| “ | Do you know why we've not been back to the Moon since 1972? Because these two, they came to my dad and they told him to do some creative accounting. Make it way too expensive to ever go back. So, he and the others shut down the American and Russian space programs. And they've been our clients ever since. | „ |
| ~ Dylan Gould telling Sam Witwicky what his father did to help the Decepticons. |
Gould is a minor antagonist in the 2011 scif-fi action film Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the third installment of the original continuity of the Transformers live-action film series.
He was the founder of Hothchkiss Gould Investments and the former leader of the American division of the Human Collaborators. His actions are what caused the Moon Program to be shut down in the first place, in addition to molding Dylan Gould, his son, into what he is.
Biography[]
The Gould family was an American family whose reputation make them rather "too unpredictable to even be spoken of in the public".
Gould founded Hotchkiss Gould Investments to make budget review and accounting for NASA. At some point, he was approached by Soundwave with a proposition: make future NASA manned missions to the Moon financially unfeasible, thereby preventing humanity from ever discovering the Ark on the Moon's surface. Gould accepted in exchange for financial gain, which Soundwave provided by tapping the stock market. Thanks to Gould's interference, the landing of Apollo 17 in 1972 was the last manned mission to the Moon for a long time. As Gould was becoming rich, he began expanding his company, turning Hotchkiss Gould Investments into the largest accounting firm in the United States.
In 1979, Gould was called upon by Soundwave one last time, and informed him that he would leave Earth for some time due to believing that matters on the planet were secure, and expected him to keep his part of the deal. He also brought Dylan with him to the meeting because he wanted his son to take over his position in the future. Eventually, Gould passed away, and his mantle of Human Collaborator American Leader was passed to his son, meaning that while Gould never achieved his dreams of becoming obscenely wealthy within his lifetime, his son made it in time when Soundwave returned to Earth in 2007.
Personality[]
If there is one thing that defines Gould, it would be his bottomless and never-ending greed. He showed willingness to betray his country and species as a whole if it means he can get rich in the process. It is even implied he was abusive to his son, as he scolded Dylan for asking what Soundwave wanted during their meeting, and would have continued if Soundwave did not order him to stop.
