Chromedome is a supporting protagonist in Generation One of The Transformers.
He was voiced by Frank Welker, who also voiced Trailbreaker, Mirage and Wheelie, along with the Dragon in Shrek, Scooby-Doo and Garfield.
Biography[]
Cartoon[]
Chromedome appeared in the three-part miniseries "The Rebirth". He was among a group of Autobots serving with Kup and Hot Rod on Cybertron. When Galvatron and the Decepticons attacked, seeking the Key to the Plasma Energy Chamber, Chromedome and the others fled into space with it, ending up on the planet Nebulos. There, they fell in with a group of Nebulan rebels against the totalitarian Hive. Brainstorm saw this as an opportunity to put into practice a theory he'd had for Autobots and organic life to work together and reformatted Chromedome and a number of others into Headmasters, with Chromedome binary-bonded to the Nebulan Stylor.
After the Key changed hands several times and a group of Decepticons set off for Cybertron with it, Chromedome and the others accompanied Optimus Prime back there. They ended up at odd with their Nebulan partners about what to do with the Key and were eventually rescued by Fortress Maximus and Spike Witwicky, who defeated the new Decepticon battle station Scorponok and sent the Decepticons off into space. Chromedome and his fellows returned to Nebulos to help dismantle the Hive.
Marvel Comics[]
Chromedome first appeared in the Headmasters miniseries among the Autobot group serving Fortress Maximus on Cybertron. Maximus convinced them to leave the war and find a planet on which to settle. They chose Nebulos but the manipulations of Lord Zarak set them and the Nebulans at war. To try and bring about a ceasefire, Fortress Maximus removed his head and deactivated himself as a gesture of peace. Chromedome was among those who did likewise, prompting the more reasonable Nebulans to agree to let the other Autobots settle in an isolated area.
Not long after, however, Scorponok's Decepticons arrived looking for them. Nebulan leader Galen struck a deal with Fortress Maximus to binary-bond the headless Autobots with Nebulan Headmaster partners, with Chromedome partnered with the Nebulan socialite Stylor. Together, they beat back the Decepticons' first assault. However, several of the Decepticons were soon bonded with Zarak's Nebulan faction. During the first battle between the two enhanced groups, Chromedome and the other Autobot Headmasters were shot down and captured while saving the Nebulan council. They were later freed by Zarak in the hope they would leave the Decepticons off planet.
The UK-exclusive story "Worlds Apart" saw Chromedome together with Highbrow, Hardhead and Brainstorm setting out to rescue the captured Autobot Targetmasters Pointblank, Crosshairs and Sureshot. Surviving an ambush by Decepticon Headmasters, they infiltrated Scorponok's base only to find themselves caught in a trap: It was them Scorponok had wanted all along, as he dragged off Highbrow for analysis. Hardhead managed to free the Targetmaster trio to aid them against Scorponok's troops and Chromedome pursued Scorponok. He managed to convince Highbrow and his partner Gort of their shared cause and together they sent Scorponok packing.
He made his first appearance in the main Marvel US comic in Issue #38, where he helped enhance Fortress Maximus' body before making landfall on Earth. Chromedome was part of Fortress Maximus' first search team who located the brain module of Earth Autobot Goldbug inside a toy car. Initially focused on locating their brethren, Chromedome and the others ended up battling the Decepticon Headmasters to protect Spike Witwicky, leading to Galen's death.
Chromedome faded into the background after that, making only a handful of appearances. He was present for the first meeting with the Earth Autobots, accompanied Optimus Prime to the MacDill Air Force Base to confront the Air Strike Patrol, and was involved in the battle with Decepticon commander Thunderwing, during which he lost a leg. He made his last appearance in Issue #75, fleeing in terror in the early stages of Unicron's attack on Cybertron, and may have been among the casualties of the battle.