Dreadwind

Template:Wp-cca Dreadwind is the name of three fictional characters from the Transformers series. The first Dreadwind is a Decepticon air defense specialist and Powermaster released in 1988. All three are Decepticons who turn into jets.

Transformers: Generation 1

Template:Transformers character Dreadwind is a Decepticon air defense specialist who turns into a jet. He sometimes is depicted as a combiner, and becomes part of Grimlock Super Robot and Hun-Gurrr Super Robot.

Recepticon

Darkwing and Dreadwind are considered highly collectable.

Fictional biography

Generation 1: Profile: Dreadwind is the proverbial "deactivation of the party," a mournful presence always first to look on the bleak side of things. Grim and gloomy, he always acts as if his best friend has become permanently inoperative. Most other Decepticons avoid him like the plague, knowing that however buoyant their mood, Dreadwind is sure to bring them to Earth with a bump! As ominous as a storm cloud and as chilling as a winter breeze, Dreadwind somehow manages to convey his doom-laden message when he's in battle, even in jet mode! Foes have been known to feel despair at Dreadwind's approach, even at a vast distance. Dreadwind doesn't appreciate the advantage this gives him in battle; it just serves to further depress him. He's been known to wade through a battlefield, blasting Autobots and shouting, "Why does no one like me?" But Dreadwind has been known to come close to reveling (in his own low-key way) in the carnage he wreaks, knowing that perhaps his only true friend is fear. He sees it in the visual receptors of enemies and feels slightly better himself. Though the two profess to hate each other, and certainly detest combining to form Dreadwing, Dreadwind and Darkwing are the perfect partners in crime, almost trying to outdo each other in the bleakness stakes. The same cannot be said of Dreadwind's binary-bonded human component, Hi-Test. He's a thrill-seeking, overachieving perfectionist who can't understand Dreadwind at all! How can he be so gloomy when there's so much wonderful badness in the world? Hi-Test does his best to bully Dreadwind into enjoying himself, or at the very least concentrating his morose mind on the job at hand.

Abilities: In jet mode, powered by his high-performance Powermaster engine, Dreadwind can reach speeds up to Mach 2.6, and is able to climb to sub-orbital altitudes. When combined with his fellow Powermaster Darkwing, as the vehicle Dreadwing, they become capable of space flight, reaching light speeds and beyond. His jet mode is armed with air-to-air missiles, thermal melters, rapid-fire machine guns and lasers. He's a flying armory with a vast capacity for devastation. In robot mode he's more cumbersome and less effective, presenting an easy target. But at close quarters, his bulky strength and multi-shot wrist guns give him an advantage.

Weaknesses: All of Dreadwind's weaknesses stem from his continual brooding and permanent depression. He's so busy feeling sorry for himself, he tends to forget he's in the middle of a battle, leaving himself wide open to attack.

Timelines: Dreadwind has always had self confidence issues. Fortunately, Darkwing was there as his confidant and close friend. When Bludgeon assigned Dreadwind to Bugbite's crew he was unhappy to say the least. Now he spends most of his time whining of how no one likes him and that he is only there to serve as the crew's whipping bot, to anyone who will listen. What he lacks in self confidence he makes up with his fighting prowess. Once focused, Dreadwind is a formidable enemy both in the skies and on the ground.

Animated series

The US animated series was canceled before Dreadwind was produced, so he did not appear in the series, however, the recolor of Dreadwind, known as Buster, appeared as a regular in the Masterforce series in Japan. Dreadwind's only true appearance in animated form was in the commercials for Powermaster toys.

Books

Dreadwind was among the Decepticons featured in the 1988 book and audio adventure Autobot Hostage by Ladybird Books.

Comics

Dreamwave Productions

Although Dreadwind and Hi-Test did not appear in any fiction by Dreamwave Productions they did get a full biography in their Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye series. This biography describes Hi-Test as an over-achieving former scientist who annoys his both partner and Darkwing.

Fun Publications

Dreadwind was a regular character in the Classicverse stories by Fun Publications. These these stories Dreadwind was depicted in his Timelines toy form.

In "Games of Deception" Dreadwind retains his usual pessimistic attitude, noting that Darkwing had been left with Bludgeon's troops, and that Hi-Test had been killed by Grimlock. He was the only one to see the spying Mirage, and blasted him. After Megatron's forces were implanted with cerebro shells and subsequently broke free, Dreadwind was seen holding Scrapper up with one hand, asking "Why doesn't anyone like me?".

It was revealed in "Withered Hope" that Dreadwind had taken Weirdwolf for repairs after Megatron had nearly killed him.

Dreadwind appears in the 2012 BotCon Invasion lithograph by Casey Coller and Josh Perez.

IDW Publishing

Dreadwind made his first IDW Publishing appearance in The Transformers: Stormbringer, where he was part of an infiltration cell on the planet Nebulos under Darkwing's command. When Thunderwing arrived, Dreadwind and the other Decepticons did their best to stop him, but when Ruckus, Crankcase and Roadgrabber were destroyed by the monster, Dreadwind and Darkwing both fled.

Marvel Comics

The peaceful planet of Nebulos had earlier been visited by the Autobots and Decepticons in Marvel Comics’ Transformers series, and when they departed, only ruin was left in their wake. To prevent such horrors from occurring again, Nebulan scientist Hi-Q detonated a bomb in the planet’s atmosphere which “poisoned” the planet’s various fuel supplies and resources – although harmless to Nebulans, the “poison” was toxic to Transformers. This was the fate which befell Dreadwind and Darkwing when they came to the planet looking for the departed Scorponok, and refueled from Nebulan resources, causing their bodies to cease functioning. Their rotting, immobile hulks soon became tourist attractions.

Meanwhile, Hi-Q’s jealous partner, Hi-Test, had vowed to outdo his contemporary, and hired criminal Throttle to steal Hi-Q’s latest fuel conversion theories, which he had dubbed the “Powermaster Process.” Using this data, Hi-Test bio-engineered his and Throttle’s bodies, and offered partnership to Dreadwind and Darkwing, who accepted; the two Nebulans transformed into engines and connected to them, supplying them with untainted energy direct from their own bodies. The Powermasters ran roughshod over the planet, but were eventually defeated by a new team of Powermasters, including Hi-Q himself, bonded with Optimus Prime, and exiled from Nebulos.

Dreadwind and Darkwing soon entered into a partnership with the robot-eating Mecannibals, hiding their own robot nature by dealing through Hi-Test and Throttle, whose job it was to find other robots for the Mecannibals to feast upon. Setting their sights upon Autobot Pretenders Landmine and Cloudburst, the Decepticons lured them into the Mecannibals clutches, but in a strange twist of fate, the Pretenders were sent to gather spices to improve their flavour. Dreadwind and Darkwing pursued them to make things difficult, but when the fact that they were robots was revealed to the Mecannibals, Landmine and Cloudburst departed while Dreadwing and Darkwind fled.

The Mecannibals pursued the two Powermasters to Cybertron, where they took an assignment from Megatron to acquire the body of the deceased Decepticon, Starscream, hoping it would allow them to shake off their pursuers. Heading to Earth, they discovered that the energies of the Underbase that had destroyed Starscream continued to animate his corpse, but when Throttle and Hi-Test drained them away, they took the body back to Megatron for revival as a Pretender. Megatron’s subsequent apparent death put the duo out of work, however, and they drowned their sorrows at Maccadam’s Old Oil House, where they remained drunkenly unaware of some Mecannibals that had picked up their trail being dispatched by the Autobot Quickswitch.

Dreadwind and Darkwing participated in the attack on Unicron when the chaos-bringer assaulted Cybertron, and survived to serve under Bludgeon’s leadership.

Dreadwind appeared in issue #77 "Exodus!" where he was among the Decepticons who backed Bludgeon's plan to conquor an inhabited world for the Decepticons once they abandoned Cybertron, rather than go with the Autobot plan to start from nothing on an uninhabited world.

They aided in the raid on planet Klo, where they were seemingly killed the Autobot Getaway.

Of the two, Dreadwind was a particular favorite character of series writer Simon Furman, and served a long stint as the character who answered reader’s queries on the letters page of the UK’s exclusive Transformers title.

Transformers: Mosaic

Dreadwind appeared in the Transformers: Mosaic story "The Cassandra Effect" by Richard Cookson.

Dreadwind appeared in the Transformers: Mosaic story "Downcast" by Mike Priest.

Toys

File:Dreadwing-g1toy.jpg

Generation 1 Dreadwind toy

• Generation 1 Powermaster Dreadwind with Hi-Test (1988)

An original mold. Comes with Hi-Test and two guns.

This toy was recolored into Generation 1 Buster.

• Timelines Games of Deception (2007)

A 5-pack of Decepticon including Deluxe Bugbite, Dirge, Thundercracker and Thrust and Voyager Dreadwind.

Bugbite is a recolor of Classic Deluxe Bumblebee. Dirge is a remold of Classic Ramjet. Thundercracker is a recolor of Classic Starscream and Skywarp. Thrust is a remold of Classic Deluxe Starscream, Skywarp and Ramjet. Dreadwind is a remold and recolor of Classic Voyager Jetfire.

A BotCon 2007 exclusive.

• Hasbro Transformers: Generations Power of the Primes Deluxe Dreadwind (2017)

• Several parts for Dreadwind are available on Cults3D.

• Several parts for Dreadwind are available on Shapeways.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise

Template:Transformers character Dreadwind was part of the Robots in Disguise who did not appear in the anime series, but was added to the toy line by Hasbro just prior to the Transformers: Universe line of redecos.

3H Enterprises

Dreadwind did not appear in any fiction, but he did get a biography in the 3H Enterprises club magazine. There were plans to make him part of the Decepticon forces under the command of Megazarak in the Transformers: Universe story, but when 3H lost the Transformers license, these plans were never realized.

Dreadwind is depicted as a merciless powerful one-robot juggernaut who uses Smokejumper's amazing targeting systems to reign down missiles on his opponents.

Toys

• Robots in Disguise Dreadwind (2003)

Dreadwind is a green recolor of Generation 2 Dreadwing; the same mold was used for ATB Megatron and Beast Wars Second BB. He came packaged with his partner Smokejumper.

The figure was later recolored into Robot Masters Gigant Bomb.

Shattered Glass

Template:Transformers character This version of Dreadwind is the mirror universe version of the Generation 1 character and a member of Megatron's heroic Decepticon forces. Darkwind and Dreadwind seem to be stand-up comedians. According to the author of the character he is based on classic comedians Stan Laurel and Bud Abbott.

He can turn into a jet. In jet modes he and Darkwind combine into Dreadwing.

Fun Publications

Darkwind and Dreadwind were executed by the Autobots in Around Cybertron from issue 27 of the Transformers Collectors Club magazine.

Toys

• Robot Masters Smoke Sniper

A recolor of Generation 2 Smokescreen. This toy was repurposed as Shattered Glass Dreadwind.

• Reprolabels Heroic Decepticon Emblems (2009)

A set of Decepticon symbol labels in red. A Captured Prey exclusive.

External links

• Botcon 2007 set review at Kid Loving
• http://www.tfu.info/1988/Decepticon/Dreadwind/dreadwind.htm
• http://www.tfu.info/2003/Decepticon/Dreadwind/dreadwind.htm
• http://www.tfu.info/2007/Decepticon/BCDreadwind/dreadwind.htm