Kup (Transformers)

Kup is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universe. All are older Autobots who are members of the Elite Guard. He is sometimes referred to as Sergeant Kup.

Transformers: Generation 1

Kup
Autobot
Information
Sub-group Autobot Cars, Convention Exclusives, Deluxe Vehicles, Targetmaster
Function Warrior, Security Officer
Rank 8 (Generation 1), 4 (Timelines)
Partner Flak, Landshark, Recoil, Thunderclash, Hot Rod, Scrapheap, and Wheelie
Motto "The past is the greatest teacher."
"Every experience is worth savoring."
Alternate modes Cybertronian pickup truck, Dodge Magnum
Series Transformers: Generation 1
Transformers: Timelines
Transformers: Generations
English voice actor Lionel Stander (Movie)
John Stephenson (TV Series)
Japanese voice actor Osamu Saka

Introduced in 1986, Kup is an Autobot who can transform into a light bluish-green futuristic pickup truck and wields a musket laser. He has a wealth of experience and is well liked by the Dinobots for his old war stories, of which he seems to have an endless supply.

Reception

He was picked as the 6th worst Transformer of all time by X-Entertainment.[1]

Kup was named the 6th oddest thing that G1 Transformers transform into by Topless Robot.[2]

Marvel Comics

Note: UK exclusive appearances are in italics.

The present day, Kup made his first chronological appearance in the UK story "Kup's Story" in issue #132. Believing himself to be old and a liability to his comrades, Kup had willingly set himself adrift in a spaceship. His solitude was interrupted when he chanced upon a ship being attacked by alien pirates. Helping out, he encountered Hot Rod, who begged him to help rescue Blurr. Kup refused as he thought he would just get the young Autobot killed. However, when Hot Rod brashly attempted to rescue Blurr on his own, Kup, wracked by guilt, intervened and saved the two rookies. His confidence restored, Kup joined them in returning to Cybertron.

Kup made his first Marvel US appearance in the Transformers: Headmasters limited series as one of the Autobot crew led by Fortress Maximus. He became a Targetmaster in the fourth and final issue of the series.

He then went on to appear in the regular Transformers comic series. With the elimination of so many of Prime's lieutenants (such as Prowl, Jazz and Grimlock), Kup was promoted to Security Chief, providing the voice of experience when Prime's self-doubt threatened to overwhelm him. It was Kup who put up the most resistance when Prime surrendered to Scorponok (in the hopes of forging an alliance to combat Unicron) and who also resisted when Prime freed them during Shockwave's attack.

Kup would appear again in issue #74, "The Void!" On Cybertron the combined forces of the Autobots and Decepticons were called home by the power Primus to battle Unicron. He aided in battle when a group on Unicron-possessed cultists attempted to kill Optimus Prime.

He was later one of the few to survive Bludgeon's ambush in issue #80.

After Prime's resurrection, he went on to appear again in the Generation 2 comics.

Kup's first appearance came in the Marvel UK Transformers Target: 2006 arc. He was unwittingly sent by Unicron alongside Hot Rod and Blurr, thwarting the future Decepticon Galvatron in his plan to destroy Unicron in 1986 with aid from the present day Ultra Magnus. He would appear in many of the movie-future themed stories, time-traveling again with Blurr and Hot Rod (now Rodimus Prime) to recapture Galvatron and stop Death's Head, leading the Autobots on Cybertron against the Unicron-controlled Decepticons in Prime's absence and battling the Quintessons on Earth. Things would come to a head when Galvatron's continued presence in the past (along with Scourge and the now-deceased Cyclonus) opened a time rift that threatened to destroy Earth and Cybertron. Kup was part of the group led back by Rodimus Prime to deal with the threat, but even they could not stand against Galvatron and his ally - a clone of Megatron (believed by all to be the real thing). Only Optimus Prime's defeat of Galvatron and Shockwave depositing Cyclonus' body into the rift saved everything. In a bitter twist, Kup and the other future Autobots returned to find their own time-stream changed to a different, darker future, where Galvatron was alive and ruling most of Cybertron.

Kup appeared among the Autobots under the command of Rodimus Prime in the alternate future story "Aspects of Evil 2" from Marvel UK Transformers #224. In this story Rodimus Prime remembered how Galvatron, Crankcase, Ruckus and Windsweeper killed Blurr and then attacked Rodimus Prime, Kup, Arcee and the Battle Patrol. Enraged, Rodimus nearly destroyed Galvatron, but to keep the Matrix from being contaminated by hatred he relented.[3]

Kup appeared in Marvel UK Transformers #251 "The Void!" where he was among the Autobot crew of a ship commanded by Rodimus Prime which was retreating from Cybertron.

Animated series

Kup was introduced and featured in The Transformers: The Movie and the third season of the original animated television series. He also serves as something of a mentor to the more rebellious and youthful fellow Autobot Hot Rod. Kup is also said to be among the oldest of the Transformers, a title held in the prior seasons by Ironhide.

Kup first appears in the movie putting up a roadblock which Hot Rod ignores and demolishes. Kup later rescues Hot Rod and Daniel Witwicky from Decepticon Blitzwing.

Later, Hot Rod and Kup crash into an ocean on the planet Quintessa. He is captured by a giant mechanical squid which is then attacked and defeated by Hot Rod. On Quintessa, he uses the universal greeting when confronted by hostile alien transforming robots. Although the ploy fails in this case, it leaves a lasting impression on Hot Rod, who uses it later on the planet of Junk. The pair are taken prisoner and meet Kranix who tells them about Unicron and who is soon after taken out and dropped into a pool full of Sharkticons. A fate which later befalls Kup and Hot Rod, who escape by creating a whirlpool, thus avoiding Kranix's fate.

Throughout the movie, Kup has an anecdote for every situation, although at the sight of Unicron attacking Cybertron, he claims to have "never seen anything like this before." Alongside Springer and Arcee, he combats Unicron's internal defenses until Hot Rod releases the power of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, destroying the Chaos Bringer. Upon seeing that Hot Rod had become Rodimus Prime, Kup states "I knew you had potential lad" as the new leader of the Autobots led him and the others in the escape from Unicron just as he explodes.

Kup would revisit Quintessa months later when he, Ultra Magnus, and Spike Witwicky are kidnapped by the Quintessons. Kup and the others would escape with the help of Rodimus Prime's strike force, shortly before the planet was destroyed by the Quintessons.

While investigating a shuttle crash, Kup determined that the craft had been torn apart by death crystals from the monster known as Chaos. Kup had encountered Chaos many years before, on the creature's homeworld, planet Dredd. On that previous visit, Kup had been captured and enslaved; he barely escaped, but left the other slaves behind in order to save himself. Kup lead a team of Autobots to planet Dredd to investigate, only to find that the Decepticons were building a new superweapon utilizing the crystals. During the course of the mission, Kup confronted Chaos once again, and this time he freed the slaves. With Chaos defeated and the slaves freed, the Decepticons fled the planet, and a dark part of Kup's past was redeemed.

Kup continued to play a key role throughout season 3, serving as security director. He watched over Rodimus Prime as a sort of father figure, noting that the new Autobot leader had a lot of the same growing pains as his predecessor, Optimus Prime. When Rodimus was feeling overpressured by the demands of leadership, Kup described it as giri - "the burden hardest to bear", and something Optimus had to learn to cope with and respect.

Kup was among the Autobots injured by Superion during the hate plague outbreak. After Optimus Prime was revived, Kup was among the team of Autobots that joined the expedition to Chaar to recover the metal developed by Drs. Morgan and Swofford, previously stolen by Galvatron, which was impervious to the plague. Kup bought time for Optimus and Sky Lynx to escape with the metal, before becoming infected with the plague himself. Kup, along with everyone else who was infected, was subsequently cured by the power of the Matrix.

In season 4, Kup becomes a Targetmaster with a Nebulon named Recoil.

In the Japanese exclusive Headmasters series, the events of The Rebirth are ignored and Kup never became a Targetmaster, instead leaving Cybertron with Rodimus Prime and Blurr to find a new homeworld for the Autobots.

Manga

In the Japanese manga "Big War" #2, the Autobots Rodimus Prime, Grimlock, Kup and Wheelie, along with their human allies Spike Witwicky and Daniel Witwicky send Computron into battle against Galvatron's new warrior combiner Abominus. The Terrorcons spit "corrosive control liquid" against Computron, taking control of him and turning him into a Decepticon. Spike luckily uses his new Exosuit to free Computron with "defense spray." Defeated, Galvatron retreats.[4]

Kup appears in the Generations 2011 issue #2 "The Fierce Fighting on Planet Nebulos" where he is part of a team led by Stepper to obtain a cure for nano-virus which is effecting some Autobots. When the Autobots arrive on Nebulos they are attacked by a group of Decepticons led by Straxus. The Autobot are able to obtain the cure and bring it back to Earth, where Ricochet's team is commended by Optimus Prime.[5]

Books

Kup appeared in the 1986 story and coloring book The Lost Treasure of Cybertron by Marvel Books.

Kup was among the Autobots featured in the 1986 book Galvatron's Air Attack and in the 1988 book and audio adventure Autobot Hostage by Ladybird books.[6][7]

Kup appeared in the 1988 Ladybird Books story Autobots Strike Oil by John Grant.[8]

Games

Kup is one of eight playable characters in the 1986 Commodore 64 video game Transformers: The Battle to Save the Earth.he is also mentioned in the DS version of transformers war for cybertron in the first level when the player walks near a display board he appears as a dialog box saying the occasional cybertronian greeting :"ba weep granna weep ninny bong" and is also mentioned when ironhide says "yeah but that can be Kup's problem".

Dreamwave Productions

During the Cybertronian War's earlier years, a younger Kup served alongside Ironhide and Wheeljack under the command of Grimlock. This grouping is seen in a battle against the Decepticons at an orbital state on Cybertron. Kup sees his ally Overhaul gutted by enemy fire. Their small band fights to hold the Decepticons back; they fail, see many neutral citizens murdered and are forced to retreat.

Kup stands up against Grimlock's leadership when he feels it is needed. When Optimus Prime and Megatron disappear in a prototype Space Bridge accident, Kup follows, along with his re-established unit; the Lightning Strike Coalition. This is an offshoot of the Autobot faction.

In the present, along with Arcee, Blaster, Hot Rod and Wheelie, Kup is part of a resistance group during Shockwave's control of Cybertron.

Devil's Due Publishing

Kup reappeared in the third G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers crossover series from Devil's Due Publishing as part of the combined Autobot/G.I. Joe force trying to rescue Optimus Prime.

IDW Publishing

Kup made his first IDW Publishing appearance in his own Spotlight issue as the only survivor of a crash on a deadly crystalline planet. Driven mad by the radiation, he ended up battling demons every night - in reality they were an Autobot rescue team sent to rescue him, with Kup's mind perceiving them as a threat. Springer refused to give up, calling in Trailbreaker. Trailbreaker used his forcefield to protect himself from the radiation and to allow Kup to recognise him. At that point Kup's Spark core failed, and Trailbreaker used his forcefield to contain the resulting explosion, before teleporting Kup and himself back to the Ark-17. Kup was later shown being rebuilt, but it was unclear if his mind would recover. Prior to the accident, he is said to have trained some of the best Autobots, including Springer, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Hot Rod and Optimus Prime himself.

It is later revealed that Kup is fully functional again due to a type of Pretender shell (which resembles his original body), constructed and programmed by Perceptor and Prowl, with a metallic cigar-like object keeping his crystal addiction at bay. This allows him to lead the Wreckers once again during the All Hail Megatron story arc and the upcoming mini-series Last Stand of the Wreckers.

Optimus Prime leads Bumblebee, Drift, Kup, Prowl, Ratchet and Wheeljack in Las Vegas when a Cybertronian ship crashes containing Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge and an infestation of zombies from another universe. Galvatron attempts to take command of the Autobots, and after fighting them explains his mission to stop an undead infestation. Wheeljack sets up an energy shield around the city to keep the infestation contained, but it will only last for 24 hours. Kup recognizes a Decepticon named Bayonet in Galvatron's command as not being right, and she is revealed to be the extradimensional vampire Britt. Kup later sacrificed himself to remove the threat of Britt from Earth. [9]

Fun Publications

He is a member of the crew of the Autobot ship Eight Track under the command of Thunderclash. In the early day of the last great Cybertronian war the Eight Track is ordered by Autobot commander Magnum to recover the secret cargo of the Autobot ship Van de Graaff, which has been downed by unknown forces, before the Decepticons could gain the cargo for themselves. Crashing on the planet Beta-Nine the Autobots encounter a Decepticon Skyraider force led by Banzai-Tron. During the battle Kup fools the Decepticons by hiding a blaster set for overload in a canister, pretending it was the secret cargo. The Autobots were recovered and brought the cargo back to Magnum. They are awarded with the honor of becoming the first members of the Autobot Elite Guard.[10][11]

In The Coming Storm: Part 1 Kup is ordered by Landshark to move some boxes with the Autobot Elite Guard logo on them.

The Elite Guard Alpha Team and Strike Team did battle against a horde of ferrovorous bugs in one of Cybertron's city-states. Magnum then ordered the Strike Team to escort the Alpha Team to Space Port Bravo for their next mission. The Strike Team then reported to Magnum and Sentinel Major, who introduced them to the new Elite Guard Special-Ops Team, also called the Combaticons.[12][13]

Thunderclash's Elite Guard squad reported to Magnum after the Combaticons killed most of the Guard. They attempted to show the Council that the Elite Guard was still functional, but arrived just as Optimus Prime was appointed the new commander of the Autobots.[14]

Kup is among the Autobots present when Megatron attacks Iacon with his new weapon, Devastator.[15]

Mosaic

Kup appeared in the Transformers: Mosaic story "The Sting of Scorponok" by Josh “Richter” van Reyk.[16]

Toys

Originally designed for the movie.
A remold of the original toy with Targetmaster partner Recoil and new holes to mount him in vehicle mode.
Reissue of the 1987 mold with the inclusion of Wheelie. In this Takara COLLECTION book-reissue, Wheelie has a grey painted face with blue eyes. The vintage Wheelie figure had an all-orange face. Kup is called "CHEAR" in the box and documentation of this set. This toy also received an eHobby repaint into Orion Pax with Targetmaster Barrelroller and Wheelie repainted as Dion.
A redeco of the Cybertron Deluxe Red Alert available only at BotCon 2009. His head is molded to look like a younger version of his Generation 1 incarnation. The figure is molded in teal with orange stripes and Autobot Elite Guard emblems.[17][18]
A new mold. Turns into a pickup truck.[19]
The Japanese version of Generations Deluxe Sergeant Kup by Takara Tomy.
An eHobby Japan exclusive blue redeco of Generations Deluxe Kup with silver scratch marks all over the body parts. Part of the Autobot 3-pack with Rodimus and Scrapheap (a Wreck-Gar figure with a different head).

Transformers Animated

Kup trained Optimus, Rodimus Minor, Sentinel Minor and Elita One in his boot camp. Unbeknowest to him, he was training three Autobots that would soon become Primes (excluding Elita who became Blackarachnia).

Shattered Glass

Kup
Autobot
Information
Sub-group Elite Guard
Alternate modes Dodge Magnum

In Shattered Glass, Kup is an evil mirror universe duplicate of the Generation 1 character. He is a member of the Autobot Elite Guard and leads Autobot Remote Patrol Six. He is one of Optimus Prime's evil Autobots, but later sided with Rodimus Prime. He seems to be an Autobot of few words.

Fun Publications

Kup appears as a member of the Autobots in the story Do Over by Fun Publications. He is among the Autobots left on Cybertron after Rodimus left on the Ark with troops who were only loyal to himself. During the story he commands Remote Patrol Six who is taking radiation readings when they discover a signal coming from zone Y-AT. Kup sends Downshift to investigate.[20]

In Reunification Kup leads Warpath, Camshaft and Hound in an attempt to assassinate Optimus Prime. Optimus uses Ricochet as a shield to block a blast from Warpath, grabbing Warpath and throwing him into Hound. Optimus then crushes Kup's head with one hand as he shoots Camshaft.

Transformers: Prime

Kup
Autobot
Information
Alternate modes Cybertronian Truck, Earth-style pickup truck
English voice actor Ed O'Ross

Kup makes a cameo in the opening of the Nintendo DS version of the Transformers: War for Cybertron video game, where he issues the "universal greeting" to the player.

Books

Kup appears in Transformers: Retribution as part of the crew of the Ark, often seen with a Cybertronian product known as a Cy-Gar. He joins Rodimus and Bumblebee in investigating the planet Aquatron, only to be captured and brainwashed by the Quintessons into testifying against Optimus Prime at a mock trial. The activation of the planet's spacebridge later frees him and his colleagues from the brainwashing, and they join their comrades in fighting the Quintesson forces before departing the planet.

Toys

A new mold of Kup.
The mold for this figure is also used for the Takara Tomy Japan-exclusive Arms Micron AM-20 Ironhide.

Live Action Films

Kup would appear in 2017 Transformers: The Last Knight

References

  1. ↑ http://www.x-entertainment.com/messages/547.html
  2. ↑ Ethan Kaye (March 23, 2011). "The 9 Oddest Things G1 Transformers Transformed Into".
  3. ↑ http://www.seibertron.com/database/media/comics/view.php?comic_id=394
  4. ↑ http://tfarchive.com/comics/japanese/trans182.php
  5. ↑ Simon Furman (w), Guido Guidi (p). "Generations 2011" The Fierce Fighting on Planet Nebulos 2 (2011), Japan: Takara Tomy
  6. ↑ Galvatron's Air Attack. Ladybird Books. 1986. ISBN 0-7214-0988-1.
  7. ↑ http://www.green-ranger.com/stuff/ladybird/09-hostage/
  8. ↑ John Grant (1988). Autobots Strike Oil. Ladybird Books. ISBN 0-7214-1069-3.
  9. ↑ Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (w), Nick Roche (p), Joana Lafuente (i). Transformers: Infestation 1-2 (February 2011), IDW Publishing
  10. ↑ Forest Lee & Rik Alvarez (w), Guido Guidi & Dan Khanna (p), Guido Guidi & Josh Warner (i), Thomas Deer & Josh Perez (col), Jesse Wittenrich (let), Pete Sinclair & Brian Savage (ed). "Wings of Honor" Transformers Timelines v2, 4 (Spring 2009), Fun Publications
  11. ↑ http://www.botcon.com/BotCon09/
  12. ↑ Jesse Wittenrich & Pete Sinclair (w), Dan Khanna (p), Frank Milkovich (i), Thomas Deer (col), Jesse Wittenrich (let), Pete Sinclair (ed). "The Coming Storm: Part 2" The Transformers Collectors Club 32 (April–May 2010), Fun Publications
  13. ↑ http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/transformers-collectors-club-2010-comic-the-coming-storm-preview/18031/
  14. ↑ Pete Sinclair (February–March 2011). "Battle Lines Part 1". Transformers Collectors Club Magazine. 1 (37): 9–14.
  15. ↑ Pete Sinclair & Jesse Wittenrich (October–November 2011). "Battle Lines Part 5". Transformers Collectors Club Magazine. 1 (41): 3.
  16. ↑ http://transformers-mosaic.deviantart.com/art/THE-STING-OF-SCORPONOK-93734755
  17. ↑ Botcon 2009 Preview!, Hasbro Transformers Collectors Club magazine, issue #26, April 2009/May 2009, page 9
  18. ↑ TFW2005.com - BotCon 2009 Wings of Honor Kup Official Images Revealed
  19. ↑ http://mastercollector.com/articles/reviews/kup-review.html
  20. ↑ S. Trent Troop and Greg Sepelak (2009). Do Over. Illustrator Yuki Oshima. Fun Publications.
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