Dread Pirate Crew
From Transformers Wiki
- The Dread Pirate Crew areStar Seekersfrom theGeneration 1 continuity family.
Based on the blueprints ofPounceandWingspan,theDread Pirate Crewform the backbone ofCannonball's crew aboard theTidal Wave.They aren't the sharpest cutlasses in the block, but they get the pillaging and plundering done.
Known Pounce-type Dread Pirates:
Known Wingspan-type Dread Pirates:
Contents |
Fiction
Wings Universe
At an unknown point in Cybertronian history, the blueprints for the Decepticon clonesPounceandWingspanwere copied and then mass-produced. These air- and ground-body-typeswere sold on the black market as made-to-order mercenaries. Often used as cannon fodder,Captain Cannonballinstead made these buccaneers individuals, giving them unique names and jobs aboard theTidal Wave.Collectively known as the Dread Pirate Crew, these clones make up the backbone of theStar Seekers.Dread Pirate Crew's profile in Club Magazine #58
During the sheer monotony of theTidal Wave'spassage through the Demon's Maw Expanse, Stormcharge and Turbolift took to hunting vapor-rats for target practice.
Much toTornado's dismay, Rolling Thunder and Thunderclap tend to enjoy revving their engines for short-range racing up and down the corridors. The Thunder twins also ended up named their converting weapons "Pillage and Plunder".
While Cutback and Lockpick are technically employed as one ofChairman's escort guard andBrimstone's gunners, respectively, the duo secretly maintain a black market among the crew, purportedly without Cannonball's knowledge. Cutback's entrepreneurial spirit and Lockpick's internal transwarp generator make them a superlative partnership. Tornado tested their skills by asking then to procure a Fluorescing Sky Seer from the fourth moon of Deberia. Although the Dread Pirates were successful in the acquisition, Tornado came to regret his purchase...especially once Cannonball found the Sky Seer. All parties denied any knowledge of the animal, and luckily the captain took a shine to it. Cutback and Lockpick were prepared to cut Tornado off from the black market for engineering such a close call, but Tornado offered to pay three times their normal fee if they could locate a Lukythian Warp Star for him.
Skyduster was an ace pilot and had the ability to create atmospheric disturbances thanks to a special gas released from his sky-ship mode. He was teamed with Tornado during a sabotage mission to Ventax II.Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur
Cruising through time and space, the Dread Pirate Crew joined Cannonball in raiding future Cybertron of its energon. While attempting to convertUnicron's head into an energon siphon, however, they were opposed byAlpha Trizerand the Cybertronian Knights.Hoist the Flag
After escaping the Knights, the Star Seekers began a quest to findStarscream's immortal spark. Unfortunately, they found it. Following a map to a planetoid awash in gravitational anomalies, Cannonball sacrificed a good number of his Wingspan-type pirates to create a counter-gravitational pulse long enough to reach the planetoid. Thunderclap and Neurotoxin were part of the landing party who found the deathlike body of aQuintessonin the caverns below. Only after bringing the Quintesson back to theTidal Wavedid they realize Starscream's spark lay within the creature. The devious Decepticon hopped from body to body until making a deal withFlamewarto seize control from Cannonball. Starscream used Cannonball's body as his own, and Flamewar abandoned the captain's spark on the planetoid, along with a few loyal members of the Dread Pirate Crew. The remainder stayed aboard theTidal Wave,as Flamewar began plotting her future as the new Captain Cannonball...Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur
Toys
Timelines
- Dread Pirate Crew(Souvenir 2-pack, 2014)
- Accessories:Blaster, "Plunder" and "Pillage" weapon-partners
- Available only as at-show "souvenirs" atBotCon 2014,the "Dread Pirate Crew" is a two-pack of theHasbro-release DeluxePrime:Robots in DisguiseVehiconmold and aretool(sort of) of theTakaraTomyPrimeJet Vehicon(the first use of this mold in Hasbro's markets), in matching decos thathomagetheGeneration 1Decepticon ClonesPounceandWingspan.
- The "Pounce" style ground Crew member transforms into a sleek luxury car of made-up model, featuring5 mm post-holes on the back end (robot mode shoulders) to mount compatible weapons with; the ground Crew comes with an aqua-blue redeco of theArms MicronIgu,later named "Plunder",who transforms from robotic iguana to a blaster-cannon. The ground Crew also comes with the normal clip-on blaster from the Hasbro release of this mold, whichcanbe hand-held, but is designed to clip onto the car-panels on the robot's arms (with the hands folded back) as a "wrist" -mounted weapon.
- The "Wingspan" style air Crew member transforms into an aerial version of the car (just go with it), featuringnumerous5 mm ports for weapon-mounting: eleven dedicated ports, plus two 5 mm screw-holes towards the vehicle front,andaMini-Con-compatible post under each main wing. One of these 5 mm ports is on a "thruster" on the vehicle-mode's "trunk", a part that the original Jet Vehicon did not have; this modified trunk piece is from the Takara "Arms Micron" version of the car-mode Vehicon. However, the piece isslightlyincompatible with the wider tabs on the Jet Vehicon's rear side panels, which means the trunk can be secured, but there's a gap between it and the rest of the vehicle. The air Crew member comes with a white version of the Igu mold, this one later named "Pillage".Sadly, they do not have the extra blaster, not that this mold can do the wrist-blaster trick anyway.
- The included single bio card gave the Crew no individual names or characterization, but later online updates (which also named the previously-unnamed iguana-guns) would fill out the ranks.
