Hot Rod (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity
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Hot Rod's career in Marvel Comics saw him rise from humble beginnings to leader of the Autobots...or not.
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Marvel The Transformers comics
Several hundred years ago, Fortress Maximus dispatched Hot Rod and Blurr in a small ship to search for habitable worlds. During this mission, the pair ran afoul of the Tyroxians—unpleasant aliens who captured Blurr and pursued Hot Rod through space. While fleeing, Hot Rod crossed paths with the Autobot war veteran, Kup, living a nomadic existence wandering through space at the time, and the youth's bravado in attacking Tyroxia single-handed re-ignited Kup's fighting spirit. After saving Hot Rod and helping him to rescue Blurr, Kup joined the pair in returning to Cybertron. Kup's Story!
When the time traveling Decepticon Galvatron arrived on Earth in 1987, he was so disorientated and traumatized that he mistook both Centurion and Swoop for someone called Rodimus Prime. Fallen Angel That Christmas, Starscream awoke to find himself in a deep sleep capsule and remembered being put there by Hot Rod, Kup and Blurr. Stargazing
Hot Rod was among the contingent of Transformers on Cybertron fighting under the command of Fortress Maximus against Scorponok and his lackeys. Though Hot Rod was in high spirits after a successful mission in which they liberated many Autobot prisoners from their enemies, his commander did not share his enthusiasm. Maximus had grown weary of Cybertron's seemingly endless war, and announced that he planned to flee to peaceful Nebulos instead of perpetuating the conflict. Though initially shocked at this declaration, many of his troops agreed to accompany him off-world, Hot Rod among them. But Nebulos had its own share of warmongers, and the Autobots found themselves on the brink of a new conflict with its natives. Hot Rod and ten of his teammates marched toward's Nebulos' capital city, where he surrendered his weapons as a show of good will and cooperation. As the rest of the group did likewise, others going as far as surrendering their heads to the Nebulans, a ceasefire was brokered. Ring of Hate!
But the Autobots' arrival on the planet stirred civil unrest, and a fear-mongering campaign was helmed by the xenophobic Lord Zarak. During a visit to the Autobots' headquarters, Zarak and his associates inconspicuously copied Cybertron's coordinates from a machine Hot Rod was working on. This act in time led to the Decepticons being brought to the planet, and the war continuing on a smaller scale. Technological advancements developed during the conflict saw Nebulans being bio-engineered into partnerships with the Transformers. Broken Glass! Hot Rod became a Targetmaster, and was bonded to the Nebulan sharpshooter, Firebolt (aka Sparks), who transformed into his gun. But his first mission as a Targetmaster went awry; the Autobots attempted to protect the Nursery from the Decepticons, only to play part in its demolition during the ensuing firefight. Eventually, the Autobots determined to move their war away from Nebulos, and followed a signal sent by Goldbug, received by Hot Rod, to the planet Earth. Brothers in Armor!!
Hot Rod and the other Targetmasters accompanied Fortress Maximus — now binary bonded to the human Spike Witwicky — to visit his father Sparkplug and assure him that they would rescue Buster from the Decepticons. However, upon attempting to infiltrate the Decepticons' island base from their A.T.T.T. the Autobots were surprised to discover that it was in fact a rocket with heavy defences that forced them to retreat. The Desert Island of Space!
Having recovered the Autobot Goldbug and a floppy disk containing the mind of Optimus Prime, Fortress Maximus and a small team set about attempting to resurrect the legendary Autobot Leader, but to no avail. They were interrupted by Hot Rod with some good news, however — he had managed to locate Goldbug's former home, the Ark. There, the Autobots' current leader, Grimlock, refused to accept Fortress Maximus's authority and challenged him to one-on-one battle for the leadership of the Autobots under the archaic Code of Combat. While Grimlock fought Blaster, Fortress Maximus's champion, on the moon, the assembled Autobots fell under a massed Decepticon attack. During the battle, the Ark was damaged and Maximus sent the Steelhaven back to Nebulos where they would have a better chance of repairing Optimus Prime, leaving Hot Rod and the other Autobots stranded on the moon. Totaled!
Once Prime returned from Nebulos as a Powermaster, Hot Rod and the other Autobots of Nebulos were soon incorporated into the larger Autobot force on board the Ark under his command. Hot Rod was enjoying some downtime there when Thunderwing and a motley crew of Decepticons attacked. Responding alongside his commander, Hot Rod joined in blasting the would-be Decepticon leader and forcing him off the ship. Assault on the Ark! On another occasion, Hot Rod and several Autobots accompanied Prime on what appeared to be a simple mission to stop some Decepticon Micromasters from attacking MacDill Air Force Base. Back from the Dead In fact, the attack was part of a much larger scheme by the deposed Decepticon leader Megatron, luring Prime and his forces away from the Ark and setting them against his rival for Decepticon leadership, the mighty Scorponok. The Resurrection Gambit! Once Prime realized the greater threat at issue, he ordered his troops to immediately take the shuttle back to the Ark, but Hot Rod recklessly chose to stay behind at Optimus's side to face the Decepticons. All the Familiar Faces! He was therefore on-hand when the newly resurrected Starscream arrived, and began tearing through all Transformers present, in the name of Megatron. He managed to take a shot at Starscream's new Pretender shell, causing enough neural feedback to temporarily weaken the Decepticon, and give Scorponok time to strike and end the threat. Skin Deep
The cost was still high, though, as Optimus Prime returned to the Ark and learned that his good friend Ratchet had sacrificed himself to help stop Megatron's schemes. This sent the Autobot leader into a depression, and Hot Rod took it upon himself to snap Optimus out of it. He had the crazy scheme of creating a mock threat with a Guardian Mark V battle droid, with predictable results. The robot proceeded to actually malfunction and endanger the Autobots, but Hot Rod's plan worked when Prime eventually snapped out of his funk and defeated the droid to save the day. Hot Rod needed to find a replacement hand after the Guardian snapped it off, but hey, all's well that ends well. Yesterday's Heroes! Later, Starscream also found himself depressed by his humiliation in front of Hot Rod and the others at the MacDill base. Fallen Star!
Hot Rod continued to operate with Earth's Autobot forces aboard the Ark, though he remained with Prime as the Autobots sent out various teams to locate the missing Creation Matrix. Bird of Prey! He was at Prime's side when Grimlock's A.T.T.T. returned from VsQs Dark Creation and so was present during Thunderwing's subsequent rampage through the shuttle bay. All Fall Down He took some damage but remained functional enough to continue on, later visiting Chromedome in the repair bay when the latter was having his leg reattached. Eye of the Storm
After Optimus Prime's surrender to Scorponok, Hot Rod was taken into custody alongside Kup at the Decepticons' New Jersey base. Once Prime had decided he'd had enough of waiting in a cell, he busted out Hot Rod and Kup and they joined him in finding Scorponok. Hot Rod took Lord Zarak hostage, threatening to tear him limb from limb if his bodyguard, Bludgeon, didn't stand down. Bludgeon was in the middle of a boast about how his Metallikato gave him the upper hand despite Hot Rod's hostage when Kup knocked him out. But Zarak then had Scorponok's body clasp Kup's head in its claw, creating a stand-off between Hot Rod and himself. Optimus talked everyone down, revealing that the Autobots were bluffing in their threats of dismembering the Nebulan. A short speech later, Zarak had become convinced that an alliance was most advantageous for both factions. The union of Optimus's and Scorponok's forces was about to be cemented with a handshake when Shockwave and Starscream's faction of renegade Decepticons attacked. Surrender! Hot Rod was knocked unconscious in the blast, but Prime was able to retrieve him from the rubble and he soon recovered. ...All This and Civil War 2 He was then transported to Cybertron along with the rest of the Earthbound Autobots by Primus, who filled his children in on his eons-old struggle against Unicron, and the Transformers' ultimate destiny in battling him. The Void! Unicron appeared in Cybertron's orbit shortly thereafter, and Hot Rod was seen speeding into the battle against the Chaos-Bringer on a Sky-sled. On the Edge of Extinction! Unicron was defeated by Optimus, who sacrificed himself in order to unleash the Matrix's power within the planet-eater. Following this, Hot Rod partook in an attack against the Decepticons on the planet Klo, only to be destroyed at their hands. A resurrected Optimus Prime arrived to turn the tide of battle, and Hot Rod was revived by the power of the Last Autobot, their newest ally. The Decepticons were forced into exile, ushering an end to the Transformers' war. End of the Road!
Earthforce
After Galvatron resuscitated five Autobots aboard the Ark to serve as his new army, he quickly discovered that they had other plans when they used his own mind bug against him, trapping him a nightmare where he was pursued by a giant, sword-wielding Rodimus Prime. ...Perchance to Dream
Future timelines
Marvel UK future timelines
Hot Rod rose to greater prominence in an alternate future timeline. In 1990, he, Kup and Blurr were captured by Megatron; although rescued by a double-agent named Warmonger, Hot Rod was recaptured and bore witness first hand to Megatron's mercilessness when he pitted Warmonger, Octopunch, and Stranglehold against Bludgeon in a Trial by Combat after having accused the latter of treachery. Warmonger's hesitation to kill during the fight outed him as an Autobot, and Megatron slew him on the spot. Then, in 1991, Hot Rod was part of a unit that escorted the captive Scorponok, only to lose the Decepticon leader when forced to defend a human settlement against an attack by the Air Strike Patrol. Aspects of Evil! On another occasion in 1995, Hot Rod was present when Optimus Prime first unveiled the female Autobot, Arcee, to a dubious crowd of human feminists. Hot Rod was confused over what the hubbub was about, with explanations from Jazz on the topic of gender doing little to clear up matters. The discussion was tabled when a group of Decepticons led by Shockwave arrived on the scene, forcing the Autobots to take up arms. As Hot Rod edged back to get a clear shot on Shockwave, he tripped over Arcee, sending both 'bots tumbling to the ground. Hot Rod was approached for his personal opinion on Arcee after she had proven her meddle in combat, but Hot Rod's approval was met with derision. Prime's Rib!
In 2003, he and Blurr were given "Ark duty," assigned to stand guard over the Autobots' spaceship while construction on Autobot City began. Kup was apparently instructed to deliver the plans of the city to the American government, and when Hot Rod saw him being jumped by the Stunticons, he disobeyed orders and sped out to the rescue. The Stunticons brutally beat on Hot Rod and took the plans, but Hot Rod learned a hard lesson when Kup informed him that it was meant to happen that way because the plans were a fake. Ark Duty When the city was completed in 2004, Shockwave attacked it on its opening day, Hot Rod's failure to activate the city's Advance Attack Warning Systems allowing the Decepticons to get the drop on the Autobots. Letting his emotions get the better of him, Hot Rod repelled Shockwave by attacking in a wildly illogical manner, tackling him down a mountain repeatedly. Despite his earlier blunder, Hot Rod was hailed as a hero and an inspiration for his actions that day. Aspects of Evil! Also, at some unknown point in the past, Hot Rod's Targetmaster partner Firebolt was killed in action. Headhunt
Hot Rod was one of the many Autobots based in the completed Autobot City. He was close friends with the young human Daniel Witwicky. Realizing that the Decepticons were invading in a stolen shuttle, Hot Rod and Daniel tried to outpace them before they reached the city. Optimus Prime fell in battle against Megatron, and Hot Rod stood with a handful of others as Optimus died and passed the Autobot Leadership Matrix to Ultra Magnus. The Planet-Eater!
In the year 2006, when the new Decepticon leader Galvatron traveled back in time to 1986 as part of a plan to free himself from the control of Unicron, the chaos-bringer used his mental powers to plant knowledge of Galvatron's plan into the minds of Hot Rod, Kup and Blurr and transported them to Cybertron, where they used Galvatron's equipment to follow him into the past. There, with help from the present-day incarnation of Ultra Magnus, they were able to convince Galvatron that he had, in fact, traveled back in time to a parallel universe, where his actions would have no effect on the future. Believing this, Galvatron returned to his own time, and after setting any remaining wrongs to rights, the trio of Autobots also returned to 2006. Target: 2006
Back in his native timeline, Autobot City got word from Spike Witwicky and Bumblebee that a "monster planet" was devouring Cybertron's moons. En route, Hot Rod and Kup (and the Dinobots) were separated from the rest of the Autobots during a Decepticon attack and crashed on the planet Quintessa. After escaping the sadistic trial of the Quintessons and attempted execution (as well as meeting Wheelie), Judgment Day! Hot Rod went on to the planet Junk, where he was just in time to stop Wreck-Gar from fighting another group of stranded Autobots with a timely use of the Universal greeting. Together, they all traveled to Cybertron to stop Unicron before he could eat more than just its moons.
Hot Rod plunged his ship through Unicron's eye and was separated from the rest of his team. Alone, he found himself facing Galvatron in a battle to the death over the Autobot Leadership Matrix. Claiming the Matrix, Hot Rod evolved into "Rodimus Prime", an older, larger, and more powerful version of himself. With this new strength, he overpowered Galvatron - hurling him through Unicron's hide into the void of space - and opened the Matrix, destroying the planet-eater. The Final Battle! Fallen Angel Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive!
It's believed that Primus deliberately caused Hot Rod's Prime form to resemble him. What an ego! #160's Grim Grams
As the new Autobot leader, Rodimus became paranoid about Galvatron's eventual return, since no body was ever recovered from space. He led the Autobot forces high and low searching the universe for the Decepticon leader, neglecting Cybertron in the process. As a result, Shockwave arose as the new Decepticon leader, and total war broke out on Cybertron once again. Unable to take the time to find Galvatron himself anymore, Rodimus rashly placed a bounty on the Decepticon's head. What Rodimus did not realize, however, was that Galvatron had time-jumped again, traveling back to 1987. Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive! In 2007, when the freelance peace-keeping agent Death's Head pursued Galvatron back to the '80s, Rodimus was informed of this fact by an Autobot double-agent named Nautilus, and, dismayed at the danger he had unleashed on the past, promptly headed back in time himself to stop the dual threats. Burning Sky! Once again teaming up with the present-day Ultra Magnus, Rodimus and his team of Kup, Blurr and Wreck-Gar tracked Galvatron down to Mount Verona, where he was attempting to harness the volcano's molten energy. While arguing with Death's Head, Rodimus and the bounty hunter were both attacked, but when Ultra Magnus opened fire on his power siphon, Galvatron was distracted long enough for Rodimus to escape. Hunters Rodimus then arranged a plan that saw the Autobots capture Galvatron's time-jump mechanism, in order to have Wreck-Gar re-engineer it to return all the time-travelers to their point of origin. Rodimus engaged Galvatron in a protracted battle to buy Wreck-Gar time, but when the device was activated, Rodimus, Death's Head and the other Autobots were returned to 2007. Galvatron was left behind. Fire on High!Vicious Circle!
Some time later, a disgruntled Death's Head accepted a contract from the Decepticons on Rodimus Prime's head, and ambushed him while he was inspecting Autobot lines. Their battle subsequently went underground, where Cyclonus and Scourge intervened, downing Death's Head in hopes of being the ones to defeat Rodimus, in order to reclaim their lost standing in the Decepticons' ranks. Rodimus was able to lead Death's Head through the underground tunnels, right into the heart of the Autobot camp, where he offered him advance payment for a different contract—on Cyclonus and Scourge. Headhunt Death's Head proceeded to track the two Decepticons for the remainder of the year, until the three of them fell under the mental control of Unicron when they discovered his disembodied head on the planet of Junk in the early days of 2008. Under his control, they assassinated Decepticon leader Shockwave and reignited the stalemated Cybertronian civil war in order to keep the Autobots busy while Unicron worked on rebuilding his body. Rodimus, however, learned of the situation thanks to Smokescreen, and led a small Autobot force to Junk, where Death's Head fought against Unicron's control long enough to project Rodimus's mind into a battle with the demi-god on the astral plane. During the battle, explosives planted by Wreck-Gar destroyed Unicron's head, and his mind was sealed within the Matrix. The Legacy of Unicron!
Later in 2008, the alien Quintessons targeted Cybertron for colonization, and attacked the Autobots with a two-pronged assault on both Cybertron and Earth. When Arcee shirked her guard duty at Autobot City, the Quintessons were given an opening that allowed them to take over the outpost, and when she returned, they gunned her down, and left her outside to bait Rodimus into a trap. Arriving at the city, Rodimus discovered the injured Arcee and opened his chest compartment to heal her with the Matrix, only to have it yanked from his grasp by the Quintesson general, Ghyrik, causing him to revert to Hot Rod. Hot Rod and Arcee managed to give the Quintessons the slip however, and made their way within Autobot City. There, they liberated Blaster's cassettes for back-up, and proceeded to fight their way through the Quintessons to Autobot City's control room. While the others busied themselves keeping the Quintessons at bay, Hot Rod activated Metroplex to smash the alien threat. In battle with Ghyrik, Hot Rod duped the Quintessons with a bit of amateur ventriloquism and reclaimed the Matrix; transformed back into Rodimus Prime again, he routed the Quintessons. Space Pirates!
Unbeknownst to Rodimus, the Quintessons had sought to colonize Cybertron because their own homeworld was being destroyed by a rift in space and time caused by the Transformers' repeated time-travel. The rift continued to grow in size until it threatened both Earth and Cybertron at the beginning of both 2009 and 1989. To put an end to the threat, Rodimus and a squad of Autobots traveled back to 1989, only to wind up mass-displacing Optimus Prime (since the Matrix could not exist in two time periods at once) and a group of other Autobots to limbo, leading to a brief but violent misunderstanding with the present-day Autobots. Optimus Prime was able to stabilize the situation by communicating with all involved through the power of the Matrix. Subsequently, Autobots and Decepticons from both the present and future teamed up to battle Galvatron and Megatron, but one by one they fell, until Optimus Prime used the Matrix to return himself to reality for a final showdown. After absorbing Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge, however, the rift was sealed by Shockwave, and Rodimus and the other future Autobots returned to 2009, vowing to destroy their time machines to prevent this from ever happening again. Time Wars These events were observed by the time travelling Dicet Alpha-zero. The Quest!
As it transpired, however, things would not be that easy. In the wake of the massive chronal damage caused by the rift, time had attempted to heal its wounds, but reality was no longer as it had been. The future that Rodimus and the other Autobots came from no longer existed—in its place was a world where Galvatron had never traveled back in time, and had conquered Cybertron after Unicron's destruction. Rodimus quickly established a rebellion, but when Galvatron tracked down their headquarters, he killed Blurr and all others present, goading Rodimus into a ferocious battle in hopes of corrupting the Matrix within him. Thanks to Arcee, Rodimus realized what he was doing mid-brawl, and ended the fight before more damage could be done. He then fled with the remaining Autobots to fight another day. Aspects of Evil!
Rodimus and the Autobots escaped to Earth via hyperspace, only to find that their craft's guidance systems had been damaged. During the flight, Rodimus Prime vanished, The Void! and Kup began to suspect that his leader was their saboteur. In order to test his theory, he had Arcee repair the ship's retro-rockets by getting to a sealed room through its air ducts, but told Rodimus that she was making her way there through the coolant tanks instead. Finding Rodimus swimming in the tanks confirmed his suspicion before the Autobots made a crash landing. Edge of Impact Rodimus had been corrupted by Unicron's foul essence from within the Matrix, and the dark god used his frame as an instrument of destruction against those who had survived the impact. Within the Matrix itself, Rodimus's mind found itself in a nightmare world, on the run from his dark adversary. Shadow of Evil Turning to face his demons, Rodimus battled with the essence of Unicron in this dream-scape. The confrontation came to an end when Kup wrenched the Matrix from Prime's chest, freeing him from the chaos-bringer's influence. But now, Rodimus knew that the evil of Unicron would be waiting for him within it... White Fire ...and in 2010, Unicron's essence succeeded in taking over Rodimus's body, transforming it into a duplicate of his own and attacking Cybertron once more, until Rodimus was able to defeat him from within and re-seal him within the Matrix. Aspects of Evil!
Centuries later, in the year 2356, Rodimus, his body withered and weakened from the continuous harmful influence of Unicron from within the Matrix, lectured a young Autobot student on the nature of evil, unwittingly setting the youth on the path towards villainy himself. He cried out in horror as he realised what he'd done, while Unicron planned to emerge again soon. Aspects of Evil!
In an unidentified timeline in the year 2510, a healthy Rodimus Prime was overjoyed to announce that the Cybertronian war was finally over, and planned to step down as leader to allow Springer to take over. The sole remaining Decepticon, a double-agent named Triton, spoke out against the decision to cause dissension, and succeeded—as Rodimus could only watch in dismay, arguments escalated into conflict, and the war was born again as Technobot fought Wrecker, and the Autobot Civil War began. Peace
The Big Broadcast of 2006
In 2006, Rodimus Prime's Autobots had taken control of Cybertron. Sky Lynx reported suspicious activity on Junkion, so Rodimus sent the Aerialbots to investigate. Superion was defeated in battle but was able to send back an SOS before going offline. Sky Lynx was dispatched to retrieve him, and Rodimus decided to investigate himself. He took Ultra Magnus and Blaster in Omega Supreme.
Once there, the Autobots discovered a chaotic scene where aliens from many worlds, including the Decepticons, had arrived and were all engaged in a deadly battle with one another. Rodimus was immediately attacked by a hypnotized Galvatron, and the two battled to a standstill. The other Autobots were able to disrupt a hypnotic signal that was causing everyone to fight one another. The Junkions then added their strength against the Decepticons, causing the latter to retreat. Rodimus didn't care where the hypnosis signal had been coming from, as long as it was off for good. He never discovered that it was the work of the Quintessons. The Big Broadcast of 2006
Rhythms of Darkness!
"No, Mr. Prime, I expect you to die!"
In an another alternate future timeline, Hot Rod arose to become Rodimus Prime. However, the planet-eater known as Unicron managed to destroy Cybertron, leaving Rodimus to lead a failed Autobot/human defense of Earth when that timeline's Galvatron attacked and eventually conquered it. Rodimus perished during the conflict, and his body was strung up between the ruined towers of the World Trade Center. In the year 2009, Galvatron returned to Manhattan to survey its devastated landscape, and fired upon Rodimus's corpse, demanding to know how many times he would have to kill him to erase his legacy. Rhythms of Darkness!
Transformers Comic-Magazin
During a fierce Decepticon attack and a dimensional conflagration, Optimus Prime contacted, through lightyears and dimensions, his successor "Rodius Prime" on Cybertron for assistance. From Cybertron, Rodius Prime sent tractor rays that put all of the dimensionally displaced Autobots and Decepticons back into the dimensional bridge that brought them to this reality. Headmaster of the Dimensions
When Optimus went missing, Rodimus Prime, from the future, contacted the Autobots about his disappearance and gave them orders on their duties as left by Optimus in case of his absence. Rodimus got some backtalk from Scoop that, since he was from the future, those events had already happened and shouldn't really matter to him. The Case of Optimus Prime In 2008, Rodimus reviewed a record of one of Powermaster Optimus Prime's adventures with the other Autobots in his hyperspace cruiser. The Autobots thought Optimus was pretty swell. Powermaster Optimus Prime - A Robot, a Hero
In a more contemporary time with the other Transformers, Rodimus Prime observed a mysterious Decepticon Earth-based laser from Cybertron and wondered what its purpose was. When a team of investigating Autobots was kidnapped, Rodimus cautioned the Earth-based Autobots against hasty action and assured them that he would be there should the Decepticons attack. Shockwave's Galactic Secret
Marvel Generation 2 comic
After the defeat of the Decepticons on Klo, the Autobots' forces scattered throughout the galaxy as virtually independent splinter cells. A small group under Optimus Prime's command encountered Bludgeon and his soldiers on a desolate world, both sides looking for new weapons or technology, and were in danger of being overrun. Prime sent Hot Rod into a nearby mausoleum building in the hopes that he could conjure up some form of "graven image" to distract the superstitious Decepticon leader. Hot Rod emerged empty-handed from the ruins, only to find that just such a graven image had conjured itself, chased off the trespassing Decepticons, and was now prepared to do the same to the Autobots. They managed a dignified, if rushed, scramble to safety. Ghosts
When Grimlock sent out a message summoning Optimus Prime, Hot Rod and Kup accompanied him. Hot Rod was quick to remark the sorry state of the planet they were on, and pondered exactly why they were here. As Prime continued his lengthy internal monolog, they were ambushed by a second-generation Cybertronian patrol. Hot Rod pretended to flee, but quickly came back as he and Prime caught the squad in a crossfire, annihilating the lot of them. Grimlock made his presence known afterwards and took them to his ship, where Hot Rod casually fiddled with a panel while Grimlock exposited on the new enemy force they now faced. Jhiaxus attacked soon after, crippling the Autobots's ship and capturing them. A jailbreak was led by Optimus, and the Autobots managed to escape Jhiaxus's flagship. War Without End! When Grimlock and a team of Autobots were captured once again by the Liege Centuro, Hot Rod was part of Optimus's rescue team. Devices and Desires! While Optimus Prime went on a vision quest back on Cybertron, some Autobots set up camp on a deserted asteroid, where Kup set up some war games for training. Hot Rod managed to lure the Aerialbots and Groove into a false sense of confidence and into a trap consisting of Dinobots. When the exercise was over, Hot Rod expressed frustration at the fact that they were stuck playing games while Jhiaxus and his Cybertronians were still out there. The Power and the Glory Megatron's resurfacing on Earth made Optimus Prime decide to confront him alone. Fortunately, Grimlock had different ideas and mounted up a rescue, which Hot Rod participated in. He tried to engage Rumble in vehicle mode, but the small Decepticon used his piledrivers to send Hot Rod tumbling away. Hot Rod crashed just behind Megatron, prompting the Decepticon leader to order a full retreat. The Gathering Darkness
Hot Rod was amongst the Autobots deployed to the planet Ethos where they fought hard to counter a Cybertronian offensive, but quickly found themselves overwhelmed and had to be saved by their newfound Decepticon allies. Escalation! After Starscream sold out the location of the Autobots' Autobase on Earth, Jhiaxus organized a full-scale assault. Hot Rod was part of the counter-offensive, and as the Cybertronians were being eradicated by the Autobot-Decepticon alliance, he was quick to report Prime his new finding: Jhiaxus had a second wave waiting in the wings. Total War! When the Cybertronian threat was overshadowed by the oncoming Swarm, Hot Rod and Electro went scouting out for its position. Thanks to Murphy's law, he had the misfortune of reporting its arrival just as Grimlock pondered just how things could get worse. Unlike many of his fellow Autobots, Hot Rod was saved from being devoured by the Swarm thanks to Megatron's timely arrival, carrying canisters of Rheanimum. Soon afterwards, Hot Rod and company witnessed Optimus Prime's return to life in a shiny new body, and cheered at his speech for unity and a higher purpose than war. A Rage in Heaven!
Regeneration One
An alternate timeline's Hot Rod travelled to the Primus chamber at the centre of Cybertron with the Dinobots, where he had a vision of all the various Hot Rods and Rodimuses across the multiverse, including this Hot Rod. Destiny, Part Three After this Hot Rod became Rodimus Prime he used the Covenant of Primus to infiltrate Zero Space and confront the Dark Matrix creature, which summoned three versions of Optimus Prime to defend itself. Rodimus Prime then likewise sent ripples throughout the multiverse, bringing forth multiple versions of himself to battle the Dark Matrix creature. Having loosened its control over Optimus, the other Hot Rods allowed Rodimus Prime to seal the multiversal breach with the Sword of Primus. The War to End All Wars, Part 5
Classics
Once peace was restored on Klo, Hot Rod followed Optimus Prime back to Cybertron, where the young Autobot fell back into the racing scene. After countless years of fighting for his life, this quickly bored Hot Rod, who went to Optimus to ask advice. Hot Rod was put in charge of the rehabilitation of Cybertron and the integration of the millions of Transformers who had fled the planet during the war. To keep the returning Transformers entertained, Hot Rod devised the Cybertron Grand Challenge, a cross-factional racing event of an epic scale. Following his cultural triumph, Hot Rod changed his name to Rodimus, both to reflect his growing maturity and in homage to Optimus Prime, the leader he still adored. Rodimus became one of Optimus Prime's closest officers, and when Megatron reared his head again on Earth, Rodimus was one of the first recruited to accompany Optimus to hunt him down. Rodimus's profile in Club magazine #15
After the Autobots discovered the mysterious Autobot, Skyfall, they flew to South America to investigate a mysterious power source. Rodimus led them there with a tracking device, muttering that he wished Wheeljack were around to help him use it. Clearly they arrived at the correct location, however, because the Decepticons were there looking for it as well! Crossing Over: Part 3 As the battle raged, Mirage and Rodimus cornered Soundwave, but the two worried that they were being overwhelmed by numbers. Crossing Over: Part 5 Rodimus tried contacting Cliffjumper, but the Autobot scout wasn't responding, and so Rodimus grew even more frustrated when Mirage went invisible and left him. Mirage's gambit helped win the battle, and the Decepticons withdrew. Crossing Over: Part 6
Rodimus was damaged severely, and so after the battle in South America, Optimus Prime carried him all the way home. Bumblebee was asked to put him in a CR chamber. Games of Deception
Regeneration One
This Rodimus was one of the various versions of himself seen by an alternate timeline's Hot Rod Destiny, Part Three and recruited into Zero Space to fight the Dark Matrix creature. The War to End All Wars, Part 5
Regeneration One
Following the Last Autobot's restoration of Cybertron, Optimus Prime sequestered himself and Hot Rod away at Nova Point to mentor the young Autobot in the ways of leadership. Their training was interrupted by Kup and Ultra Magnus, who were concerned by the recent resurgence of Decepticon activity, but Prime dismissed their concerns out of hand and ordered Hot Rod to show them out. Their fears were proved entirely founded when Soundwave's "Neo-Decepticons" took control of an orbital defense satellite and destroyed the Last Autobot as Hot Rod looked on with horror. Counterpoint
When Kup and the Wreckers went against Prime's orders by breaking a Neo-Decepticon siege in Kalis, Ultra Magnus and Kup were called to Nova Point to report in. Waiting outside, Kup complained to Hot Rod that in his opinion Prime had lost his edge following his resurrection and when Hot Rod tried to defend his mentor, Kup angrily retorted that Prime's tutoring him was merely his way of trying to avoid his responsibilities. Kup stormed out of Nova Point, leaving Hot Rod to explain his absence to Magnus. Loose Ends, Part 1
Optimus and Hot Rod continued their training, but were once again interrupted by Magnus when Trailbreaker discovered that Kup and the Wreckers had gone missing. At the Civil Defense Hub Hot Rod and Prime learned that they had travelled to Earth with the Cosmic Carnival. There, they had found the planet devastated and come under attack from Megatron, who was also broadcasting a message calling out Optimus Prime for a fight. Taking a squad of his best warriors aboard the hypercruiser Valiant Prime set off for Earth. Although Hot Rod pleaded to accompany him, he was told that he had to remain behind on Cybertron in command of the Autobots there. Walking away from the launch, Hot Rod completely failed to recognise the Neo-Decepticon spy Dirtbag. Loose Ends, Part 3
Left alone, Hot Rod experienced a dream or vision in which he fought Demons with a sword. Unable to comprehend its meaning, he was shaken out of this reverie by Blurr's warning that the Hall of Silence had been breached. Loose Ends, Part 4 Arriving at the scene, he discovered that the supposedly impregnable building had indeed been, er, impregnated and that the intruder had established a null field around it that kept the Autobots out. Though Grapple urged him to destroy the Hall of Silence before the Matrix reservoir within Thunderwing's remains could fall into enemy hands, Hot Rod hesitated, wondering what Prime would do. Loose Ends, Part 5 Grapple convinced him that destroying the Hall was the right thing to do, so Hot Rod proceeded, unaware that Soundwave was counting on this action and had teleported away with Thunderwing's remains. Natural Selection, Part One
Hot Rod received a report from Lightspeed on an excavation project that had at last located the tunnels once used by Grimlock, Jazz, and Bumblebee to access the chamber of Primus. Just as Hot Rod was feeling optimistic, Crosshairs brought news that Grimlock had returned to Cybertron. Gathering up the Autobot Targetmasters and Triggerbots, Hot Rod met up with Grimlock at the Cybertropolis Spaceport, with the intent to arrest the renegade Dinobot, but was stunned by the revelation of Grimlock's restored ability to transform. Hot Rod reasserted himself and had Grimlock restrained, but the young Autobot sensed that something was not right about this scenario.
Back at Iacon, Hot Rod handed the responsibility of overseeing Grimlock to Grapple, Siren, Hosehead and Perceptor as he proceeded to the excavation site. He descended, unaware that the excavation team had been attacked by Demons. Natural Selection, Part Two
Hot Rod's absence from Iacon was felt keenly by the Autobots as Scorponok began his invasion of Cybertron, using his Gene Key to rewrite the CNA of Autobots one by one and rallying the remaining Decepticons to his side. Hot Rod, meanwhile, was being chased through the underground tunnels by the Demons, who were driven into an even more vicious frenzy than usual by something they sensed within the young Autobot that reminded them of their creator. Transforming into vehicle mode to outrun them, Hot Rod hurdled a chasm, only to pass through what appears to be a solid wall on the other side. In this secret chamber, suspended in twin beams of light, he discovered a sword and a golden disc. Natural Selection, Part Three
Hot Rod sensed he was meant to choose between the two items: the Sword of Primus, with which he could use to fight the Demons, or the Covenant of Primus, bearing knowledge. Deciding that what he required was answers, Hot Rod grasped the disc and was shown a vision of primordial Cybertron, as the Demons—Primus's first creations—rose from the planet and worshipped around a stone effigy of their maker. Time spun on and Hot Rod saw free will take root among the Demons, who turned upon one another, prompting Primus to wipe his experiment clean, sundering the planet's surface and destroying his creations. Realizing that some Demons had survived the purge within the planet and that Primus intended for him to finish the job, Hot Rod took up the sword and turned for battle. Natural Selection, Part Four
Hot Rod held the Sword of Primus above the head of a cowering Demon, and announced that the will of Primus decreed he use the blade to exterminate all of the creature's kind so the next step in the evolution of the Transformer race could begin. But after a moment's hesitation, Hot Rod concluded that Primus's will was not his will, and he would not further the grievous wrong their creator committed, on which their race was built. Taking the Covenant of Primus as well, Hot Rod exited the chamber—the gashes on his chest healing closed as he did so—and, vowing to return, headed back to the surface, the Demons all parting before him, genuflecting in fear of the light of Primus's artifacts. Natural Selection, Part Five
Following Grimlock's sacrifice to defeat Scorponok at the Sonic Canyons, and Perceptor's successful restoration of the reprogrammed Autobots, Hot Rod met with his advisors regarding the fallout of Scorponok's scheme. Those who had been affected by the Gene Key had to deal with the emotinal scars, and some Autobots even turned themselves in for their role in the invasion. Morale was low and tensions were high; this was keenly felt by Ultra Magnus as he dealt with the overwhelmed and understaffed Civil Defense Force, and fielded a call from Optimus Prime on Earth. Magnus voiced his concerns about Hot Rod's ineffective leadership to Optimus, as well as his concern about Hot Rod's absence during the Scorponok crisis, but Optimus replied that Hot Rod is learning and growing as a leader.
On his way to a speech at Eugenesis Plaza, Hot Rod told Kup about the visions he'd been experiencing, and his belief that they were visions not of the past, but of the future - one that would happen if the Transformers don't reunify with the Demons. Hot Rod attempted to explain this sentiment in his subsequent speech, but an already restless crowd, with a little strategically placed agitation from Spinister and Needlenose, turned on him. As Kup excorted Hot Rod from the ensuing riot, the security officer let him know that even he didn't agree with his decision, and urged the youngster to turn command over to Ultra Magnus. His resolve badly shaken, Hot Rod had Trailbreaker call up Magnus to do just that, only for the Dinobots to arrive and offer to join Hot Rod on his search for the Primus chamber. The Dinobots, including the restored Slag, refused to believe that their leader had perished in the depths of the Sonic Canyons; Slag, in particular, emphasized that they would know if he was gone. The Dinobots' "blind, intuitive faith" spurred Hot Rod into action, and he ordered Magnus to ensure Iacon was rebuilt by the time he and the Dinobots return from their mission. Destiny, Part One
Hot Rod and the Dinobots proceeded to search for the bottom of the Sonic Canyons, guided by a map in Hot Rod's head given to him by the Covenant of Primus. Swoop had his doubts, but Slag, reminding his fellow Dinobots that Grimlock had risked everything to save him, was determined to carry on. Destiny, Part Two As the crew reached the Primus chamber, Hot Rod had a multiversal out-of-body experience, where he witnessed a vision of many multiple versions of himself across space and time. He was brought out of the vision by the sudden arrival of the Demons, who launched an attack on the party. They took shelter under the face of Primus, and were surprised to find the Demons wouldn't follow them; the relief dissipated, though, when they discovered several crumbling corpses lying beneath their creator's visage. From the darkness, though, a figure emerged - the figure of Grimlock, though Hot Rod quickly realized that the Dinobot commander's body had been possessed by Primus himself! Destiny, Part Three
Primus informed Hot Rod that he did not perish in the battle with Unicron as his children believed, as he exists across space and time. He informed Hot Rod that the young autobot is "Prime", and that in order to fulfill that destiny, he must come to understand a "disease" eating away at all reality. Primus cast Hot Rod through a portal into the realm of Zero Space, before departing Grimlock's body, leaving the Dinobots with no memory of the encounter with their god. Destiny, Part Four
Hot Rod drifted through the void of Zero Space, unable to keep his thoughts coherent, until he suddenly found himself standing on solid ground. His data-files identified the location he found himself at as Denver, Colorado, over twenty years in his relative past, when Optimus Prime (still a Powermaster at this time) led the Autobots against the Deathbringer. Though Hot Rod was not at the battle originally, he was aware of the Deathbringer's origins as a medical mechanoid that had been corrupted by the power of the Creation Matrix, and that it had journeyed from the resting place of Optimus Prime's original body to Earth. As Hot Rod observed the historical battle, Nightbeat provided Optimus with the key information that allowed him to turn the Deathbringer's directive back upon itself, convincing the creature to end its own life. As the Autobots withdrew from the battle, Hot Rod found himself lingering long enough to observe that the fragment of corrupted Matrix energy had not been destroyed, and still exists.
Hot Rod then found himself deposited at Nova Cronum, in the time before the war, where he observed the arrival of a Transformer he had never heard of or seen. The new arrival, identified as Jhiaxus, met with High Circuitmaster Boltax and three other members of a "brain trust" - the "five greatest minds" on Cybertron as declared by Boltax - to upload their combined knowledge into the Underbase. Jhiaxus, though, had tired of Cybertron's isolationist policies, and proceeded to incapacitate the others while linked to them by destroying their mental avatars. Before they could recover, Jhiaxus downloaded the data he required to create his own cosmic empire, and then proceeded to remove all memories of his existence from the minds of the others, and all other records on the planet as well.
Before Hot Rod could make sense of those events, he found himself back on Earth, this time during the early days of Megatron's conquest of the planet. The Autobots' human allies, Buster and Jessie Witwicky, were fleeing from the attacking Decepticon zombie army. Jessie attempted to call Spike in hopes of enlisting the help of Fortress Maximus, but a despondent Spike refused to answer his phone. Taking their car into a car wash, Buster and Jessie shared a final moment together before they were destroyed by Ratbat. Hot Rod didn't have much time to ponder if the thing he should've taken away from that was the loss of Buster, or the present situation of Spike, as he was transported again...
... this time, to a strange planet of junk, where he saw the wreckage of an unfamiliar type of Autobot shuttle, along with several fallen Autobots. Hot Rod was drawn to a nearby battle between the enigmatic Galvatron and another version of himself - one who had been transformed by the Matrix into "Rodimus Prime". Recalling that Primus referred to him as "Prime", Hot Rod pondered that this was his own destiny, either in his future or in some parallel reality. He called out to his other self as Scourge and Cyclonus circled around to attack, and was surprised when Rodimus reacted. The distraction was enough for the attacking Decepticons to fire, breaking the chain holding the Matrix around Rodimus Prime's neck and sending it flying as Galvatron delivered the final shot to destroy Rodimus. Unnoticed by the others, Hot Rod reached out to the Matrix...
... and found himself on the deck of Bludgeon's Warworld, where the Decepticon was about to execute Kup. Hot Rod had returned to his own time, and introduced himself by the name the Matrix had given him: now, he had become Rodimus Prime! Less Than Zero
Bludgeon attacked Rodimus, but the Autobot snatched the master of metallikato's blade out of the air. Deciding that Rodimus was the one destined to destroy him, Bludgeon demanded he grant him his warrior's death. Rodimus oblidged by grabbing the Pretender by his leg and tossing him through the Warworld's "windshield". Bludgeon burned through Cybertron's atmosphere and exploded upon impact. Before the Autobots could celebrate, the Warworld came under attack from the Ark, and Rodimus ordered an evacuation. As Starscream brought the legendary ship's weapons to bear, the Warworld was destroyed; without the flagship, the Blitz Engines ceased to receive the transmission of Matrix energy and were easily destroyed, and the Autobots were able to defeat the remaining Decepticons. But although the battle was won, Rodimus could not celebrate yet. Destiny, Part Five
Still concerned about the visions shown to him in Zero Space, and in the midst of Kup's ruminations about the cost of their victory, Powerglide informed Rodimus of the location of Bludgeon's remains. They arrived at the impact site only to find that Bludgeon was still alive, if only barely. The Decepticon begged Rodimus to finish what he started, but Rodimus chose to punish him by denying him his warrior's death, and instructed Powerglide to have a medic tend to him when one becomes available. He then called for a team to assist Ultra Magnus in tracking down Galvatron, deeming the rogue time-displaced Decepticon a priority above all else, before leaving to consult his advisors.
Rodimus contacted Optimus Prime, who was helping to build a space bridge in Oklahoma that would connect Earth with Nebulos. Rodimus requested formal authority from Optimus to take charge on Cybertron, but Optimus, realizing that Hot Rod was the destined one to fill the void left by his last death, ceded complete leadership of the Autobots to the new Prime, bidding Rodimus arise. Rodimus proceeded to discuss his Zero Space visions with Optimus, having placed Nightbeat and Bumblebee in charge of a "Zero Unit", charged with investigating these issues and developing a response. Optimus was not certain of the significance of Spike Witwicky in these events, but Rodimus insisted that if Spike was not important in the grand scheme of things now, he would be soon.
Nightbeat and Bumblebee chose to focus on the mystery of Jhiaxus first, concluding that as a former Senator, he would likely have had off-world contacts; they tried sending a communication to other worlds with which Cybertron has had contact, but none of the worlds replied, at least not before Jhiaxus himself showed up with his fleet. Jhiaxus contacted Rodimus directly, stating that he had come in peace. The War to End All Wars, Part 1 Uncomfortable with the massive show of force Jhiaxus's fleet represented, Rodimus Prime tried to be diplomatic in inviting Jhiaxus down for discussions. Jhiaxus was openly condescending to the Prime, and unveiled his life's work recreating Cybertron through a series of mecha-formed worlds known as the Hub. Rodimus quickly recognized that Jhiaxus would have destroyed worlds with existing life on them to achieve such a scale, and Jhiaxus openly admitted it. Hostilities quickly broke out after that. The War to End All Wars, Part 2
Using data scanned by the Zero Unit during their talks, Rodimus Prime launched an all-out attack on the Hub aboard the command vessel Priam. The initial lack of resistance was disconcerting to all the Autobots, but they pushed ahead with their plan to cripple the structure. Their plan failed utterly to achieve the desired effect, at which point Jhiaxus emerged from hiding and delivered the show of force they had expected at the start. Hopelessly overpowered and losing lives by the minute, Rodimus reluctantly surrendered to Jhiaxus. The War to End All Wars, Part 3 Despite imprisonment, Rodimus remained defiant against Jhiaxus, and when outside forces conspired to bring down the Hub, Rodimus took advantage of the opportunity and freed his fellow Autobots. Humbled by the experience, they limped back to Cybertron. The War to End All Wars, Part 4
In their absence, however, Cybertron had been utterly consumed by the Anti-Matrix entity. What remained was a decaying and rusted necropolis, populated by shadow-demons that had once been Cybertronians before they too were corrupted by the entity. Rodimus Prime finally recognized the manipulation he had been subjected to. Primus was gone — their God had been dead since the battle with Unicron. Instead, the Anti-Matrix entity had occupied the space once occupied by the creator, orchestrating events to feed its desire for conflict and evil. Through lies and half-truths, the Anti-Matrix had led Hot Rod around for months through his visions, and even "warned" Rodimus of its own evil to further toy with him.
Seeing the threat for the first time, Rodimus reclaimed the Sword and Covenant of Primus and willed himself back to Zero Space. He confronted the entity, who intended to use the unique blend of Earth-Cybertron-Nebulos inside Spike Witwicky to open its way to the rest of the multiverse. Once there, the entity would corrupt other aspects of Primus, other Cybertrons to feed its dark desires. In Zero Space, the entity set three aspects of Optimus Prime against Rodimus, but Rodimus learned his lessons well and used the Covenant and the rift into the multiverse to summon forth all the multiversal aspects of himself that would heed the call.
With the entity occupied, Rodimus freed Spike and vowed to contain the entity's influence. He sealed the rift, cutting his universe's Cybertron off from the replenishing power of Primus's other multiversal aspects. This cosmic triage made the surviving Cybertronians mortal, but it also denied the Anti-Matrix any chance to spread its evil further. With the entity contained, Rodimus and Spike returned to normal space. The alliance between Earth and Nebulos proved fruitful for both worlds thanks to the space bridge connection, but Cybertron remained too risky for the Autobots to inhabit. Instead, they took a message of peace out into the stars, traveling to elsewheres and elsewhens to fulfill the true Primus's Great Plan.
As he eventually came to die of old age, Rodimus Prime returned to Cybertron as it entered its death-tremors as well. He collapsed onto the molten surface of the world, and his essence was absorbed into the metal where he fell. In time, that pure life element brought forth new life, and so the circle continued for, in truth... it never ends. The War to End All Wars, Part 5