| “ | "To the victor go the profits." | „ |
| ~ Rodimus (Shattered Glass) |
Rodimus is an evil Autobot warrior from the Transformers: Shattered Glass Universe.
Formerly a leader of the mercenary group known as "the Wreckers" who plundered the resources across Cybertron and preyed upon the weak, he eventually joined the Autobots.
Biography[]
In past, Rodimus led a team of ruthless mercenaries called the Wreckers. The battle of Praxus-Delta would be their last; Optimus Prime hired the Wreckers to bolster the Autobot ranks, but every Wrecker save Rodimus was destroyed. Rodimus believed in little else but his business contracts, and so despite his heavy losses he continued to fight for the Autobots. Eventually, when a spot on the roster "opened up", Prime made him a member of the elite Seeker trio.
One day, Rodimus was investigating a strange energy buildup when he stumbled onto Cliffjumper, who he'd thought long dead. After gunning down Ruckus when the Decepticon got in Cliffjumper's face, he led Cliffjumper back to the headquarters in Iacon to reunite with Optimus Prime. However, it didn't take long to discover that this Cliffjumper was not the Cliffjumper Rodimus thought he was, but a doppelganger. As Cliffjumper lay in smoking ruin, Rodimus laughed with the others at his misfortune. The Seekers were ordered to drop Cliffjumper in the Rad Zone. This backfired when Cliffjumper fell in with the Decepticons, who quickly mounted an attack. Rodimus and the other Seekers were ordered to destroy the Decepticon armies before they could destroy the launching platform to the Ark, a starship that would lead the Autobots to other planets to conquer. Ultimately, the Autobots failed to protect the launching platform, and Rodimus and the others were defeated and lay crumpled.
Rodimus was present at a pitched battle between Autobot and Decepticon forces, contesting who held the sizable fuel dump at Arch-Ayr. Things started to go badly for the Autobots with the arrival of the Mayhem Suppression Squad, whose members Dirge and Thundercracker managed to disable him. This failure was only punctuated by the timely arrival, and destructive rampage, of Wheeljack's new creations, the Dinobots. The Autobots were forced to retreat. After the ignoble defeat, Optimus Prime sent the Autobots out to retrieve the wayward mad scientist's creatures, theorizing that they still could be put to good use. Rodimus and Blurr rendezvoused with Goldbug and Jazz, who had cornered Swoop. There he joined his fellow Autobots in insisting that Jazz climb the observation tower that the winged monstrosity was perched upon. The plan worked like a charm, with Jazz managing to weigh the flying Dinobot down enough that he couldn't truly flee. One crack shot from Goldbug later, the group had bagged their quarry. Just to prove what a swell guy he was, Rodimus let Goldbug and Jazz drag Swoop back to base. After all, he'd just received a tip from Huffer as to Grimlock's whereabouts, and decided the original Dinobot was a bigger prize.
Traveling deep into the Rad Zone, Rodimus and Blurr found that they weren't the only ones following the trail of Grimlock. Blurr was suspicious of the proficiency Rodimus showed in tracking, but admitted he was mostly leery of a mutant attack. Descending into the catacombs Grimlock had holed up in, Rodimus' greed got the better of him when he spotted a pile of Energon rods. Foolishly reaching out for them, he found his hand stuck in an invisible forcefield that was slowly drawing him in and eroding his structure. Blurr theorized that it was some custodial mechanism of the catacombs, and attempted to free Rodimus with weapons fire, much to his companion's distress. Agitated by Blurr's failure to free him, Rodimus pleaded with his fellow Seeker, only to be rebuffed. Changing tactics, he instead threatened to execute Blurr on the spot if he didn't help. This provoked a response, and Blurr's retaliation freed Rodimus, though he was in no shape to fight upon his liberation. This was unfortunate, as at that moment Cliffjumper and Sideswipe found the duo. About to have his chassis dragged out of the catacombs, Rodimus revealed that he had been feigning unconsciousness, and attacked Cliffjumper. This proved disastrous, as he managed to knock the otherworldly Autobot into the doorway to a hidden passage, sending them both tumbling to the levels below.
With Cliffjumper's jetpack smashed beyond repair and the stone of the chamber not yielding to Rodimus's blasters, it quickly became obvious they were trapped, the walls closing in to crush them. Rodimus theorized that there was a reset mechanism in the walls, which with his urging Cliffjumper was able to locate. Barely managing to trip the catch in time, Rodimus further surmised that the lack of wreckage in the chamber either meant that they were the first to trigger it, or that it had an evacuation system. This proved also to be correct, as they were sent barreling down a chute. As they hit bottom, it finally occurred to Rodimus what catacombs they were in, the chamber of Omega Terminus! Seeing an opportunity, he regaled Cliffjumper with the possibilities of raising an army of bots granted life by the enigmatic entity. The little red Autobot wasn't buying any of this, but Rodimus's luck held up when he found a bottle of scraplets. Ever magnanimous, he offered his fellow traveler some, but given Cliffjumper's wariness of the creatures was able to have their healing properties all to himself. Score! Shortly afterwards, he managed to lead Cliffjumper to Omega Terminus itself, meeting up again with Sideswipe and Blurr. Rodimus again tried to sway them to his goal of using Omega Terminus to birth a new mercenary company that would beggar the Autobots and Decepticons. His sales pitch unfortunately was cut short by the arrival of Grimlock. Though they expected a thrashing, all were stunned as Grimlock transformed to robot mode and revealed a keen intelligence and newly granted ember! Rodimus tried to take advantage of the situation, buttering up Grimlock. However, the Dinobot saw through this transparent ploy, and quickly transformed, biting off Rodimus's hand. Grimlock then bade them leave, and when they refused summoned a shambling horde of undead Cybertronians. As the fight wore on Cliffjumper called for Rodimus to toss him the scraplets, which quickly devoured the dead metal of their opponents. Finally, Omega Terminus ejected all and sundry from the chamber.
Upon his return to base, Optimus Prime ordered that Rodimus undergo repairs from the tender hands of Ratchet. Much to his displeasure, he found his maimed hand replaced by a whirring saw-blade.
Rodimus saw his next chance when Optimus Prime was distracted by Ricochet's capture of Megatron, just prior to the Ark's launch. Feigning communication trouble as Prime set off for the Temple of Knowledge, Rodimus proceeded to try to trick his fellow Autobots into believing their leader had given the order to launch without him. This lie didn't go over very well, so he tried instead to recruit them to his little conspiracy. Blurr was about to dismiss this as well and contact Prime, but Goldbug dissuaded him with a blaster. After a purge of anyone deemed too loyal to Prime, the Ark took off for Earth! En route, the Nemesis caught up with the ship and staged a daring assault. With Decepticons crawling on the hull, Rodimus ordered the ship to make controlled planetfall, hoping to burn the attackers off. When said planetfall became much less controlled, the opportunist Autobot took the better part of valor and boarded an escape pod.
After exiting the pod, Rodimus successfully infiltrated a civilized area disguised as a sports car. Though not identifiable as an alien robot, he was far from inconspicuous and thus gained the attention of fledgling car thief Butch Witwicky. The young ne'er do well was confused by a detail which Rodimus had missed in his disguise: a keyhole on the car's door. Thanking Butch and his brothers for the tip, Rodimus transformed into his robot mode and informed them in no uncertain terms that they were now working for him. Driving the human brothers to the wreckage along the shores of the Arizona Bay, Rodimus met up with the rest of the Autobots crewing the Ark. The reunion was less than happy, as his earlier cowardice incited them to draw weapons on him. Rodimus begged them to hold off as he transformed and showed them the Witwicky brothers. Goldbug regarded the creatures as nothing more than vermin, but Rodimus stressed that as thieves they were kindred spirits to the Autobots. Big Daddy agreed, and with Goldbug apparently deterred for the moment they proceeded to the Ark. Finding large portions of it flooded and major systems inoperable, it was obvious to Rodimus that the vessel wasn't budging. Though his reception on board the ship was cold at best, Rodimus' new allies proved themselves when they correctly identified what Seaspray had dredged up from the bottom of the Arizona Bay: a mind-boggling amount of American currency. Though a mercenary, the barter-based commerce of Cybertron had left Rodimus with no real concept of money, and so the Witwickys set out to educate the Autobots on the finer points of larceny. Rodimus began to see the merit in not completely pillaging a resource-rich planet, allowing for greater returns. Though Goldbug was still skeptical it could be pulled off, Rodimus revealed his ace in the hole by having the Witwicky brothers replay a news broadcast detailing a new defense satellite that had recently been launched. Goldbug chose this moment to pointedly question Rodimus's ability to lead. The mercenary Autobot asked Goldbug if this was a formal challenge, which his fellow Seeker confirmed by attacking. After a few blows the more fuel-efficient Goldbug seemed to be gaining the upper hand, until the canny Rodimus deleted his opponent's personnel file from the ship database. The ploy had its desired effect as the shipboard security mechanisms painfully detained Goldbug, his attempts to order Teletraan-X unrecognized by the computer. As Goldbug conceded defeat, Rodimus allowed his release and claimed a new title: Rodimus Prime.
Rodimus and Wheeljack were able to infiltrate Burpleson Air Force Base under the pretense of the Witwicky brothers being arrested by the guards of the facility. Impounded as evidence, they were able to overwhelm the base from within once Blaster's diversionary attack was underway. Shortly after, Rodimus's human allies were freed by another Witwicky sibling, Sergeant Bruce Witwicky. The defense satellite successfully taken over, Rodimus broadcast on all human frequencies to announce that all human government and commerce would pay tribute to the Autobots. Soon, the Decepticons mounted an attack on the base to stop him, and Rodimus was frustrated by his troops' inability to repel the enemy, in spite of superior numbers. He soon found the control room he resided in breached by the fleeing Goldbug, apparently terrified of the diminutive Decepticon Frenzy. This proved to be with good reason, as the frothing little bot began pummeling them both, allowing the Decepticons' human allies access to the console. His control of the satellite usurped by Heatwave, Rodimus was forced to flee the base as the weapons system fired upon it.
Rodimus was disappointed to learn that Goldbug had gone behind his back and built a stellar spanner, which Rodimus believed would bring Optimus down on his head. Unfortunately the AR Chamber was out of commission, so instead Rodimus assigned Goldbug to salvage with Seaspray. He then got the other Autobots to create a series of diversions while Blaster led the construction of a second Stellar Spanner. When the Decepticons unleashed a new weapon on them which flooded their comms channels, even in the undersea Ark, Rodimus asked Ratchet about shutting down the comms receivers in their heads, but swiftly changed his mind when it became obvious the medic wouldn't be particularly careful what he messed around with while he was poking around in there. Despite the racket, Rodimus was still able to answer a challenge to his leadership from the largely-unaffected Blaster. After banging his head against a wall a number of times, Rodimus sent Blaster to locate Blitzwing, and Beachcomber, who was also mostly unaffected because he was crazy, to attack the Decepticon base. The signal was eventually shut down, but Blaster went missing.
On another occasion, Rodimus led a team of Autobots in attacking a new human-built Mega-Rig. Sometime afterward, someone started dropping barrels of oil into Arizona Bay, successfully getting the attention of Rodimus, who surfaced to find R.J. Blackrock offering him a deal. Though Goldbug protested that it was a bad idea, Rodimus had been learning from the Autobots' three human allies, and accepted Blackrock's offer. Forewarned that one of the Decepticons' pet humans, Sephie Beller, had enhanced herself with Cybertronian tech, Rodimus got Wheeljack to disable her with a microwave gun. As they prepared to vivisect her, Beachcomber began acting up, which Rodimus took as an indication that they were being affected by a jamming field. Rodimus and his Autobots swiftly sprang an ambush on the incoming Decepticons.
The Decepticons captured, Rodimus instructed the firing squad to take out whoever was jamming first, so he could call the other Autobots up. When it transpired that Soundwave was not the one doing the jamming, the Autobots were startled by the arrival of Blackrock in his Centurion mech armor. Rodimus ordered everyone to attack, however the situation continued to deteriorate further when the Centurion outmatched the Autobots, and the Decepticons began freeing themselves. When Ratchet sustained a head wound from Sephie, Rodimus figured they were beaten and sounded a retreat.
Back in the Ark, Rodimus summed up their current position, then announced he was doubling energon rations, and a number of other measures he was going to take to increase everyone's combat effectiveness. Leaving the other Autobots to their celebration, Rodimus went to teleconference with Alpha Trion, who had returned to Cybertron from his exile.
He and Alpha Trion discussed their plot to assassinate both faction leaders as the final step in their paths of personal conquest, with Trion's agent going after Megatron while Rodimus's agents took down Optimus Prime. Rodimus concluded the conversation by saying that once Prime and Megatron were out of the way, Trion would be free to rule Cybertron, while Rodimus would have complete control over Earth.
When Alpha Trion's plans were routed by the incredibly powerful Nexus Prime, Rodimus took an interest in him. He had Wheeljack prep a stellar spanner drive and jump dimensions to track the ancient warrior. Although Wheeljack failed to catch up with Nexus Prime, he did acquire some forestonite to help further their plans.
As with any evil leader, Rodimus had to deal with threats to his sovereignty. Jetfire in particular had his sights on undermining Rodimus's leadership at every turn. When several of the Minicars under his command went missing, Rodimus zeroed in on Side Burn the culprit. Jetfire kept trying to take control of the investigation, countering Rodimus's orders. Fortunately for Rodimus, his cowardice meant Jetfire acted brazen by comparison, and the jet-bot walked into a booby trap set by Side Burn, taking him offline and leaving Rodimus in control.
"Just thinking about all those people who said victory felt hollow when it was attained... what a bunch of idiots they were." At some point, Rodimus came back under Optimus' command, his commander taking the lead for an surprise attack on Decepticon City. Rodimus was once again known simply as "Rodimus". During the attack, he led his troops against the Decepticons, but called them off from attacking Galvatron, telling them that it was a "Prime's fight". When Optimus Prime had Galvatron on the brink, Rodimus restrained Galvatron, but Optimus ordered him to back off, citing Rodimus's words. Rodimus complied but quietly slipped his gun to the ground next to Galvatron; Galvatron proceeded to pick it up and level it at the Autobot commander. Optimus was summarily defeated by Galvatron thanks to Rodimus's scheming.
Following their particular devastating defeat, Rodimus was among the Autobots who retreated and boarded Sky Lynx to head back to Cybertron. Restoration Partway, their ride informed him that unless they lightened his load, he wasn't going to make it, and Rodimus promptly took the opportunity to dump Optimus Prime overboard and declare himself the new leader.
Back on Cybertron, Rodimus gloated about his victory until Nova Prime and several other new Autobots, all reforged by Unicron from the those that had been cast out of Sky-Lynx, materialised in front of him. Without missing a beat, Rodimus sent his Autobots to dispatch the other new arrivals while he blasted the reborn Optimus Prime himself. But Nova Prime proved to be more powerful than Rodimus had anticipated, and with a swift blow Rodimus was hurled into a deep chasm. His downward passage landed him before the visage of Primus himself, who then spoke to the Autobot and revealed that he has a plans for him.
Rodimus returned to Cybertron's surface just as it began to reconfigure itself into Primus's robot form. This change caught Nova Prime unaware; confronting his former commander, Rodimus retook his title as "Rodimus Prime" and freed his captured troops, evacuating the planet. But when Primus called upon Rodimus for help during his fight against his "sister" and fellow planet-bot Gaea, Rodimus refused outright, leaving Primus to be blown to bits by his opponent.
In the aftermath, Rodimus was reported to have fled to the Skuxxoid Cluster.
Gallery[]
Personality[]
Rodimus is a charismatic leader, but also a cynical manipulator. He'll happily pretend to be a person's best friend, only to abandon them once they stop being useful. Despite sincerely believing in the Autobot ideology, Rodimus wants to serve no one and wants to replace Optimus Prime as the Autobot leader — a fact all Autobots, even Optimus himself, know. At the same time, he has a certain sense of honor: as a mercenary, he believes in honoring contracts, and he still strives to fulfill his duty to the Autobots and defeat all Decepticons.
