Commando (RID)

The Commandos are a Decepticon subgroup from the Robots in Disguise continuity family.

"We eat Autobots for breakfast. And right now, we're very hungry!"

The Commandos are an elite group of Decepticon warriors. Formerly Autobot protoforms corrupted by the dark energies of Megatron's spark, they now fight for evil. The five members can also combine to form the behemoth Ruination.

The Commandos are...

• Mega-Octane the cannon-truck and leader
• Ro-Tor the helicopter
• Armorhide the tank
• Rollbar the off-road vehicle
• Movor the Space Shuttle

Fiction

Cartoon continuity

2001 Robots in Disguise cartoon

"You're a funny guy, Side Burn. We like you. That's why we're going to kill you last."

Originally Scourge's crew were on a mission to locate Fortress Maximus when their ship crashed on Earth. The Commandos' protoforms were stolen by Megatron, who used his spark energies to turn them into Decepticons. The Decepticons After proving their worth by destroying a minor dam, the Commandos were sent to attack Sherman Dam. After both the Autobots and Sky-Byte interfered with their pulsar bombs, the Commandos had to resort to trying to blow it up themselves. The arrival of Team Bullet Train forced them to combine into Ruination, but teamwork by the Autobots had them retreating before long. Commandos

The Commandos were sent to Montrose Island to aid Scourge and the Predacons, though in their Ruination form they were easily taken down by the Spychangers. They recovered and managed to unleash a lava flow that threatened everyone, including themselves and the day was ultimately lost for their side. Volcano In an attempt to find the Autobot base, they had Movor launched into space to spy on the Autobots from orbit. Unfortunately the Autobots were quickly clued in and led the Decepticons on a merry chase ending in an ambush at Pier 7B, at which point the Commandos realized that without Movor, they couldn't form Ruination. In the aftermath of their defeat, Movor returned to Earth. Attack from Outer Space

These guys eat too much red meat.

The Decepticons made an attempt to make the Autobots believe they were willing to defect. Though the Commandos threw themselves into the act, Scourge was the weakest link, and ultimately gave them away. The Test A series of raids on power plants by the Decepticons were hampered by the efforts of Sky-Byte to prove himself relevant. The Fish Test The Decepticons got their own back by interfering in one of Sky-Byte's plans in Antarctica, almost snatching a disk with potentially valuable information on it. Wedge's Short Fuse Frustrated by the Autobot Global Space Bridge, Scourge and the Commandos discovered its control center after Ro-Tor followed one of the Build Team. They sabotaged the space bridge to send the Autobots who used it to random locations, taking advantage of the consequent confusion to wreak havoc until the Build Team worked out what was wrong, and the Decepticons were sent flying as the Autobots retook the control center. Landfill

Scourge and the Commandos attempted to intercept Optimus Prime wile he was on his way to deliver the O-Parts to Sky-Byte, only for the Autobot leader to demolish them in a few seconds. Sky-Byte Saves the Day After the Commandos' raid on an energy station was foiled by the Build Team, the Commandos tried to lure them out to get revenge by attacking building sites. This eventually worked, but though they had the Build Team outclassed combat-wise, the battle between Ruination and Landfill ended in a massive explosion that fired the Commandos into the sea. A Test of Metal

"Leave anything for us?"
"Just bodies."

Their raid on Metro City's oil stores was interrupted by the newly arrived Ultra Magnus, but they got away while he was confronting the Autobot Brothers. Some time later, the Decepticons tried to set up an ambush for the Autobots, only to instead encounter Ultra Magnus, who fought them off with Optimus Prime's help. Ultra Magnus Movor spied on the two Autobots from orbit as they fought, and afterwards the Decepticons accompanied Megatron to the island where Optimus was recuperating. Their intent was to finish him off, but instead Optimus combined with Magnus into Omega Prime and almost finished them off. Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion!

After capturing the Autobot Brothers, the Decepticons were able to beat up Optimus and Team Bullet Train without fear of retribution, at least until Ultra Magnus spoiled things by rescuing the three brothers. The Two Faces of Ultra Magnus Another attempt to sway Ultra Magnus to their side also resulted in the Commandos getting pounded. Power to Burn! Assigned with the task of investigating the ground beneath Metro City, the Decepticons were forced to split up to deal with the Autobots. They proved more than capable of holding their own against the Spychangers and Team Bullet Train, and eventually found the cavern containing Fortress Maximus. Fortress Maximus The Autobots forced them into a retreat, and when they attempted to return later, Ruination ended up fighting Rail Racer. They again retreated after Sky-Byte inadvertently released Doctor Onishi. Koji Gets His Wish

"Attention all units, emergency on theater level. Suspect six stories, green, orange and yellow. He is one gigantic motherfragger."

Their attempts to find the O-Parts before the Autobots largely ended in failure. A Friendly Contest Megatron took them with him to find the Orb of Sigma, though that expedition also ended in an Autobot victory and the loss of Megatron. Peril from the Past With Scourge now in charge, the Decepticons managed to obtain Cerebros and find where the Autobots had hidden Fortress Maximus. Their attempt to seize the giant ended in disaster when Maximus proved impossible to control. On the up-side, they got Megatron back in a new upgraded form as Galvatron. Maximus Emerges

"Let off some steam, Decepticons."

Scourge began a series of attempts to control Fortress Maximus with the Commandos as loyal backup. An attempt in the desert ended in failure, The Human Element leading them to attempt to capture Koji Onishi, as the boy seemed to be able to control Maximus no problem. Mistaken Identity After Scourge attempted to overthrow Galvatron, their leader recalibrated their programming to turn them back into loyal servants. They were placed under the command of Sky-Byte, who promptly led them into a trap in which they faced all of the Autobots. Luckily for them, Galvatron turned up with the Megastar to lend a hand. Surprise Attack!

Despite Galvatron's apparent defeat, their leader still lived, and the Decepticons kept the Autobots busy while he recharged. When the Autobots fled into the Global Space Bridge, Galvatron sent Scourge and the Commandos in as well, before flooding the tunnel with lava in an attempt to kill two birds with one stone. Galvatron's Revenge Ruination and Scourge somehow survived this and emerged from the ground, only to be finally defeated by the Autobots. They, along with Galvatron and most of the Predacons, were shipped off to an asteroid prison colony. The Final Battle

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Unite Warriors

"We're not going to shoot you between the optics!! We're going to shoot you between the gearbox!!"

Following their capture, the combining members of the Combatrons were brought to a future Cybertron and sentenced to be reverted into protoforms to cleanse them of their evil programming and, to their horror, identities. They were brought to safety by the Unicron of 2021, who transported them into the past and granted them freedom and new bodies in exchange for helping him attach his disembodied head to the planet's surface. They held the local Autobot forces at bay and completed their mission, only to learn that the dark god had no intention of letting them go free, but rather planned to undo the future they hailed from by changing the past! In order to avoid being erased from existence, the team combined into Ruination and turned on Unicron. Ruination Chapter, Part One After Unicron was defeated thanks to the efforts of Ruination and other combiners, the Commandos returned to the future with Scourge and Sky-Byte, seeking to rescue their leader, Devil Gigatron. Ruination Chapter, Part Two

The Combatrons stopped by Earth, where they occupied a bathhouse and washed up while discussing their next move. Strategy Meeting in an Earth Bath?!

Legends comic

After recovering the ship they once arrived on Earth with, Scourge led the Combatrons in an on attack Neo Brave Maximus where Devil Gigatron was being held. While they managed to infiltrate the ship, the Combatrons were shocked to learn that their leader had joined the Dimensional Patrol in the meantime. LGEX Scourge Prologue With Scourge forcibly reverted into a heroic protoform by Gigatron, the remaining Combatrons fled to the Legends World only to be hunted down by their former commander and turned into protoforms themselves. Fortunately, Dark Ai held backup data of the Combatrons' evil personalities and was able to restore them after Scourge turned on the Patrol. Bonus Edition Vol. EX

Universe comic

In Viron 704.31 Epsilon, the Commandos came under the command of Megazarak after the death of Megatron. However, the Commandos, Constructicons, Megabolt, and several Autobots were abducted by Unicron for the Universe War. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/07/30

Forming Ruination, the Commandos were sent by Unicron along with Reptilion, Sunstorm, and Perceptor to intercept some extra-dimensionals Unicron wanted for the Cauldron. Ruination's group was successfully fought off by the dimensionally-displaced Autobots and the Children of Primus. Voice Actor Drama

Beast Wars: Uprising

During the Grand Uprising, The Commandos volunteered for augmentation, Movor had hoped they'd be made into Pretenders or maybe even a Combiner, but all but Mega-Octane(who was too large for the process) were ultimately made into K-Class bombs. Deemed only a last resort, the Commandos were retrofitted to transform into massively destructive weapons of annihilation, with the core bombs inside them linked to their very sparks. At maximum detonation, a K-Class could effectively end the world.

The Resistance enjoyed stellar cycles of victory that made any use of the K-Class troopers seem unrealistic. That all changed with the Vehicons. These anti-spark drones assimilated other proto-formers on contact, spreading their nano-plague exponentially. Two Resistance city-states had already fallen before High Command learned of the third. Ro-Tor and three fellow Commandos (Jeepers, Dangar, and Movor) were selected to cauterize the infection, wiping the cities off the map before the plague spread. Movor missed his target, however, and the Vehicons of Protihex survived.

Lio Convoy marched the entire army of the Resistance on Iacon, hoping to force the Builder Assembly to surrender and deactivate the Vehicons. When the Vehicons turned on their masters and began assimilating Builders as well, however, any hope of stopping the Vehicon Apocalypse seemed lost. Out of options, Lio Convoy summoned Ro-Tor and prepped him for detonation, a desperate action designed to destroy the planet before the Vehicons could spread to other worlds. At a Level 10, Ro-Tor would tear a hole through the heart of Cybertron itself.

Before he could be activated, however, Eject and Riker arrived from the Builders with intel on the Vehicons and their staging ground in the Grand Mal of Nova Cronum. In defiance of a reluctant Lio Convoy, Ro-Tor insisted they take advantage of this chance, rather than allow himself to be used to destroy his homeworld. Lio Convoy was chagrined, and agreed to make for Nova Cronum with Ro-Tor and a small team at his side.

The Resistance made for the Grand Mal, with Ro-Tor joining Lio Convoy on the mission as a last resort. Furthermore, he insisted Lio Convoy reset him to Level 2, ensuring he could not be used as a world-killer anymore. A small commando unit infiltrated the fortress and separated. As Lio Convoy slipped away with Blackarachnia to confront Galva Convoy, creator of the Vehicons, Ro-Tor went with Razorbeast and Apexus to cause a distraction and lure the Vehicon hordes away from their commanders. Lio Convoy defeated Galva Convoy, at great personal cost, but the wizard behind the curtain peeked out, and Lord Imperious Delirious seized control of the Grand Mal when his puppet had fallen. Blackarachnia sent the last of the commandos to carry the prone Lio Convoy to safety while she and Ro-Tor made their way towards engineering. Ro-Tor intended to use his K-Class mode to destroy the engineering section, but his sacrifice was stopped by the Ex-Bot called Rampage. Having his own score to settle with Delirious, Rampage ripped the core bomb out of Ro-Tor and tore open his own chest, affixing the bomb to his spark. Rampage insisted on no more sacrifices, and urged Ro-Tor and Blackarachnia to the exits. Quickly. The Point One Percenter detonated the core bomb, allowing Ro-Tor to live on. Derailment

Games

Transformers Roleplaying Game

The Commandos were an ultra-violent team of Decepticons created from five Autobot protoforms, each imbued with a fragment of Megatron’s own spark. Decepticon Directive

Toys

See: Ruination (RID)#Toys

Notes

• In Hasbro material, the Commandos are represented by the classic Decepticon insignia, whereas in the original Japanese series, the Combatrons used a different one that was recolored from that of the Generation 2 Autobots. This is because the original Black Convoy toy was a retool of Generation 2 Laser Optimus Prime, which included the symbol moulded onto some of its accessories.
• Car Robots designer Hironori Kobayashi elaborated that the reason they specifically opted to turn the insignia upside down and color it black was that it kinda looks like Darth Vader if you squint.^[1]
• The Commandos' character models are heavily based on their toys, much more so than the Generation 1 Combaticons.
• Whereas on the Hasbro Robots in Disguise side of things, "Commando" refers strictly to the five combining members of Ruination, excluding Scourge, in Takara's Car Robots story, the five members of Baldigus are "Combatrons" along with Black Convoy, with no special name for their combining quintet.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Combatron (コンバットロン Konbattoron)

References