Origin
Hook has appeared in multiple continuities to include Comics, Cartoons and Movies. Hook’s alt-mode is a Truss Crane. He is one of the Decepticons know as Constructicons and forms the head and upper torso of the Combiner Devastator. Hook is considered the Decepticons Medical Officer.
Creation
Hook was created by Hasbro for The Transformers (1984) Cartoon. He was first seen in 1986 Marvel Comics’ The Transformers issue #10 by writer Bob Budiansky and editors Jim Shooter. Hasbro lost the trademark to the name Hook and it was not used for Toys after 1993. Most toys and his film appearance refer to Hightower as the crane-bot. The comics never call him by name, so it is assumed to still be Hook.
Major Story Arcs
Generation 1 Continuity
Marvel Comics
Shortly after assuming control of the Decepticons, Shockwave raided a Blackrock Aerospace Assembly Plant in order to co-opt its construction facilities for his own purposes. Using the purloined power of his prisoner, Optimus Prime, Shockwave fed energy from the Creation Matrix into the brain modules Hook and the Constructicons. Hook and the other Constructicons were immediately given a mission to construct a communications tower to transmit a message to Cybertron. A truckstop was raided for raw materials, attracting trucker Bomber Bill, who, with the aid of the Autobots, managed to destroy the tower the Constructicons had built.
After Megatron took back command of the Decepticons, Hook and the other Constructicons were charged with building perimeter defenses around their current base of operations at a coal strip mine in eastern Wyoming. Devastator’s services were again required when the Autobots staged a surprise attack, but the Decepticons retreated once they had what they needed.
After Ratbat assumed command of the Decepticons, they staged an all-out attack on the Autobots from the Ark and Steelhaven, who had landed on the moon to settle a personal dispute. While the majority of the Decepticon forces kept the Autobots busy with mayhem and carnage, Hook and the other Constructicons raided the Ark, recovering the deactivated bodies of several Decepticons that were captured whiile battling Omega Supreme.
Marvel UK
Hook and his comrades spent the next several months working on their combiner technology. Their next mission was to capture the human known as Buster Witwicky, who had come to Shockwave’s attention. They found him attending a demolition derby in Oregon. Their kidnapping attempt was interrupted by Buster’s human friends, Ironhide and the Autobots. Hook and the Constructicons combined into Devastator, and fought off the Autobots while Soundwave performed a mind-scan on Buster. After uncovering some valuable information, Soundwave called off the attack, and the Constructicons returned to base.
Hook and the Constructicons remained available for the Decepticon cause. They battled the Dinobots alongside Megatron and Soundwave. As the tide of battle turned, the Decepticons abandoned the fight with the Dinobots and retreated.
IDW Publishing
Hook has not yet appeared in Regeneration One.
IDW Continuity
Hook joined the Constructicons after Erector was rejected for not being green.
Megatron Origins
After getting laid off due to the Senate “reforms” being championed by Ratbat, Hook and the other Constructicons sought out work with Megatron. The Constructicons were given the unique and challenging job of building a new arena from scratch before every battle, using only the scrap and other materials on-site. They also worked with repairing Megatron and other injured gladiators after their battles. When the Seekers joined Megatron, Hook modified them to possess on-board weaponry.
Autocracy
The Constructions battled against the Autobots when they made an assault on the Citadel. As the war began between the Autobots and Decepticons, the Constructicons remained loyal followers of Megatron.
Iron Age
The Constructicons were stationed on Varas Centralus with Swindle and Sky-Byte, the atrocities they committed caused Sky-Byte to abandon the Decepticon cause.
Back on Cybertron, Hook was part of a convoy along with Ramjet, Octane and the other Constructicons bringing energon to the war effort. They were intercepted and captured by Optimus Prime and Ironhide.
All Hail Megatron
The Constructicons joined Megatron’s Earth forces, where they used their new ability to combine into Devastator against the Autobots. With the Autobots defeated, Hook joined in the attack on New York City.
Hook joined Starscream’s during the Seekers rebellion against Megatron. They attacked Megatron in the form of Devastator, and would have killed him if they hadn’t been interrupted by the arrival of European fighter jets. Devastator started swatting the jets out of the sky, only to be attacked by Omega Supreme when the Autobots returned to the planet. The Constructicons were defeated when Omega blasted a hole straight through their combined mode.
Transformers
Hook survived the damage done to Devastator’s chest, but was captured and deactivated by Skywatch. Two years later, Hook, Mixmaster and other prisoners were rescued from Skywatch by Hot Rod‘s group of Transformers attempting to get off the planet. Jetfire was assigned to bring Hook’s consciousness back. The Autobot was successful, and Hook joined Mixmaster and Scrapper in constructing a starship to escape Earth.
Unable to convince Rodimus to let him reassemble the Constructicons, Swindle instead applied combiner technology to the Stunticons, creating Menasor. Hook and the other Decepticons turned on the Autobots, and Hook was seen in battle against Optimus Prime. After Menasor was brought down, Swindle escaped from the Autobots and Skywatch along with some Constructicons.
When Megatron returned to Earth four months later, Hook rejoined the main Decepticon army. He and the others observed as a lone Optimus Prime confronted Megatron, and was caught in the explosion when Prime had a satellite fall on top of Decepticons.
Chaos
Megatron would later use space bridge technology built into in his new body to summon Hook and the rest of the Decepticons to Cybertron. While battling the Autobots, the other Constructions combined into Devastator. Because Devastator’s combined form was incomplete due to Scrapper’s death, they were easily defeated because their right leg was paralyzed. They were then mind-controlled by D-Void and combined with Galvatron‘s army and formed a monster construct.
Robots in Disguise
After Cybertron’s rebirth, the remaining Decepticons were captured by the Autobots. Hook was still in jail when Ratbat was found dead, and suspected foul play. Even knowing this, Bonecrusher and some other Constructicons helped the Autobots dig out victims of a mysterious explosion on Cybertron’s surface.
Bonecrusher worked in a Decepticon factory and joined his fellow Constructicons when they came to the aid of Bombshell when he was being chased by the Autobots Arcee and Prowl. They then tried to kill Prowl who threatened to detonate their I/D chips, but soon realized the Constructicon’s chips were already disabled. Prowl then had to use Wheeljack‘s pass-code to override the chips and destroyed all the Constructicons.
Powers & Weaknesses
In vehicle mode, Hook can use his crane to lift objects weighing up to 20 tons. He uses surgical precision when operating his crane with an error tolerance is less than .00001%. In robot mode he shows equal precision repairing his comrades as the Decepticon’s surgeon. He carries a rocket launcher in vehicular mode and a laser pistol in robot mode. He serves as the shoulders and head module of the Combiner Devestator. The extreme care Hook takes in performing his job often slows down his work, and endangers the Constructicons missions. Overuse of his crane can result in metal stress fractures.
Characteristics
- Allegiance: Decepticon
- Sub Group: Constructicon
- Function: Surgical Engineer
- Alt-Modes: Nissan Diesel Unic Crane, Truss Crane, Mobile Crane
- Color Schemes: Green/Pruple (G1, IDW)
Alternate Versions
Marvel Comics
Generation 2
Hook was seen on-board the Warworld among the Decepticons rallied by Megatron against Jhiaxus‘s Cybertronians.
Marvel UK Future Timeline
2006 Timeline
The future Decepticon known as Galvatron forced Bonecrusher and the Constructicons into building a massive energy cannon for his plans.
Devils Due
G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers
The terrorist organization known as Cobra found the Autobots that had crashed to earth four-million-years ago. They dug them out and began rebuilding them into a Cobra-controlled vehicles. With Wheeljack and Bumblebee‘s help, the mind-controlled Transformers were awakened, and the Constructicons, including Hook, attacked their captor, Doctor Mindbender.
Soundwave stopped them from killing the doctor, because he was needed for other purposes. The Constructicons were ordered to protect the SPS Satellite controls from the attacking Autobot and G.I. Joe troops. To do so, Hook combined with the others to form Devastator, but the giant was soon defeated by the attackers.
Dreamwave Publications
War Within
Hook was involved in the early days of the Decepticons, and Megatron’s plan to turn the planet into a cosmic dreadnought. He defended the engine controls alongside Thrust and Rumble against Grimlock’s commandos, but eventually gave up and scattered. He and the other Constructicons later created the combiner process, giving them the power to merge into Devastator. After the technology was widely distributed to both Autobots and Decepticon factions. Eventually the Crisis Intervention Accord was passed banning the use of Special Teams as they were too dangerous. The Constructicons were the first to break the Accords during the Dark Ages, joining up with Ratbat and his Ultracons. They attempted to seize control of the Tagan Heights from the Wreckers, but ran into the Protectobots who merged to form Defensor. Devastator was taken down by the Protectobots who caused him to unmerge into their individual components.
Generation 1
The Constructicons made their way to Earth in order to serve with Megatron and the lost crew of the Nemesis. Like all Transformers, they vanished after the destruction of the Ark II, but were reactivated by Lazarus. Hook and the Constructicons formed Devastator and began attacking California after regaining their free will, but were ultimately destroyed when Optimus Prime shot Devastator in the head.
The pieces of Scavenger and the Constructicons were taken by Earth Defense Command, and were held in their Roswell facility for study.
Fun Publications
Shattered Glass
Hook and Scrapper effected repairs on the salvaged Cliffjumper. After Shockwave was damaged on Earth, Scrapper, Hook and Scavenger were ready to go there to help repair him.
Other Media
Television
Transformers (1984)
Hook’s exact origins are unknown. He was alive on Cybertron several million years ago, where he helped create Megatron. According to Omega Supreme, Hook and the Constructicons were good once, and built Crystal City. This changed when Megatron attacked the Constructicons with his Robo-Smasher, reprogramming them into Decepticons
Episode Appearances
- Heavy Metal War
- City of Steel
- The Autobot Run
- The Core
- The Master Builders
- Microbots
- Megatron’s Master Plan, part 2
- Desertion of the Dinobots, part 1
- The Secret of Omega Supreme
- Triple Takeover
- Starscream’s Brigade
- Five Faces of Death, part 1, 3, 4
- Carnage in C-Minor
- Fight of Flee
- The Hardest Burden to Bear
- The Rebirth, part 1
Transformers: The Headmasters (1987) (Japan)
Hook and the Constructicons were stationed on Earth, under the command of Sixshot.
Episode Appearances
- Four Warriors Come out of the Sky
- The Mystery of Planet Master
- The Great Cassette Operation
Transformers: Energon (2004)
Wideload was never referred to by name, nor was he ever presented as an individual being. Most of his appearances were as the right leg of Constructicon Maximus.
Episode Appearances
- Galvatron!
- Distribution
- Spark
Film
Transformers: The Movie (1986)
Present at the Battle of Autobot City, Hook helped to breach the Autobot defenses as part of Devastator, who withstood an Autobot attack. After a second attack by the Dinobots, Hook was not seen again until the confrontation on Astrotrain over who should lead the Decepticons. Though Rumble and Frenzy prevented Devastator from proving his superiority, Hook and the other Constructicons made it back to Cybertron and were present for Starscream’s coronation as Decepticon leader. After a fanfare and the death of Starscream at the hands of Galvatron, Hook and the other Decepticons joined in the hunt for the Autobot Matrix of Leadership.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
Hook did not appear in the Movie but was used in some of the toy sets in place of Hightower.