TFtember: Ironhide

Ironhide  

Now we're getting into one of the bigger characters. Quite a bit to say about this dude.

First, for the toy. Always had a problem with how the toy looked nothing like the character on the show. Ironhide started life as a Diaclone van, explaining how his head looks like that as better to seat the tiny pilot that came with the toy. The van would also break into two, with the back part forming a kind of mini-base. 

That would be largely it, although the figure was reissued in 1990 under the Europe only Classic line. The 2008 version came with a small sticker you could stick in the window to try and make him more show accurate but honestly that just brings more attention to the whole issue.  

The card does mention that he's Optimus's bodyguard and also the oldest and toughest 'bot. A sort of proto-Kup, if you were. 

For the comics, we have a mixed bag. He started out looking exactly like his toy before switching over to his cartoon likeness. He was in a few issues but he didn't do a whole lot (the UK had more solo stories for him) plus he was either reduced to a background character (main Marvel comics) or outright killed (movie comic). He did show up in Generation 2, but we'll get to that series later. 

Speaking of the movie, the cartoon was where he really shined. Voiced by Peter Cullen, he acted more as Optimus Prime's sidekick. He also had a lot of liquids that he shot out of his hands. While he was in quite a few episodes, he never really had the spotlight. He did seem briefly take charge during the Movie, where Megatron shot him dead. And thus ends the story of Ironhide. 

Not terrible, but his death seemed to be the biggest thing about him. The fact that Kup would easily fit into the whole 'grizzled vet' just as easily kind of proved how replaceable he was.