BLAST OFF
Allegiance: Decepticon
Subgroup: Combaticon
Function: Space Warrior
First Appearance: Comic-Transformers #24
Cartoon- Starscream's Brigade
"I destroy Autobots by choice, not by command."
Profile: Removed from the type of close-quarters combat his fellow Combaticons engage in, Blast Off soars through the vast vacuum of outer space feeling literally and figuratively above the other Transformers. He exudes an aristocratic air, believing that the problems of others are too petty and foolish for him to be concerned with. He appears quite happy in his role, orbiting hundreds of miles away from his comrades. But his happiness is an act, a disguise he uses to hide his long-distance loneliness. His aloof and superior manner is a front that prevents the other Decepticons from knowing his true feelings. None of this interferes with his performance - From his perch high above, he is cruelly efficient at raining destruction down on the world below. Perhaps because of the remoteness of his targets, perhaps because that's just the way he is. Blast Off feels not the trace of remorse for his actions.
Abilities: In space shuttle mode, Blast Off can travel at 26,000 mph and stay in orbit up to eight months. From his nosecone he can emit a powerful x-ray laser that can burn a hole through a rocketing ICBM 12,000 miles away or hit an Autobot on the ground. The effectiveness of this weapon is reduced by 80% by the Earths's atmosphere. He also carries relaying equipment that allows over-the-horizon communication between Decepticons on the surface. In robot mode, he uses an ionic blaster, which shoots a beam of highly charged particles that disrupts the flow of electricity in anything of an electrical nature. With his fellow Combaticons, he combines to form the giant robot, Bruticus.
Weaknesses: Blast Off has trouble re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. His heat shielding often cracks and fails, exposing him to potentially lethal damage. He is also relatively vulnerable to most forms of artillery.
