Toaster
From Transformers Wiki
| This article is about the toaster-bot who is Blaster's brother from Generation 1. For the AllSpark-mutated toaster-bot from Revenge of the Fallen, see Ejector. |
- Toaster is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Toaster is the brother of Autobot communications officer Blaster, and their sister Karmen. He transforms into a toaster (duh!) and Blaster enjoys his company first thing in the morning.
His alternate mode of a normal household toaster makes him a rarely-spotted bot, making him well suited to reconnaissance and espionage... although by some accounts, said toaster is around ten feet tall. Guess he's just that good.
Contents |
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Marvel The Transformers comics
Among the Transformers rebuilt by Aunty after the Ark awoke on Earth in 1984 was apparently one with the alternate mode of a human bread-searing machine, colloquially known as a toaster. Cold Comfort and Joy! This so-called "Toastertron" wasn't anyone Dreadwind had heard of, and he reckoned Aunty scrapped the whole toaster thing when a better idea... popped up.[1] He later joked that Toastertron was a "Housecon", along with "Hooverbot" and a Decepticon typewriter, "and if you believe that, you'll believe anything!"[2]
In 1989, the time travelling Galvatron, caught in a series of time-loops and re-writes, remembered witnessing his victory in an epic battle through the eyes of his earlier self, Megatron. Time Wars The vanquished foes at his feet in this vision included a giant toaster among more recognisable faces like Optimus Prime, Rodimus Prime, and Teenytron. Time Wars (issue 205 cover) The battle unfolded differently to how Galvatron remembered it (for some reason), however, and the giant toaster was not seen to be a part of this "new" version of events. Time Wars
A few years later, when Blaster was asked if he had a brother and if he liked him, Blaster replied that he had a brother named Toaster, and that he liked him first thing in the morning.[3]
G.I. Joe Club Dossier bio
Toaster's self-effacing nature and inconspicuous alt mode made him perfect for espionage, which is why Optimus Prime partnered him with Blackcat to form the Autobot Covert Surveillance Team.
Following unsubstantiated rumors that neither G.I. Joe nor the Autobots could corroborate, Toaster and Blackcat went on a covert mission to Silent Castle in Trans-Carpathia, where they discovered that Decepticon leader Megatron had survived the crash landing of the Ark in the Canadian wilderness and entered into an intergalactic arms deal with ruthless terrorist organization Cobra and its leader, Cobra Commander. Blackcat generated a power surge to fry the kitchen utilities in the Cobra stronghold, allowing Toaster and his Auto-Scouts to infiltrate. With these "Crusticons" tapped into the base's internal video feeds, Blackcat reviewed the footage and recorded any evidence of Megatron's collusion with Cobra, sending the data as an anonymous tip-off to the United States Department of Defense. Autobot Covert Surveillance Team profile in G.I. Joe Collectors' Club magazine, October 2016
Ask Sideways
Known liar Sideways claimed to have killed all of Blaster's siblings. Ask Sideways, 2015/07/04
2005 IDW continuity
During Overlord's assault on the Lost Light, Toaster hid in alt mode on the bar counter at Swerve's. No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases
Toys
G.I. Joe and the Transformers
- G.I. Joe featuring Ninja Force and Transformers (2017)
- Accessories: 3 pieces of "toast"
- A primarily stony-purple redeco of the San Diego Comic-Con 2013 exclusive Blaster accessory, Toaster is a non-transforming boombox scaled to interact with G.I. Joe figures. He also comes packaged with three pieces of "toast" (all tan redecos of the cassettes that came with the aforementioned toy), which his bio in the G.I. Joe Collector's Club magazine called both "Auto-Scouts" and "Crusticons". The packaging refers to him as "Autobot Toaster".
- He was only available as part of a box set that was sold through both the Transformers Collectors' Club store and the G.I. Joe Collectors' Club store, both of them operated by Fun Publications. Also included in the box set are G.I. Joe figures Ninja Force: Scarlett, Dr. Sidney Biggles-Jones, and Cobra Commander, the Transformers Ratbat and Megatron, a figurine of Autobot Black Cat, an accessory of gun mode Megatron, and, of course, the three Crusticons.
Notes
- As a character, Toaster owes his existence to a combination of unrelated gags. Artist Andrew Wildman, who was new to Transformers, would entertain himself by drawing visual jokes in the background of his scenes, such as a dustbin outside Metroplex and hidden messages in finer details (see here for more). Among the first was a toaster on a screen on the Ark in "Cold Comfort and Joy!". On the letters page, Dreadwind (likely penned by Simon Furman) would gently dissuade readers from considering the toaster robot a canonical character,[1] and would come to express frustration at Wildman's sense of humour.[4][5] Years later, Blaster mentioned his brother Toaster on the letters page, without reference to the pictorial toasters (and he was likely written by someone with less familiarity with Transformers, as unlike previous hosts he was unaware of things like the finer points of "Target: 2006",[6] the cartoon series,[7] or Jawbreaker's name). Of course, fans love their connections, and so the appearance of a toaster in "Cold Comfort and Joy!", a distinct and unacknowledged toaster on the cover of "Time Wars", and Blaster's unseen brother were conflated without explicit canonical basis. All this fanwank out of Wildman finding conspicuous toasters funny to draw!
- Highlighting the fact that toasters are just funny, Dreadwind wisecracked that Emirate Xaaron transformed into a toaster "or somethin' really wimpy" on two separate occasions,[8][9] and Blaster later joked that the little bars over Xaaron's mouth were "some sort of oral toast rack."[10]
- Taking the two visual sightings of toasters in Marvel as the Toaster raised the tantalising, years-long – no, decades-long – question of whether Toaster was an Autobot or a Decepticon, as both of those appearances took place at times when both factions were together. Blaster's filial affection towards Toaster is limited to right after waking up, possibly squelched later in the day by the reality that they fight on opposite sides. All this navel-gazing out of a joke about wanting toast for breakfast!
- Toaster's lack of appearances led to his characterisation by the G.I. Joe Collectors' Club mag as a rarely-seen spy and, unrelatedly, to his 2005 IDW continuity depiction as a bot hiding inconspicuously from the main action. All this mystique out of... oh, you get it.
- Long before Toaster showed up in "No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases", James Roberts joked on the IDW forums that Toaster was a member of the Lost Light's crew.[11] When he finally appeared, he had an Autobot insignia.
