Wreckers (Transformers)

"Rack'n'Ruin" redirects here. For the record producer, see Gorgon City.
Wreckers

=Issue #1 of Transformers: The Wreckers comic book. The cover is a parody of Giant-Size X-Men issue #1.
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics, Hasbro Comics, Devil's Due Publishing, Dreamwave Productions, IDW Publishing, 3H Enterprises, Fun Publications, Del Rey Books
First appearance Target: 2006 (September 1986)
Created by Simon Furman (writer)
Hasbro (concept)
In-story information
Base(s) Cybertron (home-planet)
Member(s) see: below

The Wreckers are a sub-team of Autobots in the fictional Transformers franchise, functioning essentially as a commando unit. Depending on the universe the are seen in, the origins and exactly who they are can vary, sometimes they are a combiner subgroup, sometimes they lack the ability to combine, sometimes they are reformatted into Decepticons (as seen in Robots in Disguise), and other times they can just be a trio of Autobot cars (as seen in Dark of the Moon and Bot Shots). When they combined, their combined form is usually known as Ruination.

Transformers: Generation 1

They are the creation of Marvel UK writer Simon Furman, who introduced the Wreckers in the story arc Target:2006. With an ever shifting roster, they also appear in many of Furman's subsequent stories, as well as in many other Marvel stories, in Dreamwave's War Within: The Dark Ages, and in IDW's Stormbringer.

Marvel Comics

In the Marvel UK Transformers Universe, Wreckers first appear in the Target: 2006 arc (originally printed in UK #78-88). Individual members appeared in early issues before the team itself was revealed in #82. The Wreckers task was to destroy ten of the Decepticons' most potent killers in Operation: Volcano. This operation was planned to be the first major offensive in the Autobot retaking of Cybertron. The Wrecker team at this point consisted of the following characters:

These characters were chosen by Furman because they were overlooked by the American comic and cartoon (although Whirl and Roadbuster were most likely omitted due to copyright problems). As such, Furman 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. This 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. 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 pursue and attempt 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. Impactor's personality resurfaced again, allowing him to sacrifice himself once more to save Cybertron. By this point, Whirl and Roadbuster disappeared from the line-up.

During UK #172-173, the team made an ill-fated attempt to confront the renegade Decepticon Galvatron on Earth. 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 during the Time Wars (UK #199-205) when Galvatron was found to be the catalyst of a timestorm. It was also launched in conjunction with the Decepticon Mayhem Attack Squad. Roadbuster again reappeared with the team. However, the joint operation was a disaster, as the teams were routed when Galvatron and Megatron ambushed them. Topspin was killed in the initial fracas by Megatron. Sandstorm was killed when the groups attempted to regroup. Roadbuster was destroyed using an experimental Decepticon Pathblaster gun on Galvatron. Finally, Twin Twist and Rack 'N Ruin were also destroyed by Galvatron. Though the Time Wars were won, the Wreckers were effectively destroyed.

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 Productions

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 the following Autobots:

IDW Publishing

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. They are 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. They are then 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. Drift had been acting independently but was asked to join the Wreckers by Kup. This was which later vetoed by Prowl prior to Last Stand of the Wreckers. Kup then decided to form a new team that included 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. However, he 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 in this format comprised

BotCon

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:

Transformers: Robots in Disguise

Ruination

Universe Ruination toy.
Autobot/Decepticon
Information
Sub-group Decepticon
Function Combat Specialist
Alternate modes 5 Decepticons (former Autobots)
Series Transformers: Robots in Disguise
Transformers: Universe'
Transformers: Generations
English voice actor Bob Papenbrook
Japanese voice actor Holly Kaneko

In the alternate timeline of RID, this team, formerly as protofroms, along with their leader, Scourge, were sent on a mission to reactivate Fortress Maximus. Together, they possess the ability to combine with each of the four smaller members able to form any limb. Movor and Ro-Tor can form arms to give Ruination flight powers, while Armorhide and Rollbar can form legs, or Armorhide and Rollbar can form the arm to give Ruination added firepower while Movor and Ro-Tor form the legs. Ruination's weapons are a combination of all the team's individual guns, and can level a city with their power. This Combiner was a repaint of the original 1986 Combaticons figures. In Japan the Combiner Decepticon (bar Scourge) were called the "Commandos" although that term was never used in the English television series.

Members

Mega-Octane (Dolrailer) is the cool, calculating leader of the Combiner Decepticons. He is cruel and unfair, and uses his four subordinates as if they were his own limbs – he expects them to carry out his orders without question, and he has no tolerance with delays or mistakes. He is somewhat envious of Scourge, who snatched leadership of the Decepticons directly from him. In missile trailer mode, Mega-Octane can launch missiles with a range of 65 miles (105 km). In robot mode, he carries a laser rifle. He can also transform into a combat station and perform maintenance on his teammates. He forms the torso and head of Ruination.
Voiced by Bob Papenbrook United States and by Holly Kaneko Japan
Armorhide (Dangar) specializes in desert warfare, and his body camouflage can fool most Autobots' photoreceptors. Unfortunately, his loud boasting and eagerness to scrap Autobots often reveal his position. Armorhide is not too bright, he is described as a "Half-track mind" by fellow Decepticons. In tank mode, Armorhide can reach speeds of 45 mph (72 km/h) and has a range of 600 miles (970 km). His turret-mounted gun shoots a shell up to a distance of 3.5 miles (5.6 km) with powerful force. Armorhide combines with his fellow Combiners to form the giant robot Ruination.
Voiced by Richard Epcar United States and by Takayuki Kondo Japan
Movor (Shuttler) transforms into a combat space-shuttle, and is capable of achieving planetary orbit under his own power. He carries detection equipment so he can search for Autobots from orbit, and is equipped with a powerful, long-range x-ray laser that allows him to attack them from that distance. He is somewhat pompous about his abilities, something which irritates his teammates. Movor has excellent heat-resistance. He combines with his fellow Combiners to form the giant robot Ruination.
Voiced by Robert Axelrod United States and by Hidenori Konda in Japan
Rollbar (Greejeeper) specializes in hand-to-hand combat. He is a skilled practiser of Crystallocution – the Cybertronic martial art of defeating an opponent by attacking his metal fracture points. He's also very interested in Earthen martial arts. Although described as "All-terrain terror", Rollbar prefers Arctic environments, and likes fighting on rainy days. He combines with his fellow Combiners to form the giant robot Ruination. Rollbar has a sarcastic sense of humour, which often shines through both amongst his team and when facing Autobots.
Voiced by Michael Lindsay United States and by Riki Kitazawa Japan
Ro-Tor (Hepter) is responsible for reconnaissance. He is not particularly fast in helicopter mode, but he has a tight turning radius and fantastic manoeuvrability. In addition he's almost soundless in flight, which allows him to sneak up on hapless Autobots and attack them from above. Ro-Tor likes to practice acrobatic flying in his free time. Ro-Tor combines with his fellow Combiners to form the giant robot Ruination.
Voiced by Neil Kaplan United States and by Masao Harada Japan
Ruination (Valdigus) is a combined form of the Combiner Decepticons. As a powerful brute, he often followed Scourge's plans. Ruination's Japanese info card stated that he also gains his energy from coffee-milk. In one alternate reality, Ruination is in fact a member of the Autobot Wreckers.
Voiced by Bob Papenbrook United States and by Holly Kaneko Japan

Animated series

These five Transformers actually began life as Autobots, sent to Earth along with a sixth to lead them in a mission to reactivate the legendary Autobot battle station known as Fortress Maximus. However, their craft malfunctioned and crashed, and the six Autobots were entombed in protoform state, joining Fortress Maximus in slumber until their ship was unearthed by Megatron and his Predacons. Absconding with the Autobot protoforms right under Optimus Prime's nose, Megatron took them to a nearby military base, intending to scan alternate modes for them. Mega-Octane was the first to be reactivated, infused with a portion of Megatron's own spark energy to create the first of a new breed of Transformer that Megatron dubbed the "Decepticons." The other four members of the team followed, and eventually the sixth, Scourge, who took leadership of the team from Mega-Octane with a show of force.

The Decepticons soon demonstrated their skills by blowing up dams across the country, debuting their combining abilities against Rail Racer and later attempting to harness the energies of a volcano on Montrose Island. As part of a string of failed attempts to locate the Autobots' hidden base, Movor was launched into orbit to track Side Burn from space, and the Decepticons then pretended to have reverted to their original Autobot selves in an effort to make the Autobots take them in. Later, Decepticon corruption of the Autobots' global spacebridge led Ruination into conflict with Landfill.

It soon became apparent that Scourge sought to overthrow Megatron's leadership, and the discovery of Fortress Maximus, buried beneath the Earth's surface accelerated the process as exposure to his energies, and those of the O-Parts – the keys to Maximus's resurrection – awoke memories of Scourge's original mission. His new Decepticon programming turned it on its head, however, as he now wished to command Maximus's power for his own, and soon had the other Decepticons thinking the same way, conspiring with Mega-Octane to get Cerebros, the power key of Fortress Maximus, under his control. As a series of chases to acquire control of Maximus began, Scourge eventually revealed his treachery by trying to have the giant attack Galvatron (Megatron, in a new form), only for the plan to fail. In retribution, Galvatron again reprogramed the Decepticons, turning them back into his loyal servants, who followed him so completely that they were even willing to take his orders after he attempted to kill them as a belated punishment. With Galvatron's defeat, the Decepticons and Predacons (bar Sky-Byte) were all taken back to Cybertron for imprisonment.

Voice actor plays

Ruination would make one further appearance in the BotCon 2004 Voice actor play. Here, he was one of the Decepticons under the command of Reptilion, alongside Sunstorm and Perceptor. He battled Silverbolt, Rattrap and Waspinator in order to secure two groups of dimensionally displaced Autobots from the RiD universe. However, the three groups of Autobots, together with a time-lost Autobot shuttle from the Great War, were able to defeat the Decepticons.

Books

The vehicle that inspired Ruination.

A movieverse Ruination appears among the Decepticons in the book Transformers: The Veiled Threat by Alan Dean Foster. Longarm joins Knock Out on a mission to Peru to find Decepticons that have been detected in the deep jungles. On a steep mountain pass, the party is attacked by Decepticons Ruination and Blademaster. Despite inexperienced and risky behavior by Knock Out, both Decepticons are severely damaged and driven off.

IDW Publishing

Movieverse Ruination went to work for Starscream, guarding his base in a junkyard on the outskirts of Mexico City. After blasting his way past Ruination and Deadlift, Shockwave tells Starscream that Megatron requires his services. Shockwave then sends Starscream to recover the drone called Brains.[7]

Toys

Instead of classic Decepticon symbols seen in other Transformers series, the Commandos wore black Autobot symbols from Transformers: Generation 2, only upside down. The Japanese toy release had show-accurate symbols.[8]
The toys released in the U.S. had traditional Decepticon symbols. In on, the American release of Armorhide features his Desert Storm era camouflage pattern recolored over a bluish-gray base. While this may be intended to be an urban assault camouflage, fans seeking toys identical to the Japanese version (and the cartoon series) were disappointed.[9]
With Ruination's official height being given as 15 meters (49 feet) tall, and the toy measuring 25 centimeters tall, the toy would have a scale of about 1/60. This would mean Mega-Octane would stand 11.4 meters (37 feet) tall, while the other Commandos would stand about 4.8 meters (16 feet) tall, although this contradicts the series itself, where the five Commandos are shown standing at more or less the same height.
An "Arctic" redeco version of the Decepticons, bearing the same names, was released as a giftset exclusive to Wal-Mart in 2003. Oddly this version featured a slight remold making the nosecone of Movor more rounded.[10][11]
A "tiger striped" desert camo repaint of Ruination – presumably intended as an alternate universe or future version of the characters – was released as part of Transformers: Universe in 2004. This version of Ruination appeared in the 2004 Botcon voice actor play. This version of the toy also featured a rounded nosecone on Movor.
A mistake on the back of the box for the Universe Ruination gift set had Armorhide and Rollbar's pictures swapped.[12]
Ruination is created by combining the five Deluxe Wreckers. He is an extensive retool of Transformers: Generations Bruticus, sporting a head based on Xaaron (who was closely associated with the Wreckers in their debut story "Target: 2006"). While it is not clear if it's by coincidence or design, this Ruination's limbs comprise a green jeep, a white spacecraft, a blue tank and a dark blue helicopter, which, when coupled with the unifying use of orange across all the figures, makes him fairly evocative of Transformers: Robots in Disguise Ruination, who was himself a redeco of Bruticus.

Transformers: Prime

The Wreckers is a war unit under the command of Ultra Magnus. Some Wreckers have the ability to combine to form a larger robot named Ruination.

Mentioned in the novels Transformers: Exodus and Transformers: Exiles. 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. They continued to fight against Shockwave's regime in Exiles and then in Transformers: Retribution, the latter novel notably featuring them organizing a rescue mission to recover Alpha Trion from Shockwave.

In the Transformers: Prime episode "Con Job", Bulkhead states that he and Wheeljack were members of the Wreckers, an Autobot black ops unit that operated outside the normal chain of command. In "Loose Cannons", Wheeljack was supposed to meet up with fellow Wrecker Seaspray only for Seaspray's ship to be destroyed by a Proximity Bomb planted there by Dreadwing. During a discussion between Bulkhead and Wheeljack, it was mentioned that Impactor, Pyro, Roadbuster, and Rotorstorm were members of the Wreckers who were killed in action during some of the Wreckers' earlier missions. They also spoke the Wreckers' catchphrase: "Wreckers don't call for backup, they call for cleanup!"

In Beast Hunters, the Commander of the Wreckers, Ultra Magnus, comes to Earth, following the beam emanating from the Omega Lock on Cybertron, and joins Team Prime as Optimus Prime's second-in-command, wielding the Forge of Solus Prime as his weapon of choice. It is revealed that Ultra Magnus was made leader of the Wreckers by Optimus to help get them under control, and that Wheeljack ended up leaving the Wreckers as a result. However, over the course of the final season, Wheeljack and Magnus develop a mutual respect, and the three former Wreckers serve as a sub-unit of Team Prime under Magnus's command. The group were sent to take control of the bridge of the Nemesis but diverted by Soundwave, but succeeded in defeating many of the Vehicons. During the series concluding film Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising, the group was temporarily split up: Wheeljack served as Optimus's pilot and companion on a deep-space mission to recover the AllSpark, Bulkhead was placed in charge of reconstruction efforts on Cybertron, and Ultra Magnus was put in charge of security.

Live-action film series

The Wreckers appeared in the live-action film series. They function as a commando unit that transform into heavily armed NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chevrolet Impala stock cars equipped with machine guns. The Wreckers are called upon whenever the odds of success are slim. They are also mechanics helping Robert Epps to repair an Autobot spaceship, Xantium. The individual Wreckers themselves are unnamed in Dark of the Moon but Leadfoot is named in Age of Extinction.

The members of the Wreckers are:

In Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the Wreckers were among the second wave of Autobots arrived on Earth. The Wreckers themselves however due to their violent and destructive approaches in combat, and being generally "assholes", they were generally left at the NASA base the Xantium was stationed at to work on it with Epps. Leadfoot and Roadbuster often but heads with each other while Topspin was generally quiet. However, when Sentinel Prime betrayed the Autobots and brought an army of Decepticons to Earth he demanded the US government to exile the Autobots and the Wreckers were among them, but they faked their deaths and later stormed Chicago to repel the Decepticon invasion. The Wreckers engaged Shockwave in combat to distract him allow the Autobots to storm the city and later they helped Optimus get free from cables trapping him there by Shockwave before engaging in the main fight against the remaining Decepticons. The Wreckers survived the battle but with Cybertron destroyed they accepted Earth as their new home all the Autobots vowing never to forsake humanity.

In Transformers: Age of Extinction however, after Chicago humanity turned against the Autobots and paranoid CIA operative Harold Attinger created the unit Cemetery Wind to hunt down and kill the remaining Autobots, believing them no different from Decepticons. Upon learning this Optimus sent out a distress call to all Autobots telling them to go into hiding which included Leadfoot. However he was found and despite his pleas for mercy was destroyed by Attinger's agents and Lockdown. Cade Yeager later found footage of his death, and Ratchet's, and showed it to the Autobots and Hound took his hat off for his fallen comrade. The fate's of Roadbuster and Topspin are unclear since they didn't respond to Optimus' distress call, and Drift, Crosshairs and Hound claimed that there are no other Autobots on Earth implying they were also destroyed.

References

  1. ↑ Shane McCarthy (w), Casey Coller (p). The Transformers: Spotlight Drift (March 2008), IDW Publishing
  2. ↑ "minimus-minor". "Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers #1 Review". Comic Book Revolution. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  3. ↑ "William". "Transformers: Last Stand Of The Wreckers #2 Review". Comic Book Revolution.
  4. ↑ "William". "Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers #3 Review". Comic Book Revolution.
  5. ↑ "William". "Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers #4 Review". Comic Book Revolution.
  6. ↑ "William". "Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers #5 review". Comic Book Revolution.
  7. ↑ John Barber (w), Carlos Magno (p), Aburtov and Graphiksslava (i). Transformers: Rising Storm 1 (February 2011), IDW Publishing
  8. ↑ http://www.cobraislandtoys.com/tf/2000/baldigus.html
  9. ↑ http://www.cobraislandtoys.com/tf/2001/ruination.html
  10. ↑ http://www.cobraislandtoys.com/tf/2003/ruination2.html
  11. ↑ http://www.mastercollector.com/articles/reviews/review011103-5.shtml
  12. ↑ http://www.cobraislandtoys.com/tf/2004/ruination-universe.html
  13. ↑ "Dark of the Moon Deluxe Roadbuster Video Review". TFW2005.
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