Strongarm (Energon)

Strongarm is an Autobot Omnicon from the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

Not actually some kind of thug, like his name suggests.

Strongarm (also Strong Arm) vastly prefers to work than to fight. He spends his time in the energon mines, converting raw energon into energon stars and weaponry.

Sometimes there are lots of him.

Fiction

Toy pack-in comics

After Hot Shot and Strongarm found a pool of energon, they were attacked by Battle Ravages. When the situation was bleakened further by the arrival of Scorponok, Strongarm fashioned an energon weapon for Hot Shot, and the Terrorcons were driven away. Though they failed in securing the Energon, Hot Shot and Strongarm were relieved that they had faced a formidable foe and come out on top. Energon Volume 1

Cartoon continuity

Energon cartoon

Voice actor: Scott McNeil (English), Makoto Aoki (Japanese), Johan Hedenberg (Swedish), Joonas Suominen (Finnish), Marco Baroni (Italian), Yoann Sover (French), Héctor Indriago (Latin-American Spanish)

Strongarm was working alongside Skyblast in the mines below Ocean City on Earth when he struck a huge deposit of energon, to the excitement of the Autobots and their human allies. Soon afterwards, Strongarm and Skyblast units on asteroid mines in Earth's solar system were under siege by mysterious beast form Transformers, despite Tidal Wave's best efforts to defend the mines. During the subsequent attack on Ocean City, Strongarm and Skyblast ignored the destruction occurring outside their lab so they could single-mindedly focus on the refining the energon they had discovered earlier. Cybertron City

Jes's one more question.

Strongarm wondered if the Omnicons were going to be evacuated with the humans from Ocean City. Skyblast told him to stop worrying and that they have work to do. Before the Autobot team went to battle the Terrorcons, Strongarm brought newly processed energon stars to help boost their power. Energon Stars Before the next mission, Strongarm once again gave the Autobots some Energon stars, as well as some new Energon melee weapons. Another Strongarm in Desert City brought a load of raw Energon to be refined while the battle took place overhead. When Ironhide and Kicker stormed in, Strongarm said for them to be patient since they were making an Energon star to revitalize Hot Shot. Afterward he evacuated with the others, letting two human scientists ride him. Scorpinok

A number of Strongarms exited a space bridge near Cybertron City after Optimus recalled the Autobots from their outposts to Cybertron and Earth. One of their numbers powered up the Autobots before their battle with the Terrorcons in Plains City. Megatron's Sword When Kicker thought he found energon by a mountain range, Strongarm inquired about whether Kicker had found anything yet. With nothing to show yet, he went off and sulked. Later when Kicker was lost in a snowstorm, Strongarm stayed at base camp in case he returned while the rest of the team went out searching. When Kicker was located in a ravine, Strongarm was sent to rescue him while the rest of the team fought off the Terrorcons. Afterward Strongarm relayed the position of the found Energon deposit. The New Cybertron City

Though the Terrorcon attacks continued, the Omnicon began installing defensive systems on their cities, which proved excessively effective at destroying the enemy drones. Strongarm was working on these artillery bays when the Terrorcons attacked Plains City. Later, when Kicker lured a Battle Ravage unit into the energon mine site, Strongarm knocked the Terrorcon unconscious and took the energon it just found. Megatron Resurrected But when Megatron joined the war against them, the Autobots were in need of better armament. Several Strongarm and Skyblast units duplicated the Decepticon's sword, and forged copies of the powerful blade to be distributed to every Autobot city. The swords proved just as potent as the original when Megatron led an attack on Ocean City, and several Omnicons joined the fight to repel his forces. Megatron Raid When Starscream first infiltrated Ocean City, a Strongarm Omnicon was seen moving some energon around. Starscream the Mysterious Mercenary

Some Strongarms were mining in Asteroid City when Terrorcons came to steal the energon. Most Strongarms evacuated while one stayed behind with a Skyblast and was able to defeat the oncoming Battle Ravages. Battle of the Asteroid Belt During another attack on Ocean City during the construction of the energon towers, Strongarm powered up the Autobots with energon stars. Energon Tower More joined to make last minute finishes to the docking bay for the energon tower to be installed while another Strongarm followed Kicker's search for energon in the mines. Eventually when Kicker found some deposits, Strongarm and Skyblast immediately took to drilling. After a few moments, Strongarm hit the Motherload The Legend of Rodimus

During the attack on Jungle City, Strongarms needed to secure the mine. In preparation, one Strongarm and Skyblast powered up the Autobots with energon stars. Others were still in the mine and refused to evacuate. Once convinced by Kicker and Ironhide, they were on their way out when they were chased down by Battle Ravages. Another one stayed in the base and monitored their enemies' progress through the mines. He later relayed to Optimus that the energon tower had been destroyed. He then evacuated with the rest of the Autobots before the rest of the base followed suit. Crisis in Jungle City

On the Moon, Strongarm searched for Energon with Kicker. Later a bunch of Strongarm survivors of Lunar City raised the base and began an all out assault on the Decepticons. Kicker Beware! A Strongarm watched as Jetfire gave Kicker a lift to Desert City, throwing the Autobot an Energon Star before he passed through the space-bridge's threshold. Upon seeing this, Ironhide asked for one as well. Strongarm obliged. A few other Strongarms were busy on the other side of the portal, trying to figure out why the local tower wasn't giving out a full output of energon. Though they didn't manage to find any answers, Kicker and Ironhide did, and the planet-wide energon grid was activated. Energon Grid

A Strongarm attended Dr. Jones's presentation of the new Miranda II starship. He was also chose as part of Optimus's crew for the next mission. Later when the space bridge was damaged, he and Skyblast went to go repair it under cover from the rest of the Autobots. He was hit by a blast from Snow Cat and then thrown off the structure until caught by Ironhide. Kicker had to finish the repairs in his stead. Go for Unicron!

Strongarms attempted to exit the Autobots' ship, but found the escape hatch fused solid. Once outside on the new planet, they began drilling for the energon that Kicker detected. When the Decepticons attacked, a few Strongarms attempted to take down the newly reformatted Demolishor, but to no avail. Optimus eventually sent out an evacuation order to the Omnicons. The Return of Demolishor A single Strongarm assisted in conveying a damage report for the Autobots after their near miss from escaping Unicron. Then he and Skyblast continued to pilot the Miranda II as they attempted to escape the Decepticons. They piloted it through the space bridge and ended up at Cybertron, where Unicron was repelled by the planet's energon grid. Battle Stations

When Unicron, starved for Energon, began lashing out at all those housed within him, Rodimus organized a team to journey to his core and supply it with Energon Stars to soothe the titan's hunger. A number of Strongarms were dispatched for this plan. As they followed Rodimus through Unicron's interiors, they became trapped in a shifting corridor. One Strongarm tried to drill them out, but with no success. Even after Kicker got Alpha Q to set them free, the Omnicons refused to move since they were too afraid lacked in energon. Then, Arcee appeared and shook them out of their stupor. The Omnicons followed her toward the core of Unicron's head, where they completed their mission. Survival Instincts Another set followed Kicker through a warp gate to the surface of Cybertron later, but they arrived too late to help the Autobots fend off a Terrorcon raid on Primus's chamber. Unicron Unleashed

When the Autobots were in need of energon stars, a Strongarm replied from Desert City, stating that they had a thousand of them and even more raw energon. Open Fire! Later a plethora of Strongarms emerged from a space bridge to help the Autobots after they entered a rift in space. They boarded the Miranda II and followed Optimus Prime's team Ripped Up Space through the spatial tear. Team Optimus Prime Protection

A Strongarm relaxed on Jungle Planet while waiting for the rest of the Autobots. He was getting bored with all the monotony, until he noticed a random energon star spontaneously generating itself on Signal Flare's chest. The Omnicons didn't have much time to be baffled by this development before the Decepticons attacked. After the other Autobots drove off the Decepticons, Strongarm hung around while Rodimus Prime gave the newly arrived Bulkhead his thanks. Jungle Planet He remained around for the send off of Bulkhead's ship. Optimus Prime then ordered him to oversee the work on the new energon tower sites, and numerous Strongarms began their laboring towards clearing said sites. When the Terrorcons attacked, the Omnicons added their firepower to the Autobots', destroying a number of Battle Ravages. They retreated to the Miranda II when Hot Shot returned with an energon tower and set it down. Bulkhead Afterward a number of Strongarms accompanied Kicker to Rock Planet while more followed Rodimus to Blizzard Planet. Farewell Inferno

When the Autobots held a race to ease their worries, some Strongarms watched in the audience while others participated. Crash Course Afterward, when Unicron was being reactivated, a Strongarm watched from the Miranda II as Unicron pushed his way through the energon grid the Autobots had set up to protect Alpha Q. A Heroic Battle In the final battle with Unicron, some Strongarms rushed about as the Autobots began positioning the energon towers to aid the Autobots in protecting planets from the destroyer. Unicron Perishes A Strongarm was present when Misha made a startling discovery: despite their sun being gone, the planets in Alpha Q's universe were still persisting thanks to the energon infused within them. When news broke that Megatron had not only survived, but was now staging an attack on Central City, Cybertron, Strongarm space-bridged over within the Miranda II, alongside the bulk of the still-functional Autobot forces to confront the problem. Ambition

After the Decepticons took over Cybertron, the Autobots found themselves unable to even make planetfall; their enemies had unleashed an energon gas in the atmosphere that was lethal to Autobot circuitry. But the Omnicons were immune to the gas's effects, and so Optimus planned to drop a team of consisting of Arcee, Kicker, and several Strongarms and Skyblasts down on Cybertron to locate the gas pumps and turn them off. When the ship was hit by a shot from the surface, a number of Strongarms fell out of the bay, only to be saved by Skyblasts. The rest followed once the ship reoriented itself. They activated energon fields via their energon stars to slow their descent to the surface. Galvatron! They then made their way to the energon pipeline and sliced open the gas main to clog it with hardening gel. The Omnicons then held off the Decepticons long enough for Kicker to create an opening in the cloud layer of the gas, allowing the Autobots in orbit to get through. Afterward, the group followed Optimus Prime to safety underground. Break Through

When the Autobots engaged in a virtual combat game, several Strongarms cheered the combatants on from the arena stands. Distribution

After meeting up with Wing Saber's group of rag-tag resistance fighter, several Strongarms stayed behind to coordinate operations from the resistance's bunker, while others accompanied Ironhide on his mission to rescue Autobot allies held by the Decepticons around the planet. The Omega Train They continued to follow Ironhide to find a medical center under attack. Riding Skyblasts, they flew down into battle. Afterward they followed Ironhide to a confrontation against Galvatron. One of the Strongarms then shot an energon star into Optimus Prime. Decepticon Army Still under the command of Ironhide, the team encountered Scorponok on their way to Primus's chamber. Ironhide was able to hold the enemy 'bot off, and the Omnicons then powered up their god with energon stars. Ironhide Team One Strongarm waited for Primus to wake up and inquired on whether or not he should give him some more stars. Kicker advised against it, as they would need energon for themselves in the upcoming battles. Formidable

Changing destinations, several Strongarm units accompanied Kicker to the super energon pool in the hopes of preventing Galvatron from reaching it once again. They were "totally vibing" on the way while fighting Battle Ravages. Despite their best efforts, Galvatron managed to submerge himself once more in the powerful substance, and grew to enormous proportions. Galvatron Terror Once the Insecticons guarding the energon pool were taken out, the Strongarms helped Kicker cut the tethers of super energon that tied Galvatron to his new power source. When the tethers were cut, one Strongarm noted that with the pool under their control, they could now make super energon stars. Destructive Power Using those energon stars, they exhausted themselves by shooting them all into Primus. Spark They remained on Cybertron, and were witness to a new sun being created by Primus. The Sun

Cybertron comic

At least one Strongarm with a dark color scheme, along with at least two Skyblasts, aided the Decepticon Mini-Cons in the Mini-Con Civil War. Revelations Part 5

Energon comic

Strongarm, who started all his sentences with "ZRZ", was sent by Over-Run alongside the other Omnicons to rescue Optimus Prime from Unicron's Four Horsemen. While the others kept the Horsemen at bay with their energon weapons, Strongarm delivered a message from Over-Run to Prime, teaching him how to connect to the Hub from anywhere on Cybertron. What Lies Beneath, Part Two The Omnicons were later sent to Earth to deal with energon-stealing Terrorcons. Alongside Hot Shot, Strongarm saved Kicker Jones from the Terrorcons' grasp and gave him a hi-tech jumpsuit made by his father. What Lies Beneath, Part Four

Shortly after the Autobots set up a base on Earth, the Omnicons tried to mine an energon vein under Chicago, accidentally causing a series of explosions in the process. Though Strongarm and the others did work to save lives and prevent damage, it didn't do wonders for humanity's opinion of the Autobots, and the Omnicons were reassigned to Base Site One in the Yukon wilderness. Immediately upon arrival, Strongarm slipped on ice and broke some important equipment, distressing Ironhide and causing Hot Shot to snap and order the Omnicons to "get lost". So they did. After finding an abandoned town, the Omnicons were attacked and captured by Snow Cat, who intended to brainwash them into obedience. They managed to break out after Over-Run contacted their collective consciousness, but were still left at a disadvantage against their foe, who was both more familiar with the snowy environment, and better equipped to navigate it. The Omnicons nonetheless managed to defeat him by slowing down and taking in information about the world around them. They used a pocket of natural gas to disable the Decepticon, then rejoined Hot Shot with Snow Cat as their prisoner. Omni-Potent

Kicker later discovered an energon pocket in the Black Sea, and the Omnicons accompanied him there to mine it. When a ship appeared, Strongarm erred on the side of caution and assumed it was a human vessel... and was repeatedly blasted for it, as the ship was actually the Terrorcon Mirage. Multiplicity The Omnicons were soundly thrashed by him and Slugslinger, allowing the Terrorcons to capture Kicker. Multiplicity, Pt. 2 Strongarm found himself the last one standing, but before his foes could finish him off, they witnessed Kicker using his powers to fight back. Multiplicity, Pt. 3 Channeling the power of the energon vein into the Omnicons, he fully recharged Strongarm and the others, allowing them to drive the Terrorcons away. Multiplicity, Pt. 4

The Omnicons were summoned by Over-Run to save him from the energon-hungry ghost of Starscream. Armageddon Part 1 They arrived too late, finding the Mini-Con dead, and attacked Starscream in revenge. However, as an intangible energon ghost, physical attacks were useless and Starscream only absorbed their energon attacks. After a long and futile battle, Strongarm recalled the mind-link the Omnicons used against Snow Cat, and suggested using it again to fight Starscream as a single, combined entity. They managed to drain the ghost's energon and cause him to flee, but it didn't change the fact that Over-Run was dead. Armageddon Part 2 When Quintessons invaded Cybertron, the Omnicons connected to the Hub in search of information that could help them. They found a message from Over-Run, telling them that they were guides to an evolutionary step that all Transformers must take, but it was then more important that they tapped into Cybertron's core and used its energon to help the planet's population. After Optimus Prime helped them unlock the core, the Omnicons used their energon stars to recharge battle-weary Autobots until the battle was won. Armageddon Part 5

Games

Transformers: Battle Tactics

Energon Strongarm participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was an Epic character who first appeared in the "Energon: Episode 2" event, and could be recruited after collecting 650 units of Cybermetal, 350 units of Transmetal, 150 exclusive cores, and 50 cores of this character Transformers: Battle Tactics

Toys

Energon

Yellow and dark blue color scheme? Pink windows? Off-roader alt mode? Say no more: welcome back, Scorch! (Hasbro version pictured.)

You know it's an expensive ultra-premium Japanese variant because it has some extra lines on its sides. (Takara version pictured.)

• Strongarm (Energon Class, 2003 / 2004)

• Takara name: Blastarm (ブラストアーム)
• Takara ID number: SC-06
• Takara release date: December 25, 2003
• Accessories: "Bucket Beam" crane boom/rifle, two-part "Wheel Cutter" spare tire, Autobot energon chip
• Known designers: Shogo Hasui (TakaraTomy)

Part of the first wave of toys released in the Energon series, Strongarm transforms into a Cybertronic off-road jeep with a clear-plastic "energon" crane-boom attachment. This boom can also be used as a rifle in robot mode, and has a pair of Mini-Con-style Powerlinx ports, letting it activate Armada-mold Powerlinx gimmicks. The boom can combine with the halves of his "energon" spare tire to form the Ultimate Energon Weapon "Energy Axe" (only named in the Takara release). He also comes with an energon chip that can attach to any Energon mold's spark crystal, such as Strongarm's on his chest/jeep rear.

Early official product photography of the Hasbro release showed the toy with a "blob" logo, with all the areas of the Autobot face painted red. The final product, however, was appropriately masked out so each separate piece of the symbol was separately colored.

The Takara Super Link release of "Blastarm" uses a more orange-yellow plastic than Strongarm's ochre, plus he has black paint on the "vents" of his vehicle hood/robot leg that Strongarm lacks. For reasons unknown, he also features a new headsculpt: the overall design and details are unchanged, but the proportions are slightly different, giving him a smaller face, and larger nose and forehead crest. This head would be used for all other releases of the mold... though the cartoon model is based on the Hasbro toy's proportions.

In both the Hasbro and Takara releases, the hook portion of the crane-boom can come assembled with the pointy end of the hook pointing in either possible direction. According to the Hasbro instructions, the pointy end is supposed to be pointed towards the handle/cannon-barrel. The show model shows the hook pointing away from the handle. However, given it's made of clear plastic held on by thin clips, we don't recommend trying to pop it off to make it point whatever direction you prefer. This holds true for all future uses of the axe mold.

This mold was used to make Fallback, and the live-action movie characters Strongarm and Crosshairs. Retools of Strongarm as Generation 1 Brawn and Roadbuster were proposed as Universe exclusives for OTFCC 2005, but never produced.

The energon axe mold was separated and used for multiple Takara promotional energon weapons during Super Link, as well as being released in reddish-orange with the Japanese "Wild" redeco of Energon Ironhide.

• More information on Strongarm at TFU.info

Scorch cosplaying as Boss.

• Energon Strongarm (Energon Class, 2004)

• Takara release date: July ?? 2004
• Accessories: Crane boom/rifle, spare tire halves, Autobot energon chip
• Known designers: Marcelo Matere (packaging artist)

Released in the fourth wave of Energon "Energon Class" toys, Strongarm was redecoed into a powered-up "Energon Strongarm". This toy uses the slightly-altered Takara "Blastarm" head mold.

Energon Strongarm was released in Japan as a "USA Edition", available at various stores that had purchased a "TF Station" affiliation from Takara. This release uses Hasbro packaging with Japanese-text stickers to relay important legal information.

The Hasbro stock photo of this toy shows his windshield assembled differently from the original release. The actual released version of the toy retains the original's assembly. Funky.

• More information on Energon Strongarm at TFU.info

Universe (2003)

Yup, new box. Yup, buy me again.

• Omnicon Strong Arm (Basic Class, 2005)

• Accessories: Crane boom/rifle, spare tire halves, Autobot-type energon star

The "Energon" redeco of Strongarm was repackaged on a Universe-themed card and sold through discount chains in the U.S. like Big Lots!. The toy has no notable differences from the Energon release.

Oddly, his name was spelled "Strong Arm" on the packaging, as opposed to the other releases' "Strongarm".

Merchandise

Attacktix

A big fan of tennis.

• Strongarm (Booster, 2007)

Part of the planned second assortment of Attacktix Boosters, this "Super Rare" piece uses a horizontal axe-swing to attack. Though it was pictured in the first-wave instruction manuals (with its black torso paint replaced with blue), it was held back for the second wave of Boosters... which never saw release as the line was put on indefinite hiatus.

Game over. This Attacktix item has been canceled, with no current plans for release.

Notes

• Much like a small portion of other characters that appeared in the first eight or so episodes of the Energon cartoon, Strongarm appeared using an unfinalized CGI model that featured a pair of normal feet below his windshield feet. The design of said feet appears to be based on Takara's preproduction drawings, however; the rest of the legs in said drawings, uses a completely different design.^[1] This unfinalized model also appears on an Autobot scale chart for the cartoon.
  • A printed copy of Strongarm's finalized CGI model sheet that has surfaced on the web states that it had been finalized on December 3, 2003.^[1] The first episode of the cartoon released in January of 2004, meaning that the first few episodes of the show had likely been nearing completion before his model had been tweaked to match the finalized toy released in Japan on December 25, 2003.
• Strongarm appears in an Easter egg cameo in IDW's Lost Light #2.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Blastarm (ブラストアーム Burasutoāmu), Strongarm (ストロングアーム Sutoronguāmu)
• Hungarian: Bicepsz
• Russian: Silach (Силач, "Strong Man")

References