Buster (Transformers)

Buster is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes.

Transformers: Generation 1 (Decepticon)

Buster was also the name of a human in the Japanese exclusive Transformers: Super-God Masterforce show, which span out of G1. Buster, and his partner Hydra, were two humans recruited by the self-styled Decepticon God Devil Z to serve to power two lifeless Transtector bodies, becoming Godmasters. Unlike their counterpart Overlord, the two willingly were transformed into wholly robotic beings by Devil Z near the series' close.

Animated series

The American Transformers series ended in 1987, one year before Dreadwind and Darkwing were released. As the Transformers were originally manufactured in Japan by Takara, Takara produced their own spin-offs to the original series. Transformers: Super God Masterforce was the second of these and featured characters produced for 1988. As part of a different storyline, Dreadwing and Darkwing were recolored slightly (light blue pieces of both Transformers were molded in red) and reinvented as the mighty Godmaster brothers, Buster and Hydra. They were also referred to as the Darkwings (perhaps as a nod to their American counterparts).

The lifeless mechanoid bodies known as "Transtectors" which would come to be owned by Buster and Hydra were stolen from a region of space called the G Nebula by the evil energy entity and self-styled "Decepticon God," Devil Z. Some years after the Decepticons were banished from Earth by the Autobots in 2011, Devil Z recruited two human beings, Lord Giga and Lady Mega, to find human partners for the Transtectors. A pair of brothers from Germany were soon found and bonded to two jet Transtectors, given the power to summon the Masterforce and transform into engines that allowed the jets to assume robot mode; Hydra, a master disguise artist and actor who plied his trade in the deadliest way as an assassin for the American criminal underworld; and the younger Buster, as cool as his elder brother, but more suave and amiable, and with a love of birds. Able to wield the power of lightning and wind, respectively, and to heal from any damage almost instantaneously, the two brothers can merge their Transtectors into the giant jet, Darkwings.

A string of defeats from the Autobot Godmaster Ginrai throughout their time serving as Decepticons eventually prompted Buster and Hydra to seek new ways to increase their power. Whereas Giga and Mega embraced the human aspect of their nature as Godmasters, Buster and Hydra rejected it, feeling that it was this which made them weak, and requested that Devil Z transform them permanently into entirely robotic beings. The villain did so, and Buster and Hydra were fused with their Transtectors as true robots, but even with this power, they proved unable to best Ginrai, and when Devil Z was destroyed, they fled into space with the other Transtectors that he had brought to life.

Toys

• Generation 1 Gomaster Buster (1988)

Buster is a redeco of the Decepticon Dreadwind.

Transformers: Generation 1 (Human)

Buster Witwicky was the first Witwicky depicted in fiction, and filled a similar role in the early comics that Spike filled in the animated series.

Marvel Comics

Events exclusive to the Marvel U.K. Transformers comics are in italics.

While at a drive-in movie with his girlfriend Jessie and best friend "O", Buster suddenly found his life in danger when the parking lot became a battleground in the first major Earth-based clash between the Autobots and Decepticons. Coming across the wounded vehicle-mode Bumblebee, he brought the car back to his father's workshop, and attempted to fix it, until his father stepped in and completed the job.

Before long, however, Buster had a much more pivotal role to play in the war, when the powerful Decepticon, Shockwave defeated and deactivated all the Autobots, save medical officer Ratchet, and planned to create new troops using the power of the Creation Matrix within Optimus Prime's mind. Sneaking into the Ark, Buster discovered Prime's disembodied head, and Prime transferred the Matrix into Buster's mind, keeping it from Shockwave. Buster soon found that the Matrix gave him the ability to manipulate metal and circuitry, and he used it to disassemble, rebuild and reprogram Shockwave's lifeless drone, Jetfire, and employed him to rescue Optimus Prime, who took the Matrix back into his own body.

A story called "The Gift" in issue #93 of the Marvel U.K. comics explored Jetfire's problems fitting in with the other Autobots. Jetfire then visited Buster Witwicky on Christmas Eve and tell him of his troubles of not fitting in with the Cybertronian-made Autobots. Buster encouraged the young Autobot by telling him he's the first of a new generation of Earth-made Autobots and he should be proud of what he is.

In the U.K. comics, the boy appeared in some further stories starting with Robot Buster, where - worried about the danger he kept being in - Wheeljack and Ratchet built a robot battle-suit for him. Optimus ordered it scrapped and Buster stole it to prove he could handle himself in battle, only to be nearly killed in battle against Frenzy and pursued relentlessly by Shockwave, who later sent the Constructicons out to murder the boy. The stress of these events combined with residual Matrix energy caused Buster to have visions of a strange new generation of Transformers. In order to decipher these visions and cure Buster of them, he and Optimus mind-linked (with the Decepticons spying) and the visions were revealed to be details for producing new "Special Teams" of combiners, which would lead to the development of the Aerialbots and Protectobots.

Angered and afraid for his safety, Sparkplug forbade Buster from seeing the Autobots any further. Outside of helping Jetfire through some morale issues on Christmas Eve, the boy was not seen again for some time, until Sparkplug himself fell victim to a trap laid by Decepticon local commander, Ratbat, which Buster foiled by breaking the hypnotic trance he and the other human victims had been placed under. After a fracas involving the Intelligence and Information Institute and the Predacons, Buster and Goldbug (a recreated version of Bumblebee), whose mind was trapped in a toy car, headed for the Ark, only to find that it had blasted off. At the abandoned site, Buster was attacked by a vengeful Ratbat and whisked away to the Decepticons' island base where he was initially used as a hostage to deter the United States navy from attacking. Buster was employed as part of an overly complex plan to acquire important data - appointing Buster "king" of the island to publicly dissuade human investigation, the Decepticons operated under the cover of a faux holiday resort while they searched for a sunken pirate vessel, which contained two stasis-locked Autobot messengers sent to Earth thousands of years before, containing information on the coming of the almighty Cybertronian data bank, the Underbase. Starscream proceeded to turn the tables on everyone by releasing Buster into the Arctic tundra, where he was forced to summon the Autobots or perish - an action which in turn resulted in the arriving Autobots being overwhelmed by the combined forces of Ratbat and Scorponok's Decepticons, while Starscream used the distraction to steal the power of the Underbase for himself. Buster's last appearance was in U.S. #51, finally back home with his family.

Books

Buster is featured in the 1985 Find Your Fate Junior book called Battle Drive by Barbara Siegel and Scott Siegel.

Buster appears in the 1986 story and coloring book The Lost Treasure of Cybertron by Marvel Books. In this story, he is the father of Daniel.

Dreamwave Productions

Buster did not make any clearly defined appearances in Dreamwave Productions' re-imagined Generation 1 universe, but he did exist, and was referred to as having taken the death of his father particularly badly, turning to alcohol and running up particularly large gambling debts. Straightening out his act, Buster was said to have joined the military; a high-ranking official with the surname of Witwicky was later seen addressing Marissa Faireborn, and although it was not stated, it can be assumed this was intended to be Buster. However, Dreamwave's bankruptcy and subsequent closure left the story untold.

Shattered Glass

Fun Publications

In the "Shattered Glass" storyline, four Witwicky brothers, Spike, Buster, Butch and Bruce "Buzz" Witwicky, appeared evil mirror universe counterparts of the Witwickys. Spike was leader of the group, who allied themselves with Rodimus and the evil Autobots, guiding them on Earth and aiding them in taking temporary control of Burbleson Airforce base and the GODS satellite system.