Powerhug (BW)

Powerhug is aMaximal-alliedInsectronfrom theBeast Wars IIportion of theGeneration 1continuity family.

The Power of HUGS!

Powerhug(パワーハッグPawāhaggu) is a brusque, rough-and-tumble lug who lets his fists do the talking, but he isnota bully. In fact, he's actually a really nice guy. A dedicated martial artist who believes firmly in fair play, he treats fighting more like a refereed wrestling match. Powerhug will never hit a foe after he's knocked them down and always gives the opposition the chance to hit back, if only so he can knock them flat on their back all over again.

Powerhug is unfortunately something of a klutz, especially in his pill bugbeast mode.He prefers to get around by rolling, but he never figured out how tostopand will flatten friend and foe alike completely by accident. Powerhug joins the rest of theInsectronsin their feud with theAutorollers,a group ofPredaconswhodouse their size and strength to bully others with no regard for fair play.

Fiction

Beast Wars IIcartoon

Voice actor:Takashi Matsuyama(Japanese)

Powerhug and the Insectrons were wanderers of the galaxy in search of peace. During those wanderings, they came into conflict with theAutorollers.Powerhug in particular fell afoul ofAutocrusher.Danger! Scissor Boy

Eventually, he and the Insectrons settled on the planetGaia.Fiercely territorial, they defended their lands in theSouth Continentwhen theMaximalsandPredaconsarrived.Starscreamof the Predacons enacted a long-term scheme to manipulate the Insectrons into believing the Maximals were their true foes. Powerhug andScissor Boywere close to their friendDrill Nuts,who worked on a warning system to detect hostility and identify theirtrueopponents. When Starscream andBBfired upon the Maximals, they lured them into an encounter with the Insectrons. Drill Nuts's scanner detected no hostile intent from the flyers, but the aggressiveBighorndemonstrated "infinite hostility", prompting a fight between the Maximals and Insectrons.

Powerhug confronted the overly aggressive Bighorn, using his judo skills to divert the Maximal's brutal charges. During the fight, though, even the hotheaded Bighorn noticed that Powerhug never pressed the advantage when Bighorn was flat on his back—he waited honorably for his opponent to rise before continuing the fight. After Bighorn took Powerhug's measure, their fight became even more sportsmanlike, and they tied for throws 2-2 before taking a breather. This encounter with Powerhug and similar ones with his friends led the Maximals to realize the Insectrons weren't inherently their enemies.Friend or Foe? The Insect Robos

SURRENDER THE LEAVES AND YOU'LL LIVE.

Starscream's next plot lured the Insectrons toMikazuki Islandwith the promise of anoilparty. Powerhug arrived with Drill Nuts,BigmosandTonbot,and a recording from the Predacon told them to start without him. The super-refined oil quickly put the Insectrons into a drunken state, starting a brawl between them. Powerhug was particularly blitzed and started shooting off his guns. The Maximals and remaining Insectrons arrived to stop the squabbling, and the two groups joined forces against an equally plasteredGalvatron,who had inadvertently gotten into the same stash of spiked oil. In the aftermath, the Maximals and Insectrons made peace.The Strongest Tag Team?

With the Maximals no longer considered a threat, the Insectrons made plans to get the Predacons off their lands. Scissor Boy decided to give the Maximals a data disc with all their knowledge on the Autorollers from past encounters, while Drill Nuts and Powerhug tested out the new and improved hostility detector. Unfortunately, Drill Nuts's invention still wasn't particularly reliable. Meanwhile, Scissor Boy andTasmania Kidgot captured by the Autorollers, who wanted the location to the Insectrons' lair. Boy and Kid intended to lead them into an ambush at the Maximal base instead. Drill Nuts and Powerhug weren't in on the plan, though, and when they saw their comrades held hostage, they started a landslide. Powerhug was confident Kid and Boy were skilled enough to avoid the rocks. That...was a mistake. The various combatants ended up at the feet ofMegastormand theGalvaburg IIinstead. Fortunately, the other Maximals arrived and together they and the Insectrons overcame the Predacons. Drill Nuts and Powerhug apologized for messing up the ambush plan, but Drill Nuts was content that his detector was now giving an accurate reading...there was no hostility between the Maximals and Insectrons anymore.Danger! Scissor Boy

Megastorm soon organized a mass offensive by the Predacons, prompting the Maximals and Insectrons to fight together again. Drill Nuts continued to work on perfecting his hostility detector, much to Scissor Boy's skepticism. Their arguing was interrupted by Powerhug, who continued to have trouble rolling down hills. Still, he said, it was the fastest way!Predacon General Offensive!

Powerhug joined the other Insectrons acting as recon for Lio Convoy. They reported to the Maximals whenMajin Zarakarrived at Point B-2, a narrow box canyon that would put the behemoth Predacon at a strategic disadvantage.Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger!

Powerhug and the Insectrons then helped the Maximals complete a launching platform so that Lio Convoy and his crew could reach theNemesisout in space before it could drain Gaia of itsAngolmois Energy.Fly Out! Planet Gaia

2006 IDWBeast Warscontinuity

Powerhug was a renowned martial arts instructor with a score to settle with theAutorollersafter they destroyed his school and many of his students. To atone for this failure, he swore to use his prowess in martial arts from all over the galaxy to exact vengeance upon the Autorollers, and all those who fight alongside them.Beast Wars Sourcebook #3

Beast Wars: Uprising

Powerhug was a delivery driver worked out of theHydrax Plateauatop theRust Sea.He hauled cargo and tankers full of fuel back and forth fromYussin the north toStanixin the south and the Hydrax spaceport in the center. A good-natured bot, Powerhug had so many friends at the spaceport he was often waived through security without a full check. This led him to be targeted byPackratof theDarksyders.AtThe BronzeinFort Scyk,Packrat lured Powerhug into a card game and fleeced him for 762 CPKs. In exchange for cancelling his debt, Powerhug agreed to help Packrat slip into the spaceport and fake a breakdown to draw attention from the guards.Not All Megatrons

2005 IDW continuity

Powerhug was one ofOnyx Prime's Maximals. When this bestial horde invaded Cybertron, he was one of the many warriors who wound up battlingArcee.Endless Forever

2021Beast Warscomic

Powerhug was contained in one of the manystasis podson theAxalonthat were ejected when the ship was caught in a battle with theDarksydeand left in orbit above the planet they crashed on.Savage Landing Part 1The pod was soon brought down to the surface due to sabotage carried out byBlackarachnia.However, due to her not being able to upload the entirety ofTarantulas' code to said pods,Pod Part 2Powerhug kept his Maximal programming.

Upon awakening, Powerhug was captured by the Predacons and held prisoner in theDarksyde.WhenSkoldwas duped into his cell, the chipper Powerhug introduced himself and helped reinforce Skold's self-esteem. With her confidence boosted, Skold promptly decapitated Powerhug and plucked from his torso what she needed to jimmy open the cell door, leaving the decapitated Powerhug to groan in pain.Skold's No Good, Very Bad Day

Toys

Beast Wars

He hugs people for support. As in, his own physical support because his ankles are like pretzel sticks.

• Powerhug(パワーハッグ,1998)

• ID number:C-18
• Release date:1998May 25
• Known designers:Takio Ejima(TakaraTomy),Masakatsu Saito(concept artist)

Part of the fifth wave ofBeast Wars IIproducts in Takara'sBeast Warstoyline, Powerhug is aredecoofBeast WarsDeluxe ClassPredaconRetrax,transforming into an organic pill bug (or possibly pill millipede)... albeit one far more horrifying and spiky than any known species.

Inisopodmode, his pincers (which pill bugs and pill millipedes do not have) can snap shut with spring-loaded force, activated by a trigger on his head. His back end houses his spring-loaded "Hug Cutter" stinger (which pill bugs and pill millipedesalsodo not have) that is activated with a trigger on his rear. Pressing the two gray L-shaped latches in the middle of his back causes him to curl up into a ball to form his "Hug Hell Car" mode.

Inrobot mode,both spring-activated spiky attack gimmicks are available to him at the end of each arm. The spring-activated gimmick that curls up his bug mode can be used to make his arms snap together in robot mode, grasping his target in his "Hug Press" attack. Due to his body-curling gimmick, his arms have no real articulation, but can be unpegged from the shells to move horizontally at the elbow and wrist as long as the shoulders remain primed for the gimmick.

His tiny insect legs can be easily popped off from his body and lost forever due to their small size. He is alsoincrediblytop-heavy in robot mode and has problems standing unassisted, especially thanks to his robot feet not really locking into place and being easily folded up from the sheer weight of his upper body.

A retool of this mold was planned for theBeast Wars Neoportion of the JapaneseBeast Warstoyline as "Unicron's subordinate",but it was ultimately abandoned.

• More information on Powerhug at TFU.info

• Jū Sōkō no Taiketsu: Powerhug VS Autocrusher( trọng trang giáp の đối quyết パワーハッグVSオートクラッシャー, 1998)

• ID number:VS-18
• Release date:May 25, 1998

Powerhug was also available in the "Heavy Armor Showdown" two-pack with theAutocrusher,also released in the fifth wave ofBeast Wars IItoys.

Both toys are identical to their individual releases.