Destroyer (Renegade)

This article is about the tank. For the battleship, see Destroyer (Arco).

Ol' Gunny McGunface himself.

Destroyer is a Renegade with a turret for a head and a cannon for a face. His gun literally does the thinking for him.

Fiction

Challenge of the GoBots cartoon

Voice actor: George DiCenzo

Destroyer was among the Renegades captured and kept on GoBotron's Prison Moon until Cy-Kill and Fitor were able to engineer a jailbreak. He then stomped around in the lofty company of Crasher and Cop-Tur, threatening Scooter and Nick. Crasher chased after the pair as Destroyer felt they might be useful hostages for the disarmed Renegades to use but the pair accidentally teleport themselves to the Moon of Knowledge and out of immediate harm's way. As it was, Destroyer and Cop-Tur found the Power Packs to reactivate their weapons anyway. Cy-Kill's Escape Freed, he later travelled to Earth in a Thruster with Crasher and Fitor, guarding the ship while they spied on the Guardians' new Power Suits. However, Small Foot detected the ship and investigated the ship. Destroyer spotted them but waited for them to have a conversation before Scooter used his Power Suit's telekinesis to bury Destroyer under an avalanche. Return to GoBotron

Later on Tri-Ceti Destroyer was deployed along with several Zods to stop the Guardians from recapturing the Tramulet. The Guardians and their Trindle allies resort to destroying the planet with Antimatter detonators but Cy-Kill realised what they were doing, so the Renegades escaped before the planet was destroyed, seemingly leaving the Guardians stranded.Renegade Rampage, Part I

GoBots newspaper strip

When Leader-1 and Baron Von Joy chased Thruster from GoBotron to Earth, Cy-Kill and Destroyer ambushed the Guardian leader, leaving him buried under a pile of rocks. He then joined Cy-Kill in raiding a research centre for Sorium crystals. The pair then contacted Herr Fiend, who began to transport the the giant Puzzler to assist them. GoBots

Machine Men mini-comics

Destroyer was one of the Enemy Machine Men captured and imprisoned in a laser beam gaol on Robotron by the Friendlies. Thankfully Zod was able to free them and the group escaped to Earth, followed by Leader-1 and his troops, with battle starting once again; Destroyer opened fire on Baron Von Joy, but missed. Space Wars II

Fun Publications

Transformers Timelines

During the Diaspora, Destroyer was dispatched to Level 63 along with an assortment of Guardians and Renegades. Cultural Appropriation

Renegade Rhetoric

Cy-Kill created an alternate reality where Renegades ruled by removing Leader-1 from earlier in the timestream. Destroyer was one of the Renegades ordered to guard the Time Portal on Saeculum Gamma, to prevent anyone reversing Cy-Kill's actions. Renegade Victory Part 2 Captured by an alien intelligence, the Guardians and Renegades were forced to battle one-on-one in the Arena of Strife. Destroyer was pitted against Defendor. While the battle was close, Destroyer's superior firepower eventually won the match for the Renegades. GoBot Arena During an incident when Cy-Kill and Scooter accidentally swapped bodies, Destroyer nearly obliterated his leader when Cy-Kill was stuck in the puny Guardian's form. Brain Swap In the distant future of 2085, the Guardians and Renegades had seemingly made peace. Destroyer and Block Head guarded the Renegade Embassy on Gobotron in that era. All Tomorrow's Utopias

"Echoes and Fragments"

As Sideways and Gong played with mixing universal streams, the Renegades staged an all-out assault on Autobot City on Earth. Their hijacked Command Center was spotted and shot down by Nick Burns and Hot Rod. Fly Trap and Destroyer deployed to eliminate the interlopers. Destroyer destroyed their Lookout Mountain platform with his first blast, then converted into tank mode to finish them off. However, the Autobot Kup spoiled his aim, diverting the cannon blast to Fly Trap instead, who then crashed down on top of Destroyer. Echoes and Fragments

Go-Bots comic

Destroyer was one of the giant Go-Bots which were forgotten about on GoBotron while Leader-1 and Cy-Kill battled. He was later found by Road Ranger and helped him build a team that would save the planet from the threat of the Vamp army controlled by Professor Braxis. Issue 5

Toys

GoBots

Super GoBots

• Destroyer (Super GoBots, 1984)
  • Enemy Robot Attack Tank
  • ID number: 029
  • Accessories: Short gun barrel, long gun barrel

Destroyer was released by Tonka in the first series of GoBots, and converts from robot to Leopard 2A4 tank in 6 steps. The toy was a repackaging of Leopard A4 from the Machine Robo Machine Robo DX series, with no significant changes, right down to the sticker sheet still having Japanese text on it... In robot mode the shorter of the gun barrel parts can mount on either of Destroyer's forearms thanks to a small peg, with the other going in his face; while they can be connected as a "super gun" in either mode, doing so for the robot can exacerbate the figure's already parlous balance. Destroyer's upper hull is solid diecast metal, while the toy can roll on the rubber caterpillar tracks. The toy has an intermediate "gerwalk" mode that was identified in the Japanese instructions but not in the American version - though this "mode" was briefly featured in the Challenge of the GoBots episode "Renegade Rampage, Part I" and features on the toy's painted box art. While detailed, his toy's unconventional looks are further complicated by how fragile he is. The chest mechanism is partly spring-loaded and can jam, the shoulders, elbows and ankles/feet can work loose and the rubber tracks are prone to snapping, perishing, stretching, falling off and getting lost... Destroyer isn't hard to find exactly, but unbroken, complete loose examples certainly are.

• Destroyer was issued as part of the first series Super GoBots assortment (#7202), manufactured in 1984. From the second series the figure was moved over to the reorganised Enemy Super GoBots Assortment 2 (#7252) and stayed as part of the range when it was renamed the Renegade Super GoBots Assortment 2 for the third and final series.
• For bilingual Canadian packaging the alternate name Destructeur was used.

• Find out more about Destroyer at Collection DX

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  Series 1 box

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  Series 2/3 box

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  Toy instructions

Robo Machine

DX Robo Machines

• Leopard A4 (DX Robo Machine, 1983)
  • Accessories: Short gun barrel, long gun barrel

Leopard A4 was first issued in Robo Machine before the decision was made to start incorporating GoBots names (possibly even predating the existence of GoBots). The first release was almost identical to the Japanese release, with only the box lid and the instructions being changed. The European releases featured pictures of the 'third mode' on the box, though it was not mentioned in the instructions.

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  Box

• Leopard A4 Robot (DX Robo Machine, 1984)
  • Accessories: Short gun barrel, long gun barrel

The toy was reissued the following year in updated packaging, now shipped in robot mode in a window box with a flap along the side. The figure itself was unchanged.

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  Box

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  Toy instructions

Robo Machine DX

• Leopard A4 (DX Robo Machine, 1985)
  • ID number: RMDX-05
  • Accessories: Short gun barrel, long gun barrel

A third European release followed in 1985, with a new black/grey/red window box. Again the toy was unchanged.

• Later on in 1985 the majority of the DX Robo Machine figures were rebranded once again as Super GoBots; however, along with Future Machine, the Leopard A4 was not released in this fashion. However, the toy's picture and GoBots name were featured in the cross-sell picture on the back of the first European Super GoBots figures, while several catalogues also made the connection. The reason for the toy being skipped is unknown.

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  Box

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  Box back

Notes

• The original biography for Destroyer, published in Tonka's 1984 catalogue, stated he worships Cy-Kill and believes the Renegade leader will be the next ruler of the universe. Who is the incumbent ruler of the universe is unknown.
• Destroyer's Cybertronian-style body in the "Cataclysm universe" is modeled on Classics Broadside, with the head turned around for the turret to face forward.