Windcharger



Of all the Ark's crew that crash-landed on Earth, Windcharger is unquestionably the fastest on the ground, at least for short distances. Of all Autobots living or deactivated, he is among the quickest; he can go from zero to 60 MPH virtually instantly, limited only by the traction between his tires and their driving surface. Frequently, after tearing away with a neck-snapping jerk, he will just as rapidly squeal to a halt to investigate something that caught his eye, for Windcharger is impulsive as well as impatient, both in mind and in body.

Naturally, such quick starts require a huge burst of energy from Windcharger's power systems. He can also use this energy in another way. In robot mode, he can energize his arms and make them the poles of a precisely controllable electromagnet, powerful enough to levitate ten tons of steel 700 feet away. With care, he can draw objects gently toward him or hurl them violently away. Also, as the long-suffering laws of physics dictate, this field is extremely strong near Windcharger; at close range, he can tear magnetic objects to shreds.

Unfortunately for Windcharger, his power supply, biased as it is toward a brief, heavy overload, is prone to failure if the overload is too severe or too long-lasting. Even worse, his impulsive nature makes him hardly willing to exercise the mental control he needs to avoid overusing his power. As a result, Windcharger often finds himself stumbling home, reeking of ozone and burned insulation, and needing medical attention and a nice, tall, chilled glass of dielectric oil.

Fiction
''ive million years ago, Windcharger was part of Optimus Prime's plan to defend Iacon from the Decepticons. After Prime lured the Decepticons onto a bridge and blew it up, Windcharger used his magnetic powers to pull him to safety.''

Windcharger was among the elite few selected by Optimus Prime to join him in crashing the Ark into the Earth. The Transformers After the Autobots awoke in 1984, Windcharger was very concerned with how they would obtain more fuel. Power Play! He participated in the attack on Fortress Sinister, and looked at Gears's body after his fellow Autobot fell off the Decepticon fortress and was deactivated.

''During a Decepticon attack on the Ark, Optimus Prime attempted to activate the Ark's computer, known as Aunty, to bring the defense systems back online. Unfortunately, Auntie had been damaged in the crash and become unstable. Unable to remember who was friend or foe, she used a magnetic field to subdue all the combatants aside from Windcharger and Ravage, whose magnetic powers enabled them to counter Auntie’s magnetic force. With Ravage's help, Windcharger was able to deactivate Auntie's Guardian battle droid. Once Ravage shut down Auntie, Windcharger used his powers to hurl Megatron from the Autobot base.''

After witnessing Huffer accuse Sparkplug Witwicky of treachery, Windcharger battled the Decepticons once more, but was defeated by Shockwave along with the rest of the Autobots. The Last Stand His deactivated body was strung up from the Ark's ceiling to be used as spare parts.

''Once the Decepticons had been vanquished from the Ark, Guardian was reactivated to guard the ship, full of deactivated Autobots in need of repair. When the few active Autobots returned, they made Windcharger's reactivation a priority so that he could use his magnetic powers to thwart Guardian. Ultimately, however, Windcharger did not get the chance.''

Windcharger and the other Autobots were eventually repaired by Ratchet. DIS-Integrated Circuits! Some time later, Windcharger was gunned down by Optimus Prime's body when the Decepticons took control of it using a fake head.

''When the Autobots were dispatched to locate the missing Dinobots, all suffering from madness due to circuit damage, Windcharger was assigned to lead "A-Team", which included Cliffjumper and Gears. The three searched for Sludge in a northern California swamp, but were captured in a Decepticon ambush led by Soundwave. They were later rescued thanks to Bumblebee.''

He was seen much later, watching Blaster and Grimlock duke it out for leadership of the Autobots on the moon. He then took part in fighting the Decepticon forces that attempted to ambush them.

The Transformers cartoon
Windcharger was part of the initial crew of the Ark, on a mission to seek out new energy sources to fuel their struggle with the Decepticons. More than Meets the Eye, Part 1 After awakening on Earth over four million years later, Windcharger participated in the unsuccessful Autobot counter-attack on the Decepticon siege of Sherman Dam, which was being run at dangerous capacities to fill the Decepticons' energon cubes.

He was also among the group of Autobots who attempted to stop the Decepticons raiding the ruby crystal mines of Burma. He dressed up in a lab coat during an attempt to trick the Decepticons into attacking a fake rocket base, though it turned out the Decepticons they were fighting were decoys, and he and the other Autobots were forced to try and stop the Decepticons from taking off in their space cruiser.

When Optimus Prime was severely damaged, Windcharger, Brawn and Gears went to see how the repairs were going, unaware that Laserbeak had hitched a ride on Brawn's shoulder. He later helped defend headquarters long enough for a new cosmitron to be retrieved from Cybertron, so Prime could be repaired. Divide and Conquer Windcharger attended the unveiling of the Dinobots, and was knocked over by Sludge during the ensuing chaos.

Of all the other Autobots, he seemed to be closest to Brawn, judging from their excellent teamwork and friendly banter while journeying with Skyfire to investigate a Decepticon super-weapon in Peru. When Windcharger was injured during the battle later in that mission, Brawn was quick to swear vengeance for the small 'bot.

When Sparkplug Witwicky was kidnapped by the Decepticons, Windcharger was in the group which tunneled beneath the Decepticon base, using his magnetic field to detect when they'd reached their destination and carrying Sparkplug from the base. Along with the other Autobots, he was unsuccessful in preventing Megatron from bringing Cybertron into Earth's orbit. After Bumblebee fell into a chasm during the Autobot retreat, Windcharger used his tractor beam to pull the little Autobot out. The eruption of the volcano at Autobot HQ blew Windcharger, Ratchet and Huffer into the air, necessitating a rescue by Skyfire.

After Insecticons were sighted in Bali, Windcharger, Brawn and Bumblebee headed there in Skyfire. They found the Insecticons feeding on a field of hay, but had trouble fighting them off. Windcharger had to set up a repulsor field to stop them from being cut to bits by the spikes from Shrapnel's grenade. The rest of the Autobots turned up in time to save their bacon, and they pursued the Decepticons to a nearby refinery.

Windcharger was in the group of Autobots who attempted to defend a new Air Force rocket base from the Decepticons. He and Ratchet were taken out by an attack from behind by Soundwave, who was promptly given the boot by Brawn. Windcharger was OK though, and later helped the other Autobots try to reason with Spike Witwicky when the boy was placed in a robot body and went a little nuts. Autobot Spike He was hanging around Autobot HQ when Teletraan I detected strange readings from the bottom of the Atlantic, but didn't bother volunteering to go check it out. Atlantis, Arise! At one point, he helped the other Autobots construct detection plates to increase Headquarter's security grid.

Much like the other Autobots, Windcharger was bemused by Optimus Prime's odd behavior after one particular battle, and even more confused when a second Optimus drove into Headquarters. Their test to determine the real Prime proved inconclusive, however the Autobots were alerted by strange energy readings from the crevasse the earlier battle had taken place at. Returning to the scene, they battled the Decepticons again, however Windcharger and Spike spotted Starscream acting oddly, and found Megatron's control center, from which he was controlling the false Prime.

Before they could return to warn the other Autobots, the pair were spotted, and Windcharger was knocked into the crevasse, where he only escaped destruction by transforming — his vehicle mode tires insulated him from the korlonium crystals filling the crevasse. He was able to climb out and warn the other Autobots. A Prime Problem

Windcharger was around when Wheeljack attempted to demonstrate how he'd taught the Dinobots to better control their abilities. It didn't go well. Dinobot Island, Part 1 When Megatron supercharged himself with the Heart of Cybertron, Windcharger helped defend Headquarters against the Decepticon leader. Microbots All of the Autobots were banished from Earth after the Decepticons framed them with an elaborate plan. They almost crashed into the sun, but made it back to Earth safely.

After a close call with Cybertonium depletion, Windcharger was around for a ceremony honoring Spike, Carly and the Dinobots for retrieving more of the valuable substance from Cybertron. He, Huffer and Ironhide blasted Decepticon drones in New York City. Make Tracks After Tracks and Bumblebee disappeared, Windcharger took part in the search. As the other Autobots were picked off by Lord Chumley and his servant Dinsmoore, Windcharger narrowly escaped one of their fiendish traps. He regrouped at HQ with the other Autobots in time for Chumley to deliver his challenge to Optimus.

Windcharger was among the five Autobots who disguised themselves as Stunticons in order to halt one of Megatron's evil schemes; he camouflaged himself as Wildrider. When the group was forced to become a fake Menasor, Windcharger's magnetic powers were essential to pull the Autobots together for the illusion. Masquerade

Windcharger was among the Autobots killed at the Battle of Autobot City; Arcee pulled his corpse into the shelter of a bunker and laid it alongside that of Wheeljack.