Bulkhead is an Autobot from the 2005 IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

"You shouldn't have drank my Swedish protein powder, little buddy!"

Although Bulkhead is a soft-spoken 'bot of few words, he's no gentle giant—he's a stubborn warrior who's happiest when he's throwing his substantial weight around on the front lines or using his wrecking ball fists to crack open an enemy's chassis. With ties to Optimus Prime's inner circle and the elite Wreckers, Bulkhead's a tough and pragmatic fighter with little patience for fancy talk.

Fiction

2005 IDW continuity

Bulkhead was among the leadership of Cybertron's Engineering Guild, and an early supporter of Optimus Prime. During the inaugural meeting of the Grand Convocation, he was unimpressed by the grandstanding of the Circle of Light's representative, Dai Atlas, and told him to stifle his objections. Derelicts When the Exodus began, Dai Atlas prepared to leave the planet and invited the other members of the Convocation to do the same. Unwilling to abandon the many Cybertronians who couldn't afford a way off-world, Bulkhead declined the offer and remained on Cybertron. Massacre

Attending an Autobot security meeting in response to Trypticon's collision course with Iacon, Bulkhead rejected Hot Rod's suggestion to shoot the beast out of the sky, citing the danger of falling debris. Primacy #2

Centuries later, Bulkhead was trained by Springer for possible inclusion in the next incarnation of the Wreckers. He was present with the other "Wrookies" when Springer appeared as the Shimmer for the last time and told them not to repeat the Wreckers' past mistakes. Requiem of the Wreckers

The Functionist Universe

In an altered timeline in which the war was averted, Bulkhead bore witness to the mass recall of all Cybertronians with data slug altmodes. The Custom-Made Now

2019 IDW continuity

Bulkhead was considered to be brave and loyal by Thunderclash, being counted among his potential recruits for the Wreckers. Tread & Circuits Part 4

Last Bot Standing

Bulkhead was among the many Autobots who fought against the Decepticons as both sides drained the universe of its resources. Last Bot Standing #2

Games

Transformers Roleplaying Game

During the early days of the Autobot-Decepticon conflict, Bulkhead adjusted to wartime life faster than many of his fellow Autobots; when he wasn't on guard duty, he was fighting in some of the first skirmishes of the Great War. Cobra/Con Fusion During the war, Bulkhead joined the Wreckers, and developed a special enmity with the Decepticon Breakdown. Decepticon Directive

Although Bulkhead wasn't originally meant to join the crew of the Ark, he soon came to enjoy life on Earth. Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook On one mission in southern France, Bulkhead, Minerva, and Bumblebee attempted to ambush Swindle and the Baroness, only for all five Combaticons to launch a counter-ambush. In the ensuing fight, Onslaught critically damaged Bumblebee; the enraged Bulkhead charged their foes, which created an exit and distracted them long enough for Minerva to stabilize Bumblebee. The two Autobots and their gravely wounded compatriot spent days trying to escape their pursuers, and eventually stumbled on a G.I. Joe camp in La Grande Dune du Pilat. After making contact with team leader Stalker, the heroes of G.I. Joe agreed to bring in a group of specialists to repair Bumblebee.

Once Doc, Mainframe, and Cover Girl arrived, the Autobots and their new allies successfully rebuilt Bumblebee into a new, war-ready configuration and rolled out to capture Swindle and his new associate. After a brief chase through the streets of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, the team successfully captured Swindle... but realized that "Baroness" was really her body double, Chameleon. However, the intel she provided led them to a secret cybernetics lab in the Pyrenees, where they discovered that the villains had pooled their resources to construct Fusion, an experimental warrior who incorporated a mixture of Cobra and Cybertronian technology. Cobra/Con Fusion

Transformers: Earth Wars

• Class: Warrior
• Lowest Star Rating: 2 Star
• Ability: Inhibitor Charge -Adds to max heath and damage absorption for multiple seconds, then rush into combat dealing damage to buildings and walls along the way. Nearby enemies are slowed for the duration of the effect.
  • Cost: 4 Ability points +2 cost increase

Toys

Prime

See: Bulkhead (Prime)#Toys

In the 2005-2018 IDW comics, Bulkhead is, of course, a straight repurposing of the character model of Prime Bulkhead, so we'll just link you to that dude's toy page, rather than reproduce it all here.

Legacy

• Prime Universe Bulkhead (Voyager Class, 2022)
  • TakaraTomy ID number: TL-03
  • TakaraTomy release date: July 30, 2022
  • Accessories: Energon machine gun, battle mace, tarp cover

Part of the first wave of Legacy Voyager Class toys, "Prime Universe Bulkhead" is a Generations-styled version of the character that transforms into an squished version of a Rába H18 military truck, which echoes Age of Extinction Hound's vehicle mode, in 30 steps.

He comes with a mace that opens up to wrap around his fist; a tarp that forms the rear of his vehicle mode, which can be used as a shield in robot mode; and a clear-blue Energon rotary machine gun that can mount on his left or right shoulder via 3 mm peg.

In a rarity for Generations toys of the last few years, he features fully-concealed weapon storage in alternate mode, with both his mace and gun stowing inside his truck bed, under the tarp. The sides of the tarp also feature two Powerlinx ports. The tarp does not need to be removed for transformation, but doing so provides additional clearance.

The instructions omit rotating the small black 'tummy' piece a further 90° in order to fit in vehicle mode. This should be done sometime before step 17.

Excluding his fists, he has a whopping 17(!) 5 mm ports throughout his body in robot mode, but 6 of them are in his wheel hubs, so if you peg a weaponizer part in it will droop down.

Due to the new windowless packaging featured in the Legacy Line, it is not uncommon to find Bulkhead with his head forced down into his chest cavity, making it appear as though the figure is missing his head.

This figure was revealed by IGN as a teaser for the Legacy line on October 20, 2021,^[1] ahead of Pulse Con 2021. Bulkhead was discovered on shelves in France in late January.

Notes

• In Requiem of the Wreckers, Bulkhead is depicted with a body very similar to Animated Bulkhead, though still retaining the head of his Aligned counterpart.

References