Kup

Kup is the name of a fictional character in the Transformers universe.

Transformers: Generation 1

Transformers character
name =Kup
japanname =Cha


caption =Kup in the animated series
affiliation =Autobot
subgroup =Autobot Cars
Targetmasters
function =Warrior
partner =Recoil
motto ="The past is the greatest teacher."
alternatemodes =Cybertronian pickup truck
series =
voiceby =Lionel Stander (English/Movie/Deceased in November 1994)
John Stephenson (English/TV Series)
Osamu Saka (Japanese)Introduced in 1986, Kup is an Autobot who can transform into a light bluish-green futuristic pickup truck and wields a musket laser. He has a wealth of experience and is well-liked by the Dinobots for his old war stories, of which he seems to have an endless supply.

Animated series

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

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

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

Throughout the movie, Kup has an anecdote for every situation, although at the sight of Unicron attacking Cybertron, he claims to have "never seen anything like this before." Alongside Springer and Arcee, he combats Unicron's internal defenses until Hot Rod releases the power of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, destroying the Chaos Bringer. Kup and the others escape Unicron just as he explodes.

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

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

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

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

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

Transformers: Headmasters

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

Marvel Comics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Books

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

Dreamwave Productions

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

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

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

Devil's Due Publishing

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

IDW Publishing

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

Toys

*Generation 1 Autobot Car Kup (1986):Originally designed for the movie.

*Generation 1 Targetmaster Kup (1987):A remold of the original toy with Targetmaster partner Recoil and new holes to mount him in vehicle mode.

*Targetmaster Kup with Wheelie Takara reissue (2005):Reissue of the 1987 mold with the inclusion of Wheelie. This toy also received an eHobby repaint into Orion Pax with Targetmaster Barrelroller and Wheelie repainted as Dion.

Transformers: Cybertron

The character of Breakdown GTS is painted as a homage to Generation 1 Kup.