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Nightbeat (Transformers)
Encyclopedia
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.Reception
Nightbeat was voted the 9th top Transformer who was bad ass only in the comics by Topless Robot.Nightbeat was named one of the 3rd top unfortunately named Transformer by Topless Robot.
Nightbeat was named the 3rd most useless Transformer by Cracked
Cracked
Cracked was an American humor magazine. Founded in 1958, Cracked proved to be the most durable of the many publications to be launched in the wake of Mad magazine....
.
Marvel Comics
In the comics published by Marvel ComicsMarvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
in the United States, Nightbeat first appears in issue 62, Bird of Prey. The issue is a pastiche
Pastiche
A pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...
of The Maltese Falcon with Nightbeat in the Sam Spade
Sam Spade
Sam Spade is a fictional character who is the protagonist of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel The Maltese Falcon and the various films and adaptations based on it, as well as in three lesser known short stories by Hammett....
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
Hosehead
Hosehead is a character of the Transformers toyline and television series. He is an Autobot Headmaster and transforms into a fire engine. He should not be confused with the character Cab, who is based on the same toy, but portrayed as a completely different character in the Masterforce anime...
, restore the run-down alien planet to a beautiful paradise. The victory is short-lived, as the trio are ambushed by the Decepticon
Decepticon
The Decepticons are usually depicted as the antagonists in the fictional universes of the Transformers stoyline and related comics and cartoons, and the enemies of the Autobots and the University of California Davis Aggies...
Thunderwing
Thunderwing
Thunderwing is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers series. Introduced in 1989, he was a major villain in the Marvel Comics Transformers series. Although Thunderwing was created after the US Transformers television series ended, the character of Black Shadow did appear in...
.
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
Autobot Matrix of Leadership
The Matrix of Leadership or Creation Matrix in the fictional Transformers universes is the Autobot talisman of legend, passed down from leader to leader. It consisted of an oval-shaped container, holding a glowing crystal. To open the Matrix is to release an unpredictable wave of power from the...
. 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
Ratchet (Transformers)
Ratchet is the name of several characters in the Transformers universes. According to the original creator of the Transformers names, Bob Budiansky, Ratchet was named after the character of Nurse Ratched from the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The name Ratchet is almost always portrayed as...
and Decepticon leader Megatron, lost in an explosion some time ago.
In issue 72, Nightbeat pulls a gun on Decepticon commander Scorponok
Scorponok
Scorponok is the name shared by several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All are Decepticons that turn into Scorpoins.- Transformers: Generation 1:...
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
Neo-Knights
The Neo-Knights are fictional characters, a team of superheroes in the Marvel Transformers comics.- Fictional character background :Managed by G. B. Blackrock. The team includes the following members:* Circuit Breaker...
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
Prowl (Transformers)
Prowl is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers series. "Prowl" is one of the most re-used American names in the assorted Transformers series, and its use has become almost synonymous with Autobots who possess a police car alternate mode...
to "cool it". However, his wreckage was seen as part of the rout of the Autobots on Klo. He was presumably resurrected by Optimus Prime and the Last Autobot.
Nightbeat appeared in three separate stories in the U.K. Transformers comic, his appearances there pre-dating his more notable Marvel US appearances. "The Big Shutdown" was another hard-boiled detective pastiche, this time featuring Nightbeat investigating the murder of an Autobot washed up on a Californian beach. This led to an encounter with Siren, Hosehead and a (rapidly dispatched) cannon-fodder Autobot named Horsepower, who were Autobot prisoners let loose on Earth from Cybertron to be hunted down by Thunderwing (in their first encounter), 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. (Although a UK only story, it was shown in flashback in a US issue.)
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
Dirge (Transformers)
Dirge is the name of several different fictional characters from the Transformers series. He was first introduced in 1985 as a villain in the Transformers series, appearing in the comic book by Marvel Comics and voiced by Bud Davis in the animated television series. Since then the name Dirge was...
self-destruct in an attempt to stop the Swarm.
Animated series
Although the U.S. animated series was canceled before Nightbeat was released, he did appear in animated form in Transformers commercials.Dreamwave Productions
Nightbeat appeared only in the Dreamwave comics "War Within" series as one of the Autobot rebels during the age of internment. 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.IDW Publishing
Nightbeat would receive a starring role in the The Transformers: Spotlight: Nightbeat one-shot. The story focuses on Nightbeat's investigation of the first ArkArk (Transformers)
The Ark is an Autobot spacecraft in the Transformers Universe. It has appeared as a central fixture of the Transformers storyline ever since its creation, as the Autobots main method of transport to Earth and as a base once they arrive....
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 (The Micromaster Sports Car Patrol) and captured. A shadowy figure (implied to be Galvatron
Galvatron
Galvatron is the name of several fictional Transformers, most often the recreated version of Megatron, the Decepticon leader. He was voiced by Leonard Nimoy in the 1986 Transformers movie, and then by Frank Welker in season 3 and 4 of the animated television series. Since then, other Transformers...
) oversees the implantation of a device in his brain, and then wipes his mind. The purpose of this device is as yet unknown. Unaware of what has occurred, Nightbeat is summoned to Earth by Optimus Prime.
Nightbeat arrived as part of the reinforcements summoned to counter Megatron's Ore-13 enhanced Decepticons. Nightbeat urged caution as Hot Rod and Hardhead
Hardhead (Transformers)
Hardhead is the name of two fictional characters in the Transformers universes. The first is a stubborn Autobot tank, the second a simple minded Predacon dinosaur.- Transformers: Generation 1 :...
insisted on heading down to Earth to assist Prime's unit against Megatron. Although he didn't accompany them personally, Nightbeat provided situation updates to Optimus Prime, warning him of the radio blackout - just as Prime was confronted by Megatron transforming from gun mode. Nightbeat then prepared to transport Hot Rod back to the Ark, but the impetuous Autobot was jumped by Skywarp
Skywarp
Skywarp is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers toy line. He is usually depicted as a black or purple Decepticon jet with teleportation powers.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
and Thundercracker
Thundercracker
Thundercracker is the name given to multiple fictional characters in the Transformers universes. Thundercracker is almost always depicted as a blue color Decepticon who turns into a jet fighter.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
. Nightbeat teleported him out, but not in time - Hot Rod was badly damaged, and the facsimile killed. However, as the facsimile appeared to be alive when Hot Rod teleported, it is possible that the mind-controlled Nightbeat killed him first.
Nightbeat continued to serve on Earth, surviving Sixshot
Sixshot
Sixshot is the name of two fictional characters from the various Transformers series. Introduced in 1987, Sixshot appeared in the last few episodes of the original US Transformers animated series, voiced by Neil Ross. His defining gimmick was that he had six different forms, not two like a normal...
's attack on the Ark and the subsequent battle against the Decepticon living weapon. Asked by Hound
Hound (Transformers)
Hound is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes. He is sometimes referred to as Autobot Hound for trademark purposes.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
to look into Leadfoot
Leadfoot (Transformers)
Leadfoot is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers series. First introduced in 1994, all the characters named Leadfoot have been heroic Autobots who turn into cars...
's death (killed by Galvatron
Galvatron
Galvatron is the name of several fictional Transformers, most often the recreated version of Megatron, the Decepticon leader. He was voiced by Leonard Nimoy in the 1986 Transformers movie, and then by Frank Welker in season 3 and 4 of the animated television series. Since then, other Transformers...
in his Spotlight issue), he became suspicious of the method of death, realising he'd seen it somewhere before (on Gorlam Prime). Looking through his records, he received the transmission from Gorlam Prime he had stored. Realising something was wrong, he called on Hardhead
Hardhead (Transformers)
Hardhead is the name of two fictional characters in the Transformers universes. The first is a stubborn Autobot tank, the second a simple minded Predacon dinosaur.- Transformers: Generation 1 :...
for help. (Spotlight: Cyclonus
The Transformers: Revelation
The Transformers: Revelation is a comic book miniseries, published by IDW Publishing, based on the Generation One Transformers and following on from The Transformers: Devastation...
)
Fun Publications
The Fun Publications 2008 Timelines Summer Special, entitled "Cheap Shots", features Autobots Nightbeat, Slag, Sludge and Siren. In this story Nightbeat's crew are hired by a sentient ship named Amory to relocate her pilot. After investigating they find the whole job is a trap set by the Decepticon RuckusRuckus (Transformers)
-Transformers - Generation 1:He did not appear in an episode of any Transformers cartoon. His only appearance in fiction was in the Marvel comic but more so than his fellow Triggercons; Ruckus being the most interesting of the three...
, now leading the Mayhem Attack Squad. Ruckus is holding the pilot hostage, but Slag cuts Ruckus' arm off and recovers the pilot, for which Amory pays them.
Nightbeat appears in At Fight's End.
Convention comics
Nightbeat appeared in the unlicensed mini-comic released for the 2011 TFcon, called "Changes in War". This story is set on the planet Master before the events of Transformers: The HeadmastersTransformers: The Headmasters
is a Japanese anime television series.-Development:Inititally, Takara, the Japanese producers of the Transformers toyline, imported the American Transformers cartoon series from 1985 to 1986...
. Nightbeat is among the Autobots who try and fail to stop Scorponok
Scorponok
Scorponok is the name shared by several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All are Decepticons that turn into Scorpoins.- Transformers: Generation 1:...
and his allies from escaping.
Toys
- Generation 1 Nightbeat with Muzzle
- In JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the same toyToyA toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
was recolored and released as Headmaster Junior Minerva in the Super-God Masterforce series, a completely different character from Nightbeat.
- Timelines Deluxe Nightbeat (2008)
- Released as a Transformers Club exclusive with the Seacons and was featured in a Timelines comic. This Nightbeat is a remold of Energon Hot Shot with a new head.
Transformers: Armada
Nightbeat is the name of the Mini-ConMini-Con
Mini-Cons are a human-sized race and faction of power-enhancing transforming robots in the Transformers: Armada universe and its sequels, one of the assorted universes in Transformers fiction...
partner of the Autobot Sideswipe. His first comic appearance was in issue 18 of Dreamwave
Dreamwave Productions
Dreamwave Productions was a Canadian art design studio and comic book publisher founded in 1996 and is best known for their multiple Transformers comic book series...
's Transformers: Armada
Transformers: Armada
Transformers: Armada, known in Japan as , is a Transformers animated series, comic series and toy line which ran from 2002–2003. It was originally scheduled for 2001, however was delayed until early-2002...
comic.
Nightbeat's Dreamwave bio presented him as small and physically unimpressive even for a Mini-Con
Mini-Con
Mini-Cons are a human-sized race and faction of power-enhancing transforming robots in the Transformers: Armada universe and its sequels, one of the assorted universes in Transformers fiction...
: however, his raw courage more than makes up for this. Unfortunately, this usually means goading his partner Sideswipe into more and more daring acts - usually leading to the two landing in a lot of trouble.
According to Hasbro officials the names of Side Swipe and his Mini-Con partner were accidentally swapped, meaning the larger blue and yellow Autobot was intended to be Nightbeat.
Animated series
In episode #31 called "Past" Side Swipe used Nightbeat to activate his dragster mode.Dreamwave Productions
Nightbeat appeared among the Mini-Cons in issue #18 of the Transformers: Armada comic book who aided Over-Run using the Mini-Con Matrix in the defeat of UnicronUnicron
Unicron is a fictional character from the Transformers universe and toyline. Created by Floro Dery, he was introduced in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie as the film's main antagonist. Unicron is a prodigiously large robot whose scale reaches planetary proportions, and he is also...
.
Toys
- Armada Deluxe Sideswipe with Mini-Con Nightbeat (2003)
- The Mini-Con Partner of Side Swipe. This toy was later redecoed as Micron Booster Gauge, who was repurposed as Skidmark by the Transformers Collectors Club.
- Universe Deluxe Treadshot with Mini-Con Nightbeat
- 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.
2007 Transformers film
Night Beat 7 (this time with a space) is the name of an Autobot who turns into an MP3 audio player.The Autobot Transformer Night Beat 7 makes it his job to expose Decepticons to the light. It constantly scans the world for evidence of evil, from the faint time particle trail left by Meantime to the sonic leftovers of the mischievous Booster X10.
Note: Night Beat 7 is one of the few Real Gear Robots who is named after a legacy character. Most sport original names. Night Beat 7 is also currently the only Transformers designed for the 2007 Transformers film toy line to appear in fiction not related to the film.
Fun Publications
Night Beat 7 was a main character appearing in Fun PublicationsFun Publications
Fun Publications is a publishing company that runs the Transformers Collectors Club and G.I. Joe Collectors Club under licensefrom Hasbro. Besides releasing comics, Fun Publications releases exclusive toys and runs conventions for their clubs....
fiction Withered Hope, a text and comic based story set on Transtech
Transtech
Transtech is an unreleased line of toys under the Transformers umbrella.-History:After the Beast Machines line ended, Hasbro planned a follow-up series called Transtech. The Transtech concept was a line intended to take Transformers to their most futuristic looking bodies and more plausible designs...
Cybertron
Cybertron
Cybertron is a fictional planet, the homeworld of the Transformers in the various fictional incarnations of the metaseries and toyline by Hasbro. In the Japanese series, the planet is referred to as "Cybertron" pronounced as セイバートロン Seibātoron...
. Night Beat 7 was the personal MP3 and employee of Crystal Widow
Crystal Widow
Crystal Widow is a fictional character from the Transformers: Universe toy and comic book line.-Transformers: Universe:Crystal Widow's box describes her as having changed sides in her past, presemably from Predacon or Decepticon to Autobot. She has the ability to heal Transformers using energon...
.
Reception
GamesAxis Unwired Magazine said Read Gear Robots would make Soundwave turn over in his plastic grave.Toys
- Transformers Real Gear Robot Night Beat 7 (2007)
- A redeco of Booster X10. This toy was designed by Alex Kubalsky.
- In December 2007 oversized remakes of this toy started being sold out of China. Additionally a normal sized remake was sold which was in Generation 1 Nightbeat's blue and yellow.
Transformers: Timelines
Shattered Glass Nightbeat is an evil counterpart of Generation 1 Nightbeat.Nightbeat carries a stun gun and is able tell if he is being lied to with uncanny accuracy. He also suffers from reoccurring cosmic rust, which must be treated to keep it from flaring up.
Nightbeat speaks with an accent inspired by the gangster characters of Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
. Nightbeat also sports an Autobot logo with a dagger through it, referencing the Empire symbol seen in the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
episode "Mirror, Mirror".
Fun Publications
Nightbeat first appeared as a member of Optimus Prime's forces defending the Ark launch site in the 2008 Fun PublicationsFun Publications
Fun Publications is a publishing company that runs the Transformers Collectors Club and G.I. Joe Collectors Club under licensefrom Hasbro. Besides releasing comics, Fun Publications releases exclusive toys and runs conventions for their clubs....
Transformers: Timelines comic story "Shattered Glass."
Nightbeat returned in the story Do Over where he reported to Optimus Prime that Rodimus and his traitors had stolen the Ark and went to Earth without Optimus and those loyal to the Autobot leader. "They... they got the drop on us, see? Threw us a fast one, pulled the plug on our optics, dumped us out of the ship! Everyone who they thought was too loyal to ya to threaten, nyeah! Me, Grimlock, Ironhide… lots of us, see?"
Nightbeat appeared in Reunification working on the Omega Doom
Omega Doom
Omega Doom is a 1996 film by Albert Pyun, starring Rutger Hauer who plays a robot who, during a nuclear winter, plays both sides of a robot civil war against each other in a small town...
project.
Toys
- Timelines Deluxe Nightbeat (2008)
- The Botcon 2008 customizing class exclusive. He is a redeco of the club exclusive Nightbeat figure, who in turn is a remold of Energon Hot ShotHot Shot (Transformers)Hot Shot is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All are young Autobot cars.-Transformers: Robots in Disguise:In Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Hot Shot is the leader of the Spy Changer team....
.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Nightbeat an Autobot car. He seems to be unrelated to the Autobot media player called Night Beat 7.The universe is full of puzzles. Nightbeat lives to solve them. Highly intelligent and curious, he prefers to work independently of the other Autobots since they usually just get in his way. He is a master of investigative techniques who prefers the boredom of a stakeout to the frantic pointlessness of a battle any day.
Toys
- Revenge of the Fallen Scout Nightbeat (2009)
- A redeco of the Decepticon Scout Dead End. Pictures of him first appeared on the internet in May of 2009. The art on the back card of this toy doesn't have the chest fully transformed to robot mode.