Huffer (G1)


 * Huffer is an Autobot character in the Generation 1 continuity family.



To say that Huffer is cranky is an understatement. Huffer's the poster boy for whiney pessimism. He complains and grumbles his way through every day, especially since he's been shipwrecked on Earth. If he thought his existence was unbearable before, it's intolerable now, and he'll certainly let you know. There is no light in his dark hours...which is all the time.

Despite what a joy he is to be around, he's very effective at his job. A construction engineer, he can whip up anything of any complexity. Unfortunately, he'll be kicking and screaming the whole way.

"Oh, I say we leave right now and forget about traipsing after the stupid Decepticons."

- Huffer's first line


 * Japanese name: Drag (do-ra-ggu, ドラッグ)
 * Hungarian name: Fortyogó ("Ebullier")
 * Greek name: Gigantas (Γίγαντας)
 * French-Canadian name: Grognon
 * Russian name: Nitik (Нытик, Whiner)
 * Portuguese name (Brazil comics): Rabugento
 * Italian name: Turbo
 * Portuguese name (Portugal comics): Valentão

Marvel Comics continuity


Among several selected by Optimus Prime to clear a path for their planet, Cybertron, through an asteroid field, Huffer lay dormant on Earth after a Decepticon attack which forced both sides to crash land. Four million years later, he and the others were awoken, and Huffer was rebuilt to transform into an Earth-style truck cab. He immediately wanted to go home. Sadly, his solicited assessment of the Ark's condition was bleak, and he feared he'd be "stranded on this scrapball forever."

Their new human comrade, Sparkplug Witwicky, was captured by the Decepticons to convert Earth fuel into something Transformers can use, but after he was rescued, it was learned that Sparkplug had given the Decepticons what they had wanted. Before further explanation could be made, Huffer demanded the "traitor" be punished. While Huffer and Ironhide bickered, Sparkplug made his shortlived escape; Jazz tried to stop him with a wall of flame, but the aged human suffered a heart attack.

''Huffer was one of the Autobots who "fell before the might" of Laserbeak during a surprise attack on the Ark by Megatron and his Decepticons. After Megatron and Optimus Prime accidentally awakened the Ark's central computer system, Auntie, Huffer -- as well as nearly everyone else on board -- was suddenly magnetically sealed to its walls. After some teamwork, everyone was set free, and the Decepticons were ejected from the Ark. ''

Huffer caught Optimus Prime's attention to relay a message for Ratchet. In the memory banks of the Ark's computers, Ratchet had discovered evidence of a battle between Shockwave and the Dinobots in the Savage Land four million years ago. However, with Autobot fuel reserves being so low, Optimus determined that the fates of Shockwave and the Dinobots mattered little at that moment. No, that wouldn't come back to bite him at all.

Low on fuel, the Autobots used the Tubes of Transference to donate what energy the group had to its five mightiest warriors. Huffer was one of the five selected for this "last stand," and though he suffered a strafing from Thundercracker, he survived through the bitter end to victory. ...for five seconds, before Shockwave arrived and blew them all away. Thanks, Optimus. Thanks a lot.

Afterwards, Huffer's body spent a while strung up from the Ark's ceiling. Typical.

After Ratchet retook the Ark and repaired everyone, Huffer complained of being homesick for his homeworld of Cybertron and was obsessed with returning home to the point of distraction from his real duties. Prowl, giving a tour to the human industrialist G.B. Blackrock, was annoyed to find Huffer not rebuilding their communication center's ultra-frequency monitoring, but tinkering instead with the transdimensional radiowave scrambler in hopes of contacting Cybertron. Prowl thought getting him out of the Ark would do him some good, so he sent Huffer on a mission to disrupt a Decepticon operation. En route, Huffer met with a trucker, Bomber Bill, who was also homesick, due to the Decepticons nabbing his truck. The Decepticons, ironically, were up to building a transdimensional radiowave scrambler of their own, and Huffer was forced to choose between destroying the communications device, thus severing contact with his homeworld, or allowing the Decepticons to contact their brethren on Cybertron, ensuring enemy reinforcements would spill over onto Earth and thus spelling certain doom. Huffer ultimately made the right choice, but he hated it. Loudly.

Using an eavesdropping system Huffer and Blackrock had set up previously, the Autobots were able to overhear Shockwave's plans to drop the captured head of their leader, Optimus Prime, in a nearby swamp. Huffer was charged with towing Prime's body to the location. However, the head was actually a decoy head, which, when attached to the body, caused it to go on a murderous rampage. And then the Decepticons showed up! It took entirely too long for the real head to show up, allowing Prime to save from certain doom the few who remained functional.

''During the Dinobot Hunt, Huffer was sent with Sideswipe and Bluestreak to Doonstown to capture the berserk Grimlock. What they found instead was Grimlock and Sludge locked in battle. Bluestreak was deactivated before the team could react, and when Huffer tried to wrangle the two crazed Dinobots, he was caught between them and rendered non-functional too. Just for trying to help, sheesh! ''

Huffer was not seen in action for some time after this, until he was shown among the the Earth-bound Autobots who witnessed the battle between Grimlock and Blaster for Autobot leadership on Earth's moon.

Classics
Fifteen years after the Autobot/Decepticon war ended on Klo, Huffer was part of Grimlock's crew on the Graviton. His attitude towards Earth had not improved with age. While pursuing Bug Bite's Decepticons, ultimately finding them back on Earth, Ultra Magnus ordered Huffer to stay onboard the Graviton and keep an eye on both Bug Bite's ship (with orders to blow it out of the sky if it moved) and on Tyrannitron (with orders to keep him from "eating something important") while the rest of the Autobots went planetside. Just great. A brilliant engineer having to sit and petsit Snarl's gun.

Cartoon continuity

 * Voice actor: John Stephenson (English), Yutaka Shimaka (Japan)

Huffer was part of the original crew of Ark-based Autobots who crashed on Earth four million years ago. In 1984, he awoke and was reformatted into a mini semi truck cab. An engineer and not a warrior, Huffer loathed combat and hated being stationed on Earth as he longed to return to Cybertron. Optimus Prime would often have to motivate Huffer, reminding him to remain courageous in the long fight. During one of the first engagements on Earth, where the Autobots attempted to stop the Decepticons from attacking an off-shore oil rig, Huffer was trapped in the debris. Brawn came to his rescue, cutting Huffer loose from the wreckage.



Damaged in a fall from the top of the Ruby Crystal Mines of Burma, Optimus Prime was encouraged by Huffer, Cliffjumper, and Gears as he painfully tried to transform back into robot mode.

When Optimus Prime authorized Wheeljack and Ratchet to build robot dinosaurs, Huffer insisted that this was a waste of time. After the Dinobots were completed and unveiled, Huffer remarked, "Dinobots? I thought you were supposed to make Dinosaurs!" and laughed. This was followed by an awkward silence.

Prime was ever accident-prone, though, and after being beaten down by Megatron and again struggling to transform, Huffer was helpful enough to tow Prime's trailer back to the base. Prime told Huffer that he was a true friend. But then, Prime considers all the Autobots his friends, so it might not be saying much.

Later, Huffer denounced Spike and Chip's idea for the Autobots to participate in a charity race, and stayed at the base with Wheeljack, Ratchet, and Brawn. His bad feelings turned out to be well founded when Megatron used the Transfixatron to lock the Autobots in vehicle mode. Huffer's dour attitude was so annoying that Brawn nearly bear hugged him to death.

The last time anyone had seen him alive was when he helped Bluestreak and Kup build a roadblock when a sunday driver plowed through and ruined all of their hard work. Bluestreak and Huffer were not shown making it back to Autobot City in time. Though his death was never depicted, Huffer's grave is later mentioned amongst those of the other Autobots who died during the attack on Autobot City aboard their interstellar Autobot Mausoleum. Along with the mausoleum itself, Huffer's remains were later plunged into a red sun as a side-effect of a Quintesson plot.

Dreamwave comics continuity
Huffer was a part of the crew onboard the Ark when it crashed into Earth four million years ago while clearing an asteroid in the path of Cybertron.

He was one of many Transformers captured and reprogrammed by arms dealer Adam 'Lazarus' Rook for lease to terrorist organisations and shady governments requiring brutal military might. Fortunately, Autobots under the command of Optimus Prime repaired and re-reprogrammed Huffer and the remaining captive Autobots. Immediately, they were put to work on fighting Megatron's metallic virus which had spread deep into Canadian territory. Huffer was seen to be very gung-ho about starting the blasting process when Wheeljack cautioned the group that the anti-virus required converting their own internal energy, and he needed complete commitment from them if his plan was to succeed.

Soon, the Canadian military arrived. Unfortunately, due to the recent attacks by both enslaved Autobots and Decepticons under the command of Rook, the Canadians attempted to stop the Autobots doing what they perceived to be an attack on their soil. When Wheeljack tried to explain what they were doing (in a rather aggressive manner), the Canadians soldiers panicked and fired upon the Autobots. Huffer was blasted by a tank shell while trying to aid the fallen Wheeljack.

When Ultra Magnus and the united Cybertronians arrived on Earth, Huffer was one of the Autobots who accompanied Optimus Prime back to Cybertron. He joined up with the insurgency groups under Smokescreen and Hot Rod's command, and he and the Ark's crew brought down Shockwave's regime. After the revolution, Prowl conceived of a new Autobot City constructed on Earth as their new base of operations. He requisitioned the reluctant Huffer to leave his Beloved Cybertron (TM) to contribute his construction engineering skills to the city's design.

IDW comics continuity
Huffer was one of the manual laborers seen disputing the Senate's attempts to automate their trade with drones. Unlike many workers, Huffer did not join up with the Decepticon movement, but instead would eventually side with the Autobots.

After the Battle of Thunderhead Pass, Huffer was one of many Autobots engaged in trench warfare over what remained of their destabilized home planet. He was with Getaway, Kup and Broadside awaiting a broadcast from Blaster when the Decepticons made their big push against the Autobots.

Generation 1

 * Huffer (Mini Vehicle, 1984/1985)
 * Japanese ID number: 14




 * Huffer was part of the original 1984 assortment of Autobot Mini Vehicles. His mold was originally used for the Microchange series of toys as an "American" truck. The Microchange toyline was meant to depict robots that transformed into toy cars, which accounts for the somewhat cartoonish proportions of Huffer's vehicle modes. In 1985, Huffer's rooftop faction symbol decal was replaced by a rubsign.


 * This mold was used to make Pipes; for the Hasbro line it was extensively retooled, while in Mexico and some European markets, it was straight-redecoed.


 * Minibot Team (Multi-pack, 2004)
 * Japanese ID number: TFC-12


 * Huffer was reissued in a "Transformers Collection" six-pack with Bumblebee, Cosmos, Gears, Powerglide and Warpath. There are no notable differences between the original and the reissue versions.


 * This entire set was redecoed to make the G1 GoBots set; Huffer was used to make Road Ranger.

Classics

 * Huffer (Scout, 2007)
 * Accessories: Crane boom/rifle, Earth-type Cyber Key




 * Sold together in a bag with Springer and their instructions and bio cards, Huffer is a Classics-themed BotCon 2007 attendee exclusive. An orange and blue redeco of the Cybertron Armorhide toy, Huffer transforms into a semi tractor-trailer cab with hook-crane attachment. Plugging a Cyber Planet Key into the back of his cab flips his grill down, exposing a rack of eight (non-firing) missiles. This feature is also available in his robot mode.  Huffer can store a Cyber Planet Key using tabs on his hook-crane/rifle, and came with a silver-bordered translucent orange Earth Key.


 * This mold was also used to make Movie Armorhide.

Trivia

 * It has been speculated by some fans that, in the cartoon continuity, Huffer may have been created from Orion Pax's friend Dion, the same way and at the same time Prime and Elita One were rebuilt by Alpha Trion.


 * The bio card for Fun Publications' BotCon 2007 exclusive toy lists the name as "Huffer&reg;". Unfortunately, Hasbro haven't actually attempted to register the name to this very day, which technically makes the claim illegal. SHAME ON YOU, FunPub.