Leadfoot (G2)

Leadfoot is an Autobot from the Generation 2 portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

Without this, there could have been no Cars.

Leadfoot (aka Hot Foot) is a speed machine who always manages to keep his cool no matter how fast he's going. Despite his function as a "defense specialist", he's most notable for using his incredible speed and sensor-deflecting armor for infiltrating enemy bases, then ripping them apart with his "rotoprop" weapon.

Well, maybe the best defense is a good offense. You know who said that? Mel, the cook on Alice.

Fiction

Marvel Generation 2 comic

"That car really motors!"
"'Cause I'm a transformin' rotor!!"
Erm, sure, Leadfoot.

Like the rest of the Rotor Force, Leadfoot was originally one of Megatron's next generation of Decepticons, animated by the stolen power of the Creation Matrix. He first saw combat on Tykos, when the Decepticons raided a rheanimum gas mine, and his second when the Cybertronian Empire kicked the slag out of them. New Dawn

Almost immediately after this, the Decepticons allied with the Autobots against the Empire and Leadfoot, fighting alongside Megatron himself, fought to rescue Autobots on Ethos. Escalation!

This alliance swiftly changed Leadfoot. He and Manta Ray first partnered with Tracks to ambush Cybertronian flyers, earning the Autobot's praise. Total War! More critically, Leadfoot saved his friend's life when Razorclaw decided Manta Ray was insufficiently loyal, decapitating the Predacon before he could kill Manta Ray. Leadfoot thought nothing of saving his partner, as Autobots have to stick together. A Rage in Heaven!

2005 IDW continuity

First appearance: Spotlight: Galvatron

How do you think LEADFOOT feels, jerk?

Leadfoot was one of the Autobots guarding Thunderwing's remains at Thunderhead Pass on Cybertron. While on post, he tried to stop Sideswipe from requesting a transfer to Earth, then went back to duty while Hound sorted Sideswipe out. Unfortunately for Leadfoot, as he was on patrol, a mysterious being arrived to take Thunderwing. Leadfoot was taken by surprise as the powerful transformer grabbed him by the throat, and seconds later he was dead. Sideswipe, who was to relieve Leadfoot as punishment, arrived to find his comrade's lifeless body and swore revenge. Spotlight: Galvatron Spotlight: Doubledealer

On their way to Garrus-9, Hound's team sent telemetry on Leadfoot's death to the Ark-32. After examining the data, Nightbeat observed that it was as though a virus of "unlife" had attacked and destroyed every living cyber-cell in Leadfoot simultaneously in a fraction of a nano-klik. More importantly, Nightbeat found this somehow familiar... Devastation #6

Wings Universe

Leadfoot was one of many new Transformers created on Earth after 2006, when the war with the Decepticons had left the solar system for the further reaches of space. At the Cyberfactory, a new generation was born out of human, Nebulan, and Cybertronian technologies. Leadfoot and others like him were created as "citizens of Earth", but it was only a matter of time before conflict broke out. Leadfoot joined a legion of new Autobots under Pyro's leadership against Clench and his criminal Decepticon Syndicate.

In 2010, Leadfoot was one of the first responders to the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, which had been taken over by the Syndicate. They were driven off by the Decepticons and their Sharkticon hordes, however, and Pyro was captured in the process. In a second strike, Leadfoot and the majority of the team kept Double Punch and the other Decepticon guards busy out front, while their emergency commander Rapido slipped in the rear to rescue Pyro. Leadfoot's team was placed in dire peril once the Decepticons began upgrading themselves with forestonite, but luckily the Go-Bots and a large squad from Autobot City arrived as reinforcements. Aquafend then sent him and Manta Ray to the roof to fight through Ransack and Powerdive and shut down the complex's wind turbines. The foursome were presumably still there when the forestonite gas raced through the planet's ventilation systems, giving super-powered upgrades to all Transformers present. Generation 2: Redux

Regeneration One

Leadfoot was a member of the Wreckers and along with the rest of the team went against Optimus Prime's orders by intervening in a siege with Neo-Decepticon insurgents in in the Pax Cybertronia Decommissioning Depot in Kalis. After bring the stalemate to an end by trapping Venom, Chop Shop, and Ransack inside a detention-sphere, Leadfoot agreed to go on Kup's journey to all the planets the Transformer war had ravaged. They started at Earth and Leadfoot controlled the surveillance drones; he was horrified at the site of the devastated Earth, asking what had happened. What happened was Megatron! Loose Ends, Part 1

Having made it to Earth in the escape pods before Megatron destroyed their ship, the Wreckers decided to try to get a warning back to Cybertron via the Deep Space Network in Goldstone. Upon discovering that they were being pursued by Megatron's zombie army, Leadfoot, Roadbuster and Sandstorm were dispatched to draw them away from the main group. Loose Ends, Part 2 Leadfoot reconvened with the other Wreckers (bar Kup, who had been captured by Megatron's forces) and met up with Circuit Smasher's resistance cell at Argus Base where the humans enlightened the Autobots about what had transpired in their absence. Leadfoot speculated that Megatron must have had some kind of help since he had neither the skills nor the resources to have accomplished so much alone and Springer surmised that the Ark was most likely the source of his power. Loose Ends, Part 3

As Springer, Whirl, and Sandstorm made their way to rescue Kup, the other Wreckers Leadfoot, Topspin, Roadbuster, Broadside and Rack 'n' Ruin launched an assault on the Ark, accompanied by Circuit Smasher and four humans wearing battlesuits. Leadfoot was the first casualty of the battle, hit by autogun fire and flipped upside down with his wheels in the air. Loose Ends, Part 4

After the battle was won, First Aid put him on the critical list alongside his fellow Wrecker Broadside in his report to Optimus Prime. Natural Selection, Part One When the ship carrying Leadfoot and the others arrived in Cybertron's orbit, Scorponok ordered his troops to use Cybertron's defenses to blow the ship out of the air. Natural Selection, Part Four The Autobots on Cybertron managed to disarm the missiles before they destroyed the ship. Natural Selection, Part Five

Broadside recovered from his injuries and was back in action soon. Leadfoot's conspicuous absence would suggest he succumbed to his injuries. The War to End All Wars, Part 4 If he didn't, however, then he, along with his fellow Wreckers, would have eventually died of old age after untold eons. The War to End All Wars, Part 5

Legends comic

In the year 2038, Leadfoot was stationed on Cybertron when Violengiguar attacked. Using the possessed bodies of the Powered Masters, Violengiguar struck down Leadfoot and many of his comrades. The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 2

2019 IDW continuity

First appearance: Tread & Circuits #2

He's like a more athletic Ironfist.

A native Velocitronian and participant in the annual Speedia 500, Leadfoot was approached by Thunderclash in a bar just prior to the race. He gushed about his admiration for Sizzle, the race's first winner, and made quick friends with Thunderclash. Tread & Circuits Part 2

After the race began, it was disrupted by the terrorist group Mayhem, and Leadfoot found himself in danger from an avalanche triggered by Skullgrin. He later stopped Thunderblast from shooting an unsuspecting Thunderclash and gave the leader of the Wreckers a ride to catch up with the lead racers. While Mayhem escaped, Leadfoot eventually made it to the finish line with the rest of the survivors. Tread & Circuits Part 3

The day of Knock Out's inauguration as Velocitron's new First Senator, Leadfoot approached Thunderclash again to touch base with his new friend and pledged his assistance if the Wreckers ever needed anything. He soon had to make good on that promise when Mayhem attacked again, trying to assassinate Knock Out. Leadfoot rallied the other racers present to take on the terrorists, providing enough of a distraction for the Wreckers to defeat Mayhem. After leaving Velocitron with his team, Thunderclash added the reliable and loyal Leadfoot to a list he was keeping of potential new recruits for the Wreckers. Tread & Circuits Part 4

Commercial appearances

Voice actor: Garry Chalk (English)

• Leadfoot was speeding around a race track when it was attacked by the Laser Rod, Sizzle. He transformed to robot mode in order to fight back and defend the speedway enthusiasts. Leadfoot also considered himself a "transforming rotor". How this belief relates to the secular notion of "naturally-occurring gears, levers, and pulleys" is unknown. Rotor Force and Laser Rods commercial

Toys

Generation 2

It's actually less counter-intuitive than it looks.

• Leadfoot (Rotor Force, 1994)

• Hasbro EU name: Hot Foot
• Accessories: Engine/launcher, 2 rotor discs
• Known designers: Takio Ejima (TakaraTomy)

Among the first of the totally-new molds designed for Generation 2, Leadfoot transforms into a Lola T93 Indy car with a giant rotor on top. Hmm. His "Rotor Force" engine block is a manually-wound spinner that launches his flying disc into the air when the spoiler is pressed down. He graciously came with two rotor discs in case you lost one. This assembly becomes a hand-held weapon for robot mode.

• More information on Leadfoot at TFU.info

Legacy

(Lead)footloose, (Lead)footloose
Kick off your Sunday shoes
Please, Louise
Pull me up off my knees

• G2 Universe Leadfoot & Masterdominus (2-pack, 2022)

• Accessories: Cannon, shoulder-mounted launcher, missile
• Known designers: Mark Maher (Hasbro)

Part of the Legacy Wreck N' Rule Collection, Leadfoot is a new-head retooling of War for Cybertron: Kingdom "Battle Across Time" Mirage, transforming into a Formula 1 race car.

The issue with the 5 mm port on the back of the figure that was present on Mirage has been fixed for this release, with 5 mm pegs now able to be snugly placed inside it without the fear of them falling out.

All of the packs in the Wreck N' Rule Collection contain a piece of a buildable cardboard Wrecker hammer; Leadfoot came with the hammer's mounting base. The inner boxes are also designed to be stacked together to form a display mural.

In the United States, Leadfoot was only available in the Amazon Wreck N' Rule Collection, as part of a two-pack with Masterdominus; this two-pack was the second set revealed, on May 10, 2022. It was however the last of the sets to ship, in early August, roughly two weeks after the others.

Despite being revealed in May 2022, his design was teased six months prior through the Tread & Circuits comic series.

This mold with the head of Siege "Holo Mirage" was used to make Velocitron Speedia 500 Collection Decepticon Crasher.

Notes

• Leadfoot is unique among the Rotor Force in that his alternate mode is not one that would normally have a large rotor or propeller.
• There was briefly an F1 car in the late '70s that incorporated a rotor. The Brabham BT46B "fan car" ran in only one race before protests from other teams saw its rear-mounted fan—used to increase downforce—banned from competition. If only Hasbro's designers had known, Leadfoot could have looked authentically odd, instead of just odd.
• In the Marvel Generation 2 comic, Decepticon speech bubbles were marked by triangles, while Autobots were marked by rectangles. Leadfoot and Manta Ray began with Decepticon bubbles, but were clearly Autobots in the last issue, once they switched sides.
• A crossword in The Official Transformers: Generation 2 Annual indicates that "Piranha" and "Hot Foot" are brothers.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Leadfoot (リードフット Rīdofutto)^[1]
• French: Pleins Gaz (Canada)

References