Crowbar

Crowbar is a Decepticon Dread from the Dark of the Moon portion of the movie continuity family.

"That must have been like, at least fifty pounds of meat."

Crowbar is well known as a master of breaking and entering. It doesn't matter if we're talking computer systems, human safes, or enemy compounds. Crowbar has the necessary skills in stealth and intelligence to infiltrate and observe Autobot tactical movements. He has also been trained in the most brutal Decepticon attack strategies for the unlikely event he is discovered.^[1]

Basically, Crowbar gives this wiki a lot of openings to make references to The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra.

Fiction

Dark of the Moon adaptations

Crowbar was one of the many Decepticons stationed on Earth's Moon. When Sentinel Prime was being retrieved from the wreckage of the Ark, he quietly emerged from the Moon's surface and secretly hitched a ride on the Autobots' shuttle back to Earth. Dark of the Moon Dark of the Moon #1

Dark of the Moon film

Voice actor: Jimmie Wood (English)^[2]

"If I could only reach you, we'd share... pain."

After Sentinel Prime was retrieved from Earth's Moon and reactivated, Megatron put into motion the plan that had been waiting in the wings for hundreds of years. With the human Sam Witwicky believing that the Decepticons wished to capture Sentinel and force him to use the control pillar to activate his space bridge, the Dreads were sent to pursue the Autobots. Closed in on Seymour Simmons' car, Crowbar transformed rand tossed the former Sector Seven agent behind him as he bounded ahead to knock over a highway sign for Crankcase and Hatchet to use as a ramp.

"This neck restrainer is most uncomfortable."

However, despite their best collective efforts to slow down the Autobots, Hatchet was quickly destroyed, and the remaining Dreads were soon confronted by the Autobot heavy-hitter, Ironhide, who stopped them in their tracks with a head-on collision. Faced with Ironhide's heavy weapons and Sideswipe, the Dreads seemingly capitulated by dropping their ranged weapons, but as soon as the Autobots followed suit, they deployed spiked spears to attack their enemies. Though Crowbar's spear found its mark, embedding itself in Ironhide's shoulder, Sideswipe tossed the veteran Autobot his discarded blaster, which he used to shoot Crowbar in the face as the Decepticon leaped to attack, killing Crowbar. Dark of the Moon

Games

Dark of the Moon: Autobots/Decepticons

"Aliens? Us? Is that one of your Earth jokes?"

Voice actor: Steve Blum

While trying to break into a NEST facility, Starscream ordered Crowbar to create distractions around the city to keep the Autobots occupied. Crowbar told him he should mellow, and then went and fought a bunch of Autobots. Later on, when Crowbar was patrolling an Autobot base on a Pacific island, Starscream told him Optimus Prime was lurking somewhere around. Crowbar destroyed a bunch of buildings in an attempt to draw Optimus out, but the Autobot leader was a no-show.

Later Crowbar came to help Soundwave when the latter was trying to escape a NEST base. Crowbar was to cause a distraction, which to his delight meant he got to beat up that "shiny little twerp" Bumblebee. Following their escape, he retreated to the Decepticons' base in Siberia. He didn't think the Autobots would find them there, but told one of his fellow soldiers not to bug Megatron if they did. When the Autobots inevitably did turn up, Crowbar destroyed a whole bunch of them, but apparently not enough, as they eventually gained access to the base. Dark of the Moon: Autobots/Decepticons

Cyberverse Battle Builder

Crowbar joined the rest of the Decepticons in combating the Autobots on battlefields on Earth, the Earth's Moon and on Cybertron. Sometimes there were many of him! Cyberverse Battle Builder

Toys

Dark of the Moon

"I'm sorry, my wife sometimes forgets that she is not a space alien."

• Crowbar (Cyberverse Legion Class, 2011)

• Series / Number: 1 / 009
• TakaraTomy ID number: CV27
• Known designers: Joe Kyde (Hasbro)

Part of the second wave of Dark of the Moon Series 1 Cyberverse Legion Class toys, Crowbar is a surprisingly tall Legends-scale figure that transforms into something approximating an unmarked version of the Carbon Motors E7 concept police car. He has molded detail around his head that resembles dreadlocks, and his left hand is designed to interact with 3mm Cyberverse weapons and playsets. He has an extremely articulated lower body, capable of pivoting his feet, bending his knees inward and out, rotating and moving his thighs via his swivels and ball jointed hips, and rotating his waist.

Due to the pointed armor plating on his knees getting in the way, his arms/legs can be somewhat hard to transform. Also, due to the pegs on his legs being quite long, the connection that pegging the legs into the sides of his arms for vehicle mode is very tight, meaning that opening the vehicle rear/legs for robot mode can be quite difficult, and can occasionally result in the thighs popping off the swivels they're on. Sanding the pegs down to a more reasonable length can prevent this.

• More information on Crowbar at TFU.info

"I'm an alien, Paul. Remember?"

• Ultimate Gift Set (Cyberverse multi-pack, 2011)

Part of the 2011 Christmastime Walmart-exclusive "Ultimate Gift Set" 5-pack, this version of Crowbar is a redeco of his individual toy... and he's excessively outnumbered. He comes with redecos of Optimus Prime, Powerglide, Bumblebee, and Sideswipe.

Yeah. One Decepticon, four Autobots, including Optimus freakin' Prime.

His packaging stock photography depicts him as mis-transformed, with the chest-piece flipped around to the back. Ironically, this greatly improves the range of motion in his arms. (Online stock photos, however, show him properly transformed.)

• More information on Ultimate Gift Set Crowbar at TFU.info

Studio Series

Now that was rude, the first boy blunder had some manners.

• Crowbar (Deluxe Class, 2018)

• Movie: Dark of the Moon
• Hasbro ID number: 03
• TakaraTomy ID number: SS-03
• TakaraTomy release date: April 28, 2018
• Accessories: 2 spiked weapons, "High Speed Chase" backdrop

Studio Series Crowbar is an extensive retool of The Last Knight Berserker, sharing most of Berserker's vehicle mode kibble but few robot mode parts, changing (finally) into a Chevrolet Suburban and back in 20 steps. He includes a pair of spiked weapons which he can hold via 5mm post and store on his back or the side of his car mode. Meanwhile, his flowing strands of chain hair are made of a rubbery plastic, which allows them to fit inside the vehicle mode. He also includes a cardboard backdrop display depicting the Dread chase scene from Dark of the Moon. The retooling means that he unfortunately cannot store his bludgeons under his chassis.

Amusingly, due to The Last Knight Deluxe Class wave 1 shelfwarming so hilariously badly in the United States, Crowbar could be found alongside Berserker in many stores.

Curiously, despite being a movie Decepticon, the figure uses the G1 style of insignia. Even stranger, Berserker uses the movie design while Crankcase outright lacks an insignia altogether.

Crowbar, along with the rest of Wave 1 Deluxes, was made available at Hasbro Toy Shop following New York Toy Fair 2018, two months ahead of the scheduled brick and mortar release date.

This mold was redecoed into Studio Series Crankcase.

Merchandise

Prime 1 Studio

• Crowbar (2022)

• Movie: Dark of the Moon
• ID number: PBTFM-??

Prime 1 Studio Premium Bust Crowbar is a highly detailed sculpture of his head, featuring light-up LED eyes, and upper torso attached to a base. He was announced in 2022 alongside his partner in crime, Crankcase, but no news have surfaced since then, suggesting they may have been cancelled.

Proceed on your way to oblivion. This item has been canceled, with no current plans for release.

Notes

He has never heard of Gordon Freeman. Stop asking him.

• Crowbar has six very long "dreadlocks" / hair strands that emerge from his spine, as opposed to Hatchet and Crankcase's more conventional-looking hair.
  • Two of the strands can be seen falling off immediately after crashing into Ironhide, but are magically reattached for the remainder of his screentime.
  • Meanwhile, Studio Series Crowbar has nine strands!
• Crowbar was designated "Hooligan" in production art for the film.^[3]
• Josh Nizzi's concept art for Crowbar and Crankcase gives them each a unique design, but their final on-screen animation models share all but their head and upper chest, with a body that tends more towards Crowbar's original artwork.
• Crowbar's police car alternate mode in the Dark of the Moon toyline appears to have been entirely a Hasbro invention for the sake of variety – Nizzi's concept art depicts all three Dreads with the Chevrolet Suburban's headlights, and only the three identical vehicles were ever on set for filming. Crowbar's toyline car mode did make a second appearance in the Dark of the Moon video game, as the alternate mode for the Crankcase-based "Enforcer" character.
• According to the Hasbro Dark of the Moon website's Vector Sigma database, Crowbar's primary weapon(s) are "nanotech sentries", which are strangely illustrated using an image of Roadbuster's Assault Saw weapon.
• The Last Knight Dreadbot reuses Crowbar's model, modified with elements of his Volkswagen Microbus alternate mode. The concept art that ultimately become Dreadbot was labelled "Hooligan" and described by Josh Nizzi as the Dreads' "return", perhaps suggesting that the character may have once been intended to be Crowbar himself.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Crowbar (クロウバー Kurōbā)

References