Issue #1 of Transformers: The Wreckers comic book. The cover is a parody of Giant-Size X-Men issue #1. |
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| Autobot | |
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| Function | Commando war, War Unit |
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The Wreckers are a sub-team of Autobots in the fictional Transformers universe, functioning essentially as a commando unit. They are not derived from the Transformers toyline but rather are the creation of Marvel UK writer Simon Furman, who introduces the Wreckers in the story arc Target:2006. They also appear in many of Furman's subsequent stories, with an ever shifting roster, as well as in many other Marvel stories, in Dreamwave's War Within: The Dark Ages, and in IDW's Stormbringer.
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In the Marvel UK Transformers Universe, the team are first seen in the Target: 2006 arc (originally printed in UK #78-88), with members appearing in the early issues before the team itself was revealed in #82. They were to destroy ten of the Decepticons' most potent killers in Operation: Volcano, planned to be the first major offensive in the Autobot retaking of Cybertron. Their line-up at this point consists of Impactor (a new character created exclusively for the comic by Furman), Twin Twist, Topspin, Whirl, Roadbuster and another comic-only character, conjoined twin Rack'n'Ruin. These characters were chosen by Furman due to being overlooked by the American comic and cartoon (Whirl and Roadbuster were most likely omitted due to copyright problems), and therefore he could do what he wanted with them. A "flashback" Wreckers appearance came in the text story "Cybertron: The Middle Years", originally printed in UK #83, which credited the team with the assassination of the Decepticon leader Trannis. Problems with Magnus' departure caused the entire team to walk out of Volcano, but they soon returned: Impactor was convinced by Xaaron that he would lose the glory if Magnus returned and he wasn't ready, while the other Wreckers rejoined after seeing Decepticon bullying first-hand in a bar.
In UK #84, the team was joined by Springer, Broadside and Sandstorm, to lend reinforcements for Operation: Volcano in the event that Ultra Magnus did not return in time from Earth. Operation: Volcano was aborted when the Decepticon killers were recalled by Megatron, but a lone Decepticon named Macabre pressed on, attempting to assassinate Xaaron, leader of the Autobot resistance on Cybertron. Xaaron was saved when Impactor dived in front of Macabre, sacrificing himself. With his dying words, he appointed Springer leader of the Wreckers.
The team next appeared in UK #98-100, when Decepticon misinformation led to them pursuing and attempting to execute Optimus Prime. They were eventually shown their error, and co-operated with Prime in a series of raids on the Decepticons.
The Wreckers next appeared in UK #166-169, fighting animated dead Transformers under the power of the insane Autobot scientist Flame. The team were initially captured by Flame when Springer froze after seeing the reanimated Impactor. However, Springer overcame his demons to help save Cybertron, while Impactor's personality resurfaced again, allowing him to sacrifice himself again to save Cybertron. By this point, Whirl and Roadbuster had disappeared from the line-up.
The team made an ill-fated attempt to confront the renegade Decepticon Galvatron on Earth during UK #172-173. However, an error saw them land in a populated town, and they found themselves facing Galvatron and Cyclonus and Scourge. The Wreckers were forced to protect the human population, and were unable to combat Galvatron. Only Springer's wits saved the team from a rout. The team returned to Cybertron, their mission a failure. Broadside and Sandstorm were temporarily detached from the Wreckers, and were sent to Earth again with Inferno to provide reconnaissance for a second attempt.
This second attempt was rushed forward when Galvatron was found to be the catalyst of a timestorm, and was launched in conjunction with the Decepticon Mayhem Attack Squad. This took place during the Time Wars (UK #199-205), and saw Roadbuster reappear with the team. The joint operation was a disaster, with the teams routed when Galvatron ambushed them with help from Megatron. Topspin was killed in the initial fracas by Megatron. Sandstorm was killed when the groups attempted to regroup, while Roadbuster was destroyed using an experimental Decepticon Pathblaster gun on Galvatron. Galvatron then destroyed Twin Twist and Rack 'N Ruin. Though the Time Wars were won, the Wreckers were effectively decimated.
Springer and Broadside later formed the Survivors with Inferno, Skids and Mayhem left-overs Carnivac and Catilla.
The Wreckers:
Ultra Magnus is not a member of the Wreckers, though he did collaborate with them in a plot to assassinate key Decepticon agents, in Target:2006.
Dreamwave's second Generation 1 mini-series, War and Peace featured a reference to the original Wreckers, with Ultra Magnus leading a unit consisting of Roadbuster, Whirl, Topspin and Twin Twist. The Wreckers proper appeared in The War Within: The Dark Ages as a breakaway faction from the Autobots over six million years ago.
The known roster in the War Within series consisted of
Introduced in The Transformers: Stormbringer #2, the Wreckers are a last-ditch resort commando team sent in to worlds where the Decepticons have effectively won, intended to ensure the enemy suffer heavy losses before they fully conquer the planet. Led by Springer, they are in the midst of a war on Varas Centralus before being reassigned to investigate the resurrection of Thunderwing on Cybertron. Springer is in communication with Bluestreak, who leads another squad and is not one of the Wreckers. The Wreckers quickly dispatch Bludgeon's group of Decepticon cultists, only to find Thunderwing is returning to Cybertron. They subsequently battle the creature alongside Optimus Prime and the Predacons, defeating it at last.
Sometime later, some of the Wreckers were captured by the Decepticons. They were rescued by the remaining Wreckers, now led by Kup, Perceptor, and Drift, who was acting independently but asked to join the Wreckers by Kup (which later was vetoed by Prowl prior to Last Stand of the Wreckers). After this, Kup decided to form a new team that included Wreckers Springer and Roadbuster.[1]
After the great push by Megatron, Kup and Perceptor were made into Wreckers, with Ultra Magnus and Verity Carlo providing them with transport. A few years later, Wrecker reservists Guzzle, Pyro, Rotorstorm and Ironfist were added to the team. Springer was becoming weary of assembling these teams, only to see them blown apart.
The first mission by the new team was to travel to Garrus-9 and bring it back under Autobot control.[2] After the arrival of a battered Impactor, however, they discovered that the sociopathic Overlord had seized control of the facility and the whole place had gone mental. A report from Prowl also stated they needed to find "Aequitas". Splitting into two teams, the Wreckers made planetfall [3] and soon became separated from each other. Perceptor's team were tasked to find Aequitas, but Springer abruptly changed strategy and split his group into two: one to find the prisoners, the other to "get help" from a maximum security cell. Perceptor's team succeeded—albeit with the loss of Rotorstorm to Overlord—but Springer, Impactor and Twin Twist were captured.[4] Topspin willingly sacrificed himself to activate Aequitas, simultaneously killing Twin Twist due to their branched spark. Kup and Guzzle failed to find the help they were looking for, but managed to save Springer and Impactor from death by torture. As Springer's team faced down Overlord himself, the other Wreckers finished their mission by downloading Aequitas's data into Ironfist.[5] Perceptor's group then went to aid the others in the battle against Overlord, with Pyro sacrificing himself in the process. Overlord effortlessly defeated most of the remaining Wreckers, but was eventually taken down thanks to Ironfist's connection to Aequitas. Garrus-9 was liberated, and miraculously, no further Wreckers had been killed in the fight with Overlord... though Springer was in a critical condition and Ironfist succumbed to a workplace injury and died on the way home.[6]
The known roster comprises:
In the BotCon comic series, the Wreckers numbers are reduced to two by a virus unleashed by Megatron, Rodimus Prime and the Maximal Apelinq. However, their numbers are later bolstered by the arrival of Primal Prime and his crew from Earth, who take command of the Wreckers. This storyline was never finished due to the ending of the licence of Botcon from 3H Enterprise. Recently, it was announced Transformers Collectors Club has just finished this storyline through the Fan Club Website. The Wreckers of the Beast Machines era are as follows:
The Wreckers is a war unit under the command of Ultra Magnus.
Mentioned in the novel Transformers: Exodus. They were the Council Guardians during the siege of the Hydrax Plateau. They later fought Devastator before Defensor arrived. When the Ark launched, the Wreckers stayed behind to distract Trypticon, gaining allies in Jetfire, Omega Supreme and Alpha Trion.
In the episode "Con Job", Bulkhead states that he and Wheeljack were members of the Wreckers.
The Wreckers appeared in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. They function as a commando unit that transform into heavily armed NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chevrolet Impala stock cars equipped with machine guns.[7] The Wreckers are called upon whenever the odds of success are slim. They are also mechanics, helping Epps to repair an Autobot spaceship, "Xantium". Roadbuster has a Scottish accent and Leadfoot speaks with a Cockney accent, while Topspin remains silent. The members of the Wreckers are:
The trio were among the Autobots who survived the battle in Chicago.