Blaster

Blaster is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers television and comic series based on the popular toy line produced by Takara Tomy and Hasbro. Due to trademark reasons, he is sometimes called Autobot Blaster. He is an Autobot who specializes in communications.

Transformers: Generation 1
Blaster's initial transformation is an AM/FM Stereo Cassette Player, commonly referred to as a boombox or ghettoblaster, hence the name. Blaster was a popular character from the original series while not featuring as prominently in the modern Transformers universe.[3]

According to Dan Fleming in Powerplay: toys as popular culture, Blaster represents a guardian of more primitive heroes, as well as the hidden power of technology.[4]

As a member of the Autobot communications sub-group Blaster frequently worked with its other members - Eject, Grandslam, Raindance, Ramhorn, Rewind and Steeljaw. He is the Autobots' answer to the evil Decepticon Soundwave.

Blaster (Tempo in France, Radiorobot in Italy, Broadcast in Japan), like the AutobotJazz, has a great love of Earth culture, rock music and other forms of music as long as it is "good, hard and loud". He's normally at the forefront of any given situation. As an AM/FM stereo cassette player, he can perform as a deck, plus receive radio signals on a variety of frequencies. Acting as the Autobot communications center, he can transmit signals within a 4,000 mile radius. Blaster is sometimes depicted as carrying various tape warriors within his deck, including (Steeljaw, Ramhorn, Rewind and Eject).

Blaster was voted the 5th top Transformer who was bad ass in the comics by Topless Robots.[5]

According to critics, Blaster has a "black coded" voice and name.[6

Animated series
Blaster's first appearance was in episode 30, "Dinobot Island, Part 1" with no particular origin, simply appearing among the Autobots. Blaster frequently spoke in rhyme resembling rap music lyrics.

He had several important appearances in season 2, most notably in "Blaster Blues", where his love of rock music and transmitting it to the other Autobots meant they were unable to respond to a Decepticon attack and prevent them from stealing a powerful decoder. He redeemed himself when he was able to transmit the location of the Decepticon base despite being captured.

In the episode "Prime Target", the big game hunter Lord Chumley captures a secret Soviet jet, leading to panic and the possibility of war. Chumley then set his sights on the ultimate trophy, the head of Optimus Prime. In order to lure Optimus in, Chumley captures the Autobots Tracks, Bumblebee, Jazz, Beachcomber, Grapple, Blaster and Inferno. Windcharger and Huffer are able to avoid being trapped. When Cosmos learns of the location chumley was keeping the captured Autobots, Optimus Prime accepts Chumley's challenge to meet him alone. Although interrupted by the Decepticons Astrotrain and Blitzwing's attempt to ally the Decepticons with Chumley, Optimus defeats the big game hunter and frees the Autobots. Chumley and the stolen jet were handed over to the Soviets by the Autobots as punishment for his actions.

He also had a prominent role in "Auto-Bop", where he faces off with his Decepticon counterpart Soundwave in a sonic duel.

In The Transformers: The Movie, set in the year 2005, Blaster was assigned to Autobot City on Earth. During the invasion by Megatron's forces, Blaster was responsible for sending a distress signal to Optimus Prime on Moonbase One. Blaster's transmission is jammed bySoundwave's cassette minions to prevent him from establishing contact with the Autobot Moonbase. However, the signal is received and Optimus Prime is able to arrive with reinforcements to defeat the Decepticons. After the attack, Blaster picked up transmissions from Moonbases One and Two. He was not seen for the rest of the film.

In episode 78, Madman's Paradise, Spike and Carly host a banquet for a visiting ambassador. Daniel gets bored and wandered off.Grimlock follows him, and they fall into a lost chamber where Quintessons banished their criminals to other dimensions. They slipped through to the sorcerous other-dimensional realm of Menonia, and are tricked into fighting on the Red Wizard's side, only to find out that he is the Quintesson criminal, who overthrew the Golden One. Blaster, Ultra Magnus, Eject, Rewind, Ramhorn, and Steeljaw follow, and using Blaster's amplification, they help the Golden One defeat the Red Wizard. With the help of Perceptor, the Autobots and Daniel are returned to Cybertron.

He continued to appear throughout the third season. His last appearance in the U.S. cartoon was in episode 95, "The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2".

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">Blaster is destroyed in the Japanese The Transformers: Headmasters series during a fight with Soundwave (who also perished in the fight) and rebuilt two episodes later as Twincast, with a blue/white color scheme as opposed to the red/yellow previously. After a pivotal role in Operation Cassette, he featured as a regular character throughout the whole series. The Twincast toy was recently re-issued by eHobby. Aside from the blue/yellow color scheme, the Twincast toy also differs from the Blaster/Broadcast toy in that the tape compartment can hold two cassette Transformers simultaneously.