Chase (G1)

Chase is an Autobot Throttlebot from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Yes, but do his best stories feature a guy named Keith?

As a warrior, Chase's (aka Roadburn) only outstanding asset is his staunch courage, but it's his attitude that earns him his many friends in the Autobot ranks. Yes, he's a motormouthed braggart and rather full of himself, but his storytelling skills are so fantastic that few mind when he monopolizes the conversation. Combine that ability with the enthusiastic, superficial friendliness and charisma of a talented politician, and it's no wonder Chase is well liked, despite his flaws.

Many of Chase's missions are rather routine; radar is his specialty. He can detect objects as small as Toaster on the horizon, and see a tennis ball two miles away—three of them, in fact, at the same time, in three different directions. He seldom needs to engage the enemy closely, but even the least dangerous "milk run" comes alive with purpose and excitement when Chase is telling its story.

Impulsive and quick-thinking, Chase's 240 mph top speed often places him far ahead of his comrades on his scouting missions, and frequently he's the first to roar down a promising byway, heedless of possible ambush or hazards. Sometimes this leads him into trouble. Most often this trouble is mechanical; Chase's body, especially his drivetrain, just isn't engineered to keep up with his mind.^[1]

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

I'm not white!

Thanks to a Decepticon Titanium-class Destruction Drone, Chase and his fellow Throttlebots were captured during one of their attacks on fuel storage depot, and brought to the Chief Decepticon Fuel Auditor Ratbat. An outbreak of Scraplets had begun on Earth, and Ratbat ordered them to travel there and destroy all of the infected—or he would destroy the planet itself to prevent spread of the deadly disease. Given new Earth-style vehicle forms and canisters of corrosive acid, Chase and the others arrived on Earth. Chase stayed at the primary site of the infection with Freeway and Searchlight, while Rollbar and Wideload went to track another Transformer who'd left the scene. Rollbar and Wideload eventually returned with Goldbug, his human friend Charley Fong, and a cure for Scraplets: the "rare chemical" water. With this knowledge, they managed to destroy all the Scraplets with help from another of the Earthbound Autobots' allies, G.B. Blackrock. The Cure!

Chase and the other Throttlebots accompanied Goldbug in checking out Mount Verona, where Ultra Magnus and Galvatron had been found encased in lava. Goldbug initially decided to just monitor from a distance and let the Decepticons destroy Galvatron, but when it became clear humans could be in danger, he led Chase and the others to the scene, where they forced Onslaught to leave the humans alone and withdraw at gunpoint. Ladies' Night

Chase and the Throttlebots continued to travel on Earth with Goldbug and Blaster, but that only made them targets for virtually everyone—the Decepticons, the Autobot faction Goldbug had gone AWOL from, and the humans who hated and feared all Cybertronians. After escaping one of the Combaticons, Goldbug suggested they hide in a used car lot (because that worked so well for him before). Astonishingly the owner, Big Steve Ludwig, noticed a giant earthmover dump truck magically appearing on his lot, and soon put two-and-two together after receiving a notice from the local RAAT boys. After pouring sugar into the Autobots' gas tanks, he summoned the proper authorities. Chase and the other Throttlebots were carted off and taken prisoner by RAAT's parent organization, Triple-I. Used Autobots

Or orange!

Still not recognizing the difference between Autobots and Decepticons, III's bigwigs publicly threatened to execute their prisoners if any more robot attacks took place. Guess what—the Decepticons were willing to call their bluff. After the inevitable raid, Forrest Forsythe ordered the Autobots crushed into cubes. However, a sympathetic (and borderline competent) agent named Walter Barnett realized Chase and his friends were telling the truth about there being two factions of robots, and salvaged their cerebro-circuits before the execution, transferring their brain chips into electronic toy cars. Barnett then brought the Autobots in his care to meet with Buster Witwicky, longtime friend of their Earthbound forces. The reunion was cut short by the Predacons, who had caught the Throttlebots' scent, and sought to crush them dead in their vulnerable state. The Throttlebots managed to outmaneuver their pursuers through a shopping center. Barnett and Buster were separated during the chase, with most of the Throttlebots winding up in Barnett's custody once more. Toy Soldiers!

Chase and the rest of the Throttlebots remained in Barnett's possession for some time. The human brought the five of them to consult on a hostage situation after Buster wound up on the Decepticons' island base. Before any of them had the chance to dispense any advice, the island transformed into a spacecraft and launched, with Buster still on board. The Desert Island of Space! The Throttlebots were apparently returned to the Autobots at some point, and reconstructed into new bodies replicating their old ones. When an Underbase-powered Starscream announced that he would "destroy the cities of New York, Tokyo, and Buenos Aires," Chase was among the allied Autobot/Decepticon teams sent ahead to Japan to try and stop him. He and the rest of the Throttlebots didn't get to put up much of a fight, as they were all destroyed by Starscream before even getting a chance to transform. Dark Star

Marvel UK future timelines

Or green!

In 2008, Chase was active at Autobot City on Earth when the Quintessons raided the base. He was presumably disabled with the rest of the Autobots present. Space Pirates!

Marvel Generation 2 comic

Or white again!

Years later, a resurrected Chase was part of a detachment sent to Earth to deal with the menace of a revived Megatron. The team was very surprised to find that this Megatron guy was actually pretty powerful, and soon started making mincemeat out of them. Chase got his leg blown off, and told the rest of the team not to wait for him. He kept firing as Megatron approached, only to get blown to smithereens at point blank range for his troubles.

Megatron then examined Chase's snapped-off leg, looking for a soil sample that would let him locate the Autobots' starship. An enraged Brawn would beat on Megatron, declaring one punch was "for Chase". Final Transformations

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Transformers cartoon

Voice actor: Rob Paulsen (English, casting only), Kunihiko Yasui (Japanese)

Finally, I'm red... but it's TOO MUCH RED!!!

Chase was with the Throttlebots when they were ordered to retrieve the body of Optimus Prime, but they ended up being infected by the Hate Plague, which made Chase even redder and also prone to attack his comrades. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1 Chase and the Throttlebots were later cured when Optimus unleashed the wisdom of the Matrix of Leadership The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2, and helped defend Autobot City from a Decepticon attack. The Rebirth, Part 1 Chase was later present as Cybertron was re-energized and a new Golden Age was ushered in. The Rebirth, Part 3

Japanese cartoon continuity

The Headmasters cartoon

Voice actor: Tomomichi Nishimura (Japanese)

Why can't anyone color me right consistently??

Chase and his Throttlebot buddies were seen on Cybertron during a Decepticon attack. They tried to fight back against the new Decepticon Headmasters, but didn't fare well against Mindwipe's hypnosis. Four Warriors Come out of the Sky The Throttlebots were dispatched again to protect their home planet from the Madmachine, but they couldn't even scratch its armor. Instead they opted for scrapping with the machine's Headmaster guards, and did remarkably better than in their first battle. The Great Cassette Operation

Later, the Throttlebots traveled to Earth to fight some Decepticons, but ended up sneaking into space to stop the Decepticon meteorite Metamorphose by themselves for the fame and glory. However, when Chase and Wideload jumped out of their vessel to take care of the meteorite, they quickly learned about its power to twist and deform metal. Approach of the Demon Meteorite Chase and the Throttlebots were eventually twisted back into shape, as they reappeared much later on Earth. They challenged Predaking, guardian of a Death Tower, but were swiftly defeated. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 1)

Legends comic

In 2021, a villain posing as Universal Peace Alliance chairman Spike Witwicky declared Goldbug a traitor and ordered the other Throttlebots to destroy him, bringing them to the Legends World to confront their leader. However, the Throttlebots were reluctant to go through with it and stayed out of the fight, with Chase commenting that even someone as impulsive as himself had trouble following such an order. Bonus Edition Vol. 54

2005 IDW continuity

First appearance: Spotlight: Metroplex

Finally!!!

Chase was assigned to a team known as the Throttlebots stationed on Orvus Base, a research facility in orbit around Salvvatan VI. The research was classified several levels above top secret, and so the Throttlebots didn't even know what they were helping to safeguard. The point was apparently rendered moot when Sixshot arrived at Orvus, and slaughtered the entire research team. Chase and the Throttlebots took off in a tiny shuttle looking for a chance at survival. They found it a few planetary orbits away on Salvvatan VIII. Curiously, the nearby planet showed signs of life...Transformer life. The Throttlebots found a ghost town stocked full of energon and supplies. Fully refueled, Chase was more optimistic about their chances, but Searchlight spoke from experienced and told them that, with Sixshot, they were definitely still slagged. Sixshot soon arrived and proved as deadly as his reputation. Chase was the first of the Throttlebots taken down by the Six Changer's attacks. They only survived thanks to the intervention of the mysterious and powerful Metroplex. Spotlight: Metroplex

The departing Titan left the surviving Throttlebots a shuttle to leave, however they were pursued by Sixshot. Finally killing the Decepticon, the Autobots crashed onto a world of giant plants in the process. Still far from their home and failing to make contact with high command, the group came to the conclusion that the Autobots had lost the war.

After ten years, Chase noticed one of the trees move, but was not taken seriously by the rest of the group. However, it was soon undeniable that they were under attack. Under siege by beast mode Transformers, Chase carried Goldbug to safety long enough for them to be saved by an unlikely group led by Prowl. The Dead Come Home, Part 1 (of 2) While Prowl and Stardrive drove off the Maximals, Wheelie and Garnak helped the Throttlebots onto the Peaceful Revolution. Chase was shocked to find the planet had a proper name as they were carried away from it. The Dead Come Home, Part 2 (of 2)

Toys

The Transformers

• Chase (Throttlebot, 1987)

• Takara ID number: C-94
• Known designers: Takayuki Ishizawa (TakaraTomy), Takashi Matsuda (initial concept)

Released in the fourth year of Hasbro's US The Transformers toyline (third year in Europe and in Takara's Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers line), Throttlebot Chase transforms into a Ferrari Testarossa sports car. Like all Throttlebots, his primary gimmick is a pull-back motor that sends him zipping forward in either car or robot modes when placed on smooth surfaces.

The Throttlebots were part of the Decoy promotion in 1987, where the carded toys came with a soft-rubber figurine. The Throttlebots were the only team to come with either Autobot or Decepticon Decoys; the other toys in the promotion only came with Decoys of the same faction they belonged to.

In Japan, they were also the focus of the "Throttlebot Promotional Sales Campaign", where buying a Throttlebot at select Japanese retailers (sadly, we do not know which retailers these were) got the buyer one of six random all-white Autobot Master Warriors free. These promotional toys are now among the most expensive Transformers toys ever "mass"-released, if not the most expensive (especially when size is taken into account).

• More information on Chase on TFU.info

• Chase (Throttlebot, 1991)

In 1991, Chase and the other Throttlebots were re-released in the European market as part of the Classics line.

This variant of Chase was retooled to have the rubsign indent removed, the heat-sensitive decal replaced with a normal factory-applied paper faction sigil decal.

Titans Return

Chasing cons while he burns the road.

• Roadburn (Legends Class, 2017)

• Known designers: John Warden (Hasbro)

Part of the fourth wave of Titans Return Legends Class figures, "Roadburn" is a retool of the previous wave's Bumblebee mold with a new head based on Throttlebot Searchlight, in homage to the long-running mix-up between his and Chase's heads. As with some of the Titans Return Legends Class figures, Roadburn features an opening canopy for his cockpit, which allows any Titan Master figures to ride within his vehicle mode. He also features 5 mm post-compatible hands, although the red piece can prevent longer posts from going through his hands. Also, take note that the vehicle back wings/shoulder kibble can interfere with wielding weapons. Swapping the shoulder parts can improve tolerances for posing, but it can prevent the toy from fully transforming into vehicle mode.

Roadburn features a sculpted license plate that says "100 STRA", a reference to Bumblebee's live-action movie counterpart which Roadburn retains due to that part being unchanged from Bumblebee.

The decision to change Roadburn's name from Chase to his new monicker was likely made very late in the design process, as the instruction booklet in some samples states his name as Autobot Chase. This was likely so that kids would not confuse him with a different, currently-available Chase.

Notes

• According to Marvel Comics documentation from May 1985, "Rough Rider" was a preliminary name proposed by Bob Budiansky for this character. Presumably, Hasbro rejected "Rough Rider" for being a sexual term just as happened to "Highbeams", who became Searchlight.
• Chase's character model uses Searchlight's head, and vice versa. This mis-matched design was used for all his major appearances in classic media, including the Marvel comic, the animated series, and even Japan's The Headmasters anime. The Marvel comic gets an extra-special mention, though, for swapping his color scheme with Searchlight's, too, so he always appears white instead of red... but only in robot mode! When he's in car mode, he's still red!

Foreign names

• Japanese: Chase (チェイス Cheisu)
• English: Carlo (Omni Productions dub)
• French: Poursuite (Canada, "Pursuit")
• Italian: Scoutbot
• Mandarin: Zhuībǔ (追捕, "Chase")

References

External links

• Chase Must Die - A scholarly look at the Throttlebots.