Hardshell TFP

"Talk during battle is a sign of weakness."

- Hardshell while engaging Wheeljack in Hurt.

Hardshell was the leader of the Insecticons and one of the originals with his brothers Sharpshot and Kickback. After rising to the surface of Cybertron to search for more Energon, he and his brothers were recruited into the Decepticon ranks. Sometime after the Great Exodus he and some of his brothers upgraded forms and found themselves on Earth. Hardshell met his end at Miko's hands when she fired a shot from Wheeljack's ship the Jackhammer in a mission to avenge Bulkhead.

It should be noted that Hardshell was the first character to have come so close to offlining an Autobot in the series since Starscream killed Cliffjumper. However, this was broken when Megatron killed Bumblebee who would later be revived and killed him in return.

Origins
Hardshell was one of the original and more evolved Insecticons who thrived near Cybertron's core. However, when the core was infected with Dark Energon, the Insecticons were forced to move to higher ground to find more Energon. At some point they came into contact with Shockwave who manipulated them into joining the Decepticon ranks.

Sea of Rust
Hardshell, Kickback, Sharpshot and several Insecticons were seen in the Sea of Rust protecting a discovery made by Shockwave. They were interrupted by the arrival of the Lightning Strike Coalition but were able to capture them and killed one of them after a long and brutal fight.

Expeirment testing
Hardshell and his brothers took the survivors of the most feared Autobot combat unit to Shockwave who applied new beast alt modes of another world to them, making them stronger and faster. Hardshell, Kickback and Sharpshot then accompanied Shockwave as he tested on them nemerous times.

Grimlock encounter
Two of the experiments Grimlock and Swoop managed to escape their cells and went on a rampage in Shockwave's tower. Hardshell was sent in to stop the conflict and test Grimlock's new found power. He immeditley boarded a turret and began to fire on Grimlock but Swoop unlocked fuel pods which Grimock threw at Hardshell's turret and eventually destroyed it, leaving Hardshell hanging from it. Grimlock then grabbed him and rammed his face into a console to gain the Dinobot's access to the next room. He presumably regained consciousness and escaped the tower before it blew up.

Wreckers Encounter
Hardshell has claimed to have offline several Unnamed Wreckers, though its unknown what were the names of those Wreckers he killed. Evidence to support this claim can be seen from the scars on his chest and his lengthy battle periods against Bulkhead later.

Controlled by Airachnid
Hardshell and his brothers found their way to Earth and locked themselves in stasis later to be discovered by Airachnid. The Insecticons were temporarily controlled by Airachnid but declared their allegiance to Megatron and joined the crew of the The Nemesis. Hardshell and his brethren were forced into stasis lock when the Nemesis became sentient and zapped the whole crew complement in stasis.

Iacon relic hunt/Fighting Bulkhead
Megatron called for the most ferocious Insecticon, Hardshell put his name forward, and was sent with three other Insecticons to a volcanic region near the equator to search for an Iacon relic. He encountered Bulkhead and fought the Wrecker, but came off second best and lost his left mandible into the ordeal. After recovering, his Insecticon companions found him as he picked himself up and realized Bulkhead left him alive, which he stated it would be the last mistake Bulkhead would ever make before transforming and flying off with the other Insecticons. They followed for the relic that was containing a small amount of Tox-En, an Energon variant. One of the Insecticons fell for a trap set by Bulkhead who deployed a bomb in the container with a piece of Tox-En. Hardshell warned the Insecticons but the one who opened the container was infected with Tox-En and they were forced to watch it suffer from the Tox-En exposure as Hardshell reported it to Megatron. They attempted to track Bulkhead, who had taken most of the Tox-En, and after following a false trail the Autobot had left, eventually caught up with him in a volcano's crater. Though Bulkhead was weakened by the Tox-En, he managed to expose Hardshell to enough Tox-En to severely weaken him. During a small fight, Hardshell was able to deliver a blow on Bulkhead and was about to finish the Autobot off until Bulkhead threw the Tox-en to Hardshell to expose the Insecticon to more of it. The Autobot used his mace to get Hardshell near the vent of the volcano where he hurled the Tox-En at Hardshell, knocking him into the vent. While the Tox-En was destroyed, Hardshell survived the fall and climbed out of the volcano. He angrily blasted Bulkhead in the back as Bulkhead stepped through the GroundBridge.

Mission aftermath
Returning to the Nemesis, Hardshell faced Megatron's scolding by failing to bring the Tox-En, but mollified his master by relating the news that Bulkhead had been terminated, but Knock Out got on Hardshell's nerves by stating that his Insecticon partner turned out to be useless. Hardshell snarled at him and when Megatron asked if Hardshell was certain that Bulkhead was executed, Hardshell stated Bulkhead was by his very own hand. As Hardshell gloated about his victory to two of his Insecticon brothers, two Vehicons then got on his nerves when they called him and the Insecticons "pit-bound scavengers and scrap-eaters", resulting in a brawl which made Knock Out tell Megatron that they should be contained after a minor scratch to the chest when Hardshell inadvertently punched him. When they had a call from Wheeljack a short time later with the news that Bulkhead wasn't dead after all, Hardshell tried to reason that Bulkhead could not have survived the wounds he received in the battle. Megatron angrily demanded that Hardshell should return with Wheeljack's spark instead.

Fighting Wheeljack/Death
The Insecticon found the Wrecker at an energon mine and the pair clashed, with Hardshell easily able to elude Wheeljack's grenade and eventually dominating the fight to the point where Wheeljack was on the ground and defenseless. As Hardshell stood over him, ready to deliver a killing blow, he was blasted by a pair of missiles from Miko who was piloting the Jackhammer, thus destroying Hardshell's spark and killing him for good. Hardshell's corpse was taken back to the Nemesis by the other Insecticons, where one of them had informed Megatron that a human girl was responsible for Hardshell's sudden death, which left Megatron astonished. Hardshell was mentioned by Miko in Out of the Past. In Chain of Command, Wheeljack mentioned to Ultra Magnus that Miko saved his life from Hardshell and Miko mentioned Hardshell as a comeback at Starscream.

Personality and Traits
Hardshell was the most aggressive and resilient adversary among the Insecticons, and one of the Decepticons best warriors. This can be supported with Hardshell lasting lengthy periods against Grimlock, Bulkhead and Wheeljack as he claimed to have killed several Wreckers which he received multiple scars over his body. Shockwave described him as preferring to use combat strategy and weaponry over his insincts as seen by his choice of using a laser turret, but this did not mean he ignored his instincts totally as he quickly caught on to Bulkhead's trap and his misleading tactic.

Hardshell also seemed to have the intention for gloating about the Autobots (mainly Wreckers) that he offlined to his Insecticon brothers, but seemed to have little patience for those who insult him or his brothers as seen when he was quite willing to attack several Vehicons and Knock Out after the two insulted the Insecticons. He also did not seem to believe in mid battle banter, viewing it as a sign of weakness. He seems to care and socialize with members of his kind the most. He wasn't hesitant in nearly killing Wheeljack but he seemed startled when Miko had blasted the missiles from the Jackhammer which had ended his life.

Powers and Abilities
Hardshell has extreme durability and ferocious strength, he was able to manhandle Bulkhead and Wheeljack with ease, to the point that he almost killed them both, he is the most aggressive of his kind, also one of the strongest.

Behind the Scenes

 * Hardshell is voiced by David Kaye who also voiced Megatron in the Generation One sequels "Beast Wars" and "Beast Machines". He also voiced Megatron in every series in the Unicron Trilogy "Armada", "Energon" and "Cybertron". To top it off, he also voiced Optimus Prime himself as well as Lugnut in the Transformers: Animated late 2007-mid-2009 TV show.

Appearances

 * Armada
 * Flying Mind
 * Toxicity
 * Hurt
 * Out of the Past
 * Chain of Command

Gallery
Main Article: Hardshell/Gallery

Quotes

 * "There is no greater ferocity than an Insecticon hive.....but if you were to choose one among us.. *Hardshell lands on the bridge behind Megatron* I am Hardshell."


 * "Divide! And do not hesitate to conquer!!!"


 * "You know a thing or two about dirty tricks yourself, Wrecker." - Hardshell to Bulkhead in Toxicity.


 * "I know your kind. I have crossed more than a few Wreckers in my time."


 * "The Wrecker left me alive....*breathes out air deeply*...the last mistake he will ever make."


 * "No! Wait!!!"


 * "Tox-En!"


 * "Yes. The Wrecker leaks from his wounds. Find him!"


 * "There is no logic in his movements. His trail was meant to lead us astray. To find the Wrecker, we must not follow. We must anticipate."


 * "Wrecker!!! Put down the rock and allow us to put you out of your misery."


 * "Your spark is mine...Wrecker!"


 * "I have none my lord. We failed to retrieve the Tox-En. But the green Autobot has been terminated."


 * "By my very own hand Lord Megatron."


 * "You should of seen the Wrecker's face when his spark expired. Knowing that he perished at the hands of a true warrior. Lord Megatron now understands that the difficult tasks are best assigned to an Insecticon."


 * "What did you say?!?"


 * "You could not produce restraints strong enough to hold us."


 * "He is bluffing!"


 * "Lord Megatron I swear upon the AllSpark the Autobot could not have survived his wounds!"


 * "Thanks to your crippled friend, I am all too familiar with your Wrecker tricks."


 * "Talk during battle is a sign of Weakness."


 * "Your spark will now belong to Megatron!" - Last words before death.

Trivia

 * Hardshell is generally named "Bombshell" but due to a copyright on the name from Hasbro, Fall of Cybertron and Prime had to change his name to "Hardshell"
 * His design in Fall of Cybertron is heavily based upon his Generation One counterpart.
 * Exactly when he changed into his robot form is unknown.
 * He is the only member of the original three Insecticons to make an appearance in Transformers: Prime.
 * He is the first Decepticon in the Transformers: Prime series to have come so close to killing a main Autobot character since the series beginning. Tailgate and Seaspray don't count as they aren't main characters.
 * Hardshell's statement that he has fought several Wreckers implies that he has fought the unit either constantly or on a frequent basis during the war.