Ironhide (G1)


 * Ironhide is an Autobot and a Maximal in the Generation One continuity family.



Ironhide is one of the oldest and toughest Autobots, and has been on Optimus Prime's team for a long, long time. "They don't make them like they used to" is an apt description of Ironhide -- he's yesterday's model, but he's built to last.

Gruff and ornery, he prefers actions to words, and dislikes talk for talk's sake. (He wouldn't enjoy being paired up with Bluestreak.) But though he may be rough around the edges, he's still optimistic and upbeat. The upside to being through more than your share of trouble means trouble ain't so big a scare anymore.

Ironhide's most distinctive ability is the water gun, a weapon which can generate and shoot a liquid of virtually any type. Liquid nitrogen is historically a favorite, but there have been acids, mortar, and more.

He is HARD.

"When are we gonna start bustin' Deceptichops?"

- Ironhide's version of diplomacy


 * Hebrew name: Or Pelada (עור פלדה - "Steel Hide")
 * Hungarian name: Acélfej ("Steel-head")
 * Portuguese name (Portugal comics): Arma-de-Ferro
 * Portuguese name (Brazil comics): Couraça
 * Italian name: Falco (Rock me, Primadeus!)
 * French name (Canada): Rhino
 * Hungarian Movie name: Vaskezű ("Ironhand")

Generation One
Ironhide was one of Cybertron's great warriors, and chosen to join the Ark  mission to save Cybertron from an asteroid belt - a mission that saw him stranded on Earth for four million years. Upon reactivation, the Autobots were constantly fighting a defensive war while running out of fuel; when the Decepticons came for the Ark, Ironhide was one of just five Autobots to get fuel from his comrades so he could fight off the invasion. That just meant he was present to be shot down by Shockwave...

Once repaired, he would be one of the first Autobots to battle the Constructicons only to be later gunned down by a Decepticon-controlled Optimus Prime body. Ironhide just has no luck.

''Once repaired, he worked alongside Jetfire in the Dinobot Hunt, initially distrusting and clashing with him because of his Decepticon origins. He learnt to trust him during the mission. He at one point broke protocol to single-handedly break a terrorist siege, only to become frustrated when the police almost ruined it. Later on, he would be dispatched as a bodyguard for Buster Witwicky to prevent any reprisal attacks from the Decepticons - he had a more successful rematch against the Constructicons, and was also happily introduced to the wonders of demolition derbies. ''

''When the time-travelling Galvatron arrived in 1986 and Optimus Prime & Prowl were both lost in Limbo, Ironhide was one of the Autobots who battled the Decepticon. It went poorly - so poorly the beaten and humiliated Ironhide was desperate enough to salvage Megatron & Soundwave to temporarily take command of the Autobots. He vanished partway through the escapade, presumably injured.''

Ironhide would go on to fight against Ratbat's forces on the moon shortly before the crews of the Ark and the Steelhaven joined under one banner. ''He was briefly seen fighting alongside the Transformers of two eras against Galvatron during the Time Wars. '' Ironhide was not seen again after the battle with the Underbase-powered Starscream, and is often believed to have been deactivated in that fight.

Earthforce


While in stasis aboard the Ark'', Ironhide was hacked into by an alternate Galvatron, who was looking for potential soldiers with dark sides he could corrupt. As a result, Ironhide was reactivated and helped stop Galvatron. He went on to be a founding member of Earthforce, fighting against Megatron & Shockwave's rival Decepticon armies. ''

''In his first mission, alongside Bumblebee, he used his knowledge of Decepticon automated defense rings & riddles to get into a Decepticon facility and end their attempts at creating a new Devastator. Later, he was present at the Decepticon Enclave, and came up with a devious plan to stop Megatron & Shockwave from uniting their two factions. Knocking out Headstrong and using him as a patsy, Ironhide and the other Autobots faked a sniper attack on Megatron, prompting the Decepticons to shoot back at the rock cropping where they were hiding. The Autobots then dropped Headstrong off the ledge as if he'd been hit, framing him and Shockwave's army for trying to assassinate Megatron. The Enclave quickly turned into a ruckus. A brawl. A mixmas-no, wait. That one doesn't work.''

''Ironhide also joined Earthforce and the Survivors in taking down the Mayhem Attack Squad. While fighting to protect Starscream from Decepticon assassins, in order to get a systems boost for Snarl's fading health, Ironhide had to fight against Megatron. He took several hits from the fusion cannon, going down and leaving the fight to the Dinobots. Perhaps looking to sharpen his skills, Ironhide was next seen working out with Jazz in the Combat Room against a robot drone. ''

Another Time and Place
Ironhide was part of a commando unit sent to Hydrus Four after the Dinobots. He and a small group of Autobots surprised Fangry and tore him limb from limb.

Generation 2
When Optimus Prime and Grimlock discovered the threat of the Cybertronian Empire, they called in Autobots scattered across the galaxy, including Ironhide. And, when Grimlock chose to disobey Prime's directives and make a tactical first strike against Jhiaxus's ships, Ironhide went with him. They were quickly found out and captured, though, leaving it to Optimus to bail them out of trouble.

Later, when Prime had the brilliant idea that Megatron would be willing to "just talk" after laying waste to much of the planet Earth, Ironhide joined the rescue party Grimlock threw together to bail him out. He was also involved in the defense of Ethos. Ironhide took several shots to the chest while protecting that world, and was apparently killed

Cartoon continuity

 * Voice Actor: Peter Cullen (US), Shô Hayami (Japan)



Ironhide was part of the bridge crew of the Ark when it embarked on its fateful voyage to seek out new sources of energy beyond Cybertron four million years ago. It crashed on Earth, and all aboard were in stasis until 1984, when a volcanic eruption awakened the dormant Transformers. Ironhide was reformatted by Teletraan I so that his alt-mode was a terrestrial Mitsubishi van. In addition to his role in maintaining the security of the Autobot headquarters on Earth, Ironhide would embark on numerous missions to stop the Decepticons on their energy-raiding strikes around the planet. When the Decepticons churned the currents of the river blocked by Sherman Dam to raise its energy output, it resulted in high tides that threatened the surrounding neighborhoods. Ironhide, with the help of Bumblebee, used his built-in laser cannon in van mode to cut a new series of tributaries for the raging river to flow into.

Later, when the Decepticons escaped being buried in the Burma ruby mines, a flustered Ironhide took to the air in pursuit. He even managed to score a rocket strike against Skywarp, which only earned him a similar strike in return. Ironhide crash-landed into a lake, where he suffered back-end damage to his linkages. The immobilized Ironhide was fished out of the lake by Bluestreak and Jazz, and he recovered under the ministrations of Doc Ratchet.



On a later mission, Ironhide was assigned guard duty while the rest of the Autobots tested Wheeljack's new device, the immobilizer. Distracted by a visit from Carly, Ironhide soon learned that the Decepticons ambushed Optimus Prime and the Autobots and stole the new device. Blaming himself, Ironhide resigned from active duty, a resignation Prime accepted with some trepidation. While still "retired" Ironhide swam down to Decepticon headquarters to rescue the captured Carly, was immobilized, then re-mobilized, recovered the immobilizer from Megatron, helped save the Autobots, then destroyed the device. His request to be put on active duty again was wholeheartedly received by his friends. Ironhide, together with Sparkplug, proudly watched as Spike went on a date with Carly.



After Optimus Prime suffered a debilitating attack and needed a replacement part from Cybertron to survive, Ironhide led the team that recovered the part and escaped Decepticon attack. . Ironhide led another Autobot team to Cybertron to follow Optimus Prime after he left unexpectedly to rescue Elita One. When his team arrived via the space bridge, Starscream announced that he had killed Prime by melting him down in a vat of acid. Ironhide angrily ordered the Autobots to attack and avenge their fallen leader. During the battle, they met up with Elita One's Female Autobots, which gave Ironhide a chance to reunite with his old gal Chromia.

Ironhide's experience and wisdom came in handy. He stopped the Autobots from firing on and destroying the real Optimus Prime after they were fooled by Megatron’s Optimus Prime clone. When Mount St. Hilary erupted due to Cybertron’s proximity to earth, Ironhide plugged the eruption by causing an avalanche.



Ironhide could be a hothead at times. When humans banned the Autobots from earth for crimes they didn’t commit, the Autobots ended up on a spaceship heading to parts unknown. Ironhide blamed Optimus Prime for their predicament and almost led a mutiny. Ironhide also had little patience for younger Autobots who thought they knew better than him or Optimus Prime.



In the year 2005, Ironhide was on a shuttle along with a group of other Autobots headed for Earth when the shuttle was hijacked by Megatron and a team of Decepticons. Ironhide bravely fought off the Decepticons, but was not powerful enough to stop the enemy, and he was mercilessly killed by Megatron, for indulging in heroic nonsense.

Ironhide's grave was later mentioned aboard the interstellar Autobot Mausoleum amongst those of the other Autobots who died during the attack on Autobot City. Along with the mausoleum itself, Ironhides's remains were later plunged into a red sun as a side-effect of a Quintesson plot.

Dreamwave comics continuity
Ironhide and Kup go way back, having served with Wheeljack under Grimlock's command. They even broke off from the main Autobot faction during Prime's absence in the Dark Ages, choosing to serve Grimlock and his Lightning Strike Coalition rather than work under Prowl.

Nobody likes Prowl.

He was part of the Ark's original crew four million years ago, and awoke with the rest of them in 1984. After the crash of the Ark II, however, Ironhide was among the Transformers secretly acquired by Lazarus as a potential weapon of mass destruction for sale. He was tortured and heavily damaged by the Decepticons when they broke Lazarus' control over them, and was unable to immediately aid Prime and the others against Megatron.

Sometime after Ironhide was repaired, the united Cybertronians arrived on Earth and took him, Optimus, and most of the Ark's crew prisoner as alleged rogues who threatened their homeworld's peace. Many Autobots on Cybertron questioned the beneficence of their "commander", Shockwave, and had organized into several insurgency cells. Ironhide and the 'Bots linked up with them, and successfully retook Iacon for the Autobot cause, forcing out Shockwave and his followers.

In the days that followed, Ironhide, Prowl and Kup attempted to coordinate things on Cybertron, but gratefully stepped aside once Ultra Magnus had finished his repair cycle. The Ark's old crew then made plans to return to Earth and construct a new Autobot City as their base of operations on that planet.

IDW comics continuity


Back before the war, Ironhide was part of the Security Services. He attended the funeral of Bumper and Fastback with a familiar fembot, and listened to Sentinel Prime's eulogy/rally call. He was on the streets with Sentinel Prime and Prowl during the Battle of Kaon, when the Autobots tried to halt the rebel Decepticons. Ironhide was dishing out justice the old fashioned way&mdash;with his fists. He was with the Autobots that contacted Iacon when Sentinel's body was deposited in front of them, and Prowl ordered an evacuation. In the present, Ironhide was second-in-command (under Prowl) of a detachment of Autobots that had operated covertly on Earth for at least four years, attempting to foil a Decepticon insurgency. He was an experienced tactician whom Prowl consulted for advice. Although more bound to the regulations than Ratchet, he was still willing to bend the chain of command for the right reasons, and sent a pulsewave to Optimus Prime behind Prowl's back.

Ironhide was assigned the task of escorting a trio of humans back from the Autobots to their homes alongside Sunstreaker, carrying Jimmy and Verity. He became separated from Sunstreaker, who was immobilized and seemingly destroyed in an ambush by the Machination. Once it was revealed that the debris recovered from the Machination was not that of Sunstreaker, Ironhide suggested himself for the search mission to find Sunstreaker's whereabouts, as he felt he owed it to him, but his wishes were dismissed by Optimus Prime. Proving his willingness to break the chain of command if needed, Ironhide disobeyed his orders to remain and monitor Decepticon activity, joining Ratchet, Verity and Jimmy in their attempts to uncover the fate of Sunstreaker and Hunter. However, while removing Verity and Jimmy from a building that was due to explode, Ironhide was caught in the explosion and went M.I.A.

After Optimus Prime returned from his meeting with Omega Supreme, Wheeljack and Hot Rod learned that Ironhide was due to be crushed and compacted at a human dump and went to rescue him. They ran into some problems on the way there, however. They prevailed, and after Optimus Prime received word of the incident on Garrus-9, he ordered Hardhead to retrieve Hot Rod and the others. Hot Rod refused to go though, wanting to see the Headmaster mystery to the end. Hardhead reluctantly let him go and took Wheeljack and Ironhide back with him.

IDW Beast Wars comics
Ironhide serves on the Maximal Imperium, alongside Prowl and Silverbolt. Leadership seems to have robbed him of a bit of his gusto, although according to Big Convoy he is 'right honorable'.

IDW Hearts of Steel continuity
Ironhide participated in the pursuit of Astrotrain (his name is written on the side of his altmode, a military boxcar), and partially transformed from artillery boxcar mode to robot mode in order to shoot down Scourge. He is the only Autobot other than Bumblebee, Prowl, and Ratchet to speak in the whole story, and he only gets one line: "The name is Ironhide."

Timelines: Descent into Evil comic
Years after the Autobot-Decepticon Wars ended, Ironhide and five other Autobots were sent to Ceti Alpha Seven to destroy General Deathsaurus' Insecticon clone lab and stop his planned Decepticon uprising. After a team of four (consisting of Fallback, Chromia, Flareup, and Ricochet) failed, Ironhide and Ratchet followed to help. After battling swarms of Virulent Clones and Buzzclaw, they finally met up with Deathsaurus himself. Ironhide stayed to fight the general, and Ratchet separated to find their fallen friends. However, Ironhide was shot in the back by Flamewar and he went into stasis lock. Ironhide woke up restrained inside Deathsaurus' lab with Ratchet, while Deathsaurus appeared to them on a monitor and told them he planned to destroy the lab by remote. Before the lab could detonate, Ricochet snuck in and freed them, allowing them to gather their fallen and escape.

Generation One

 * Ironhide (1984/1991/2001/2007)
 * Japanese ID number: 98
 * Accessories: "Static Laser Gun", gun post, 3 missiles


 * Ironhide was part of the original assortment of Autobot cars released in 1984. His mold was originally used to create a Diaclone Nissan Onebox Cherry Vanette. The Diaclone line of toys were not meant to depict sentient robots, but rather human-controlled machines; the Ironhide and Ratchet-predecessor toys are the ones that most clearly show evidence of this. Rather than a head, these toy robots had chairs behind windscreens where the human rider would control the robot. The chair's backrest on the front is a sticker face (to make a 'head'), while the sticker folds over the top and the backrest's rear sports tape reels (perhaps representing where a human rider could insert tape to make the robot 'talk'). When ported into the Transformer toyline, it was both the Ratchet and Ironhide figures that differed the most from their animated incarnations, as the cartoon versions did away with all traces of the human-controlled design to give the robots proper faces and heads.


 * As some children would also find out, it turns out that Ironhide's gun post can also use Generation One Jazz's missiles, but Jazz's rocket launcher cannot use Ironhide's gun post missiles.


 * Ironhide was reissued in Europe as part of their Classics line in 1991, and released in Japan from e-Hobby in 2001.


 * In mid-December 2007, he was reissued again as part of Takara's Transformers Encore line. This particular version came with an illustration on one box flap depicting Ironhide's cartoon-design head and chest windshield.  By punching out the image along the perforated edges, folding it just so and tucking it in behind the toy's windshield, one could obscure the circuit-board "face" on the driver's seat and give the toy a "real" head that resembled the animation design a little more closely.


 * Protect Black Ironhide (2008)
 * Accessories: "Static Laser Gun", gun post, 3 missiles
 * e-Hobby released a New Year Special Exclusive: TF Encore Black Protect Ironhide. (In smoother, less loaded English, it would probably be Protective Blackcoat Ironhide.  Hurray for cultural distance.)  The toy was priced at 4725 yen.  Pre-orders were taken until Jan. 11, 2008, with a shipping date of April 2008.


 * The text on e-Hobby's page for the toy (see External Links, below) indicates the black coloration is meant to homage Ironhide's original Diaclone version, but between the release of Emergency Green Ratchet and a hint in Ironhide's new bio, it's easy to see this is also an homage to the new movie Ironhide. The packaging is the same as the regular TF Encore Ironhide's.


 * According to his bio, Ironhide got the black protective coating to disguise himself from both Destrons and members of the human criminal underworld when he's acting as Convoy's bodyguard. Not a few of his fellow Cybertrons have whispered to him that he looks like a "Men in Black" vehicle, but Ironhide insists he got the idea from the deep black coloration of pickup trucks he saw around town.  The coating, a composite gel metal, has made his trithyllium steel skin even more durable, allowing him to self-repair minor injuries right away.  His robot/mobile artillery forms are now 25% more maneuverable than before, and he can handle even the worst of roads using his three-legged Marauder Mode.  (This likely refers to the mode using the robot portion perched on top of the mobile artillery "battle sled.")

Generation 2

 * Ironhide (Go-bot, 1995)
 * Accessories: Gun


 * Part of the second wave of Go-Bots focusing on G1 characters, Ironhide transforms into a silver Ford F150 Flareside pickup truck. Using through-axle construction for his wheels, he is compatible with most "Hot Wheels" and "Matchbox" play sets and tracks.


 * The mold was a redeco of Generation 2 Go-Bots toy Motormouth, and was later redecoed into the Robots in Disguise Spy Changer Ironhide, the Universe Autobot Ironhide, and the second Universe incarnation of Hoist.


 * Ironhide (Power Master, 1995)
 * Accessories: 2 guns


 * Power Master Ironhide was one of the last toys in the Generation 2 line, and was only released in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Oddly, the Australia and New Zealand releases were in US packaging, complete with Hasbro's Rhode Island address.


 * Ironhide (barely) transforms from a grey camouflaged Humvee into a dorky robot. His main gimmick is his "Power Master" pull-back motor, which you use by pulling back on his motorized rear wheels, then placing one of his guns into one of the holes above the doors, which releases a catch and allows him to zip along a smooth surface.

Beast Wars

 * Magnaboss (Ultra, 1997)
 * Accessories: 2 guns
 * Ironhide transforms from an elephant into a robot. Two removable guns are hidden behind the beast mode's ears. These guns can be plugged into the holes at the bottom of Ironhide's stump arms. In addition, Magnaboss's heel struts can be used as giant spike weapons, as Ironhide's arms become Magnaboss's legs.


 * Ironhide can combine with Prowl and Silverbolt, his package buddies, into Magnaboss.


 * Ironhide was slightly redecoed to create Santon.


 * The Magnaboss toy included no information about its 3 components beyond their names. The character was finally established to be Generation One Ironhide a decade after its release by IDW in 2007.

Timelines

 * Descent into Evil (Multi-figure boxset 2005)
 * Accessories: Fold out gun/radar energon weapon, BotCon 2005 pin


 * A BotCon 2005 convention exclusive, Timelines Ironhide was only available in the Descent into Evil boxset. He is a retool and redeco of Energon Tow-Line, with a newly sculpted head resembling his G1 animation model. When not in vehicle mode, Ironhide splits into a robot mode and a battle sled.  Like Towline, Ironhide can powerlinx with any other powerlinxable Deluxe or Mega from the Energon toyline or with his battle sled.  He comes with a blue Energon weapon.


 * Ironhide's retooled mold was also used for Timelines Ratchet.

Attacktix

 * Ironhide (200?)

Universe (2008)

 * Ironhide (Deluxe, 2008)
 * Accessories: Converting Cannon


 * Ironhide transforms into a red SUV. Hasbro did a poor job at matching the colour of his painted windows to the transparent blue plastic windows. Pictures of a hand-painted prototype released by Hasbro shows Ironhide having silver paint on his wheels and face, but on the final toy the wheels are left unpainted and his face is now the same light blue paint as the windows. This is likely due to cost-cutting.


 * His robot mode has a Automorph-like gimmick that brings up mechanical detailing/armor behind his chestplate. His Converting Cannon weapon is a double-ended piece that fits over his hand, and has a Gatling cannon on one end and a small plastic nub melee blade on the other. This weapon is meant to emulate Ironhide's arm-mounted water gun from the Generation One fiction.


 * He has an Oregon license plate.


 * This mold was also used to make Henkei Ratchet, surprising absolutely no one.

Henkei! Henkei!

 * Ironhide (Deluxe, 2008)
 * Japanese ID number: C-11
 * Accessories: Converting Cannon


 * Henkei! Henkei! Ironhide is a redeco of Universe Ironhide, generally to make him more accurate to Ironhide's cartoon appearances. To this end, some plastic colours have been rearranged, such as his now-grey shoulders and red forearms, as well as a generally darker shade of red plastic. Additionally, the blue paint used for his opaque windows are a better match to his transparent blue windows than on Hasbro's Universe toy. As with all Henkei toys, Ironhide features vacuum-metallized silver for his headlights, brake lights and his converting cannon housing.

Super Collection Figure

 * Ironhide (200?)


 * Released in the "Act 3" assortment of SCF, this is a small PVC figurine of Ironhide based on his cartoon appearances.

Heroes of Cybertron

 * Ironhide (2003)


 * The Hasbro release of the SCF figures were cast in either transparent blue or transparent red plastic, which was then painted over, giving Ironhide light-piped eyes, but a generally sloppier appearance.

Hard Hero

 * Ironhide (2002?)




 * This cold-cast porcelain 6-inch tall bust was sculpted by Jason Ray, and is based very heavily upon Ironhide's cartoon appearance. A signed artist's proof version was available, limited to 100 pieces.

Diamond Select Toys

 * Ironhide (2008)


 * Sculpted by Art Asylum, this detailed bust is based on Ironhide's (you guessed it) cartoon/comic model, but with much more detailing and with elements of his toy design, such as his vehicle sled's missile launcher mounted on his shoulder.

Robot Heroes

 * Ironhide vs. Kickback (2008)
 * This adorably happy figurine of Ironhide is ready to pound his packmate Kickback into metal filings.