackout is about 33 feet tall and Megatron, visually, appears larger than any other Transformer in the movie) serving as transportation for the other group members. He is armed with arm-mounted Gatling cannons, an M134 gatling gun used on the pavelow helicopter. And an energy cannon and missile launchers, and has the ability to disrupt electronic devices via EMP blasts. He is also able to detach and wield his tail rotor blades as a close-combat weapon and when out of vehicle mode his main rotors fold into two sets of three onto his back, giving him the appearance of wings. When in helicopter mode he can simulate the appearance of a human pilot, the same holographic model (referred to as "Mustache Man" on-set and in the credits) that "pilots" Starscream and "drives" Barricade. Blackout carries Scorponok on his back, as seen in both the film and the game. [2]
According to his profile in the second issue of the UK. Transformers magazine, Blackout stands 33 feet 5 inches tall, weighs 2.9 tons and has a maximum speed of 800 mph. The official guide to the Transformers video game says he's 33 feet tall. Both of these heights are much smaller than his alternate mode would suggest. However, in the video game's profile for him, it states that he is often seen "silently looming over Megatron's shoulder" indicating that he would have to be taller than Megatron, and therefore taller than 33 feet. His exact height seems to be a mystery. As size calculations from the toy suggests, his height should be about 55 feet tall.
[edit] Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday
Blackout appeared in the prequel novel, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday, where he was the most vocal critic of Starscream's leadership. When Starscream left to destroy Bumblebee, Blackout seized the initiative and led Bonecrusher and Frenzy in an assault on the Autobots, attacking Prime with his partner Scorponok. He failed, and eventually challenged Starscream to a duel for leadership of the Decepticons, which he lost.
[edit] IDW Publishing
Blackout also appeared in IDW Publishing's movie prequel comic, where he, Starscream and Barricade smashed up the Mars Beagle 2 probe.
In issue 4, he traveled to Earth, where he gained his MH-53 helicopter mode in Afghanistan and destroy the scanned vehicle. The three Decepticons, detecting emissions similar to that of the Allspark, then stumbled onto Sector 7's trap for Bumblebee, wiping out their military backup. Blackout tried to access Sector 7's computers, but could only glean a few bits of information before they shut it down. After Barricade outlined his plan to follow Bumblebee and see what they could find out, Blackout and Starscream tailed him from the air.
[edit] Movie plot
In the 2007 live-action film, Blackout is the first active Decepticon (and first Transformer) to be seen. Early in the film, he, along with his minion Scorponok, attacks the SOCCENT Forward Operations Centre in Qatar, disguised as a MH-53M Pave Low IV helicopter, tail number 4500 X, that was apparently shot down over Afghanistan three months earlier. Blackout is escorted to the base by two F-22 jet fighters, where he transforms and single-handedly obliterates the base. He attempts to hack into the base's system to download data on the location of the Allspark and Megatron, only to have the hardline to the system cut by Colonel Sharp. He then deploys Scorponok, sending him after a fleeing Captain William Lennox and his team.
Later, Blackout is seen rallying with the other Decepticons to Starscream's call, after Frenzy discovers the Allspark in the Hoover Dam. Blackout is shown to be fiercely loyal to Megatron, evidenced by his line "All hail Megatron!" when he is summoned by Starscream. Arriving in Mission City during the final battle, he attempts to ambush Optimus Prime from behind while he is preoccupied fighting Megatron; however, he is attacked by Captain Lennox and his team, the former racing underneath him on a motorcycle and firing at him with a sabot round, along with human pilots in F-22's firing a barrage of missiles from the air, eventually killing him. His corpse is disposed of in the Laurentian Abyss, along with Megatron and the other fallen Decepticons.
In the Transformers: Decepticons video game, a conversation between Brawl and Blackout reveals that he and other Decepticon warriors have been responsible for destroying an Autobot city called Tyger Pax.
[edit] Transformers: Meet the Decepticons
The book Transformers - Meet The Decepticons by Jennifer Frantz had a slightly different ending than the movie. This book had all six Decepticons leaving Earth together after being defeated by the Autobots, instead of having most of their numbers die.
[edit] Video Game
Blackout appears as a playable character in the Decepticon campaign. He stands very tall over the other Transformers, and is very powerful. In the Autobot campaign, Jazz has to defeat both Starscream and Blackout, seemingly killing them. However Jazz himself is killed by Brawl, who in turn is killed by Ironhide. In the Decepticon campaign, Blackout is used in many missions, and killed Ironhide in the final battle.
[edit] Movie toys
- Movie Legends Blackout (2007)
- A 3-inch micro-sized Legends version of Blackout features a simple transformation and two free-spinning blades.
- Movie Legends Desert Blackout (2008)
- A redeco of Movie Legends Blackout. [3]
- Fast Action Battlers Gyro Blade Blackout (2007)
- A Deluxe-sized toy with simplified transformation for younger children. [4]
- Voyager Class Blackout (2007)
- Features a spinning set of blades, whose mount can be removed to form a spinning-blade weapon for the robot mode. It also includes a small, non-transforming Scorponok figure with a spring-tail that can be dropped from a basket in Blackout's helicopter mode. In vehicle mode, Blackout can combine with the Deluxe Class movie Scorponok figure (sold separately) in a combined gimmick: rotating Blackout's rotors will cause Scorponok's claws to spin (though it doesn't work as well as one would expect). Blackout lacks the arm-mounted weapons seen in the film, but his robot mode does have sculpted missiles detailed on its shoulders. It is the smallest Voyager-class sized figure, despite his actual size in the movie being larger than the others.
- This toy's fuselage is 25 centimeters long, while an actual Pavelow helicopter is 2235 centimeters long. This gives it a scale of about 1/89. With a robot toy height of 19 centimeters, Blackout should stand about 55 feet tall.
- This toy was later remolded into Evac.
- A 2-pack called "Desert Attack" was released in 2007 at Toys "R" Us with both Voyager Blackout and Deluxe Scorponok.
- Blackout RC Helicopter (2007)
- A RadioShack exclusive, this radio-controlled helicopter flies up to a range of 25 feet and is rechargeable using the supplied helipad. link
- Premium Voyager Blackout (2008)
- A redeco of the Voyager Blackout with more movie-accurate detailing in vehicle mode. [5]
[edit] External links
- Toy Review of G1 Blackout
- Toy Review Gallery of Armada Blackout
- Toy Review of Powerlinx Blackout
- Toy Gallery of Energon Mini-Con Blackout
- Toy Gallery of Destruction Team Blackout
