Nightbeat (Transformers)
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Nightbeat is the name of several characters in the various Transformers universes.
Contents |
[edit] Transformers: Generation 1
| Transformers character | |
 |
|
| Nightbeat | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance | Autobot |
| Sub-Group | Headmasters |
| Function | Detective |
| Motto | "Truth is revealed in the smallest detail." |
| Alternate mode | Porsche 959 |
| Series | Transformers: Generation 1 |
Nightbeat is described as a tough, street-hardened detective who is not above resorting to dirty tricks in order to further his investigations. His Headmaster partner is a detective named Muzzle.
In Japan the same toy was released as Headmaster Junior Minerva in the Super-God Masterforce series, a completely different character from Nightbeat.
Bio: Tough, no-nonsense type. Sometimes breaks rules in order to get what he wants. Works best when he works alone. As comfortable driving down a dark alley as he is on a well-lit, six-lane superhighway. Binary-bonded to Muzzle, a Nebulan private detective with an eye for detail. Carries two photon pistols and a plasma blaster with an infra-red sight. Also equipped with visual and audio sensors. Usually gets by with just cool-headed logic.
[edit] Marvel Comics
In the comics published by Marvel Comics in the United States, Nightbeat first appears in issue 62, Bird of Prey. The issue is a pastiche of The Maltese Falcon with Nightbeat in the Sam Spade role and various aliens filling out the cast. An obese creature named "Gutt" fills the role of Kaspar Guttman, and a greasy robot named "B'gdad" is a stand-in for Joel Cairo. The Falcon-analogue is in fact a powerful mystical artifact; by replacing it, Nightbeat and his assistants, Siren and Hosehead, restore the run-down alien planet to a beautiful paradise. The victory is shortlived, as the trio are ambushed by the Decepticon Thunderwing.
In issue 63 of the series, Thunderwing uses a device to scan Nightbeat's mind, revealing information about his true mission; to recover the long-lost Autobot Matrix of Leadership.
Nightbeat and his assistants remain Decepticon prisoners until issue 66, when they escape and assist in the defeat and destruction of Thunderwing, since driven mad by the Matrix.
Nightbeat reappears in issues 69 and 70, leading the search for missing Autobot Ratchet and Decepticon leader Megatron, lost in an explosion some time ago.
In issue 72, Nightbeat pulls a gun on Decepticon commander Scorponok and forces him to listen to Optimus Prime. A peace treaty is almost reached in issue 73, but the intervention of the human Neo-Knights results in Nightbeat being knocked unconscious. Nightbeat appears in the background throughout issues 74 and 75.
Nightbeat's last appearance in the Generation One comic is in issue 79, where he tells Prowl to "cool it".
[edit] UK Marvel Comic
Nightbeat appeared in three separate stories in the U.K. Transformers comic. "The Big Shutdown" was another hard-boiled detective pastiche, this time featuring Nightbeat and Siren investigating a murder. This led to Hosehead joining them for the first time, as well as their first encounter with Thunderwing, who was hunting down Autobot prisoners as a trial-by-fire to become Decepticon Commander. Nightbeat defeated Thunderwing, igniting the fuel tanks of the murdered Autobot to take the warlord offline, and would later face Thunderwing again when he launched a revenge attack on the Ark. He made a final appearance when the powerful Deathbringer arrived on Earth, wiping out a small city; Nightbeat was able to work out the truth behind the being, and that the Creation Matrix was involved in creating it.
[edit] Generation Two
There was no Nightbeat toy in the Generation Two toyline, however he did appear in the comics. Nightbeat appears twice in the Transformers: Generation 2 comic series. In issue 10, he is seated at a computer console when an explosion rocks him out of his seat. In issue 12, he is killed when he and Dirge self-destruct in an attempt to stop the Swarm.
[edit] Dreamwave Comics
Nightbeat appeared only in the Dreamwave comics War Within series as one of the Autobot rebels during the age of interrment. This was before he became a Headmaster or was reformatted into an Earth-style car. Muzzle didn't appear in the Dreamwave comics except in a one page biography of Nightbeat and Muzzle.
[edit] IDW Comics
Nightbeat would receive a starring role in his own one-shot titled "The Transformers: Spotlights: Nightbeat." The story focuses on Nightbeat's investigation of the first Ark thousands of years before. This leads him to a trader offering to sell him the original flight recorder from the Ark: the trader's subsequent murder leads Nightbeat to a gigantic metallic underground sea, where he is ambushed by an unfamiliar group of Transformers and captured. A shadowy figure (implied to be Galvatron) oversees the implantation of a device in his brain, and then wipes his mind. Unaware of what has occurred, Nightbeat is summoned to Earth by Optimus Prime. The purpose of the device is as yet unknown. It is likely he will appear in the upcoming The Transformers: Escalation.
[edit] Transformers: Armada (2003)
Nightbeat is the name of the Mini-Con partner of the Autobot Side Swipe. First Comic Appearance: Dreamwave TF: Armada #18
Motto: "Never trying means never succeeding."
Nightbeat knows that he's small, even for a Mini-Con, but that doesn't stop him from trying to perform feats of bravery befitting much larger and more powerful warriors. In his own innocent way, Nightbeat leads Side Swipe into even more trouble by egging him on to try increasingly daring acts to impress their superiors. Prodded by the insistent Nightbeat, Side Swipe has landed himself in a series of embarrassing and often dangerous situations. Nightbeat can't help it-the ambitious, good-natured Mini-Con wants to be as much of a hero as the biggest Autobots, and he's willing to take any risk to achieve that goal. Side Swipe really identifies with his Mini-Con's need for approval and acceptance, and the two have gotten into more trouble together than any other Autobot recruits in recent memory. Their well-meaning but irritating antics have even led Optimus Prime to consider separating the duo, much to their dismay.
Subject possesses below-average strength, speed, and endurance. Despite his meager physical attributes, his courage and creativity in the face of danger are boundless.
Subject is also limited by his arm configuration, which makes it impossible for him to grasp objects or perform actions requiring delicate - motor functions.
[edit] Transformers: Universe
Nightbeat is the name of the Mini-Con partner of the Decepticon Treadshot, and is a recolor of Armada Nightbeat. The Mini-Con partner of the Decepticon Oil Slick, called Search & Destroy, was also a recolor of Armada Nightbeat.
