Hound (Transformers)

Hound is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers franchise. He is sometimes referred to as Autobot Hound for trademark purposes.[1]

Transformers: Generation 1

Hound
Autobot
Information
Sub-group Autobot Car, Autoroller, Deluxe Vehicles, Micro Vehicles
Function Scout, Commando
Rank 6
Motto "Observe everything, remember even more."
Alternate modes Cybertronian Car
Mitsubishi J59 Military Jeep
Power Scoop
Jeep Wrangler
Cybertronian Truck
Series Transformers: Generation 1
Transformers: Generation 2
Transformers: Alternators
Transformers: Universe
English voice actor Ken Sansom (Television series)
Japanese voice actor Kenyu Horiuchi (Television series)
Ken Narita ("Attack of the Autobots" and "Day of the Machines")

The toy that was to become the Autobot Hound was originally released as part of the Japanese Diaclone series by Takara.

A first-generation Autobot, Hound (Destino in Aguascalientes, Dépisteur in Quebec and Canguro in Italy) was released into Transformers' first year - 1984 and was one of the smallest of the standard sized Autobot cars. Hound's alternate mode is that of a 4X4 military jeep, and comes with three different weapons - a Missile Launcher, a Machine Gun and a Hologram Gun.[2]

Hound is known for his love of the planet Earth, his tracking skills, and the ability to project highly realistic holograms. He secretly wishes to be human.[3]

Marvel Comics

Hound also appeared in the Marvel Transformers comic, where his role was much the same as in the animated series. During the UK-only story Crisis of Command, Hound and Mirage combined their special abilities to capture the Decepticon spy, Ravage. Later, during the Target: 2006 story arc, a spy mission alongside Jazz went badly awry, resulting in the capture of Jazz. From then on, Hound was an outspoken critic of Jetfire's headstrong tactics against Galvatron. Later, in the full US/UK continuity, he was among the scores of Autobots deactivated by the Underbase-powered Starscream.

Hound's body was seen among the deactivated Autobots Ratchet was doing his best to revive in Transformers #56, "Back from the Dead".

However, he was resurrected at some point (presumably with Nucleon), as he appeared in the Transformers: Generation 2 comic as one of the few Transformers not dominated by the hate-inducing parasites. It is unknown if he survived the final battles against Jhiaxus and the Swarm.

Animated series

During the first season of the cartoon, Hound served as the Autobots' primary scout and recon soldier, a role which suited him well because he quickly grew to love the varied natural landscapes of Earth. Hound was also instrumental in the creation of the original 3 Dinobots, as he captured holographic images which served as rough blueprints for construction of Grimlock, Slag, and Sludge. However, after a spurt of early appearances, Hound became increasingly absent from the show, showing up only when his holographic powers were necessary.

Hound's first appearance came in "More Than Meets the Eye", a three-episode pilot created to launch the toyline onto television. Oddly enough the role of Spike's companion was filled by Hound in these episodes rather than Bumblebee. Hound was the first to introduce Spike to the concept of "transforming" and also gave Spike a tour of the nearby desert while beguiling him with tales of Cybertron. Hound would also end up being rescued by Spike, who nearly drowned in the process of saving him. While resuscitating Spike on the shore, Hound makes the mistake of thinking that the human Spike had "flooded his engine". Hound would be among the main cast of the pilot, almost playing as large of a role as Optimus Prime himself.

This changed when the show moved into its regular season. Bumblebee became Spike's companion, and Hound's appearances became less frequent.

In "Heavy Metal War", Hound is responsible for providing a hologram of a large, menacing robot designed to intimidate Devastator. This helped turn the tide in the battle against the Decepticons in that episode.

The episode "City of Steel" featured another major role for Hound. He and a few other compatriots were charged with tracking and collecting the missing parts of the Optimus Prime. These parts had been disconnected and used in various parts of Megatron's reconstruction of New York.

Hound made a brief cameo appearance in The Transformers: The Movie where he, along with Sunstreaker, stood next to Optimus Prime before Prime confronted the Decepticon forces.

Hound was last seen in Takara's Japanese only Transformers: The Headmasters series, that included archive footage of TF:The Movie. The Autobot also has some lines on the first episodes. Japanese Transformers guides thus report that Hound has in some way survived the movie, however, because it also features Transformers that were pronounced deceased, that is considered speculation.

Books

Hound appeared in the 1984 sticker and story book The Revenge of the Decepticons written by Suzanne Weyn and published by Marvel Books.

Hound was featured in the 1985 Transformers audio books Autobots' Lightning Strike, Megatron's Fight for Power and Laserbeak's Fury.[4]

Hound appeared in the 1985 story Autobots Fight Back by John Grant, published by Ladybird Books.[5]

Hound appeared in the 1986 Ladybird Books story Decepticon Hideout by John Grant.[6]

Games

Hound is one of eight playable characters in the 1986 Commodore 64 video game Transformers: The Battle to Save the Earth.

Dreamwave Productions

When civil war broke out on the planet Cybertron between the Autobots and Decepticon factions, Hound joined the Autobot cause. After Decepticon leader Megatron killed the Autobot leader Sentinel Prime, a new Autobot leader was chosen by the Council of the Ancients. Hound was present when Optronix was given the Matrix and reformatted into Optimus Prime. Three Decepticon assassins attempted to kill Optimus, but were unsuccessful. Optimus then ordered a planet-wide evacuation of Cybertron (Transformers: The War Within #1). Hound was among those who reluctantly prepared for the evacuation (Transformers: War Within #2).

When Megatron and Optimus Prime disappeared in an accident with a space bridge, the Autobot and Decepticon forces splintered into smaller factions. Hound stayed with the Autobots under the leadership of Prowl. When Prowl and his team of Autobots confronted Trypticon, Hound, Tracks, Trailbreaker and other Autobots showed up as reinforcements (Transformers: The War Within - The Dark Ages #4).

Hound was among the Autobots who followed Optimus Prime on his mission on board the Ark. They were attacked by Megatron's ship, the Nemesis. After being boarded the Ark crash landed on Earth, where all on board were preserved in emergency stasis. In 1984 a volcanic eruption awakened the Ark's computer, Teletran-1, and it repaired all on board. It reformatted Hound in the form of an Earth Jeep.

Eventually the combined forces of the Autobots on Earth, and their human allies were able to capture the Decepticons. A ship called the Ark II was built to take the Cybertonians back to Cybertron, along with some human companions. Optimus left a small portion of his Matrix with human Spike Witwicky, promising to return with Spike's father from Cybertron one day. The Ark II exploded shortly after takeoff. The human allies were killed, but the Cybertonians were lost in the ocean, again in statis lock.

Hound and others were recovered by a rogue military unit and reprogrammed as slave war machines. Megatron broke free and then freed his fellow Decepticons and Grimlock. Hound and the other Autobots who were found by Lazarus were abused by Megatron's troops, but were eventually freed by Optimus Prime.

Hound returned with most of the Autobots from Earth to Cybertron as prisoners of Ultra Magnus. Prowl's team returned from Cybertron and Hound aided with construction for the new Autobot City in Alaska (Transformers: Generation One III #10).

Devil's Due Publishing

Hound also appeared in the first G.I. Joe vs the Transformers crossover from Devil's Due Publishing. Here the Ark was discovered by the terrorist Cobra Organization. Here Hound turned into a Cobra armoured car. After the Transformers were freed, Hound tried to assist Bumblebee and Wheeljack in reaching Megatron's energon producing facility, but was confronted by its guardian - Devastator, who blew Hound in half with one blast. His death was soon avenged, as the giant combiner was mobbed and taken down by the other Autobots and G.I. Joes.

IDW Publishing

Hound appeared in issue #2 of Megatron Origin. In this story, set on ancient Cybertron he was a member of an Autobot security force in the city of Kaon. His squad was hunting the operators of gladiatorial contests in the degenerate slums, particularly Megatron.

Hound made his first IDW Publishing appearance in the Spotlight issue on Galvatron, where it was revealed that he had been put in charge of guarding Thunderwing's inert corpse with Leadfoot, Skram, Road Rocket, Warpath and Sideswipe under his command. Clashing with Sideswipe over his desire to find his brother Sunstreaker, Hound soon had other things to worry about as a mysterious Transformer arrived and decimated his unit. While Hound survived, he had failed in his duty, as Thunderwing's body had disappeared. This version of Hound is more officious and serious than in other continuities.

Hound appeared in Spotlight: Doubledealer where he was among the Autobots fighting Thunderwing on the planet Corata-Vaz.

Hound was among the Autobots who opposed the Decepticons serving the elder gods in the IDW Publishing Infestation 2: Transformers comic.[7]

Other media

Lisa Simpson appeared as Hound in one opening sequence in The Simpsons alongside the rest of the Simpson family rendered as Autobots.[8] Hound also appeared in the first episode of Transformers: Armada while hearing the alarm.

Toys

Based on a Diaclone toy. One of the earliest Transformers toys.[9] The toy of Hound was later repainted as the ehobby exclusive Junkion Detritus.
Although Hound did not receive a new toy during this time, he did appear in Marvel's Generation Two comic.
There were plans and prototypes to release a toy called Sgt. Hound, a recolor of a Decepticon Autoroller in green, but the toy was never released. The figure could be seen, along with General Optimus Prime, and Road Block and Dirtbag, in a picture from the 1995 Hasbro Toy Fair Boy's Toys Catalogue. It appears that the repaints are incorrectly listed, due to the colours of the two figures.
Hound's latest appearance has been that of a Jeep Wrangler during 2004 (the specific Jeep design, including the patented grill design, were licensed from DaimlerChrysler) - twenty years after his original appearance in Transformers. In contrast to the other toys in the line, Hound (and the later remolds/repaints) does not include a steering system, or a weapon which transforms into a part of the car. Instead the figure features working suspension, and the weapon is folded and stored in the spare wheel. Hound appeared as Alternators figure #3, but Binaltech figure BT-04.[10]
This toy was later remolded into Swindle and Rollbar.
A small figure based on the animated series appearance of Generation 1 Hound.
The second Hound is a Deluxe-class toy. He is packaged with the Decepticon Ravage, who is also a new mold.[11]
This figure was redecoed as the BotCon 2010 exclusive Turbomaster with Shattered Glass Ravage.[12][13]
The Japanese version of the Universe Deluxe figure by Takara Tomy sports a darker shade of green with additional yellow stripes and a chrome front bumper. In addition, Ravage is repainted with the gray parts in a much darker shade to the point where it is almost completely black.[14]

Transformers: Energon

Although there was no character named Hound in the Energon series, the Mini-Con Rollbar was repainted in this series as a homage to Generation 1 Hound, as was the green repaint of Ironhide.

Transformers Cinematic Universe

Hound
Autobot
Information
Sub-group Legends, Speed Stars, Cyber Slammers, Voyagers, Fast Action Battlers , Micro Vehicles
Function Heavy Munition specialist, Commando, Medical Officer (TLK)
Partner Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Drift, Crosshairs, Leadfoot, Ironhide, Ratchet, Brains, Trailbreaker
Motto

"That's a bad idea, but I'm all about bad ideas."

"We got the gang back together!"
Alternate modes Jeep, Oshkosh Defense Medium Tactical Vehicle, Mercedes-Benz Unimog
Series Transformers Cinematic Universe
Transformers: The Game
Transformers
English voice actor John Goodman (Age of Extinction)
Daniel Ross (2007 video game)
Japanese voice actor Naomi Kusumi

Hound appears in the video game and toy line related to the Transformers film series.

Video game

Hound is a playable character in the PSP version of Transformers: The Game. Also in the game is a billboard advertisement sign that spells his name.

Hound and his partner Trailbreaker are asked by Optimus Prime to implant a virus on a satellite that the Decepticons Thundercracker and Shockwave send to call in Decepticon drones. Hound's mission is to find a dish to transmit the virus while protecting Trailbreaker. They find a dish, but it is easily destroyed by the drones. They find and repair another dish. Because a wave of Decepticons is coming, Hound decides to stay and hold the satellite in position while Trailbreaker transmits it. They successfully transmit the virus, which destroys all of the Decepticon drones, but Hound is electrocuted in the process. Hound, weakened, asks, "Did it work?", to which Trailbreaker begins to reply, but before he can, Hound "looses his spark" and dies in his brother's arms.

Film series

Hound appears in Transformers: Age of Extinction as an Oshkosh tactical defense vehicle. He first appears when he shoots the skies trying to signal the Autobots to that Optimus Prime has arrived. He then appears when Optimus introduces the Autobots and is happy to see the gang back together. Then, when Cade hacks into a KSI drone, Hound sees footage of humans killing Leadfoot. Hound seemed the saddest one. He's then seen when the Autobots destroy the KSI laboratory in Chicago. Hound also helps save Optimus from Lockdown's ship along with Bumblebee, Crosshairs, and Drift. He was about to shoot Crosshairs in the head because he wanted to retreat. Hound then looked at an alien trapped in one of Lockdown's pods, which spit its green goo at him, so Hound killed it. Hound is then seen in Hong Kong fighting alongside Bumblebee and then he goes commando, using all his weapons to fight the KSI drones, including a two-headed drone, and is able to avoid enemy fire. He's then ordered to leave the city to protect Joshua, who has the seed, from the KSI drones that want it. Optimus later orders him to protect the Yeager family before he departs to space.

Hound will return as a Unimog military vehicle and has now replaced Ratchet as the Autobot Medic in the film Transformers: The Last Knight.

Toys

A black/gold redeco of the Universe Legends Hound figure.[16]
A non-transforming jeep that mechanically opens its panels and reveals hidden weapons at the pull of the front bumper. This toy resembles the vehicle mode of Deluxe figure from the Universe toy line.[17]
An all-new Voyager Class mold of Hound.[18]
A non-transforming toy of Hound riding on Slash. Hound is a non-poseable figure with a long sword while Slash features pull-back action that activates sparks in its body.[19]

Transformers: Timelines (Shattered Glass)

Hound
Autobot
Information
Motto "Every memory is a nightmare waiting to happen."
Alternate modes Truck
Series Transformers: Timelines

A mirror-universe version of Hound appeared in the Transformers: Timelines fiction. He is one of the evil Autobots and has the ability to project hallucinations in his targets. He also hates/fears dirt and organic life.[20]

Fun Publications

Hound appears in the "Dungeons & Dinobots", a text based story from Fun Publications. He is among the Autobots who attacked the Arch-Ayr fuel dump. His powers are blocked with a jammer by the Decepticons.[21]

Hound appears briefly in the story "Do Over". He is among the Autobots left on Cybertron after Rodimus left on the Ark with troops who were only loyal to himself. Unlike the other Autobots who stayed on Cybertron, Hound wasn't thrown out of the Ark, he abandoned it willingly, earning him the wrath of Optimus Prime.

In Reunification, Kup leads Warpath, Camshaft and Hound in an attempt to assassinate Optimus Prime. Optimus uses Ricochet as a shield to block a blast from Warpath, grabbing Warpath and throwing him into Hound. Optimus then crushes Kup's head with one hand as he shoots Camshaft.

Toys

Although no toy was made for this version of Hound, he is based on the Universe Deluxe toy's design in new colors.

Transformers: Prime

Hound
Autobot
Information
Function Sentry
Alternate modes Cybertronian jeep
Series Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

Hound appears in the "Aligned" continuity family as an Autobot sentry before the great Exodus from Cybertron.

Exiles

Hound is one of the Autobots aboard the Ark. During the great Exodus, he was attacked by Makeshift, who knocked him out and preceded to impersonate him. His fate is left unknown.

Video Games

Hound was featured in Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, where he appears in the multiplayer campaign.

Transformers: Timelines

A version of Hound-known as Sergent Hound-appeared in the Timelines fiction associated with BotCon 2015, where he was a subordinate of General Optimus Prime, the two being based on unreleased Transformers: Generation 2 toys. An Autobot scout in his home reality, Sgt. Hound and General Optimus were brought to the world of Axiom Nexus and the Transtech by an explosion that destroyed the Decepticons of their own world while opening a tear between universes.

Toys

A white and black redeco of Generations Scoop in homage to the unreleased Generation 2 Sergeant Hound figure. Sgt. Hound comes with the Targetmaster figures Dia and Cline, who are redecos of Caliburst/Tracer and Holepunch, respectively. Dia and Clone are themselves tributes to the Diaclone line that proceeded Transformers, and in story serve as pilots for the transforming mechs Burnout and Lift-Ticket.

References

  1. ↑ TransformersToys - Autobot Hound
  2. ↑ Figure King Magazine issue #78, June 2004
  3. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=U3u7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA125&dq=hound&hl=en&ei=p2mFTPPsENH2nAeZ_dCFAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEgQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=hound&f=false Powerplay: toys as popular culture By Dan Fleming page 124
  4. ↑ TF Books
  5. ↑ Grant, John (1985). Autobots Fight Back. Ladybird Books. ISBN 0-7214-0942-3.
  6. ↑ Decepticon Hideout. Ladybird Books. 1986. ISBN 0-7214-0989-X.
  7. ↑ Chuck Dixon (w), Guido Guidi (p), John Wycough (i), Joana Lafuente (col), Chris Mowry (let), Bobby Curnow (ed). Infestation 2: The Transformers 1 (February 2011), IDW Publishing
  8. ↑ TFans Transformers Community > Transformers on TV/Movies/Music
  9. ↑ Boy Toys, Lancaster New Era Lancaster, PA; August 10, 2007; by Laura Knowles
  10. ↑ http://www.mastercollector.com/articles/reviews/review102204-17.htm
  11. ↑ TFW2005.com - Universe Hound
  12. ↑ TFW2005.com - Turbomaster with Shattered Glass Ravage
  13. ↑ "An Interview with Hasbro's Bill Rawley" (PDF). Transformers Collectors Club Magazine. 1 (23): 4–6. October–November 2008.
  14. ↑ TFW2005.com - Henkei Hound
  15. ↑ TFW2005.com - HFTD Scout and Legends Wave 2 Released in the Philippines
  16. ↑ TFSource.com - Legends Tracker Hound
  17. ↑ TFW2005.com - Walmart Update - Official Images of Upcoming Transformers Figures
  18. ↑
  19. ↑
  20. ↑ Autobot Hound Autobot Psychological Warfare Expert/Scout, Hasbro Transformers Collectors Club magazine, issue #28, August 2009/September 2009, page 6
  21. ↑ S. Trent Troop and Greg Sepelak (2008). Dungeons & Dinobots. Illustrator Evan Gauntt. Fun Publications.
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