Inferno is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes. Despite having different alternate modes, the character name has been most associated with the form of a fire engine.
Generation 1[edit]
| Generation 1 Inferno | |
|---|---|
| Transformers character | |
| Voiced by (English) | Walker Edmiston |
| Voiced by (Japanese) | Takuro Kitagawa |
| In-universe information | |
| Affiliation | Autobot |
| Function | Search and Rescue |
| Rank | 5 |
| Motto | “Where there’s smoke, there’s me.” |
| Alternate modes | Fire Engine |
Inferno is a fearless Autobot who has a firetruck as his vehicle form.[1] Inferno enjoys recieving attention when saving lives and extinguishing fires, however is easily distracted, getting involved in combat preferring the heat of battle to the heat of a burning building.
Animated series[edit]
Inferno first appeared in the episode "Dinobot Island, Part 2," alongside Red Alert,[2] and featured promiently in the episode "Auto-Beserk", also alongisde Red Alert. In the episode "Prime Target", Inferno was captured by big game hunter Lord Cholmondeley, along with a several other Autobots in an attempt to lure Optimus Prime it a trap. Inferno is part of a team lead by Ironhide to track down Optimus Prime on Cybertron in "The Search for Alpha Trion", and meets his old flame Firestar. Walker Edmiston is the voice actor for Inferno.[3] Like his fellow Autobot Ironhide Inferno speaks with a thick southern U.S. accent.
Inferno also appears in the end credits of Transformers: The Movie despite not actually appearing in it leading to speculation that Inferno's scenes were cut or that he was intended to feature. After the movie, he never made any more appearances.
In the Japanese Headmasters series, Inferno appears in the first and third episodes, under the command of Ultra Magnus on Earth.
Marvel Comics[edit]
Inferno appears in the Marvel Transformers comic, acting in a capacity similar to his animated self, although he had few notable appearances.
In the U.K. story "Firebug" he is seen arriving on Earth along with Sandstorm and Broadside as part of the Cybertron monitoring team and encountering a Fibernian Firebug.
The trio reappear in the Christmas story "Cold Comfort and Joy" in which they accidentally wreck a human town while trying to join in with the Christmas celebrations, which led to them fighting the Autobot Powermasters.
In the U.K. "Time Wars" storyline he appeared aiding the Wreckers against Galvatron, but was knocked out of the battle when the insane future Decepticon crushed his leg. He was one of the few survivors of the fight and later formed the Survivors along with other survivors of the Wreckers and Decepticon Mayhem Attack Squad. As such, he was one of the few Earthbased Transformers not killed by the Underbase powered Starscream, since the UK storyline shows him elsewhere with Springer and Broadside at the time. He did not appear in the present day in the US storyline until after the battle with Unicron and shortly after he was killed by Bludgeon's ambush (he was not seen being killed, but his wreckage is visible among that of the victims of the ambush). He was resurrected by the coming of Optimus Prime and the Last Autobot, allowing them to defeat the Decepticons.
Issue #279 of the Marvel U.K. Transformers comic featured a story called "Divide and Conquer!" where Soundwave led the bulk of the Decepticon forces on Earth against the Autobot Earthforce headquarters while Starscream attacked an oil tanker. Sent into battle by Prowl, the Dinobots routed the main Decepticon forces while Springer led the Autobot Survivors Inferno, Skids, and Carnivac to defeat Starscream.
His luck ran true to form in the Transformers: Generation 2 comic, however. As he battled the forces of Jhiaxus, he saw his friend Smokescreen gunned down. In a rage, he killed all of them - only to be ambushed by more of them. Inferno dove for cover, but never made it, as the building collapsed on top of him.
The Inferno of the post-The Transformers: The Movie universe appeared in the Marvel U.K. comics, most prominently in the "Legacy of Unicron" arc, where his habit of dying spectacularly continued. He and Smokescreen were dispatched to escort Wreck-Gar back to the Junk. There, they discovered it had been taken over by the decapitated head of Unicron. The two escaped to warn Rodimus Prime, leaving Wreck-Gar behind to free his people, with Inferno being badly injured by the mind-controlled bounty hunter Death's Head. The two arrived on Cybertron - only to discover that Unicron's puppets Cyclonus and Scourge had launched an all-out Decepticon assault. The Decepticons badly damaged the shuttle, and Smokescreen refused to leave his injured friend. Inferno had other ideas and bodily threw him through the windshield to safety. Observing how he had always wanted to go out in a blaze of glory, Inferno crashed the shuttle into a massive group of Decepticons, taking them out but with him dying alongside it.
Conversely, in the nightmarish alternate 2009 seen in "Rhythms of Darkness", where Galvatron has virtually conquered Earth, Inferno is one of only a handful of Autobots left alive. Along with Prowl and Jazz, he is the only survivor of the final battle with Galvatron's forces.
Other publications[edit]
Inferno appears in Dreamwave Productions adaptation of Generation 1. He first appears in the second War Within series as part of Grimlock's Lightning Strike Coalition. Later, after the end of the Great Shutdown, Inferno was reformatted into an Earth fire engine and then surprisingly became part of the Cybertronian High Council.
In IDW Publishing's adaptation, Inferno was on the Autobot Orbital Command Hub in Spotlight: Blaster, where he was present when Blaster was recovered and returned to the Autobots.
Other incarnations[edit]
| Armada Inferno | |
|---|---|
| Transformers character | |
| In-universe information | |
| Affiliation | Mini-Con |
| Japanese name | Thunder |
| Partner | Thrust |
| Motto | "The chosen exist to lead." |
| Alternate modes | Missile Truck |
Inferno is also the name of several different characters in other Transformers continuities. In the Beast Wars continuity, Inferno is an infantry commander, who could transform into a giant fire ant. In Energon, his physical appearance is a homage to the original Inferno, but was later renamed Roadblock.
Armada[edit]
Inferno is the name of a Mini-Con partnered with the Decepticon, Thrust. An antagonist, Inferno counters Thrust's role as a manipulator, picking up on some of his arrogance and grating on hie fellow mini-cons and Decepticons. Despite this they still form a strong team.
Inferno appeared in two episodes in the Armada cartoon, the first of which was epidode #25 "Tactician", where he was chosen to partner Thrust. The second episode was #49 "Alliance", where he assists in the evacuation of Cybertron as its attacked by Unicron.
In the Dreamwave comic adapatation of Armada, Inferno appeared in issue #18 aiding Over-Run in the use of the Mini-con Matrix in the defeat of Unicron.
Transformers (live-action movie)[edit]
In the live-action movie continuity, Inferno is an Autobot programmer. He appears in the Transformers: Defiance comic series by IDW Publishing. In issue #2, Inferno helps in the recovery effort after the attack on Cybertron. He later sides with Optimus Prime against the idea of Megatron's counterattack on their invaders.
He also appears in the Transformers: Movie Prequel comic issue #1, as a member of the squad commanded by Bumblebee at Tyger Pax when they are attacked by Megatron and several Dreadwing drones.
According to Hasbro employees, his colors are inspired by the Generation 1 Micromaster Autobot Tote, as well as one of the early concept drawings for Ratchet in the 2007 Transformers film.[4] He transforms into a 2000 BMW X5 firetruck.
Toys[edit]
| Toyline | Name | Year | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generation 1 | Inferno | 1985, 2003 | This toy was originally a Japanese Diaclone toy, modelled on a Japanese Mitsubishi Fuso firetruck. Both of his arms feature spring-loaded missile launchers, though the Hasbro version (in contrast to the Takara version) severley weakened the strength of them for child safety reasons. The Inferno mold was partially remolded to create the molds for Grapple (1985), Headmasters Artfire (1987), and e-Hobby RoadHauler (2003).
In 2003, Inferno was re-released as part of Takara's "Transformers Collection" series with tampographs instead of stickers and with blue eyes instead of yellow ones. These changes were carried over into Hasbro's "Commemorative Series" Inferno, Grapple, and RoadHauler. This toy, slightly modified, was knocked off and used in Phoenix King, a Korean animated film. It was released in the US as "Defenders of Space". Another bargain film, Space Thunder Kids, used scenes of "Inferno" from this movie. |
| Action Masters | Inferno with Hydro Pack | 1990 | Released in 1990 as an Action Master toy, Inferno included a "Hydro Pack" accessory that could transform and squirt water.[5] |
| Generation 2 | Inferno | 1993 | The original Inferno toy was re-released as part of the Transformers Generation 2 toyline with slight modifications, such as the removal of his spring-loaded missiles, a tampographed Autobot symbol, and a water squinter.[6] |
| Universe (Classics 2.0) | Inferno | 2009 | Released as a Voyager pricepoint toy as part of the "Generation 2 Series" of the Universe toyline, Inferno transforms into a fictional six-wheeled variant of the Pierce Contender 2002-2007 series of firetrucks. The toy also has the tampographed number "401" on its side, which is the area code for the state of Rhode Island, where Hasbro has its headquarters. This mold was also used to make the BotCon 2010 exclusive Spark and was retooled to make the 2010 series Solar Storm Grappel. |
| Henkei! Henkei! | Cybertron Inferno | 2009 | The Japanese Takara version of the Universe figure sports brighter colors than its Hasbro counterpart. Its Japanese ID number is C-15. |
| Toyline | Name | Year | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thrust with Inferno | 2003 | Inferno is the mini-con partner of Thrust, connecting to his rear comparment and firing a missile. He transforms into a black missile truck. | |
| Powerlinx | Thrust with Inferno | 2003 | The same as the original release, though Inferno is recoloured white, blue, and black. |
| Universe | Deluxe Sunstorm with Inferno | Inferno is also the name of the Mini-Con partnered with the Decepticon, Sunstorm. This Mini-Con is a recolor of the original Mini-Con Inferno from Armada, as Sunstorm is a recolor of the Armada Thrust toy. These toys also came with recolors of the Mini-Con Street Action Team. Although Sunstorm and the Street Action Team appeared in the some fiction of the Transformers: Universe storyline, Inferno did not. |
| Toyline | Name | Year | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inferno with Longarm | 2008 | A Toys "R" Us store exclusive that is a redeco of Armada Red Alert and his Mini-Con partner. | |
| Speed Stars | Stealth Force Inferno | 2010 | A non-transforming fire truck that mechanically opens its panels and reveals hidden weapons at the push of a button.[7] |
References[edit]
- ^ Alvarez, J.E. (2001). The Unofficial Guide to Transformers 1980s Through 1990s Revised & Expanded 2nd Edition. Schiffer Publishing Ltd. p. 27. ISBN 0764313649.
- ^ http://www.anime.com/Transformers/ Transformers Season Two Box Set, Part 1 by Brian Cirulnick, February 2003
- ^ Sid and Marty Krofft: A Critical Study of Saturday Morning Children's by Hal Erickson
- ^ transformers-fr_FR - default
- ^ Tomart's Action Figure Digest #7, 1992, page 9
- ^ Brereton, Erin (2006). Transformers: The Fantasy, The Fun, The Future. Triumph Books. p. 22. ISBN 1572439831.
- ^ TFW2005.com - Walmart Update - Official Images of Upcoming Transformers Figures
- Furman, Simon (2004). Transformers: The Ultimate Guide. DK Publishing Inc. p. 87. ISBN 1405304618.
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[[Category:Action Masters]] [[Category:Autobots]] [[Category:Fictional ants]] [[Category:Fictional characters who can turn invisible]] [[Category:Fictional firefighters]] [[Category:Fictional robotic insects]] [[Category:Mini-Cons]] [[Category:Predacons]] [[Category:Wreckers (Transformers)]]