Fred (Armada)

Let's see what you can see... This article is in need of images. Specifics:Cartoon appearances.

Fred is ahumanfrom theArmadaportion of theUnicron Trilogy continuity family.

I'll show you what's in my pocket, for a quarter.

Frederick^[1]"Fred"is quite possibly one of the most important human characters in the entireTransformersmythos. He owns you. Admit it.

Fred was the best (and possibly only) friend ofBilly,Lincoln Middle School's resident would-be-bully. Fred was rather unmotivated by the prospect of bullyingRadandCarlos,preferring to occupy his time with eating assorted snack foods and mentioning that he was still hungry.

Later on, he and Billy became good friends with their former would-be victims, participating in many adventures with them due to the fact Fred is awesome and indispensable to the Autobots. Plus, somebody had to bring all the food along.

Fiction

Cartoon continuity

Armadacartoon

Voice actor:Tony Sampson(English),Nobuyuki Kobushi(Japanese),Johan Wilhelmsson(Swedish),Hanna Savikko(Finnish),Philipp Brammer(German),Corrado Conforti(Italian),Romain Redler(French),Carolina Tak(Castilian Spanish),Juan Guzmán(Latin-American Spanish),Marcus Júnior(Brazilian Portuguese),Jo-ho Park(Korean)

One day, Rad and Carlos went out investigating the caves under the local observatory, so Billy and Fred followed, intent on discovering what the two were up to, as well as wanting to bully them for no apparent reason.

Unfortunately for Fred, Rad's activation ofsomething in the cavernscaused an earthquake that almost buried them alive. (Fred, you knew the job was dangerous when you took it.) Fred cried like a baby, thinking he would never see daylight again.First EncounterWhen he and Billy finally crawled out of the rubble, they were greeted by the sight of gigantic, body-shaped depressions and footprints in the valley floor.Metamorphosis

When Fred got home later that day, his dad told him that the research station he worked in had picked up some strange seismic readings. The next day, Fred's inability to catch passes cost him and Billy three games of Basketball against Carlos, Rad, and Alexis. Afterwards, Billy brought up the topic of the "earthquake", only for the other three kids to feign ignorance over the whole subject. Then, after school, Billy and Fred were blown away at the sweet new rides the other three had somehow acquired overnight. Fred was especially impressed by Rad's BMX; he made a point of visitingallthe BMX websites, yet had never seen anything like it. Figuring the trio were up to something, Billy swore he'd find out what it was. Fred asked him if he had a plan, Billy retorted that he did, and the pair began to argue over the subject. When they returned to the cave later on, they found it sealed off, and all other evidence of weird happenings completely erased from the surface of the Earth.Base

Later, Billy and Fred managed to discover the truth about Rad and Carlos'stoy robotsand after thegiant yellow robotsaved their lives, they were forced to promise to keep the existence of the Transformers a secret.Carnival

While attempting once again to harass Rad and Carlos, Billy and Fred were captured by theDecepticonsfor nefarious purposes and imprisoned in one of those conveniently abandoned ghost towns that seem to populate Earth. While imprisoned, Fred offered the Decepticon Mini-ConLeader-1some potato chips, which appeared to earn him the Mini-Con's friendship. When theAutobotrescue attempt went awry, Fred was proven pivotal in securing their freedom from the Decepticons and their nefarious purposes because Leader-1 refused to do anything to harm the humans. Afterwards, the pair joined the Autobot team.Confrontation

Some time later, he and Billy were treated to a tour of the Autobot base. When Rad, Carlos, andAlexiswere called to the control room, Billy led Fred off to explore on their own. Megatron chose that moment to attack the Autobot base, seeking completion of theStar Saber.Fred and Billy found themselves in mortal danger when the base's automatic defenses opened fire on the Decepticons. Their presence caused Optimus Prime to order a ceasefire, allowing the Decepticons access to the Mini-Con storage area. To make matters worse, Fred and the other kids were nearly taken by Cyclonus. However, it ultimately turned out all right, as the Autobots were able to takeSonarfrom Megatron, completing the Star Saber.SwoopFred subsequently tried to accompany the Autobots into battle, but was left behind combat lines for his own good. Here, he was left alone whenSidewayskidnapped Billy. Since he missed out on all the excitement,Spiraloffered to give him a ride, but Fred didn't particularly seem to enjoy it.GaleHe was subsequently bummed at hearing Hot Shot managed to lose a solo battle against all the Decepticons in their base.CredulousWith Hot Shot having lost the Star Saber to the Decepticons, the Autobots were handed a series of defeats. Billy and Fred both voiced their concerns that it seemed unlikely the Autobots would ever regain the advantage. Rad told the two of them to clam it, since Hot Shot was in earshot, and their conversation was clearly making him feel even more downtrodden. All five kids then cheered up the yellow Autobot by making silly faces, and both Billy and Fred apologized to him for their callousness.Conspiracy

"My therapist says..."

While on a camping trip which Alexis totally didn't want to take part in, (okay, okay, the boys forgot to tell her...) Fred helped distract the gathered onlookers so that the Autobots could more easily rescue Red Alert, Carlos, andShaunfrom a mudslide without being detected.VacationAll five kids observed the battle in which Blurr made his first appearance. They tried to make friends with the new arrival, but he turned out to belong to the monosyllabic loner school of heroism. Carlos, Fred, and Billy pressed the issue, and nearly got blown up for their troubles. However, Blurr did mellow out a little when his refusal to work as a team led to the Decepticons getting their servos on Downshift, so it mostly turned out all right.Reinforcement

Fred and the other kids watched Hot Shot and Blurr make their way through an obstacle course during a training exercise. When Blurr won, Fred commented that the Autobot reminded him of himself when he was "working out more." Blurr didn't believe him. The Autobots then received a message from Megatron, challenging them to a decisive clash. The excitement of it all caused Fred to break out in a rash. The Autobots survived the encounter, and came back with the Skyboom Shield to boot!Decisive Battle

Despite this victory, Optimus Prime decided the situation was too dangerous for the kids and barred them from the base. Frustrated, they wandered off, but were soon joined by theStreet Action Mini-Con Team,who had received a transmission from the Decepticon-allied Mini-Cons. Fred figured that the Decepticon Mini-Cons were lonely and wanted to join up with their friends on Earth, so he and Rad went to deliver the message to Optimus Prime. As soon as Rad and Fred told them what was happening, Optimus Prime and the bulk of the Autobot forces emerged from the base to take matters into their own hands.

However, the transmission turned out to be a trap orchestrated by Megatron, who was seeking to divide and conquer. Rad, Fred, and the Autobots found themselves scattered around the globe via a series of Warp Gates. Along the way, Optimus explained that the Mini-Cons viewed Megatron as something akin to a father-figure, and thus his control would not be easy to break. After bringing them to a desert, Megatron and his Mini-Cons fought Optimus Prime while Rad and Fred stood on the sidelines. Optimus Prime's refusal to harm the Mini-Cons led to them defecting to the Autobots, proving that Fred had been right all along. Alexis then managed to re-establish contact with the group, and the rest of the Autobots teleported in to drive off Megatron.Vow

When Rad, Carlos, Alexis, Grindor, Highwire, and Sureshock were sucked into Sideways's virtual world, Fred and Billy were the ones who found them comatose and warned the Autobots.ChaseAfter that, Fred tried to tell his group about a mysterious anomaly that was detected by theCosmoscope Research Center,but nobody wanted to listen. They were lucky that the anomaly turned out to beJetfire,who arrived just in time to help the Autobots out of a tight spot afterThrustjoined Megatron's unit.TacticianUnfortunately, Optimus was gravely injured in battle. Jetfire took command of the Autobots, though none of the kids were impressed by the new guy's constant boasting. They also got a brief history lesson on battles the Autobots had lost due to Thrust's tactical genius; while Carlos was confident that Jetfire could easily counter Thrust, Fred and the others weren't so sure.

As it turned out, the kids were right about Jetfire, as his overconfidence nearly led to the Autobots being taken out after he got himself caught in another of Thrust's ambushes. To his credit, Jetfire was contrite, saying he had learned his lesson and would be more cautious in future.Linkup

The next day, the kids watched Jetfire and Smokescreen have an arm-wrestling competition. They also filled in Jetfire on who Sideways was and what he had previously gotten up to. Jetfire then displayed his cunning side by showing the kids a still of Sideways shooting down Cyclonus after Sideways had defected, which cast doubt on the turncoat's allegiance to the Decepticons. The kids tried to figure out what Sideways's deal was... though Fred's mind soon turned to food during the conversation. Meanwhile, the Autobots went off to obtain yet another Mini-Con.Detection

While the Autobots were dealing withTidal Wave,two Mini-Cons were detected in addition to the one the Transformers were at the time specifically fighting over - one on the Moon, and the other right in the Autobot base! The kids and Street Action Mini-Cons rushed off to look for the one on Earth, though Fred had several complaints throughout this venture; he was wearing the wrong shoes, he needed to go to the bathroom, his thighs were rubbing, and his underwear was riding up. Despite these setbacks, Fred was the one who actually located the Mini-Con panel when he fell through a rotten floor. This Mini-Con revealed itself asSky Blastbefore shooting High Wire and running off.AwakeningSky Blast eventually came around, having just been scared. Billy, Fred, and Alexis stayed behind while Red Alert took Sky Blast, Rad, and Carlos to the battle field to seek outPayload.All three members of theSpace Mini-Con Teamwere soon awakened and combined into theRequiem Blaster.The weapon coming into Optimus's hand led to an Autobot victory.Desperate

Out of concern for the rights of the Space Mini-Con Team, the kids took them out to a remote farmhouse where they could be safe. Under the impression that they were running away forever, Fred wrote a goodbye letter to his mother and all of the delicious foods she cooked for him en route. Billy corrected Fred's faulty assumption. They were tracked down by Thrust, but he got caught in a set of traps the kids had rigged up, which stalled the Decepticon long enough for Optimus Prime to come by and save the day. After an impassioned discussion as to why the Mini-Cons should not be viewed as mere weapons, the kids and Mini-Cons both returned to base.Runaway

Fred and Billy either purchased or programmed a video game which allowed them to pit Autobots, Decepticons, and Mini-Cons against each other,Pastand they managed to get Alexis addicted despite her initial objections.Past II

Later, the kids stayed at the base with Red Alert when the Autobots went out to counter a Decepticon attack. However, this attack proved to be nothing more than a distraction posed by Starscream, while the rest of the 'Cons attacked the Autobot base in search of the Requiem Blaster. The kids ran for hiding before the Autobots warped back, and bore witness to Megatron obtaining the Blaster and using it on Smokescreen, apparently killing him.SacrificeSmokescreen clung to life, if only barely, and Red Alert went to task fixing him. As they watched, the children were given a brief lesson in Cybertronian anatomy, specifically on what aSparkwas. Afterwards, Starscream joined the ranks of the Autobots. Though the kids were initially suspicious, they eventually welcomed him when they saw his attendant Mini-Cons genuinely looked up to him.RegenerationDespite this display of camaraderie, Starscream dismissed the children, as he was only concerned with defeating Megatron. The kids favorable opinion on Starscream was further cemented when they watched him aid the Autobots rescue the Decepticon-held Mini-Cons from the enemy's moonbase.Rescue

When Starscream brought a rather nice-looking rock back fromMars,Fred was the most enthusiastic and took a big ol' chunk of Marsrock for himself.MarsIn return for his kindness, the kids threw Starscream a surprise party, sewing a largeChamois of Friendshipout of several smaller rags. Starscream was touched by this, but unfortunately still had trouble adjusting to life with the Autobots. Fred and Billy later came across Starscream as he was chasing offThrustin response to the Decepticon tactician's suggestion that Starscream steal the Skyboom Shield. They reported what they had seen to the Autobots, though it turned out thatDirt Boss,Downshift,andMiragewere nowhere to be found just then. Accusations that Starscream had complied with Thrust's request were thrown around, but the conversation was cut short by a Decepticon attack. Starscream abandoned both his gift and the Autobots when Thrust approached him once more, convincing him that Megatron would never fall so long as he was with the Autobots.CrackDue to his part in the whole affair, Fred felt particularly betrayed by Starscream's departure. He threw away his Mars rock before heading home.

The next day, all the kids returned to the base to discover the Autobots and their allied Mini-Cons working quickly to complete theAxalonin order to retrieve the Decepticons' Mini-cons. The kids discussed Starscream a bit and decided never to speak of him again. At Fred's suggestion, they all went to see a comet to take their minds off things. The comet was destroyed by the Decepticons' newly completedHydra Cannonas the children watched.ThreatenSubsequently, all of the kids could only stand around wondering what to do when confronted with the awesome might the Decepticons had now acquired.Crisis

When Fred later learned thatOptimus Prime dieddefending the Earth, he was visibly devastated.

Over the next week, the Autobots busied themselves with completing theAxalon,but Hot Shot and Scavenger soon came to blows. The kids were confused by this and watched from afar as the two fought on an abandoned highway. When the rest of the Autobots joined in abusing Hot Shot, the kids tried to persuade them that bullying their youngest member wouldn't help anything, but were overruled by Red Alert, who insisted that they had to get this out of their system. It turned out Scavenger was trying to snap Hot Shot out of his own depression. In due course, Hot Shot did come to terms with Optimus Prime's death, and everybody's morale was raised; it was raised so much so, in fact, that Hot Shot was chosen as the Autobots' new commander.Remorse

After that, Fred packed himself a big bag of food (but forgot to pack underwearMiracle) and begged Red Alert to let him come into space. Red Alert refused on the grounds that the front lines of a war between alien death robots weren't safe for human children. Hot Shot agreed with Red Alert's assessment, and informed the other kids as much. The Autobots relented their decision when the Mini-Cons refused to let theAxalonlaunch if the kids didn't get to come.DepartDuring the journey, the kids bore witness to the arrival of thousands of new Mini-Cons and the rebirth of Optimus Prime,Miraclethe conflict withNemesis Prime,and the Mini-Con poweredrecolorationof several Autobots and Decepticons.PuppetThe ship had sustained damage during this battle, which downed theAxalon's kitchen, much to Fred's misery.

When theAxalonneared Cybertron, the Mini-Cons became agitated and jettisoned themselves from the ship en-masse. Concerned over the little 'bots, the children tried to talk them out of leaving the safety of the Autobots' ship. On the Mini-Cons' second attempt to join the Autobots in battle, Fred and the others opted to let them go, as they sympathized with their need to protect their planet.UprisingWith the Mini-Cons gone, the kids were left with nothing much to do but watch the lights of battle on the surface. They did try to stop Hot Shot making a one-robot mission to the heart of the Decepticon stronghold to warn Galvatron about the impending threat of Unicron, but then Rad persuaded everyone to let him go ahead with it.Dash

Fred and Billy listened in to Hot Shot reporting back to theAxalon,informing his fellow Autobots that Thrust had allied himself with Unicron and stolen both the Requiem Blaster and the Skyboom Shield.DriftThe pair later found themselves unable to find Carlos, Alexis, or Rad, and suspected that the trio had somehow left for Earth without them. They soon learned that they had instead headed down for Cybertron to help track down Thrust. Billy and Fred complained that they never got to do any of the good stuff themselves.Portent

Fred watched as the Autobots put into motion one last plan to reason with Galvatron. The plan worked, though Starscream sacrificed himself to convince Galvatron to put aside his enmity towards Optimus and concentrate on the greater threat of Unicron. Upon learning of Starscream's demise, Fred was overcome with grief and began bawling.CrampHe later cheered up when Optimus Prime and Megatron finally shook hands at a formal declaration of armistice between their two factions.AllianceWhen Optimus Prime and Galvatron managed to sneak inside Unicron, the Street Action Mini-Cons decided to infiltrate the titan's body as well. The children and Red Alert tagged along, barely avoiding getting crushed getting through the warp gate that led to Unicron's interiors.UnionRed Alert was left behind, but the rest of the group soldiered forth. They found the two leaders restrained by Unicron's tentacles, with Unicron trying to verbally break Optimus Prime through Sideways' vocal synthesizer. Unicron destroyed the Mini-Cons' human-derived personalities, restoring them to blank drones, and then dragged the kids into a bizarre mindscape. However, the kids' mental fortitude was strong enough not only to break Unicron's thrall over them, but also to restore the individual personalities of the Mini-Cons. The kids and Mini-Cons then managed to release the weapons, allowing Optimus Prime to blow up Sideways with the Requiem Blaster.

However, on the way out, Galvatron challenged Optimus Prime to a final battle,Originon the grounds that as long as both of them still existed, the hatred and enmity would last forever and thus Unicron would never be permanently defeated. The kids fled, and were picked up by Jetfire and Cyclonus on Unicron's surface. Optimus Prime won the battle, and Unicron and Galvatron were both (apparently) destroyed.

Hot Shot and Jetfire returned the kids to Earth, where they said their goodbyes. Carlos, Billy, and Fred were all overcome by emotion at this point, and broke into tears together.Mortal CombatBoth he and Billy apparently loosened up a lot after his adventures with the Autobots ended.^[2]

Legendscomic

Fred was at the beach with his friends when Alexis was pulled into theLegends Worldto help saveStarscreamfrom sacrificing himself.LG-18 Armada Starscream Super Mode Prologue

DreamwaveArmadacontinuity

He was going to be in more of Dreamwave's comics, but their cheques bounced.

He's notSid!

When Billy started a fight with Rad, Fred blocked Carlos from getting involved, stating it was a private grudge match. He was then mildly confused by abicycle flying overheadbefore he came under direct attack bya malevolent scooter.In the face of this, he quite naturally looked horrified and dived for cover.Armada #8

PaniniArmadacomic

In the interests of bullying, Fred came with Billy to a cave which Rad and Carlos were exploring. They found that the entrance was blocked, so Fred figured they might as well give up and go home. Billy tried to lever the rocks away instead, but only caused a rockfall that forced him and Fred to give up and go home.First Encounter!

Later, Fred and Billy were studying chemistry in school, but quickly got bored and decided to have some fun instead. Fred watched as Billy messed up Rad's experiment, which got him in trouble with the teacher. As they laughed about it, they were suddenly pulled out the window by Rad's robot buddyHigh Wire,who avenged Rad by knocking them out.Just a Memory!

Reader's DigestArmadanovels

Fred grew up in the suburbs. His parents were never around much, as they were too busy working. As a below-average student, he secretly harbored the desire to be able to hang out with the "smart kids," but was too embarrassed to do so. He and Billy were initially invited to go on adventures with Carlos, Alexis, and Rad, but the two outsiders proved to be bossy and argumentative, leading to the trio to avoid them. This turn of events made both Fred and Billy feel even more like outsiders than they already were. One autumn afternoon, Billy and Fred noticed Rad and his friends heading out of town to explore some trails, and decided to secretly tail them. Following their tracks, Billy and Fred came upon the trio's extreme sport vehicles parked outside a cave entrance. Although Fred was hesitant to go into the cavern, Billy taunted him until he agreed to do so. As the two friends delved deeper into the cave, the earth began to rumble, causing the both of them to freak out and skedaddle back outside. Convincing one-another that the other kids probably didn't head into the cave after all, Billy and Fred headed back to town. They spotted the trio at school the next day but failed to learn what kind of adventure had taken place in their absence.The Battle Begins

Fred and Billy did not fail to notice that Rad, Alexis and Carlos had gotten themselves some new sweet-looking extreme sports vehicles though. After bumping into them after school, Fred inquired as to where they had gotten their new rides, noting that he got all the BMX catalogues, but never saw any advertisements for the one that Rad was riding. Rad claimed his dad got his and Alexis's and Carlos's new rides through his "connections." Neither Billy or Fred believe him, and they decided to follow them once more. Trailing them on their BMX bikes, Billy and Fred were stunned to find that the cave they had previously seen the trio disappear into was now sealed off. Frustrated, they declared the venture to be a waste of time and turned back. Fred glanced back one last time before riding off, only to do a double-take; for a moment he believed he had seen a group of giant robots off in the distance. Upon closer inspection, Billy pointed out that he had probably only seen a couple of military vehicles, a normal sight in the area. Fred questioned his sanity as he pedaled back home.Race for the Mini-Con Robots

Notes

• Despite Fred's love of food, he has been known to offer potato chips toMini-Cons,even if said Mini-Cons have no means of ingesting the offered food. Because that's the kind of great guy Fred is.
• According to theLegends of the Microns Year Book 2003,the producers of theArmadacartoon kept meaning to write Billy and Fred out of the series (Is anyone honestly surprised by this?), but ultimately never got around to it. Their staying through to the end of the show was thus wholly unintentional.
• Fred is beyond the need for mortal appreciation.
• Fred's mom makes great spaghetti and meatballs. The sauce is a haunting blend of herbs and spices and the things she can do with a pot roast are truly inspirational.Runaway
• Fred constantly makes remarks how he gets low blood sugar levels if he runs too much, implying that he might haveDiabetes mellitus type 1.
• InArmada,most of Fred's dialogue involves whining and complaining about being hungry, with plot-related dialogue often being clumsily woven in between complaints. InLegends of the Microns,Fred's dialogue is less food-related. Unlike his American counterpart, he actually worries about the present situation instead of how hungry he is and makes insightful comments from time to time.
• Fred has aShattered Glassdoppelganger in the form ofRick Ottman.Whether this means "normal" Fred's last name is also Ottman is uncertain.

Foreign names

• Japanese:Jim(ジムJimu)
• Korean:Jim(짐)

References