Rad White


 * Rad is a human character in the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

Bradley "Rad" White is your typical kid who's the son of brilliant scientists. He likes to ride his bike, he likes to explore caves, he likes to grab excitedly at radioactive things-- wait, what?

Basically, Rad has a natural, insatiable curiosity about all things. Unfortunately, this curiosity goes unchecked when he's hanging out with his best friend Carlos, so it takes the watchful eye of the intelligent-but-much-more-reserved Alexis to keep them both out of trouble. His parents hope that some day Rad can channel this curiosity more productively.

Armada

 * Voice actor: Kirby Morrow (US), Masataka Nakai (Japan)



One day, Rad and Carlos went exploring into the caverns deep beneath the local observatory. Inside, they found the curious remains of a clearly artificial construction, seemingly far in advance of human technology. Against the advice of Carlos, Rad was drawn towards a glowing green pentagonal artifact half buried in the rubble. Touching it, the entire structure began to shake, suddenly springing to life as thousands of computers lit up the walls.

At home, Alexis felt the tremors and used her computer to pinpoint the epicenter of the apparent earthquake as the mountain caverns that Rad and Carlos were exploring. Similarly, the scientists and researchers at the observatory were baffled by the sudden movement of the Earth. As Rad and Carlos made their escape with the artifact, a bright light engulfed the chamber they were in, simultaneously shutting down all electronic equipment in Licoln, as well as emitting three distinctly coloured distress signals beams into the sky.

One beam, green, reached an ancient starship wreck on the dark side of the moon, causing it to fire hundreds of smaller beams of green light at the Earth. The two remaining signal beams, coloured red and purple, continued deep into space until it reached a cold, distant metal world.

Little did Rad know that he had unwittingly set in motion the next destructive phase in the great Transformers war, an endless battle of rage and hatred between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons. Thanks a lot, kid.

Energon

 * Voice actor: Kirby Morrow (US), Masataka Nakai (Japan)



By 2020, Rad had been shipped off to Cybertron and was working as an assistant to Dr. Brian Jones, presumably because he wouldn't shut up about the Transformers.

Much to Dr. Jones' chagrin, his daughter appears to have a thing for Rad.

Armada
Rad is the one to activate the crashed Mini-Con vessel, bringing to life it's crew and alerting the Autobots and The Decepticons to Earth. After being saved, Rad, Carlos, and Alexis, having bonded with the Mini-Cons want to help, but Prime that they cannot be involved.

Much later, Rad is made a prisoner of the Mini-Con Destruction Team, held captive on their moonbase strapped to a bomb. He's saved in time of course, then told by Prime in the final issues to again take a flying leap as the Autobots departed to confront Unicron.

Energon
Rad whines a lot about Alexis being worldy and active as a peace activist, she tried to tenderly say goodbye, but he brushes her off and upsets her. An attack from Battle Ravage forces causes a series of explosions that seem to eliminate Alexis, dismaying Rad. Alexis turns out to be alive, and he embraces her before urging her to get into his jeep to escape the destruction.

Dreamwave folded before...you know...Barry White?

Associated characters

 * In the Dreamwave comic, Rad's unnamed parents, Mr. and Mrs. White (Dr. and Dr.?), work at the Cosmoscope Research Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
 * In the animated series, they looked totally different.

Trivia

 * According to the now-defunct TV Tokyo Micron Legend website, Rad was 12 years old at the start of Armada. The page also stated that he enjoyed outdoor sports, and implied that Optimus Prime gave him Laserbeak as a personal possession.


 * The Reader's Digest Transformers Armada Official Guidebook backs up that Rad was 12 years old at the start of Armada and that he enjoyed outdoor sports, specifically on his BMX bike.


 * Rad has the unfortunate penchant of saying '"Wicked Sweet!", usually when something impresses him greatly. It is quite possible that by 2010 this will be an acceptable form of slang.


 * As stated in the first episode, Rad, Carlos, Alexis, Billy and Fred go to Lincoln Middle School. Exciting trivia!