Waverider

Waverider is anAutobotPretenderfrom theGeneration 1continuity family.

I'm a submarine playing the dude pretending to be another dude!

A 'bot with two sides. On the one hand,Waverideris the peaceful sort, enjoying the freedom his alternate mode provides him under the waves and the chance to explore the deep, looking for lost treasure or sunken vessels. On the other hand, Waverider is a steadfast warrior and the fiercest of opponents in a fight. He is more than willing to go the extra mile that other Autobots, due to a lack of fighting instinct or general distaste for warfare, might not. Waverider knows what he's fighting for and recognizes the need to fight for it.

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

MarvelThe Transformerscomics

A member ofFortress Maximus's crew aboard theSteelhaven,Waverider volunteered for the synthoplasmic conversion processOptimus Primehad stolen fromScorponok,transforming him into an AutobotPretender.With Optimus Prime coordinating the Pretenders' first battle with the Decepticons, Waverider and his teammates easily overwhelmed the opposing force.Pretender to the Throne!

In the weeks that followed,Steelhaven's crew united with the other Autobots on board theArk.Unfortunately, the Ark's commander,Grimlock,was difficult to deal with, and so their meetup resulted in a ritual battle for Autobot supremacy between him andBlasteron Earth'smoon.Waverider disembarked along with the rest of theSteelhavencrew to watch the fight.Totaled!

Later, when the now-resurrected Optimus Prime and a squad of Autobots travelled toEarthto battle theMatrix-poweredDeathbringer,Waverider remained aboard theArkand suppliedNightbeatwith the information he needed to defeat the mechanoid.Deathbringer

Waverider helped battleThunderwingaboard the Ark when the Decepticon Pretender used the Creation Matrix to fuel a devastating rampage. His efforts amounted to little, unfortunately, and it was ultimately Nightbeat who defeated Thunderwing by casting him out into the void of space.All Fall Down

Afterwards, Waverider was among those who retrievedBumblebee,Jazz,andGrimlockfromVsQswhere the trio had been left for dead by Thunderwing. Some downtime followed, during which Waverider attempted to reach out to the distraught Grimlock, then trashing his room to vent out his frustration over recent events. His "tough love" speech nearly got him skewered on the end of an energo-sword, prompting him to report the incident to Optimus. But the Autobot leader didn't have time to hear Waverider out, needing to make an announcement to the entire ship beforehand. By the time Waverider got a word in, it was too late; Grimlock had already commandeered a shuttle and forced his way out of the Ark to pursue the means to restore theDinobots.Further distressing developments followed, as Waverider was among those who witnessedRatchetmaterializing out of unspace onto the Ark's bridge, grotesquely fused toMegatron!Eye of the StormWaverider looked on in stunned stupor, asking what had happened to Ratchet. DespiteKuphappening in on the scene and opening fire on the fusion, Nightbeat tried to keep all involved calm, explaining how their friend had become conjoined to the Decepticon leader following being blown intounspace.Before they could make a decision on what to do next, the Autobots were tackled into a nearby wall by the creature, allowing it to scamper off and begin causing havoc throughout the Ark. Ultimately, Optimus subdued the creature, and the Autobots took steps to physically separate Ratchet and Megatron.The Pri¢e of Life!

Waverider and his fellow Autobots intervened when a duel between Scorponok andShockwavethreatenedNew York City.During the battle,MindwipehypnotizedSoundwave,and planned to have the latter order his subordinates to lay down their arms, so that Shockwave's loyalists could easily pick off Scorponok's followers. Waverider was part of a small group of Autobots who forced him to modify this plan; at gun-point, Mindwipe had the Decepticons unite into a cohesive faction, and join forces with the Autobots.Primusthen suddenly summoned all the Transformers of Earth back to Cybertron to do battle withUnicron.Out of Time!Waverider and the other warped Transformers gathered in a crowd, and listened as Primus told them of his eons-old conflict with his dark opposite. During the speech, Waverider had to restrain Cloudburst, who was growing increasingly frustrated by the exposition being interrupted byDreadwing's jokes.The Void!Upon Unicron's arrival, Waverider charged headfirst into the fight with the Chaos-Bringer. He concentrated all his firepower onto him until Unicron retaliated with an optic blast, destroying Waverider.On the Edge of Extinction!

Transformers Comic-Magazin

I want to tell you about the Transformers! This character article is astuband is missing information on theirfictional appearances.You can helpTransformers Wikibyexpanding it. The Transformers' Grand Hour: Headmaster of the DimensionsTransformers in Action: He Who Laughs Last...The Cosmic Adventure: Memories of Bumblebee

2005 IDW continuity

First appearance:Spotlight: Hardhead

"It's gonna take a lifetime to clean up this mess. Maybe several."

Waverider,Cloudburst,Landmine,andGroundbreakerwere sent to investigate theBenzuli Expanse,but discovered that any probes or drones entering the area immediately ceased to function. After reporting this toJetfire,he volunteered them for the Pretender process as a means of safely entering the expanse.Spotlight: Hardhead

"So please don't call us heroes. We're legends."

Cyclonuswas later patrolling the Benzuli Expanse withGalvatronto look for those who would disturb theExpansion.Upon spotting Cloudburst's ship, Cyclonus called "dibs", and Galvatron happily let Cyclonus attack the vessel.Spotlight: DoubledealerFortunately Waverider and the rest of the crew were rescued by theTechnobotswho transported them to their ship and presented them with new and improved Pretender shells. Now equipped to deal with theDead Universeand its denizens, the four warriors finished off Cyclonus and entered the Benzuli Expanse, where they planted theNega-Coresinside the Dead Universe, allowing them to detonate and seal off the link to the real universe.Spotlight: SideswipeEverything in Its Right PlaceAt some point afterwards, Waverider was questioned about his experiences by Dead Universe enthusiastBrainstorm.Black Metal

Waverider later joinedRodimus's mission to use the map within theMatrix of Leadershipto find theKnights of CybertronatCyberutopia.The mission's departure in theLost Lightwas interrupted by an explosion in the ship sending it into prematurequantum jump.The resulting hull breach sucked Waverider out of the ship, and he fell to a nearby planet, burning up as he entered the atmosphere.How to Say Goodbye and Mean ItHe recovered in time to attend the secret opening ofSwerve's.No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases

"History's all screwed up and it's up to us to unscrew it up. But half the time we screw things up even worse."

Waverider played a game of hand-grenade tag withSureshotoutsideUltra Magnus's office, an offence for which he would be arrested and thrown in the brig.Cybertronian Homesick BluesAs an underwater specialist, Waverider participated in the battle to defend theLost LightfromAmmonitesin the oceans ofHydrophena.Into the AbyssThe Dead Are Not Enough

A quantum double of Waverider was among the many dead Autobots aboard the duplicateLost Light.slaughterhouse

As one of the mutineers aboard theLost Light,Waverider was seen hanging out withHighbrowat"Visages".Full CircleHe was eventually betrayed byGetawayand subjected to aSparkeatervirus by his new ally,Scorponok.He was saved by concussive medicine administered byFirst AidonMederiPrime.Lūstrāre

TransTech

Crowd surfing.

Waverider was seen among the inhabitants of the multiversal hub city ofAxiom Nexus.Transcendent: Part 4

e-HOBBY comics

Waverider andSplashdownguided a submarine carrying anEldedroid,Cliffjumper,andSideswipeto an underwater Decepticon base.MP-1B Cybertron Commander / Convoy Black Ver.

Commercial appearances

After a string of defeats, the Autobots conceived of thePretendersto regain the advantage against the Decepticons. Upon Waverider, Landmine and Cloudburst's activation within an Autobot research facility, the trio came under attack fromDreadwindandDarkwing.The Autobot Pretenders quickly retaliated, sending the intruders fleeing after splitting from their shells. The Decepticons were quick to develop their own Pretender warriors however, and Waverider, Cloudburst and Landmine's mettle was once more tested, this time against opponents who also possessed Pretender shells. Waverider squared off againstSubmarauderin the ensuing fight.Pretenders commercial

Games

Transformers Legends

Waverider andSeaspraywere aiding in the evacuation of workers from an off-shore oil platform during a storm. When the Seacons attacked the station in order to steal its oil, the two Autobots were left to face them alone, the storm preventing them from calling for reinforcements. The two Autobot were able to defend the platform until the storm subsided and called for back-up, forcing the Seacons to flee.Deadly Depths

Toys

The Transformers

Robot Earl Hughes.

• Waverider(Pretender,1988)

• Accessories:2-piece Pretender shell, helmet, belt,thermal broad-axe,energy spear gun
• Known designers:Masakatsu Saito(concept artist)

Part of the first assortment ofPretendersin the fifth year of the originalThe Transformerstoyline (fourth year in European markets), Waverider transforms into a black and grey Cybertronian submarine. His "energy spear gun" can be used in both modes.

His Pretender shell resembles a human in a dark grey armored space suit, armed with his greythermal broadaxe,though he can also hold the spear gun. The shell's helmet and belt (molded from the same soft grey plastic as his axe) are also removable, and used to help "lock" the two halves of the shell together.

This toy was released concurrently byTakarain theirSuper-God Masterforceline asDiver,with one noteworthy difference between the two: Diver's human head has brown hair, while Waverider is a blond.

• More information on Waverider at TFU.info

Notes

Clearly, I... will go waveriding... no more.

• A Waverider-baseddecoy armormold was created forPower of the Primes,but Hasbro never released it. Given the gang-molding ofCloudburst/Micronus,the Waverider tooling was presumably paired with the inner robot released asAmalgamous Prime.TakaraTomy offered a redecoed version as a bonus Pretender Suit forLegendsGrand Maximus,but preorders for the set failed to reach the necessary threshold and the Suit was not produced.

Foreign names

• Japanese:Waverider(ウェーブライダーWēburaidā)
• French:Clapotis(Canada, "Lapping" )
• Italian:Falcon