Cloudburst
From Transformers Wiki
- Cloudburst is an Autobot Pretender from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Cloudburst feels at home within the confines of his Pretender shell. His shell gives him the confidence to be smooth, charismatic and tough as nails (except in the presence of large organic females with broadswords). However, what his charming Pretender shell hides is nothing more than a nervous, dull and meek little robot who feels inferior to all those around him. His friend Landmine often tries to egg him on, provoking him to "come out of his shell", but Cloudburst still tends to hide behind his intelligence and within his mask of bravado.
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Fiction
The Transformers cartoon
Optimus Prime had to take his leave from one of his meetings with Tommy Kennedy to help Cloudburst redesign his retro-rockets. Season 5: TROOP, Part 1
Marvel Comics continuity
Marvel The Transformers comics
A member of Fortress Maximus's crew aboard the Steelhaven, Cloudburst volunteered for the synthoplasmic conversion process Optimus Prime had stolen from Scorponok, transforming him into an Autobot Pretender. With Optimus Prime coordinating the Pretenders' first battle with the Decepticons, Cloudburst and his teammates easily overwhelmed the opposing force. Pretender to the Throne!
Landmine and Cloudburst were summoned by Optimus Prime shortly after the Autobots' devastating battle with Starscream during the Underbase Saga. The battle had burnt out a large number of microchips from the deactivated warriors—500 million to be exact. Optimus charged the two Pretenders with negotiating for new microchips at the biggest black market in the galaxy, Grand Central Space Station. Because of Grand Central's reputation for being violently unwelcoming to robots, it was Prime's hope that Cloudburst and Landmine's organic shells would allow them to accomplish the mission unimpeded. The pair set off riding in Cloudburst's massive starfighter mode.
At Grand Central, they made contact with a disguised Hi-Test and Throttle, Nebulan Powermasters who were keeping their robot ties quiet in order to operate freely on the station. Cloudburst arranged a deal to exchange their energon cube currency for the 500 million microchips. It would've gone smoothly from there, but Landmine received information that a fellow Autobot named Sky Lynx might have gotten into trouble after dealing with these two, and demanded to deal with the Nebulans' sponsors, the Mecannibals, directly.
Aboard the Mecannibals' ship, Cloudburst sealed the deal with their leader Master Mouth. The Autobots were horrified to discover, however, that the Mecannibals came by their trade goods by eating robots, and then "recycling" their remains for resale. What's worse, Sky Lynx was apparently next on the menu. Landmine wouldn't stand for it, and operated his robot form independent of his shell to save Sky Lynx and fool the Mecannibals into believing his two parts were unrelated to one another. After freeing Sky Lynx and fending off the Mecannibals, Landmine succeeded in distracting them long enough to hide inside his organic shell and therefore "escape". Unfortunately, their good luck didn't last. While trying to retrieve Sky Lynx's friend Berko, Cloudburst and Landmine's true identities were uncovered by the Nebulans. They were captured while trying to settle Berko's tab at the Black Hole Bar and Grill, and then returned to the Mecannibals to be eaten. Guess Who the Mecannibals Are Having for Dinner?
With some quick thinking, Cloudburst explained to Master Mouth that they were simply too bland to be eaten without seasoning, and offered to go acquire the proper ingredients to make a real gourmet robo-recipe in exchange for their freedom. This unusual strategy worked, though only partially; should the Autobots return and their recipe prove to be as good as Cloudburst made it out to be, Landmine would be eaten and Cloudburst would go free. In any case, the Mecannibals would hold onto Berko as collateral to ensure that the Autobots return after their errand to the planet Femax to top off the seasonings.
After penetrating the inner mountain city of the Femax warriors, Cloudburst and Landmine were captured and brought before their ruler, the First One. Cloudburst managed to defuse the tension caused by Landmine's inherent hostility, convincing the Femaxians that they were only there on a mission of mercy. The First One decreed that, before the crystals could be handed over, Cloudburst must back his words in battle in order to prove himself a valued mate... er, MATErial tradesman. Cloudburst successfully passed the various tests of stamina, agility, wrestling, and jousting.
As Landmine entertained several Femaxian women with Sharkticon war stories, Cloudburst was led away by the First One for a more personal conversation. Having never seen a man smart enough to rub two sticks together before, she considered Cloudburst to be quite the specimen. When she tried to put the moves on him though, Cloudburst had to ruin the moment by revealing that Pretennnnders Hide...The Transformers Inside. The First One's was infuriated over having fallen for a "cold, unfeeling machine," and in her disgust she lobbed off Cloudburst's head with one strike of her sword.
Luckily for Cloudburst, Landmine managed to stay level-headed enough to try to talk down the First One instead of fighting back. After her initial emotional outburst cooled, the First One accepted the "rejection" of her affections and repaired Cloudburst, allowing the Autobots to peacefully leave her realm with the crystals. As they were about to leave the planet, Cloudburst and Landmine were accosted by Darkwing and Dreadwind, though Sky Lynx stepped in immediately afterwards to knock out both Decepticons. Realizing that the Decepticons' Nebulan partners were Master Mouth's robot-spotters, the Autobots returned to the Mecannibals' ship. They modified the deal they had made with the Mecannibals by holding Hi-Test and Throttle ransom, ensuring both theirs and Burko's release. Master Mouth agreed to these terms, and as a bonus, the Autobots informed him that his Nebulan employees were actually Decepticon Powermaster robots, giving Hi-Test and Throttle some serious trouble. Unfortunately for their overall mission, though, Cloudburst and Landmine found it too unconscionable to repair their comrades with the cannibalized remains of other robots. Instead, they made the Mecannibals promise to use the microchips to repair and revive the victims they had "recycled" for parts. The Pretenders returned to the Ark empty-handed, but with clear consciences. Recipe for Disaster!
Cloudburst and Joyride were members of Rec Team Two, an Autobot unit on Earth that first encountered Deathbringer. Cloudburst was damaged, but managed to contact Optimus Prime aboard the Ark before he went offline. Deathbringer
When the Decepticon Air Strike Patrol threatened MacDill Air Force Base, Optimus Prime was forced to counter the thuggish Micromasters with all of the Autobots he could spare, including Cloudburst. The Air Strike Patrol suggested that their petty actions served as a distraction from a much grander scheme by an unknown party, and when Optimus's temper exploded violently to this, Cloudburst reacted with shock. The Resurrection Gambit!
At some point, the Decepticon Pretenders Iguanus, Bomb-Burst and Skullgrin captured the Keeler Oil Terminal in the Gulf of Mexico. Cloudburst, Landmine and Splashdown were sent to stop them, though a stray shot sent a human jet hurtling out of control towards the oil rig. Cloudburst convinced Bomb-Burst to help save the jet (as it would also save the rig and coincidentally their lives) and once they had manoeuvred it to safety, he took the Decepticon into custody. The Chain Gang!
News of Ratchet's death strongly affected Optimus Prime, who stormed off the Ark onto the surface of the Moon as Cloudburst, Highbrow, and Kup looked on in despair. Thankfully, Hot Rod planned to wrangle Optimus back into their ranks with a practical joke involving a berserk Mark V Guardian Droid. The prank worked a little too well, resulting in Cloudburst and the others getting beaten within an inch of their lives. Yesterday's Heroes!
Cloudburst was sent to Earth with Getaway and Chainclaw to spy on the resurrected Pretender Starscream. Unfortunately, Starscream walked straight into them and beat them all up. Fallen Star!
When Grimlock stole an All-Terrain Turbo-Transport from the Ark, it fell to Cloudburst to report the matter to Optimus Prime. Eye of the Storm After Prime surrendered to Scorponok's Decepticons, Cloudburst was stripped of his Pretender shell by Skullgrin and Bomb-Burst and taken into custody. Surrender!
Sometime later, Cloudburst and the rest of the Autobots and Decepticons were transported to Cybertron by Primus, where, using Emirate Xaaron as an avatar, he attempted to brief their collected forces on the threat of Unicron. However, Cloudburst was distracted and had to be physically restrained by Waverider after hearing a joke made by Dreadwind to Darkwing. The Void! During the battle with Unicron, Cloudburst joined his fellow flyers Highbrow, Darkwing, and Dreadwind in taking the fight to Unicron's eye level. Unfortunately for Cloudburst, he was caught in Unicron's plasma breath and destroyed. On the Edge of Extinction! His wreckage littered the surface of Cybertron in the aftermath of the battle. Still Life!
Earthforce
Cloudburst was among the "new age" Autobots who attended Optimus Prime's meeting with Grimlock and the Dinobots about their more brutal methods. When Grimlock threatened to quit the Autobots, Prime seemed all too willing to let him, and the two of them actually came to blows. After beating some sense into each other, however, Optimus Prime agreed to allow Grimlock his autonomy, to lead "Earthforce" while he and the Ark's crew took off for space. Break-Away!
Transformers Comic-Magazin
Cloudburst and the Autobots fought the Decepticons over control of Nevada Alpha. Save Nevada Alpha Later, he helped fend off a Decepticon assault on an oil tanker. Headmaster of the Dimensions In another oil based theft, Cloudburst and the Autobot Pretenders battled their opposite numbers. He Who Laughs Last ...
Goldbug later observed a mish-mashed recording of Cloudburst's adventures. Memories of Bumblebee
2005 IDW continuity
- First appearance: Spotlight: Hardhead
Cloudburst, Landmine, Groundbreaker, and Waverider were sent to investigate the Benzuli Expanse, but discovered that any probes or drones entering the area immediately ceased to function. After reporting this to Jetfire, he volunteered them for the Pretender process as a means of safely entering the expanse. Spotlight: Hardhead
Cyclonus was later patrolling the Benzuli Expanse with Galvatron to look for those who would disturb the Expansion. Upon spotting Cloudburst's ship, Cyclonus called "dibs" and Galvatron happily let Cyclonus attack the vessel. Spotlight: Doubledealer Fortunately Cloudburst and the rest of the crew were rescued by the Technobots, who transported them to their ship and presented them with new and improved Pretender shells. Now equipped to deal with the Dead Universe and its denizens, the four warriors easily finished off Cyclonus. The three Nega-Cores were beamed to their location; Cloudburst and his buddies took them into the Benzuli Expanse, where they would detonate and seal the Dead Universe, cutting it off from their own. The living shells incurred some damage in the process but allowed the Autobots to escape the Dead Universe unharmed. Spotlight: Sideswipe Everything in Its Right Place
Several years later, Cloudburst was performing a security inspection of Kimia Facility and lamenting the Autobots' long lost home, sick as he was of living on shuttles for extended periods of time and relying on strict energon rations. Just as Downshift was taking offense to his presence, Cyclonus and the Sweeps invaded Kimia, and Cloudburst and Grotusque made their way to a nearby armory to fight back. Unfortunately they found that the Sweeps had beaten them there, and Cloudburst was killed in the ensuing battle. Lamentations
TransTech
In Axiom Nexus, there was a broadcast program titled Cooking With Cloudburst. Rook - Axiom Nexus News, 2016/03/03
Power of the Primes marketing material
Cloudburst was a Prime Master who housed the spark energy of Micronus, able to grant power link abilities to other Transformers. Power of the Primes Autobot Cloudburst / Micronus online bio
2021 Beast Wars comic
In the age of the Pax Cybertronia, Cloudburst visited the Sculpture Garden in Iacon. Thicker Skin
Commercial appearances
After a string of defeats, the Autobots conceived of the Pretenders to regain the advantage against the Decepticons. Upon Cloudburst, Waverider and Landmine's activation within an Autobot research facility, the trio came under attack from Dreadwind and Darkwing. The Autobot Pretenders quickly retaliated, sending the intruders fleeing after splitting from their shells. The Decepticons were quick to develop their own Pretender warriors however, and Cloudburst, Landmine and Waverider's mettle was once more tested, this time against opponents who also possessed Pretender shells. Landmine squared off against Bomb-Burst in the ensuing fight. Pretenders commercial
Toys
The Transformers
- Cloudburst (Pretender, 1988)
- Accessories: 2-piece Pretender shell, helmet, belt, tech spec decoder, "lightning whip", "thunderbolt laser pistol"
- Known designers: Masakatsu Saito (concept artist), Richard Marcej (packaging)
- Released in the fifth year of the original The Transformers toyline (fourth in European markets) in the first assortment of Pretenders, Cloudburst transforms into a red and black interplanetary star cruiser. The robot can wield the "thunderbolt laser pistol" in both modes, although Cloudburst's packaging bio implies that it functions as a particle beam cannon in cruiser mode. Cloudburst's arms have small fake "wheels" on the shoulders and forearms, implying his cruiser mode lands by folding up the wings, allowing the arms to fold down and the "wheels" to touch the ground.
- His Pretender shell resembles a human in a red and grey armored space suit, armed with his blue lightning whip and red thunderbolt laser pistol. The shell's helmet and belt are also removable and are used to help "lock" the two halves of the shell together.
- This toy was released concurrently by Takara as Phoenix, with no notable differences between the two.
Power of the Primes
- Micronus (Prime Master, 2017)
- TakaraTomy ID number: PP-01
- TakaraTomy release date: May 25, 2018
- Accessories: Autobot Cloudburst decoy armor, gatling gun
- Known designers: John Warden (Hasbro)
- Released in the first wave of Power of the Primes Prime Masters, Micronus is a tiny robot (the same size and general construction of a Titan Master) that comes with a "decoy armor" based on Cloudburst's Pretender shell, which can transform into a large weapon-mode which can be held by other toys. The flip-out double-barreled gatling-gun part can also detach from the armor and be held in its 3 mm-compatible hand.
- The inner Prime Master robot can store inside the decoy armor or ride Legends Class figures in vehicle mode, and is fully compatible with toys from the previous Titans Return line. The "Power Swap" gimmick means its spark form can plug onto any decoy armor's weapon form (which has a 5 mm post to be held by larger figures), Deluxe Class figures' chest armor, Voyager Class figures' bucklers, Leader Class figures' Matrix (in place of their Matrix core), combiners' torsos (in place of their Enigma of Combination), or the Scepter of Sparks. With the power of your imagination, this bestows the Prime Master's unique power on the larger figure.
- Unlike every other Titan Master/Prime Master, Micronus Prime and his fellow first wave Prime Masters feature backpacks/symbols secured by pins instead of screws.
- In an unusual error, some units of Micronus/Cloudburst came with two Prime Masters.[1]
- Micronus was retooled with a new Prime Master sigil as Amalgamous. The Cloudburst armor had an alternate tooling based on Waverider, which would have been used to make Transformers Legends Grand Maximus's Pretender Suit if the figure had reached the 3000 preorder count... but sadly, preorders failed to reach this number.
Notes
- Cloudburst's inner robot is inexplicably on the cover of the 1990 Family Home Entertainment VHS release of the "Five Faces of Darkness" mini-series... a cartoon produced about two years before Cloudburst's toy was released.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Cloudburst (クラウドバースト Kuraudobāsuto)
- Hungarian: Űrfelhő (Space-cloud)
- Italian: Super Commander
