Joyride (G1)
From Transformers Wiki
| The name or term "Joyride" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Joyride (disambiguation). |
- Joyride is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Combining Repugnus's lust for violence with Swerve's driving ability, Joyride is not well liked among Autobot high command. Unlike the absent-minded metallurgist, Joyride just doesn't care enough to pay attention to his actions. His driving has proven hazardous to himself, his fellow Autobots, and even innocent humans at times. The fact that he seems to be a member of the Autobots simply for the thrill of it hasn't earned him many supporters, either.
His Powermaster partner is Hotwire.
Contents |
Fiction
The Transformers cartoon
At some point, Joyride was responsible for repairing a space bridge, a task in which he was assisted by Optimus Prime and Tommy Kennedy, although the human was presumably incapable of manipulating the two-ton screwdrivers required for the job. Season 5: TF:TM, Day One
Marvel Comics continuity
Marvel The Transformers comics
Joyride was under Fortress Maximus's command on board the Steelhaven, and was part of a skeleton crew left aboard the ship when everyone else disembarked to watch Grimlock and Blaster battle for leadership on the surface of the Moon. Their presence helped prevent the Steelhaven from being destroyed in a Decepticon attack. On Fortress Maximus's orders, he and his crewmates left the battle and took the ship back to Nebulos, on a mission to revive the fallen Optimus Prime. Totaled! While there, they were forced to deal with not only a set of supercharged Decepticon bandits, but the planet-wide poisoning of the fuel supply which put them at risk of terminal systems shutdown. Joyride reacted poorly to Hi-Q's initial warnings that staying on Nebulos would surely mean the Autobots' doom, mistaking the scientist's words of caution for threats. Despite the great risks to themselves, the Autobots were determined with seeing their mission through, and eagerly leaped into battle when the aforementioned Decepticons, Dreadwind and Darkwing, launched an attack on the Council of Peers. The Autobots made a rather poor showing of themselves during this altercation, their energy supplies running dangerously low by its end. In order to save themselves and properly reanimate Optimus Prime, Joyride and his fellows underwent the Powermaster process to binary-bond with a group of Nebulan scientists. This enabled them to properly intake fuel and considerably boosted their fighting ability. Joyride was binary-bonded to Hotwire, a former "chronic unlicensed private vehicle procurer", i.e. a car-thief. The new Autobot Powermasters fared much better against the Decepticon Powermasters when they fought once more, easily dodging their laser blasts and retaliating with utmost precision. With all loose ends tied up on the alien world, Joyride embarked on the Steelhaven once more, and took to the stars with four new Nebulan teammates in tow. People Power!
On its way to Earth, the Steelhaven received a transmission advertising the "Cosmic Carnival," an intergalactic traveling show with attractions from many worlds. Both Joyride and Slapdash were very impressed by what they saw, but Optimus wasn't about to change course while Autobots in need were waiting for them on the Earth's moon. He changed his mind when he learned that fellow Autobot Sky Lynx was part of the line-up, and investigated the carnival with Goldbug. Due to the show's steep admission fee, none of the others wound up partaking in Sky Lynx's rescue. The Cosmic Carnival
The Autobots reached Earth on Christmas Day, but once there, Optimus's focus on his mission began to waver. He stepped out to contemplate things, and Slapdash began to worry about how long it was taking for his leader to center himself. A newsflash reporting that giant robots had attacked the nearby town of Border Flats gave the Powermasters something else to think of, and the three of them decided to investigate quietly. Joyride, Getaway, and Slapdash took their partners into town, where they fought these mysterious Transformer troublemakers, only to find out they were Autobots! The whole incident had been a misunderstanding, the confusion brought about when the Advance Surveillance Unit, Sandstorm, Inferno, and Broadside, attempted to join a Christmas celebration. As the Autobots settled down, Optimus Prime returned from his moment alone to impart on Joyride and the rest about their responsibility to the planet. Cold Comfort and Joy!
While pursuing the Decepticon known as Quake, Joyride inadvertently caused a human convertible to crash over a cliff, critically injuring the driver. He would've been dead for sure if not for Nebulan medical instruments Hi-Q was able to cobble together, but before the necessary power cell could be attached to the technology, it was stolen by Darkwing and Dreadwind. After the Aerialbots inadvertently caused Dreadwing to crash into the sea while trying to recover the cell, Joyride joined his fellow Powermasters on an undersea mission to retrieve the cell from the Decepticons. Despite interference from the Seacons, they were eventually successful, and the human presumably lived. Dreadwing Down!
Joyride was a member of Rec Team Two on Earth, along with Cloudburst. They were attacked by Deathbringer and by the time Optimus Prime arrived with a rescue party Joyride was the only Autobot left standing running away. He was later assisted by Getaway, and the Deathbringer was defeated when the Autobots turned its own programming against it. Deathbringer
With Optimus Prime and the vast majority of the Autobots on Earth to investigate a disturbance at MacDill Air Force Base, Joyride was one of the few left behind to man the Ark while in orbit. But Prime's absence was orchestrated by Megatron, and Joyride and the other Autobots on board were defeated by the Micromaster Blackjack, who intended to blow up the Ark with explosives. The Resurrection Gambit! All the Familiar Faces!
Out of nostalgia for a time when he had lived inside a computer game, Optimus kept a spare copy of his mind stored in a floppy disc at Alternate Reality, Inc. Unfortunately, this made the installation a target for Decepticons, who could put the disc to malicious use. Joyride, Getaway, and Slapdash were tasked with guard duty at the game company, with Slapdash actually hoping for a Decepticon attack to break up the task's monotony. He got what he wished for as Darkwing and Dreadwind soon came gunning at them. The Autobots were forced to scramble for cover, allowing Darkwing access to the building while Dreadwind remained on the offensive.
Realizing that they were failing at their task, the three Autobots made a mad dash for the building, in the hopes that at least one of them would make it inside before Dreadwind took them out with his thermal melters. Joyride wound up getting roasted by Dreadwind's jet boosters, but Getaway successfully outpaced the jet. By the time Joyride recovered, the Protectobots had joined the battle. As Defensor, they attempted to gun down the Decepticons' combined Dreadwing form, only for Joyride to plead with them not to; Getaway had wound up stuck atop the jet in a last ditch effort to prevent the Decepticons from escaping. Destroying Dreadwing would mean destroying Getaway as well! Defensor argued that Getaway knew the risks of the mission upon signing up, and that he would want to sacrifice himself if it meant keeping the disc out of Decepticon hands. Joyride asked Defensor what Optimus would want. Defensor stayed his hand, only for Joyride to realize that he might have saved Getaway only so he could be tortured to death by the Decepticons.
He was surprised to see both Getaway and Rev safe after their daring escape, but filled them in on some bad news upon their arrival. In the interim between Getaway's capture and escape, the Decepticons had launched a smart missile programmed to track Optimus wherever he went, and the Autobot leader had headed out to deal with the danger on his own! This too wound up resolving itself, as Getaway had managed to convince the Decepticon's computer to disarm the missile during his time aboard Scorponok's ship, and had launched a dud after the Autobot leader. Prime Bomb!
When Thunderwing infiltrated the Ark, Joyride was one of the first Autobots to confront the Decepticon and his Matrix-enhanced might. He was blasted back with little effort, but lived to tell the tale. ...All Fall Down! After the Autobots lost the Creation Matrix during Thunderwing's destruction, Joyride and his fellow Powermasters were part of a team that retrieved the Classic Pretenders from VsQs. Thereafter, the Autobots pursued recreational exploits to get their minds off the imminent threat of Unicron. During this period, Joyride reclined while Getaway and Slapdash played a game of Fullstasis. Eye of the Storm He was not as fortunate, however, in battle with Unicron—an assault on the Chaos-Bringer's caused some minor damage, but Unicron's retaliation sent Joyride and Waverider on their way to the scrapheap. On the Edge of Extinction!
Trigger-Happy!
After Backstreet botched a sting operation, endangering many humans in the process, he panicked and went on the run rather than face the consequences of his actions. Fearing that Backstreet might imperil himself or more innocents in his flight from justice, Optimus ordered the other Autobots to track him down and bring him in. Joyride and Getaway nearly caught sight of him while driving down a winding mountain road, but the fugitive wound up speeding off a cliff to evade capture. Unsure whether the suddenly-vanished vehicle had been their teammate in any case, the two Autobots drove on. Trigger-Happy!
Transformers Comic-Magazin
Joyride was among the Autobots monitoring the Decepticons from a distance when Megatron made peaceful gestures to Humanity in New York City. The Autobots returned to the Ark and discovered that a statue of Snaptrap that the Decepticons had gifted to New York was actually Snaptrap in disguise. Snaptrap went on a rampage and the Decepticons used this distraction to attack various other targets. Optimus Prime led the Autobots to narrowly defeat this menace. The Troy Principle Those events were recorded on a videotape that was later found and watched by Autobots on Cybertron after a nuclear disaster in Kalis. In Memory of Earth
In 1973, Powermaster Optimus Prime - A Robot, a Hero Joyride attended a meeting in which Optimus Prime lectured the Autobots on the basics of their mission and existence, and applauded Slapdash's call for a one-world Autobot government. Joyride wondered loudly what the point of being the good guys was if they got defeated. Later, the Decepticons attacked an oil tanker, and he helped in the rescue effort. A Big Day for Powermaster Optimus Prime Those events would later be observed via log recording by Autobots in the year 2008. Powermaster Optimus Prime - A Robot, a Hero
The characteristics of Joyride and the other Powermaster Autobots were reviewed by Optimus Prime and Bumblebee in a simulation watched by Goldbug.Memories of Bumblebee
Marvel Generation 2 comic
Joyride was one of the Autobots present on Ethos in combat with the Cybertronian Empire. Escalation!
He was later blown to scrap on Earth when the Empire tracked the Autobase down. Total War!
Regeneration One
Joyride was captured and summarily executed by Jhiaxus as a threat to Rodimus Prime in order to force him to stop the Wreckers from blowing up the Hub Network. The War to End All Wars, Part 4
Dreamwave Generation One continuity
Joyride worked with a squad under Nightbeat and Getaway during the Age of Internment, in hopes of capturing and studying one of Megatron's cloned warriors, the Aerospace Extermination Squadron. The Age of Wrath Pt.2 Unfortunately, the drone was far more than they bargained for, defeating much of Nightbeat's unit. Siren and Joyride rammed the drone into a spike to little effect, as it blew both Autobots away with a grenade. Fortunately, Getaway managed to attach the inhibitor claw onto the drone, shutting it down. The Age of Wrath Pt.3
2005 IDW continuity
- First appearance: Robots in Disguise #9
Joyride was among the patrons of Maccadam's Old Oil House when it reopened after the end of the war. Night and the City A different report placed him on the Lost Light during Overlord's rampage, having been grievously injured and laying on the floor of Swerve's. No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases He was part of the crew of the Lost Light after its return to Cybertron, and attempted to eavesdrop on Megatron's therapy session with Rung alongside several other crew members. Towards Peace He later visited Swerve's and bumped arms with Ten cheerfully. Words Hang in the Air
After the quantum crisis, Joyride was one of the first Autobots who made their way back to the restored Lost Light. They reopened Swerve's without the owner in order to have a party celebrating their return. The Road Not Taken
When Thunderclash walked into Swerve's, Joyride was one of the Autobots swooning over him. Filling in the Blanks
Commercial appearances
Joyride, Getaway and Slapdash were shocked to discover that the Decepticons had developed Powermaster technology as well when they encountered Dreadwind and Darkwing while out for a drive. The three Autobots used their Nebulan partners to transform to robot mode and fight back. They were soon joined by Optimus Prime and his own partner, Hi-Q who provided additional firepower against the Decepticons. Powermasters commercial
Games
Transformers Legends
During a battle eons ago, Getaway, Slapdash, and Joyride were defeated and almost killed by Dreadwind and Darkwing. They were only saved from certain doom when Optimus Prime arrived and drove both of the Decepticons off. Many years later on Earth, the three Autobots encountered Dreadwind and Darkwing again, and this time they weren't so lucky. End of the Road
Transformers: Battle Tactics
Joyride participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was a Common character that could be recruited for 14 units of Cybermetal. Transformers: Battle Tactics
Toys
The Transformers
- Joyride (Autobot Powermaster, 1988)
- Accessories: "Hotwire" Powermaster engine, "photon blaster"
- Released in the fifth year of the The Transformers toyline (fourth year in the European line), Joyride transforms into a teal and crimson Baja buggy. Joyride's white rifle plugs into a peg hole on the roof. Plugging an Autobot Powermaster engine into the engine socket on his front end unlocks his transformation to robot mode... or you can just push in the tiny button the engine nominally pushes in. (He can fit a Decepticon engine in the socket, but they will not unlock his transformation.)
- He comes with his Nebulan Powermater Partner Hotwire.
- This toy was redecoed in Japan as the transtector for Ranger, and later released without changes there as a mail-away as "Ranger Joy Ride".
Notes
- Between the creation of Joyride's animation model and his introduction into the Marvel comics themselves, Joyride's face grew some goggles over his normal eyes. His helmet is already nothing like his toy's, but that's a situation shared by his Powermaster pals Getaway and Slapdash.
Foreign names
- French: Voyageur (Canada)
