10 October 2007

Blastin' with Blaster's comic persona

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Blaster

To me, the comics Blaster is significant because (i) he stands for freedom against tyranny, challenging Grimlock's untenable position as Autobot leader; (ii) he is an extremely skilled fighter and tactician; and (iii) his Electro-Scrambler is a weapon that is as unforgettable as Prime's Laser Rifle and Megatron's Fusion Cannon.

On (i): When Grimlock became Autobot leader and started totally disregarding human life, Blaster chose to be branded a 'traitor' rather than submit to tyranny. He held the firm belief in the right of all sentient beings to be free. This culminated in a sort of coup where Blaster with the support of the majority of Autobots, challenged Grimlock to a duel for leadership. [Events recorded in Transformers #41 (Marvel) or Transformers #174 & 175 (Marvel UK)]


Blaster vs Grimlock - Transformers #175 (Marvel UK)

On (ii): Blaster is an extremely skilled tactician and fighter. I would usually interpret the Tech Specs 'skill' score in relation to a Transformers' function; therefore, Blaster's 'skill 9' should normally be intepreted as him being a very skilled Communications Officer just as Perceptor's 'skill 10' means he is an excellent scientist. In Blaster's case, I think his 'skill 9' score together with his 'strength 8' and 'courage 9' can be extrapolated to mean his physical powress in battle as well.

I look to the below scenes as evidence of my conclusion.

Blaster battling all 3 Decepticon Triple-Changers on his lonesome in Transformers #29 (Marvel US):
















Blaster trying to fight off Vortex while also trying to protect human life and the safely of the Throttlebots:














Agility on display while saving human lives:


























Blaster's 'intelligence 8' may be extrapolated to mean his tactical and planning ability. Among others, here is an example where he tricked a much stronger Transformer than him, Bruticus, to lower his guard and then surreptitiously defeating him. (well, maybe not such a good example because Bruticus is stupid...)





















On (iii): Who could forget that Blaster wields an Electro-Scrambler? In 1999, after almost one and a half decades away from Transformers the only weapons I remember were Optimus Prime's Laser Rifle, Cliffjumper's Glass Gas Gun, Megatron's Fusion Cannon, Starscream's Null Ray... and Blaster's Electro-Scrambler. Not only is Blaster's gun mentioned with such consistency, but it is one of the few instances where a Transformer weapon actually does what it is supposed to do rather than just firing generic laser rounds (see comic extracts above).

So, that is tribute 'part one' above.

Next: Blaster Tribute part 2- Blastin' with Blaster's box art

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Read all Blastin' with Blaster chapters
Chapter 01: Blastin' with Blaster
Chapter 02: Blastin' with Blaster's comic persona
Chapter 03: Blastin' with Blaster's box art


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