Hubcap (G1)

Hubcap is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Everybody likes Hubcap. He's friendly, always has a clever joke or compliment ready, and is generally a nice, fun, affable bot to be around. On the other hand, nobody actually trusts Hubcap. It's not his devotion to the Autobot cause that's the concern (mostly), but his ulterior motives for his friendship and jokes and the like. He is at his core a con artist, and everyone's a bit on their guard around him. Some think he's this way to cover for deficiencies or to stay in a position well above his actual aptitude level... or maybe he just likes tricking people. He doesn't seem to have made many enemies with his tricks and scams, though; quite the opposite. So perhaps it is all mostly harmless.

No-one doubts that he's got very good audio receptors, though, capable of picking up even the weakest of signals, which is why he's part of the Autobot communications hub. One can only guess as to what he might do with all he hears in that position, though.

Fiction

Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers comic

Hubcap was part of a group who arrived to back up Powerglide, who was defending a dog that had been cruelly experimented on by the Decepticons from being hunted and captured by the Combaticons. He and the other Minibots combined with Powerglide in their vehicle modes thanks to the energy within the dog, and, spinning furiously, smashed through Bruticus's chest and out the other side in a flying drill attack. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #8

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

Hubcap was among the group of new recruits seen failing to take on the auto-combatant training drones on Cybertron after Shockwave's rule was toppled. Black Sunshine

2005 IDW continuity

First appearance: Megatron Origin #3

Hubcap was secretly an outlier, with the power to amplify or block any signal. Sins of the Wreckers #4 Before the war, he was buddies with Bumblebee and Cliffjumper, forming a trio of friends who would often enjoy the races together. Ghost Stories

Hubcap's dayjob was in the Senate Security Services. He was among the mourners at the funeral of his comrades Bumper and Fastback at Security Services Headquarters in Kaon, standing with his friends Bumblebee and Cliffjumper. Megatron Origin #3 He later served at an Autobot communications post, trying to radio through to Iacon for reinforcements during Megatron's "everything burns" offensive. In the end, the area was so devastated that Hubcap and the Autobots had to request evacuation from the area instead, leaving Kaon under Decepticon control. Megatron Origin #4 Subsequently, when Orion Pax took over the security forces and began restructuring them, Hubcap was among the earliest troops who assembled under him—though Ironhide didn't believe him or any of the others were real soldiers. Old Ways

In the early days of the Decepticon uprising, Hubcap and Cliffjumper's close friendship with Bumblebee came to an end when he began acting strange and they stopped hanging out with him, unaware he was the victim of mental manipulation by Soundwave. Ghost Stories Hubcap eventually took up a job as an intelligence analyst Sins of the Wreckers #4 and partway through the war, he was listed as a potential candidate for a mission that was ultimately given to Wheelie. Spotlight: Wheelie He became good friends with Pipes and the two would often write to each other. His communications expertise also gained him a friend in Blaster. Under Cold Blue Stars

Hubcap was later assigned as a cadet for training with the famous Roadbuster, but the experience was a horrific one: Roadbuster had been hearing the voice of what he believed to be Mortilus, god of death, and following its instructions, had been torturing and murdering his cadets. Violently beaten and forced to endure "mode-drilling"—constant transformation, over and over—Hubcap was taken to the brink of death, but moments before Roadbuster could "deliver" the cadets to his master, security forces under the command of Prowl arrived in the nick of time and took Roadbuster into custody. Once repaired, Hubcap returned to his work as an analyst, but one day, stumbled across a stray transmission that filled him with fury: Roadbuster had been released after minimum rehab on Prowl's orders, as a favor to Impactor. The realization that the lives of little 'bots like him did not matter in the eyes of prime movers like Prowl tipped Hubcap over the edge; he fell in with the renegade scientist Tarantulas, who also had a vendetta against Prowl, and was soon dredging up all sorts of dirt on Prowl that they could use against him. Even though Tarantulas admitted having been the voice of "Mortilus" that drove Roadbuster mad, the terrified Hubcap continued working with the spider in hope of seeing justice served, and the promise of getting a new, stronger body to use, so no one would ever overlook him again. Sins of the Wreckers #4

After the war ended, Hubcap furthered Tarantulas' plot by becoming the administrator of Debris, the Wreckers' space station headquarters, next to Roadbuster. The Wrecker didn't recognise him and assumed that with his reputation as a communications specialist, he must really want the job. Sins of the Wreckers #1 Sins of the Wreckers #4 Pipes was disappointed when Hubcap wouldn't leave to join the Lost Light with him No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases but the two stayed in touch; Pipes's last proper words before his death were a message sent to his friend. Under Cold Blue Stars

On the day that Tarantulas's revenge plan went into motion and he captured Prowl, Hubcap nervously approached Impactor and Roadbuster to warn them that the now incarcerated Wrecker Guzzle was about to break free of his makeshift prison. This was Impactor's first meeting with Hubcap, and he chose to question him about the station's other occupant, the comatose Springer, asking his opinion about him being kept on life-support. Fittingly enough, Springer chose that very moment to emerge from his coma, having been contacted by Kup for help in locating Prowl. Sufficiently motivated, Springer recruited Hubcap into a new iteration of the Wreckers and they travelled to Earth to rendez-vous with Kup and his allies Arcee and Verity Carlo. Sins of the Wreckers #1

While Arcee and Springer took to arguing over who they thought was responsible for Prowl's disappearance, Hubcap scanned the local area but was unable to find any trace of other Cybertronians nearby. Presently, the group came under attack from Tarantulas's employees, the anarchist organization Mayhem, whose bio-disguises shielded them from Hubcap's sensors Sins of the Wreckers #2 (though of course, being in on the plan, Hubcap, knew they had been lurking around). Sins of the Wreckers #4 During the battle, gigantic Mayhem member Tidal Wave became stuck in mid-transformation, and Springer, Arcee, Roadbuster, Hubcap, and Verity all ran inside his cavernous body in order to access his teleport gateway to Tarantulas's pocket-dimension hideaway, the Noisemaze. Taking Mayhem member Claw Jaw captive, they had him open the gateway to the Noisemaze, and with Hubcap's "assurance" that he had detected no transmissions from Claw Jaw to alert Tarantulas to their coming, the team headed through. Sins of the Wreckers #2

Upon arrival in the Noisemaze, Arcee, Springer, and Roadbuster were immediately rendered insensate by the Noisemaze's sensory maelstrom. Hubcap's frequency skills rendered him immune to the maze's effects, but when Claw Jaw—protected by neural blockers provided by Tarantulas—began laughing at the Autobots' plight, Hubcap was forced to use his powers to amplify the maze's effect on Claw Jaw, killing him before he could spill the beans about Hubcap's treachery to Verity. Verity's own ill health led to her passing out, and as her vision dimmed, Hubcap told her he admired her bravery in standing up to Prowl. Sins of the Wreckers #3

When the team recovered consciousness, they were greeted with the sight of Hubcap standing at Tarantulas's side, and learned the full story behind the little 'bot's turn to the dark side. Hubcap vowed that he would expose every corrupt thing Prowl had done in the name of the "greater good," intending to beam it all out into the universe for everyone to see, but when push came to shove, it turned out he couldn't back up his big talk: Prowl made him see the potential for a new war to be ignited by the information if it reached the public, and all the loss of life that would be on Hubcap's hands if we went through with it. At the last second, just before transmitting the data, Hubcap relented and set the Wreckers free. As he led Prowl through Tarantulas's base to safety, he expressed relief that it was all over and that he could move on, even if he would have to do so in jail... only to turn around and see that Prowl had pulled a gun on him, having decided he possessed too much incriminating data to be allowed to live. Hubcap pleaded not just for his life, but for Prowl to see that, if he kept committing atrocities like that for the "greater good," everything would just keep happening all over again, as new victims sought restitution and revenge the way Hubcap had. Surprisingly, Prowl relented, seeing the logic in Hubcap's words and agreeing they had to be strong enough to end the cycle together. Impactor, lurking in the shadows, disagreed; believing it was too great a risk, he shot Hubcap through the chest, and the little 'bot plunged off the catwalk to his apparent death. Sins of the Wreckers #4

TransTech

After a routine space bridge accident, Hubcap and his best mech Jackpot ended up in the trans-dimensional processing hub of Nexus 208.0 Epsilon Cybertron. They were released into Axiom Nexus proper after being properly cataloged and tagged to wait until their exit visas came through. Their tour guide Scattorshot, an Autobot from the Aurex universal cluster, explained the deal with the TransTechs, but Hubcap didn't get much further than "I hate quantum." The whole TransTech v. Offworlder system put Hubcap on edge, but Jackpot convinced him to live a little and mix it up with the locals.

While looking for someone to float them a line of credit, the two Autobots visited a local bank, only to be quickly escorted to the curb after Hubcap began loudly explaining all the ways the basic contract was designed to screw over the lendee long-term. Mixing their needs for adventure and profit, Hubcap and Jackpot journeyed to the relatively unpoliced Zone 6, and hit the scene at The Blue Deployer. Hubcap was initially annoyed at the low-level jamming field in the tavern that threw a blanket over his special senses, but soon perked right up when he saw the gambling tables. Hubcap got on a winning streak in his game, squaring off against a local Decepticon named Gutcruncher, and bet it all on what he thought was an unbeatable hand in Fullstasis. Unfortunately for their coin-purse, Jackpot wandered over at that moment and his luck-warping field (combined with the natural observer's bias when dealing with quantum mechanics) sent Gutcruncher's hand into superposition, costing Hubcap everything or, as he put it, "fifty-slagging-three-slagging-thousand slagging credits!"

Gutcruncher liked the cut of Hubcap's metal, and offered him a business opportunity to meet for later than night. Hubcap and Jackpot were in agreement to Never Trust a Decepticon when The Blue Deployer's patron, Cryotek, interjected his opinion. He convinced the duo to take Gutcruncher up on his offer and see what their options were. A few hours later, Hubcap and Jackpot found themselves with mezzanine-level seats to the start of a war—Gutcruncher was rallying all the offworlder gangs and unions to strike back at the TransTechs and seize their transcendent technology for themselves. And, as the universe attempted to prove any situation could always get worse, a photon charge suddenly went off directly behind the duo, atomizing Gutcruncher's skull and leaving every crooked crankshaft and gear-spitting gang member in Axiom Nexus gunning for their heads.

Hubcap and Jackpot led their pursuers on a merry chase, but could find no help at The Blue Deployer or from their own doppelgangers in the Nexus. Finally, they were caught by agents of the Security Administration and hauled in to the cops. Hubcap tried to explain to Commander Cheetor that his tech-specs just didn't allow this level of violence, but Cheetor was already way ahead of them: obviously they didn't do it, but obviously the gangs weren't going to stop and listen to a reasoned explanation. He was planning to hold them indefinitely, so Hubcap set off his engines to create a smokescreen long enough for them to escape. Still lacking anything that resembled a cunning plan, Hubcap and Jackpot continued running around the back alleys of Axiom Nexus, occasionally out-maneuvering the Malignus gang with sonic decoys and lucky electrocutions.

This might have gone on for ages if the REAL killer hadn't tracked them down. Black Shadow, one of Cryotek's employees, had been responsible for the execution of Gutcruncher, and was planning to add two more kills to his record. After all, icing the two Autobots not only prevented them from clearing their names and implicating him, it also gave him a shot at a second payday once he collected the bounty placed on their heads by Gutcruncher's second, Dirge. The Autobots let him keep monologuing until they were ready to make a break for it. Unfortunately, Black Shadow was a Pretender (Crossformer, really), and splitting up did little to improve their odds. Hubcap tried to outrun the flying Decepticon by hitching a ride on a passing jet mode Transformer. He used a high-pitched whine from his audio systems to pretend he was equipped with an exponential generator, forcing his unwilling carrier to participate in the getaway. The next part of his plan was a bit dangerous, deliberately amplifying his voice and identifying himself to draw out the Malignus and Gutcruncher's lackeys. It worked, and just as Black Shadow was going to choke the life out of him and / or hand him over to Dirge and the Malignus for something even worse, Hubcap activated his internal playback and broadcasted Blackie's gloating confession for all to hear. After then tricking Black Shadow into identifying his guns as the murder weapons, the jury was in—the assembled gangs tore the assassin limb from limb.

Although they had successfully cleared their names, Commander Cheetor had deemed the two Autobots "undesirables" and fast tracked their exit visas as soon as possible, sending them on their way to a universe similar to their own. Hubcap and Jackpot ended up crash-materializing atop a Decepticon named Killzone, who was rampaging through a primitive civilization. A short talk with the locals revealed the planet was polluted with a certain kind of squarish rock that glows and explodes when you hit it. As they arranged to contact the Autobot army for pick-up, Hubcap began negotiating with Yurgeth to remove all those nasty rocks...free of charge, of course. Gone Too Far

Wings Universe

Hubcap spent most of his time listening in on radio "chatter" on Earth, on the lookout for both Cybertronian and human criminal activity which he could help in stopping. Hubcap's profile in Club magazine #46

In 2010, Hubcap was among the reinforcements sent from Autobot City to Switzerland via the Geneva Space Bridge Nexus. He assisted Pyro's Autobots against the Decepticon Syndicate, and was exposed to forestonite gas that gave him new super-powers. Generation 2: Redux Two years later, he accompanied Pyro and several others to follow up on a distress call from Nebulos. Upon arriving, they discovered that scientist Hi-Q had disappeared. Hubcap used his forestonite-enhanced powers of persuasion to convince Hi-Q's lab assistant, Hi-Test to reveal the existence of Hi-Q's extensive security system. A Flash Forward, Part 3 Following clues from the surveillance recordings, Pyro and his team tracked the kidnapped Nebulon to Qre, where they were quickly incapacitated and captured by Jhiaxus. A Flash Forward, Part 4 After Sideswipe freed everyone, they rescued Hi-Q, destroyed the base, and returned to Earth. A Flash Forward, Part 6

Circa 2013, Cybertronian leader Jhiaxus cloned Hubcap to create a commander for his forces. Termination During the final stages of the Machine Wars, the original Hubcap was on Earth. He alerted Pyro to Obsidian's signal from Cybertron. A Common Foe

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Legends comic

At the Ark in the late 1980s, Hubcap attended Wheeljack's presentation of his new invention, the Transform Super Cog. Slugslinger's Ambition

Controverse

In early 2011, Hubcap manned the dimensional portal that banished Primacron to another universe after his trial. Controverse

Generations Selects Special Comic

In 2050, Hubcap joined the Autobots warring with the Dinobots over the fate of the Selectors. He could not penetrate the wall of solar energy beams being emitted by Snarl. Volcanicus comic 2

2019 IDW continuity

Hubcap attended an illegal skitter race at Swindle's. Swindle's

Games

Transformers Legends

Hubcap was assigned to Pipes' team, guarding some researchers at a coastal town when they were attacked by Overbite and Nautilator. The B-Team Part Deux

Transformers: Battle Tactics

Hubcap participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was a Super Rare character who first appeared in the "Sonic Clash" event, and could be recruited by collecting 250 units of Cybermetal, 75 units of Transmetal, and 10 cores of this character. Transformers: Battle Tactics

Toys

The Transformers

• Hubcap (Mini-Vehicle, 1986)

• Takara ID number: C-57
• Known designers: Hideaki Yoke (TakaraTomy)

Released in the third year of the original toy line in the US (second year in Japan), Hubcap is a retooling of the Cliffjumper "penny-racer"-proportioned Porsche 924 that blends elements of the 924 Turbo and 924 Carrera GT versions, giving him a new robot mode head and a much smaller spoiler that often leads him to be called a "no spoiler" variant... Although his seeming lack of a spoiler is actually scale-accurate to the spoiler found on the real Porsche 924 and 944. He is sometimes mistaken for the variant yellow Cliffjumper, and even occasionally for Bumper, who has a similar transformation, but an entirely different mold for his car parts and robot head.

In 1986, he was made available as a mail-away item (incorrectly labeled as Cliffjumper) in the "Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction" and "The Autobots Are Under Attack!" fliers packed with most boxed Transformers toys. He cost $3.50 and one Robot Point. The instruction booklet to mail-away Hubcap (sometimes bundled with Warpath and Cosmos) also incorrectly refers to him as "Cliffjumper".

The initial releases of all Mini Vehicles and Special Teams in 1986 were part of a promotional campaign that featured reflective iron-on patches as part of a contest. Later in the year, packages without bonus patches were released.

He was released in Takara's version of the line in a small box with a collector's card, rather than a bubble-card like the Hasbro version.

• Patent info, price guide, and further reading on Hubcap at Transformerland.com
• More information on Hubcap at TFU.info

• Hubcap (Mini Vehicle, 1987)

In the Mexican Transformers line produced by IGA, Hubcap was probably released as a straight redeco of Cliffjumper, sold on Hubcap cards. He came in two different, but closely-similar color schemes: white-and-black, and flat-silver-and-black. Both versions feature red faces. The reasoning for the white version may lie in the Toy Fair 1986 catalog, which shows a prototype Hubcap—still using the Cliffjumper head tooling—in white with a red face.

We say "probably" because while IGA appears to have done this old-mold-new-colors-sold-as-new-character move with all of the third-year retooled Mini Vehicles, so far Tailgate and Swerve are the only ones that have been confirmed with carded samples. All of the IGA versions of probably-Hubcap, Outback, and Pipes have only been found loose. So it is highly likely, but we do not yet have mint condition proof. On top of that, Bumblebee was also released in the same red-faced color schemes later in IGA's line, just adding to the confusion. Fun!

IGA Transformers also eventually made their way to a variety of European markets, slightly decreasing their rarity.

Given its prototype-based appearance, the white version of this Hubcap toy can reasonably serve as the Wings Universe incarnation of Rest-Q.

Generation 2

• Hubcap (Mini-Vehicle, 1993)

Hubcap was re-released as part of the first batch of Generation 2 toys in the US, this time in shiny chrome red. There's speculation that this was because Hasbro had intended to release Cliffjumper instead but didn't have the mold, but it seems more likely it was simply to keep him from looking too much like his assortment partner Bumblebee.

Likely due to the figure's production process, it's basically impossible to find a copy of him that doesn't have a pair of chips in the chrome on his front bumper/robot mode feet, as pictured here.

• More information on Generation 2 Hubcap at TFU.info

Transformers (2010)

• Hubcap (Scout Class, 2010)

• TakaraTomy ID number: AA-09

Movieverse Hubcap was repurposed as Generation 1 Hubcap in "The B-Team Part Deux".

Hunt for the Decepticons Hubcap transforms into a hot rod based on a 1930s-style car of indeterminate make, but most closely related to the Willys 77 (with some elements of its successor, the Americar). His feet appear to be based upon the iconic foot design of the Japanese mecha franchise Gundam. Compared to other toys from the live-action film series, his transformation consists of a mere three or four very easy steps.

Like most toys in the 2010 Transformers toyline, Hubcap features a standard Autobot insignia rather than the live-action movie style Autobot insignia.

This mold would also have been used to make Reveal the Shield Downshift, but that release was cancelled.

• More information on Hubcap at TFU.info

Generations Selects

• Hubcap (Deluxe Class, 2020)

• Series: War for Cybertron: Earthrise
• ID number: WFC-GS13
• Accessories: Three-piece blaster, two skis, car trunk

A Generations Selects add-on to Earthrise, Hubcap is a redeco/retool of Cliffjumper, sporting a new head. Hubcap transforms from robot into a 1980s sports coupe that is strongly reminiscent of his original Porsche 924 alt-mode, though with a front end which resembles that of the Mitsubishi Starion, while omitting the Penny Racer aesthetic. Hubcap also has molded high-performance brake discs, a surprising detail for a mainline Transformers figure. Much like Cliffjumper's other mold-mates, Hubcap's depiction as being rather small in most Transformers media means this figure is much shorter than a typical Deluxe-priced figure and is closer to being a particularly large Legends-priced figure. Like all Deluxe Class figures of the War for Cybertron subline, Hubcap includes numerous 3 mm posts and 5 mm ports for attaching other accessories as part of the C.O.M.B.A.T. System, but due to his small size he cannot easily accommodate an entire Weaponizer or Modulator figure. Additionally, he is highly articulated for a mainline Legends-sized Transformer, with over 90-degree ankles and two-way elbows, and a complex transformation scheme. Undocumented in the instructions, Hubcap's neck is actually mounted on a ball-joint, and when popped out of its housing offers a larger range of articulation.

The rest of his price-point is made up with Hubcap's large cannon. It can split into two smaller blasters and a pair of skis that can attach under his wheels. The backend of the cannon is folded out to fit in his car mode's underside to help balance when skis are deployed, while also being usable as a melee weapon. It can also mount on either his thigh or on the side or top of his shoulder meaning you can put the entire cannon in these spots. Similarly, his detaching car trunk can either be put into the robot mode's back or be used as a shield with the help of a flip-out peg. This peg and the backend of the cannon use a unique post and port to connect to each other.

Almost all of Hubcap's yellow coloring is painted, with only his head and forearms being bare yellow plastic. While this avoids color disparity, particularly in vehicle mode, it also means he is incredibly prone to paint chipping. So, uh, be careful handling him.

This mold was differently retooled into Generations Selects Bug Bite and Shattered Glass Collection Goldbug, and further retooled into War for Cybertron Trilogy Bumblebee.

Notes

• In the pre-Toy Fair 1986 catalog, Hubcap (actually just a redecoed Cliffjumper) is featured with a white car body, a black chest/torso, and a red face. Fellow 1986 Mini Vehicle Tailgate appears in Hubcap's final colors, though. The white "Hub Cap" would eventually become the basis for the non-toy character Rest-Q.
  • Also in the pre-Toy Fair 1986 catalog, Hubcap's photo shows him mistransformed: his arms are not extended, making him look like his only limbs are his legs.
  • This photo also lends credence to the theory that Mexican licensee IGA's white and silver versions of Cliffjumper are in fact supposed to be Hubcap; unfortunately, no carded samples of these variants have been found yet to provide concrete proof. Further backing this theory up is that IGA released several year-one Mini Vehicles in year-three decos... including a (very rare) yellow Windcharger on a Tailgate card, and look what color Tailgate is in that photo....
• Despite his availability with the rest of the '86 Mini-Vehicle assortment, Hubcap was completely absent from contemporary Western Generation 1 fiction. No character model was drawn up for him, and he was not included in either the Generation 1 cartoon or the Marvel comic. He was even missing from Marvel's The Transformers Universe bio series, despite having a full-length bio written by Bob Budiansky. The reason for this omission is unknown.
• Speaking of that full-length bio, it notes that Hubcap's phosphorescent windscreen acts as a television monitor.^[1] This is awesome.
• The fan-commentary track for Sony's 2006 release of The Transformers: The Movie erroneously claims that a generic robot resembling Bumblebee seen on Unicron's conveyor belt late in the film is Hubcap.
• In Fun Publications' stories, his personality and mannerisms are based on comedian-magician Penn Jillette.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Hubcap (ハブキャップ Habukyappu)
• French: Virevolto (Canada)
• Mandarin: Díshì (China, 的士, "Taxi"), Lúnzhàogài (China, 轮罩盖, "Hubcap"）

Gallery

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  Dreamwave Generation One continuity

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  IDW Sins of the Wreckers character model

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  2019 IDW continuity

References