Sixshot
Encyclopedia
Sixshot is the name of two fictional characters from the various Transformers
Transformers
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling.Transformer may also refer to:* ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet computer manufacturer by Asus...

 series. Introduced in 1987, Sixshot appeared in the last few episodes of the original US Transformers animated series, voiced by Neil Ross. His defining gimmick was that he had six different forms, not two like a normal Transformer. He was also a regular character in the Japanese anime series Transformers: Headmasters where he was voiced by Michihiro Ikemizu. In the japanese anime he was protrayed as a ninja. Sixshot appeared in the Transformers comics by Dreamwave Productions, IDW Publishing and other companies. In later years a second character sharing the name Sixshot appeared in the Transformers: Energon series, but this one was the brother of that's series Shockblast character.

Transformers: Generation 1

Sixshot is a murderous warrior who carries out his job with a fierce intensity. He is a machine of few redeeming qualities, though chief among them is the fact that he respects all his foes, and will always speak highly of those whom he dispatches to the "great junkyard in the sky". The thrill of battle is what Sixshot lives for – he considers his life only worth living as long as there are enemies worth destroying.

Sixshot is a Solo Transformer Assault Group ("S.T.A.G."), or in simpler parlance, a one-robot army – he is named for his near-unique ability to assume six different modes. His armored carrier mode is armed with twin laser batteries, while in ramming tank mode, he is outfitted with an infra-red range finder and target tracker. He can attain the power of flight in his star cruiser mode, with a range of eight million miles, and is also able to take to the skies as a jet-propelled laser pistol (either full-size, or shrunken to be wielded by other Transformers). In these four modes and robot mode, he wields twin hypersonic concussion blasters, but his sixth mode – that of a winged wolf-creature – has no need for them, preferring to tear his opponents apart with its claws and fangs.

Released in 1987, Sixshot's number of alternate modes was unprecedented – his instruction leaflet was even sealed shut with a sticker, challenging buyers to figure out all six modes without aid.

Sixshot is the father of his autobot counterpart and fellow six-changer Quickswitch. How Sixshot was able to produce offspring is unknown as at the time of release, Transformer reproduction had not been clearly defined, and no mention was made to who Quickswitch's mother was. Also, it is possible that Sixshot may have produced Quickswitch asexually in the same manner as the Latter-day Decepticons introduced in the Transformers: Generation 2
Transformers: Generation 2
Transformers: Generation 2 is the name used to refer to a Transformers toy line, television series and comic book series which ran from 1993-1995...

 comic book produced by Marvel Comics.

Animated series

Sixshot's only appearance in the original Transformers animated series was in The Rebirth, Part 1, the first episode of the fourth and final season of the show. Arriving on Cybertron
Cybertron
Cybertron is a fictional planet, the homeworld of the Transformers in the various fictional incarnations of the metaseries and toyline by Hasbro. In the Japanese series, the planet is referred to as "Cybertron" pronounced as セイバートロン Seibātoron...

 with the other Decepticon forces after the theft of the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber, Sixshot was ordered by Galvatron
Galvatron
Galvatron is the name of several fictional Transformers, most often the recreated version of Megatron, the Decepticon leader. He was voiced by Leonard Nimoy in the 1986 Transformers movie, and then by Frank Welker in season 3 and 4 of the animated television series. Since then, other Transformers...

 into battle against the Aerialbots
Aerialbots
The Aerialbots are a group of Autobots that transform into aircraft and combine to form the giant robot Superion. They were introduced into the Transformers toyline in 1985 and sold as a Superion gift set, and then sold separately in 1986 in most department stores...

, assuming each of his alternate modes in turn to defeat the five robots. Taking them down with ease, he dubbed the entire process as easy as "shooting cyber-ducks in a barrel".

He was last seen fighting Fortress Maximus
Fortress Maximus
Fortress Maximus is the name of several fictional characters from several of the various Transformers universes. Fortress Maximus appeared in the season 4 finale of the US Transformers animated series voiced by Stephen Keener. He was one of the stars of the Japanese Transformers: Headmasters...

 with his fellow decepticons in The Rebirth, Part 3.

In the animated commercials for the Autobot Quickswitch, it was stated that Sixshot was Quickswitch's father.

Transformers: Headmasters

In contrast to his minimal part in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 animated series, Sixshot received a major role in the Japanese-exclusive series, Transformers: The Headmasters
Transformers: The Headmasters
is a Japanese anime television series.-Development:Inititally, Takara, the Japanese producers of the Transformers toyline, imported the American Transformers cartoon series from 1985 to 1986...

, which supplanted The Rebirth's place in continuity in Japan. In this series, Sixshot is characterised as a ninja, and in-line with this idea, possesses several additional powers and abilities of disguise and distraction. He can generate up to five holographic duplicates of himself, able to assume any one of his six modes, which can be either intangible, allowing enemy fire to pass through them while the true Sixshot uses them as a distraction to make his move, or solidified, allowing them to attack to opponents, and he possesses the ability to disguise himself in various ways, either by simply making himself invisible, or through hologrammatic disguises of other beings and objects. The error-ridden RTM-1 dub of the series had Sixshot introduce himself as a "ninja consultant", a term which many Transformers fans use to refer to him.

Sixshot is known to have visited Planet Master, the world colonised by diminutive Cybertronians, at some point in the past, at which time he killed Abel, a friend of the future Autobot Headmaster
Headmaster (Transformers)
Headmasters are a sub-group of characters from the Transformers meta-series, distinguished by their ability to detach their heads when transforming into their alternate modes, with the heads then transforming themselves into a humanoid form...

, Chromedome. Subsequently joining up with the combined Decepticon forces of Galvatron
Galvatron
Galvatron is the name of several fictional Transformers, most often the recreated version of Megatron, the Decepticon leader. He was voiced by Leonard Nimoy in the 1986 Transformers movie, and then by Frank Welker in season 3 and 4 of the animated television series. Since then, other Transformers...

 and Scorponok
Scorponok
Scorponok is the name shared by several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All are Decepticons that turn into Scorpoins.- Transformers: Generation 1:...

, Sixshot made himself known to the Earth-based Autobots in 2011, when he led a Decepticon contingent to prevent an Autobot relief team from Earth reaching Cybertron. During the battle, Sixshot encountered Autobot Earth commander Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers storylines.-Transformers: Generation 1:The greatest Transformer of them all. A commander could want no finer a soldier than Ultra Magnus...

 and an enmity was established between the two.

Operating as the Decepticons' Earth commander, Sixshot first displayed his extensive transformation capabilities by staging a six-pronged attack on Earth, adopting each of his different modes to menace one of six different countries in an effort to make the humans and Autobots believe that they were dealing with six different foes. Unfortunately, since he had cloaked himself in shadow, even his fellow Decepticons, Cyclonus
Cyclonus
Cyclonus is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:The tech spec from the box art of the Cyclonus toy describes him as a compassionless Decepticon air warrior and saboteur...

 and Scourge
Scourge (Transformers)
Scourge is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers series. He first appeared as one of the central villains in the 1986 film The Transformers, voiced by Stan Jones. He also regularly appeared in the animated Transformers series and Transformers comic books. Since then other...

, did not know who he was, and ruined his plan by attacking him.

Sixshot later used his disguise powers to pose as Galvatron
Galvatron
Galvatron is the name of several fictional Transformers, most often the recreated version of Megatron, the Decepticon leader. He was voiced by Leonard Nimoy in the 1986 Transformers movie, and then by Frank Welker in season 3 and 4 of the animated television series. Since then, other Transformers...

 for a meeting with Spike Witwicky, holding the Autobots attention while the true Galvatron led the Decepticons into space on a mission to ransack other worlds of their energy. Upon their return to Earth, Sixshot engaged Ultra Magnus in battle once again, and unveiled his secret, seventh transformation, the Wingwolf, which combined the numerous aspects of his other modes, which he used to kill Magnus, further enraging Chromedome, who had now lost another friend to the ninja.

Discovering that Galvatron planned to cannibalise parts from his strongest warriors to increase his own power, Sixshot began to fear for his own safety. Attempting to protect himself by entering into an alliance with Scorponok
Scorponok
Scorponok is the name shared by several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All are Decepticons that turn into Scorpoins.- Transformers: Generation 1:...

 and revealing Galvatron's plan to him, Sixshot returned to Planet Master with him once Galvatron had been destroyed by the Autobots. There, he masqueraded as Chromdome himself to lure his friend, Jack, into a trap, brainwashing him and fitting a bomb into his body, forcing Chromedome himself to kill his friend to prevent the destruction of Fortress Maximus
Fortress Maximus
Fortress Maximus is the name of several fictional characters from several of the various Transformers universes. Fortress Maximus appeared in the season 4 finale of the US Transformers animated series voiced by Stephen Keener. He was one of the stars of the Japanese Transformers: Headmasters...

.

On the return trip to Earth, Sixshot was separated from the other Decepticons when he and Daniel Witwicky were swept up in a cosmic storm and deposited on a barren planet. Possessed of a warrior's honor, Sixshot wished no harm upon Daniel and protected him from the dangerous rock-like lifeforms of the planet, and the two developed a friendship.

Unaware that Scorponok had deliberately abandoned him, Sixshot caught up with his fellow Decepticons in the Sol system asteroid belt, and the animosity between him and Chromedome exploded when he challenged the Headmasters to a duel. Daniel intervened in the ensuing conflict, attempting to stop his two friends from fighting, but at that point, a bomb planet on the asteroid by Scorponok intended to rid him of Sixshot exploded, apparently killing the ninja.

Sixshot survived the explosion, however, hitching a ride on the exterior of Battleship Maximus to return to Earth. Gaining information on Scorponok's plan to destroy the planet from the Decepticon Clones, he then tracked the Decepticon leader to the lost continent of Lemuria
Lemuria (continent)
Lemuria is the name of a hypothetical "lost land" variously located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The concept's 19th century origins lie in attempts to account for discontinuities in biogeography; however, the concept of Lemuria has been rendered obsolete by modern theories of plate tectonics...

, where he discovered the full details of his plan to use the continent's Crysmag metal to tear the Earth apart. Escaping through use of his hologram powers, Sixshot joined in the final battle at the North Pole, saving Daniel from Battletrap
Duocons
The Duocons are a sub-group of Decepticons from the fictional Transformers universe.-Profiles:The Duocons sub-group is particularly small, consisting of only two members, Battletrap and Flywheels...

 and Menasor
Menasor
Menasor is the name to several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. The original version was the combined version of the Stunticons. Since then, other characters have taken the name Menasor.-Transformers: Generation 1:...

 before bidding him a fond farewell.

This may not have been Sixshot's final appearance however. Transformers Victory featured the Autobot Greatshot, who while possessing a different robot and beast mode, possessed the other four modes identically. He is also confirmed as a former Decepticon. Some fans have speculated that Greatshot is in fact a reformatted Sixshot.

Prior to the launch of the next Japanese series, Super-God Masterforce, an epilogue to Headmasters was published in Japan's TV Magazine, which revealed that Sixshot had continued to aid the Autobots in his own way, revealing to them that Scorponok still lived following the final confrontation at the North Pole, and warning them of the existence of Devil Z.

Marvel Comics

Sixshot's solitary appearance in Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

' Transformers series actually appears to be an artist's mistake. In the second issue of the Headmasters mini-series, when Scorponok
Scorponok
Scorponok is the name shared by several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All are Decepticons that turn into Scorpoins.- Transformers: Generation 1:...

's forces arrived on the planet of Nebulos, Sixshot could be glimpsed in jet mode amongst the troops, commenting on the strange appearance of the Nebulon natives. He never appeared again, however, except in a flashback to this same scene.

Dreamwave Productions

Despite sparing appearances in Dreamwave Productions
Dreamwave Productions
Dreamwave Productions was a Canadian art design studio and comic book publisher founded in 1996 and is best known for their multiple Transformers comic book series...

' 21st century re-imagining of the G1 universe, Sixshot proved to play a role in an important legacy for the series. At one point, while on the Shockwave
Shockwave (Transformers)
Shockwave is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers series. Throughout his incarnations, he is usually distinguished by a laser cannon in lieu of one of his hands and his distinctive face, which is featureless save a single robotic eye...

-dominated Cybertron
Cybertron
Cybertron is a fictional planet, the homeworld of the Transformers in the various fictional incarnations of the metaseries and toyline by Hasbro. In the Japanese series, the planet is referred to as "Cybertron" pronounced as セイバートロン Seibātoron...

, the Dinobots
Dinobots
Dinobots is the name of several teams of characters in the fictional Transformers Universe. The groups are made up of several robots, each of whose transformed mode is that of a dinosaur or similar prehistoric animal. They are called Dinotrons in the Japanese version; and ' in the Japanese dub of...

 were shown piloting a vehicle identical to Sixshot's tank mode. No explanation was offered for this oddity, but it was suggested to be deliberate, as Shockwave had already conducted a series of experiments into the creation of Transformers with multiple alternate modes that had already spawned the Duocons
Duocons
The Duocons are a sub-group of Decepticons from the fictional Transformers universe.-Profiles:The Duocons sub-group is particularly small, consisting of only two members, Battletrap and Flywheels...

 and Triple Changer
Triple Changer
Triple Changers are Transformers that can transform from robot into two different alternative modes.-Transformers: Generation 1:...

s. Continuing his experiments in the wastes of Cybertron following his deposition as the planet's ruler, Shockwave eventually perfected the six-mode Transformer, Sixshot, of whom Blitzwing
Blitzwing
Blitzwing is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers series. He is always depicted as a Decepticon with two alternate forms, that of a jet and that of a tank...

 was particularly jealous. When Blitzwing was seemingly destroyed in battle, Sixshot ventured out into the battlefield to recover his remains.

Aside from what appeared to be his tank mode, and the shadow of his robot mode, Sixshot did not receive a full and proper appearance in the Dreamwave comics. Undoubtedly, he would have eventually been given one, but the bankruptcy and closure of Dreamwave Productions left his story untold.

Devil's Due Publishing

In the third G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers crossover from Devil's Due Publishing
Devil's Due Publishing
Devil's Due Publishing is an independent comic book publishers in the United States. Based in Chicago, Illinois, DDP is best known for its wide selection of genres, including licensed and original creator-owned properties that populate its monthly comic book series and graphic novels.Though...

, Sixshot appeared as part of Serpentor
Serpentor
Serpentor is a fictional character from G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, a line of military-themed toys created by Hasbro. The character was introduced in 1986 as a toy with an air chariot and included in the animated series that same year.-Toys:...

's Decepticon alliance on Cybertron. Attacking the Autobot Capital City, Sixshot led the Decepticon air attack, but was defeated by Omega Supreme
Omega Supreme
Omega Supreme is the name of a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. He is always an Autobot and is often depicted as a gigantic transformer with vast strength and/or overwhelming firepower.-Transformers: Generation 1:...

. He was seemingly killed when he smashed into the face of Piranacon
Seacons
This article is about the Transformers characters the Seacons. For the shopping mall, see Seacon Square. For the 1961 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington, Seacon, see 19th World Science Fiction Convention...

, forcibly guided there by Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. The autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots called Decepticons...

.

IDW Publishing

After the rights to the Transformers licence passed to IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...

, they began to produce their own material. One Spotlight issue featured Sixshot as its primary focus. A weapon created for total chaos, Sixshot is the best at what he does, even capable of annihilating entire worlds. However his power made him a pariah even amongst his fellow Decepticons. Waiting for his next assignment Sixshot began to grow restless, noting the absence of the Terrorcon
Terrorcon
The name Terrorcons refers to several different groups in the Transformers toyline. They are referred to as Terrortrons in Japan.-Transformers: Generation 1:...

s (the only Transformers that can tolerate him, and actually want to be like him).

Setting out to locate them he journeyed to Muma-Obscura, a world devastated by the mysterious lifeforms known as the Reapers. Greeted by a party of the Reapers Sixshot engaged in a fight, with the location of the Terrorcons as the prize. After Sixshot won, realizing he was merely being tested, the Reapers revealed that, like Sixshot, they were once tools of war with few equals. Since then, they have aspired to a greater purpose and banded together to rid the universe of war by obliterating the most war-like races. The Reapers offered membership to Sixshot, asking him to kill the Terrorcons as a test. Sixshot seemed to accept and blasted the Terrorcons - but when the smoke cleared he had merely shot around them. The Reapers left, promising to meet him again.

In the last issue of The Transformers: Escalation
The Transformers: Escalation
The Transformers: Escalation is a six-issue comic book mini-series, published by IDW Publishing, based on the Transformers and following on from The Transformers: Infiltration. The series launched in November 2006 and ended in April 2007....

 Megatron, incensed by a defeat at Prime's hands, decided to call Sixshot to Earth to accelerate the destruction the Decepticons would cause - unaware the Reapers planned to follow in his wake. In the follow-up series The Transformers: Devastation
The Transformers: Devastation
The Transformers: Devastation is a six-issue comic book miniseries, published by IDW Publishing, based on the Transformers and following on from The Transformers: Escalation. Issue 1 of Devastation was released on October 3, 2007, with issue 2 following on the 24th of October and was published...

 Sixshot was ordered to annihilate the Autobots on Earth. Despite protesting the bypassing of protocol, Sixshot agreed, and easily shot down Ark-19
Ark (Transformers)
The Ark is an Autobot spacecraft in the Transformers Universe. It has appeared as a central fixture of the Transformers storyline ever since its creation, as the Autobots main method of transport to Earth and as a base once they arrive....

. Sent after Ratchet
Ratchet (Transformers)
Ratchet is the name of several characters in the Transformers universes. According to the original creator of the Transformers names, Bob Budiansky, Ratchet was named after the character of Nurse Ratched from the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The name Ratchet is almost always portrayed as...

, who had survived in an escape pod, he tracked him down but was instead attacked by the rest of the Ark's crew. A battle ensued, with Sixshot incapacitating most of the crew and battling Optimus Prime one-on-one. Before he could deliver the killing blow he was recalled by Megatron, as the Decepticon base was under attack by the Reapers. Arriving and attacking them, their leader again attempted to sway him to their side. Starscream
Starscream (Transformers)
Starscream is a fictional character in the Transformers franchise. He is one of the most prolific characters in the Transformers fictional work, appearing in almost all incarnations of the story. Starscream is usually portrayed with the same characterization...

's sudden reppearance seemingly encouraged him to defect, but Starscream took him out with a shut-off code learned during his time as Megatron's bodyguard - a precaution in case Sixshot ever turned against him. However, Sixshot's body was taken by Galvatron
Galvatron
Galvatron is the name of several fictional Transformers, most often the recreated version of Megatron, the Decepticon leader. He was voiced by Leonard Nimoy in the 1986 Transformers movie, and then by Frank Welker in season 3 and 4 of the animated television series. Since then, other Transformers...

 back to the Dead Universe while battle raged between the Decepticons and Reapers.

Manga

Sixshot appears in the Generations 2011 issue #2 "The Fierce Fighting on Planet Nebulos" where he is among the Decepticon forces who ambush the Autobots on Nebulos.

Toys

  • Generation 1 Sixshot (1987)
Twenty limited edition all black Sixshot figured were produced, these can easily fetch over a thousand dollars from collectors.
Sixshot was later remolded into Autobot Greatshot in Japan, and then was remolded further into the Brave series characters Shadow Maru. This toy was designed by Takara
Takara
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....

's Takashi Kunihiro.

Transformers: Energon

In the universe of Transformers: Energon
Transformers: Energon
Transformers: Energon, known in Japan as , is the 2004–2005 Transformers toyline, animated series and comic book series, another co-production between Hasbro and Takara and a direct sequel to Transformers: Armada...

, the name “Sixshot” returned to use in a slightly modified form as Six Shot, the younger and dumber brother of the famous Decepticon criminal, Shockblast
Shockwave (Transformers)
Shockwave is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers series. Throughout his incarnations, he is usually distinguished by a laser cannon in lieu of one of his hands and his distinctive face, which is featureless save a single robotic eye...

.

Animated series

Like his elder sibling, with whom he shared a body design, Six Shot was captured and imprisoned by the Autobots on Cybertron, although he was confined to a standard cell, considered less of a risk than his murderous brother. When the majority of the Decepticons under Megatron's command were captured following the destruction of Unicron
Unicron
Unicron is a fictional character from the Transformers universe and toyline. Created by Floro Dery, he was introduced in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie as the film's main antagonist. Unicron is a prodigiously large robot whose scale reaches planetary proportions, and he is also...

, the cell adjacent to Six Shot was occupied by Snowcat
Cyclonus
Cyclonus is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:The tech spec from the box art of the Cyclonus toy describes him as a compassionless Decepticon air warrior and saboteur...

, who told him of his brother’s demise, wrongly blaming Optimus Prime for the deed (when it had, in actuality, been Unicron who had destroyed Shockblast after he had betrayed Megatron). When Megatron’s remaining forces attacked the planet and liberated his troops, Six Shot requested to join them, seeking revenge for his brother.

Unfortunately for Megatron, Six Shot proved no more trustworthy than his brother. Acting as the Decepticon electronics and technology expert, perpetually manning the primary control center on Cybertron, Six Shot had no interest in serving Megatron, desiring instead only the destruction of Optimus Prime. To that end, he disobeyed Megatron's commands on numerous occasions, and received several beatings for it, yet all the while remaining slickly confident of his own necessity. Eventually, Six Shot sought to gain the power of the Super Energon that had transformed Megatron into Galvatron
Galvatron
Galvatron is the name of several fictional Transformers, most often the recreated version of Megatron, the Decepticon leader. He was voiced by Leonard Nimoy in the 1986 Transformers movie, and then by Frank Welker in season 3 and 4 of the animated television series. Since then, other Transformers...

, openly attacking Galvatron in the attempt, but was stopped by Scorponok
Scorponok
Scorponok is the name shared by several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All are Decepticons that turn into Scorpoins.- Transformers: Generation 1:...

. Galvatron then gave himself a second exposure to the liquid, growing to an immense height, and killed Six Shot, grinding him beneath his heel.

He only transforms into a tank once in the series, but his toy – a repaint of Shockblast – transforms into both a satellite and a tank, although even Shockblast himself only ever assumed satellite mode in the series.
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