Skids (G1)

Skids is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Everyone forgets me, even me.

Skids is a theoretician. This is appropriate, as some would say his existence is merely theoretical; everyone forgets who he is or that he was there. But if they got to know him, they'd learn that he likes to daydream, get built into furniture, and pick up cowboy chicks. Skids unfortunately favors daydreaming while traveling in vehicle mode, but thankfully his excellent brakes spare him and others from incurring TOO much damage after inevitable fender-benders.

Skids is also a fast learner, voraciously absorbing and compartmentalizing new information he receives. This allows him to adapt to new environments and unexpected situations very quickly. His calm, reflective nature and tendency to fade into the background sometimes causes some to question his ability to fight, but make no mistake; Skids can handle himself in battle.

He'd just rather...listen to some music, y'know?

Fiction

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Transformers cartoon

Voice actor: Michael Chain (English, "Quest for Survival"), Dan Gilvezan (English, "Triple Takeover"), Keiichi Nanba (Japanese, "Quest for Survival"), Ken Shiroyama (Japanese, "Triple Takeover"), Lu Jun (Chinese), Roberto Alexander (Latin American), Albert Augier (European French), Ionei Silva (Brazilian Portuguese)

Those arms go allll the way up, to his ribcage.

Skids was part of a strike force that was sent to stop the Insecticons from ravaging a human farm, only to meet with failure. Apparently injured in the battle, Skids underwent some repairs by Hoist upon return to Autobot Headquarters, where he responded incredulously to Bumblebee's report that he had retrieved robotic insecticide from the planet Floron III to deal with the Insecticon threat. Quest for Survival

Racing into obscurity.

Later, Skids was part of a team sent to investigate bombs that were raining down on a city from a football stadium (the work of the Triple Changer Blitzwing). Blitzwing, however, had the stadium surrounded by a massive "Zone Defense" maze built by the Constructicons, and while attempting to traverse it, Skids crashed into Prowl and was driven over by tank mode Blitzwing. Skids and the other Autobots' remains were then gathered by Scrapper, who built a throne for himself out of them. These Autobots were soon rescued and quickly rebuilt, and participated in the crises that ensued as Blitzwing, Astrotrain, Megatron and Devastator vied for Decepticon leadership. Following that skirmish, Prowl opined that Optimus Prime was the greatest leader in the universe, which prompted himself, Skids, Bluestreak and Tracks to form themselves into a throne for Prime; Prime refused to sit, saying that thrones were for Decepticons—he'd rather roll. Triple Takeover

Japanese cartoon continuity

Henkei! Henkei! Generations comic

When Skids successfully proved the existence of particles able to cross over between dimensions, he put his discovery to work for the forces of good, coating his armor in these "Dimension Slide" particles and endowing himself with the power to move between realities, as well as a snazzy new green paintjob. In this quest to examine anomalies within the multiverse, Skids found he could summon other versions of himself from different dimensions to aid him, but for unknown reasons, one of these alternate versions wound up trapped in Skids's home dimension, unable to return to his own world. Renamed "Screech" (presumably to save all the Autobots a headache), this alternate Skids teamed up with his counterpart, and together, the pair worked as "Quantum Operatives" policing the multiverse while searching for a way to get Screech home. Skids's toy bio Screech's toy bio

Hot on the trail of one such multiversal anomaly, Skids and Screech pursued Starscream's ghost across the multiverse to a parallel dimension where he was causing trouble. While the two dimension-hoppers kept the ghost busy with wordplay and pop culture references, the Mirage of that world used his illusion casting powers to scare Starscream into fleeing the dimension by projecting an illusion of his greatest fear: Galvatron! Starscream's New Body

Ask Vector Prime

Vector Prime claimed Skids was from Primax 308.0 Zeta while Screech was from Primax 1008.15 Gamma. The two worked with him in Primax 308.13 Beta. Ask Vector Prime, 23/07/2015

Legends comic

Skids would later take on a new body, blue as usual but more heavily armed, styling himself as a "dimensional investigator" (次元捜査官 jigen sōsakan). When Deadlock caused trouble in the Legends World by bringing SARA there, Skids showed up to teach him how to use SARA's powers to return to Cloud World, and also warned the Decepticon against causing any more interdimensional chaos. Bonus Edition Vol. EX

Finding there to be many more Transformers from other dimensions in the Legends World, Skids regarded this as problematic and decided to send them all back by force and seal off the dimension. Met with resistance from Megatron and his cohorts, he summoned the Skids Squadron to fight the Decepticon leader while he personally dealt with the others. When Megatron came to their rescue, Skids entered "Full Burst Mode" and seemingly killed the Decepticon with a mighty barrage, only to realize the villain just sacrificed himself for his comrades. Following protests by the natives of the Legends World, Skids caught on to the fact that their world was a peaceful one without factions or war and that he was the one causing chaos and violence, prompting the investigator to abandon his plans and undo the seal. He continued to keep the dimension under surveillance, and even stuck around to look up its fictional representations of himself. Bonus Edition Vol. 20

Skids would come to join the Dimensional Patrol, a G1 World organization dedicated to battling multiversal threats. He was guarding Devil Gigatron at their base when Black Convoy's group came to break him out. Devil Gigatron had reformed, however, and refused to leave with Black Convoy. In fact, he removed the corruption in Black Convoy's spark he had placed there years earlier, reverting Black Convoy to his original Autobot state. LGEX Scourge Prologue With the Commandos still corrupted, Skids and Black Convoy pursued the fugitives to the Legends World on behalf of the Patrol. The people of the Legends World were less than enthused by the presence of this occupying military force. Even after the Commandos were captured and reverted to protoforms, Skids and the Patrol insisted on staying until the Dark Ai computer entity was found. Instead, the Headmasters of the Axalon Trading Company helped Dark Ai re-install Black Convoy's original personality, and he then helped drive Skids and his Dimensional Patrol drones off of their world. Black Convoy Bonus Edition

At some point in their career, Skids and Screech prevented the Insecticons from consuming the universe by defeating them with a new type of robotic insecticide. Bonus Edition Vol. 47

Eventually, Sky-Byte convinced Skids and the Dimensional Patrol that the Legends World was not a threat, but was worth preserving. Skids brought the Dimensional Patrol to the Legends World as protectors, defending the populace against an invading army of Zamojin, and the rampage of Majin Zarak. Legends World in Imminent Danger! Part One

Skids continued working with the Dimensional Patrol, under the leadership of the combined Devil God Fire Convoy. Epiloge

Legacy VS500 Collection Special Comic

Skids was one of many spectators for the Speedia 500 race on Velocitron. Velocitron Speedia 500 Part 2 When the Insecticons showed up in the second week, Skids tried to spray them with robotic insecticide. Velocitron Speedia 500 Part 3

Story of Binaltech

After using up all of his vacation and sick days, Skids returned to work to find that the Transformers cartoon had been cancelled.

In an offshoot timeline, Skids was the first of the Binaltech Autobots created simply with the intent of upgrading an existing, healthy Transformer, rather than in the name of repairing one that had been injured. Outfitted with self-repairing nanomechanical antibodies, Skids's body could, barring heavy damage in battle, theoretically function for thousands of years without maintenance. In both his original and new body, Skids dedicated time to studying the chronal warp on Dinobot Island, which gave rise to the Autobot strategy known as "Operation: Distant Thunder", a last-ditch scheme should the Decepticons tamper with the fabric of space-time. That horror occurred in 2004 when Ravage used the Kronosphere to alter the timeline, and Skids prepared to initiate the plan and send Wheeljack's memory data back in time to avert the catastrophe. Darkest Hour

The data probe was launched, but, as the timeline was righting itself, a Nemesis Prime arrived, and manipulated the temporal wave to preserve the Binaltech timeline separate from the original continuity. Possessed by the Spark of the Protector, hailing from some future point in time, Nemesis Prime informed Skids and the others that their timeline was destined to produce great warriors capable of safeguarding the entire multiverse, and therefore must continue on its new course. Binal Time

Skids returned to base with the other Autobots after the defeat of Nemesis Prime. Outlier

Legends comic

Binaltech Skids was a member of the Skids Squadron, a group of dimension-hopping versions of Skids led by dimensional investigator Skids, who summoned them to help force Megatron out of the Legends World. Bonus Edition Vol. 20

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

Skids exists! Really!

In the event that the Ark's mission would require more manpower, Optimus Prime had several Autobots encode copies of their personalities as light patterns within crystalline containment vessels, including Skids. When a large number of Prime's troops were then injured during the opening volleys of the war on Earth, Prime arranged for the construction of new bodies, which the personalities were then programmed into, bringing Skids and the others to life "for a second time".

We bet you can't.

Now in a new body that transformed into a blue van equipped with a bandana-wearing driver, Skids went with Bumblebee and the other new Autobots to learn about their new home. Along the way he learned about an upcoming Brick Springstern concert, and immediately took a liking to the music of Earth and the possibilities of what could be learned from interacting with mankind. When the concert turned out to be the target of a Decepticon attack, Skids and the others were forced into action, engaging Shockwave and three Decepticon jets in battle. They quickly retreated after routing their foes, so that the show could go on. Rock and Roll-Out!

When Megatron ran out of fuel in the middle of the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, Optimus Prime took Skids and a few other Autobots to prevent harm to the humans who had discovered him. Unfortunately, these humans (and their military) forced the Autobots into a retreat. I, Robot-Master!

Skids voiced some concerns about Optimus's plans to raid the heavily fortified Decepticon base for information on the combining process, but Prime vetoed them. En route, distracted by a human radio station, Skids nearly forgot to activate his facsimile driver; a moment later he accidentally clipped the car of hot-tempered Jake Dalrymple, who pursued the Autobots on their mission. Despite the wall of weaponry facing them, Skids made it through the battle unscathed; but as the Autobots retreated with the information, they encountered Jake Dalrymple again, who distracted Skids just long enough for Ravage to blast him off a cliff. Although Optimus Prime mourned the loss of Skids, neither the Autobot leader nor any other Autobot thought to recover the believed deactivated body of Skids later after their mission had been completed. Command Performances!

IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

Lying crippled and unable to transform, Skids was shortly discovered by register girl Charlene, who, thinking he was an ordinary van, had him fixed up with the intent of keeping him for herself. Skids was open to the idea at first, preferring a peaceful life to that of a warrior, but after another bout of road rage with Dalrymple, the unearthly stunts he performed left him no option but to reveal his true nature of Charlene.

Baby you can be my car
And maybe I'll wash you

A somewhat unusual relationship ensued between the two, but more trouble soon came Skids's way in the form of Donny Finkleberg, who was being hunted down by Ravage. Fleeing from the Decepticon with Charlene and Donny, Skids hid out at an abandoned mining town, but yet again, the raging Dalrymple tracked him down and shattered his windshield, knocking him unconscious and into a dream where he died through his refusal to attack Megatron and save Charlene. Reawakening, he engaged Ravage in battle again, finally finding the strength to act, and causing his foe to tumble down a mineshaft. Skids then parted ways with Charlene, having come to the realisation that their two roles in life were too different for their relationship to work out. Showdown!

Oh god my arms, my arms!

Skids returned to the Ark with Finkleberg, with Optimus pleased to find him alive. Jetfire was sent to verify Finkleberg's claim about a group of missing Autobots, uncovering a trail of spilled Transformer fuel. Aerialbots over America! Skids was outfitted with a chemical tracker to follow the fuel trail; taking Finkelberg with him, he began tracing the fuel back to its source. En route, he broke cover to save a trapped driver from some downed power lines, a move that caught the Decepticons' attention. The newly created Stunticons were dispatched to "ambush" Skids - by acting as though they were his allies. The humans' Rapid Anti-robot Assault Team and the Aerialbots soon arrived and engaged in a three-way battle. When it was over, the Aerialbots were defeated, the Autobots' reputation was smeared, and the Stunticons were triumphant; Skids could do little but clear out to continue his mission with Finkleberg. Unfortunately, money still governed Finkleberg's actions, and that evening he sold out Skids to RAAT's leader Walter Barnett while Skids was deactivated for the night. Heavy Traffic!

Shoulda stuck with the nice cowboy lady.

Skids was disassembled for study, but when the Decepticons Runabout and Runamuck appeared on Earth and began defacing landmarks, RAAT operative Circuit Breaker was forced to enter into a deal with the Autobots to stop them. Skids and the other Autobots' components were combined to form a jury-rigged robot that Circuit Breaker used to stop the Battlechargers, but in return for their co-operation, Skids and the Autobots were allowed to go free. Decepticon Graffiti!

On the return trip to the Ark, however, Skids was abruptly torn from reality when the future Decepticon Galvatron traveled back in time from 2006, shunting Skids into Limbo to maintain temporal balance. Fallen Angel

Skids attended Optimus Prime's funeral, Funeral for a Friend! witnessed the arrival of a group of children within the space-borne Ark, Spacehikers! and watched Blaster and Grimlock fight for Autobot leadership on Earth's moon. He was presumably either off-lined during the subsequent Decepticon ambush, Totaled! or during Starscream's Underbase powered rampage. Dark Star

Oh, hey, remember Skids?

And then he stole Crosscut's head.

Skids remained in Limbo for two years while Galvatron ran amok on Earth, his mind steadily succumbing to the dream-illusions created by the parasites native to the realm. Time Wars In his dreams, a brutish Skids led monsters in orgies of destruction. With Galvatron's eventual death during the Time Wars, Skids was finally returned to Earth, but he had spent too long in Limbo—the Limbo parasites had succeeded in shaping a reality from his dreams, and the nightmarish monsters that he had imagined materialised on Earth with him. Fleeing from the beasts, horrified at the "weakness" that had led to him making them, Skids was convinced by the creatures that they would exist so long as he was alive. Their goal was to break him into joining them in their bloody rampages (and also to just mess with him). Skids lured them into a nuclear power plant which he had planned to detonate, wiping out the monsters and himself. However, he struggled to find the courage to end his own life in order to spare the Earth from the horrors he had birthed.

Thankfully, it didn't come to that, as the remnants of the Autobot Wreckers—joined by Catilla and Carnivac of the Decepticon Mayhem Attack Squad—arrived to aid him, defeating the monsters even as the creature's leader admitted they'd made up that whole 'die to stop us' thing. Skids joined with this group of Transformers, forming the Survivors. Survivors!

Carnivac soon tired of Autobot life and Skids and the others could only watch as he fell out with Springer and struck out on his own. Way of the Warrior When a human called in the rest of the Survivors to help Carnivac against the new Mayhem Attack Squad, Springer was adamant that they shouldn't help the renegade Decepticon, but Skids, Broadside and Inferno were swayed by Catilla's pleas to get involved. Survival Run They arrived just in time to save Carnivac from the Decepticons, but Catilla was killed by Bludgeon and Carnivac swore vengeance. A Savage Place!

Hey, who here remembers when I was damaged and shoved into the medbay? No? Well, that makes all of us.

Grimlock traveled to Hydrus Four to use Nucleon to revive the Dinobots. Returning to the Ark, he also pumped Nucleon into the med bays, reviving Skids and several others, and headed towards Cybertron. Grimlock used the Ark as a blunt instrument across Unicron's head, forcing Skids and the others to evacuate and join the battle against the Chaos Bringer. On the Edge of Extinction!

Earthforce

When Carnivac ran off on his own to avenge Catilla's death, Skids and the other Survivors insisted Springer contact Grimlock and the Earthforce for back-up. Wolf in the Fold! Though Grimlock was hesitant to lend any warriors in order to save a Decepticon, he was swayed into doing so in exchange of the Survivors' word that they would permanently join up with his unit afterwards. Hooked up with these Autobot reinforcements, Skids and the others stormed the Mayhem Attack Squad's tropical island base. Skids personally confronted Octopunch in single combat, holding his own against the murderous Pretender. Where Wolf?

On a later mission for Earthforce, Skids and the Survivors protected an oil tanker from Starscream, while the rest of the Decepticons were trying to distract the Autobots with an all-out assault on their base. Undeterred by the sleight-of-hand, the Survivors caught up with Starscream in the Gulf of Mexico. Skids used a flying leap by Carnivac as a distraction to catch Starscream with his liquid nitrogen cannon, and then Inferno knocked the Decepticon commander into the drink. Divide and Conquer!

Transformers Comic-Magazin

Skids was part of the Autobot team when they battled the Decepticons in defense of Earth's precious energy resources. The Transformers' Grand Hour: Headmaster of the Dimensions

Goldbug later recalled the events of the previous battle. The Cosmic Adventure: Memories of Bumblebee

Regeneration One

Remember when I was a main character back in our Marvel days? Let's do that again.

In 2012, when Optimus Prime discovered Megatron was still active on Earth, he took an armed assault squad of Autobots, including Skids, to put an end to the tyrant's menace once and for all. Battling Megatron's reanimated Decepticon zombies as the two leaders clashed, Skids called dibs on taking out Overbite. Loose Ends, Part 5

After the battle, Skids and Prowl attended to Kup as he recovered from a Scraplet infection. He then departed Earth with the other Autobots. Natural Selection, Part One As they arrived back at Cybertron, the Valiant was targeted by missiles from the Civil Defense Hub, though they were called off at the last second. Nonetheless, Skids and the rest of the armed assault squad prepared for immediate deployment upon landing. Natural Selection, Part Five

Skids would later respond when Jhiaxus's Primum Fugae began attacking the Demons and Dinobots indiscriminately and upon Ultra Magnus's orders, he and Sideswipe began prepping the Dinobots for medevac. The War to End All Wars, Part 2 During the invasion of the Hub Network, Skids and a team of Autobots comprising Beachcomber, Sky High, Jazz, and Getaway aboard the Lancer Two were shot down by Jhiaxus's forces when they revealed their full defensive power. The War to End All Wars, Part 3

Transformers '84

Shortly after the Ark crashed on prehistoric Earth its damaged computer AUNTIE registered the approaching Grimlock as a threat and as a defensive measure, downloaded and copied the memory engrams of the Autobots' reserve assets Skids, Smokescreen, Hoist, Grapple, and Tracks, creating new drone bodies for them but leaving their sparks in magnetic limbo. However, before the Dinobot commander could reach the Ark, Ramjet, Thrust, and Dirge arrived looking for Shockwave and engaged the drones in battle. Stripped of their Autobot morality and controlled by AUNTIE, the drone Skids and its companions fought well against the Coneheads Secrets & Lies #3 but were shut down when Grimlock fought his way past Guardian units and a reanimated Megatron to take AUNTIE offline. Secrets & Lies #4

Dinobots Strike Back

Seen here pouting because he gets no screen time.

Although Skids had reported the strange electromagnetic readings he'd been getting from Dolphin's Bay even before Optimus Prime sent Windcharger to Bandit's Bluff to remove the cerebro-shells from the rampaging Dinobots, it took Grimlock's report that evening to prompt Optimus to have Skids investigate it for possible Decepticon activity. Prime chose Bumblebee to accompany him in Wheeljack's new mini-submarine, but wasn't sure whether to assign Sludge to the mission as well, since Skids clearly didn't want him along.

If Prime left Sludge out, Skids celebrated by absentmindedly crashing into Mount Lomas, crumpling his hood and causing Bumblebee to notice a suspicious trail in the woods. If the pair followed it instead of continuing to the bay, they walked into a trap set by Scrapper and Gravedigger, who disassembled Bumblebee and Skids to serve as the first components of the Autobot Memorial Power Plant.

If they continued to Dolphin's Bay and the sub, Skids traced electromagnetic waves back to some black coral, then hacked into a Decepticon computer and learned of a plot to convert the coral into superfuel. Bumblebee then exited the hatch to break a piece off, triggering an explosion which trapped him in a canyon beneath broken columns of crimson coral. Without underwater gear, Skids had only two options: If he went back to the channel for help, Seaspray used his laser to free Bumblebee, then tried to sail back to the Ark, only to have Starscream blow all three of them up with a cluster bomb. If Skids tried translating some nearby dolphins' language, he succeeded in five minutes, talking the three largest dolphins into moving the broken coral. Skids and Bumblebee brought the black coral and his report back to Optimus Prime, ensuring an Autobot victory.

If Prime did include Sludge, Skids, and Bumblebee made it to the bay first, then used the sub to track the readings to an underwater cave. Bumblebee entered it, radioed Skids about Operation Black Coral, then failed to reemerge. If Skids chose to return to the Ark for help, two possible endings saw an Autobot assault save Bumblebee and destroy the Decepticons' base. If Skids tried to radio Bumblebee, the sub was promptly hit by a sonic attack from Frenzy, making it go haywire and tear through the bay. Whether Skids tried to stop it by activating the backup systems or shorting the controls out with his electron blaster, he was saved by Sludge, ensuring an Autobot victory in two more endings. Dinobots Strike Back

3H comics

In the context of science, "theory" does not mean "guess" or "hunch", Rodimus. You should probably pay attention.

Several months after the defeat of Unicron in 2005, Skids was among the senior scientists (including Perceptor, Quickmix, and Rad) who questioned Rodimus Prime's plan to send out the best of the remaining Autobot science and research members to establish deep-space reconnaissance posts. Betrayal

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

8.2 million years ago, Skids took part in the defense of Altihex, serving under Grimlock's command. They were forced to retreat after the Decepticons overran the city. Later, Skids was in the Chamber of the Ancients, observing the ceremony in which Optronix was given the Matrix of Leadership and transformed into Optimus Prime. Immediately, three Decepticon assassins attacked, and though Skids acted to protect the new Prime, his arm was cut off by Umbra. The War Within #1

Skids was repaired and he returned to his post at the Decagon. While Prime was absent, Skids picked up radar of incoming Decepticon invaders and a transmission from the force's field commander, Shockwave. The War Within #2 Skids helped man auto-defenses from inside the Decagon and coordinated troops in the field. The War Within #3 Eventually, the Autobots' Omega Sentinel units were destroyed. Picking up their personal weaponry, Skids and the other Autobots were all that was left to defend Iacon, and made a desperate last stand against Shockwave and his forces. The War Within #5 The Autobots were only spared from annihilation because Starscream at that point activated one of Cybertron's planetary engines. This caused a chain reaction, which crumbled Iacon into a crater, driving away the Decepticon forces. The War Within #6

Trypticon plays "Hit the Skids".

During the Dark Ages, when Optimus Prime and Megatron both disappeared into a prototype spacebridge, both factions splintered into several sub-groups. Skids served under Prowl's faction of Autobots. Fragmentation Together, they investigated reports that the Decepticons were in the process of building a mobile fortress, only to find Trypticon already completed and battle-ready in the Praetorus Wharf. Devastation Finding that nothing they threw at the giant Decepticon had any effect, the Autobots tried to outrun it instead. Skids hid in a nearby building, onto which Trypticon jumped to crush him. Revelation Though battered by the incident, Skids managed to survive it, and was brought back to Autobase for repairs. As Ratchet was tending to his wounds, The Fallen broke into the Autobots' headquarters, re-appropriated Blitzwing from one of their holding cells, and took off. Confrontation Once The Fallen's base of operations was uncovered, Skids joined a cross-faction army in rushing it to put an end to the ancient Transformer's scheme. Ultimately, The Fallen was defeated by the power of Primus himself, and all factions agreed to keep the chamber The Fallen had tried to breach sealed to prevent anyone from further abusing the power held within it. Conflagration

At some point, Ultra Magnus took command of the Autobots, and reunited them into a single faction. Under his leadership, the Autobots gained a significant hold over Cybertron's resources and territories. This eventually forced the Ultracons and Shockwave's Decepticons to sign a peace treaty with the Autobots. Skids was in attendance at the signing of the truce, which was interrupted by a bombing, engineered by Starscream and his Predacons. This act of aggression only served to unite the Autobots, Ultracons, and Decepticons however, who struck back against Starscream's troops. A united Cybertron finally seemed within reach... that is, until Megatron made a dramatic return, accompanied by an army of Air Warriors. The Age of Wrath Megatron quickly took over the planet, and enslaved the majority of Autobots. Skids was among the many unfortunates captured, and put to work in Internment Camp Pi. The Age of Wrath Pt.2

Optimus returned to Cybertron, and the Autobots were freed from slavery. The Age of Wrath Pt.6

Did Pat Lee actually draw what is beyond this window? The question haunts my very being.

Skids was not among the Autobots who traveled to Earth aboard the Ark, remaining behind on Cybertron as the planet slipped into the deactivated state known as the Great Shutdown. When Shockwave began reactivating the planet and successfully unified the Autobot and Decepticon factions, Skids was a member of the council of Autobots who served to represent their faction in the alliance. Few of the council members were actually suited for leadership, however, and slowly found themselves giving more and more control to Shockwave. Revelation Even when Perceptor presented the council with evidence that Shockwave was performing immoral experiments on fellow Cybertronians, the High Council was unwilling to take any constitutional action against Shockwave. Cold War Eventually, the example shown by the Ark's returning crew and several homegrown Autobot insurgency cells tore the blinders from the council's optics, and Skids gathered his fellow councilmen in taking to the streets and ousting the Decepticons from power. Revelation

G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers

Not even Prowl remembers him.

During an Autobot peace ceremony on Cybertron, Skids reported to Optimus Prime that Hot Rod, Springer, and Sandstorm had yet to find the Autobots and Joes that had gone missing while chasing Serpent O.R. Their conversation was then interrupted due to a Decepticon attack. The Art of War #3

Skids was later stationed on the Arc II on Earth, where he helped his comrades in the field by warning them about incoming G.I. Joe S.H.A.R.C.s. When the ship came under attack by the Pretender Monsters, Skids was knocked out by Icepick while alerting the others on board. Black Horizon, Part 1 of 2 He was sent to the Pit for repairs and was expected to quickly recover from his injuries. Black Horizon, Part 2 of 2

TransTech

In an Offworld Zone of Axiom Nexus, a Skids was yet another victim of Bulletbike, murdered for a cred-key. I, Lowtech

The Beast Within

During a particularly violent brawl between the Autobots and Decepticons, Skids could do nothing but avert his eyes as The Beast began distributing wanton carnage onto the battlefield. The Beast Within

Later, Skids was amongst the few Autobot survivors still intact despite the brutality of the battle. He and a small number of surviving Autobots rode in Optimus Prime's trailer in a desperate effort to outrun The Beast. He was then killed when the Beast took a swipe at Optimus's trailer, crushed utterly in The Beast's monstrous paw. The Beast Within Part 2, Consequences

2005 IDW continuity

First appearance: More than Meets the Eye #1 (mentioned); #2 (depicted)

-gulp-

Before the war, Skids of Nova Cronum trained as a theoretician at Senator Shockwave's Academy of Advanced Technology, Patternism secretly recruited to the school because of his status as an "outlier" with special powers—in Skids's case, a "super-learning" ability that allowed him to master many skills. An Intimate Beheading He was present at the academy on the day that Roller and Ratchet arrived to take Shockwave into protective custody, and his attempt to stop them was quickly quashed when the towering Roller intimidated him into silence. Patternism It was not long, however, before Skids's teacher returned and recruited him and classmates "Glitch" and Windcharger for a plan formulated by Orion Pax to steal a bomb disguised as the Matrix from Nominus Prime's body as it lay in the Primal Basilica. Skids was somewhat disappointed that his sole contribution to the plan was not one of his many skills, but merely the fact he had a grappling hook in his arm that they could use to lower Pax into the Basilica. Despite a minor snag when the technology-disrupting Glitch accidentally jammed his hook's winch, the mission was a success. An Intimate Beheading

Unfortunately, the aftermath of the mission meant the outliers and Pax had to go on the run. Out in the Alyon region, they discovered a new "hot spot" for infant sparks which looked like the Hand of Primus (or, for Skids, was definitely the Hand of Primus). Zeta, their man in Iacon, warned them the Senate wanted to destroy the spot to stop the Functionist Council exploiting it and so the fugitives had to fight off the Elite Guard repeatedly. Time-travellers under Rodimus popped up and, when Skids mistook them for reinforcements from Zeta, rapidly claimed that. They saved the day but the time travellers wiped everyone's memories after... unfortunately including memories that Roller was missing in action. All Our Parlous Yesterdays

What did I do last night?

After graduating to full-fledged theoretician status, Skids went on to join the Autobot army. Shortly after the Simanzi Massacre, when the planet still was cooling, he became a bomb negotiator: disabling the anti-personal mines made out of Autobot prisoners so they could die without going off. This ended when he made the mistake of mentioning Primus to the unfortunate Heavy Tread, who detonated himself in a rage that anyone could believe in a god that did this to him. When Skids came to, he was a Decepticon prisoner and off to the notorious Grindcore gulag with a "mouth flower" inside his mouth that would destroy his brain if he dared transform. Skids used his outlier learning skills to disable the "flower", having seen how the guards put it in, and began pumping his cellmate Quark for info. This brought him to the attention of the camp commandant, Speak, Memory: Part 1 who turned out to be his old friend Glitch, having since joined the Decepticons and granted an upgraded body. Do Not Go Gentle

Glitch, in an act of basic sadism, decided to make a project out of the religious 'bot. He asked Skids to repair Grindcore's teleporter, promising it would mean fifty prisoners would be sent to Decepticon colony world Ambervalia to work as slaves. Skids told Quark that this was collaboration that would help and the fifty would be better as slave workers than at the prison; and while he didn't say outright, Skids was relaxed around the Commandant and felt he could try and make demands for more prisoners sent to the colonies, assuming he could half-trust his old friend even if he had switched sides. What he did not realise until it was too late was that Glitch had been making him rebuild the camp smelting chamber... something he learned only after demanding Quark get to be 'teleported'. Skids' faith died as he was forced to watch fifty Autobots die horrific deaths because of him. The memory was so traumatic that he overwrote it Speak, Memory! (Part 2) and the only thing he remembered of it in his missing months was "The Empyrean Suite", unable to remember the name or that this was the future Decepticon Justice Division leader's favourite music to play during a massacre. Who's Afraid of the DJD?

Skids used to have an Amica Endura called Chopper. They broke up because Chopper was "an absolute arse". The Frail Gaze

He's been trained to kick your ass. Theoretically, of course.

Long into the war he joined the Diplomatic Corps, working to persuade other races to support the Autobot cause. Who's Afraid of the DJD? At some point, he disappeared and was believed dead, Hangers On but had, in fact, become part of Prowl's covert Special Operations. Partnered with Getaway, he was sent on a mission to influence Tyrest, using a nudge gun to implant the impulse to resign in the Chief Justice's mind. The plan failed and Tyrest sicced Legislators on the duo, capturing Getaway and hitting Skids with an inhibitor claw in the back. Skids was barely able to escape using a shuttle made from mode locked Legislators. Using the nudge gun's other charge, Skids erased his own memory after setting the shuttle to home in on the nearest of his handlers, the Duobots. Arm the Lonely

How do you like me now?

It was in this amnesiac state that he arrived on the planet where the Lost Light had crashed. Abruptly, the mode lock deactivated and the ship began transforming, so Skids made an impulsive decision: he reactivated the lock, sent the ship crashing into the surface, and bailed out. Making it to the ground safely, Skids found himself under attack from the Legislators that had made up his ship—though one of them had been killed in the crash, the other two were coming after him with giant swords and fire breath. Skids came upon the deceased bodies of two Autobots who had failed to survive the Lost Light crash—Hyperion and Polaris—and used their weapons and abilities to eliminate another of the pursuing robots. Running from the lone survivor, Skids came upon a small party of Autobots from the Lost Light, who deactivated the inhibitor claw for him, allowing him to access his weapons and destroy the last Legislator. Skids was invited to join the crew of the Lost Light, though he was less than enthusiastic about Swerve's proposition that the pair of them should team up. Hangers On

MEANWHILE IN A 20 MILE RADIUS OF THIS EVENT

When a Sparkeater got loose aboard the Lost Light, requiring the crew to be sealed in their quarters, Skids, decided to exploit his missing memories to entirely reinvent himself. Deciding he disliked confinement, he left through the ventilation system. Drawn by Rung's cries, he saved the psychiatrist from a close call with the Sparkeater, and at Rodimus's request, led the creature through the vents to the engine room where Rodimus disposed of it. The Chaos of Warm Things As a celebration of the death of the Sparkeater, Swerve opened a bar where Skids got drunk together with Chromedome. He failed to notice that Chromedome stole his gun while he was messing around with his grappling hook and a server-robot. Life After the Big Bang Rules of Disengagement After attending a ceremony to commend Chromedome, Brainstorm and Highbrow on recent heroics, The Reluctant Specialist Skids was next spotted still hanging out at the bar with some other Autobots as Trailbreaker put Chromedome's ability to identify an Autobot based on their transformation sound to the test. Interiors He later tried to comfort Swerve following his accidental shooting of Rung. Rules of Disengagement

When a swarm of Nanocons that had lain dormant inside Ultra Magnus's body were mysteriously reactivated, Skids and a few others were shrunk by Brainstorm's mass-displacement gun and sent inside Magnus to eliminate them. Once that was dealt with, Skids attended Tailgate's Autobot Initiation Ceremony, during which he relayed Swerve's report from the engine room that dead crewmember Ore had come back to life. The chaos only continued when Skids and a team of Autobots were abruptly teleported by Galactic Council to the planet Theophany, there to investigate the razing of Crystal City. Beneath the city, they found a slumbering Titan, leading to discussions on the Transformers' creation myths and the meaning of life; Skids and Chromedome shared a belief that life was shaped not by destiny or gods, but by interactions with others. Skids theorized that both the Nanocons and Ore had come back to life thanks to the psychic emanations of the Metrotitan, then helped Whirl fend off the Galactic Council's forces until the Autobots could free the Metrotitan, which teleported them all back to the Lost Light and quantum-jumped the ship to safety. You, Me, and Other Revelations

Inspired by their talk, Skids requested that Chromedome use his mnemosurgery to unlock his lost memories; Chromedome discovered that only Skids's last year of memories had been erased, while the others had been repressed by a trauma so horrific he did not dare restore them. Chromedome was, however, able to identify the music in his head as the "The Empyrean Suite", and hoped Skids would never learn its significance. Who's Afraid of the DJD?

"Legs: Yes. Bow-tie: Cool...I can buy a fez."

Skids was among the group of Autobots gathered by Rewind in Swerve's bar to help tell a story to aid in Rung's mental recovery. Post Hoc When his old altercation with Roller came up, Whirl called him a wuss, and he countered that his skills as a theoretician wouldn't have been useful in a fight. Patternism At the culmination of the story Rung still showed no signs of recovery...until Skids deliberately mispronounced his name a couple of times, prompting the psychiatrist to speak and correct him. An Intimate Beheading The storytelling session was brought to an end by the sounding of alarm to ready the crew for a battle with Decepticons on the planet Temptoria; during the fight, Skids, Chromedome and Steeljaw battled Overkill. Before & After Later, to unwind, Skids joined the crew of the Lost Light on some "shore leave" on the planet Hedonia, where he tried out his new personality-generated holomatter avatar, only to find his amnesia kept it from creating a fake identity for him. As the group played the "Nemesis Game" in a bar, Skids identified Misfire as his worst enemy, and then wound up getting into a drunken brawl with Cyclonus. Cybertronian Homesick Blues Skids and Whirl also engaged in some oneupsmanship with a group of Ammonites they met in the bar, comparing the length and breadth of their races' respective galaxy-spanning conflicts. When the leader of the Ammonites' rival faction the Terradores happened to walk in, Whirl casually murdered him to show up their new drinking buddies, much to Skids' chagrin. Little Victories Skids bought Rodimus a Galactic Council captain's hat as a souvenir of the trip. Signal to Noise

When the mass-murdering Decepticon Overlord ran wild on the ship, Skids joined in the futile effort to hold back his rampage. Under Cold Blue Stars Overlord was ejected from the ship thanks to the sacrifice of Rewind, and Skids tried to console Chromedome over the loss of his lover, only to find that the mnemosurgeon was eerily calm about the whole thing. The Gloaming

Skids kind of lost it a bit after Charlene left.

When the Lost Light encountered the long lost satellite Luna 1, Skids got Chromedome to accompany the band of Autobots heading to the surface to see if the satellite had a way to return Skids's memories. He went to the ship's oil reservoir for some alone time, where he was attacked by a number of Legislators. The Fecund Moon While he managed to hold them off long enough for Swerve to arrive to help, a mysterious and enigmatic robot appeared behind him, and impaled him with a large sword. House of Ambus

Fortunately for Skids, he survived this, and was later teleported by Star Saber into a cell which contained Rodimus' crew. Perceptor examined his wound, while Swerve explained what happened to them. After Skids said that he would apologize for whatever he had done to Tyrest, Star Saber returned to the cell, carrying his "Partner in crime" with him. Chromedome then explained that when he read Skids' mind, he had done it wrong, and misinterpreted the remnant memory as an "Imperative to escape". In actuality though, it was a name, Getaway. The Divided Self Getaway was able to fill Skids in on his lost memories of their ill-fated mission to change Tyrest's mind, and explained Tyrest's mad plan to reach Cyberutopia. With the newcomer's help, Skids and the others were freed from the cell and confronted Tyrest, only to be incapacitated by the lawmaker's suggestion weapon. Arm the Lonely

Thanks to Tailgate, the suggestion weapon was disabled, and Skids cuffed Pharma, only for the medic to promptly escape when his back was turned. The Autobots caught up with him at Tyrest's gate to Cyberutopia, but only Skids, finally at peace with himself, was able to step through the guilt-detecting force field. He found himself standing on a strange landscape being talked to by a multi-colored spark. On hearing cries for help from Rung, he dashed back through the portal to help fight the Legislators until Tailgate was able to shut them down with some amendments to the law. This Calamitous Life

Once everything was over, he tried telling Rodimus what he saw, but he couldn't make sense of all it. The Sound of Breaking Glass Not helping was the fact that whatever he saw proved difficult to remember for any length of time. How Bright Their Frail Deeds

Before the Lost Light left Luna 1, Skids played a film compiled by Rewind to detail the ship's voyage. Unfortunately the film failed to impress the members of the Circle of Light who rejected any notion of joining the crew. Little Victories

Skids was among the Autobots who welcomed Orion Pax and his team aboard the Lost Light. Swerve remarked to him how weird some of Pax's crew were. Dark Dawn Skids was later seen having a drink at Swerve's Black Metal When the Lost Light was assaulted by Ammonites, Skids met up with Getaway and Ultra Magnus to help organize a counterattack. Skids hesitantly suggested that they use the Rodpod to fight back. Despite the other's and his own concerns about damaging it and making Rodimus angry, they ended up boarding and using the vessel. Skids piloted the craft, and used it to defend the ship's fuel quills, while blasting Ammonites that attempted to combine. Skids was forced to pilot the Rodpod away from the battle when a group of Ammonites combined and gave chase to them. In an attempt to lose them, he piloted the vessel into what appeared to be an abyss, but was really the optical cavity of Metroplex Into the Abyss

As everyone else tried to figure out where Metroplex's eye had gotten to, Getaway had a minor breakdown over the fact that A: they were inside someone's eye canal, and B: they were in a spaceship shaped like someone's head. Skids consoled him and said it was best to just roll with it. The group took Ratchet's suggestion to find Metroplex's brain, only on arrival in his brain chamber found it was surprisingly absent. In light of that, they decided to go find his spark instead. As they approached, Whirl noticed the flooding had been sealed off, which surprised Skids.

On setting down, Getaway quickly found an arrow pointing toward the spark chamber, which everyone decided to follow. Skids was the one to ask whether they would lock the Rodpod, which no-one else was concerned about. The arrows took everyone on a strange course through Metroplex's interior, until they came upon... the Rodpod again. Before Whirl could properly blame the ship, an Ammonite appeared, and blew it up. No Exit Fortunately, they were saved by a wall appearing to block the explosion, at which point Skids realized the purpose of the arrows: Metroplex was moving his interior about, and the odd journey the arrows had taken them on was because the direction they were meant to be pointed had change too. Then, they received a call from Swerve informing them to avoid the water, or they'd contract an alchemical virus and die horribly, and worse than that, two thousand Ammonites were heading their way. As Magnus gave orders to barricade the room, Whirl turned out an Ammonite, having beaten an explanation out of him. However, when the little guy told them who he was working for, he promptly self-destructed. Before everyone present could dwell on that, two newcomers appeared and told them to surrender. The Dead Are Not Enough

Before Getaway could charm the two fellow Autobots, several Ammonites burst through the walls. While Ultra Magnus,Ratchet and Brainstorm went off with their new friends, Skids stayed behind to fight off the attackers (that he was being mobbed by several of them anyway probably helped). As Skids fought, Metroplex was recharged by the Lost Light's engines, and transported himself back to Cybertron. Burning Bright This didn't get rid of the Ammonites, though. That took Megatron giving the titan his missing thumb, containing the Regenesis Ore-7, which healed him and reactivated his immune system, killing the Ammonites dead. Finis Temporis

SHOW ME YA MOVES!

In the apparent aftermath of Shockwave's scheme, Skids and Getaway relaxed in Swerve's, and were witness to Swerve suffering a bad bout of hero worship when Blurr walked in. The celebrations were rudely interrupted when Shockwave made his move, summoning all the Ammonites to attack Cybertron. The Becoming Fortunately, Bumblebee had a plan of taking the fight to Shockwave. Skids was included in the team to be sent, thanks to his secret-agent-know-how. Getting to Shockwave's base of operations in the Crystal City seemed impossible, until Starscream showed up with Skywarp, who managed to get them there. On arrival, the group was attacked by Bludgeon. Ultra Magnus offered to hold him off, and Skids decided to volunteer his skills as well, along with a suddenly-ill Brainstorm. However, Skids's outlier abilities weren't able to match Bludgeon's mastery of Metallikato, and he quickly wound up defeated. Fortunately, Brainstorm's unease turned out to be Optimus Prime, Rodimus, Cyclonus, Kup, and Nightbeat using the Dead Universe portal in his chest to escape that dying realm.Black Planet They quickly mopped up Bludgeon, but Cyclonus' injuries meant someone had to help Brainstorm haul him back to his lab. While this meant Skids had to miss the climactic showdown, he did get to see time itself falling to pieces in the sky above Cybertron. That, and Rodimus managing to play on Brainstorm's insecurities. ...And the Damage Done

Once the crisis was truly over, Skids decamped to Luna 2 to watch Megatron's trial. Evidently, he was not dissuaded from rejoining the Lost Light on its quest once the former Decepticon Leader was added to the ranks, and he set off again, this time coming along of his own volition. Six months into the quest, he was sufficiently worried to pay a visit to the widowed Chromedome with Nightbeat, though their friend remained secluded in his hab suite and Nightbeat's interest was quickly derailed, to Skids' dismay. Towards Peace Shortly thereafter, he, Nautica, and Riptide all shot the bull about the ship's new gossip mag, the Lost Light Insider. Though Nautica decided to exit before any rules were broken, she and Skids exchanged a bit of friendly banter before he and Riptide convinced the massively intoxicated Trailcutter to steal Megatron's "superfuel" out of the medibay. Words Hang in the Air.

Actually performing his function.

When a pod containing the corpse of another Rodimus showed up, 'our' Rodimus called in Skids as part of his investigation team. Using all the facts, Skids and Chromedome worked out (wrongly as they'd soon learn!) that this was a near-future Roddy who'd die and be sent back in time, and Skids was left aghast by his leader's desperate attempts to 'change history' like lopping an arm off. Everything was then interrupted when the ship started to vanish around them Predestination: A Beginner's Guide and he was left stuck on a spaceship with Megatron (and Skids, who kept making snide asides when he was trying to listen). Soon, the Autobots on board began to disappear one by one and everyone had to reveal personal secrets in an attempt to figure out what was the common denominator. (In the process, Skids helped fill in Nautica on M.T.O.s and expressed his distaste for High Command's lack of interest in educating the "warborn".)

After realising only the launch crew were disappearing, the newbies like Skids found the Lost Light returned but in ruins! Twenty Plus One He agreed with Riptide that this must be the future Light that dead-Rodimus had come from and worried that the evidence they found meant they bring back the crew, only for the ship to be ripped apart. In an investigation, they came across a dead Ultra Magnus, one killed by a fusion cannon, and Skids turned on Megatron, believing this showed he was going to inevitably turn on them! To his disquiet, when Megatron immediately requested to be locked up until all the facts were gone, he felt bad' about doing it. As he admitted to Getaway during their search, he worried he was going to stop hating the killer. The search found yet more corpses and to Skids horror, they had all been executed and their transformation cogs removed: acts that revealed the ship had been butchered by the Decepticon Justice Division. Luckily for all concerned, the discovery of a still-alive Rewind proved this wasn't the future Lost Light but a duplicate of the 'real' one. slaughterhouse

Look at you! You gotta look inside yourself and say, 'what am I willing to put up with today?' NOT SLAGGIN' THIS!!"

Skids rushed to Rewind as he came through, making sure the guy was okay and filled in on things like Megatron-the-Autobot, and was pissed when Nightbeat pushed Rewind too soon to explain what had happened to the ship. That was how they learned the copy was created when the ship launched, thanks to an issue with the quantum engines, and exactly what hell Rewind had gone through. Said quantum engines were also leaking, endangering a nearby organic planet, and Skids knew they ahd to act. When Megatron refused to, bothered at the idea of risking his life for a handful of fleshy strangers, Skids tore into him for violating what the Autobrand stood for and that if being an Autobot didn't force him to modify his behaviour instead of getting what he wanted, then none of his 'rehab' meant a damn.

A brief aside from Getaway gave Skids an idea of how to save the planet: using a mass displacement gun he knew Brainstorm had been making to shrink down someone to help already-tiny Rewind fix the engines. That was a bust. Nothing was found except proof that Brainstorm was secretly a Decepticon spy but no time for that now, Skids! To Skids' amazement and joy though, his bollocking had worked and a guilty Megatron admitted he could be rigged to downsize and thus he could help Rewind. Skids thanked him. Once the damage was fixed, the duplicate Lost Light vanished and the 'real' one started to come back, and a happy Skids told a returning Chromedome to head up to the roof where Rewind was waiting. The Road Not Taken

Oh yeah, that Brainstorm thing. Turned out he was going back in time to change history, which was going to result in a hideous dystopia, and the time travellers sent to bring him back ended up running into an early Skids.All Our Parlous Yesterdays Things turned out fine in the end! While time-travelling, Rodimus tried to warn the past "don't let them [the Legislators] take Skids" but nobody heard it, which was good as Cyclonus pointed out that Skids being captured turned out to be necessary for saving half the Cybertronian race. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It Predestination: An Expert's Guide

What a feeling
Being's believing

Skids' friendly nature struck a chord with Ten, the former Legislator turned into a bartender. In a mural of Ten's favourite crewmembers, Skids was in the front. A further friendship was struck up when Ratchet asked Skids to chat with Rung some time, as the guy would truly appreciate being visited by someone who didn't want help from him; when Skids bought Rung a drink, the therapist was surprised and delighted. Our Steps Will Always Rhyme

Skids, Getaway, and Brainstorm all hung out at Nautica's, showing off their cool skillz and generally hanging. When Rung came up, Skids was bothered by Getaway dissing the guy, but they didn't have time to discuss Getaway's passive aggressive whiny defence of it as news came in that Thunderclash was dying and everyone was invited to the pre-wake on the Vis Vitalis. The Sensuous Frame During the party, Getaway asked him if he wanted to mutiny against Megatron. Skids declined... and had his mind wiped with the nudge gun. How Bright Their Frail Deeds Believing his splitting headache to be too much partying, he decided to flump out at the Vitalis and get picked up tomorrow. The Sensuous Frame That made him a target for the parasitical personality ticks, secretly feeding off his energy! Not knowing why he was so tired The Frail Gaze he reached out to Nautica, sensing something was up with her, and she asked him The Sensuous Frame to teach her to dance. While busting a move, he coaxed out her issues with her old college friend Firestar before the ticks begun a public rampage. After they were repulsed, Skids got better and everyone went back to the Light for a biiiig party at Sweeerve's!!!

Anything could be a Transformer!

Until Swerve suddenly vanished The Frail Gaze and a horrified Skids checked his room to find the bartender facedown, rusted, and half-dead from an infected wound. He rushed him to the medical bay for aid (inadvertently making him worse) and learned from First Aid that Swerve had been holed up in his room for months, neglecting himself, and using a holomatter avatar to seem 'fine'. To Skids' great shame, he'd never visited Swerve—hadn't even known his room number until he remembered it was Red Alert's old one—and completely missed any chance to see one of his best friends needed help. He joined a rescue team sent to "Swearth", a vast hologram Earth operating on sitcom rules that Swerve was projecting, to find the guy's consciousness and fix him. In his new, brooding holomatter avatar, Skids and his friends did track down Swerve and tried to convince him to focus on the physical pain he was feeling, so they could realise where he was hurting. Skids, an expert in suppression, knew Swerve was pushing it down. Once they identified that Swerve was cripplingly lonely and depressed, they were able to convince him that he truly was loved and valued by them. The One Where They Go to Earth

Soon after, Skids went with a crew to check out the legendary Necrobot. He needled Nightbeat for having the 'debunking' itch and said that, while he no longer believed, he understood why other people were attracted to the idea that there was something after death. The Not Knowing

Tell me where Skywalker is.

Under incremental recollection sessions with Rung, where he also helped fix model ships as a focusing tool, Skids had finally managed to remember entering Grindcore if nothing else; while frustrated with the slow process, Rung admonished him that learning all of it in one go would re-traumatise him. While chatting, Skids was surprised to see the long-lost Froid appear. An old friend of yours, Rung? Well, I'll leave you to get caught up! (Off he went to brood at the oil pools, trying to remember more.) Within minutes Rung sent him a coded radio message to meet him at Froid's ship as something dodgy was going on but by the time Skids arrived, Rung had learned Froid had the infamous Tetrahax Ripper, Sunder, on board and that guy fed on bad memories. The very first sight of Skids woke Sunder up and caused him to attack, starting to rip up Skids' traumatic memories to the surface Speak, Memory: Part 1 before Rung could get him to safety. During the running battle against the serial killer, Rung kept trying to get Skids to Chromedome for memory suppression and Sunder duly followed them, constantly bringing up memories. Luckily Sunder was defeated by the point Skids remembered repairing Grindcore's teleport chambers for Tarn and not by the point he'd remember how he'd killed five hundred souls.Speak, Memory! (Part 2)

When a small time window opened up in Swerve's, Skids used it to look back at the day the new crew members joined the Light, a day that Trailcutter was still alive and openly happy. No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases

Skids had been part of Megatron's classes on the Knights of Cybertron and in one, to his surprise, Megatron showed the symbol that the strange spark being had 'said' to him back at possibly-Cyberutopia. Nautica advised him to write it out phoenetically to try and retain the knowledge of what it was, but everything was interrupted when Megatron and several others received bizarre messages coming from a distant planet. Rodimus assembled Skids with the rest of 'Team Rodimus' and they headed out to discover it was coming from the Necrobot's planet...

...where the Decepticon Justice Division and Deathsaurus were waiting. The Rodpod was shot down and Skids carried the wounded Nautica from its wreckage, everyone making their way inside the Necrobot's fortress. They found the Necrobot had been murdered and Skids spared a moment of empathy for Nightbeat, who had forged a bond with the ancient Transformer. A message came in from Getaway, telling them that the crew had mutinied against Megatron and all those considered loyal to him, exiling them all off the ship under false pretenses. Skids was enraged to discover his former friend had actually mindwiped him, an act he knew was a violation, to keep this a secret. When the message ended and the sheer horror sunk in, Skids embraced Nautica to console her. How Bright Their Frail Deeds

The DJD made their presence known by attacking the Necrobot's fortress before retreating... promising to return at sunset as part of their intimidation tactics. Skids weighed up their options with the other stranded crew members, suggesting that they dig in and devise an escape route. The Necrobot's body had revealed a key that unlocked a room filled with at least sixty organic creatures inside strange pods. Discussion arose whether to flee, or stay and defend the people inside the pods, but the Autobots ultimately decided to stand their ground. The Sun in Flight Their forces were bolstered by the returning Drift and Ratchet, who had caught wind of their predicament through Velocity. Skids had the awkward task of introducing Ratchet to his replacement. Your Fierce Tears

With death staring them in the face, Skids was one of the Autobots who Nautica assembled for the rite of Amica Endura. She opened her spark to them, recited the ritual, and told them all how they were valued. When Rung departed with Nightbeat to investigate the mystery of the Necroworld, Skids bade him a terse and awkward farewell. Skids and Nautica spent much of the remaining time before the inevitable attack clinging to each other for comfort. At Close of Day

Shortly afterwards, Velocity hit on a potential way out: Tailgate's spark 'explosion', triggered by extreme trauma, had supercharged two security guards ala Ore-13 and that could be done now! All it required was someone willing to be traumatised. Skids offered himself up and pleaded with Chromedome to finally let him know about his deep, hidden trauma. As Tarn began playing "the Empyrean Suite" from outside, creating the ideal conditions, Skids' memories began bubbling to the fore. A sorrowful Chromedome spoke some trigger words to his friend, finally unlocking that repressed trauma and Skids' spark erupted. As his supercharged friends ran outside to confront the Decepticons, Ratchet worked to keep the shattered Skids stable as his spark began to shrank.

He's dead, Jim.

Unfortunately, Skids came to and crawled off his slab, desperate to find Brainstorm and apologise for Quark's death, feebly crying that he was "scum" for what he'd done. Ratchet was desperate to get him back on the slab before he died but Megatron, the only other person in the fort, had left to join the battle and there was nobody to help. Skids died in Ratchet's arms, only Brainstorm noticing as his friend's 'statue' winked out. After the Autobots retreated back to the Necrobot's fortress, a distraught Nautica embraced the corpse. Rage, Rage She stayed with it until at least the morning as events unfolded outside, Do Not Go Gentle and at some point removed its brain module for safe-keeping, hiding it in her eye socket. An Axe to Break the Ice

In honor of Skids, the crew of the Lost Light painted their Autobot Insignias grey. Some Other Cybertron

During a visit to Troja Major, Nautica revealed that she was seeking the Resus Cradle, a device that was said to be capable of reviving dead Cybertronians provided there were some form of remains for it to work with—the reason she had removed Skids' brain module from his corpse. An Axe to Break the Ice Upon making contact with Mengel, who possessed the Resus Cradle, Nautica discovered the cost of Skids' resurrection would be steep indeed. An emotion-trafficker, Mengel suggested Nautica sell her grief towards Skids, as well as her feelings of friendship toward Velocity. Nautica initially agreed to the process, but ultimately could not foresake Velocity's friendship, abandoning her plan to resurrect Skids. However, being as Mengel had already removed her grief- and thus ALL warm feelings she had towards him beforehand, it didn't bother her at all and she left Skids' brain module behind. Chasing the Infinite A simulation of Skids appeared to Nautica on Mederi that tried to coax her to join him in the Afterspark. Bereft of her old emotions towards him, the prospect held no appeal to Nautica and Skids' apparition disappeared. The God War Skids appeared among the spirits of the dead that welcomed Soundwave into the Afterspark. Ceremony

Q-Transformers cartoon

Bumblebee named Skids, Cliffjumper, and Drift as three characters who had been produced as toys for the popular Q-Transformers line. The Road to Winning a New Fanbase

Precursor World

A Warrior of the Seven Lights resembling Skids was a member of the Blue Order of the Primus Vanguard. He and his comrades followed their commander Blue Big Convoy into battle when a duel between dimension-tossed future warriors Ultra Megatron and Star Convoy threatened the Blue Planet and its people. When Vanguard supreme leader Primus deigned to personally intervene, the Warrior knelt in deference. Super Megatron comic 2

Evidently felled in the subsequent brawl when the traitorous Straxus twins unleashed a rage virus to destroy the corps from within, he was later memorialized with a hologram in the inner sanctum of the Ivory Towers by Magna Convoy. Cybertron Magna Convoy prequel comic

My Little Pony/Transformers

Following King Sombra's awakening on Cybertron, Skids was one of the many unsuspecting Cybertronians who fell under the tyrannical unicorn's thrall. Making his way to the desert, Skids tried to ambush Applejack but was knocked down by Wildwheel, mourning that he'd failed his king. One-Trick Pony

Games

3D Battle-Card Game

Skids was one of Optimus Primal's many Autobot allies in a fight against Megatron's Decepticon forces, in what might possibly have been an inter-universe battle. Energon Wars Expansion Set

Transformers Legends

During the war on Cybertron, Skids was among a group of Autobots led by Sentinel Prime, who went to Tyrest in an attempt to reason with Megatron. They were ambushed by the Decepticons, and Sentinel Prime was killed. The War Within

Transformers: Battle Tactics

Skids participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was an Rare character that could be recruited by collecting 130 units of Cybermetal, 75 units of Transmetal, and 45 hunter cores. Transformers: Battle Tactics

Transformers Operation Omega

The Game Full of Death and Suffering...! This character article is a stub and is missing information on their video game appearances. You can help Transformers Wiki by expanding it. Transformers Operation Omega

Transformers: Earth Wars

The Game Full of Death and Suffering...! This character article is a stub and is missing information on their video game appearances. You can help Transformers Wiki by expanding it. Transformers:Earth Wars

Toys

The Transformers

Introducing the new Nikahimi Deathtrap. With its poly-cotton body shell, it's the fastest car in the world... to open with the jaws of life. The Nikahimi Deathtrap—the last car you'll ever drive.

• Skids (Autobot Car, 1984)

• Accessories: "Liquid nitrogen rifle", "twin electron blaster", "rocket pod launcher", 3 rockets
• Known designers: Kōjin Ōno (TakaraTomy), Shōji Kawamori (Studio Nue)

Released in the first year of the US The Transformers toyline, Skids is a slight redeco the Takara Diaclone "Honda City Turbo" toy, transforming into... well, it's kinda obvious. Skids uses the blue Diaclone version as his base, with new side-panel decals. In vehicle mode he has an opening trunk, which on the original toy was meant to store a a small scooter accessory omitted from the Hasbro version; this does give him the ability to store like, one of his rockets if you like. Speaking of, his arm-mounted "rocket pod" accessory had its rocket-launching spring severely weakened in the Hasbro line, but was at full strength for his Takara Transformers release.

Due to the rounded head on the screws used for Skids's shoulders, the stickers made to cover them up almost always refuse to stay on. In fact, you'll notice a slight pattern in the photographs of the other uses of the mold shown on this wiki, where the respective shoulder stickers for those figures have been left off entirely! If one so chooses, there is at least one way to make the stickers stay somewhat: placing a small dab of superglue on the top and bottom of the black ring-piece making up the shoulder holds the sticker on just enough for it to stay in place, though, sitting flush will still be an impossibility. It is advised that anyone attempting to try this at home, be very careful not to use too much glue and not to let the glue seep into the entire shoulder joint, otherwise... well, you get the picture.

Skids had a somewhat odd release history. Because he was not one of the original eleven Autobot Cars released at the line's inception, he is commonly grouped in with the later 1985 Autobot Cars both fictionally and in the minds of fans. However, Skids was actually added to the 1984 Autobot Cars assortment (taking the place of a second Mirage in a case of twelve) very late in the year (December 1984 is the earliest confirmed availability of the figure as of this writing), during which time he came in 1984 packaging including a ™ mark by the "Transformers" logo, rather than an ® mark. Like the other 1984 cars, at least some of these early Skids releases lacked the rubsign on the roof that would later be added to all Transformers toys in 1985.^[1] Presumably due to this early release, he got the short end of the stick in 1985: That year, the "Autobot Cars" price point was divided into two separate assortments, each of which contained six of the figures that had debuted in 1984 (packaged one per case in a case of 12) and three of the new figures that debuted in 1985 (packaged two per case). Since Hasbro apparently considered Skids a 1984 release, he ended up being packaged only one per case, thus making him somewhat more rare than his peers.

This mold itself is a retool of an earlier Diaclone toy, the Honda City R; this earlier tooling was used to make Crosscut and the Transformers Generations 2009 Volume 3 exclusive Screech.

• Patent info, price guide, and further reading on Skids at Transformerland.com
• More information on Skids at TFU.info

"Maybe the kids will notice me now that I'm bundled together with two other guys?"

• Skids & Sunstreaker vs Buzzsaw (Multi-pack, 1985)

• ID number: VSZ
• Accessories: "Liquid nitrogen rifle", "twin electron blaster", "rocket pod launcher", 3 rockets

Skids was not released on his own in the Japanese Generation 1 toyline, and was instead available only in a multi-pack with Sunstreaker and Buzzsaw, who were also only available in this set in the original Japanese line (Buzzsaw got re-released in Japan over the next couple of years, while Skids and Sunstreaker were not).

This box set remains a considerable rarity on the secondary market.

You sure you can call this an homage?

• Skids & Screech Quantum Operative Ver. (Multi-pack, 2009)

• Accessories: "Material acceleration pistol", dual-barreled gun, "quantum shield" launcher, 3 rockets, scooter

"Quantum Operative" Skids is a green redeco of the original toy, available in conjunction with his Encore release (below), and including for the first time the scooter accessory from the Diaclone toy that was eliminated for his original Transformers release. He was sold in a set with Screech that was a mail-away exclusive available only with volume 3 of Million Publishing's Transformers Generations 2009 Volume 3. As Skids's colors are an homage to Revenge of the Fallen Skids, Screech is likewise a match for Skids's twin Mudflap.

Amusingly, the color scheme for this exclusive was accidentally revealed early by TakaraTomy when they mistakenly included its missile launcher, denoted by its bright green launching tab, with the normal Encore version that was on display at Tokyo Toy Show 2009.^[2]

• More information on Quantum Operative Skids at TFU.info

The Transformers Collection

"Oh boy, a reissue! Now people are actually going to notice me!"

• Skids (September 27, 2002)
  • ID number: 3
  • Accessories: liquid nitrogen rifle, twin electron blaster, rocket pod launcher, 3 rockets

Skids received his first reissue in 2002, when Takara made him available as part of their "book-box" Transformers Collection series, surprising many with the inclusion of such an overlooked character so early in the line. He features no significant differences from the original (save for a working missile launcher, as with the original Japanese release), though the figure suffered from a common, if not universal, problem: an excess of plastic on the underside of Skids's right foot means that his rear wheel can not fold down flat beneath it, resulting in a slightly unstable robot mode. Since the original Japanese figure was released only in a giftset, Skids did not get a Japanese ID number at the time, a situation this reissue rectifies by retroactively giving him the ID number 96 on the included Tech Spec and bio card.

The aforementioned Crosscut was released exclusively through e-HOBBY in conjunction with this reissue.

• More information on Transformers Collection Skids at TF-1.com

Commemorative Series

"Whoa, two reissues! Good old Skids is moving up in life!"

• Autobot Skids (2004)
  • Accessories: liquid nitrogen rifle, twin electron blaster, rocket pod launcher, 3 rockets

Skids got his first Hasbro reissue as part of the eighth wave of their Commemorative Series line, exclusive to Toys"R"Us stores. He features no notable differences from the earlier Takara Transformers Collection release, except for the fact that his launcher's spring has been removed.

Alternators

Heavily clearanced so fanboys could customize him into Ironhide.

• Autobot Skids (2005)
  • Alternator ID number: 17
  • Binaltech ID number: BT-16
  • Accessories: Engine-rifle

• Known designers: Steve Bono (Hasbro), Hisashi Yuki (TakaraTomy), Marcelo Matere (packaging artist)

Skids transforms into a 1:24-scale blue Scion xB. All four doors open, revealing a fully-detailed realistic interior with seats for a driver and passengers, plus his hood pops open to reveal his engine. His robot mode is very reminiscent of his original toy, with his head sculpt based off his animation model with toy details. His engine pops out and unfolds to become his hand-held pistol.

The Hasbro Alternators release (part of the first wave of new "bubble packaging" toys) differs from the Takara Binaltech release in that it has a much darker shade of blue, tinted windows, and various Scion-type tampographed flame decals. The Japanese release naturally has die cast metal parts, is painted a lighter shade of blue, has different paint decos, and is branded as a Toyota bB to reflect the models' name in Japan. It also includes a sheet of stickers, including flames resembling the ones printed on the Alternators version, as well as some Generation-1-style red stripes, and most humorously, a Japanese "New Driver" badge.

This mold was also used to make Binaltech Asterisk Broadblast.

• Archive of Binaltech Skids's bio and tech specs
• More information on Alternators Skids at TFU.info

Encore

"Three reissues?! Wow, I must be really popular by this point, r-right?"

• Skids (October 2009)
  • ID number: 18
  • Accessories: liquid nitrogen rifle, twin electron blaster, rocket pod launcher, 3 rockets

TakaraTomy reissued Skids again in October 2009 as part of their Transformers Encore series. This version of the figure shifted its colors a little, changing him from tomato-red and blue to cherry-red and blueish-purple, as well as noticeably lightening the translucent blue plastic used for his windows. His Autobot symbol and tail light stickers were replaced with tampographs, while some of his other stickers were updated slightly, including his factory-applied front grill sticker. Like past reissues, this figure too suffered with an unstable robot mode, and both feet had wheels that would not fold away flat.

Generations

The theoretician the world deserves, not the one it needs right now.

• Autobot Skids (Deluxe Class, 2013)
  • Series / Number: 02 / #009
  • Accessories: nudge gun & nitrogen gun (combine to form rifle)

• Known designers: Joe Kyde (Hasbro)

Part of the seventh wave of 2012-onwards Generations Deluxe Class toys, Thrilling 30 "Autobot Skids" transforms from a contemporary-looking hatchback into a robot mode largely based on Alex Milne's design for IDW's More than Meets the Eye comic, most notably featuring that body's numerous integrated weapons. He also includes the nudge gun carried by Skids in said comic and a new version of the liquid nitrogen rifle from his original toy, the two of which can combine into a larger rifle. Both weapons can peg onto his hands or vehicle sides via 5 mm post.

There are numerous reports of the figure's hips being assembled the wrong way round, thus affecting the car mode as well as hampering the leg articulation (and it could even result in the ball joints at the waist snapping off), this can simply be fixed by popping them out and swapping them to the right place (just as long as you are careful with the aforementioned ball joints). At least some later releases fixed this issue. Unfortunately, Skids has a great deal of difficulty standing up due to his overall poor balance, unless posed in a way that offsets the weight.

He comes packaged with the twenty-second issue of IDW's aforementioned More than Meets the Eye comic series, featuring a cropped version of its retailer incentive cover, which is called out as a 'Hasbro Exclusive Cover' on its front.

Skids was redecoed into Age of Extinction Rollbar and Timelines/Diaclone Burn Out, which was later repurposed as Shattered Glass Skids. This mold was also retooled into Generations Crosscut.

• More information on Generations Skids at TFU.info

Q-Transformers

As a last ditch effort to be relevant, Skids tried appealing to the "kawaii culture" crowd. It didn't work.

• Skids (June 27, 2015)
  • ID number: QT-21

Q-Transformers Skids is a redeco and retool of QT-15 Hound, transforming into a super deformed Suzuki Hustler.

Kre-O

• Kreon Class of '85 (Kreon figure set, 2015)
  • Set number B5152
  • Voted: Most Thoughtful
  • Accessories: 2 clip-on rifles

Kre-O "Autobot Skids" is a small brick-built Kreon figure, using the 2015-style construction with raised hands and the sturdier "peg-in-peg" torso/waist connection. His body tampographs are heavily toy-based, with a ton of intricate design.

He was only available as part of the San Diego Comic-Con-exclusive "Kreon Class of '85" 30-Kreon set. This set was also sold online through Hasbro Toy Shop after the show.

• More information on Class of '85 Skids at TFU.info

Legends

He might be a forgotten character but at the very least he can now be ignored by fans while sporting a relatively cool deco.

• Skids (May 28, 2016)
  • ID number: LG-20
  • Accessories: nudge gun & nitrogen gun (combine to form rifle)

Legends Skids is an extensive redeco of the Generations Skids toy. It features a color scheme faithful to the character's appearance in the More than Meets the Eye comic, with a darker shade of blue, black front grill with red details under the grill, silver and black detailing on the feet, painted front lights and pink striping on the front hood and on the back's sculpted detail.

Masterpiece

What was once a theoretical Masterpiece has become a reality.

• Skids (November 20, 2021)
  • ID number: MP-53
  • Hasbro release name: Autobot Skids
  • Accessories: liquid nitrogen rifle, twin electron blaster

• Known designers: Kōjin Ōno and Yūya Ōnishi (TakaraTomy)

Masterpiece Skids was announced by TakaraTomy at the beginning of 2021 with black-and-white model drawings, and later was shown in prototype form by Honda Japan's Twitter.^[3][4][5] Like the other Masterpiece Autobot cars, Skids can fit inside Convoy's (MP-10 or MP-44) trailer in vehicle mode.

Designed in collaboration with Honda to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Honda City, Masterpiece Skids transforms into an officially-licensed 1st generation Honda City Turbo vehicle mode, featuring opening front doors, an opening hood with engine detailing underneath, an openable rear trunk that can store some of his accessories, and a basic interior capable of fitting the Spike Witwicky figurine that came included with MP-44 Convoy inside.

For accessories, Skids comes with his liquid nitrogen rifle and twin electron blaster, both of which can be stored in his alt mode's openable rear trunk. In robot mode, both weapons can either peg into the top of the forearm like the original G1 Skids toy or on the side of the forearm via dedicated slots.

This toy was retooled into MP-54 Reboost that was released simultaneously, and the Reboost tooling of the mold would subsequently be redecoed into both MP-53+ Crosscut and MP53+B Dia Burnout.

Legacy

Hey, I've got a new toy! You guys are still on Earthrise, right? ...Right?

• Autobot Skids (Deluxe Class, 2022)

• TakaraTomy ID number: TL-01
• TakaraTomy release date: July 30, 2022
• Accessories: Energon axe/rifle, liquid nitrogen rifle, twin electron blaster
• Known designers: Mark Maher (Hasbro), Tomoki Tatsumi (TakaraTomy), Robby Musso and Emiliano Santalucia (concept art)

Part of the first wave of Legacy Deluxe Class toys, "Autobot Skids" is a cartoon-accurate version of the character in terms of sculpt, but the mold layout as well as colors are based on his G1 toy. He transforms into an approximation of a Honda City Turbo. He comes with his liquid nitrogen rifle and twin electron blaster, as well as a translucent-blue Energon rifle that doubles as an axe (though the instructions make no note of using it this way). The three weapons can combine to form a super weapon.

If one feels the need, Skids's shoulders are on multiple hinges, so they can be dropped down to the mistransformed position his Generation 1 cartoon model was based on. Skids's back kibble can also slide up and down, giving one the option to have Skids displayed with the iconic-look or a cleaner silhouette; though sliding it all the way up for the iconic-look will hinder his head articulation, so leaving it at the midway notch may be preferable. Additionally, his entire back kibble/car roof assembly is made of painted translucent plastic, so caution is recommended when adjusting or transforming him. Some buyers have reported it impossible to fully tab Skids's roof into place in vehicle mode, likely due to differing plastic tolerances. In a similar vein, it's recommended to not fully insert his twin electron blaster into either of his arms' peg holes, as the tight fit and lack of clearance to wiggle it out can cause the gun to snap off its peg.

This figure was revealed by IGN as a teaser for the Legacy line on October 20, 2021.^[6]

Merchandise

Decoy

• Cybertron Hero Collection 22 (multi-pack, 1986)

Skids was among the many characters rendered by Takara as part of their series of 1.5" soft rubber keshigomu figurines. Like all the figures in the series, Skids featured a number sculpted into his back that was the sum total of his Tech Specs, for use in the various games that could be played with the figurines. He was available in red as part of a 22-piece box set of Autobot figures, in peach as part of various other randomly-packed box sets released by Takara subsidiary Seven, and in a wide variety of different colors in "gachapon" capsule machines.

• Skids (1987)
  • Decoy number: 12

The Skids figurine was later brought over to Hasbro markets as part of the Decoy promotion, largely identical to the Japanese release except for the fact that the number on his back was replaced with a simple "checklist" number. Like all Autobot Decoys, he was a randomly-chosen pack-in available with the carded Throttlebots, Aerialbots, Protectobots, and Technobots.

• More information on Decoy Skids at TFU.info

3D Battle-Card Game

Are, uh, you sure you're a G1 character?

• Skids (3D Battle-Card, 2007)

A 26-point "common" character in the 3D Battle-Card Game's "Energon Wars" expansion, Skids "transforms" into a grey pickup truck of indeterminate make. He uses the same parts layout as Ironhide and Dropkick.

He is equipped with a LN2 Cryo Rifle, an Electron Blaster, and a Rocket Launcher, which are similar to his G1 weapons — but due to the interdimensional nature of the Energon Wars subset, the Battle-Card may or may not also represent the live-action movie Skids.

Notes

A rainbow of theoretical flavors.

Suck it, Ironhide! This head was mine first!

• The Diaclone Honda City Turbo (ホンダ・シティ・ターボ) was additionally available in black or red. The BotCon 2015 toy and character Burn Out, a non-Cybertronian Diaclone mecha, is based on the black version.
• Skids's animation model head appears to be based on early Diaclone promotional concept art. The toy's head would be different... and ultimately different from the Crosscut head shown in his instructions, which also popped up a few times in the UK comics. Much like Huffer's character model, Skids is hilariously drawn with his shoulders sitting about midway on his torso, due to the toy pictures the animators were working from. However, unlike Huffer, Skids's toy can actually have his arms repositioned to where they should be.
• Speaking of both Skids's instructions and incorrect arm positioning, his instructions are even worse than the animation model! They completely neglect to show rotating the arms out to be by his sides (never mind pushing his shoulders up to their correct elevation), instead leaving them awkwardly placed under his chest. Hasbro starting as they meant to go on, apparently.
• Though Skids's toy turned into a Honda City Turbo, his car mode was often misinterpreted in Transformers fiction in the 1980s as one of the then-new minivans, despite the fact that a Honda City Turbo is a subcompact car, which could theoretically be stowed in the back seat of an actual minivan. This is likely because most Americans in 1985 would have not known what a subcompact car was.
  • Fast forward to the early 2000s—roughly eighteen years after his introduction to the Transformers brand—and Skids's Dreamwave More than Meets the Eye profile still labeled his vehicle mode as a minivan, despite it being clearly drawn by the artist as a subcompact car.
• As was pretty common for character models being designed solely on Hasbro-supplied toy images by Marvel Productions and/or Toei Animation, Skids's true "liquid nitrogen rifle" was never used on-screen or in his animation model, and instead his "rocket pod launcher", which was affixed to his arm in the supplied toy images, took its place and designation within most of his fictional appearances.
• As Skids was released in the interim between the original 1984 launch and the big push of new 1985 figures, the character consequently fell by the wayside in the Generation 1 fiction of the 1980s. He was not included in the commercial promoting the new 1985 range of Autobot Cars, as he wasn't technically part of it. Similarly, he was also left out of the list of new 1985 product in the Generation 1 cartoon's production bible intended for inclusion in the show's second season, and as such, only managed to appear in little more than cameo roles in just two episodes, speaking one line in each and voiced by a different actor each time. He fared a little better in the Marvel comics, debuting alongside (an incomplete roster of) the other 1985 cars, but after getting an issue dedicated to himself, he all but completely vanished from the book and was banished to limbo by the UK comic for upwards of 100 issues, abandoned and forgotten.
• In "Survivors!", Skids is drawn with the original Diaclone toy's head (which years later would be used for the new character Crosscut). "Survivors!"' artist, Dan Reed, previously drew him with his real head, so it'd be interesting to learn why and how this change happened.
• His holomatter avatar in More than Meets the Eye #13 is based on Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor from Doctor Who while in More than Meets the Eye #43 it is based on Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Skids (スキッズ Sukizzu)
• French: Platon ("Plato")
• Hungarian: Szán
• Italian: Furetto ("Ferret")
• Mandarin: Shāchē (China, 刹车, "Brake")
• Portuguese: Patins (Brazil comic, "Roller Skates"), Pé-de-cabra (Portugal comic, "Crowbar")
• Russian: Tormoz (Тормоз, "Brake")

References