- Ricochet is an Autobot from the Headmasters portion of the Generation One continuity family.
Jazz gets pimped.
Ricochet', Stepper, or (still )Jazz, has a function called Rapid-Fire Attack, and he's well suited to it. He is the most accurate marksman the Autobots have and a Targetmaster as well, further augmenting his incredible skill. Unfortunately he's also quick-tempered and very easily provoked. This leads to him having a hard time maintaining friendly relations or even conversations with his teammates. In his favor, Ricochet has an uncommonly strong sense of justice (exactly twice as strong as the ordinary Autobot[1]).
His Targetmaster partner is Nightstick.
- Japanese name: Stepper
Fiction
The Headmasters manga
Ricochet accompanied Artfire, Chromedome and Daniel Witwicky in responding to a building fire. While the Autobots attempted to rescue people and put out the flames, the Decepticon Targetmasters attacked. However, the arrival of Fortress Maximus, who dropped fire-retardant foam on the buildings in starship mode, gave the two Autobot Targetmasters the chance they needed to combine with their gun-partners and send the Decepticons flying away uncontrollably.
T/F Collection reissue bio
On Cybertron, Ricochet often had marksmanship contests with his friends Fusion and Bluestreak. (It's anyone's guess how the hot-tempered Ricochet, who couldn't maintain friendly conversations with other Autobots, could be pals with the chatterbox Bluestreak.)
Ricochet's metabolic functions were damaged in an unspecified "incident." Nightstick, an engineer on the planet Master, volunteered to help him by undergoing a unique form of binary bonding. While ostensibly becoming a Targetmaster, Nightstick's gun mode wasn't merely hand-held. He instead plugged into Ricochet's robot-mode back, serving as a life-support system.
Dreamwave Generation One comics
Though he was never activated, Ricochet was apparently one of several clones created by Shockwave in the same program that produced Sunstorm. Night of the Combaticons
Toys
Generation One
- Stepper (Targetmaster, 1987)
- Japanese ID number: C-109
- Accessories: "Nebulon" Targetmaster partner, gun mount backpack
Former holy grail.
- A retool and redeco of the 1984 Autobot Jazz, Stepper transforms into a Porsche 935 Turbo "Moby Dick" race car. As a Targetmaster, he came with a smaller partner robot named Nebulon. In gun mode, Nebulon could peg into Stepper's car mode spoiler, or could attach to a separate bracket that mounted over his robot-mode shoulder. Stepper did not come with any of Jazz's accessories.
- As a late addition to the Japanese Headmasters series (he was a tail-ender release and was unlikely to have been on shelves for very long as stores would reset for the new Masterforce series) and one of the earliest Japanese-only Transformers, though Stepper was not particularly rare, he was perceived as such in the west. As such, for several years Stepper commanded top dollar on the secondary market - until the reissue (see below) pretty much iced that.
- Ricochet w/ Nightstick (Targetmaster, 2003)
- Japanese ID number: TFC-15
- Accessories: "Nightstick/Nebulon" Targetmaster partner, gun mount backpack, rifle, missile launcher backpack, 3 missiles
Modern heavily-discounted shelfwarmer.
- Announced first by Hasbro but released almost simultaneously by both Hasbro and Takara, Stepper (now called Ricochet for his US debut) was released through Toys "R" Us in the US in Commemorative Series IX, and as part of Takara's T/F Collection reissue series. His arsenal was bolstered by the addition of Jazz's weapons, chromed gold where they had been silver for the original 1987 Takara version, and solid black plastic for the Hasbro release. Additionally, Nightstick was retooled with a slender peg extension to allow Ricochet to actually hold him in his hand.
- Amusingly enough, neither version sold all that well, and in the US was eventually sent to the "closeout" chain Tuesday Morning, where he could be purchased for $8 (original TRU price: $35). Japan saw similar clearance sales on the piece.
Alternators
- Ricochet (Alternator, 2006)
- Alternator ID number: 20
Sadly, Ricochet's brilliant plan to score fembots by becoming a lifeguard failed miserably.
- A late-run Alternator, Ricochet is a redeco of the Subaru Impreza WRX mold used to make Silverstreak. He features opening doors, hood and trunk, has a detailed interior, and his intercooler becomes a hand-held (non-firing) weapon. He is one of the few Alternators with a state-specific license plate; Ricochet is registered in New Jersey. With his attitude, he'll fit right in.
- Though publicity photography give Ricochet a fully-gold face, for unknown reasons the final product's nose was white. Contrary to popular belief, it was not left unpainted, as his head is made out of black plastic.
- This mold was retooled to make Red Alert and Smokescreen.
Notes
- Stepper and Artfire's Targetmaster partners' names were switched from their English-language counterparts. There has been some speculation among fans that "Stepper" and "Artfire" may have been switched as well; this is fueled by the fact that the Robots in Disguise Ricochet homage Hot Shot's Japanese name was Artfire, not Stepper.
References