Ironhide (Energon)

Ironhide is an Autobot from the Energon portion of the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

GET IN THE SHIP!

Ironhide is a young Autobot who has stars in his eyes and a boundless desire to prove himself. Many can be easily annoyed by his overeager demeanor, but he means the best, and just wants to prove himself to his teammates. Despite being a rookie, he's skilled enough to have made it onto Optimus Prime's team, and has even been granted the Spark of Combination. Being young and impressionable, Ironhide has a tendency to idolize a variety of figures. Some of his past and present idols include Hot Shot, Rodimus, and even Scorponok, with the first and last of which seeing potential in the youth. He's very defensive of those who he looks up to, and anyone questioning their orders or methods upsets him greatly. He's also very leery of Decepticons, even those who are explicitly on his side.

He's partnered with the human Kicker Jones, and although their relationship can be strained at times, the two truly care about one another. He also often uses the Energon Saber as a weapon.

Fiction

Toy pack-in comics

Ironhide, with Inferno and Prowl, built an energon tower. Energon Volume 2

Later, Ironhide was there to witness Optimus welcome Wing Saber to the Autobots. Energon Volume 4

With a group of Autobots, Ironhide investigated the site of an energon reacton. They found a Scourge, a dark duplicate of Optimus Prime who quickly entered in battle with Optimus. Optimus Prime VS Mysterious Supreme Commander Scourge When Optimus was cornered by Scourge, Hot Shot and Ironhide forced the two apart with cover fire, allowing Optimus to gain the upper hand on his enemy. Supreme Commander Optimus Prime VS Dark Commander Scourge

Cartoon continuity

Energon cartoon

Voice actor: Matt Hill (English), Mitsuo Iwata (Japanese), José María Carrero (Spain-Spanish), Héctor Indriago (Latin-American Spanish), Andreas Werling (Swedish), Markus Blom (Finnish), Roberto Stocchi (Italian), Paweł Iwanicki (Polish)

In school, the young Ironhide and his peers had to memorize and rehearse Rodimus's speech he made to all Autobots before leaving Cybertron. The Legend of Rodimus

He'd be better off fighting Decepticons

Ironhide was a rookie soldier on Cybertron, training to become a full-fledged Autobot after the Unicron Battles. When the Terrorcon invasion began, he was at a sparring session with Optimus Prime, and volunteered to come along on the investigation of Mars City. Optimus agreed to bring him along, and the mission led to a full-scale assault in progress on Earth at Ocean City. It was there that Ironhide first met the energon-sensitive human named Kicker Jones. It was Kicker who alerted the Autobots to the Terrorcons' arrival, but he also nearly got himself killed by recklessly engaging them in battle. Optimus Prime told Ironhide to watch out for Kicker on the battlefield, and the two were soon paired up in a permanent partnership...one that neither of them approved of. Cybertron City

When the Terrorcons struck again at Lunar City, Ironhide was eager to jump into battle, but Kicker left him behind by flying to the moon with Jetfire. When Optimus Prime and Ironhide eventually followed, Ironhide rushed into battle alone and pounded his way through a number of Terrorcon drones. He got too cocky, however, and thoughtlessly reached for some raw energon, momentarily forgetting how volatile the substance was before an Omnicon refined it. The resulting energy backlash damaged Ironhide, and allowed several Terrorcons to escape unmolested with their stolen energon. Back on Ocean City, Ironhide blamed himself for the loss of the energon, but Optimus Prime pointed out that if Kicker had been backing up his partner like he had been ordered to, Ironhide wouldn't have been off alone. Chagrined, Kicker apologized to Ironhide by kicking him in the head. Energon Stars

Show me your moves!

Next, the Autobots prepared to reinforce their defenses at the remaining active energon mines on Earth: Ocean City, Desert City, and Plains City. Kicker correctly predicted the next Terrorcon attack would come at Desert City, and Ironhide and Kicker bridged there to rescue Hot Shot and Kicker's friend, Misha. Hot Shot was injured battling the new Terrorcon general, Scorponok, but Misha's Omnicon research team created a new refined energon star to revive him. As Ironhide and the group exited the mine to reach the wounded Hot Shot, they were confronted by Scorponok. Ironhide threw himself into battle with Scorponok — the first of many struggles between the two warriors — but was hopelessly outmatched. The Omnicons tossed him the star meant for Hot Shot, despite his protests, and with its power Ironhide succeeded in holding off Scorponok long enough for their escape. In the aftermath, Hot Shot was revived and Optimus decided to reward Ironhide for his valor on the battlefield. Ironhide received a Combination Spark, and was officially named a member of Team Prime. Scorpinok

In Japan, I'm called Ironhide!

Having a Combination Spark didn't necessarily mean knowing how to use it, however, as Jetfire repeatedly discovered while trying to train Ironhide to combine properly. Despite his difficulties, Ironhide was beaming about his promotion. When he heard about a light guard detachment on Mars City overseeing some newly found energon, he graciously volunteered to go up there and show "those rookies" how to do things. Ironhide soon managed to back up his boasting during another battle on Earth, where he and Jetfire managed to successfully sync their Combination Sparks and save Optimus Prime's life in a fight with Scorponok. Megatron's Sword

Need a hand?

Ironhide accompanied Kicker and Hot Shot on an Energon expedition in some snowy mountains, but had trouble working with the former Decepticon, Demolishor. Even after ten years, Demolishor still had little regard for Autobots, especially Autobot rookies. The fact that two of his fellow Decepticons, Cyclonus and Tidal Wave, had recently defected to the Terrorcons made Ironhide even more leery of relying on Demolishor in the field. Demolishor nonetheless fought alongside Ironhide and the others when the Terrorcons inevitably showed up, and the Energon point was claimed by the Autobots. The New Cybertron City

As the Autobots became more accustomed to the Terrorcon raids, the defense became easier. Multiple energon-powered gun turrets defended each city, and the Autobots were all veterans at Terrorcon-smashing by this point. On one raid, Ironhide and Inferno arrived only to find the Autobots on scene had already eliminated the opposition. Things didn't stay easy for very long, however: Megatron resurrected himself in the bowels of Unicron, and assumed control of the Chaos-Bringer, driving out Alpha Q and commandeering the Terrorcons. In a Decepticon-led attack on Plains City, Megatron obliterated the installation and ripped Hot Shot apart, triumphantly displaying his body as Ironhide, Kicker and the other reinforcements arrived. Megatron Resurrected Ironhide was furious over Hot Shot's injuries, and vowed to take vengeance on Megatron for his friend. When Megatron attacked Ocean City next, Ironhide jumped in-between Megatron and Demolishor, demanding satisfaction on behalf of Hot Shot. Unfortunately for Ironhide, Demolishor chose to return to his former loyalties, and struck down the young Autobot before he could attack Megatron. Ironhide begged Demolishor to remain with the Autobots, but the once and former Decepticon departed with Megatron and the Terrorcons as the raid came to an end. Megatron Raid

When Optimus Prime was being stalked by Alpha Q's new agent, Starscream, Ironhide backed up Kicker's intuition, as the boy sensed something was wrong before anyone else noticed Starscream had infiltrated Ocean City. Ironhide and the other Autobots worked together to shadow Prime for his own protection, despite his protests. This eventually took the group to Lunar City, where Ironhide wielded the Energon Saber to fend off a Terrorcon attack. Kicker commandeered the sword to use as a hoverboard, though. Megatron's forces were driven back, but the newly rebuilt outpost was once more left in ruins. Starscream the Mysterious Mercenary Soon thereafter, Ironhide and the others journeyed into the asteroid belt and confronted a massive ship resembling Unicron. They fought through Scorponok and the ship's defenses and managed to destroy it, but the threat of Unicron lingered on everyone's minds. Battle of the Asteroid Belt As the plan for energon towers was unveiled, Ironhide successfully defended Ocean City until Doctor Jones' prototype was off the ground and blasted away all the Decepticons. He confronted Demolishor on the battlefield, and grappled with his former ally under Megatron's watchful eye. Energon Tower

During an energon expedition at Blizzard City, Kicker's fear of the dark was affecting their progress in the mines. Ironhide brought him out into the open air for a break, and was surprised to learn that Kicker had never heard of the great Autobot hero, Rodimus. Ironhide told Kicker the tale of how Rodimus left behind the civil war between the Autobots and Decepticons to pursue greater levels of justice in the universe at large. When Kicker continued to struggle in the mines, Ironhide left him alone to force Kicker to work through his issues instead of avoiding them. Still, Ironhide secretly remained right behind Kicker in the dark, and congratulated Kicker when he found the energon and conquered his fear. The Legend of Rodimus

When the Terrorcons invaded Jungle City, Ironhide and Inferno worked together to defend the energon mines. Ironhide just fired away blindly at the enemy, hoping to catch as many Terrorcons as possible in his barrage, but Inferno counseled Ironhide about the value of aiming, and picking your shot to conserve energy and achieve maximum efficiency. As the Autobots were forced to abandon Jungle City, they planned to destroy the installation in their wake by setting off a chain reaction in the energon deposits. Ironhide took Inferno's lessons to heart and volunteered to make the single, long-range shot that triggered the base's destruction. Crisis in Jungle City

On an expedition to Lunar City, Ironhide helped Kicker search for an inconsistent energon signal somewhere on the moon's surface. They met up with Demolishor, who tried to trade on their old friendship to lure Kicker into Megatron's clutches. Ironhide didn't trust Demolishor, and chided him about his conflicting loyalties. After the Decepticons were forced to retreat, Ironhide vowed to make Demolishor pay for using the feelings of his former friends towards insidious ends. Kicker Beware! As the energon grid neared completion on Earth, Ironhide and Kicker investigated a faulty tower at Desert City. During their search inside, Ironhide asked Kicker what it was like to be human, with such a brief lifespan compared to a Cybertronian. He couldn't understand how beings could be so vulnerable and still push onwards. Kicker explained that their mortality was what made them human, and their life experiences were that much more precious because they knew how limited their time was on Earth. The energon drain within the tower was discovered to be caused by two Terrorcons, damaged and desperate for sustenance. Despite Ironhide's protests, Kicker fed them an Energon Star, allowing the two 'bots to recover. They appeared to be rendered fairly tame afterwards, as Ironhide was able to carry them out to watch as the energon grid activated, protecting the Earth from a meteor strike engineered by Megatron. Though Kicker had Ironhide release the Terrorcons, Ironhide placed a tracking device on both of them before they flew away. Energon Grid

With the Earth secured against any threat, the Autobots prepared to venture back out into space and deal with Unicron once and for all. Kicker was still uncomfortable with being out in the vacuum, so Ironhide tried to cheer him up, but his lack of tact only aggravated Kicker. Next, they spied Hot Shot leaving for Mars without informing anyone of his departure. Following him, Kicker and Ironhide met the lost Autobot hero, Rodimus. Rodimus had formed an alliance with Alpha Q for his own reasons, and tried to get Hot Shot to keep the Autobots from interfering with Alpha Q's plans. When Hot Shot refused, Rodimus fired on him, and Ironhide leapt to his defense. Ironhide was hopelessly outmatched against Rodimus and his highly trained soldiers, Prowl and Landmine, and was left in the dust on Mars as the trio sped away. Once he calmed down, Ironhide was distraught over his actions, as Rodimus was still technically his superior officer and he had violated Autobot military protocol by attacking him. Kicker reassured Ironhide that he was backing up his teammate, which no one could ever fault him for doing. Hot Shot echoed Kicker's sentiment. Rodimus Friend or Foe?

If anyone asks you what Dull surprise looks like, Ironhide's got you covered.

Ironhide was chosen for the inaugural crew of the Miranda II, the starship that would carry Optimus Prime's team on their quest against Unicron. As they left Earth and prepared their mobile Space Bridge array for transit, however, the Autobots were attacked by the Decepticons. The Omnicons attempted to repair the damaged portion of the array, but were injured in battle and Ironhide had to cover the helpless warriors. With no one else available, Ironhide called upon Kicker to face his fear of space and come out to fix the array. He talked his partner through the space-walk and gave him constant encouragement, and with Ironhide cheering him on Kicker managed to prep the Bridge. Meanwhile, Ironhide also watched Demolishor fall in battle, sacrificing himself to protect Megatron from an energon wave. Go for Unicron! This concluded any efforts Ironhide would make to redeem Demolishor, for once the Decepticon soldier was repaired by Megatron, his memory and personality had been altered to leave no lingering loyalty to his former Autobot comrades.

As the Autobots continued their journey into space, Kicker detected energon on a distant planet. When the Autobots took their ship planet-side, they flew into a blizzard, and the Miranda II wound up trapped between two glaciers. While Hot Shot, and Inferno worked on freeing the ship, Ironhide was sent as part of an away team to track down the energon. As the Omnicons began digging out the substance, Snow Cat and Demolishor attacked them. Jetfire was injured as the Autobots tried to escape, forcing Ironhide to combine with him, and to act as the other Autobot's legs to keep pace. With the arrival of new "Cruellock" Terrorcons joining the fray, the Autobots were forced to abandon the Energon deposits to their enemies and fled the planet. The Return of Demolishor

Ironhide trying to go full anime. Bless.

When Rodimus arrived to discuss Alpha Q with Optimus, they were unable to come to terms over the fate of Unicron. Rodimus was willing to reactivate the entity in the hopes that his power could be used for good, but Optimus found it far too dangerous. As Rodimus's ship prepared to depart, Ironhide decided to take matters into his own hands. With Kicker's blessing, he stowed away aboard Rodimus's ship to follow him back to Alpha Q. Once inside Unicron's head, Ironhide went exploring, but was spotted by Alpha Q. Despite Rodimus's protests, Alpha Q sent out Scorponok and the Terrorcons to test the intruder. Ironhide battled a nest of Cruellock drones, until his energon booster star got ripped off his shoulder. He fired at the fleeing Terrorcon, detonating the star in a powerful explosion. The Cruellocks were destroyed, and an injured Ironhide stumbled free from the nest to face Scorponok. He fought fiercely, but in his damaged condition Ironhide was certainly no match for Scorponok. Still, he continued to fight right up until the moment he passed out on top of his foe. Scorponok brought the fallen warrior before Rodimus and Alpha Q, and declared him... worthy. A Tale of Two Heros As Alpha Q and Scorponok began to repair Ironhide, he groggily called out for Kicker, who somehow heard him across the depths of space, and left the Autobots to come rescue his partner. Battle Stations

Kicker found Ironhide in Alpha Q's throne room and demanded his release. Ironhide stood by as Kicker and Alpha Q argued over the use of Unicron, and the renewed war between the Autobots and Decepticons. Kicker made a strong impression on Alpha Q, and the entity allowed Ironhide and his friends to go free. Alpha Q: Identity As Kicker convinced Alpha Q to consider an alliance with the Autobots, he and Ironhide traveled on Unicron's head to Cybertron for the historic meeting. Shockblast: Rampage When Unicron started to act out of control, Ironhide joined a crew of Autobots and Omnicons to bring extra energon down to his core to satiate him. Survival Instincts Later, he fought alongside the other Autobots in defense of Cybertron's energon towers in an attack led by Shockblast. Each One Fights... With several towers now disabled, a highly-successful Terrorcon raid delivered enough energon to Megatron to transform Unicron and directly threaten Cybertron. Ironhide and the Autobots retaliated, and were able to breach Unicron's outer defenses when Alpha Q rammed Unicron's head into the titans' chest. The Autobots then pressed forward to attack Megatron within. Unicron Unleashed

Ironhide split off from Jetfire in the Divebomb firefight over Unicron to join Optimus and his troop inside of Unicron. Open Fire! In the chaos that followed inside, Ironhide was separated from the other Autobots, but met with Scorponok and began to track Megatron's position once more. The two warriors confronted Megatron, despite being horribly outmatched, and fell hard while trying to stop the Decepticon leader. As the conflicting energon charges being tossed around during the battle ripped open a hole in space, Megatron and the Decepticons fled through it, taking Unicron with them. Optimus gathered his soldiers to follow them, but ordered Ironhide to remain behind and provide an update to Cybertron, in case they did not return. Ironhide joined forces with the Omnicons, and Kicker and Misha on board the Miranda II, to prepare a rescue party to go after Optimus and the others. Ripped Up Space They traveled through the rift in the Miranda II, and eventually emerged from the other side. Team Optimus Prime

Ironhide eagerly reconnected with Optimus and the other Autobots in the new solar system Alpha Q created using the energon power from Unicron's head. On Iron Planet, he joined the Autobots in capturing the lone Decepticon, Shockblast. When Scorponok arrived with a group of Terrorcons, Ironhide innocently waved over his comrade-in-arms. Unfortunately, Scorponok had been captured and reprogrammed by Megatron after he passed through the rift, making him fanatically loyal to the Decepticons and once again an enemy to the Autobots. Despite the Terrorcons attacking all around him, Ironhide naively approached Scorponok and asked him what was wrong, only to narrowly avoid being battered aside by the imposing general thanks to Jetfire's intervention. Protection Ironhide briefly battled Scorponok again when the Decepticon returned to Iron Planet to free Shockblast. Imprisoned Inferno As the Miranda II made berth on Jungle Planet, the Decepticons soon tracked the Autobots there in search of energon. Ironhide once again confronted Scorponok, attempting to force through Megatron's brainwashing and remind him of his loyalties to Alpha Q, but to no avail. Jungle Planet

Primus, I'm sozzled!

As the Autobots prepped for an energon tower being delivered from Cybertron, Ironhide helped clear a landing spot on Jungle Planet for the tower to touch down. When the Terrorcons staged an assault, he defended the energon in order to buy time. Prowl and Ironhide tried to double-team Scorponok, but even together they had little luck against the powerful general. Eventually the energon tower landed and powered up, sending out a destructive wave that cleared the Terrorcons from the planet. Bulkhead Next, the Autobots prepared to establish an energon grid between the various planets. Ironhide joined Prowl and Cliffjumper on Rock Planet as they fought off Scorponok and his Insecticons. The Ocean Planet tower fell, however, and the Autobots needed a distraction to keep the Decepticons at bay while the replacement tower was sent. Inferno volunteered to lure Megatron out into space, and Ironhide went with him as back-up. Farewell Inferno

Over time, Ironhide began to recognize that Scorponok would never return to the honorable warrior he once knew. As he accepted this, Ironhide vowed that Scorponok must be stopped, out of respect for the memory of who he once was. He received his chance when Scorponok and the Terrorcons attacked the revitalized Planet Q, the recreation of the world Alpha Q and Scorponok once shared. Scorponok demonstrated no memory or respect for the planet in his search for energon, and Ironhide began a vicious battle with him. Outmatched as ever, the weaker Ironhide was mocked by Scorponok for his hopeless struggling. Ironhide shot back that the REAL Scorponok came to respect his tenacity. Only the intervention of Alpha Q saved Ironhide in the end, but he remained resolved to defeating Scorponok one day. Return! Our Scorponok

Down on himself after a recent string of losses, Ironhide's moping was interrupted by Hot Shot, who brought him to Circuit Planet for the first Autobot Grand Prix. Awkward and self-deprecating at first, Ironhide ran into a few walls and soon fell into last place. Kicker was monitoring his progress and soon jumped into the race to give him some help with his driving. (Yes, a being from a species who, by nature, turn into cars got driving lessons from a being that does not.) Together, Kicker and Ironhide forged ahead, successfully passing all the other racers while avoiding heavy missile fire from a very bored Jetfire. In the final leg of the race, Ironhide and Hot Shot fought for the lead when Optimus Prime threw himself in their path as the final obstacle. Ironhide chose to take one for the team and tackled Optimus, telling Hot Shot to go on ahead because he deserved to win. Both Optimus and Hot Shot were proud of Ironhide for the new skills and confidence he demonstrated during the race. Crash Course

After Wing Saber located Unicron's body, Ironhide and the Autobots staged an assault on the Planet-Eater, but were unable to keep Megatron from making Unicron fully operational again. A fleet of energon towers were sent from Cybertron like javelins to impale the now-mobile Unicron. Omega Supreme The energon towers failed, and so Ironhide and the Autobots attempted to gain access to Unicron's interior to strike back from the inside. Ironhide found an entrance, but Optimus ordered a retreat because Unicron plowed into the planetary energon grid, dramatically raising his surface temperature. Ironhide was forcibly dragged from the battlefield by the new warrior, Omega Supreme. The Autobots were unable to prevent Unicron from reclaiming his head from Alpha Q's Energon Orb. A Heroic Battle

Ironhide accompanied Kicker deep inside Unicron's head to recover Alpha Q's body. They were confronted by Scorponok, who still didn't recognize his former master, but was at a loss for what to do, as the internal struggle between Megatron and Unicron left his new master unable to give orders. The Power of Unicron Ironhide and Kicker brought Alpha Q's body to Grass Planet and buried him there. A confused Scorponok arrived on the scene after being booted out of Unicron, but Ironhide still failed to reach the warrior he had known before.

With Unicron fully activated again, the war quickly moved beyond the power of individual Autobots to influence. As Unicron destroyed Blizzard Planet, most of the Autobot forces were sidelined by injuries, leaving only Ironhide and a select few to keep up the fight. Despite Optimus Prime's insistence that they were only get themselves killed, Ironhide was up for more action. Even being physically struck down by his leader didn't deter him. Ironhide and the others continued to strike against Unicron like gnats. Fortunately for them, they were caught in the backlash of Cybertronian Core energies when Primus supercharged Optimus Supreme to planetary proportions. Optimus Supreme Ironhide and the others found themselves with new armor, and greater strength than ever before. They maintained strafing assaults against Unicron as Optimus Supreme grappled with him directly and Kicker assembled the energon towers for a powerful strike. With the towers, the power of Primus, and the teamwork of the Optimus Supreme combination, Unicron was finally defeated, his essence scattering to the solar winds. Unicron Perishes

Optimus suffered serious injuries after overtaxing his capabilities in battle, and so Ironhide and the others watched over him in stasis on Ocean Planet. When Megatron resurfaced on Cybertron, however, Ironhide joined the Autobots on the Miranda II in returning to Cybertron. Ambition They arrived on Cybertron and battled the newly enhanced Galvatron until clouds of Autobot-killing energon gas were released into the atmosphere, driving Ironhide and his friends to retreat. Wishes The Miranda II moved to the upper atmosphere, where the Autobots prepared to drop Kicker and the Omnicons (who were immune to the energon gas flooding the planet) down to the world below. Galvatron and the Decepticons attacked, and Landmine fought to delay them long enough for Cliffjumper to get the Miranda II into position for the drop. Galvatron!

With Kicker on the ground below, Ironhide patiently waited in orbit over Cybertron, looking for the signal that his partner had succeeded. He spotted the flare and alerted Optimus Prime that Kicker had come through. Ironhide and a small squad of Autobots descended beneath the energon gas through a hole Kicker and the Omnicons created, battling the Decepticons and hooking up with a small group of Autobot soldiers still active in the underground tunnels. Break Through

At some point, in the Autobot combat training simulation, Ironhide and Jetfire teamed up for the tournament. They defeated Scorponok in an extended battle, but fell before some cheap tricks when Six Shot manipulated the digital environment against them. Distribution

After meeting up with Wing Saber and his band of Autobots, Ironhide was astonished to learn he had fans, rookie soldiers who worshipped him as a war hero. This trio of rhyming soldiers even created a Team Ironhide insignia for themselves. As unbelievable was this was, Ironhide was even more surprised when Optimus Prime placed him in charge of his own unit to rescue the remaining Autobot warriors trapped by Decepticon forces on Cybertron. With the rhyming trio and a cadre of Omnicons at his side, Ironhide set off on his mission after sharing his personal victory motto: "Fake it til you make it!" The Omega Train

Ummm... yeah.

Team Ironhide arrived at the medical facility where Bulkhead and the other patients were entrenched. Ironhide helped clear out the Decepticon troopers and Terrorcons attacking the hospital, and freed his fellow Autobots to rejoin the fight. With his fanboys by his side constantly boosting his ego, Ironhide started to feel as if he were truly invincible. Decepticon Army The feeling would be short-lived. Team Ironhide chanced upon Doctor Jones, on the run from the Insecticons. As Scorponok arrived, Ironhide decided the smart play was to retreat and get Doctor Jones to a safe location. Team Ironhide had other plans, though. Fresh from their first victories on the battlefield, the rhyming trio did like Ironhide taught them and drummed up their own confidence to rush into battle with Scorponok. The results were inevitable, and the three rookies were cut down by a single strike from Scorponok's tail. Ironhide was helpless to save his team, and threw himself into the fight with Scorponok, damaging the Terrorcon general's chestplate. Despite his need for vengeance, Ironhide still remembered his mission and got Dr. Jones and his Omnicon teammates to Primus's chamber, where Cybertron's core was revived via energon stars. Ironhide Team

In the planet's core, Ironhide and the others struggled to prevent Cybertron from smashing into Alpha Q's planets. Formidable Once Optimus dealt with the immediate problem, Ironhide joined Kicker and the Omnicons in trying to secure the Super Energon pool. A horde of Terrorcons prevented them from reaching the pool before Galvatron, however. Galvatron Terror Ironhide fought against Scorponok once again, continuing his endless efforts to make Scorponok remember his old life, and recognize how unworthy Galvatron was of his loyalty. In the end, Ironhide turned his back on Scorponok, disgusted with how he could not recognize true loyalty when he saw it. Destructive Power

If the models swung around this would be awesome.

With the struggle between Galvatron, Optimus Prime, and Unicron taking place on Jungle Planet, Ironhide and Scorponok were among the last few combatants left on Cybertron. They threw themselves into unrestrained battle, and inflicted catastrophic injuries on one another. Spark When Ironhide felt his Combination Spark calling him to Optimus and Jungle Planet, he was not strong enough to answer the call. It was Scorponok who carried Ironhide to his friends' side, claiming that he still served Galvatron by helping the Autobots clear Unicron from Galvatron's mind. Ironhide's spark joined his friends for the final battle, merging with Optimus and Omega Supreme to create the Ultimate Optimus Supreme combination.

After Galvatron was destroyed and Unicron absorbed into a new sun, Ironhide and Kicker returned to Ocean Planet and shared a quiet moment. Ironhide ruminated on how Scorponok died, dedicated to his loyalty, even if it was for the wrong cause. The Sun

Force of Habit

During the Unicron Singularity crisis, Ironhide served aboard the Autobot flagship Iron Hope. He was a member of Ultra Magnus's bridge crew, and briefly questioned Magnus's decision to leave the imperiled crew of the Spanner to their own devices. He was called into action during a Decepticon attack on the ship, and battled a number of Divebomb- and Insecticon-type Terrorcons alongside Riptide, Smokescreen, and the Land Military Mini-Con Team. Force of Habit

Energon comic

Tragic backstory...

During the war, Ironhide was a prisoner, forced to use his technical skills to construct doomsday devices for the Decepticons. A favorite pass-time of his warden, Tidal Wave, became killing another prisoner any time Ironhide tried to resist. Unbeknownst to his captors, he designed fail-safes into the devices, effectively neutralizing them automatically should they ever be activated. Aftershock

Much later, ten years following Unicron's defeat, Ironhide became part of Optimus Prime's entourage. He accompanied Prime and Hot Shot on a "reconnaissance exercise," fawning over the pair all the while. This got on Hot Shot's nerves quickly, and Ironhide was sent to scout around their position while Optimus interfaced with the Hub. This Evil Reborn

Hero worship...

After receiving a vision from the sage Sig-Omega through the Hub, Optimus petitioned the High Council to fortify their planet, under the pretense that he had learned Unicron and Megatron still lived. Ironhide accompanied Optimus to the council building with several other Autobots, though he had to wait outside while Optimus spoke with the elders. Shortly after Optimus emerged from the building, Unicron's Four Horsemen attacked Cyber City. What Lies Beneath At first, Ironhide and the other Autobots found themselves completely ineffective against these invaders. But once Optimus was granted the Spark of Combination by Sig-Omega, Ironhide combined with Jetfire, and managed to drive the horsemen off-world alongside his commander. What Lies Beneath, Part Two

The Autobots then responded to a distress call from Earth, and traveled to the planet via space-bridge to do battle against Scorponok and the Terrorcons. Unfortunately, Ironhide found himself thoroughly overpowered in the confrontation that followed, and was rough-housed by Tidal Wave. Ironhide was only spared due to one of the Terrorcons' Energon siphons being destroyed; Scorponok prioritized salvaging what Energon he could over destroying the Autobots. What Lies Beneath, Part Three The Autobots reconvened, and Ironhide had his first look at a human, though Alexis shot back a glare at him for staring at her. Ironhide then combined with Jetfire once more to take on the Terrorcons, and thanks to the assistance of the Omnicons, fared much better against the enemy this time around. After the Terrorcons retreated off-planet, the Autobots gathered around Optimus, who declared they would stay on Earth to protect it from further aggression. What Lies Beneath, Part Four

Geeky engineer...

Ironhide was sent back to Cybertron to head the construction of planetary shield arrays, which would subsequently be sent down to Earth. He was aided by Landmine and Rodimus, but still admitted he wasn't confident in meeting his deadline when Jetfire came to check on his progress. Ironhide was then needed to check in at a nearby smelting plant, and asked Cliffjumper to accompany him on the errand. The pair were ambushed by Tidal Wave en route. The Terrorcon knocked Cliffjumper unconscious, and threatened to do him further harm if Ironhide didn't comply to his demands. Ironhide agreed to lead Tidal Wave to the hidden location of one of the seismic-shock warheads he had built during the war. But rather than allow Tidal Wave to unleash the device on Earth, Ironhide activated it right then and there, asserting that as an Autobot, he no longer feared his war-time tormentor. Tidal Wave fled in fright... and the warhead shut down harmlessly thanks to the fail-safes Ironhide had put in it all those years ago. Jetfire then caught up to Ironhide, having found Cliffjumper in the interim, and had his comrade explain the whole adventure. When Ironhide confided that he was now ready to face up to whatever consequences came his way for his past actions, Jetfire responded that the young 'bot was starting to finally sound like a true Autobot. Aftershock

Ironhide was keeping Kicker company at Base Site One while the boy was waiting for a ride, his task in finding the energon necessary for the base having been completed. A space-bridge opened, and out came Hot Shot, accompanied by a group of over-eager Omnicons. One of them, Strongarm, found himself unable to stop himself from crashing into the base's intrathermal uplink assembly and subsurface transference grid. Seeing his hard work being wrecked, Ironhide pleaded with Hot Shot to do something about his rambunctious troops. Hot Shot overdid it some though, and snapped at the Omnicons, provoking them into running away. Omni-Potent

Outwits Big Bad... okay, we're sure he's not Iron-fist?

Soon afterwards, Earth became the target of a full-scale Terrorcon assault, with thousand of clones wreaking havoc and destruction world-wide, Ironhide awaited the arrival of a planetary shield generator at Base Site One. When he lost contact with the incoming base unit during its planetfall, he assumed the worst. Dropshot was more optimistic, and suggested that the device might simply have a glitch in its system. Ironhide briefly entertained this possibility before the awful truth became apparent: Scorponok had gotten to the module. Multiplicity, Pt. 3 By hiding atop of it, Scorponok managed to bypass the Autobots' otherwise foolproof defense grid. Scorponok beat down Ironhide, Overload, and Dropshot with utmost ease, and would have next slain them if not for the timely arrival of Megatron, out for revenge against the Terrorcon. Multiplicity, Pt. 4 While Megatron and Scorponok battled, Ironhide scrambled to his fellow Autobots, only to find them non-responsive. With no one around to help him, Ironhide instead used his smarts to find a means out of his predicament. Ironhide jury-rigged an energon nega-field to protect himself, his downed friends, and the shield generator from the Decepticons. But after having slaughtered Scorponok, Megatron informed the Autobot he had no plans to harm him; instead, he wanted Ironhide at full capacity so he could inform his superiors that Megatron had indeed returned. No Exit

With civil unrest growing on Cybertron in response to Megatron's return and Optimus's absence, Ironhide set about creating a super weapon to counter the ever-encroaching enemies that threatened the Autobots. Under Jetfire's direction, Ironhide set about constructing Omega Supreme. Armageddon Part 1

But Jetfire wasn't the only one to make use of Ironhide's ingenuity: one of Ironhide's old seismic shock warheads was hijacked by one of Alpha Quintesson's co-conspirators, Avalon. Armageddon Part 2 Under Alpha Quintesson's direction, Avalon teleported Ironhide's invention to Unicron's surface. Armageddon Part 3

Toys

Energon

"I clog American shelves!"
(Hasbro Version Pictured)

"I clog Japanese shelves!"
(Takara Version Pictured)

• Ironhide (Mega Class, 2004)

• Takara name: Roadbuster
• Takara ID number: SC-04
• Takara release date: December 25 2003
• Accessories: Missile
• Known designers: Eric Siebenaler (Hasbro), Takashi Kunihiro (TakaraTomy)

Part of the first wave of Hasbro's Energon Mega Class toys, Ironhide transforms into a blue pickup truck resembling a Mitsubishi Montero, albeit one with distinctly penny-racer-ish proportions. He has a rather oversized red speaker/gun turret/high beam lights/thingamajig/spring-loaded missile setup mounted on top, which activates electronic sound effects when launching the missile or rotating the turret. His two shoulder-mounted weapons can be removed but use pegs that only really allow them to be mounted where intended. As such, many secondhand figures are missing not only the missile, but both guns as well. He has one Mini-Con 5 mm post on his right arm, which ends up on his back bumper in vehicle mode.

In robot mode, he is able to combine with most Autobot Deluxe and Mega size class toys, forming the top or bottom half of a super robot, though the size differences make for some ultra-awkward combinations when attached to Deluxe-class toys (especially if Ironhide is the upper half).

One undocumented feature is that one can flip his helmet over his face to hide it in vehicle mode. While it does not cover his entire face, it at least hides the top portion of his head. This seems to be an intended part of his transformation but for whatever reason was left off the instructions. The smaller gun on his right shoulder has a black tab that can move slightly but doesn't activate any features, suggesting a design change some time in development.

The Takara Super Link release, of "Roadbuster" has some minor deco and colour differences; most significantly, the tan plastic parts were replaced with grey (even though they remained tan in the Energon cartoon). The major functional difference between the two toys is that the Japanese version does not have electronics, while the U.S. release does.

Roadbuster also came with the promotional Energy Spear Corona Flame Edition energon weapon if purchased from JUSCO stores in late December/early January.

Ironhide became a major shelfwarmer during the Energon toyline's run, with some areas still having unsold Ironhides into 2006. His toy was often bundled together with Jetfire or Mirage.

• More information on Ironhide at TFU.info

"I still clog shelves, but now I'm green!"

• Energon Ironhide (Mega Class, 2004)

• Takara name: Roadbuster Wild
• Takara ID number: SC-24
• Takara release date: September 30 2004
• Accessories: Missile, "Energy Axe" (crane & split-tire, Takara release only)
• Known designers: Eric Siebenaler (Hasbro), Takashi Kunihiro (TakaraTomy)

Released in wave "3.5" of the Energon line (stuff was weird then, just roll with it), this redeco of Ironhide was intended to be an homage to Generation 1 Hound, with green replacing the blue and blue replacing the red. He also features an army star logo similar to Hound's. Otherwise, he retains all of the previous release's functionality.

Takara's "Roadbuster Wild", released in the sixteenth wave of Super Link product, is visually identical to the Hasbro version, but again lacks the electronics. However, it also came with a bonus energon weapon, an orange version of Strongarm's "Energy Axe".

• More information on Energon Ironhide at TFU.info

Built to Rule!

"I wasn't released widely enough to clog anything!"

• Ironhide (Built to Rule!, 2004)

• Accessories: Missile

Part of the Built to Rule! Energon assortment, Ironhide is based around a larger, more solid "Trans-Skeleton" than the prior Armada kits. He can be built into an off-road truck with a rotating top-mounted light-rack and spring-loaded missile launcher. He can be "transformed" by disassembling him completely, converting the core Trans-Skeleton to robot mode, then putting some of the parts back on. In both modes, the missile can be fired by turning the 2x2 drum mechanism on top. While the launcher ends up on his arm according to instructions, as a brick-built kit you can absolutely re-work him to give him the same head-mounted light/gun assembly as his original figure if you feel so inclined.

Unfortunately, due to the aggressively poor performance of the Built to Rule! line overall, the Energon versions only had a limited, test-market release initially in and around Cincinnati, Ohio. The sets later filtered out into many clearance chains —including Tuesday Morning, TJ Maxx, and Ollie's— at drastically reduced prices.

Merchandise

McDonald's

"I clog secondhand store shelves!"

• Ironhide (Happy Meal, 2004)
  • Accessories: Sound cube

This toy was exclusive to the McDonald's restaurant chain in the Netherlands, Australia, Bulgaria and the United Kingdom. He is a highly simplified version of the larger toy, with little to no articulation.

His torso is hollow and stores a translucent energon cube. When a button is pushed, his energon cube activates the coolest siren and laser sounds. His Energon cube is interchangeable with the cubes from the other McDonald's Energon toys.

• More information on McDonald's Ironhide at TFU.info

Notes

"I clog shelves meant for exclusive stocks!"

• In Japan, Ironhide's Bio and Tech Spec function was listed as "Martial Artist" (武闘家 Budōka). Uh... huh?
• Ironhide was given an homage in the form of Cloud Roadbuster.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Roadbuster (ロードバスター Rōdobasutā), Roadbuster Wild (Energon Ironhide, ロードバスターW (ワイルド) Rōdobasutā Wairudo)
• Mandarin: Tiěpí (China, 铁皮, "Iron Hide")
• Hungarian: Vasököl (first dub, "Ironfist"), Acélfej (second dub, "Steelhead")^[1]
• Russian: Bronevik (Броневик, "Armored Car")

References