Zetar is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.

He was awesome in Maniac Cop.

Zetar is one of the Powerdashers.

Fiction

S.T.A.R.S. pack-in flyers

The Powerdashers featured in two early recruiting messages sent to humans by the Autobots. The messages were almost identical in content, claiming that the Autobots marooned on Earth were becoming desperate in their battle against the Decepticons, sending an S.O.S. to Cybertron even though they didn't know if anyone would be there to receive it. Luckily, their plea was answered in the form of the Powerdashers, Omnibots, and Time Warriors. The only Powerdasher seen was the jet-form model, but the message noted that the Powerdashers' state of constant evolution meant that they might not look the same later. Reinforcements from Cybertron! The battle is far from over!

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

The three Powerdashers were created with a primitive design based on the forms of very early Cybertronians. Meant to aid the Autobots on Earth, the Powerdashers' powers and personalities were still growing when they were put into duty. More than Meets the Eye They were packed in stasis aboard the supply ship Orion, which ended up crashing on Earth after getting shot down by Sunstorm. The crew activated the Powerdashers, who awoke without a word and immediately began working on the ship. When they finished, they packed up their tools and quietly went back on board. Black Sunshine

2005 IDW continuity

The Lightnings of Zetar. (Zetar is the one with the drill head to the right of Ultra Magnus.)

Zetar attended Megatron's 54th gladiatorial match in the days before the war. Megatron Origin #2

Cromar and the other Powerdashers fought under Ultra Magnus in a battle on Clemency. Cromar's team was ordered by Magnus to try to disable the Nightmare Engine, but the group was interrupted by a K-Class Decepticon bombing. The Gloaming

Kre-O comic

"Man, that guy's got a small face."

When the mighty Devastator attacked the Autobot base and tried to stomp on Optimus Prime, the Autobot leader flashed on a brilliant idea: tickle the sole of Devastator's foot! Zetar helped out, and the giant laughed so hard he toppled over backwards, crushing the unlucky Megatron under the combiner's big butt. A New Menace! The Giant Soldier Devastator Appears!

Ask Vector Prime

In some universes, the Powerdashers were three individual sentient beings, with Zetar as the team engineer. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/21

Generations Selects Special Comic

In 2050, Zetar was attending to the evacuation of Angolmois Energy in Neo Scramble City. When the Selectors revolted with the assistance of the Decepticons, Zetar came to support the Autobot side. Volcanicus comic 1

2019 IDW continuity

First appearance: Transformers #25

After the Senate fell to the Megatron's coup, Zetar was recruited by Ironhide to drill a tunnel into the underground chambers so that the Senate Guard could rescue the Decepticons' prisoners. Apparently a non-combatant, Zetar was instructed by Ironhide to get himself to safety once the Guard had breached. Prime

Zetar was later part of a crowd watching Optimus Prime deliver his first speech as Prime. Awakenings He stood with Autobot volunteers defending the Iacon energon stores, but they were driven off by a Decepticon offensive. Hunt Forced from Iacon, Zetar joined the Autobot faction in exile at Crystal City. He traveled to the Sea of Rust in an effort to claim the Enigma of Combination. Sea of Rust II

Zetar was later assigned to a field team exploring the Sonic Canyons, searching for evidence of Exarchon's return. His drilling services were put to use by the exploration unit of Landmine and Geomotus. After they uncovered an unnatural rock formation, Zetar tunneled diagonally into it to see if it was a hidden entrance. War's End Part One Just as he did, however, Exarchon himself emerged from the secret base, with the powerful dragon body of Deathsaurus. The rest of his team was trapped in a shallow crevice, so Zetar drilled around them to create an escape tunnel in the opposite direction. They infiltrated a Rise base to find a number of concerns elements, such as an imploder, a massive drill, and a horde of Skywarp drones. War's End Part Two The Autobots quickly realized they might be the only thing between Exarchon and the destruction of Cybertron. War's End Part Three

Soon Exarchon's plan became apparent, as he dislodged a portion of his spark into the drill. The tunneling vehicle would dig down to the Allspark itself at the core of Cybertron, allowing the Threefold Spark to corrupt the entire living planet at once. Zetar and the others raced to intercept the drill before it reached its destination. Geomotus and Landmine guided Zetar in tunneling ahead of the drill, attacking it as it reached an open space. When Soundblaster tried to stop them, Landime was sent hurtling into the drill tank, stalling it. At Sureshot's order, Zetar launched his own drill mode at the tunneling vehicle, chawing through it for a massive explosion that brought an end to Exarchon once and for all. War's End Part Four

Toys

The Transformers

• Powerdasher (Mail-order, 1984)

Part of the very first year of The Transformers product, this version of the Powerdasher is a redeco of the Diaclone "Drill Dasher", transforming into a Cybertronic drill tank. It features a pull-back motor, allowing it to quickly roll forward across flat surfaces in vehicle mode... okay, and robot mode too, which is pretty awkward but doable.

It was only available as a mail-order exclusive in the US, costing $3 and 2 Robot Points. The jet-mode Powerdasher was the only one pictured in the ads, but the type you got ended up being random. The jet-form Powerdasher appears to be the most common model sent, however.

• More information on the Drill-form Powerdasher at TFU.info

Generations Selects

Looks like he got the brunt of the design changes.

• Powerdasher Zetar (Deluxe Weaponizer, 2019)

• Series: War for Cybertron: Siege
• Hasbro ID number: WFC-GS08
• TakaraTomy release date: September 7, 2019
• Accessories: 2-part cannon barrel, drill bit
• Known designers: Mark Maher (deco, Hasbro)^[1] and AJ Piejko-Brown (packaging)

A Generations Selects accompaniment to Siege, "Powerdasher Zetar" is a retool of Brunt, with a body based on the Centurion droid from IDW Publishing's Stormbringer comic miniseries that transforms into a Cybertronian drill tank and back. In tank mode, Zetar's turret rotates and can also raise and lower his cannon vertically. In robot mode, Zetar features two-thirds of a new head (the front of Brunt's face makes up the back of Zetar's head), with a 5 mm post on top to mount his new drill-tip skullcap/accessory. He is also compatible with the "Fire Blast" effect pieces from the Battle Masters assortment, which can be used to simulate blaster fire or explosions. Like the other Generations Selects figures complementing Siege, he lacks "battle damage" paint applications.

Like his fellow "Weaponizer" figures, he can also separate into multiple parts compatible with the C.O.M.B.A.T. System to form armor and weapons for other figures of the subline, with two configurations shown in his instructions. The "Demolition Loadout" has him split into a "C-HP M2 OBV Launcher" (his lower legs in vehicle-cannon mode), a "C-AD M2 VX Cannon" backpack (waist/upper legs), the "C-CR M2 AGZ Blaster" (torso & drill in a loose connection that relies on the friction of the base of the drill and the lip of the torso's connector), two "C-CMA M2 ME Amplifier" boots (arms), and the "C-HD M2 Turret Armor" shield (turret base). The "Serpentine Loadout" turns practically the entire figure into a backpack with a pair of massive "HMC" (Hydraulic Mauler Claw) arms and a "PBM" (Proximity Boost Module, whatever the heck that means). Curiously, the instructions for all of his modes completely omit the 2-part cannon barrel accessory left over from Brunt, though stock photography from both Hasbro and TakaraTomy shows this accessory in use.

Caution is advised when transforming Zetar's tank treads into his robot mode arms. The treads themselves must be pulled outwards and fully extended until they lock into place. However, the swivel joints used to connect the treads to his shoulders can pop out vertically if too much force is applied. This risks breaking the swivel joint housing, due to being designed to pop out horizontally rather than vertically.

Zetar was released exclusively through TakaraTomy Mall in Japan, and various online retailers in North America. Zetar was also available at general retail in Hasbro's Asian markets such as Singapore.

This original version of this mold was redecoed, in a full-circle kind of way, as a Centurion Drone, and it also served as the model for Metrotank in the Legends comic.

Notes

Bluntly, to the point...

• The drill Powerdasher was originally a Diaclone toy called the "Drill Dasher" (ドリルダッシャー). The Transformers version blunted the drill for safety reasons, removed the "DRILL DASHER" text from the factory-applied cockpit stickers, and omitted the extra sticker sheet for the cockpit and legs. And, of course, the Diaclone pilot was dropped. Of the three Dashers, it was the only one to not undergo a change of plastic color when being brought over for Transformers.
• "Zetar" was the name given to the Takara U.S. Diakron, GiG Italian Trasformer, and Joustra French Diaclone releases of the toy. The Powerdasher Drill would not explicitly be given the name in Transformers fiction until the Facebook edition of Ask Vector Prime in 2015.
• The name "Zetar" is a nod to zecchino, a gold coin minted by medieval Venice.
• The Powerdashers were the first Cybertronian (well, non-Earthly) vehicular toys released—and were released in 1984, to boot.
• Like all non-toy robot Kreons in the Kre-O manga, Zetar is made from existing Kre-O parts. Unlike most Kreons, he doesn't have a helmet; instead, he has a small drill-bit attached to the top of his head.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Zetar (IDW, ジーター Jītā), Zeta (Siege, ゼータ Zēta)^[2]
• Cantonese: Zetar (扎他 Zaat³taa¹)
• Mandarin: Zetar (Taiwan, 澤塔 Zétǎ)

References