Concussion weapon
From Transformers Wiki
Concussion weapons cause the bulk of their damage through sheer physical force. For whatever reason, they appear to be used almost exclusively by Decepticons.
Soundwave uses a concussion blaster with its own adorable battery altmode. Horri-Bull can hit targets over twelve miles away with his. And while Stranglehold's manly Pretender shell gets its job done with a brawn blaster, the tiny terror lurking inside prefers a concussion blaster in both robot and rhino mode.
Ransack uses a high-intensity concussion blaster when he isn't eating, kicking, shredding or shocking his enemies, and Sixshot wields a pair of similarly amped-up hypersonic concussion blasters, which presumably use soundwaves to do their job.
Razorclaw has a twin concussion blaster that knocks his opponents down with capsules that add injury to injury by releasing a volatile gas.
Perceptor bucks the Decepticon trend, using a concussion rifle when he finds himself facing a problem without a solution in the back of the textbook. Living up to his name, Breakdown totes a concussion rifle that instantly causes mechanical failures in whatever it hits. While the vibrations from his engine have the same effect, he can pick off his targets more easily with this gun, and it's more potent.
Former Decepticon Catilla's concussion cannon projects a brutal blast of air. Even more forceful is Over-Run, whose Attack Copter transforms into a concussion cannon emplacement. Also the cannons can fire magnetic missiles. Because that's just how Over-Run rolls.
Finally, they aren't guns, we're afraid, but Dirge's air-to-air concussion missiles still pack a big kinetic punch, as do those of Blitzwing's fighter mode. Bonecrusher can mount an optional concussion bomb launcher on his bulldozer form to help him break stuff, while Powerglide prefers to drop his from the sky.
Contents |
Fiction
Marvel The Transformers comics
In the early days of the war on Cybertron, Steamhammer liked nothing more than blowing Autobots to pieces at short range with a concussion blaster. He was reminiscing about such good times while stuck out on guard duty in Yuss, shortly before the Magnificent Six showed up and blasted him to pieces instead. The Magnificent Six!
In their first confrontation on Earth at the Community Drive-In, Soundwave fired his concussion cannon at Prowl and Cliffjumper, but apparently missed. The Transformers
During an altercation with RAAT, Breakdown used his concussion cannon to shoot down one of their helicopters. Heavy Traffic! Shortly afterwards, the Predacons arrived from Cybertron to assassinate Megatron whereupon Razorclaw shot him with his concussion blaster. Gone but Not Forgotten!
During the climactic battle in Buenos Aires with the Underbase-powered Starscream, Soundwave shot the Seeker with his concussion blaster, though it had little effect. Dark Star
Searching for the lost Matrix on the planet Cheyne, the Throttlebots carried dual phase concussion blasters on their hips. Kings of the Wild Frontier.
Trigger-Happy!
Facing off against Megatron and his forces at the Riverway Fun Park, Powermaster Optimus Prime carried a concussion blaster in robot mode. Later, Prime transformed into his little-seen battle station mode and started blasting away at them with his arsenal of lasers, particle beam cannons and concussion blasters. Trigger-Happy!
Another Time & Place
On Hydrus Four, Crankcase carried a concussion blaster, which was swiftly taken from him by Grimlock to shoot down Dreadwind. Another Time & Place
War for Cybertron Trilogy marketing material
The Concussion Beam was Trailbreaker's primary weapon. Earthrise webpage[1] The Concussion blaster was one of Soundwave's powers and weapons. Kingdom webpage[2]
Toys
The Transformers
- Beginning life as the Micro Change toy "Cassette Man", Soundwave came with a range of accessories including his concussion blaster gun.
- Grimlock vs Soundwave (1985)
- Ransack (Deluxe Insecticon, 1985)
- A redeco of the unreleased Armored Insect Corps Beetras Beet-Vadam, Ransack came with a high-intensity concussion blaster and his "Reflector Shield".
- Razorclaw (Predacon, 1986)
- Know that Razorclaw transforms into a lion with a Twin Concussion Blaster mounted on his back. In robot mode he wields his Sonic Sword.
- Soundblaster (Decepticon, 1987)
- As a redeco and retool of the original Soundwave toy, Soundblaster also came with a redecoed concussion blaster.
- Horri-Bull (Headmaster, 1988)
- Horri-Bull came with Kreb, a double-barreled "flamethrower"-tail and a concussion blaster.
- Transformers Linkin Park Soundwave: Special Edition (September 23, 2013)
- A Linkin Park gold and black redeco of Soundwave, with a redecoed concussion blaster.
The Transformers Collection
- Soundwave (2003)
- The first reissue of Soundwave's original toy also reissued his concussion blaster.
- Soundblaster (2005)
- Takara also reissued Soundblaster as part of the Transformers Collection, along with his concussion blaster.
Smallest Transforming Transformers
- Soundwave (2003–2004)
- Standing at only two inches tall, Smallest Transforming Transformers Soundwave came with a tiny concussion blaster.
Titanium Series
- Soundwave (6" Cybertron Heroes, 2006)
- Titanium Series Soundwave is a new toy cast in the image of his original Generation 1 figure. He retains his transforming weapons, which still store as batteries in a compartment on his back.
- Soundblaster (6" Cybertron Heroes, unreleased)
- A planned redeco of Titanium Soundwave in his black and red Soundblaster colors, this toy would have come with another concussion blaster but was ultimately cancelled.
 Proceed on your way to oblivion. |
Classics
- Soundwave (Commemorative Edition, 2007)
- Hasbro's first reissue of the original Soundwave toy was released as part of the Classics toyline and came with a reissued concussion blaster.
Encore
- Soundwave (2007)
- The original Soundwave toy was made available once again as part of TakaraTomy's Transformers Encore series of reissues, along with his original weapons.
- Soundblaster (2012)
- Soundblaster was also available again as part of Transformers Encore and came with his own concussion blaster.
Universe (2008)
- Soundwave (Exclusive, 2009)
- In 2009, Hasbro released yet another reissue of Soundwave as part of the Universe line with all the usual weapons.
Notes
- Soundwave's instructions unambiguously identify his hand-held gun as a "rocket launcher" (capable of firing the three "rockets" he also came with) and his shoulder-mounted weapon as a "concussion blaster gun". However, his Tech Specs call out that he "carries a concussion blaster gun" and his Marvel Universe profile notes that he "carries a high-amplification directional radiowave sensor and a concussion blaster-gun". The ambiguity of this wording has led to Soundwave's hand-held gun also being described as a concussion weapon of some kind, depending on interpretation—for example in his very first appearance in the Marvel comics, Soundwave namechecks his "concussion cannon" while firing his hand-held weapon, and his Dreamwave More than Meets the Eye profile claims that his weapons are "a concussion gun and a shoulder-mounted, multi-chambered mini-rocket launcher".
- Similarly, Breakdown's instructions identify his robot-mode weapon as a concussion rifle, while his Universe profile calls it a concussion cannon, hence his calling it that in the Marvel comics.
