Misfire (Transformers)

From WikiAlpha
Revision as of 14:45, 11 October 2016 by Mathewignash (Talk | contribs)

Jump to: navigation, search
Transformers character
Misfire-boxart.jpg
Box art for the Misfire with Aimless toy
Name Misfire
Decepticon
Series Transformers: Generation 1
English voice actor Stan Jones
Japanese voice actor Tomomichi Nishimura
First appearance "Brothers in Armor!!", The Transformers: Headmaster #4, January 1988
Information
Alternate modes Space Jet
Function Interceptor
Gender Male
Motto "Keep shooting, eventually, you're bound to hit something."
Partner Aimless
Sub-group Targetmaster

Misfire (called Longfeu in French Canadian) is a fictional character from the Transformers series. Misfire and his partner Aimless were released in 1987 with the other first year Headmasters and Targetmasters. He was voiced by Stan Jones in the Transformers US television series. He was a reoccuring character in the Transformers: The Headmasters anime series. Neither the molds for Misfire and Aimless nor even their names were ever reused.

Transformers: Generation 1

Misfire is a fictional Transformers Decepticon character introduced in 1987 as part of the Targetmaster sub-line.

Fictional biography

Profile: When Misfire shoots, his fellow Decepticons run for cover. Although he insists that his aim is improving, he has yet to convince any of his comrades. And it's not for lack of trying that Misfire is so inept. His perseverance is legendary. He still holds the record for the number of times enrolled at the Decepticon Military College - 4,627 - and not graduating. The only reason he ever got out of the college was because the Autobots eventually attacked and destroyed it. But what he lacks in skill, he makes up for in enthusiasm. He is an unrelenting opponent, always overheating with excitement in anticipation of combat. He throws himself into action with all guns blazing, and doesn't stop shooting until he runs out of ammunition (which usually occurs before he hits anything worthwhile). Megatron values Misfire more for his ability to spread terror than anything else. "Because Misfire so rarely hits who he aims for," notes the Decepticon Commander, "it is all those whom he doesn't aim for who must worry."

Misfire is paired with Aimless, a former construction engineer from the planet Nebulos. Aimless is a sleazy, careless con-man who habitually over-looked building defects in exchange for illegal payoffs when he still had a job on Nebulos. Realizing the dimming prospects of his career after a series of high-rise collapses, he seized upon the opportunity to ally himself with the Decepticons. He saw his partnership with Misfire as a new beginning full of promise and hope. But after being bio-engineered to have the ability to transform into Misfire's weapon, Aimless quickly showed his true colors. Unlike Misfire, Aimless doesn't even try to aim when he shoots. Like everything else in his life, he just doesn't care enough to bother.

Abilities: Aimless converts to an ion particle blaster. He can pump up to 4,000 rounds of discrete clusters of high energy charged particles through his two barrels. Misfire converts to a proton-powered jet fighter. He's equipped with over-the-horizon pulse-doppler radar that allows him to spot flying craft within a 700-mile radius. His maximum speed is 1,200 mph, and his range is 1,200 miles. He can use weapon-mode Aimless in both robot and jet modes.

Weaknesses: The shooting abilities of Misfire and Aimless are very poor. They can seldom hit a target before it hits them. Misfire's aggressiveness and above-average maneuverability partially compensate for this deficiency.

Animated series

The Transformers

Misfire and Aimless were introduced in The Transformers episode "The Rebirth Part 1", the three-part fourth-season finale to the original Transformers animated series.

When the Decepticons attempted to seize the power of the Plasma Energy Chamber in 2007, a group of Autobots were blasted across the galaxy to the planet Nebulos by the ancient foundry's energies, where they took up with a group of rebel Nebulons. To fight the Hive, the evil rulers of Nebulos, some of the Autobots and Nebulons bonded their bodies a minds together, becoming Headmasters, serving up a definitive defeat to the Decepticons pursuing them. This group of Decepticons was then approached by the Hive, who sought to replicate the Headmaster process with them, but Cyclonus was able to bargain them to down to taking only half the Decepticons' heads, offering up the weapons of the others as alternatives. Using Nebulan technology, the guns were engineered into a transforming exo-suits which were donned by five members of the Hive, creating the Targetmasters, giving their Transformer wielders ten times the accuracy and firepower.

The Decepticon Targetmasters overcame the Autobots and reclaimed the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber, but in the struggle, the Autobot Brainstorm was able to scan Cyclonus's partner, Nightstick, and that data was used to duplicate the Targetmaster process with the remaining Autobots and Nebulan rebels, creating the Autobot Targetmasters. Their power, however, was nothing in the face of the Decepticons' newest weapon, the super robot, Scorponok, who transported the Decepticon forces back to Cybertron, where their plans were foiled by Spike Witwicky and Fortress Maximus.

Transformers: The Headmasters

Although The Rebirth marked the end of the Transformers cartoon in the US, in Japan, a different direction was taken - ignoring the events of The Rebirth, a brand new, exclusive 35-episode series, Transformers: The Headmasters, was produced to take its place, which introduced the Targetmasters towards its conclusion. Notably, in Japan, the 1986 characters were not re-released as Targetmasters - only the six new characters featured in Headmasters.

In the world of Transformers: Headmasters, there are no Nebulons - the Headmasters themselves are simply small Transformers, who, having settled on the planet Master, learned to transform into heads and connect to lifeless larger bodies named Transtectors. It was to Master that the Decepticon forces returned after the Autobots forced them to flee Earth, and consequently, a ship was dispatched by the planet's inhabitants to alert the Earth-bound Autobots to the Decepticon invasion. At the same time, the youthful Autobot, Wheelie, had summoned three of his old superior officers - Pointblank (Blanker in Japan), Sureshot and Crosshairs - to Earth to aid in the clean-up operation currently going on, when Autobot Headmaster Chromedome accidentally activated one of the plasma bombs the Decepticons had left behind. Heading out into space so that the bomb might harmlessly explode out in the void, the Autobots then crossed paths with the approaching Master ship, which was being pursued by the Decepticon Sixshot and three new troops - Slugslinger, Misfire and Triggerhappy. As Pointblank and his men tangled with the Decepticons, the Master refugees offered their help by transporting away the plasma bombs, only to have the bombs detonate in the middle of the battlefield.

Recovering from the explosion, Pointblank, Crosshairs and Sureshot discovered that the six Master refugees had been fused to their arms. Although Fortress was able to surgically remove them, a bond now existed between the larger Transformers and the Master refugees, who could now freely attach and detach to their wrists as guns. Unfortunately for these new Targetmasters, the same had happened to Slugslinger and his fellows. The Targetmasters joined up with Fortress's crew on the mission to Master, but quickly clashed with the Headmasters - Pointblank and his men were hard, experienced warriors who thought little of the Headmasters, and Pointblank spent a good deal of time attempting to soothe Chromedome's fiery temper to improve his battle ability.

In episode #29, "The Master Sword Is in Danger!!", the Autobot and Decepticon Targetmasters participated in a battle on the planet Master where Zarak first sent in the Decepticon Duocons. In this battle the Decepticons are able to obtain a computer disk that contains information on the Master Sword.[1]

In episode #30, "The Zarak Shield Turns the Tide" the Autobot Targetmasters follow Soundblaster to the planet Master where they are ambushed by the Decepticon Targetmasters. The Autobots are washed away when the Decepticons blast a dam above the Autobots during the fight. Surviving the flood the Autobot Targetmasters discover a cave entrance to the Decepticon base. Despite being discovered by the Autobots, the Decepticon are able to escape with their new weapon.[2]

Books

Misfire is among the Decepticons who appeared in the 1988 Ladybird Books story Autobots Strike Oil by John Grant.[3]

Comics

Blackthorne Publishing

Misfire appeared in the Blackthorne Publishing The Transformers in 3D issue #3 as one of Galvatron's troops.[4]

Dreamwave Productions

Neither Misfire or Aimless appeared in the storyline of Dreamwave comics before the company closed, but they did get a biography in the Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye comic series.

IDW Publishing

Misfire appeared in The Transformers: Stormbringer #4. He was among the Decepticon forces sent against Thunderwing when the Wreckers were unable to stop him. In this story he is not a Targetmaster. [5]

Manga

Misfire appears in the Generations 2011 issue #2 "The Fierce Fighting on Planet Nebulos" where he is among the Decepticon forces who ambush the Autobots on Nebulos.[6]

Marvel Comics

Misfire and Aimless first appeared in Transformers: Headmasters #4 when the Decepticons under Scorponok's leadership. With the Autobot Headmasters captured by their Decepticon counterparts, the Decepticons ran rampant over the planet Nebulos, a group of the remaining Autobots on the planet joined with a group of Nebulons branded as criminals by Nebulon's political leader, Lord Zarak - partner of the Decepticon, Scorponok - in order to protect the Nursery, Nebulos's primary agricultural research facility, against Decepticon attack. Through bio-mechanical engineering, the Nebulons were given the ability to transform into the guns of the Autobots, and, as Targetmasters, they fended the Decepticons off. Within several days, the Decepticons had duplicated the process with five of their own troops, including Misfire.

One of his most prominent actions during this period was to ambush the Autobot Headmasters in the Fortess of Despair alongside the other Decepticon Targetmasters. The Decepticons captured Highbrow, planning to use him to perfect their own Headmaster process. The plan failed when Highbrow forced Scorponok to flee. (Transformers UK #130-131

When Maximus' troops fled Nebulos to save it from further devastation, Scorponok's troops followed. Misfire would be amongst those battling Ratbat's earthbound Decepticons and then uniting to defeat the Earthen Autobots. In the Time Wars he arrived following Maximus group and battled the Earth Autobots. Misfire wounded Goldbug, but was then transported to the limbo dimension when Soundwave and the Terrorcons arrived from the future. After Scorponok took command, Misfire served as one of his troops, and was heard voicing doubts about letting the resurrected Starscream back into the fold.

Misfire last appeared in Transformers #75 during the battle with Unicron over Cybertron. He did not appear after this, opening the possibility he was killed by the Chaos-Bringer.

Misfire had a Transformers: Universe profile published in the back of issue #60 if the US Marvel Transformers series.

Transformers: Mosaic

Misfire appeared in the Transformers: Mosaic story "Once Was" by Martin Fisher.[7]

Toys

  • Generation 1 Targetmaster Misfire with Aimless (1987)
A new mold. Misfire came packaged with his Targetmaster partner Aimless.[8]

References

  1. "The Master Sword Is in Danger!!". Transformers: The Headmasters. No. 29, season 1.
  2. "The Zarak Shield Turns the Tide". Transformers: The Headmasters. No. 30, season 1.
  3. John Grant (1988). Autobots Strike Oil. Ladybird Books. ISBN 0721410693. 
  4. "The Transformers in 3D" The War Against the Destructons, Chapter 1 of 3 3 (March 1988), El Cajon, California: Blackthorne Publishing
  5. http://transfans.net/comics_guide_detail.php?id=667
  6. Simon Furman (w), Guido Guidi (p). "Generations 2011" The Fierce Fighting on Planet Nebulos 2 (2011), Japan: Takara Tomy
  7. http://transformers-mosaic.deviantart.com/art/ONCE-WAS-94471285
  8. Alvarez, J.E. (2001). The Unofficial Guide to Transformers 1980s Through 1990s Revised & Expanded 2nd Edition. Schiffer Publishing Ltd.. p. 68. ISBN 0764313649. 

External links