Blaster (G1)


 * Blaster is an Autobot in the Generation 1 continuity family. In Japan he is later rebuilt as Twincast.



Blaster loves all Earth music, especially good, hard, LOUD rock 'n' roll. A powerful fighter who tends to make his presence known, you can find him at the forefront of any situation in which he's involved.

(Note: Blaster's personality varied significantly between the comic and cartoon, see entries below for details.)


 * Preliminary name: Blastbox
 * Italian Headmasters name: Audiobot / Digital
 * Malay-English dub name: Billy / Blaster
 * Japanese names: Broadcast / Twincast / Broadblast
 * Hungarian name: Össztűz ("All-fire" or "Class firing")
 * Italian original series name: Radiorobot
 * French-Canadian name: Tempo

Generation 1
(Note: Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.)



Blaster was a rather grim, brooding, rebellious loner and one of the best kickass fighters the Autobots had. He had a bit of a problem with authority and hated Decepticons with a passion due to the death of his former partner Scrounge. Originally part of Perceptor's Autobot resistance cell on Cybertron, he often disagreed with his superior's orders.

Shortly after Scrounge was killed, Blaster took part in an assault on Darkmount, where he engaged and seemingly destroyed the Decepticon commander Straxus, before using the Space Bridge to flee to Earth.

Upon arriving on Earth, Blaster was among the Autobots deactivated and disassembled by Circuit Breaker and RAAT.

He was later released and joined the other Earthbound Autobots at the Ark shortly before Optimus Prime's death. Blaster was one of the Autobots who voted for Grimlock to be the new Autobot leader, though he soon came to regret this decision.

Blaster developed a reluctant friendship with Goldbug, whose more naturally upbeat personality provided the Boy Wonder to his Batman. After an encounter with the Mechanic, Blaster and Goldbug went AWOL from Grimlock's command, having grown tired of his aggressive orders and increasing mental instabilities.

For this disobedience (and their failure to capture the Mechanic), Grimlock branded Blaster and Goldbug traitors and sent the Protectobots to hunt them down. They eventually captured Blaster, but after he saved their lives from the Combaticons, they realized Grimlock's orders were purely vengeful and let him go.



Blaster finally returned to the Ark, where his fellow Autobots begged him to take over as leader. However, he was forced to surrender to his former commander when Grimlock threatened the safety of several Earth children.

Imprisoned by Grimlock, Blaster was strapped to a Variable Voltage Harness as punishment for his desertion and disobedience. However, when Fortress Maximus and his Autobots arrived and Grimlock challenged him to a duel, Blaster took Fort Max's place. Their duel was interrupted by a Decepticon attack. When Blaster pointed out that their feud had put all Autobots in danger, Grimlock agreed to call their duel a draw and declared a truce with Blaster as they fended off the Decepticons side by side.

While Blaster and Buster Witwicky's girlfriend Jessie failed to rescue the young boy from the Decepticon's island resort/base, they proved instrumental in discovering the upcoming arrival of the legendary Transformers database, the Underbase. Like many other Transformers, Blaster was killed fighting the Underbase-powered Starscream, shot dead atop the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.

Blaster was later among the first Autobots resurrected by Grimlock with Nucleon. He took part in and survived the battle with Unicron.

Blaster was one of the few Autobots present to survive the initial Decepticon ambush on Klo.

''In the future of 2008, Blaster was present at Autobot City when the Quintessons attacked. He was deactivated in the battle that followed and his body strung up from the battlements.''

American cartoon continuity

 * Voice Actor: Buster Jones (US), Keiichi Nanba (Japan)



Blaster was a fun-loving, hip and happening robot. Loud and energetic, he was happy to share his choice of rockin' tunes with anyone, whether they really wanted to hear them or not.

Blaster appeared out of nowhere one day during Wheeljack's demonstration of the modifications he'd made to the Dinobots to improve their sense of balance and coordination, and to that end, Blaster was requested to play something "nice". For some reason, Blaster had trouble tuning into a station until Grimlock (obviously tired of this padding) blasted fire at Blaster's controls, allowing the Autobot boombox to tune into the local Rock and Big Band Music Fusion station. Ironhide, Trailbreaker and Sidewipe showed their appreciation for the fine selection of elevator music by jerkily dancing around and claiming their audio sensors were being fried. Blaster continued to enthrall Grimlock until Slag and Sludge bumped into their leader and totally freaked him out.



At a not-so-secret EJK testing facility for the new Ultraplane, Blaster was sitting in the back of Ironhide's vehicle mode and didn't seem to notice the fact that Soundwave was sitting right next to him—at least until the Decepticon tape deck launched Ravage, whom Blaster quickly transformed to grab. The cat turned to attack the Autobot while his master escaped to report to Megatron. Blaster continued to tussle until Ironhide transformed into robot mode and threw them both out of his caboose. After being initially distracted by the Ultraplane's destruction, the Autobots returned to EJK's lab to confront the Decepticons. Blaster greatly appreciated Jazz's taste in fusion rock/big band music to confound the hapless villians.



Blaster's taste in music often got him into trouble. He attended a concert by that popular 80s rock/big band fusion hair metal band with Spike and Carly. Concerned that the other Autobots weren't enjoying the concert with them, Blaster flooded the Autobot communications channels with the music, though only Cosmos and Jazz seemed to appreciate it. Unfortunately, his taste in music also disrupted an emergency communique from the Helix Observatory, until the other Autobots told him to shut up. After the voltronic galaxer was stolen, Blaster was teamed up with Cosmos to search for signs of the Decepticons, but both were rather quickly captured. Blaster was welded into place to be used as a trans-scrambler for Megatron's scheme to use the voltronic galaxer to disrupt communications on Earth and then demand all the energy on the planet in exchange for normality. While Megatron ranted about his demands, Blaster secretly played his music, which served both to rally the Autobots and inform them of Megatron's location—until Megatron kicked him in the face. After foiling the Decepticon plans, Blaster was assigned to the abandoned moon base with Cosmos, but quickly got into trouble with Prime again for his music.

Later, Blaster and Tracks helped the New York police crack a car theft ring by posing as an attractive target for punks to steal. After Blaster teamed up with car thief Raoul, they learned that Megatron was behind the criminal operation, stealing cars to rebuild them into transforming drones. Blaster defended the Washington Bridge alongside the other Autobots from the Decepticon drones, but they were nearly overwhelmed by sheer numbers. After Ratchet realized the cars were remote-controlled, Blaster jammed the frequency, allowing the Autobots to attack and defeat the Decepticons.

Blaster proved useful again, even pivotal, in allowing the Autobots to save Cosmos and some robotic insecticide from the Morphobots. Soon afterwards, the Autobots were attacked by the malevolent Kremzeek, an energy life form created by Megatron. Blaster and a small number of other Autobots were the only ones functional long enough to be sprayed with an insulating foam that protected them from the creature's attacks. The Autobot team chased it to Japan, where it wreaked havoc with the massive electronics industry there. The creature spawned copies of itself, one of which managed to slip inside Blaster, and after the other Kremzeeks were seemingly destroyed, it jumped out of his chest and the pursuit began again.

"I've been waiting a long time for this, you poor excuse for a sound system!"

- Blaster confronting Soundwave, Auto-Bop



Tracks and Blaster were reunited with Raoul when they saved their human friend and his Bop Crew from a bunch of hoodlums in the employ of the Dancitron nightclub. When a punk tried to ensnare him in a chain, Blaster simply remarked that the humans were seriously out of their league, then broke the chain by moving his arm slightly. The Autobots forced their way into the nightclub, where Blaster appreciated the atmosphere and the impressive sound system. He then went off to dance with some oddly well-dressed ladies. Soon after leaving the club, Tracks and Blaster had to save Raoul again when the Decepticon-controlled train driver sent the train into out-of-control speeds. Conferring with Teletraan I, Blaster discovered that Dancitron controlled its patrons by using hypnotic signals, and he suggested countering them with his own sonic powers. Entering the club, Blaster finally faced his Decepticon counterpart Soundwave in battle. At first, the combatants appeared to be evenly matched, but Soundwave drove Blaster back with his sonic assaults. Improvising, Blaster used Dancitron's sound system against the Decepticon, forcing him into retreat and wrecking nightclub.

In the year 2005, Blaster was assigned to the communications hub at Autobot City on Earth. When the fortress was attacked by the Decepticons, Blaster attempted to send out a distress signal to Optimus Prime's forces on Moon Base 1. His efforts were disrupted by Soundwave, who had sent out his cassette forces to destroy the hub's transmitter. Blaster countered with his own cassette army, and the itty-bitty guys 'rassled. After the Decepticons retreated, Blaster was helping to rebuild the city when he received a faint signal from Jazz and Cliffjumper on Moon Base 1, which was being munched by a ginormous, weird-looking planet.

In early 2006, Blaster was stationed mostly on Earth. After the attack on the Galactic Olympics which saw Ultra Magnus, Kup and Spike kidnapped, Blaster and Outback were sent to the North African nation of Carbombya on the suspicion that the militant leader Abdul Fakkadi was harbouring Decepticon fugitives. Despite Fakkadi's assurances that there were no Decepticons on his soil, Outback managed to psyche out Dirge and Ramjet, whose escape was also quickly put down by the Australian-accented Autobot. Blaster then threatened the two coneheads to spill the beans, for Outback was trigger-happy. After returning to Autobot City, Blaster kept tabs on the delivery of Metroplex's transforming cog, which was damaged during the battle of Autobot City the year before. Unfortunately, Blurr and Wheelie's delivery shuttle was destroyed by Galvatron, forcing Blaster call upon Commander Marissa Faireborn of the Earth Defense Command for help.

However, Faireborn and the Autobot delivery team were stranded when lipoles native to Io destroyed the EDC ship, so the long-suffering Blaster sent rescue in the form of the magnificent Sky Lynx, whom Blaster remarked was difficult to describe. After Sky Lynx effortlessly saved their friends and delivered the cog to Earth, Pipes installed the cog, and Blaster activated Metroplex's transformation sequence. Once the Autobot city defeated the Decepticon giant Trypticon, Blaster declared that Metroplex was his kind of town.

At one point in Transformer history best left forgotten, he traveled with the Autobots to another planet where he translated alien opera into English.

Scramble City OVA
Blaster was finally gifted with some Cassette forces of his own to counter Soundwave's. Steeljaw and Ramhorn took on Ratbat but couldn't protect the secrets of Metroplex.

15 Go! Go!


As Teletraan 15 lay recuperating from her Galvatron-inflicted injuries, a voice came from a nearby boombox, remarking that the song in her heart sounded lonely.

Transforming into his towering robot mode, Blaster told 15 that a princess like her deserved a more cheerful song. After listening to her problems, he advised her not to worry about what she ought to do and suggested that she concentrate on doing what she loved best. He told her that as individuals, sentient beings are notes, and that together, they become music.

He handed her a small cassette tape and told her that whenever she was depressed, she should listen to music. She thanked him as he left.

Despite Blaster's good intentions, the tape turned out to be full of depressing music. It also turned out to be Steeljaw.

Kiss Players
Blaster hand-picked Rosanna to join his cassette team, feeling that she was the only Autobot who properly understood his love of music.

He was later appointed by Ultra Magnus as the Producer of the Kiss Players singing group, of which Rosanna became a founding member.

The Headmasters cartoon
Blaster's rivalry with Soundwave increased dramatically by the year 2011. At one point, when Hot Rod was searching Earth for the Matrix, he was ambushed by Soundwave. Blaster took on Soundwave alone, urging Rodimus to leave without him. Soundwave and Blaster then prepared for their final duel. The result was a tie, sorta—they both died.

Later, all the Autobots were content to leave Blaster as a corpse until Daniel and Blaster's cassette forces whined enough to have their pal resurrected. Rodimus then brought Blaster back online as the yellow and blue repaint Twincast. Coincidentally, the Decepticons reanimated Soundwave as the black-as-coal Soundblaster. The two arch-enemies then renewed their struggle.

After his revival, he also served as the Autobots' karaoke machine.

Japanese Generation 2 story pages


After Optimus Prime and Megatron forged the Cybertron Alliance, Twincast returned to his original form as Blaster for reasons unknown.

(The artwork by Hidetsugu Yoshioka for the single story page Blaster appeared in features all the characters in their Action Master bodies, implying Blaster may have become an Action Master as well.)

Dreamwave comics
Blaster and his partner Perceptor were co-leaders of an Autobot faction millions of years ago on Cybertron. While this faction may or may not have existed in the Dark Ages before Ultra Magnus unified the Autobots under his command, they were the only known resistance to Megatron's tyrannical rule during the Age of Internment that followed.

In modern times, Blaster allied himself with Hot Rod and Kup's underground resistance, opposing the new tyrannical rule of Shockwave.

Blaster seems to have a "thing" against tyrannical rules.

At one point, he remarked that he couldn't wait to go to Earth. Ironically, Dreamwave's bankruptcy meant he never got to go. Poor Blaster.

IDW Comics
Blaster was known as The Voice, a patriotic broadcaster who used his gift with words to rally Autobots whose faith was lacking, or who were in a bad way. He was such a positive influence on the Autobots, it was arranged that he be assassinated. The attempt failed, but Blaster's damaged body was ejected into space. Picked up by a passing trawler, he was delivered home, where it was revealed that he had to have been attacked by an Autobot. In an effort to flush the traitor out, Blaster went back on the air. The attempt worked, and his would-be killer was revealed: Beachcomber. Soundwave had used Bombshell to implant a cerebro-shell and ordered him to kill Blaster. However, he was able to resist when Blaster used his greatest weapon: his voice. As a damaged Beachcomber was brought in for repairs, Blaster swore he'd find Soundwave and that the last thing he'd ever hear would be... the Voice.

Generation 1

 * Blaster (Autobot, 1985/1986/2006)
 * Japanese ID number: 38, TFC-21
 * Accessories: Electro-Scrambler Gun




 * Originally a Microchange "Radi-Casse Robo" ("radio-cassette", you see), Blaster transforms into a miniature "ghetto blaster" boombox with a fold-out carrying handle. Pressing the "eject" button pops open his tape door, which can store a single micro-cassette Transformer. Due to a common internal misassembly issue, many original Blasters had doors which would not open when the eject button is pressed, nor would the other buttons work.


 * In robot mode Blaster is freaking huge by the standards of Generation 1 Transformers, towering over most Autobots and Decepticons. He has rather limited (useful) articulation, located in his neck and shoulders.


 * Blaster is not a functional AM radio like his original Microchange toy, but has some left over parts from it, such as the molded power switch above the left speaker, the earphone jack behind the right speaker and the tuning dial next to the tape door. Some releases of Blaster still retain the battery-cover back from the Microchange release (see Trivia).


 * Blaster was re-released in 2006 as part of the "Transformers Collection" "bookbox" series, packaged with Steeljaw.


 * Twincast (Autobot, 1987/2006)
 * Japanese ID number: C-116
 * Accessories: Electro-Scrambler Gun, Flip-Sides (reissue only)


 * The first Blaster toy was redecoed and had its tape-door retooled in order to accommodate two cassettes at once. The clear-plastic part of the door was also changed to clear-red, so when certain cassettes were placed inside, the "secret plans" decals on them would reveal the "weak point" of either Fortress Maximus or Scorponok, much like using the tech-specs decoders.  He came with Steeljaw, who was given one of these new decals.


 * In 2006, Twincast was reissued as an e-Hobby exclusive, this time packaged with the new character Flip Sides.


 * Blaster w/ Flight Pack (Action Master, 1990)
 * Accessories: Flight Pack, gun




 * A non-transforming action figure, Action Master Blaster (not to be confused with the "Action Master Blasters" price-point) is compatible with any other Action Master vehicle or accessory. His design is based largely on his cartoon model, with elements from the toy added (like his visor).  He came with the "Flight Pack" accessory, which converts from a winged jetpack to a massive "electro-scrambler" cannon.

Binaltech Asterisk

 * Broadblast meets Lumina (Binaltech, 2005)
 * Japanese ID number: BTA03
 * Accessories: Engine/gun, Lumina Hoshi with stand, driving arms and driving legs


 * A redeco of Alternators Skids, "Broadblast" transforms into a 1:24 scale Toyota bB, aka the Scion xB. He has working doors, hood, and trunk, plus his engine becomes a non-firing weapon.  He also comes with an extra decal sheet, which includes signs for "TBN" which possibly stands for "Transformers Broadcast Network" or some such; there is Japanese text on the labels as well, but it's really tiny and hard to make out.


 * He came with a PVC-plastic figurine of the human newsgirl Lumina Hoshi.

Attacktix

 * Blaster (200?)

Universe

 * Autobot Blaster (Voyager, 2008)
 * Accessories: Two gun/bombs, Mini-Con condor thing


 * Blaster is a redeco of Cybertron Soundwave in red, yellow, black, and gray.

Trivia

 * The pre-Transformers version of Blaster was actually a functioning AM radio. The Microchange release of the toy came with a microcassette-sized radio that plugged in to Radi-Casse Robo, which had internal wiring that allowed the radio to play through the speakers in its legs. The big hole in his Electro-Scrambler rifle is an earphone storage space, while the cord can be wrapped around the gun and the plug connects to the hole in the gun's stock. Despite popular belief, the compartment in the back of some Blaster toys was not a remnant of a battery compartment, but was actually storage for one of the transforming microcassettes, since a plug kept them from fitting in the cassette door. The battery compartment was actually in one of his legs.


 * According to Grimlock on a Letters Page, Blaster's visor is retractable. He uses it to shield his especially delicate optical sensors from sunlight.


 * The packaging for Twincast's e-Hobby reissue was the same generic Decepticon-scheme box used to package Magnificus.  However, since Flip Sides is technically a Decepticon, it...sorta works.


 * According to Blaster himself on the UK letters page, he has two siblings: Toaster and Karmen. And then there's Bluster, his retroactively-created and less-seen brother.


 * According to the G1 Production Bible, Blaster's preliminary name was Blastbox.