Treadshot (G1)

Treadshot is a Decepticon Action Master from the Generation 1 continuity family.

"I've heard that you're a low-down Yankee liar."
"Prove it."

You think you can take Treadshot? Go ahead on. It's your move. Y'see, there just ain't no quicker gunslinger out there than Treadshot. He'll plant a bullet between your optics before you can blink, then another five in various parts of your body before it hits the ground. Course, sometimes power is needed over precision, and Treadshot's got ya covered there too, thanks to his partner Catgut. With this hired gun pullin' the trigger of a particle blaster, there's few bots the Decepticon high command trust more to make sure a target goes down and stays down.

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

Howdy, pilgrim.

After the battle with Unicron, Treadshot attended a meeting of the combined Autobot/Decepticon forces at their headquarters, standing between Soundwave and Crankcase. He witnessed the report by Blaster that their world was falling apart, and Prowl's ensuing declaration that the Transformers must evacuate Cybertron.

Treadshot was later seen with Soundwave and Crankcase again, apparently clearing debris with them. They were interrupted by Grimlock punching Fangry through the window of a nearby building, which caught the attention of the newly arrived Bludgeon and Krok as well.

While Fangry briefly had the upper hand, Grimlock's Nucleon-powered body enabled him to administer a savage beat down to the Decepticon. This caused Treadshot and Soundwave to react angrily, though neither one stepped forward to help their blustery comrade. After Prowl stopped the attack, Treadshot watched as Bludgeon manipulated Prowl into revealing the Autobots' unagreeably peaceful post-exodus plans. Exodus!

Regeneration One

Well... it's high noon somewhere in the world.

After the resurrected Scorponok returned to Cybertron, converting Autobots to Decepticons with his Gene Key, Treadshot ended up working for him at the Civil Defense Hub. Grimlock stormed in looking for Scorponok, and finding that he was at the Sonic Canyons, announced that he was going to look for the rest of the Dinobots instead. Treadshot refused to let him, insisting that he follow Scorponok's orders to stay put. But when an alarm sounded at the Nursery, Grimlock realized that it was the Dinobots sending him a message, so he smashed Treadshot's head into his screen before he could alert anyone else. Natural Selection, Part Four

2005 IDW continuity

He'll be all right.

Treadshot worked alongside Squawkbox, Ransack, and either Wingspan or Pounce in the operations center of the Decepticon space station where Sixshot and the Terrorcons were posted. Spotlight: Sixshot Later, Arcee discovered his impaled body at Banzaitron's destroyed base as she searched for clues on Monstructor and Jhiaxus. Spotlight: Hardhead He survived, and somehow ended up on the Autobot prison planet Garrus-9 during Overlord's takeover. When the Wreckers invaded, Treadshot attempted to snipe at Springer, Twin Twist, and Impactor as they fell through an empty energy reactor. He was dispatched with a retaliatory harpoon shot by Impactor. Last Stand of the Wreckers #3

INSIRT continuity

See?

Rewind and Chromedome hired Treadshot as security while they broke into the Vestigial Cortical Complex. The hired gun aided them by blowing a hole into the complex after noticing the absence of a door. While the two explored the building, Treadshot stood guard outside. Timeless

2019 IDW continuity

First appearance: Transformers #9 (mentioned); #19 (full)

Treadshot survived the wreck of the Iron Hope, being forced to survive on nucleon in the aftermath and ending up locked in his robot mode as a result. All Fall Down Treadshot was outed as a member of The Rise when Chromia and Windblade managed to hack the database of an abandoned Rise bunker. The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part Three Treadshot and fellow Rise member Catgut were assigned to kill Bumblebee in the aftermath of the Tether falling. They almost succeeded but Bumblebee was rescued by Chromia before they could finish the job. All Fall Down

Treadshot and Catgut later accompanied Mindwipe's team in seizing the Titan Net central hub from the Autobots. Hunt The duo were seen relaxing at the reopened Swindle's after the Decepticons claimed full control of Iacon. Swindle's II

When a group of Autobots infiltrated Iacon to rescue the captured Ultra Magnus, Treadshot was among the Decepticons who cornered them inside Swindle's. Darkness, Once Gazed Upon: Part Two Treadshot managed to wound Arcee in the ensuing firefight, but the Autobots ultimately escaped. Treadshot carried the wounded Catgut out of the place in the aftermath. Darkness, Once Gazed Upon: Part Three

Commercial appearances

This here's a holdup!

Treadshot, Megatron, and Krok blasted through a wall together to steal the power behind becoming Action Masters. Action Masters commercial

Games

Transformers: Battle Tactics

Warpath? Never heard of him.

Treadshot participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was a Super Rare character who could be recruited by collecting 250 units of Cybermetal, 75 units of Transmetal, and 10 cores of this character. Transformers: Battle Tactics

Toys

The Transformers

In Italy, this may be my second figure...

• Treadshot with Catgut (Action Master, 1990)

• Accessories: "Pulse demagnetizer" rifle, "Catgut" partner
• Known designers: Masakatsu Saito (concept artist)

Part of the first assortment of individually-carded "basic" Action Master figures, released in the seventh and final year of The Transformers in the US, Treadshot is a 3¾-inch non-transforming action figure, though his design shows that his former alternate mode is a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum pistol. His construction is broadly similar to that used by the G.I. Joe figures of the time, having a swivel neck, shoulders and knees, plus ball-jointed hips attached via a steel rod internally secured by a rubber "o-ring". His hands have standard 3 mm holes which allow him to hold any other accessory in the Action Master line, plus his feet have holes in the bottom to secure him to larger vehicles. On top of that, the hole in his back is compatible with 5 mm posts.

In an enormously strange twist, Treadshot's instructions depict a different weapon than the one the toy actually comes with—specifically, a weapon that wasn't available with any Action Master, the handgun from the never-released-as-a-Transformer Diaclone Jet-Heli triplechanger (much later known as Fumes, Skyklik, and Rotorbolt). The weapon that was included with Treadshot, meanwhile, is depicted in Soundwave's instructions, which resulted in quite a few mix-ups on toy information websites and in identification guides (including Generations). Treadshot has his correct weapon in his card art above, and in the picture to the right.

He came packaged with his partner Catgut, who transforms into a large cannon for Treadshot to wield.

• More information on Treadshot at TFU.info

Timelines

Gun safety instructor told Treadshot to only point his barrel forward when he was ready to shoot, and he's all like dude I'm built this way.

• Treadshot (Deluxe, 2014)

• TFSS2 number: 4
• Accessories: Missile, "Catgut" partner

A redeco of Generations Deluxe Class Warpath, Treadshot now transforms into an "H-tread" combat tank of likely made-up origins. A spring-loaded missile launcher is placed on his right shoulder, and rods in his legs and arms are compatible with c joint accessories. He also comes with a new version of Catgut.

Treadshot comes with a minor misassembly: The base of his tank cannon is put in back-to-front instead of front-to-back like on previous releases of the mold, shortening the amount the cannon extends and how high it can be raised in tank mode. This is easily fixed by removing the screws at the bottom of his chest and placing the cannon base the right way around.

Treadshot was available as part of the exclusive 2014 Club Figure Subscription Service.

• More information on Timelines Treadshot at TFU.info

Notes

Rare? Yes. Good? Er... No.

• Unlike the other new-character Action Masters, Treadshot appears to be based on a pre-existing toy—strikingly, a toy perhaps not designed by Takara at all! Originally manufactured by Sunmayor Ohkawa (サンマーヤ大川) Co., Ltd., as the "357 Magnum Robo" (357マグナムロボ), this robot transforms into a Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum with scope attachments. Its massive and awkward inner body serves as a real firing "gun" in both modes, complete with spinning bullet chamber and launching teeny tiny blatant choke-hazard bullets with a pull of the trigger. It was later called the "Highway Patrol Robo" and released in GiG's Trasformer line in Italy. Information on this toy is scant… but, strangely, it shows up in Takara's Takara SF Land Collection Complete Works toy book, which only further complicates the mystery of its origins. Considering the similarly odd origin of Treadshot's depicted blaster as shown in the instructions from the Diaclone Jet-Heli triplechanger, it seems an awful lot like Treadshot is a very obscure Takara in-joke.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Treadshot (トレッドショット Toreddoshotto)
• Italian: Raptor
• Mandarin: Saǒshè (China, 扫射, "Strafe")

External links

• Butto's 357 Magnum Robo page