Autolauncher is a Predacon Autoroller from the Beast Era of the Generation 1 continuity family.

I got your "ultimate frisbee" right here, baby.

Autolauncher (オートランチャー Ōtoranchā) exists in a state of perpetual eagerness. He's eager to fight, he's eager to retreat, he's eager to do menial labor, he's eager to nap. Autolauncher yearns to be the first at everything and will often rush ahead of his Autoroller comrades so he can engage the enemy before anybody else. This frustrates his teammates to no end, particularly Autostinger, but there's a silver lining. Autolauncher's hurry to run blindly into action with disks a-spinning makes him a wonderful distraction, permitting the other Autorollers to attack in a more discreet manner.

If Autolauncher is eager about anything, however, it's his burning desire to go one-on-one with his Insectron rival: Mantis. Both he and Mantis are students of the art known as Discmaster and Autolauncher wants nothing more than to prove he's the best. Where Mantis controls his discs with telekinetic precision mid-flight, Autolauncher's technique is to launch as many disks as possible, as quickly as possible and hope for the best.^[1]

Fiction

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Beast Wars II cartoon

Voice actor: Hiroki Takahashi (up until ep. 10), Masami Iwasaki (Japanese)

Autolauncher and the other Autorollers were aboard the Galvaburg II when Galvatron came to the planet Gaia. They assumed vehicular modes based on scans from the super-computer found in the planet's ruins. White Lion, Run! They were sent to construct a Predacon base near an isolated lake, secretly a trap to capture any unwary Maximal. The Lake Trap

After the Combatrons failed to eliminate the Insectrons or get them to turn on the Maximals, Autostinger volunteered his team to take up the job. Megastorm accepted, and so the Autorollers rolled out. Autostinger and Autojetter went to Bigmos of the Insectrons to cash in on an old debt while Autolauncher and Autocrusher... went somewhere else? Autorollers Roll Out!

After several failures that Autolauncher technically wasn't even a part of, Megastorm put the Autorollers back on fortress construction duty. Although Autocrusher appreciated the work, Autojetter felt slighted and wanted to show he was the most fearsome Predacon of all. Autostinger was moved by Autojetter's passion, and they came up with a plan to reroute the Angolmois Energy they were digging for to create an eruption that would destroy the Insectrons' lands in the name of the Predacons. A crazed Galvatron upset their plans, drilling into the Angolmois Energy pipelines to disturb the flow, and the Autorollers ended up joining forces with Scuba and the Maximals to bring down the rampaging Galvatron with an overdose of Angolmois Energy. After the battle, the Maximals and Autorollers parted peacefully. Galvatron Rampages

The Autorollers continued to work on Megastorm's behalf, devastating much of the South Continent in their efforts to build an Angolmois Energy-powered fortress. Predacon General Offensive!

At one of their construction sites on the East Continent, Autolauncher and the Autorollers were joined by Starscream and BB, who intended to capture the Jointrons for study. Most of the Autorollers got involved in the side mission, but Autolauncher it seemed wisely stayed out of the melee. Who Is the Leader!? While excavating some ancient ruins back on the North Continent, Autolauncher and his team found an old Copy Machine which they brought back to Galvatron. Hijinks ensued. The Black Lio Convoy

When Artemis and Moon hosted a debate over who the strongest warriors were among the Transformers, Galvatron compared his troops, the Autorollers, to the Maximal allies, the Insectrons. Who Is the Strongest Warrior!?

The Autorollers continued gathering massive amount of Angolmois Energy through their drilling sites. When a squad of Maximals raided one of the Angolmois Energy facilities, Galvatron set a trap for them. He had the Autorollers lure the Maximals inside the base and then sealed it shut. He then called down a massive blast from Nemesis in space to annihilate his foes. Gigastorm's Treachery

When an alien device called the teleport gate crash-landed on Gaia, the Predacons quickly took control of it. Autolauncher and the other Autorollers were stationed on guard duty outside the ship, and were nearly crushed when the behemoth Majin Zarak arrived through the portal. He then joined Galvatron and the other Predacons on Majin Zarak's aircraft carrier mode, launching the Cyborg Beasts into battle. Autolauncher joined the battle shortly afterward, but was repelled by the Maximal forces. Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger!

As Nemesis approached the Earth, Autolauncher and the Autorollers continued building new fortresses to gather the planet's energy for the Predacons. Knock Out Nemesis After Hellscream and Max-B located the Maximals' missile base in the Rock Mountains, Galvatron dispatched the Autorollers to help destroy the project. They were opposed by the Jointrons and Tripledacus. Fly Out! Planet Gaia

Autolauncher and the Autorollers were manning the Predacon engineering fortresses on Gaia when the artificial planet Nemesis began actively siphoning the world's energy into itself. Breaking into Nemesis

Beast Wars Neo cartoon

After the defeat of Unicron, Autolauncher returned to Cybertron, where he helped with reconstruction. Graduation Ceremony!!

Beast Wars II comic

I want to tell you about the Transformers! This character article is a stub and is missing information on their fictional appearances. You can help Transformers Wiki by expanding it. Infiltrate the Mystery Island! Make a Surprise Attack on the Super Weapon Base! All Hands, Make a Special Attack on the Evil Planet!

2006 IDW Beast Wars continuity

Autolauncher was one of Galvatron's personal guards. Beast Wars Sourcebook #1

Classics

Grimlock used Dinobot schematics to form Autolauncher's structural components, in an attempt to create a better breed of soldier. Scylla's profile in Club magazine #51 Autolauncher's personality engrams were also modified by the Dinobot before his activation, to give him a strong sense of loyalty and attachment to his superiors. Autolauncher's profile in Club magazine #53 Autolauncher was one of three Autobots stored in stasis pods aboard the Graviton. The stasis pods were lost overboard when the ship crashed over prehistoric Earth in an alternate universe, and the trio were converted into Decepticons by Megatron. They attacked Ultra Magnus and his team, however the arrival of Depth Charge turned the tide of the battle as he blasted the three new Decepticons. Shattered Expectations

The Decepticons pursued the Autobots to a chasm, where they watched Megatron take on Ultra Magnus and be defeated. They climbed to the bottom of the chasm to retrieve their fallen leader and found a giant face hewn into the rock. It cheered Megatron up immensely once they dug him out of the rubble. Shattered Paths Within the cavern they'd located, Autolauncher and the others watched Megatron utilize the ancient equipment. They got the opportunity to fight the Autobots, now calling themselves Maximals, again and Autolauncher blasted Magnus and Grimlock while Autojetter secured the Maximals' energy purifier. Shattered Hope The Predacons including Autolauncher accompanied Megatron as he used the giant mech he'd built to try and claim the matrix the Maximals had found. Shattered Balance They battled the Maximals once more, until they were all sucked into a dimensional rift thanks to Ultra Mammoth. Shattered Destiny

Beast Wars: Uprising

During the Vehicon Apocalypse, Autolauncher was leading a unit of Predacon forces in their assault on the Grand Mal, trying to urge them onward. Just as he asked whether they wanted to live forever, he was blasted apart by a tank drone. Derailment

Toys

Beast Wars

• Autolauncher (Deluxe, 1998)

• ID number: D-20
• Release date: April 30, 1998
• Accessories: "Spear Gun", 2 "Launcher Spear" missiles, 5 "Disc Missiles"
• Known designers: Takio Ejima and Hisashi Yuki (TakaraTomy), Masakatsu Saito (concept artist)

Part of the third wave of Beast Wars II products in the Japanese Beast Wars toyline, Autolauncher uses the unreleased Generation 2 Deluxe-sized APC Auto Roller mold and transforms into an armored personnel carrier. In vehicle mode, Autolauncher features a swiveling radar dish, two articulated, non-firing "Dead Launchers" and a "Disc Missile" launcher in his front end that is activated by the front wheels when rolled across the ground. Like the auto-transformation gimmick, a switch is present to allow him to roll without launching the discs. Two small clips are also present allowing you to store his "Launcher Spears" on the top of his vehicle mode, and a compartment in his trunk houses his "Spear Gun" missile launcher.

In robot mode, his chest can fire his Disc Missiles by pushing a button on the back that allows you to manually fire them. His spring-loaded Spear Gun missile launcher can be held in his hand and can fire the aforementioned Launcher Spears. His Dead Launchers also end up as shoulder cannons in robot mode.

Like Autojetter, he has a three-setting switch that changes how the toy reacts to being rolled on a smooth surface. In the center setting, it rolls free in whichever mode it’s in. The other two activate the toy’s auto-transforming gimmick; with the switch to the left, the toy transforms from robot to APC when rolled forward (and back when rolled in reverse), while the right position transforms him from APC to robot when rolled forward (and back when in reverse).

Sonokong also released this figure in their Beast-War toyline as Auto Launcher (meant to be "Autolanecher" [sic]). Aside from the difference in packaging, the Korean release of the figure is identical to the Takara releases. In place of the bio cards of the Takara releases, Auto Launcher comes with two "Jan-ken-pon" cards. One has an image reflecting the one on the box, with paper and the number four die roll, and the other with scissors and the number two die roll, with a base-like background.

Beast-War Auto Launcher was later reissued in the Korean Car Bot toyline, reassigned as an Autobot and renamed Scoutlauncher.

• More information on Autolauncher at TFU.info

• Discus Showdown: Mantis VS Autolauncher (Multi-pack, 1998)

• ID number: VS-20
• Release date: May 25, 1998
• Accessories: Missile launcher, 2 "Launcher Spear" missiles, 5 "Disc Missiles"

Autolauncher was also made available in the "Discus Showdown" (円盤の対決, enban no taiketsu) vs-pack with his rival Mantis, released in the fifth wave of Beast Wars II toys.

Both toys are identical to their individual releases.

Notes

• Autolauncher's mold was originally created for Generation 2, but was one of several items that ended up canceled. This release would have been blue and white; although its intended name is unknown, it is noteworthy that the mold's head is almost identical to the comic model for Crankcase, who is blue. Why would anyone make a new-mold Crankcase toy in 1995? Who knows?
• In early Beast Wars planning, Hasbro conceptualized a vehicular Auto Roller toy of Prowl as a moon buggy.^[2] It is unclear if this toy would have been directly related to the mold ultimately released as Beast Wars II Autolauncher given the "moon buggy" mode, but the robot arms, head, and wheels have some details that are very specific to the Autolauncher mold, such as the particular shape of the forearms with three angled "vents".
• All of the Beast Wars II Autorollers have 2-D card art, rather than the CGI model art made for the entire rest of the line.
• Autolauncher's name in the Korean market underwent badly convoluted misinterpretation. The phonetic "laun" part of his name can be adapted from English into Japanese and back as "lan", but this was then misinterpreted in Korean to be pronounced "lane".

Foreign names

• Korean: Autolanecher (오토레인쳐 Otoreinchyeo) [sic]

References