Thrust (Armada)

The name or term "Thrust" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Thrust (disambiguation).

Thrust is a Decepticon from the Armada portion of the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

Thrust likes to think of himself as the smartest of the Decepticons — and while that might be true, it's not exactly a high bar to clear. A tactician by trade, Thrust is a master manipulator and schemer, capable of preying on others' psychological weaknesses and turning them against each other for his own gain. If one of his plans goes wrong, his stealth abilities allow him to become fully invisible, letting him make a clean getaway. He mixes his tactical insights and battle strategies with a superstitious belief in omens and divination — and whatever you (and Megatron) might think of his methods, he does get results.

Of course, Thrust's constant smugness, bootlicking and backstabbing has earned him no friends among the other Decepticons; even Megatron, who he claims undying loyalty to, has saddled him with the dismissive nickname "Squidhead". Ultimately, Thrust's manipulations might lead to his downfall — for all his conniving, he isn't immune to having his own ego preyed on, and when the dust from his betrayals settles he may well find himself alone.

Thrust's occasional Mini-Con partner is Inferno, who shares his ability to turn invisible, and he sometimes commands the Air Military Mini-Con Team. He sometimes combines with a transdimensional team of Decepticons to form Grand Galvatron, or becomes a limb for either Grand Scourge or Godbomber. He is also sometimes an honorary member of the Aerialbots from the G1 World, becoming a substitute limb for Superion whenever another member is absent.

“	I don't trust him as far as I could throw him. I'd love to crush that arrogant mainframe into a pile of titanium shavings!	”
—Demolishor, "Detection"

Contents 1 Fiction 1.1 Cartoon continuity 1.1.1 Armada cartoon 1.1.2 Unite Warriors/Legends 1.1.3 Generations Selects Special Comic 1.2 Dreamwave Armada continuity 1.2.1 Armada comic 1.2.2 Energon comic 1.3 Panini Armada comic 1.4 Superdeformers 1.5 Kre-O online comic 1.6 Ask Vector Prime 2 Games 2.1 Transformers: Battle Tactics 3 Toys 3.1 Armada 3.2 Unite Warriors 4 Notes 4.1 Foreign names 5 References

Fiction

Cartoon continuity

Armada cartoon

Voice actor: Colin Murdoch (English), Kōji Yusa (Japanese), Márcio Seixas (Portuguese), Armando Volcanes (Latin American Spanish, episodes 25 & 26), Gonzalo Fumero (Latin American Spanish, episode 27 onwards), Eugenio Barona (Castilian Spanish), Kai Taschner (German), Juha Paananen (Finnish), Achille D'Aniello (Italian), Gyula Szersén (Hungarian), Anders Byström (Swedish)

Thrust was a renowned tactician who orchestrated Decepticon victories on the planets Vector, Orga, and Duke. Linkup

He later joined Megatron on Earth in an attempt to improve his soldiers' relations. He picked his own Mini-Con partner, Inferno, from among the other Mini-Cons the Decepticons had locked up in the closet. Thrust then concocted a brilliant plan to eliminate Optimus Prime by luring the Autobots into a gully with a fake Mini-Con signal. While the Decepticons kept the trapped Autobots under constant fire, Megatron then singled out Optimus, separating him from his men and the Skyboom Shield. This would have been the end of Optimus if Jetfire, Optimus's second-in-command, hadn't arrived and thrown off Thrust's plans. Tactician Thrust then devised a new plan both to steal the Skyboom Shield and to destroy Jetfire in revenge for his interference. Thrust lured Jetfire to an area above the ocean where he, Starscream, Cyclonus, the Air Military Mini-Con Team, and the Air Defense Mini-Con Team attacked the Autobot. Though they'd underestimated Jetfire's reluctance to attack Mini-Cons, Thrust's force soon proved to be overwhelming for the Autobot vice-commander. When the other Autobots appeared on a nearby island to assist Jetfire, Megatron led a small attack intent on stealing the Skyboom Shield. But once again, victory was stolen from Thrust by the unforeseen: Optimus warped to Jetfire's location and Powerlinxed with him, allowing him to defeat the Decepticons. Thrust, however, was amused by the new change and said that the war had gotten more interesting. Linkup

Thrust later told Megatron there was a reason why his plans hadn't worked, besides the unexpected turn of events from the Autobots: The Autobots were inferior to the Decepticons in all aspects except for their ability to work as a team. Megatron took this as a slight against his ability to lead and nearly sliced Thrust apart with the Star Saber. Thrust explained that the reason the Decepticons hadn't been working together so well was because there was a lack of unity—all the while looking pointedly at Sideways. Sideways then determined that Thrust was a danger to his plan, so he convinced Demolishor that Thrust was going to overthrow Megatron and had him attack the tactician. However, Thrust had anticipated such an attempt, and he had Starscream tail Sideways when the mystery 'bot made his report to whomever his leader truly was. Megatron then allowed Thrust to take on Sideways himself. Thrust would have destroyed Sideways if the troublemaker hadn't transformed into a swarm of nanites and flown away. Detection

Thrust later participated in a battle with the Autobots over a Mini-Con panel found on a beach. During the fight, an enormous Decepticon battleship called Tidal Wave landed in the ocean nearby. After a moment of pointing out Tidal Wave's capabilities, Thrust ordered Tidal Wave to open fire on the Autobots. Tidal Wave kept the Autobots under constant pressure until Hot Shot and Blurr dove down underneath Tidal Wave and attacked his underbelly. Tidal Wave sank, much to Thrust's consternation. But his confidence was restored when Tidal Wave emerged from the water in robot mode and began to attack the Autobots again. Tidal Wave swiftly changed the tide of battle for the Decepticons. Even Jet Optimus proved no match for him. Awakening Of course, Thrust did reserve the final blow to Optimus for Megatron and had Tidal Wave combine with the Decepticon leader. During the midair battle, Megatron successfully separated Optimus from Jetfire and left him to plummet to the ocean below. However, the Space Mini-Con Team appeared and combined to form the Requiem Blaster. Thrust immediately moved to take the powerful weapon, but Optimus kicked him away and used the Blaster to slow his descent and land safely. With the Requiem Blaster in Optimus's hands, Megatron ordered a retreat. Desperate

Realizing that the Requiem Blaster was the key to the Decepticons' victory, Thrust began using satellites to keep an eye on the Autobots for a chance to steal it. He soon noticed the human kids on a bus with the Space Mini-Con Team. He watched the kids head to an abandoned barn away from the Autobots. Thrust then warped to the farm and attempted to steal the Mini-Cons. However, the kids had set several primitive, but oddly effective, booby traps to detain the Decepticon. Thrust eventually lost his temper and started smashing the barn they were hiding in. But then Optimus Prime appeared and fought Thrust off using his Super Mode. Thrust had no choice but to retreat, swearing that this wasn't over. Runaway

Thrust spotted Hot Shot on his way to fight Wheeljack and decided to follow. When Hot Shot was wandering around in the inferno looking for Side Swipe, Thrust divebombed him and started pelting him with laser blasts. Wheeljack was furious that Thrust interfered with his revenge and shot the Decepticon jet out of the skies. When Wheeljack came to join the rest of the Decepticons, an injured Thrust protested against it on the grounds that Wheeljack was crazy. Megatron dismissed Thrust's protests and welcomed Wheeljack to the Decepticon fold. Past II

Thrust conceived another plan that would end with the Requiem Blaster in Megatron's hands, which entailed giving the Star Saber to Starscream. The Decepticons lured the Autobots out into a jungle. There, Starscream started attacking them in the hopes that the Autobots would have to use the Requiem Blaster to fight back. However, none of the Autobots seemed to be using the Requiem Blaster. As Thrust was flying over the battlefield to investigate, Sideways sent him a series of images of the Autobot base and the Space Team Mini-Cons. While Thrust dismissed this a hallucination, he realized that the Mini-Cons that formed the Requiem Blaster were at the Autobot base. He informed Megatron and the Decepticons warped away, leaving Starscream behind. At the Autobot base, Megatron stole the Space Team Mini-Cons from Smokescreen and then used the Requiem Blaster to blast a hole through him. However, Smokescreen was steadfast in his resolve to protect the Mini-Cons and limped towards Megatron. Intimidated by his refusal to die, Thrust suggested that the Decepticons leave since they had what they came for, to which Megatron agreed. The Decepticons warped away, leaving Smokescreen to grab empty air. Sacrifice At the base, Thrust was enjoying the praise Megatron was giving him for the success for his plan when Starscream stomped in. Bitter and angry for being left behind, Starscream threw Thrust into the wall and hit him with the hilt of the Star Saber. Starscream would have probably done more if Megatron hadn't ordered him to stand down and get himself repaired. Later, Megatron and Thrust were talking about Starscream's shortcomings as a warrior and his usefulness as a scapegoat. Thrust praised Megatron's ability to be so cold to his own soldiers and joined in his laugh. However, the entire conversation was overheard by Starscream. Infuriated at being considered worthless, Starscream attacked Megatron and Thrust before flying to Earth to join the Autobots, taking the Star Saber with him. Regeneration Starscream later returned and he brought the Autobots through the warpgate. When the invasion force entered the throne room, Megatron fired the Requiem Blaster at Starscream, but the rebuilt Smokescreen pushed him out of the way and blocked the blast with the Skyboom Shield, creating a large burst of light. While everyone was blinded by the light, Thrust offered to act as a decoy to cover Megatron's retreat, which Megatron agreed to. However, the Autobots eventually rescued the Decepticons' Mini-Cons and warped back to their base. Rescue

Angered by Starscream's betrayal and the loss of the Mini-Cons, Megatron took out his frustration on the lunar landscape. The other Decepticons were so interested in watching that Thrust had to remind them that without the Mini-Cons, they had to build the spaceship themselves. The Decepticons went off to work, grumbling all the way. Thrust started to get rather irritated at the lack of respect he was getting. He then heard a creepy laugh and ran out to the scrapyard to find that it was coming from Sideways. The turncoat told Thrust that the Requiem Blaster's power was a mere blip compared to the power of the three Mini-Con weapons when combined. Recalling previous examples, Thrust realized that the three Mini-Con weapons did indeed have a greater power when they were together. He questioned whether the three weapons could combine, but Sideways had already disappeared. Nevertheless, Thrust was left with the inspiration to obtain the sword and shield to combine them with the gun. Thrust presented his information to Megatron, who was also intrigued. When a new Mini-Con was detected on Mars, Thrust sent Tidal Wave to 'greet' Jetfire and Starscream, the only two members of the Autobot team capable of reaching Mars. Some time later, Tidal Wave reported that he'd found both of them and they had the Star Saber, the Skyboom Shield, and the new Mini-Con. Megatron immediately warped over there with Thrust close behind him. Thrust got there just in time to see the three Mini-Con weapons react to each other and unleash a huge burst of golden energy. The explosion scattered the Decepticons and allowed the Autobots to escape, but it confirmed that the three weapons were far more powerful when used together. Mars

Hated by all the other Decepticons due to his superior attitude, Thrust began to shrink into himself and got more desperate to prove his power. After forming an alliance, Thrust and Sideways discussed how to get all three Mini-Con weapons into the Decepticons' hands. Thrust conceived a plan to ensure this and presented it to Megatron, who approved. Thrust sent a message to Starscream on the Autobots' communication frequency. Starscream went outside to investigate and Thrust approached him. Starscream angrily slashed at Thrust with his sword while Thrust dodged and turned invisible intermediately, all the while telling Starscream that he too was fed up with Megatron's rule. Thrust suggested that Megatron would be easier to bring down if Starscream were back on the Decepticons' side, and that Megatron would surely welcome him back if he brought the Skyboom Shield with him. He then left Starscream to ponder these thoughts.

Later, the Decepticons launched an attack on the Autobot base. Thrust and Starscream met above the clouds where Thrust insisted that Starscream join up with him so they could defeat Megatron. Starscream lashed out at Thrust again, but was unable to make himself destroy the tactician. Realizing his time with the kids was making him softer, Starscream was persuaded to steal the Skyboom Shield and warp away with him back to the Decepticon base. Crack

As Thrust predicted, Megatron welcomed Starscream back with open arms when he presented him with the Star Saber and the Skyboom Shield. However, Starscream was still distrustful of Thrust and dragged him out to the scrapyard to learn what was really going on. Thrust gladly told Starscream about the Decepticons' project to build a weapon that would harness the power created when the three Mini-Con weapons were brought together. Starscream was still sore about being manipulated, but Thrust claimed that it was so that Starscream could be leader of the Decepticons and he had to hide his intentions from the other Decepticons. However, if Starscream didn't believe this, Thrust was willing to subject himself to any fate Starscream wished. Placated, the Seeker walked off, sparing Thrust. Sideways then congratulated Thrust on his act, Thrust saying that he learned from the best.

Thrust presented Megatron the finalized Hydra Cannon, powered by the Mini-Con Weapons. Deciding to test the super-weapon, Thrust targeted a comet that was passing through the solar system. He was not disappointed when the Hydra Cannon easily obliterated the comet, and giddily suggested that they head back to Cybertron and conquer it. Megatron agreed, though he wanted to blast one last thing before they left: the Autobots' base, along with the rest of the Earth. Threaten While Thrust prepared the Hydra Cannon for another shot, Megatron decided to pass the time by giving Thrust the new nickname 'Squidhead', which all the Decepticons found hilarious except Thrust. Megatron explained that he and the men were just giddy to return home. Thrust secretly retaliated by calling Megatron 'Flathead' under his breath and giggling about it. Starscream was chosen to fire the Hydra Cannon, but the Seeker had doubts about destroying the Earth. Thrust tried to persuade him to do it, warning that Megatron would cut him down otherwise. Starscream's moral debate was called off when Optimus and Jetfire attacked the starship. While the other Decepticons battled the two Autobots, Megatron gave Thrust the order to fire the Hydra Cannon. However, Optimus Prime stood in the path of the beam and blocked it from hitting Earth. Thrust watched as Optimus disintegrated into a thousand pieces and then had the ship retreat on Megatron's orders. Crisis

With Optimus destroyed, Thrust congratulated Megatron over his great victory. Megatron was none too thrilled over losing his eternal nemesis, and dispassionately ordered the Decepticons to set course back to Cybertron. Remorse Starscream then detected that the Autobots had begun pursuing the Decepticons aboard their own ship, the Axalon. Though Thrust warned Megatron that the much speedier vessel would overtake them in due time, Megatron remained unconcerned. Depart Megatron unexpectedly then changed his mind, and ordered the Decepticon ship to turn around so he could crush his pursuers himself. Thrust tried to dissuade his leader from this course of action (they had nearly reached their warp coordinates) but Megatron would hear none of it. In the battle that ensued, Thrust had to contend both with Mini-Cons shooting at him with the Axalon's guns, and Jetfire chasing after him. When Optimus was revived by the Mini-Cons and pushed Megatron back with the power of his Super Mode, Thrust ordered the Decepticons to retreat back to their ship. Miracle

Thrust detected an Autobot signal emanating from a desolate, dead world. He was left behind on the Decepticons' ship while Megatron, Tidal Wave, Starscream, and Demolishor investigated this signal. When they returned, Megatron and the others had attained more powerful, and differently colored bodies. Megatron ordered Thrust to call him "Galvatron" henceforth, and the Decepticons resumed their journey towards Cybertron. Puppet

Arriving on their home planet ahead of Optimus Prime and his soldiers, the Decepticons managed to take Cybertron by force. During their battles, Thrust advised Starscream to allow Galvatron to take the lead, as it increased the chances he might fall in combat. When a black hole-like materialized in Cybertron's orbit, Thrust became giddy with excitement; it heralded the arrival of Unicron, of whom he had learned about through Sideways, and now served himself. The Mini-Cons used their mysterious powers to keep the black hole at bay, and Thrust cursed them for interfering with his master's plans. Uprising Thrust tried to convince Galvatron that Optimus's warnings about Unicron being the true enemy the Cybertronians faced were lies. But when Hot Shot penetrated Galvatron's fortress to make the Decepticon leader see reason, Thrust's charade began to unravel; his own nervousness over Hot Shot's words betrayed him. Thrust admitted to be one of Unicron's agents before absconding with both the Skyboom Shield and the Requiem Blaster into Cybertron's depths. Dash Starscream eventually caught up to Thrust, who tried to convince his former ally once more to join him in serving Unicron. Starscream refused, but at that moment Rad, Alexis, and Carlos, as well as their companion Mini-Cons, stumbled onto the scene. Thrust threatened the new arrivals with the Requiem Blaster, provoking Starscream to lunge at him. Thrust destroyed Starscream with the Requiem Blaster, which somehow triggered a timewarp.... When these events played out for the second time, Perceptor distracted Thrust long enough for Starscream to grapple Thrust. Thrust was made to shoot the Requiem Blaster into the ceiling above them, and then fled as the tunnel began to collapse. Drift

Thrust made his way to a warp gate that took him inside Cybertron's moon, and met up with Sideways. His accomplice berated him, not only for failing to acquire the Star Saber, but also for allowing himself to be followed to their hideout. Hot Shot, Wheeljack, Starscream, the kids, and their Mini-Cons caught up to him, though they were warded off by the various parasitic organisms that populated the satellite's interior. Sideways then took the two Mini-Con weapons from Thrust, and placed them before Unicron's core to begin his awakening. Portent Sideways then managed to secure the Star Saber on his own. With all three weapons in place within Unicron's core, Thrust's master was able to shed the rest of his moon disguise and show his real form. Thrust became giddy, believing he would soon become the "second greatest being in the universe" following Unicron's slaughter of his enemies. Alliance

Thrust was told by Sideways to leave. Thrust was confused, thinking he would be Unicron's right-hand man, but Sideways got angry, and ordered him to leave immediately. While sitting on Unicron's shoulder, Thrust decided his first action as Unicron's right-hand bot would be to get rid of Sideways. In a final confrontation with Galvatron, Thrust mocked him, telling him how pathetic a leader he was. Thrust met his demise when he demanded Unicron attack his former master, Galvatron, only to have Unicron act totally unaware of both their presence. Thrust fell into a seam on Unicron's surface which began to tighten and close as Unicron moved, and after pleading to Galvatron to save him, was crushed to death as Galvatron walked away. Union

Unite Warriors/Legends

To dissuade Galvatron from using his body as the basis for "Grand Galvatron", Unicron pulled Thrust into his universe, resurrecting the tactician in a new body that was able to combine as one of Grand Galvatron's limbs. He was christened as "Curse Armada Thrust" and commanded with his teammates to conquer Cybertron so that it could serve as Unicron's new body. Galvatron flouted the order and set out to conquer the planet for himself as Grand Galvatron. Grand Galvatron Chapter While Thrust harbored complicated feelings at being resurrected by another Unicron than the one who killed him, he secretly plotted to use Grand Galvatron's power to exact revenge on Unicron. Unite Warriors bio

Cyclonus, the main component of Grand Galvatron, had the group undergo training by exposing to the lava pools of Thrull. Thrust took the regiment poorly, as the heat made him woozy. Special Training in the Lava Baths of Planet Thrull! At some point, he began plotting to betray Galvatron and broke Trickdiamond out of prison in exchange for her help. Megatronia Chapter

When Grand Galvatron attacked Cybertron, he was separated into his components by Trailbreaker. As they continued the battle on foot, Thrust paused to snap Breakdown out of falling for one of Hound's holographic tricks, then later re-combined with the others to fight Sky Reign. Sky Reign Chapter When Megaempress arrived, Thrust disconnected from Cyclonus out of fear and was confronted by Trickdiamond, who threatened to snitch on him to Galvatron unless he contacted Unicron for her. Megatronia Chapter Unicron proceeded to attack Cybertron, charging Thrust and Trickdiamond with finding the Autobots' joint energon factory and bringing its contents to him so that he could combine with Cybertron itself. Ruination Chapter, Part One The two were co-opted by Grand Scourge and forced to form his arms during a clash with Black Convoy, after which Thrust was forced back into the Grand Galvatron team by Starscream so that their combined form could participate in the battle with Unicron. Thrust disappeared after the battle was won, with Roller speculating that he'd gone to another dimension. Ruination Chapter, Part Two

Thrust and Trickdiamond had in fact gone to the Legends World, where they helped Nightbeat steal Godbomber in exchange for being allowed to keep Godbomber and use it to conquer the world. Since Godbomber's legs were missing, Thrust and Trickdiamond used their limb forms to fill in the gaps while Nightbeat formed the head. The plan ultimately failed when their Godbomber was destroyed by God Ginrai. Bonus Edition Vol. 42 Thrust and Trickdiamond continued working with Nightbeat and Weirdwolf's Headmasters as they rebuilt Trypticon in the Legends World, and participated in an attack on Metroplex to steal his transformation cog. Decepticon Civil War He was present within Trypticon during his ensuing attack on the city. Bonus Edition Vol. 43

When the mighty Broadside arrived in the Legends World, Thrust approached him with an offer to work together to conquer the world, but was rejected. Not one to give up, he stole Broadside's gigantic transtector and caused havoc until the Autobot was able to reach him and take him down. Thrust griped that he had just wanted the world to recognize his genius, striking a chord with the self-conscious Broadside who forgave him and let him stay with him and the Aerialbots in exchange for not doing any more evil deeds. Bonus Edition Vol. 53 Thrust later attended the Aerialbots' energon barbecue party atop Metroplex, where he took a photo of the team enjoying themselves. Bonus Edition Metroplex When Majin Zarak attacked the Legends World, Thrust battled him alongside Superion. Legends World in Imminent Danger! Part Two

After Legends World was evacuated, Thrust was present on Zone when Violengiguar and Unicron Neo attacked it for its energy. He saw the living toys and Mini-Cons from Legends World come together, and recognized the Unicron of Light form they assumed from his own world. LG-EX Big Powered Prologue Part One

Generations Selects Special Comic

In 2050, the Autobots chose to support the Selectors in their revolution against their human creators and masters. As a result, Thrust and the other Aerialbots abandoned their friend Jumal in the Middle East to reunite with the Autobot forces. Volcanicus comic 2

Dreamwave Armada continuity

Armada comic

Thrust was a somewhat cowboy-like entity that served the Decepticons loyally. He was devoted to Megatron, and followed his orders faithfully. Thrust first appeared via transwarp from Cybertron, carrying rocket boosters so the Decepticons could fly to the moon and capture the Mini-Cons stationed there. Armada #9 He stayed at the Decepticon base at Silver Ridge, where he failed to help Starscream deal with two Autobot intruders. Armada #10

Later, Thrust was sent to northern Alaska to back up Cyclonus, who was there to retrieve a fallen Mini-Con escape pod. First Thrust took a torch-blast to the face from Dune Runner of the Adventure Mini-Con Team, who was there to save his allies. Then he was knocked around by Cyclonus, who was feeling the effects of a triple-Powerlinx with the entire Destruction Mini-Con Team, which began to burn out his circuits and drive him mad with pain. Fire & Ice When he finally came to, between Cyclonus' breakdown, the arrival of the Autobots, and Megatron using an orbiting Solar Scalpel to melt the ice that buried the escape pod, Thrust decided maybe he'd better get the heck outta Dodge. Armada #13

Later, Thrust followed Starscream to a building lot in San Francisco, to investigate a weird transwarp disturbance. He got there just in time to get shot down by a herald of Unicron, who was seeking the refugee Mini-Con Over-Run. Worlds Collide, Part 1 of 4

When Megatron left to attack the Autobot base on Earth, Thrust was left behind to guard their Silver Ridge headquarters. Worlds Collide, Part 3 of 4 He quickly had the crap kicked out of him by the other heralds of Unicron. Worlds Collide, Part 4 of 4 Not a fatal beating, though, as he was repaired in time to journey back to Cybertron and face the planet-eater. The End

Energon comic

Some time in Cybertron's past, during the war, Thrust participated in a battle in which Scorponok led an attack on an Autobot bunker. He watched the battle from a Decepticon saucer-ship, alongside Megatron, Starscream, Cyclonus, and Demolishor. No Exit

After the destruction of Unicron and the apparent death of Megatron, Thrust became a security officer in the new peacetime. When Starscream mocked the "rebel" Decepticons under Tidal Wave, his former comrade attempted to state his case that there were other Decepticons willing to fight, until Starscream pointed out that Thrust was happy with his "little sheriff's badge" and Demolishor never gave the rebellion a second thought. This Evil Reborn When Terrorcons began attacking major Earth cities, Thrust jumped at the chance to participate in the battle, and left Demolishor alone to attend to his station in an energon ore processing plant. Multiplicity, Pt. 3 Thrust joined up with a team mostly comprising of Autobots under Jetfire's command, who warped to Earth to beat back the invading horde. Multiplicity, Pt. 2 He joined Hot Shot's unit in defending Toronto, Canada from thousands of Divebomb clones, but was unhappy to find they were up against airborne foes when he was the only flier on his team. Multiplicity, Pt. 3 When the revenant Megatron appeared and decimated the Terrorcons, Thrust tried to rejoin his former leader, but Megatron completely ignored him, warping to his next destination. Multiplicity, Pt. 4

Panini Armada comic

Thrust was among the Decepticons who assaulted Mini-Con villages on Cybertron as the war broke out, and he personally captured Mirage and Dirt Boss. He also participated in an attack on Autobot Command HQ alongside Starscream and Cyclonus. Counter-Strike!

Superdeformers

One day in a foresty area, Thrust found himself up against Hot Shot. Steeling himself, Thrust unleashed Thunderwing at the Autobot, only for Blurr to snatch the Mini-Con out of the air. As the two Autobots scurried away, thanking Thrust for the free Mini-Con, Thrust reflected that the encounter hadn't gone as he expected, unaware that an enraged Megatron was standing right behind him. Superdeformers

Kre-O online comic

Thrust was part of the massive army led by Megatron to conquer Autobot City. Two Giant Bases! Everybody Getting Along, Come On, Fight!

Ask Vector Prime

In Aurex 105.15 Gamma, Thrust had a brother, Sunstorm. Thrust traveled to Earth to serve Megatron only to be betrayed and destroyed by Galvatron. This prompted his surviving Mini-Con partner Inferno and Sunstorm to seek revenge on Galvatron. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/06

Games

Transformers: Battle Tactics

Armada Thrust participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was an Epic character who first appeared in the "Armada: Episode 3: Between Two Worlds" event, and could be recruited after collecting 650 units of Cybermetal, 350 units of Transmetal, 150 exclusive cores, and 50 cores of this character. Transformers: Battle Tactics

Toys

Armada

• Thrust with Inferno (Super-Con Class, 2003)

• Takara ID number: MD-05
• Takara release date: June 12, 2003
• Accessories: 2 missiles
• Known designers: Aaron Archer (Hasbro), Yuichiro Hira (Takara)

Released in the fourth wave of Armada Super-Cons, Thrust transforms into a modified Lockheed Martin X-35 experimental fighter jet.^[1] In jet mode, he has a pressure-launch missile launcher under each wing, and a rear-mounted bay specially shaped to store his Mini-Con partner Inferno in truck mode. In robot mode, Inferno's missile launcher can be removed and attached to the inside of Thrust's forearms. Thrust's own launchers were originally intended to be removable (they have molded-on pegs that would allow them to attach to his arms), but this feature was cut from the finished toy, and they remain stuck on his robot-mode legs, unable to reorient in a useful direction.

Thrust's central "Powerlinx" gimmick is an "assault" robot mode that involves turning his torso around 180 degrees and extending his winged backpack. Attaching a Mini-Con to the Powerlinx plug on his chest and pumping it up and down whirls Thrust's wings like a spinning blade... though the fact that his launchers cannot be removed makes it awkward to use at best. Strangely, the two pegs on the sides of his cockpit/butt-flap and the holes on the insides of his knees can be connected in robot mode. It is unknown if this was intended as part of the above gimmick, but it does make him a bit more stable to hold when using the spinning gimmick.

Unusually for this line, there are no notable differences between the Hasbro and Takara versions of Thrust. Even his name is the same.

This mold was also used to make Universe Sunstorm, and served as the basis of the non-toy Beast Wars: Uprising characters Lidar and Sitrep.

• More information on Thrust at TFU.info

• Thrust & Air Military Micron (Multi-pack, 2003)

• Sonokong name: Sniper & Air Military
• ID number: MS-06
• Takara release date: June 12, 2003

In Japan, the Air Military Microns were also available in a multi-pack with Thrust and his Micron "Thunder". All of the toys in the set are identical to their individual releases.

Sonokong also released the set in Korea under their Eunha Yeongung: Cybertron line. All of the toys are identical to their Japanese release, other than packaging. This was also the only way to obtain "Sniper" (Thrust) and the "Air Military" in Korea.

• Powerlinx Thrust with Powerlinx Inferno (Super-Con Class, 2003)

• Takara release date: September 27, 2003
• Accessories: 2 missiles

Part of the later-series "Powerlinx" line of redecos, Powerlinx Thrust got a new color scheme that was a "reversal" of the Generation 1 "conehead" Dirge, primarily light brown with dark blue and black accents. The packaging for this release, however, showed him in a color scheme more like his G1 namesake, burgundy with black (and some bone-white accents). His coloration was changed to the brown-and-blue too late to change the packaging photography.

The change was made due to Takara choosing a mostly red color scheme for Demolishor (Demolishor's was called "Ironhide" in Japan, and the color scheme was based on the Generation 1 version of said character). Originally Hasbro had different plans for their redeco of Demolishor, but those plans were dropped to match the animation, which was already based on Takara's products. Hasbro then thought there would be too much red on the shelves at the time, so Powerlinx Thrust's coloration was modified, as the figure would not appear on the cartoon. There are some similar colors used between the two versions of the toy, likely due to the quick change in scheme.

Powerlinx Thrust was not released in the normal Takara Legend of the Microns line, but did get a "USA Edition" release in Hasbro packaging through LaOX stores.

This toy was also repurposed as Dirge via Ask Vector Prime.

• More information on Powerlinx Thrust at TFU.info

• Powerlinx Thrust with Powerlinx Inferno (Super-Con Class, 2003)

• Takara release date: December ??, 2003
• Accessories: 2 missiles

Although Hasbro at one point expressed interest in releasing a running change variant of Powerlinx Thrust that reflected the originally intended color scheme,^[2] they never went through with it, at least not in the North American market. However, in December 2003 Takara released red Powerlinx Thrust as a "USA Edition" in Japan, exclusively available at the Toy's Dream Project members' store Toycard, in Hasbro packaging with a Toy's Dream Project sticker on the bubble.

Curiously enough, Hasbro actually did produce a small run of red Powerlinx Thrust, but never released it in the North American market. Instead, the toy, in European packaging, popped up in Israel in mid-2004, later followed by sightings in Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. The toy was even found in Australia, but only in stores that also occasionally sell toys imported from other countries, and again in European packaging. Furthermore, some European countries saw the toy being sold at instant discount prices, which suggests it was old Hasbro warehouse stock which had never seen a shelf release that was now being cleared out.

• More information on USA Edition Thrust at TFU.info

Unite Warriors

• Grand Galvatron (Multi-pack, 2016)

• ID number: UW-06
• Release date: April 30, 2016
• Accessories: Double-barreled Gun, Gun/Fist/Foot
• Known designers: Hisashi Yuki (TakaraTomy)

Unite Warriors "Curse Armada Thrust" is a redeco/retool of Air Raid, sporting a new head and a deco based on his appearances in the Armada cartoon. As a Deluxe Class Unite Warriors figure, Thrust can combine to form the leg or arm of any combiner from Hasbro's Combiner Wars subline or any Unite Warriors figure.

He was released as part of a Grand Galvatron giftset along with Tactician Cyclonus, Ghost Starscream, Wandering Roller, and Zombie War Breakdown.

Combiner Wars mold: Skydive

Version 1: Hasbro: Combiner Wars Skydive Skydive (Generation 2) Fellbat Fun Publications: Combiner Wars General Cicadacon Windsweeper Shattered Glass Starscream TakaraTomy: Unite Warriors UW-01 Skydive Ghost Starscream Golden Lagoon Starscream Version 2: Hasbro: Combiner Wars Air Raid Air Raid (Generation 2) Guyhawk Fun Publications: Combiner Wars Terrorsaur Wrecker Fractyl TakaraTomy: Unite Warriors UW-01 Air Rider UW-06 Curse Armada Thrust Other versions: Hasbro: Combiner Wars Strafe Hasbro/TakaraTomy: Power of the Primes Dreadwind Hasbro/TakaraTomy: Power of the Primes Blackwing

Notes

• Aaron Archer stated that he always wished the Thrust toy was given proper hands.^[3]
• In Japanese, Thrust is insultingly referred to as "Squidhead" frequently by almost everyone. For the most part, the Armada dub replaced these with other insults and nicknames, often "Conehead"; the one exception is "Crisis", where Megatron repeatedly calls Thrust "Squidhead" even in Armada. This sole appearance popularised the term "Squidhead" even among the English-speaking fandom, because... well, it's a very funny thing to call him.
• Thrust had two different head models drawn up, as seen in the Legends of the Microns Year Book 2003. One head has the nosecone tilted back revealing his forehead, while the other has his nosecone sticking straight up with his faux-cockpit window sitting just above his eyes. Closer inspection of the cartoon would reveal that the latter doesn't become his standard head design until he is in league with Unicron. While there are a few instances where the head designs get swapped or misused between clips, the difference in the head design appears to be a visual representation and reminder of his true allegiance.
• During a flashback in the episode "Prehistory", Optimus is seen leaving the Autobot forces on Cybertron in the hands of a silhouetted Autobot named "Thrust". This is an error, as the silhouette and backstory obviously match Jetfire, and serves as another example of how bad Armada was with keeping track of names.
• The Dreamwave Armada comic comic characterizes Thrust very differently from the cartoon; rather than a preening tactician, he's presented as a rough-edged goon with a Southern accent. Thrust's entry in the More than Meets the Eye profile book massages the two, mostly leaning towards the cartoon's characterisation of a treacherous schemer, but mentioning his "characteristic drawl".
  • Notably, Thrust's speech patterns are very reminiscent of Beast Wars Quickstrike, to the point of him even using the phrase "What in tarnation?" in one issue. While this could be a coincidence, Thrust in the cartoon did share his voice actor Colin Murdoch with Quickstrike, and Simon Furman did write the final episode of Beast Wars...
• We don't see much of Kreon Thrust in his comic appearance, but he obviously uses the same nosecone head as the other conehead Kreons. Unlike the others, though, he appears to be wearing it backwards, with a face painted onto the bottom section of the molded canopy.
• In a rare bit of non-G1 homaging in the late 2010s, the live-action Bumblebee movie incarnation of Thrust has colors taken from Armada Thrust's colors instead of his own counterpart.
• A bot bearing Thrust's likeness appears in Optimus Prime #20.
• Thrust was originally going to be called Skywarp in Japanese.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Thrust (スラスト Surasuto)
• Korean: Sniper (스나이퍼 Seunaipeo)
• Hungarian: Tengely ("Axle")
• Russian: Kolun (Колун, "Axe")

References