Origin
Blast Off is glad to be removed from the close-quarter combat of his fellow Combaticons. He would much rather stay in orbiting the Earth and monitoring the actions of the Autobots. From his high perch, he is cruelly efficient at raining destruction on the world below. Blast Off feels no remorse for his actions. When Buster Witwicky had a vision of Special Teams with the ability to merge into a giant robots, he shared the dream with Optimus Prime. The dream was spied into by Soundwave, and so the Decepticons started building the Combaticons. Blast Off was created as a Space Shuttle that can combine to form the right arm of Bruticus.
Creation
Blast Off was created by Hasbro for of The Transformers (1984) Cartoon. Marvel UK first published Astrotrain in 1986 during the Story Arc “Second Generation” of The Transformers issue #63. The issue was written by Simon Furman with Ian Rimmer as editor. He was first seen in 1987 Marvel Comics’ The Transformers issue #24 by writer Bob Budiansky and editor Don Daley.
Major Story Arcs
Generation 1 Continuity
Marvel Comics
Blast Off and the other Combaticons were led by Megatron to steal the human hydrothermocline power plant, only to be faced with Optimus Prime and his Protectobots. After being convinced by Ethan Zachary, the two groups decided to fight virtually rather risk damage to the power plant. Transferring his mind into a computer, Blast Off teamed up with Vortex and ambushed Groove and Blades in the area called the “Cloud-Steppes”. They did well at first, until the locals turned against them and blinded the two fliers with a cloud, leading to them crashing into each other and losing the game.
He and his fellow Combaticons were sent on a hunting mission by Decepticon command and spent several weeks tracking Blaster and the Throttlebots, who had recently interfered with their schemes. They were interrupted by the Protectobots, and engaged in battle. The Combaticons joined to form Bruticus but were beaten by Blaster and the Protectobots combined form Defensor. Afterwards, Blast Off was confined to his alt-mode with a mode-lock device by Blaster. Blaster then took his human friends into outer space. Unfortunately, Blaster was at odds with new Autobot leader Grimlock, and Blast Off and his passengers were forcibly captured by the Ark. The Decepticon later either escaped Autobot custody on his own or was rescued along with Omega Supreme‘s other victims by the Constructicons.
Marvel UK
On a mission for Shockwave, Blast Off and the Combaticons secured a volcano where Galvatron and Ultra Magnus had been found suspended in the hardened lava. Shockwave saw Galvatron as a threat to his power base and wanted the volcano destroyed with Galvatron stuck inside it. The Combaticons’ mission was interrupted, by several humans trying to save Ultra Magnus. They sent a speeding jeep towards Blast Off and his comrades, but the Combaticons stopped the vehicle easily. However, they didn’t fare as well against a tank the women had acquired. They fired at the jeep and set off the storage of explosives the women had put inside it.
IDW Publishing
Blast Off has not yet appeared in Regeneration One.
IDW Continuity
Stormbringer
Blast Off was part of the complement aboard the Decepticon warship Thanatos under the command of Razorclaw. Out of respect from the desperate defense the Wreckers were mounting against Thunderwing, Razorclaw sent out two squads of Decepticons to assist the Autobots; Blast Off was among the aerial forces led by Divebomb.
Spotlight: Arcee
Blast Off was assigned to the Combaticons operating under Banzai-Tron‘s Decepticon Secret Service. The Combaticons were used as an elite storming brigade in the attack on the Garrus-9 penitentiary in an effort to capture the prison’s newest inmates and their gestalt technology. During the attack Blast Off was skewered by Arcee. The other Combaticons carried him out with them when they evacuated.
Spotlight: Sideswipe (Revelation)
After a deal was negotiated between Arcee and Banzai-Tron, Blast Off and the other Combaticons helped her in an attempt to recapture Monstructor, who had been stolen by Jhiaxus and Nemesis Prime‘s forces.
Robots in Disguise
Blast Off was not part of the Combaticons’ on Earth, he eventually resurfaced years later on Cybertron as one of the Decepticons imprisoned by the Autobots following the end of the war. Blast Off was among a Cybertronian crowd recruited by Starscream to pressure Prowl into revealing one of his secret discoveries below ground on Cybertron. Later underground, they witnessed a Metrotitan declare that Starscream was the Cybertronian destined to unite their whole race.
Powers & Weaknesses
In space shuttle mode, Blast Off can travel at 26,000 mph and stay in orbit up to eight months. From his nosecone he can emit a powerful x-ray that can burn a hole through a rocketing ICBM 12,000 miles away or hit an Autobot on the ground. The effectiveness of this weapon is reduced to only 80% by the Earth’s atmosphere. He also carries relaying equipment that allows communication between the Decepticons and the surface. In robot mode, he uses an ionic blaster which shoots highly charged particles that disrupts the flow of electricity in anything of an electrical nature, similar to an EMP. Along with his fellow Combaticons, he combines to form the right arm of Bruticus. Blast Off has trouble re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. His heat shielding capabilities are weak and will often cracks or fail, exposing him to potentially lethal damage. Due to his weak shielding he is also relatively vulnerable to most forms of artillery.
Characteristics
- Allegiance: Decepticon
- Sub Group: Combaticon
- Function: Space Warrior
- Alt-Modes: Cybertronian Shuttle, Cybertronian Jet, Space Shuttle, Anti-Aircraft Tank, AH-1 Cobra Helicopter
- Color Schemes: Purple/Brown/Black (G1, IDW, Animated, FOC), Tan/Purple (FOC), Silver/Grey (G2), Brown/Purple(RotF), Purple (Energon)
Alternate Versions
Marvel Comics
Generation 2
Blast Off join Megatron’s command after Bludgeon was destroyed. He is seen when Megatron first confronts Jhiaxus and his second-generation Cybertronians. He later showed concern when Onslaught was having pains. Blast Off and his fellow Combaticons were the first Decepticons aboard the Warworld to meet the boarding party of Cybertronians led by Starscream.
Marvel Future Timeline
2006 Timeline
Blast Off helped the Decepticons retreat from a battle against Autobots and Junkions. (In the Marvel UK issues #180–181, it was stated this was all a fabrication created by Wreck-Gar).
Marvel UK Future Timeline
2008 Timeline
Blast Off was briefly seen racing through the skies with his fellow Decepticons on the way to attack Autobase.
Devils Due
G.I. Joe vs. Transformers
As part of Serpent O.R.‘s forces, Blast Off defended the newly unified Decepticon army’s base against a combined Autobot/G.I. Joe strike force.
Dreamwave Publications
Generation 1 (2004)
Shortly after Optimus Prime became the new Autobot Supreme Commander, Blast Off took part in the Decepticon assault upon Iacon. Millions of years later, Blast Off, and the Combaticons, were imprisoned by Shockwave, until they were released by Starscream.
When Sunstorm appeared on Earth, the battered Combaticons were ordered by Starscream to combine into Bruticus and deal with the crazed zealot. The Combaticons were overpowered and severly damaged by Sunstorm.
The repaired Combaticons were brought to Guadalcanal, where they could hone their combat skills. Starscream ordered them to defeat the Autobot Sky Lynx as a training exercise for greater battles. Blast Off ordered Vortex to “take Sky Lynx down”, but unfortunately, the Combaticons did not fare well when the Autobot split into his two forms, and Blast Off was embarrassingly grabbed in the flying form’s jaws. Soon Predaking showed up as soon as Sky Lynx was deactivated. This encounter did not end well.
Fun Publications
Timelines
Blast Off appears in The Coming Storm & Battle Lines stories. Along with the other Combaticons he was a member of Magnum‘s Cybertronian Elite Guard.
Titan Magazine
Revenge of the Fallen
Mentioned in the Letters page of Titan Magazine’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen issue #3; The Autobots have faced the Combaticons before, and even the mighty Optimus Prime is careful not to get blindsided by the immense Bruticus!
Blast Off was later released as an Anti-Aircraft Tank that forms Bruticus for the Revenge of the Fallen toy-line.
IDW Publishing
Prime: Rage of the Dinobots
Blast Off leads a group of Decepticon ground forces against the Dinobots.
Other Media
Television
The Transformers (1984)
Blast Off was first seen in the episode “Starscream’s Brigade” as one of the five renegade Decepticons liberated by Starscream in his attempt to overthrow Megatron. As an element of their imprisonment, they had been reduced their personality components, so Starscream installed them into abandoned World War II military vehicles. The procedure caused the vehicles to immediately reconfigure themselves: Blast Off went from being a B-17 Bomber to a Space Shuttle. Starscream called them “Combaticons” and announced their names as they transformed. They did not they feel particularly indebted to him for their release and only guaranteed their loyalty by removing their ability to absorb energy, so they would be dependent upon him to refuel.
Episode Appearances
- Starscream’s Brigade
- The Revenge of Bruticus
- Aerial Assault
- B.O.T.
- Five Faces of Darkness; parts 1-4
- Chaos
- Fight of Flee
- The Return of Optimus Prime; part 1
- The Rebirth; part 3
Transformers: The Headmasters (1987) (Japan)
Galvatron ordered a large-scale Decepticon assault on Cybertron in order to get his hands on Vector Sigma. The Combaticons were part of the attack forces, and Blast Off was seen bombing random targets until he was shot out of the sky by Jazz. As the battle continued, Blast Off merged with his team to form Bruticus, but even alongside the other Decepticon combiners, he was no match for Battleship Maximus.
The Combaticons were driven away, and were instead sent to Earth with orders to stop Hot Rod from bringing the Matrix of Leadership to Optimus Prime. Before they got very far, they were ambushed by the Protectobots and were buried in a rockslide in the ensuing battle. Blast Off subsequently helped defend Trypticon against Twincast’s infiltration, but the Autobot spy snuck past when the Combaticons were distracted by the timely arrival of the Aerialbots.
Episode Appearances
- Four Warriors Come out of the Sky
- The Mystery of Planet Master
- Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime
- The Great Cassette Operation
- Cybertron Is in Grave Danger; part 1 & 2
- Head On!! Fortress Maximus
- The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg
- I Risk My Life for Earth
- The Zarak Shield Turns the Tide
- The Final Showdown on Earth; part 1 & 2
Transformers: Energon (2004)
Blackout was never referred to by name, nor was he ever presented as an individual being. Most of his appearances were as the left arm of Bruticus Maximus.
Episode Appearances
- Galvatron!
- Distribution
- Spark
Video Games
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (PC/PS3/360)
When the Autobots came into possession of a large amount of energon, Starscream tasked the Combaticons with diverting the transport by destroying a bridge. Vortex and Blast Off were sent to clear a short cut to allow Brawl to take a drop ship through. Blast Off went through first, drawing out Autobot mines for Vortex to destroy. Once they got through the ruins, the Autobots closed some huge shutters, so Blast Off went ahead, leaving Vortex behind to fight all the Autobots by himself. Once the bridge was down and Swindle brought the transport to a halt, the Combaticons combined into Bruticus and smashed through the rest of its defenses. Unfortunately the damage they did resulted in the transport crashing. Starscream was not very pleased at all and had them all arrested.
Blast Off and the Combaticons were later freed once Megatron was resurrected and retook his leadership. They were aboard the Nemesis as it pursued the Ark and Blast Off took part in the assault on the Autobot ship’s engines as part of Bruticus. The giant took out many Autobots before he was taken down by the combined efforts of Jazz and the Aerialbots before floating free of the Ark.
Blast Off’s armor set and individual parts are available in the Multiplayer Havoc DLC pack. His parts are labeled as “Wingman”.