Quickstrike
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Quickstrike is the name given to three fictional characters in the Transformers universes.
Contents |
[edit] Beast Wars (1998)
| Transformers character | |
 The Predacon Quickstrike |
|
| Quickstrike | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Predacon  |
| Sub-Group | Basic Beasts Fuzors |
| Rank | 6 |
| Function | Desert Combat Expert |
| Alternate Modes | Scorpion/Cobra Fuzor |
| Series | Beast Wars |
| Voiced by | Colin Murdock (English) Nobuo Tobita (Japanese) |
Quickstrike is typecast as a "western" warrior. He uses stereotypical cowboy slang terms (like "Howdy" and "Hombre"), and a brief guitar riff (similar to those in old John Wayne movies) can be heard whenever he goes into battle. He often came off as a cartoonish "Old West" gunslinger caricature: "What say we slag us some Maximal keester, pardner?!" (For some odd reason in the Japanese version, his cobra arm/tail/'pet' tends to chant "cobra, cobra".). Despite this, he was a capable combatant. On one occasion he was able to hold his own for a while against the stronger and more experienced Dinobot in a trial by combat. Quickstrike had something of a crush on Blackarachnia (which she exploited by appealing to his ego), calling her "sugar-bot" even after she became a Maximal.
Although eternally eager for battle and "slaggin'", Quickstrike is not very intelligent. For instance, his response to the Vok "metalhunter" in Other Visits: Part 2 rising from the ground was “aww, ain’t that a sight!” and his initial response to Inferno's suggestion of using the early human's caves as a new base was disgust - until he realized Inferno meant to kill them first. On another notable occasion, during a Predacon attack on The Ark, Megatron let him take the lead, subsequently getting him pulverized by the Maximal defenses, reasoning that “when expecting booby traps, always send the boob in first”. Quickstrike also appeared to be unaware that if Megatron destroyed Optimus Prime he, Quickstrike, would cease to exist, having been a Maximal protoform.
[edit] Animated series
Quickstrike was one of the protoforms from the Maximal ship called the Axalon commanded by Optimus Primal, which chased the Predacon criminal Megatron through Transwarp Space after the theft of the Golden Disk artifact. The Axalon's cargo of Maximal protoforms in stasis pods had been launched into orbit around Earth before the crash, but eventually Quickstrike's pod fell to Earth, along with the pod of Silverbolt.
Damaged in planetfall, Quickstrike and Silverbolt's pods mixed up the genetic scans of local life forms when formatting them, causing them to emerge in bizarre fused forms. Quickstrike emerged as a bizarre combination of scorpion and cobra. The two battled first each other, then Inferno, until discovered by Megatron. The Predacon Leader showed them how to transform to robot mode and convinced them they were Predacons. This identity was easily assumed by Quickstrike, who had inherited the violent traits from his genetic donors. In an attack on the Maximal Base Silverbolt quickly learned he had more in common with the Maximals and switched sides, but Quickstrike eagerly remained with the Predacons.
Quickstrike would for the most part serve as an obedient, if not exactly loyal, Predacon throughout season two and three. He was most often paired with Inferno and Waspinator on missions. He battled Dinobot as his opponent in a trial by combat when Dinobot temporarily defected back to the Predacons. Although Quickstrike put forward a good effort, the stronger and more experienced Dinobot defeated him and promised to make Quickstrike his apprentice in order to train him to be a better warrior. Later, during Megatron's attack on the humans, Quickstrike faced unarmed Dinobot and asked mockingly what a warrior was without his weapons. He received his answer when Dinobot beat him into the ground with nothing but his fists. Later, he was the first Predacon after Rampage to encounter a weakened Depth Charge, gunning him down until blown away by Primal's missiles.
Quickstrike's most notable role came when he was convinced by Tarantulas to get rid of Megatron for good. Using a cyber-dart created by Tarantulas, the Predacons were able to override control of the body of Optimus Primal. They controlled it using a suit of armor piloted by Quickstrike. Using Optimus to infiltrate the ark, Megatron was able to steal the spark of the original Megatron. Although Tarantulas and Quickstrike attempted to use the opportunity to kill Megatron, the attempt backfired spectacularly and only resulted in the lava aiding Megatron's transformation, allowing him to rise from the pit in a massive new dragon form. As Megatron roasted Tarantulas, Quickstrike had no better luck, with his control suit being toppled by Blackarachnia.
Quickstrike was put on trial by the Predacons for treachery (Tarantulas having nearly been killed by Megatron and since fled). He was saved from being executed by Rampage and the Dinobot clone only by the unanticipated attack by the alien Vok and the arrival of their emissary: Tigerhawk, which resulted in the destruction of the Predacon Base.
After the destruction of the Darkside, Inferno, Quickstrike and Waspinator were sent to establish a new base for the Predacons. They discovered caves settled by the humans, but Waspinator chose that moment to defect from the Predacons and was promptly blown apart by his former teammates. After shooting Waspinator, Inferno and Quickstrike fought against the humans. Unfortunately for them, both were unintentionally killed by the guns of the Decepticon flagship Nemesis, when Megatron used the ship in an attempt to destroy the human settlement. Quickstrike's remaining parts were used by the humans along with Inferno's remaining parts.
[edit] Beast Machines (2000)
| Transformers character | |
 The Maximal Quickstrike |
|
| Quickstrike | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Maximal  |
| Sub-Group | Basic Beasts |
| Rank | 7 |
| Function | Reconnaissance/Warrior |
| Motto | “Robots with courage and character always seem sinister to the rest.” |
| Alternate Modes | Technorganic Wolf |
| Series | Beast Machines |
In the Beast Machines toyline, Quickstrike is the name of a Maximal who transforms into a technorganic wolf. This character did not appear in the cartoon series. While it seems most likely that this Quickstrike is not the character who originally bore the name in Beast Wars (considering his apparent death in the series finale) it should be noted that his bio states that the Maximals do not fully trust him and that he will only work with Blackarachnia, although there is no love lost between him and her. These elements of the character do somewhat resemble the Quickstrike of Beast Wars, so there remains a strong possibility that they are the same Transformer. Additionally, there was originally an intention to have the heroes of Beast Machines be both Maximals and Predacons, with the villains being the Vehicons, but Hasbro didn't want to confuse children by introducing a third faction, so they made all the heroes Maximals.
[edit] 3H Enterprises
Although there was no toy of Quickstrike in the Transformers: Universe toy line, the character of Beast Machines Quickstrike appeared in the Transformers: Universe comic book among the Maximals on Cybertron after the end of the events of Beast Machines.
[edit] Transformers: Energon (2004)
| Transformers character | |
 The Autobot Quickstrike |
|
| Quickstrike | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Autobot  |
| Sub-Group | Mega Vehicles |
| Rank | 8 |
| Motto | “A solid plan of attack is more powerful than the cannon or sword.” |
| Alternate Modes | Helicopter |
| Series | Transformers: Energon |
In the Transformers: Energon toyline, Quickstrike is the name of an Autobot who transforms into a red helicopter. The toy is a recolor of Bulkhead. According to Quickstrike's bio, he and Bulkhead are "cousins" which is merely a reference to them both having identical bodies. This character did not appear in the cartoon series.
His Dreamwave bio would present him as a planner and coordinator of the Autobot's greatest strikes. As such, he is trusted by even Optimus Prime as the premier Autobot strategist, with even Megatron himself putting a price on his head. However, while he is an extraordinary planner, he is much less adept at actually doing the fighting himself. Luckily, his partner Bulkhead is usually around to get him out of trouble.
[edit] Dreamwave Productions
Quickstrike's only appearance in Transformers fiction was in issue #27 of the Transformers: Energon comic by Dreamwave comics, where he appeared as one of the Autobot warriors who volunteered to head to Earth to battle the Terrorcon invasion.
[edit] External Links
- http://www.tfarchive.com/toys/reviews/bm_quickstrike.php - Review of Beast Machines Quickstrike.
Categories: Autobots | Fuzors | Maximals | Predacons
