Springer made his debut in the 1986 Transformers animated movie as a sort of rough and ready action hero with a dry sense of humour. He then featured prominently as one of the major supporting heroes in the animated series third season, but despite this, he barely appeared in the Marvel US’s comics, only making a brief cameo in the Generation 2 strip. This may be because he was one of the few Transformers not to receive his name and personality from Bob Budiansky.
Springer was at the centre of several stories in the British Transformers comic. He initially appeared along with his fellow triple-changers Broadside and Sandstorm to replace Ultra Magnus is an operation for the Autobot Wreckers team. Despite the mission being scrapped at the last second, the Wrecker’s leader Impactor was killed in the fallout from the mission. When Ultra Magnus disappeared not long afterwards, Springer succeeded him as the Wrecker’s new leader.
Springer felt somewhat overwhelmed by his new command role, and bore guilt over Impactor’s death despite not having apparently known him that well, or actually being accountable for his demise. These issues came to a head when the deranged Autobot scientist Flame attacked the Autobot resistance’s base with a legion of reanimated dead Transformers. Springer was confronted with a zombified Impactor whose personality managed to revive. Impactor sacrificed himself to stop Flame’s plan to turn Cybertron into a mobile craft using a dangerous reactor.
When it became apparent that the time-displaced Decepticon leader Galvatron‘s presence in the present were damaging the fabric of space and time, the Wreckers, led by Springer were tasked with returning him to his own era. Their first attempt went disastrously wrong, as Springer and his team materialized in a populated city and couldn’t fight without risking the humans there.
The Wreckers next allied with the Decepticon Mayhem attack squad to once again attempt to deal with Galvatron. This mission went as badly as the first, as Galvatron had allied with his past self, and the two teams were unable to overcome their combined power. Galvatron was eventually destroyed by the very instability that he had wrought in time’s fabric, and the universe saved.
Despite the personal failure of the two teams, Springer won the respect of the Mayhem’s leader, Carnivac and they agreed to unite as a team on Earth. The nature of their missions didn’t well with Carnivac, who expected more battles and less rescue work, and took off on his own after a fight with Springer. Incensed by this, Springer hesitated to help when he learned that Carnivac was being pursued by a Decepticon hit squad for turning traitor. While he did help in the end, the delay led to the death of Carnivac’s fellow turncoat Catilla, and he swore revenge.
Springer and his teammates then turned to Grimlock, who now led a contingent of Autobots on Earth, to save Carnivac when he sought revenge, and then agreed to be absorbed into Grimlock’s forces.
Springer later made a few small appearances in the Transformers generation 2 comic.
During Dreamwave’s Transformers series, Springer was part of the splinter Autobot group led by Hot Rod on Cybertron. This team had been formed to resist Shockwave‘s seemingly peaceful control of the planet.
Springer also appeared in the War Within subseries set in Cybertron’s past, again leading the Wreckers.