Breakdown (G1)


 * Breakdown is a Decepticon Stunticon from the Generation 1 continuity family.



Breakdown has an acute case of paranoia (what was that!?). He genuinely believes that things, both living and inanimate, are watching him (they're everywhere!). Breakdown doesn't like to stand out in a crowd (did you hear that!?). He dreads being different and garnering attention (stop staring at me!). At times, he almost wishes he was a human so he could just disappear and no one would notice (get them off meeeee!). Needless to say, he and Red Alert (he's one of THEM!!) would be energon drinking buddies.

Breakdown can combine (they'll never take me alive!!) with his fellow Stunticons to form Menasor.


 * Italian name: Caimano
 * French-Canadian name: Panicon
 * Hungarian name: Vibrátor (aheh)

Earthforce
''Breakdown was briefly seen at the Enclave, rubbing shoulders with the various troops from Megatron and Shockwave's factions. Later, after the factions merged, he drove into battle alongside the Stunticons and Battlechargers when Soundwave led an attack on Autobot Earthbase. Although the Autobot defense systems were down at the time, Breakdown and his comrades were still ultimately driven off. On another occasion, Starscream and Soundwave learned the Autobots had a human reporter writing a positive story about them. Fearing that good publicity among the humans would give Earthforce an edge, they sent the Stunticons to kidnap the human. As Motormaster made off with the reporter, Breakdown and the Stunticons ran interference against the Autobot cars following him. After Jazz transformed and got off a quick shot at their leader, Breakdown rear-ended him in the legs. The Autobot was knocked out of the fight, but so was Breakdown as he had caved in his own hood in the effort. ''

Marvel UK future timelines
''Breakdown and the Stunticons attacked Kup on the road in 2003, making an attempt to steal the plans for the upcoming Autobot City. They were successful, but the plans were a set of fakes, so they ultimately didn't gain anything. A traffic light tried to tell Breakdown as much, but he refused to listen to it. ''

''In 2008, Scourge, Cyclonus and Death's Head were compelled by Unicron to make an assassination attempt on the Decepticon leader, Shockwave. They sealed the door to the audience chamber during the attack, and so Soundwave summoned the Stunticons as Menasor to break through the door. They eventually did so, and Breakdown and Dead End were about to execute the Decepticon traitors when Death's Head returned with news of Shockwave's demise. Using a series of explosives built into his hover platform as an incentive, the bounty hunter forced Soundwave and the other Decepticons to submit to their leadership. ''

Generation 2
Breakdown was among the Decepticons rallied for war against the Cybertronian Empire after Skullgrin's death.

Cartoon continuity

 * Voice actor: Jack Angel (First appearance only); Alan Oppenheimer (US), Keiichi Nanba (Japan)''

Breakdown was given life by Vector Sigma along with the rest of the Stunticons. He agreed to obey Megatron, but there was a certain reluctance in his voice. He probably thought Megatron was out to get him, or something.

While assembling a new weapon capable of destroying any target by creating a chain reaction in its molecules, Megatron found himself short a few key components to finish the device. He sent the Stunticons out to retrieve those components by any means necessary. Breakdown and Wildrider assaulted a local optics laboratory to gather new focusing lenses for the cannon's beam. On their way to the weapon's construction site, they were intercepted by a troop of Autobots. It was Grapple who brought down Breakdown, setting him on fire with his arc-welder rifle by using a trail of fuel as a fuse. The Stunticons were imprisoned in the Ark, their radioes and vehicle modes disabled and trapped behind energized bars. The Autobots then used camouflage paint to alter their appearances and mimic the Stunticons, hoping to get close enough to Megatron to catch him unawares. Autobot warrior Sideswipe assumed Breakdown's appearance for the mission. After they left, however, Breakdown managed to use his unique vibratory pulses to disrupt his bars and break free. He caught his Autobot captors by surprise and blasted several of them before they could react, giving him enough time to free his fellow Stunticons and form Menasor. After a brief but memorable conflict, Menasor escaped the Ark and returned to Megatron. The cannon was rendered unusable by the Autobots' intervention, though, and Megatron's plan failed.

Dreamwave comics continuity
At some point in Cybertron's recent history, the Stunticons were deemed psychotic and too dangerous to function in society, and as a result were placed into perpetual stasis lock inside of a prison facility. Later, in an attempt to create a diversion while he set his final plans in motion, Shockwave arranged for the release of the Stunticons. They formed into Menasor and ran amuck for awhile, until Ultra Magnus arrived and began insulting them. Unable to reconcile with this, the five Stunticons began to bicker with each other over whose fault it was that they were failing, temporarily stopping Menasor and allowing Ultra Magnus to ram the combiner in the chest, forcing him to separate into his component parts and disabling the Stunticons.

Generation 1

 * Breakdown (Stunticon, 1986/1987)
 * Team ID number: S2
 * Japanese ID number: D-51
 * Accessories: Pistol, double-barreled cannon




 * The original Breakdown toy transforms into a white Lambourghini Countach. He comes with a blue double-barreled laser cannon that attaches to the back of his vehicle mode.


 * In humanoid mode, Breakdown's legs transform in a manner similar to Dead End's, flipping and inverting. He is armed with a small blue laser pistol. As he was designed with the Scramble City-style combination, he can form the arm or leg to any similarly-constructed robot combination. Although the 1986 G1 Menasor toy giftset shows Breakdown as the left arm of Menasor, Breakdown's nominal placement is as the Menasor's right leg.


 * The original release featured a red sticker on Breakdown's hood. Later "Classics" range releases in Europe featured a gold sticker instead.

Generation 2

 * Breakdown (Stunticon, 1994)
 * Team ID number: S3
 * Accessories: Pistol, double-barreled cannon


 * Generation 2 Breakdown was released as an exclusive at BotCon 1994. Originally, Hasbro had planned to mass-release a complete set of Generation 2 Stunticons, but ultimately only Breakdown saw official release in any form. The toy is a redeco of the original Breakdown toy, and has the distinction of being the first BotCon toy ever.

Trivia



 * An unofficial Action Master Generation 2 Breakdown was an exclusive at BotCon 2004, created from bootlegged Action Master Sideswipe parts. Though this wiki does not normally list unofficial items, this one is put here simply to reinforce that even though it is a BotCon toy, it was from the one year that BotCon was unofficial, and the toy is not Hasbro-approved either. Thank you, won't we?


 * In the Transformers Decepticons game based on the 2007 movie, an unlocked alternate mode called "Scout" is a homage to Breakdown.