Hot Spot (G1)


 * Hot Spot is an Autobot and a Protectobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.



Hot Spot leads by example. Whether it's a raging battle or a raging fire, he's right in the thick of things -- and that's where he's happiest. While many Autobots get into trouble by not thinking in combat, Hot Spot is a natural warrior who excels at fighting on instinct alone. His fellow Protectobots find his endless energy inspiring (though a bit exhausting), letting Hot Spot command even the most philosophically different of robots like Blades and First Aid as a tight and effective unit. He's a tough fighter to boot -- strong, well-armed and well-armored.

Hot Spot can combine with his fellow Protectobots to form Defensor.


 * French-Canadian name: Calorifêro
 * Italian name: Drago

Generation 1


Hot Spot and the other Protectobots were created on Earth by Wheeljack and the Autobots after they stole a recording of Devastator's combiner transformation sequence and modified it (and after Optimus Prime and Buster Witwicky shared a Matrix-induced vision of the future with the Special Teams in it) .

Hot Spot accompanied Optimus Prime and his fellow Protectobots to Energy Futures Industries, where they squared off against Megatron and the Combaticons to prevent them from stealing the hydrothermocline, a potentially limitless supply of energy. To prevent property damage and potential civilian casualties, the Autobots agreed to be uploaded into a virtual fantasy world in EFI's computer systems by Ethan Zachary, a human programmer on site. Similarly, the Decepticons agreed so that the hydrothermocline would remain intact. The game scenario was arranged so that the "death" of either Optimus or Megatron would end the game. Once inside "Multi-World", Hot Spot convinced Optimus Prime to remain behind while the Protectobots eliminated the potential threats. Hot Spot himself did battle with his opposite number, Onslaught, in the region known as the Slimepit. Despite the hindrance the bog caused, Hot Spot still held true to Autobot ideals and threw himself in harm's way to protect the virtual inhabitants of Multi-World. In turn, they carried him to safety away from Onslaught, giving him the advantage he needed to defeat the Combaticon. Despite their efforts, though, Optimus Prime ended up dying on this mission, and the Protectobots brought him back to the Ark for his funeral.

Months later, under the new leadership of Grimlock, Hot Spot and the Protectobots were ordered to hunt down and apprehend the AWOL Autobots Blaster and Goldbug. They caught up with the deserters at a used car lot run by Big Steve, but a four-way skirmish developed between Blaster, the Protectobots, the Combaticons, and the human-led robot hunters, RAAT. In the end, Hot Spot and his crew only managed to capture Blaster. When a second encounter with the Combaticons endangered the lives of several young humans, Blaster not only saved the children and defeated Bruticus where Defensor failed, but then willingly resubmitted himself to Protectobot custody rather than trying to escape. Impressed with Blaster's actions, Hot Spot decided to defy Grimlock's orders and let him go free.

Marvel UK future timelines
''In 2008, Hot Spot was seen beating the stuffing out of a Decepticon during a major offensive on Cybertron. ''

Generation 2


Hot Spot led a team of Autobots sent to Earth by Optimus Prime to counter the threat of a Cobra-rebuilt Megatron. Megatron's new form was more than a match for them, however, and nearly all of his team were destroyed. Only Hot Spot and Skydive survived the encounter.

As the last survivor still on Earth, Hot Spot observed Cobra hauling a trailer of Transformers technology salvaged from the Ark, and noted that his orders included keeping Autobot tech out of the humans' hands. He single handedly attacked the convoy, drawing fire from numerous Cobra tanks, until he managed to destroy the trailer by ramming it off the side of an embankment. Weary and on the brink of shut-down, Hot Spot self-destructed to keep Cobra from using his own body as a replacement source of technology.

Cartoon continuity

 * Voice actor: Dan Gilvezan (English), Kenyû Horiuchi (Japanese)



When the Insecticons attacked an inhabited city on Earth, Optimus Prime called upon the Protectobots to evacuate the civilians caught in the crossfire. Later, as Earth's orbit was diverted to the Sun by the Combaticons, Hot Spot extinguished the flames engulfing the bone-dry crops of a farmer before quickly driving off to the next fire.

Hot Shot, as part of Defensor, totally blew up Bruticus. Afterwards, he was with the Protectobots when they saved some window-washers from a burning skyscraper, helping Groove extinguish the flames with liquid nitrogen. Later still, Hot Spot and the other Protectobots were ordered to help defend Autobot Headquarters from a Decepticon attack. They merged into Defensor and activated his useless force field, which almost immediately deactivated, allowing the Decepticons to blast Defensor back into his component parts.



In the year 2006, the Autobots were asked to help the Dutch authorities deal with French rebels. After dispersing the human aggressors, Hot Spot was concerned about how they could protect the human civilians from the Decepticons and cover First Aid, who was helping the downed Blades. Later, as it turned out the battle was only a diversion to allow Swindle to steal Metroplex's transformation cog, Hot Spot, Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus tried to reassure First Aid of his value to the Autobots when the pacifist medic failed to stop Swindle. Unfortunately, just as First Aid left, the Autobots were called upon to deal with a rampaging Trypticon. Hot Spot ordered the remaining Protectobots to combine into Defensor even without First Aid to save a train full of civilians. After successfully saving them, Hot Spot tracked down First Aid to a junk yard and convinced the latter of his value to the Autobots.

Later in 2006, the Protectobots arrived at the aftermath of the battle between the Technobots and Terrorcons at Mark Morgan's laboratory. They transported the injured Jessica Morgan to county general hospital and watched over her as the doctors restored her ability to walk with an exo-skeletal structure, enraging the robo-phobic senior Morgan. When Hot Spot tried to explain that they only wanted to help, Morgan shot back that they were only turning her into one of them. This had negative consequences. What a jerkface.

Dreamwave comics continuity


After the signing of the Crisis Intervention Accords, many of the special teams went into hiding or broke up to continue fighting on different factions. Hot Spot maintained the Protectobots, one of the late model specials teams, in secret. The group watched the battles rage around them, continuing to help when possible, intervening to uphold CIA where necessary, and trying to overcome the shortcomings of the combination process.

Upon learning that Ratbat had persuaded the Constructicons to join his Ultracons, Hot Spot led his team to the Tagan Heights to counter the threat of Devastator by using Defensor. Unfortunately the plan backfired and the battle between the two titans only increased the damage. Proving that five minds are better than one, the team divided and defeated Devastator with an overload of electricity.

Hot Spot was obsessed with overcoming the problem with their combined form. The team's analysis was interrupted by an attack by the Chaos Trinity, as Hot Spot was one of the Four Angles of Dissolution the Fallen needed to awaken Primus and draw Unicron to Cybertron. After the previous failure against Devastator, Hot Spot was unwilling to risk using Defensor again, and his team was defeated by the enhanced powers of Bludgeon and his allies. Hot Spot was taken to a subterranean chamber, where energy from his and three others' Sparks served to unlock the seal of Primus. Grimlock, another of the Four, eventually freed himself and rescued Hot Spot in what might have been an embarrassing role reversal... if he'd been awake for it.

During Shockwave's reign over Cybertron, he was later sent to stop Menasor's rampage. Despite merging with his fellow Protectobots into Defensor, he was defeated even with the aid of the Omnibots.

Universe: The Wreckers


In the not-too-distant future, Hot Spot led a team of Targetmasters aboard Sky Garry to back up Arcee, Wheelie, and Daniel Witwicky during an outbreak of crazed female cyber ninjas. Fighting a losing battle, Hot Spot personally had to drag Arcee to safety, leaving Wheelie and Daniel behind to grenade themselves to death. Fortunately, their murder-suicide pact also took out the remaining Nightbirds.

Generation 1

 * Hot Spot (Protectobot, 1986)
 * Team ID number: P5
 * Japanese ID number: C-71


 * Hot Spot transforms into a blue Mitsubishi Fuso Great fire engine. As a Scramble City combiner torso, he had a third mode as a "repair bay", somewhat remeniscent of Powermaster Optimus Prime's combat deck. In this form, he was equipped with waldo arms to "repair" other vehicles. Hot Spot could connect with Metroplex's city mode in this form as well.


 * Hot Spot's chest plate was initially made of painted die-cast metal. However, later runs replaced this with colored plastic. A plastic-chest yellow-eyed version (as opposed to the red eyes on the other releases) has been reported but not confirmed.


 * This mold was also used to make Fire Chief.


 * Defensor (Gift set, 1986)
 * Japanese ID number: C-76


 * All five Protectobots were also available in a gift set. It is currently unknown which construction variants came in the set.

Universe (2008)

 * Leadership Team (Legends multi-pack, 2008)

Unreleased

 * Hot Spot (1994)
 * Team ID number: P1


 * Hot Spot and the other Protectobots were to be redecoed for Generation 2, but were ultimately canceled. No packaged samples of Hot Spot (or his similarly-unreleased Decepticon counterpart Motormaster) have surfaced, and only a handful of test-shots are known to exist. If you've seen this, you may in fact be glowing with an inner light. Or you're Shortround.

Trivia

 * Hot Spot was given an homage in the Armada line; Firebot (a crash-response truck) was redecoed in light blue with red-and-white warning stripes.