Avast! Cannonball do be a Decepticon from the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

Life is pain. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something.

Leader of a gang of interstellar pirates and captain of the Sea Slag, the dread pirate they call Cannonball is only a Decepticon because Megatron lets his crew roam free, provided they leave the Decepticon starships alone and focus their attentions more on the Autobots. Cannonball is all too happy to do so. When he and his crew aren't looting and pillaging, they're causing trouble in some seedy port on Cybertron, using their ill-gotten gains to purchase black-market energon stars or dubious-sounding "pleasure programs".

Cannonball's crew can be readily identified by the bright airbrushed graphics that adorn their alternate modes. Cannonball himself features bright green Oingo Boingo-style skeletons.

Though "Cannonball" has been terrorizing spacelanes for centuries, it has not been this Cannonball... he is in fact the tenth space pirate to use that name and legacy. One day he will train a replacement to take his name, and that pirate will take on the legacy with a whole new crew. Until that day, though, Cannonball plans to live it up!

On Earth, Cannonball and his then-landlubber crew prowl the highways, robbing shipments and retreating to the mythical Pirate Oasis.

Arrrr.

Fiction

Timelines

Next time you raise a sword, boy, be the last to die.

The latest in the line of pirates known as Cannonball was captain of the Kalis' Lament after the defeat of Megatron. He had recruited several former Decepticons into his crew, including Brushguard, Buzzsaw, Runamuck and his first mate, Skywarp. One dark night in space, a probe returned to the ship with information about possible treasure—a Force Chip aboard an Autobot ship that had been shot down over the planet Sandokan. Cannonball cautioned his crew about journeying to Sandokan, for it was a cursed planet if the tales were true. He gave Buzzsaw a good thrashing for doubting the stories. Instead of proceeding directly for the planet, Cannonball decided to come at the treasure sideways—he called in an old favor from the mercenary Astrotrain, sending him on ahead to test the planet's defenses and seek out the Force Chip. If he were successful, so much the better; if he failed, at least Cannonball would have a better understanding of the planet and what protected it.

True enough, Astrotrain was overpowered by Synthos, the dark creature who controlled the world, empowered by the ancient Dark Heart of Sandokan. Cannonball and some of his crew arrived in advance of the Kalis' Lament in a small shuttle, seeking to take advantage of the creature after Astrotrain softened it up. Unfortunately for Cannonball, he lost track of the Autobots in the melee, and they managed to sneak aboard his shuttle and hijack the vessel, making off with the Force Chip and leaving Cannonball and crew stranded waiting for a pick-up. It wasn't a total loss, though—Cannonball managed to recover the Dark Heart itself from Synthos, and left it in the gleeful and capable hands of his science officer, Brushguard, to unlock the crystal's secrets. The Dark Heart of Sandokan

TransTech

The 10th Cannonball of Aurex 1107.23 Beta was brought up on a trivia bonus on the Axiom Nexus Cybernet Infocore by I-QUEUE, as part of a lesson on the pirates throughout the multiverse who have used the "Cannonball" persona. Transformers I.Q. in TCC #55

Kre-O online manga

Oh, bugger.

Cannonball attacked the city along with Smolder. Bad at Fighting? Rescue Team Protectobots, Dispatch!

Spacewarp's Log

Spacewarp had engaged in some manner of business with Cannonball. Spacewarp's Log (1), 2015/10/27

Toys

Cybertron

Hide the rum.

• Cannonball (Deluxe class, 2006)

• Accessories: Hammer attachment, claw attachment, Earth Cyber Key
• Cyber Key Code: d2rz
• Known designers: Dwight Stall (deco artist),^[1] Marcelo Matere (packaging artist)

Part of the seventh wave of Cybertron Deluxes, Cannonball is a redeco of the Cybertron Deluxe Red Alert toy, transforming into an unlicensed approximation of a Dodge Magnum with roof-mounted lights and giant, vibrant green detailing of a skull and skeletons on his roof and doors, respectively. In both vehicle and robot mode, inserting a Cyber Key into his rear window releases a pair of flip-out (non-firing) blasters. Hidden in his legs (his car-mode hood) are hammer and claw attachments for the "blaster" stub on his left arm in place of a hand.

This mold was also used to make the live-action movie Crankcase, and retooled to make Timelines Kup. The Kup tooling was also the basis of the non-toy Shattered Glass Kup.

• More information on Cannonball at TFU.info

Universe (2003)

• Downshift vs. Cannonball: Search for the Pirate Moon (Multi-pack, 2007)

• Accessories: Hammer attachment, claw attachment, Earth Cyber Key
• Cyber Key Code: d2rz

As a 2007 Black Friday special, Walmart got two Universe-branded two-packs of Cybertron Deluxes. Cannonball was repackaged with the Cybertron version of Downshift, with a cardback story about Downshift hunting Cannonball's gang of pirates... in a setting that had nothing to do with a moon. Oh well. Both toys were identical to their individual releases.

Legacy

You wear fine redecoes well.

• Star Raider Cannonball (Deluxe Class, 2024)

• Accessories: Cyber Key, claw attachment, hammer attachment, lightbar/key port
• Known designers: Mark Maher (Hasbro), Shuhei Umezu (TakaraTomy)^[2]

Legacy United "Star Raider Cannonball" is an extensive retool of Legacy Crankcase, itself a heavy retool of Skids from the same line, transforming into a SUV with a lightbar.

He comes with a Cyber Key which can be inserted into a slot on the roof of his vehicle mode. This homages the original concept, but does not activate any features. Instead, he retains Crankcase's shoulder guns as a nod to his original gimmick. He also has sculpted faux-door kibble on his shoulders and a faux-head between his lightbars to further resemble the original toy. The green skeleton on his doors has been replaced with a flaming skull, drawing inspiration from the Vok. His lightbar and Cyber Key port are molded together as a single removable part attached with a 5 mm post. Cannonball's hammer and claw can fit in the gaps of his shins like his original toy.

Cannonball was revealed in the Walmart Collector Con online event on March 7, 2024, as part of the Walmart-exclusive "Star Raider" collection.

• Designer commentary on Legacy Cannonball from Mark Maher on Instagram

Notes

• The idea that the "Cannonball" persona is passed from pirate to pirate over the years is an obvious nod to the Dread Pirate Roberts from The Princess Bride.
• Cannonball's online bio note has a discrepancy from the version on the package back. The online note refers to Cannonball's crew spending their loot on (in addition to black-market energon stars) something referred to as "pleasure programs"; on the package, the line is the same, but "pleasure programs" has been replaced by the more family-friendly "hot, airbrushed graphics for their vehicle modes".
• Kre-O Cannonball uses existing Kre-O pieces as part of his build, as he uses the Ironhide helmet and the Shockwave gun-hand, although his door pieces appear to be unique (to better represent the original character).

References