Hot Rod (Transformers)
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- Hot Rod is not to be confused with Hot Shot, a very similar character from Transformers Armada, Energon, and Cybertron.
Hot Rod (Hot Rodimus in Japan) is a character from The Transformers. His name was later changed to Rodimus or Rodimus Major because of trademark restrictions.
| Transformers character | |
 Targetmaster Hot Rod Box Art |
|
| Hot Rod | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Autobot  |
| Japanese name | Hot Rodimus |
| Sub-Group | Autobot Cars Targetmasters Micromasters Wreckers |
| Rank | 10 (original) 5 (Targetmaster) |
| Function | Cavalier Matrix Templar Warrior |
| Partner | Firebolt (Sparks in the Marvel Comics series) |
| Motto | "My actions speak louder than my words." "Action is my middle name." |
| Alternate Modes | Modified late 1980s Pontiac Firebird |
| Series | Transformers: Generation 1 Transformers: Classics Transformers: Titanium |
| English voice actor | Judd Nelson/Richard Gautier (post movie episodes) |
| Japanese voice actor | Hiroya Ishimaru |
Contents |
[edit] Transformers: Generation 1 (1986)
Hot Rod was first introduced in Transformers: The Movie, where he was voiced by Judd Nelson. He transforms into a futuristic red sports car, with flames painted on the hood and doors.
[edit] Animated series
Hot Rod has a youthful attitude, and serves as an older brother figure to Daniel Witwicky, son of Autobot ally Spike Witwicky. He has a sort of mentor-student relationship with the veteran Autobot, Kup. Later in life, he temporarily bears the Autobot Matrix of Leadership and becomes Rodimus Prime (Rodimus Convoy in Japan), and leader of the Autobots.
Hot Rod first appeared in the American animated series during the events of Transformers: The Movie, where he was one of the many Autobots stationed at Autobot City. He fought in the Autobot city battle and witnessed (some may say contributed to) the death of Optimus Prime due to his attempted intervention in the battle between the Autobot leader and Megatron. He fled the city with Kup and the Dinobots when Galvatron, a recreated Megatron, attacked the city after being reformatted by Unicron. After meeting up with the other Autobots after a series of adventures on planets Quintessa and Junk, Hot Rod returned to the other Autobots and rushed to Cybertron to save it from being eaten by Unicron.
After facing Galvatron inside Unicron's body, Hot Rod was able to get his hands on the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, which reformatted him into Rodimus Prime. He then threw Galvatron into deep space and destroyed Unicron, before truly assuming his role as the prophecied new leader of the Autobots.
After the movie, Hot Rod only appeared three more times: once when he gave the Matrix to a Quintesson-controlled Optimus Prime, when he lost the Matrix to the Decepticon Scourge, and finally when Optimus Prime was resurrected and Rodimus Prime was able to return to being Hot Rod for good. In all 3 occasions, his return to Hot Rod took place because he lost or passed to someone else the Matrix.
In the 3-part finale to the American Transformers animated series, The Rebirth, Hot Rod became a Targetmaster.
[edit] Headmasters
In the Japanese exclusive Headmasters storyline (which replaced the Rebirth in Japanese continuity, Hot Rod appeared as part of Optimus Prime's inner circle. When Galvatron and his Headmaster warriors launched a devastating attack on Cybertron, Vector Sigma was damaged, and Hot Rod was sent to Earth to retrieve the Matrix. Recovering it, he returned it to Prime, only to be surprised when the ghost of Alpha Trion once again reformatted him into Rodimus Prime to help Optimus. After Optimus' death, Rodimus once again took command of the Autobots.
[edit] Battlestars: The Return of Convoy
Although Rodimus would leave the dying Cybertron to find a new homeworld in the Headmasters series, he returned in the pages of the Battlestars manga. Once again going by the name Hot Rod, he was now a Micromaster, and aided Star Convoy (the once again reborn Optimus Prime) in his battles against Super Megatron.
[edit] Marvel Comics
Hot Rod first appeared in the Headmasters limited series as one of the Autobot crew led by Fortress Maximus. He became a Targetmaster in the fourth and final issue of the series. However, his Targetmaster partner is called Sparks, instead of Firebolt (though the UK comic would occasionally call him Firebolt). Hot Rod made sporadic appearances, with a few UK stories starring him as the lead but most of them were set in the past or future. Kup's Story revealed the first meeting between Kup and Hot Rod, and how Hot Rod's influence shook Kup out of depression; Aspects Of Evil, stories narrated by Rodimus Prime, revealed Hot Rod's past personal encounters with Megatron, Scorponok, and Shockwave; and Ark Duty starred Hot Rod and set up the creation of Autobot City. Hot Rod debuted in the main continuity after the loss of many warriors to the Underbase powered Starscream as part of Fortress Maximus' group. He served as an eager soldier who idolized Optimus. However, he was killed during the Decepticon ambush on Klo in the last issue of the Marvel G1 comic, only to be resurrected by Prime and the Last Autobot. He continued to appear in the Transformers: Generation 2 comic as one of Prime's right-hand men.
The Hot Rod form the future The Transformers: The Movie continuity would also appear. Target: 2006 had Hot Rod, Kup and Blurr timejump from 2006 (specifically partway through the Transformers movie) to 1986 to thwart Galvatron's scheme, under the influence of Unicron; later post-movie stories revealed that Firebolt had died on Earth years before 2007, and Space Pirates had Rodimus Prime briefly reverting back to Hot Rod during the Quintesson attack on Autobot City.
[edit] Dreamwave Productions
Hot Rod led a cell of Autobots in resistance to the leadership of Shockwave on Cybertron until Shockwave was overthrown by Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus. Later, he was part of Ultra Magnus' team to fortify one of Cybertron's moons, and clashed with Springer over Arcee.
Although Targetmaster Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime received bio pages in Dreamwave's More Than Meets The Eye series, they never appeared in the comic stories before the company closed, barring one flash Optimus Prime had of the future when the Matrix was damaged, where he saw Hot Rod as a Targetmaster.
[edit] Devil's Due Publishing
Hot Rod would also appear in the G.I Joe vs the Transformers crossover comics from Devil's Due Publishing. He made his first appearance in the second crossover, where he was transported to Earth by a malfunctioning Teletran-3 and reformatted into the form of an Earth sports car.
He reappeared in the third crossover, where he apparently acted as Optimus Prime's right hand man. Putting a team together to look for the missing team that had journeyed to Earth (who had been captured by Serpentor and the Decepticons), he would later lead the combined G.I Joe/Autobot force that rescued Optimus Prime. It is interesting to note that in contrast to his usual "youthful rookie" portrayal here Hot Rod seems to be in a high command position, outranking Ultra Magnus, Prowl and Ironhide among others. However, by the fourth crossover Hot Rod is forced to wait on Cybertron under Magnus' command as Optimus Prime journeys to Earth.
[edit] Kiss Players
Hot Rod also appeaered in the Japanese exclusive Kiss Players storyline, having given up the Matrix to Ultra Magnus after his actions in hurling Galvatron out of Unicron's body resulted in the Decepticon leader crahing into and devastating Tokyo. He subsequently came to Earth to try to repair relations with the humans, but was instead attacked and nearly killed by a Legion Creature, a hybrid created from Galvatron's Unicron-corrupted cells fusing with local creatures. He was saved by a kiss from the human Li Shao-Shao and reformatted into a body resembling a Ford GT. He went on to battle the Earth Defense Command (an anti-Transformer organization), the Legion - and Optimus Prime himself. Prime had been resurrected in a Kiss Player body, but Hot Rod, believing his commander to be dead. thought it was a trick.
[edit] 3H Enterprises
In the Transformers: Universe storyline, Rodimus (as he is now called) gets upgraded into a Maximal (looking like his Autobot form, but slightly smaller and more energy efficient). He serves as a member of the Wreckers, third in command after Primal Prime and Apelinq. He serves as the Matrix Templar for the group.
[edit] IDW Publishing
Hot Rod would make his first IDW Publishing appearance in a Spotlight issue focusing on him. In this he was shown to be newly promoted to command of a group of Autobots including Gizmo, Backbeat and Dealer. Sent to secure the Magnificence, a device of some sort that could predict the future. Getting past the guardians, Hot Rod was swapping it with a fake to prevent the Decepticons from getting their hands on it when a seeming Decepticon ambush wiped out his squad. Determined to rescue the only survivor, Dealer, Hot Rod staged a daring solo rescue mission that managed to rescue Dealer - unaware that he was really Doubledealer, a Decepticon spy sent by Banzaitron to retrieve the Magnificence and now out to find where Hot Rod had stashed it.
Hot Rod was then summoned to Earth by Optimus Prime, as revealed in The Transformers: Escalation. With typical bravado Hot Rod and Hardhead insisted on heading to assist Prime's unit in stopping Megatron. Hot Rod left Hardhead to assist the other Autobots while he captured the Decepticon facsmile. Unfortunately he almost collided with Prowl, who had had the same idea. Despite some bickering between the two, they were able to eventually capture the facsimile, forcing the Russian troops to back down. The story is ongoing.
[edit] Toys
- Hot Rod (1986)
- A special gold chrome edition of this toy was released by Takara to its staff in 1987.[1]
- Targetmaster Hot Rod (1987)
- Came with a Nebulan Targetmaster Firebolt. Rodimus himself was retooled slightly to enlarge the holes on his fists and adding a mounting hole to to engine which Firebolt could fit into.
- Classic Rodimus (2006)
- In the 2006/2007 line which features characters from the original series in updated forms, Hot Rod (now called Rodimus due to trademark reasons) is in the first wave of Autobots along with Optimus Prime and Bumblebee.
- Because most of the classics line lacks visible Autobot and Decepticon symbols in vehicle mode, this Rodimus lacks his distinctive Autobot symbol in flames on his chest seen on all other versions of Hot Rod/Rodimus. Because of this fan-run sticker companies have released labels to make him look more like the original Hot Rod.
- His new vehicle mode is interestingly based on an obscure Japanese Supercar, the Dome Zero, manufactured by DOME Co. Ltd in 1978[1].
- Titanium Rodimus (2006)
- Rodimus got a toy in the Transformers: Titanium line in 2006, as a 3 inch tall non-transforming toy. He is scheduled to receive a 6-inch tall Rodimus Prime, transformable incarnation in early 2007.
- Transformers: Kiss Players (2006)
- With the Japanese Binaltech toy series having morphed into the Kiss Players line, the second figure to be released as a Kiss Players character was Hot Rodimus. Based on the same Ford GT mold as Mirage, Hot Rodimus features several changes from Mirage. First, it has a unique head sculpt, which includes a movable crest to allow a "visor" to be lowered over his eyes, to recall the scene in the animated Transformers Movie when Hot Rod is up on Lookout Mountain. Additionally, it includes a fishing-rod accessory, which can be split and connected in a different configuration to create a tri-barreled arm weapon, recalling Hot Rod's exhaust-pipe blasters. Although the car mode stays true to the Ford GT's factory color scheme, and does not include Hot Rod's signature "flame" detailing, the robot mode reveals additional orange and yellow body parts, such as the chest, abdomen, arms and hands, and the lower arms feature paint applications in a flame design, to further link the figure with the original Hot Rod.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.allspark.com/index.php?set_albumName=album16&option=com_gallery&Itemid=4&include=view_album.php
- Fan page about the original Hot Rod toy
- Fan page about the Targetmaster Hot Rod toy
- Fan page about the Micromaster Hot Rod toy
- Fan page about the original Hot Rod toy
- Gallery of Kiss Players Hot Rodimus (Rodimus)
- Gallery of Kiss Players Hot Rodimus (Rodimus)
