Roadburner

Roadburner is an Autobot Micromaster from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Some days, you can tell the box artist just phoned it in.

Roadburner is the model of determination under pressure. Extremely tough and strong, his heat-resistant armor lets him wade into the most dangerous situations and emerge unscathed. Combine that with an extendible crane and a working knowledge of battlefield medicine, and you have one of the most skilled rescue operatives among the Autobots. Roadburner won't give up and has been known to keep plugging away, trying to save as many lives as possible, when all hope seems lost.

There's a flipside to his heroics, however: Roadburner holds himself to very high standards, and he can't accept any kind of personal failure on his watch. The loss of even one life weighs heavily on him. It doesn't help that his Metro Squad partner, Wheel Blaze, is a well-meaning but overenergetic doof who causes more trouble than he solves, leaving Roadburner to clean up the mess.^[1]

Fiction

War for Cybertron Trilogy marketing material

After Cybertron fell, the Autobots left their homeworld aboard the Ark, traveling through space in pursuit of the AllSpark. Earthrise webpage^[2] As fuel ran low, it fell to Optimus Prime to send Fireguard, Roadburner, and Windstorm to Micron to collect the powerful yet dangerous plasma energy detected by Teletraan I. Decepticon Micromasters Stingracer, Runner, and Motorhead followed them, intending to sabotage their mission and seize the plasma energy for themselves.

The Autobots took advantage of the dense population of Micron to hide out until they were ready to take the plasma energy. As Micron was the most secure planet in the universe, the plasma energy generators were protected enough for both sides to struggle to reach them. The Decepticons made contact with the plasma energy first, only to be effectively disintegrated by it when the generator overloaded, so the Autobot Micromasters deemed the plasma energy too dangerous and left. Encounter 2: Micron Micromasters

Commercial appearances

Roadburner, Wheel Blaze, Missile Master, and Moonrock were among a group of Autobot Micromasters that managed to infiltrate the Decepticon headquarters. Megatron tried to stop them, only to be confounded by their ability to separate and recombine in their vehicle modes. They then shot Megatron in the face. Micromaster Combiners commercial

Games

Transformers Legends

"WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING HERE!?"

Roadburner (minus Wheel Blaze) was part of a big fight involving an array of military vehicles. Yep. By Land, Sea, or Air

Transformers Rising

The Game Full of Death and Suffering...! This character article is a stub and is missing information on their video game appearances. You can help Transformers Wiki by expanding it.

More than Meets the Eye - I

Transformers Earth Wars

The Game Full of Death and Suffering...! This character article is a stub and is missing information on their video game appearances. You can help Transformers Wiki by expanding it. Transformers: Earth Wars

Toys

The Transformers

Dear Mobage. This does not mean that Wheel Blaze is ghostly white all over. Thank you.

• Metro Squad (Micromaster Combiner Squad, 1990)

Released in the seventh and final year of the original Hasbro Transformers toyline in the US (sixth and non-final year in Europe), Roadburner transforms into a yellow fire engine trailer which is intended to be the rear half of a complete fire engine that he forms with his combiner partner Wheel Blaze. He can, of course, combine with any other Micromaster Combiner to form a new vehicle, as well as connect to any Micromaster Combiner Transport.

He was only available in a Squad pack with his squadmates Wheel Blaze, Power Run, Oiler, Slide, and Strikedown.

• More information on Roadburner at TFU.info

• Fire Tanker W Team (Micro Transformer W Team, 1991)

• ID number: C-365
• Accessories: Micro Trailer #5

A year later, Roadburner was released in the Return of Convoy part of the original Takara Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers toyline, as part of the Fire Tanker W Team.

The other three toys in the set are Wheel Blaze, Oiler, and Slide, all identical to their Hasbro-release versions. The set also comes with Micro Trailer #5, a storage/launching vehicle for Micromasters which can also attach to a Micromaster half-vehicle, plus a decal sheet with extra stickers to adorn your Micromasters with.

War for Cybertron: Earthrise

• Micron Micromasters (Galactic Odyssey Collection, 2021)

• Known designers: AJ Piejko-Brown (packaging)

Part of the Encounter 2 set of the Earthrise Galactic Odyssey Collection, representing Micron, Roadburner is an Autobot-aligned redeco of Siege Power Punch, transforming into the back half of a military vehicle fire truck, according to the online description for the set. Regardless, Roadburner is fairly inaccurate to his original toy; since he lacks the red aerial ladder found on his original toy - the black cannon on his back is probably intended to represent a water pump. He can combine with his partner Fireguard (rather than Wheel Blaze, who was already released in the Siege toyline) to form the complete "fire truck". Additionally, the duo can be inverted in their combined mode, forming a shoulder cannon for a larger figure.

Roadburner is part of a six-pack exclusive to Amazon, bundled with fellow Autobots Fireguard and Windstorm, and Decepticons Runner, Motorhead, and Stingracer. Despite being labeled as "Encounter 2" in the Galactic Odyssey Collection, this was the third set to be officially revealed. The reasons for this delay are unknown.

This mold was also used to make Earthrise Missile Master.

Notes

Foreign names

• Japanese: Roadburner (ロードバーナー Rōdobānā)
• French: Flamèche (Canada)
• Italian: Pulsar

References