ARMOURHIDE
Autobot
STR:8 INT:5.5 SPD:5 END:6 RNK:4 CRG:9 FPR:8.5 SKL:8

A soldier to the core, Armourhide is often frustrated by missions that don't go perfectly. He often finds himself aggravated during the search for the Planet Key on Earth. Still, he finds a kind of joy in the frequent battles with the Decepticon forces that seem to block him and the other Autobots at every turn. Tough, dedicated and fearless, Armourhide neither asks nor gives any mercy in the ongoing battle with the evil Decepticons.

As a plucky new recruit to the Autobot army, Armorhide is always ready with a word of encouragement or a joke to get his partners through the day. In fact, Armorhide is really working on his material as one of the only stand-up comedians in the Cybertronian army. Before the war with the Decepticons broke out, he used to try out his routines in the great hall of Altihex. After Megatron launched a surprise attack on Altihex while he was on the road, Armorhide made it his goal to not only stomp out the Decepticon menace any way he could, but to try and put a smile on anyone's face he came across during the dark times of war ...

BRUSHGUARD
Decepticon
STR:6 INT:8.5 SPD:4 END:9 RNK:3 CRG:6 FPR:5.5 SKL:6.5

One of the many scientists working for Megatron, Brushguard has dedicated his life to xenobotany – the study of alien plant life. A firm believer in Decepticon supremacy, he hopes to find unique toxins in Earth plants for use against the Autobots and their human allies. Though he dislikes violence, he has been retrofitted to fire short-range bursts of superheated acid from his chest.

A cousin of Overhaul, Brushguard was lured by Megatron into a life of evil by hollow promises of money, Energon and power. Brushguard, though a brilliant scientist is secretly in love with movies from Earth. He has an entire collection of primitive Earth DVD's that he watches while he is in his laboratory cooking up monstrous viruses and genetic mutations for Megatron. His dream project would be to create a bio-mechanical Autobot eating plant that resembles the Earth Venus Fly trap plant. He would teach it to talk too – it would say, "Feed me, Brushguard!"

CANNONBALL
Decepticon
STR:8 INT:6 SPD:7 END:9 RNK:9 CRG:9 FPR:4 SKL:5

A reckless pirate concerned only with where his next bit of stolen treasure is coming from. Cannonball and his crew of oil-thirsty pirates have terrorized merchant starships for centuries, returning to Cybertron only rarely to refuel and spend their ill-gotten loot on black-market energon stars and hot, airbrushed graphics for their vehicle modes. He claims loyalty to the Decepticon cause only because Megatron allows him to operate freely as long as he continues to attack only Autobot ships.

Cannonball is not the first space-faring Cybertronian pirate to carry that name. For hundreds of years, various disenfranchised Autobots and Decepticons have looked to the stars, and the various interstellar shipping lanes as an escape from the great wars. Inevitably, they come face to grisly face with Cannonball, the worst pirate in the cosmos. To keep his legend alive, Cannonball would recruit new mates to his ship - the Sea Slag - and train them to be his replacement! The most recent Cannonball is the tenth pirate to use the dreaded pirate's name!

( In the Dark Heart of Sandokan story available through the Collector's Club, Cannonball's ship was named Kalis' Lament. As well, on the website, Cannonball and his crew spent their booty on, well, booty - "black-market energon stars and pleasure programs." )

CROSSWISE
Autobot
STR:6.5 INT:7 SPD:8.5 END:8 RNK:6 CRG:7 FPR:7.5 SKL:5

Crosswise is an ancient bounty hunter tricked centuries ago into following a target to Earth, where he was captured and sealed into the side of a glacier in the Alaskan wilderness. Gruff, sarcastic, and always spoiling for a fight, he isn't above resorting to dirty tricks to take down an enemy. Though he rarely works without getting paid, he also has a strong sense of right and wrong, and when he hears about the danger to Cybertron, he is only too glad to sign on with Optimus Prime and the Autobots.

Like the noble and vampire vanquishing Van Helsing, Crosswise is a Decepticon monster hunter. A true Autobot through and through, Crosswise was one of the original Autobots sent to Earth along with Evac to protect the Earth Cyber Planet Key. When the rogue Decepticons began to make their appearances all over the Earth, his bounty hunters background kicked in and he went into full-on monster hunter mode. It was actually in 1897 when an Irish man named Bram Stoker saw a shadowy figure destroy what appeared to be a vampire creature in the streets of London did he begin to write his most famous novel ... 'Dracula'.

Crosswise loves this kind of job - going up against an airborne foe more manoeuvrable and well-armed than him is just the thing to get his oil pump going. After all, he's made a career out of tracking and capturing criminal wingnuts just like Thundercracker. He's known for improvisation, often constructing traps unheard of on Cybertron out of objects in the local environment. He'll go to ground for months, taking his time, learning every aspect of his surroundings, so when it comes time to spring his trap he can be sure there'll be no escape.

DOWNSHIFT
Autobot
STR:7 INT:8 SPD:7.5 END:9 RNK:7 CRG:9 FPR:7 SKL:8

A few years of experience in the Energon Wars have gone a long way in Downshift. Once an impulsive speedster, he has learned patience and consideration from his mentor Hot Shot. Where he once would have raced straight into battle against even overwhelming odds, relying on his speed to get him out of tight spots, he has now learned to observe and enter a fight cautiously. His keen eye and quick reflexes allow him to exploit even the smallest opportunity to bring down Decepticons much bigger and stronger than him.

Downshift has found some new peace on Earth. When the evacuation of Cybertron took place – he was separated from his femmebot lifebond partner. They had just been joined together under the covenant of Primus and were looking forward to spending some time in the Crystal Cities. The evacuation occurred and tore the two of them apart. On Earth, Downshift spent every waking hour looking through every "Robot in Disguise" staging base to locate his lifebond partner. Soon enough, they found one another and were ordered by Optimus Prime to begin their Earth assimilation in a small town south of Providence, RI. There, Downshift found a peace he never had on Cybertron during the Great Wars. After the struggle ended, Downshift and his lifebond partner stayed on Earth as envoys of Cybertron.

EVAC
Autobot
STR:7 INT:8 SPD:8 END:7.5 RNK:9 CRG:9 FPR:6 SKL:8

Evac loves flying on Earth almost as much as he loved soaring over the epic skylines of Cybertron. He's been in hiding on Earth since guardianship of the Planet Key was passed on to him millions of years ago. He feels a keen affection for the people of Earth, whose history he has observed from its very beginnings. It frustrates him that the Transformers must keep their presence on Earth a secret, because he recognizes the potential value of the humans as allies. Courageous, determined and gentle, Evac avoids fighting when he can, but if forced into combat, he can be a very tough opponent. He is dedicated to the protection of other life in all its forms.

Evac is commander of the hidden Earth Cyber Planet Key and he and his partner Crosswise have been hiding here on Earth for hundreds of years! Evac has changed his vehicle mode at least a dozen times over the years so he wouldn't be found. He has taken the form of a bi-plane, a small army jet, a super-fast stealth jet, a propeller plane, a blimp and at least fourteen different types of helicopters! Talk about being a robot in disguise!

HARDTOP
Decepticon
STR:5 INT:6 SPD:6 END:7 RNK:4 CRG:4.5 FPR:6 SKL:7

Hardtop has been left on Earth to serve as a spy, tracker and ground-based spotter for the aerial team of Starscream and Thundercracker. He uses his impressive array of sensors not only to pinpoint Autobot targets up to 7000 miles away, but also to listen to and record the treasonous whining of Starscream. Though he generally prefers to hang back from the front lines of a fight, he finds a certain pleasure in taking pot shots at Autobot with his super-precise, long-range laser rifle.

Hardtop is a Cybertronian comic book collector! If you were to go into his room in the Decepticon home base, you'd find thousands of comic books from all over the galaxy! From 3-D ones to ones made of leaves - he just loves them! If he's not blasting Autobots on the battlefield, he's racing around the universe looking for the missing issue of the Galactic Guardians.

HIGHTAIL
Autobot
STR:8 INT:6 SPD:7.5 END:9 RNK:4 CRG:8.5 FPR:6 SKL:6

Freedom. That's why Hightail came to Earth. Sure he's an Autobot, but that doesn't mean he has to follow Optimus Prime around like a puppy. Cybertron was just too small for him is all, and the wide-open spaces and long-straight stretches of pure blacktop on Earth are the perfect antidote. Hightail is happy to mind his own business, cruising the back roads and byways of America, looking for the next filling station where he can recharge and kick back with a cold can of oil. And if he meets any Decepticons along the way, well, he'll send 'em crying back to Galvatron.

When the Cybertron saga ended and the Autobots began to forge new trails through the galaxy using the ancient Cybertronian ships, Hightail requested to stay on Earth. Optimus Prime granted his wish under one condition. He had to partner up with the Traffic-Light Autobot and travel every, single inch of road throughout the entire world and map it for the good of all mankind. No matter how remote, or congested, or desolate or peaceful – these two intrepid road handlers were up to the challenge. Last we heard, they were done mapping Delaware and were making their way north to begin mapping out New Jersey!

JETFIRE
Autobot
STR:9 INT:10 SPD:8 END:8 RNK:9 CRG:10 FPR:8.5 SKL:9

This steadfast Autobot is often annoyed by his hyperactive partner Scattorshot, but he nonetheless takes his duties very seriously, and will follow through on his orders no matter what. Jetfire has been assigned by Optimus Prime the difficult tasks of protecting Earth while keeping the Autobot presence a secret and searching for the Earth Planet Key. Jetfire would rather be fighting in the front lines alongside his leader, but his strategic genius and status as the upstanding, honourable second-in-command of the Autobots make him an invaluable asset at the Autobot base.

Before the beginning of the Cybertron saga and the end of the Energon story, Jetfire decided that he wanted to take some time to rest and recuperate after the final battle with Unicron. He traveled to the far-off planet of Nebulon where he lived among the natives for some time. That explains why he's come back to the Autobots with an accent.

LANDMINE
Autobot
STR:8.5 INT:7 SPD:4 END:9 RNK:7.5 CRG:10 FPR:8 SKL:10

With a wisdom born of experience, and a tactical knowledge unmatched among the Autobot ranks, Landmine is a soldier other 'Bots follow without reservation. He suffered heavy injuries in the final fight with Unicron. After crash-landing on Earth, he was repaired by the new human allies of the Autobots. An excellent battlefield commander, he's determined to prevent the Decepticons from gaining and edge by recovering the Earth Cyber Planet Key.

Landmine is one of the oldest members of the Autobot team. But that doesn't mean this guy can't hold his own when it's time to rumble ... in fact - he was the Autobot who first taught Optimus Prime how to fight!

Dirt Boss crash-landed on Earth at the same time as his Race Team teammates landed on the Speed Planet. Lost in an alien dimension and separated from his friends by thousands of light years, Dirt Boss wandered Earth in search of help. Luckily, Landmine detected his Minicon distress beacon before the Decepticons. Recognizing the importance of one more Minicon that could be used by Megatron to create the dangerous Skyboom Shield, Landmine took Dirt Boss under his protection. he will stop at nothing to protect his Minicon friend, help him find his lost comrades, and return him to his own dimension.

LUGNUTZ
Decepticon
STR:4 INT:7.5 SPD:7.5 END:9 RNK:4.5 CRG:8.5 FPR:6 SKL:8.5

A loner, a renegade and a rebel. His only true friend is his assault rifle, "Dutch." He much prefers cruising the dusty back roads of Earth, doing crimes, and terrorising the populace to running missions for Megatron, but if it means a chance to blow something up he's willing to swallow his pride and take a job. A powerful dual-stroke engine and specialized exhaust filters allow him to generate enough engine noise to overwhelm Autobot audio receptors and shatter reinforced glass in a 100 foot radius.

Lugnutz is a special kind of robot. A Decepticon not truly by choice but more out of a boredom to see what that scene is like. Like Burroughs and Kerouac before him, Lugnutz is a road scholar and he loved nothing more than to drive out into the desert, start a raging bonfire, stare into the infinities of space and write some deep poetry, musing on the life of the common Cybertronian. Lugnutz has a real hard time dealing with the L7 lifestyle of the other Decepticons and longs for the nanobrew shops of Iacon city where he could snap away the night listening to the poetry of metal men and women.

MUDFLAP
Decepticon
STR:8 INT:5.5 SPD:6 END:6 RNK:5 CRG:9 FPR:9 SKL:7.5

There's nothing Mudflap likes more than demolition. A Decepticon agent planted on Earth even before the arrival of the Autobots, he managed to disguise himself well enough to infiltrate the construction industry. He uses his position to see to it that the projects he works on ultimately fail, collapsing into their foundations, their load-bearing beams mysteriously cut through. Still, as much as he enjoys destroying construction projects, he's only too glad to join the fight once the Autobots arrive on Earth!

Mudflap is one angry dude. When he was back on Cybertron he used to be a boxer, and he would knock out any and all Transformers that stood up to him. He never really wanted to be an Autobot or a Decepticon but eventually he decided to be an Autobot. But one day his anger, indecision and frustration finally drove him to the dark side and he switched sides! Will Mudflap ever see how evil the Decepticons really are?

RED ALERT
Autobot
STR:6.5 INT:9 SPD:5 END:7.5 RNK:6 CRG:9 FPR:4 SKL:9

Self-sacrifice is a way of life for Red Alert, but non-stop fighting with the Decepticons has caused him to doubt his skills as a healer. His vast sensor array and integrated tools and his instincts as a scientist give him an almost limitless capacity for absorbing data. He considers every possible course of action before committing to a plan, which brings him into conflict with the hot-headed Hot Shot when the pair arrives on the Speed Planet.

Red Alert used to be a warrior in the old days of Cybertron. He fought alongside Landmine, Jetfire and Optimus Prime for years and years before the 'accident'. One day he was on the battlefield when Starscream attacked him. The evil Decepticon jet dove down into attack position and pulled out his energon sabre. Red Alert went to block the attack, but Starscream lopped off his hand! Red Alert ended up putting a medical multi-tool where his hand used to be, but he has never forgiven Starscream ...

Some have been known to call Red Alert uptight, but that's not how he sees himself. There are rules for a reason, after all. Without rules, things get confusing, difficult, and messy. Red Alert hates a mess, hates for things to become more complicated than they need to be. Still, sometimes a mess is unavoidable. "If Sideways wants things to get messy, well then, fine," thinks Red Alert. "Let's get messy."

The first duty of Red Alert has always been to defend and heal the sick and injured. It is for this reason that Optimus Prime sent Dirt Boss to the Speed Planet under his protection ( though the way Dirt Boss sees it, he's the one doing the protecting. ) Dirt Boss has been separated from the other members of the Road Assault Team - Downshift and Mirage - to prevent Megatron from once again capturing all three of them and acquiring the powerful Skyboom Shield. His distance from his counterparts, however, does not diminish his desire to protect the weak, and he happily works side by side with Red Alert to ensure that all those who need protection are made safe.

RUNAMUCK
Decepticon
STR:6 INT:7 SPD:8 END:8 RNK:6 CRG:6 FPR:8 SKL:8

For most of his life, Runamuck served as a spy and courier for Megatron, carrying messages to Decepticon warriors behind enemy lines. Since his leader's disappearance, though, Runamuck has been pretty bored. Too many Autobots around meant he couldn't get away with much. But now, with the Autobots forced into hiding on Earth, he's having the time of his life tormenting them by striking at vulnerable targets in front of a lot of human witnesses, where the Autobots can't counterattack.

Similar to the Transformers: Cybertron toy Blurr, Runamuck is a throwback design to a Transformer character from Generation One. Runamuck, back when he was introduced in 1986, was known as a Battle Charger. His original toy had a pull-back motor feature that when activated, would send his vehicle mode scooting across a flat surface. When he was transformed into robot mode, he could also roll across a floor by pulling back on his wheels. He had a near-identical Battle Charger partner named Runabout too and in the old Transformer comics, these two were hooligans and trouble makers - going so far as to spray paint graffiti on the Statue of Liberty!

SCATTORSHOT
Autobot
STR:6 INT:7 SPD:5 END:6 RNK:4 CRG:6 FPR:8.5 SKL:8

Possibly the most neurotic Autobot ever created, Scattorshot always gets the job done. As the right hand 'bot to Jetfire in protecting Earth, he worries so much about messing up in front of his legendary commander that he sets a nearly impossible standard for himself. Despite his clumsiness, he somehow never seems to fail, but his good luck just serves as proof to him that somewhere in the universe is a huge store of bad karma just waiting for the right moment to come crashing down on him.

Although an active and important part of Optimus Prime's team of Autobots, Scattershot really loves to play Cybertronian video games! He used to be a video game programmer back when he was younger on Cybertron. His nervousness may work against him sometimes in battle, but that high-strung nature keeps his mind sharp and Scattershot uses his knowledge of strategy games to help Optimus make their plans against the Decepticons.

SHORTROUND
Decepticon
STR:6 INT:5 SPD:7 END:6 RNK:4 CRG:5 FPR:6 SKL:5

Some might call Shortround obsessed because of the way he follows Thunderblast around, but most Decepticons just call him annoying. Still, he serves his purpose running supplies at speeds up to 350 mph over land and sea, and whenever the Autobots show up he freaks out – filling the air with enough superheated plasma to allow other Decepticons to escape in the confusion. He may be a nerd, but at least he's a destructive nerd.

Shortround, in addition to being completely in love with Thunderblast, is also completely obsessed with toys. This little Decepticon, when not annoying the slag out of his team-mates, or causing confusion on the battlefield is either on-line or shooting around the galaxy, hitting all of the best collectible toy stores he can find. The prizes of his collection? Mint complete Generation Two Defensor and Menasor.

( Apparently, Shortround is one of the guys who posts at Seibertron.Com. That, or he stole the G2 combiners from him. )

SKY SHADOW
Decepticon
STR:9 INT:8 SPD:8 END:8 RNK:6 CRG:10 FPR:8.5 SKL:9

An often-overlooked observer who prefers to remain in the background, silent and unnoticed. Few who know Sky Shadow fully appreciate how dangerous he is. Even among his Decepticon fellows, Sky Shadow doesn't quite fit in. While most other Decepticons prefer to bully, boast and plot against one another, he waits, watching, collecting information and laying his plans until he is certain of victory over his enemies. For in reality he is the Autobot second-in-command Jetfire! Tired of his passive role as commander of the Autobot Earth forces, he has gone underground and taken on a new identity in an attempt to bring down the Decepticons from inside.

Although Sky Shadow is really Jetfire in disguise, the Cybertronian who used to bear this name was a horrible villain. In a distant lifetime, a Predacon/Decepticon named Sky Shadow was one of Megatron's most trusted lieutenants. He was sent to Earth during the legendary Beast Wars, and was an instrumental strategist and tactical leader in the fight against the Maximals. When the Beast Wars ended, so did the treachery of Sky Shadow. Jetfire, in his search for a ruthless Decepticon to pattern himself after, searched the Axalon archives for a suitable candidate. As a master of stealth and concealment, the original Predacon/Decepticon Sky Shadow was the perfect fit!

SKYWARP
Decepticon
STR:8 INT:4 SPD:9 END:6 RNK:4 CRG:5 FPR:8 SKL:8

The sneakiest of all Decepticons, Skywarp delights in using his teleportation ability to appear in the middle of a group of Autobots, hose them with machinegun fire, and disappear again. He is the dark heart of the Decepticon Air Corps, taking joy in playing cruel tricks on friend and enemy alike and using his aerial abilities to avoid a fair fight whenever possible. None too bright, he requires constant supervision by his commander Starscream.

As Starscream looked across Earth for the Cyber Planet Key and the Monster Decepticons of the past, he needed to give Skywarp a job to keep him from bungling up his mission. The job he gave him? Create crop circles, steal cows and make it look like old-fashioned flying saucer UFO's were invading Earth. Skywarp loved this assignment and took to it immediately. He spent the next month loafing around Roswell, New Mexico, and using his teleportation powers, he tricked close to ten thousand people into believing Martians were invading!

SMOKESCREEN
Autobot
STR:5 INT:9 SPD:8 END:6 RNK:6 CRG:7 FPR:5 SKL:9

Back on Cybertron, Smokescreen was considered a practical joker. Always ready with a gag and a laugh, he kept the mood light, even when the struggle against the black hole looked hopeless. Since the fight against the Decepticons on Earth heated up, his talent for trickery has been turned against the enemy. More than one Decepticon has been stuck in traffic at a series of non-functioning toll booths on a remote road in the middle of the desert.

The colour scheme for this figure is again an homage to a character from Transformers history. In 1985, the Autobot Diversionary Tactician Smokescreen was released. He appeared in the original Transformers cartoon and also in the original Transformers comic book. The colours on this newly re-painted Crosswise are almost identical to the original colours on Smokescreen, even down the number 38 insignia on the doors!

SWINDLE
Decepticon
STR:7 INT:6 SPD:8 END:6 RNK:3.5 CRG:5 FPR:5.5 SKL:8

Though he is outfitted with a sensor package and weapons system nearly identical to his twin brother Hardtop, Swindle scorns long-range tactics. He'd rather charge an Autobot and club him across the visual cluster with his laser rifle than actually use it to blast another robot. Swindle is deceptively agile and tough for his size, trait developed over years of picking fights and winning. He's not as slavishly loyal to Megatron as his brother; he'll work for anyone who lets him trash Autobots.

Hardtop's brother may look like someone who can keep his cool together, but put him in an arena, stick a blunt object in his hand and the guy turns into a berserker 'bot. After Megatron left the Jungle Planet he placed Hardtop, Swindle, and Runamuck on sentry patrol there to watch over some of the locals. Swindle immediately headed for the hills and his brother couldn't find him for weeks. One day, while patrolling, Runamuck landed in an elaborate trap that strung him up in an electron-spider-web. Dangling 100 feet above the air near a tree limb, Runamuck looked around and was shocked to discover he was starting at a highly camouflaged and majorly feral Swindle. With an animalistic grin, Swindle cut Runamuck down and leapt from tree to tree cackling like a hyenabot. Swindle had heard the call of nature and answered the phone!

THUNDERBLAST
Decepticon
STR:7 INT:6.5 SPD:9 END:6 RNK:5 CRG:5 FPR:6.5 SKL:6

Thunderblast knows that the weakest part of any Autobot is his obnoxious sense of nobility. They're constantly rushing to the rescue, and every last one of them would sooner scrap a basket of Antilian bumble-puppies than blast a female as pretty as she is. She uses that fact to her full advantage; more than one Autobot has fallen first for her charms, and then to her plasma torpedoes. As an agent working on Earth for Starscream, she knows better than to trust any Decepticon, but she finds a kindred spirit in the con-man Sideways.

Little does anyone know but Thunderblast is actually one of the released ancient Decepticon monsters that Starscream freed from the North Pole. When she was cruising the waterways in the ancient days of mankind she was mistaken for the Sirens of myth and legend. Luring sailors to their deaths on the rocks, the playful ( yet evil ) Thunderblast would sing out in the ancient Cybertronian tongue to tempt the human sailors. She's rotten that way ...

THUNDERCRACKER
Decepticon
STR:8 INT:6 SPD:9 END:6 RNK:5 CRG:5 FPR:6.5 SKL:6

The loyal Decepticon works under the command of Starscream for the recovery of the Planet Key on Earth. Thundercracker believes that the most effective way to defeat an enemy is to terrorise and demoralize him before attacking. The mere sound of his focused sonic booms - audible for more than 200 miles - is enough to frighten many other Transformers.

Thundercracker is a goofball, and a practical joker. One time, he thought it would be funny to throw a surprise birthday party for Megatron. Little did he know that Optimus Prime in a battle had just beaten Megatron ... Megatron got back to the base and Thundercracker came out yelling "SURPRISE!!!?" Megatron was not amused. Thundercracker ended up spending the next five hours cleaning the Energon-Goodie-Cake out of his joints ...

When he's not under orders, Thundercracker cruises the skies, dropping bombs on any Autobot he happens to see. It's a sort of hobby with him, and it keeps him out of trouble. Which is to say, it keeps Megatron from noticing him unless he's needed, and that's just fine. Thundercracker believes in the Decepticon movement, but Megatron has a habit of pummelling those closest to him, and Thundercracker is very happy with his currently pummel-free existence.

A speciality of Thundercracker is creating fear among the enemy and the chance to snatch Downshift from the Autobots offered him a rare opportunity. Kidnapping the Minicon was a piece of cake, but he never counted on the speed of the tiny robot, or his willingness to help Thundercracker create chaos. The two have formed an uneasy partnership, dedicated to causing as much havoc as they can among the Autobot forces on Earth.

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