Buster Witwicky (G1)
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| The name or term "Buster" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Buster (disambiguation). |
- Buster Witwicky is a human friend of the Autobots from the Marvel portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
Unlike his father Sparkplug, Buster Witwicky doesn't understand cars—or for that matter, anything mechanical. Buster prefers reading books, much to the frustration of his father. If only Buster were interested in something useful, like auto repair. Instead, foolish Buster, if he keeps on reading, may end up with a paid scholarship to college. That is a road that could only lead to ruin.
He has an older brother, Spike, who is away at college, and another brother Butch who is just... away. Buster's favorite band is Purple Fungus.[1]
Contents |
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Marvel The Transformers comics
Buster lived in Portland, Oregon, with his father, Sparkplug Witwicky, in a house adjacent to the family business, S. Witwicky Auto Repairs & Tow Service. One fateful day, Buster returned home late from school, and his father was sore. Buster tried to explain that he sometimes had to work after school at the library because he was in the literary scholarship program, but his father was unimpressed. Despite Buster's mechaniphobia, Sparkplug insisted that Buster be home to help the business. His father worried that his son's nose was stuck in a book, and that he was raising someone oblivious to the real world and its demands of him.
That night, Buster and his girlfriend Jesse were making out at the Community Drive-In (blocking the movie A Kiss for Us from view of his friend "O") when their car was hit from behind by a yellow Volkswagen Beetle. Buster got out to investigate and discovered that the little car was unmanned. There was no one inside! Suddenly, the drive-in theatre became a war zone as jets appeared and attacked. During an explosion, the Beetle was damaged. Buster was stunned to realize the car seemed to be crying (the puss), and leaking a strange substance which was not oil! Buster sent his friends to get help, while he drove the Beetle home, figuring his father could fix it.
His father, Sparkplug, was overjoyed at first when he stumbled across Buster and the Beetle in his garage. Had his son decided to follow in his footsteps? But before Buster could explain, the damaged Volkswagen Beetle spoke to them. "Help me, please! I'm dying!" The Transformers
Buster convinced his father to fix the Autobot, who was called Bumblebee, and the boy quickly became friends with him. After being repaired, the Autobot assumed his robot form, convincing Buster's father through and through that his son hadn't been making up the stories he had been telling him about robots from outer space. Bumblebee was thankful for the humans' assistance, though he still bemoaned the fact that he was low on fuel, prompting Sparkplug to suggest that he might be able to convert gasoline into something consumable for the Autobots. Bumblebee relayed this message to his commander, and soon Buster got to meet the rest of the Autobots, including Optimus Prime. Unfortunately, Megatron and his Decepticons caught word of Sparkplug's offer, and staged an attack on the Witwickys' street. Buster and Sparkplug became embroiled in the Autobot/Decepticon conflict, and the boy was forced to watch helplessly as his father was kidnapped by the evil robots. Power Play! Buster was brought to the Ark while an Autobot rescue party attended to retrieving his father. Already anxious over the events that had transpired, Buster was left feeling small and insignificant within the Autobots' cyclopean base. Nonetheless, he was asked to wait patiently out of harm's way. Meanwhile, the Decepticons forced Sparkplug to duplicate the fuel-converting process for them, but the mechanic tricked them by tampering with the fuel. Sparkplug was then rescued by Gears and Spider-Man, and reunited with Buster. Prisoner of War! However, upon learning that Sparkplug had "helped" Megatron, the Autobots began arguing among themselves, debating Sparkplug's loyalties. The heated argument caused Sparkplug to suffer a heart attack (though unleashing a wall of flame in front of him didn't help), and he was rushed to Greater Portland Medical Center by Ratchet and Buster.
Retreating to his room, Buster practiced on the simpler electronics, beginning with a tape deck. He quickly gave up in frustration, as even that proved too difficult for his skill level... only to suffer another seizure. Upon awakening, Buster was befuddled to see that the taped deck had miraculously been repaired. The Wrath of Guardian!
Sparkplug had been in the hospital for three weeks, and Buster was at wit's end with the irate customers who needed their cars repaired. Just as he was grousing about his mechanical ignorance again, suddenly, the seizures returned, but this time with a purpose. Buster had an epiphany, and as mechanical parts levitated around him in the garage, he suddenly knew exactly how to fix the service station's cars. DIS-Integrated Circuits! Finally, Sparkplug was released from the hospital, only to find that his son had miraculously fixed all the cars during his absence. After being overjoyed at his son's apparent following in his footsteps, Sparkplug left Buster alone to wonder about how this all was possible. The Next Best Thing to Being There!
Soon, Sparkplug was bringing his son along with all of his work-related duties, such as towing cars off the interstate. Buster angsted about how to tell his father that he never learned how to fix cars the old-fashioned way, but that he had somehow acquired the power to understand and telekinetically manipulate machines of any kind. It must have had something to do with the wires that Optimus Prime had asked him to touch to his temples... Meanwhile, the Decepticon Shockwave came to the same conclusion, and, desiring the life-giving powers of the Creation Matrix within Buster for himself, sent Laserbeak and a lifeless drone, Jetfire, to kidnap him.
Buster was surprised to see Jesse arrive at their home on her bicycle, especially after he'd yelled at her the other day. His dad dismissed Buster from his duties so the two could spend time together, and the pair bicycled away. As Jesse and Buster biked, Buster sensed that Jesse was avoiding discussing their previous argument, and so he used his Creation Matrix powers to unlink her bike's chain. Sure enough, this broke the ice, and the two apologized. And then they "apologized." Their snogging was interrupted by (d'oh!) Buster's father and two Autobots, Bumblebee and Bluestreak, who came to warn them that Buster was being targeted by the Decepticons. Sure enough, Laserbeak and Jetfire arrived and overwhelmed the Autobots. Bumblebee goaded Buster into revealing his hidden power, and at the last moment, Buster used the Creation Matrix to disassemble Jetfire into his component pieces. Buster apologized to his father for deceiving him, and the Autobots enlisted him to help find Optimus Prime's head. Buster reassembled Jetfire and took him under his control. Brainstorm!
But as Jetfire flew Buster to Optimus Prime and Shockwave, the jet's programming reasserted itself to fight off several fighter pilots. Jetfire's maneuvering was so wild that that Buster blacked out, and he was brought to Shockwave's base unconscious. When he awoke, Buster was strapped into machinery designed to forcefully drill out the Creation Matrix from his brain. Learning that Shockwave had built a false head programmed to ambush the Autobots upon its placement onto Optimus's body, Buster retook control of Jetfire and used him to knock Shockwave away. He then had the drone take Optimus's real head out to the battlefield. Shockwave followed Jetfire out of the building, and in the Decepticons' absence Buster was freed by the plant's workers. Optimus Prime soon returned, whole and triumphant over Shockwave, to thank Buster for keeping the Matrix safe. At the Autobot's request, Buster gladly returned the Creation Matrix to its rightful holder. Prime Time!
Afterwards, Buster shared the concept of Christmas with the Autobots, and helped set up a makeshift Christmas tree made out of crystals and metal rods within their base. Optimus indulged Buster by wearing a big red suit, though several of the other Autobots were left dumbfounded over the holiday. Having promised his father to help deliver presents on Christmas Eve, Buster and Jazz then headed out to the small town of St. Petersburg. But Jazz wasn't prepared for driving on the slick roads, and spun out of control upon arrival. Buster was thrown out of the vehicle and knocked unconscious. Happening upon the scene, Circuit Breaker misinterpreted the situation, believing that Jazz had deliberately harmed Buster. She attacked, but Buster recovered in short order and begged her to stop. He managed to talk her down as the clock struck midnight. Buster wished Circuit Breaker a merry Christmas, who in turn gave Jazz another reprieve from her wrath. Christmas Breaker!
Wheeljack and Ratchet built a robotic exosuit for Buster, much to Prime's disapproval. In an attempt to prove himself, Buster took the suit, went to the Decepticon Fortress, and managed to defeat Frenzy in battle. Unfortunately he was then attacked and pursued by Shockwave. He managed to evade his assailant for the entire night, but his last-ditch effort to down Shockwave by expending all of his armor's power ended in failure. The suit was left in ruins, but Shockwave was still battle-ready. Only the intervention of the Autobots saved his life, as they arrived just as Shockwave was readying to squeeze the life out of him. Following this rescue, Buster vowed to no longer deliberately involve himself in the Autobots' battles. Robot Buster!
Subsequently, Buster found himself plagued by strange dreams and frightening somnambulic episodes. During one such episode, he drew a crude design spec for an Autobot on his bedroom door. Worried for his son's sanity, Sparkplug sent Buster off to a demolition derby with Jesse while he contacted the Autobots about the situation. But Buster had already become an item of interest for Shockwave, who sent Soundwave and the Constructicons to abduct him. Upon seeing Devastator combine at the derby, Buster had another episode and entered a coma-like state. Intrigued, Soundwave read the boy's mind, and caught a glimpse of a prophetic vision playing out in his dreams. The Decepticons retreated to plan around this newfound information, and Buster was taken to the Ark to be attended to. Devastation Derby!
Linking minds with Optimus Prime, it was revealed that the Matrix had left an imprint in his mind of the Special Teams, next generation of combining Transformers. Together, Buster and Optimus Prime beheld the Protectobots and Aerialbots facing off against the Stunticons and the Combaticons, combining into Defensor, Superion, Menasor, and Bruticus respectively, in order to maintain control of a power plant. Seeing the clash through to its end, the two dreamers were witness to an Autobot victory. But the Decepticons had managed to eavesdrop on the vision, and so the designs were also revealed to them. Second Generation!
Jetfire later approached Buster, who he felt able to talk to because of the part Buster had played in his creation. A number of errors in judgement had caused him to become concerned that because he had been created on Earth he had a greater loyalty to humans than to the Autobots. Buster was able to convince him that he should be proud to be the first Earth-born Autobot. The Gift
Business would later begin to pick up at the Witwicky household when Sparkplug installed a new, high-tech car wash next to their workshop. Unfortunately, Buster found himself with no free time, having to help attend to his father's customers at all times. Jesse tried to cheer him up by visiting after hours in her brother's car so they could both try out the wash for themselves... though Buster was less than thrilled to go through it after working at it all day long. Jesse quickly realized her faux-pas, and apologized to Buster with an impromptu make-out session. Said session came to an abrupt end as Jesse fell under the wash's hypnotic influence; The "Wash and Roll" was more than a fancy car wash, it was really a Decepticon fuel-gathering ploy in disguise. (Yes, really). Confused by Jesse's sudden zombie-like trance, Buster followed her to a Decepticon-controlled fuel station, where many other drivers, including Buster's father, were unloading their vehicle's gas into fuel tanks. He managed to snap Jesse out of her trance by flashing his truck's headlights at her, then pretended to be among the hypnotized to sneak away and overlook the whole situation from a better vantage point. After listening in on Ratbat's plan to permanently hypnotize the drivers and continue gathering fuel, Buster rushed down to prevent Sparkplug from becoming the first victim of the scheme's next stage. Ratbat swooped down and chased him through the wash, but through sheer force of will, Buster managed to resist the hypnosis process. He then climbed atop of the wash station and shattered the fluorescent sign atop of it, creating another flash of light to snap all of the drivers from their trances. His plan ruined, Ratbat fled, and Sparkplug promised to henceforth give Buster more free time to pursue his own path. Another make-out session with Jesse entailed. Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom
Some time later, Buster caught a television broadcast where Forrest Forsythe, head of the Intelligence and Information Institute, publicly executed six Autobots in his custody in response to the raids their "comrades," the Decepticons, were partaking in. Buster was thoroughly shaken up by the footage; not only did he know that a grave injustice had taken place, but one of the executed looked like Bumblebee! Even news that a letter from his brother, Spike, had come in the mail was unable to shake him from his funk. Sparkplug reminded Buster that there wasn't anything ordinary folks like them could do. Buster responded that they could at least care.
The next morning, the Witwickies received a surprise visit from Walter Barnett, who carried a briefcase containing the brains of the executed Autobots attached to remote control cars. As Buster had suspected earlier, among them was indeed Bumblebee, though he now went by the moniker "Goldbug." Barnett urged Buster to come along with him on a matter of national security, and Sparkplug happily handed over the keys of his pickup to his son. Grabbing his radio, Buster sped off towards the Ark with Barnett. They were forced to make a pit stop along the way though, as the Autobots' toy bodies were in need of new batteries. While shopping around for some at the local mall, the Predacons, led by Ratbat, burst in and charged them. The toy-Autobots managed to drive away and lured most of their pursuers along, leaving Goldbug with Buster. They were attacked by Ratbat in turn, though they escaped him thanks to Barnett dropping a security gate atop the Decepticon. Goldbug and Buster resumed their journey towards the Ark while Barnett stayed behind to gather back up the rest of the Autobots. On arriving at their destination however, Buster found that the spaceship was gone! Thankfully, some machinery had been left behind, including an intergalactic tranceiver. Following Goldbug's instructions, Buster used it to send out a distress signal. He managed to complete his transmission when Ratbat appeared again, having stowed away within Buster's radio. Ratbat crushed Goldbug's toy-body, and next swooped down on the boy. Toy Soldiers! Trial by Fire! Pretender to the Throne!
"Really? Cuz it kinda feels like this is the first time we've ever met, y'know?"
When Buster awoke, he found himself on the sandy beach of a tropical island, with Shockwave and Ratbat looming over him. The two Decepticons had elected to keep him as their hostage, in order to deter the human military from launching an attack on their island base. Unperturbed by his perilous situation, Buster asked the robots to provide him with some food. They complied by tossing him some fish, cooked by laser-fire. Buster could do nothing but mope around until the Autobots finally came to his rescue. As he ducked to cover, anticipating the inevitable fire-exchange between the two factions, Buster noticed that something was off about the island's vegetation; all of it was artificial! The entire landmass was the Decepticons' base, its surface only being disguised as an island. Its surface became encased in massive polymer-glass panels, and booster jets fired up deep underwater, sending the whole thing off into space. The massive g-forces sent Buster unconscious once more, and he came to as the Earth was shrinking down into the distance bellow him. But one Autobot had managed to grab hold onto the rocket, and was coming to his rescue: Fortress Maximus. Shockwave made every attempt to shake the Autobot off his ship, first sending a lance through his chest, only for Maximus's head to detach and transform into a smaller robot, Cerebros. Shockwave then blasted him in the chest, only for his head to detach and transform... into Buster's older brother, Spike! After sending Shockwave down to burn up in Earth's atmosphere, Spike had a brief chance to see his younger brother face-to-face, before Ratbat shook him loose from the ship again. The Decepticon ship then managed to reach escape velocity. The Desert Island of Space! Ratbat kept Buster close at hand, bringing him about the ship as he ordered his troops in their various tasks. He had the human watch as the Decepticons launched a surprise attack on the united Autobot forces, gloating that he was assured an energy-efficient victory. But when Blaster managed to land a shot on the Decepticons' ship's engines with his Electro-scrambler, the whole vessel went haywire. Buster taunted his captor as the Decepticons were forced to stop their attack short and pull back. Totaled!
The island starship soon headed back down to Earth, where the Decepticons disguised it as an vacationing resort. First using Buster as their frontman so they could declare the island a sovereign nation, the evil robots then filmed several advertisement for their getaway, in which Buster played the role of "island king." Otherwise, Buster was forced to stay in closed quarters within the Decepticon base. He was giddily excited when his bikini-clad girlfriend busted into his room some time later to rescue him, though unfortunately a poly-steel cable-chain around his ankle prevented him from leaving. Buster filled in Jesse and Blaster to the island's goings-on, telling the pair how the Decepticons were after the dormant Autobots, Raindance and Grand Slam, lost in the nearby seas. Buster then sent them off, telling his allies that getting help was more important at the moment than any attempt at freeing him. Club Con!
Jesse and Blaster ultimately failed to retrieve the two Autobot mini-cassettes from the Decepticons. In anticipation of reviewing the data contained on them, Starscream, Ratbat, and Soundwave tested out their Realvision simulator by putting Buster in it first. Buster was made to believe that he was running for his life through a cybernetic jungle, as the various mechanical fauna and flora gunned for him. The simulator tested to a satisfactory degree, Ratbat had the boy returned to his cell, though this time around the Decepticons didn't bother tethering him down. Determined to see for himself the data encoded on the tapes, Buster snuck out through an air vent. Though he was ensnared by the vent's security system, he correctly guessed that its tentacle-like wires operated on motion sensors. By staying perfectly still, allowing the wires to pull back, and then pouncing out before they had a chance to spool out once more, Buster was able to make it back to the simulator room. He caught the tail-end of the recording, and learned that an ancient Cybertronian artifact, the Underbase would make planet-fall on Earth in a matter of weeks. But as Buster attempted to sneak off again, he was found out by Starscream. The Flames of Boltax! The latter next used Buster as an unwitting peon in his bid to take control of the Underbase for himself. When a group of Decepticons led by Scorponok joined forces with the one led by Ratbat, Starscream took the former through a tour of the latter's Arctic base. He brought the troupe to Buster's holding pen, where the boy let slip that Ratbat had learned the Underbase's location, information that Scorponok had not been made privy to. Just as Starscream had planned, this turned Scorponok against Ratbat, and infighting erupted within the Decepticon ranks. While his fellows were distracted, Starscream took Buster outside, and left him on an iceberg with a device that would call the Autobots to him. Activating the device would mean that the Decepticons would inevitably rally together and join forces against the Autobots, but not activating it would mean freezing to death. Rationalizing that either way, Starscream had to be stopped, Buster activated the device to call his friends; as far as he was concerned, only the Autobots could bring an end to Starscream's machinations. Cold War!
The Aerialbots eventually found Buster where Starscream had left him, just as he was succumbing to the cold. Bringing the boy to the Autobots' shuttlecraft, they handed him over to Spike and his binary bonded partner, Fortress Maximus. Buster's older brother began defrosting him just as the Decepticon diverted their attention towards the Autobots, and once more attacked. Buster regained consciousness during the scuffle, and told Ratbat of how Starscream had tricked them all. Realizing that Starscream posed the greater threat, Ratbat ordered a ceasefire, and everyone took off after the schemer. They caught up to him too late to prevent him from absorbing part of the Underbase's power however, and the Decepticons' island starship was blown to smithereens. Fortress Maximus once more saved Buster from certain death, housing him within his own body to protect him from the vacuum of space. Boarding the Ark, the Autobot/Decepticon alliance took off after Starscream once more as he now returned towards the Earth. This time about, Optimus insisted that Buster stay behind with him on the ship while the others entered the fray. As his troops were being slaughtered, Optimus enacted a plan in which he used his own binary bonded partner's scientific know-how to redirect the Underbase towards the battlefield. Buster "accidentally" told Starscream that Prime was up to something (the message was "meant" for his brother Spike), and was caught in a firefight between Ratbat and Scorponok when they too came to investigate the Autobot's stratagem. After blasting Ratbat, Scorponok nearly came to claim the Underbase for himself, but Buster was able to get Hi-Q back on his feet and have him to combine with Optimus in time for the duo to step in. The Underbase was redirected into Starscream, overloading him and bringing his rampage to an end, just as Optimus had planned. Afterwards, both Optimus and Scorponok agreed to prolong their ceasefire until both factions could collect their injured. Dark Star
Buster's adventures with the Transformers came to an end as he returned to a normal life afterwards. While he was cooking breakfast one morning, Spike explained to him that he also sought to sever all ties to the Autobots, and planned to discard the control helmet that bonded him mentally to Fortress Maximus. Both Buster and Sparkplug approved of Spike's decision, and saw him off as he left for a ski trip with his friend Cliff. The Man in the Machine!
A time traveler from the distant future, Dicet Alpha-zero, would one day traverse the time-stream to observe several key moments in the Transformers' war, witnessing Buster trying to sneak off with his father before Jazz accidentally triggered a heart attack in the elder Witwicky, Buster taking on the Creation Matrix from Optimus Prime, and his subsequent use of its power to take control of the newly-created Jetfire. The Quest!
Marvel Generation 2 comic
Grimlock recalled years later how Buster had fended off Ratbat in the Carwash of Doom as part of an inspirational speech to Optimus Prime. War Without End!
Classics
Decades later in 2012, Buster was stationed with several Autobots in Canada within the Ark II. He was present one day when Rad reported from the Ironworks base in Oregon about a foiled attack by Gigatron and his Decepticons. Invasion
After the entire human population of Earth was warped off to another version of their planet in another dimension, the Autobots and their allies set out to investigate the mysteries of this new world. While all the cities and animals on this planet were the same as their old one, no humans appeared to have called this Earth home prior to the arrival of the inter-dimensional immigrants. After taking up a job at Blackrock Global to support their operation financially, Buster set up Spike, Vroom, Crossblades, and Elizabeth with an apartment in Yucatán to investigate a mysterious radio signal burst detected in the area. Getting word that they were beginning to slack on their investigation, Buster made a video-call to his brother to try and get him back on track. The call was interrupted by Buster's son, Galen, who along with his mother, Jesse, sidetracked to call and allowed Spike to dodge any more of his brother's inquiries. Assembly
Regeneration One
During the early part of Megatron's conquest of Earth, Buster fled with Jessie from the lobotomized Autobots and Decepticons that made up Megatron's army. Ratbat terminated Buster and Jessie by blowing up the car wash they had taken refuge in. Less Than Zero
His image was later used by the Dark Matrix to psychologically torment Spike. The War to End All Wars, Part 4
Marvel Storybooks continuity
When Buster and his father first met the Autobots, Buster took an instant liking to the alien robots. His favourite among them was Jazz; driving him made Buster feel like one of the rich kids. One morning, Buster became overly excitted after reading about the new Freedom Sports Arena being built nearby. He and Jazz drove over to the building's construction site to sneak a peak of the building. Though Jazz felt there was something suspicious about the construction vehicles at the site, Buster didn't think anything of it. Battle for Earth
Marvel coloring books
Buster and Sparkplug were attacked by a group of Decepticons. Thankfully, Bluestreak spotted them, and the Autobots came to their rescue. Later, Buster and his father accompanied the Autobots to the Hoover Dam to thwart another Decepticon attack. Buster helped his father fix Sunstreaker after he had been damaged battling Thundercracker. The Deadly Fuel Shortage
As an adult in the year 2005, Buster had married Jesse and together they bought up their son Daniel. The latter hung out with the Autobots a lot, which his parents were fine with. However, when the Autobots planned a search for a lost crate of energon cubes, Buster and Jesse drew the line and forbade their son to go along. The Lost Treasure of Cybertron
Find Your Fate Junior
Battle Drive
Bumblebee knew Buster Wtiwicky since the Autobots first came to the Earth.
When Sparkplug discovered a fatal flaw in the Decepticons' circuitry, his discovery was subsequently discovered by the Decepticons, forcing him to hide out in the mountains. Buster in turn headed off towards Autobot headquarters to inform his friends of the situation at hand, but he was struck down by an unknown assailant, and rendered unconscious before he could reach his destination. Thankfully, Bumblebee, Hound, Prowl and Swoop came upon him on the road, and once roused Buster told them what was going on. Since the Autobots were already on a vital mission to prevent the Decepticons from burning down acres of farmland, the company at first hesitated one which course of action they should carry out. Buster implored his Autobot friends to prioritize Sparkplug's safety, arguing that with Sparkplug's discovery, the Decepticons could be defeated once and for all.
If the Autobots decided to continue carrying out their initial mission, the Decepticon spy Soundwave is able to warn Megatron of their coming, and the Decepticons lie in wait for their arrival. The Autobots are quickly defeated once they walk into a Decepticon ambush.
If the Autobots instead decided to go rescue Sparkplug, Buster impressed the small Autobot squadron with his spunk, and they all agreed to let him join in on the mission. Swoop even allowed Buster to ride on his back, and from this high vantage point, Buster was the first to spot the Decepticons huddled before a cave in the mountains. Swoop then let Buster disembark before flying ahead to distract the Decepticons. In the event that Swoop then retreated back to Autobot headquarters after his initial attack, Buster and the Autobots were able to sneak past the evil robots into the cave, where Buster and Sparkplug were reunited. Now facing off against a large group of Decepticons, Buster supported the idea that Prowl should take Sparkplug, and that the two of them should attempt to escape the cave back to Autobot headquarters while the rest of them kept the Decepticons occupied.
In the event that the Autobots decided to stick together and wait for Swoop to return with reinforcements, the battle that followed raged for two days. In the event that the Autobots attempt to escape the cave by going farther into it, both they and the humans fall to their doom, as they are unable to see a chasm before them in the dark.
In the event that the Autobots continued to wait for Swoop to return, Buster is the first to spot him flying towards them, followed by Optimus Prime and a whole army of Autobots. Both Sparkplug and Buster were protected from the Decepticons, who were then driven off by the Autobot reinforcements. Once the evil robots left,it was discovered that the schematics were destroyed during the fight, which meant the Decepticons couldn't be defeated once and for all, but at the very least they would be kept busy while they redesigned their circuitry. Battle Drive
Attack of the Insecticons
Buster attended the testing of the Sun-Pak, a device invented by his father that could power an Autobot for full day after being charged only for an hour. As the test wound out to its end, Buster couldn't help by worry about the Decepticons, knowing full well what kind of evils the villainous Cybertronians are capable of dispensing. When the Decepticons inevitably attack the underground testing site, Buster and his father are quickly pushed out of harm's way by Optimus, and a firefight between the two factions begins.
If during the course of the battle, Optimus decides to have his Autobots concentrate their firepower onto Starscream, and refuses to acknowledge the Seeker's pleas for mercy, Buster is forced to watch helplessly as his father is kidnapped by the Decepticon jet. Buster then convinces Optimus to allow him to go on a rescue mission alongside Blaster and Bumblebee. The trio track down Starscream to a museum in the suburbs. Taking Blaster in cassette-player mode with him inside the building while Bumblebee waits in the parking lot, Buster quickly spots Starscream hiding in vehicle mode in the museum, and decides to conceal himself as well, waiting until the museum closes to see what Starscream has done with his father. Night falls, and Starscream and Bombshell reveal themselves along with their captive, and begin to threaten Sparkplug with mind-control technology, informing the human that they will acquire the knowhow of building a Sun-Pak one way or another. Blaster informs Buster that he has recorded Starscream boasting that he will take control of the Decepticons from Megatron, and Buster decides whether or not he wants to contact Megatron and offer this information in exchange of his father's safe release.
If Buster decides to do so, he comes into contact with Megatron quickly, and informs the Decepticon of what he has to offer. Megatron humours the human, but demands that Buster completes his half of the bargain before Megatron orders Sparkplug's release.
If Buster accepts Megatron's conditions, shortly after the sound file proving Starscream's duplicity is transmitted, Megatron arrives on-scene, and orders Sparkplug's safe release. He then shoos away the humans and Autobots, so that the Decepticons can put their own house in order.
If Buster refuses Megatron's terms, and insists that his father is released before he transmits the sound file, Megatron arrives at the museum nonetheless, but allows the Cerebro-shell to be injected into Sparkplug, despite Buster' pleas and insistence that Starscream is a traitor. Thankfully, the Cerebro-shell causes memory loss in Sparkplug, and not having any use for the human if he cannot provide them with the Sun-Pak, Sparkplug is released from Decepticon custody later, and Buster is reunited with his father.
If instead of contacting Megatron Buster, Blaster and Bumblebee decide to hatch a plan together to rescue Sparkplug themselves, the Autobots manage to make Bombshell miss his mark and hit Starscream with his Cerebro-Shell instead of Sparkplug. Starscream is then easily brainwashed by the Autobots into thinking of them as his masters, and he releases Sparkplug, allowing Buster and company to safely drive away from the museum.
If instead of fighting the Decepticons, Optimus decided to flee the firefight started in the underground cave, the Autobots find themselves driving through an underground tunnel that forks into two. Unable to tell which passage leads to the surface, Optimus must take a chance in deciding which passage he should order his troops to take.
If the Autobots take the wrong passage, they find themselves at the mercy of the Insecticons and their Electro-Disruptor, which prevents the Autobots from fighting back against their captors. They must now make another decision, whether to have one of their own sneak away with the Sun-Pak to recharge it and use its energy to fight back against the Insecticons, or use the Sun-Pak to bargain with the Decepticons.
If Beachcomber is sent to the surface with the Sun-Pak in hand, the Autobot is confronted by the much more powerful Kickback waiting for him there. Thankfully, Buster and Sparkplug, unaffected by the Electro-Disrupter also found their way to the surface, and rescue Beachcomber. The three of them then return to the Insecticons' nest, and allow the Autobot to dispatch their foes.
If the Autobots attempt to use the Sun-Pak as a bargaining chip, the Insecticons refuse their proposal, leaving the day to be saved by Buster and his father. The two of them sneak up on the Insecticons, and change the Electro-disrupter's target to the Insecticons themselves, allowing the Autobots to drive away safely.
In the event that when the Autobots arrived at the underground fork and chose the passage to the surface, the Insecticons manage to steal the Sun-Pak. If Optimus decides it would be wiser to send advanced scouts to find the Sun-Pak while the rest of the Autobots recharge, Buster and Mirage are chosen for the task at hand. The two of them track the Insecticons down to a rotting forest, and spy on Shrapnel proclaiming to his Insecticon brethren that he will use the power of the Sun-Pak to overthrow Megatron. Buster and Mirage must decide whether to immediately attempt retrieving the Sun-Pak themselves or call in Autobot reinforcements.
If they decide to retrieve the Sun-Pak themselves, Mirage distracts the Insecticons with his holographic powers, and Buster is tasked with dashing towards the Sun-Pak and stealing it under the Insecticons' nose. Their plan goes off without a hitch, and they both drive back to Autobot headquarters safely with the Sun-Pak in hand.
If they decide to call in Autobot reinforcements, Buster and Mirage witness more Decepticons arriving in the forest, and warn Optimus and the rest of the Autobots of the possible ambush awaiting them. With this information, Optimus is able to devise a plan to destroy the Sun-Pak and send the Decepticons fleeing back to their base. Attack of the Insecticons
Earthquake
Buster and Jessie were hiking in the wilderness when they came upon a secret passage which led to a secret Decepticon fortress. The pair then bumped into Beachcomber, and relayed their findings to him. Not long afterwards, the Decepticon Ramjet happened upon the trio and captured Jessie. Though Beachcomber wanted to return to the Autobots’ headquarters to report to Optimus, Buster insisted that they rescue Jessie first.
If Buster managed to convince Beachcomber on taking his preferred course of action, Buster led his Autobot friend to the secret passage he had previously discovered. Upon entering the fortress, the pair heard nearby voices, one of which was Jessie's.
If Buster convinced Beachcomber to follow the voices, they two of them saw Thrust and Soundwave putting Jessie away in a holding cell. Once the Decepticons left the scene, Beachcomber wasted no time in breaking Jessie out of her prison. The three of them then set out to find the Decepticons’ lab. But after running around blindly for some time, they were unable to find the room in which the Destruction Beam was stored. Giving up their search, they headed back to Autobot Headquarters, where they related their findings to the rest of the Autobots.
If Beachcomber convinced Buster to hide, the duo quickly came at a loss on what to do next. After a few moments’ hesitation, the pair came out of hiding only to be confronted by Thrust. Beachcomber engaged the Decepticon in a brief firefight before escaping with Buster. Their luck soon ran out, however, and the duo was captured by Thrust when he came upon them once more. The prisoners were then taken to the Decepticons’ lab so that Megatron could torture them by having them witness the Destruction Beam destroy Center City via a view screen. The show over, Megatron then turned his cannon upon the pair, and pulled the trigger...
Alternartively, Beachcomber might have been able to convince Buster to leave Jessie behind by claiming that the Decepticons were unlikely to harm her. The two of them then quickly headed to Autobot headquarters, and returned with reinforcements. Shortly before arriving at their destination, the Autobots had to choose their next course of action; they could either storm the Decepticon fortress by force, or try to sneak in through the secret passage Buster had previously discovered
If they decided to storm the fortress, Beachcomber would become nervous, and urge his fellow Autobots to find a more peaceful way to resolve the situation. This moment of hesitation ultimately cost the Autobots the battle, and Buster was presumably destroyed along his Autobot friends.
If they decided a stealthier approach, the Autobots quietly entered the Decepticon base, and set out to shoot down any Decepticons they encountered, save Megatron, whom they planned to capture. After encountering some resistance from their foes, the Autobots came upon branch in the passageway, and had to choose to go left or right.
If they took the right passageway, the group soon happened upon Jessie, whom they freed. Telling them she knew the location of the Decepticons’ lab, Jessie then led the group into a Decepticon trap; she had been brainwashed. The Autobots were captured and Megatron's plan to destroy Center City came to fruition.
If they took the left passageway, the group happened upon Megatron's lab. After deactivating the Destruction beam and the Decepticons, the Autobots found Jessie tied up in a cell. When she and Buster were reunited, they celebrated with a couple of super-fudge ice cream sundaes. Earthquake
Dreamwave Generation One continuity
Buster played an important role in the Transformers' conflict later than Sparkplug and Spike. More than Meets the Eye #8.
Buster took the death of his father hard. Prime Directive #1 Following the death, Buster racked up enormous gambling debts, which Spike ended up having to pay off. Hardwired Buster subsequently joined the military. Lost and Found He eventually rose up to a position of authority at the Pentagon.
Notes
- "Buster" and "Spike", as well as "Butch", were all names considered for the Witwicky boy character in early production material. One such early document shows Spike as the original name, but crossed off and corrected with "Buster" in pen (in Bob Budiansky's handwriting). According to Jim Shooter, who claims to have created the name "Spike", the change to "Buster" had been mandated by the cartoon producers because it sounded less aggressive.[2] The fact that they ended up using "Spike" in the cartoon anyway is, Jim says, "typical."[3] It is believed that "Butch" was a very, very early name for the character; see Butch Witwicky for a more in-depth explanation.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Buster Witwicky (バスター・ウィトウィッキー Basutā Witowikkī)
- Portuguese: Giga Witwicky (Portugal comics), Buster Centelha (Brazil comics)
