Makeshift



Makeshift, code designate 777, is a Shifter, a legendary breed of Cybertronian who can change his shape into any form that has roughly the same mass. More importantly, he can alter his voice and mannerisms to impersonate other Transformers -- and he's pretty good at it too. Makeshift has claimed under interrogation that he doesn't kill his prey when it's not necessary, but he's not the most honest of robots.

Makeshift has formed a distinct enmity with the sometimes-Decepticon Axer.

Ficiton
Posing as the young and eager Autobot known as Hound, Makeshift made his way aboard the Ark as it left Cybertron, travelling to Velocitron with the rest of Optimus Prime's crew. Once the Ark landed, he took a new shape and inspired Ransack and his cronies to overthrow Override's regime and rule Cybertron alone. Not long afterwards, he sabotaged the Ark in an attempt to trap the Autobots on Velocitron, but this failed as the ship was repaired. As tensions boiled over on Velocitron, Makeshift escaped in his Hound persona to the world of Junkion, and took the form of a Junkion trader known as Shearbolt (he may or may not have killed the real Shearbolt) to misdirect Prime's search team. During an interrogation Axer revealed Makeshift's true identity to the Autobots. He once again tried to destroy the Ark. This time, though, Optimus and Jazz managed to outwit him and trapped him in a stasis field. After an interrogation session, he was taken prisoner by the Junkions and trapped in an old spaceship component, unable to escape. When Megatron removed the Requiem Blaster, the component was broken and Makeshift found freedom and an injured Axer. Not only did he refuse to help Axer but he sold him out to the Star Seekers under the guise of Wreck-Gar's friend Detritus. He was escaping the Junkions and his current location is unknown.

Prime cartoon

 * Voice actor: Kevin Michael Richardson (English), James Horan (English, as Wheeljack), Yūki Tai (Japanese),

Makeshift was one of the many troops under Starscream's command. When Bulkhead's old Wrecker buddy Wheeljack was on his way to Earth, Soundwave downloaded the Autobot's form and war record into Makeshift, so that he could impersonate Wheeljack. The real Wheeljack was captured, and Makeshift took his place on the battlefield in time for Bulkhead, Arcee and Bumblebee to arrive.

The Autobots accepted Makeshift as Wheeljack and held an impromptu party. Makeshift attempted to fulfill his mission and activate the GroundBridge for the Decepticons to storm in through, but it had been damaged in a recent Scraplet attack, and Ratchet had it deactivated for repairs. As Bulkhead's suspicion rose, Makeshift asked to be shown around by Miko. He managed to learn the location of the Autobot base from her, and asked if she could show her where the exit was. This led them back to the main control room, where a suspicious Bulkhead demanded he tell the story of the Battle of Darkmount Pass. Makeshift recalled the information from Wheeljack's war record, but got a vital fact wrong. When Bulkhead pointed out his error, Makeshift realized he'd been made, and took Miko hostage, threatening to "squeeze her into pulp".

The ground bridge was eventually ready, and Makeshift activated it at the coordinates he'd been given. As he prepared to go through it, Wheeljack, who'd escaped the Decepticons, came through in the other direction. The pair dueled with their swords until Wheeljack was victorious, and Bulkhead threw Makeshift through the ground bridge. Arriving on the top of the Decepticon ship, Makeshift was about to report the location of the Autobot base, but had failed to notice that the grenade he carried at his hip had been set off by the Autobots. As Starscream and Soundwave bailed, Makeshift was caught in the ensuing explosion.

When Smokescreen arrived on Earth, the other Autobots were hesitant to trust him, remembering their encounter with Makeshift.