Wildrider (Animated)

Wildrider is a Decepticon Stunticon from the Animated continuity family (via Timelines).

Lurch.

Wildrider is the "Director" of Team Stunticon.^[1] He's a haughty, perfectionist snob with a flair for the dramatic and an air of the aristocratic... but his preferred form of art is a decidedly low-brow urge to make things go boom. All the things. And as big a boom as possible. And if he can't boom them, he'll smash them.

And it will be awesome, you heathens.

Fiction

Animated

He studied under Captain Fanzone.

Voice actor: Neil Ross (English)

Wildrider was sent, along with the other Stunticons and Toxitron, on a mission to break Megatron and other Decepticons out of Trypticon Prison. In the guise of entertainers, they planned to rig the former Decepticon Gladiatorial Arena in Kaon with explosives, blasting the prison walls open and killing the audience in the process.

All was going well until the Stunticons were abruptly assaulted in mid-rehearsal by Cheetor, who opened fire on the disguised Decepticons. Once the Autobot cop settled down, the rehearsal continued under Wildrider's careful direction. Drag Strip reluctantly played the role of a damsel in distress, cornered by three Decepticons, unsuccessfully rescued by Toxitron, but then truly rescued by the appearance of a great big holographic Sentinel Magnus head.

On the night of the plan's execution, Sideswipe and Cheetor returned in the middle of the show, having worked out the Stunticons' plan. The Stunticons fought back with their stolen modifications, with Wildrider and The Motor Master roughing up Sideswipe. The two cop-bots were cornered, but Toxitron leapt into the fray, knocking out the structural supports for a giant ramp and sending it crashing down on the Stunticons. Toxitron turned out to actually be a disguised Optimus Prime, who revealed their plan to everyone watching. Wildrider was incarcerated in Trypticon Prison, alongside the very Decepticons he and his teammates had sought to free. The Stunti-Con Job

At some point, he [REDACTED BY THE OFFICE OF SENTINEL MAGNUS] forestonite, leaving him with a garish color scheme. The Complete AllSpark Almanac

Toys

Timelines

The Cybertron Chainsaw Massacre

• The Stunti-Con-Job (Box set, 2011)

• Accessories: "Chaos-crystal-edged Chainsaw" attachment, engine block/"phlogiston-reactor flamethrower"

A retool of Deluxe Class Animated Blazing Lockdown with a new head, Wildrider transforms into an amalgam of a 1980s Corvette and a 1960s Cougar, with lots of spikes and a cow-catcher on his bumper. He looks freaking terrifying. In car mode, pressing down on his engine block/phlogiston-reactor flamethrower flips out twin cannon barrels. A removable chainsaw accessory attaches to the center of his bumper, but unlike the hook on the original Lockdown figure, cannot flip back out of sight. As with Lockdown, his engine block can be placed on the left arm of any iteration of the Deluxe Ratchet and Cybertron Mode Ratchet toys.

He was only available as part of the BotCon 2011 box set, which also includes The Motor Master, Drag Strip, Breakdown, and Dead End.

• More information on Wildrider at TFU.info

Notes

• Wildrider was the fourth character to be revealed for the BotCon 2011 set. He was intended to be revealed in full on February 17, 2011, but BotCon revealed in advance that he would be Lockdown with a new head on the Tuesday prior.^[2] The use of the Blazing Lockdown version of the mold was hinted at the morning before the reveal via the Twitter feed's preference for wings.^[3]
• Wildrider's upper arms are swapped compared to the various Lockdown releases.
• In the original plan for the set, Breakdown was to use the Lockdown mold, and Wildrider was to use Rodimus Minor's. It was Derrick J. Wyatt's suggestion to switch them.^[4]
• So, he is a director who likes explosions. That sounds strangely familiar somehow.
• Despite his crazy maniac-looking noggin, Neil Ross's performance of Wildrider at BotCon 2011 evoked nothing less than the imperious Jonathan Harris.

References

1. ↑ "(Who is the director of the Stunticons?) Wildrider!"—Derrick J. Wyatt, Spring.me, 2011/02/24 (archive link)
2. ↑ "Thurs Stunticon reveal. Wildrider. Mold. LOCKDOWN. Amazing NEW head design by @DerrickJWyatt. That plus color scheme makes him look tot dif."—BotCon, Twitter, 2011/02/15 (archive link)
3. ↑ "Wildrider reveal coming today. We like our Stunticons like our Wings... Blazing!"—Botcon, Twitter, 2011/02/17 (archive link)
4. ↑ BotCon box set part 5 – Wildrider | OAFE – Blog