Path Finder

Path Finder is a friendly robot space ship who frequently fights with Leader-1 and his Guardians during their missions on Earth. She is one of the most capable Guardian warriors, having intelligence, compassion, courage and no small amount of skill.

Fiction

Challenge of the GoBots cartoon

Voice actor: Marilyn Lightstone

Path Finder was at the vanguard of the Guardian force sent to neutralise the Renegade Fortress, carrying out a strafing run on the base. Battle for GoBotron She continued the battle on foot alongside Hans-Cuff and Staks, though she came up to a blast door that was too much for her weaponry - requiring Staks' lasers to cut through. Earthbound They were able capture the defenders but Path Finder informed the Guardian Council that it might be an empty victory if Leader-1 was unable to stop Cy-Kill's machinations on Earth. Thankfully, he was able to do so. The Final Conflict

She was part of the team on the Command Center when it was sent to collect Cy-Kill from GoBotron's Prison Moon for trial. However by the time the Guardians arrived the Renegade leader had already escaped. She helped Small Foot and A.J. locate the injured guards Blaster and Flip Top and get them back to the ship for treatment from Rest-Q. Onboard the ship she joined in the search for Cy-Kill and later the missing Scooter and Nick, and was trusted with guarding the ship and the injured when the latter pair were tracked to the Moon of Knowledge. Cy-Kill's Escape She was also left on the ship when Leader-1 and Matt set out to search Antares III for the Last Engineer, something which didn't sit well with her. When contact was lost with the pair Path Finder rallied the Guardians to send search parties; along with Scooter she confronted Vamp and Scorp, dogfighting the former before Blaster and Flip Top responded to her messages. Leader-1 was able to escape and the reunited Guardians watched on as Scooter revived the GoBeing they believed to be the Last Engineer. Path Finder reacted with alarm at his unconventional attempt to fix Turbo but the process was a success. However, as they returned to GoBotron their passenger revealed himself to be the Master Renegade, taking Small Foot hostage. Quest for the Creator While Crasher came across to collect the Master Renegade some opportunism from Turbo meant the Guardians avoided destruction and were able to return to GoBotron and warn the Guardian Council. When Roguestar and the Renegade fleet arrived over the planet Path Finder and Wrong Way boarded a Command Center to defend the skies. However, their ship was shot down in flames; the pair bailed out but Path Finder was helpless as Roguestar's heavy weaponry shot the pair of them out of the air. The Fall of GoBotron She was captured and placed onboard a damaged Command Center with other Guardian prisoners, awaiting transport to the Prison Moon where they would be put into the Disassembler. Twin Spin prevented Rest-Q from treating her wounds but she was released when Scooter and Sparky were able to trick the Renegade guards into abandoning ship. Flight to Earth Turbo managed to get the ship to Earth, where the Last Engineer unveiled the Power Suits. The Power Warrior Courageous was then able to defeat the Renegades, freeing GoBotron. Path Finder was one of the Guardians who applauded Leader-1's team when Zeemon honoured them. Return to GoBotron

Pray for a true peace in space!

Path Finder was posted to Earth when Professor Ling demonstrated his new Chronos Time Transporter to the Guardians and their UNECOM allies. When the Renegades went back to the time of Ancient Rome to monkey with history Path Finder stayed in the present with A.J. Foster. The pair witnessed their surroundings change as Cy-Kill began to change the very course of history, find a newspaper declaring the Renegade to be governor of America, and presumably something of a sports star. Realising it meant their allies were in trouble, she took A.J. back to 217 B.C. Her first action was to blow the head of a statue of Cy-Kill; more productively she helped the Guardians beat the Renegades, proving the latter were not gods as they claimed; as such time returned to normal, or at least normal with an ancient Roman statue of Scooter doing a questionable salute. Time Wars She was on GoBotron with Zeemon when Staks brought news of Nywilak's sun going supernova. Investigating in person, she discovered this was being caused by a beam transmitted from near Earth, which allowed the GoBotron Security Council and Leader-1's team to deduce it was the doing of the Renegades and Doctor Braxis' new nova beam. Nova Beam She was again in Zeemon's company as Alva-Nar's fleet bore down on GoBotron; thankfully Leader-1 was able to convince the alien that the Guardians were benevolent. Renegade Alliance

When Crasher raided a Lunar Enterprises mine on Earth's Moon, Path Finder attempted to intervene but Tank and Screw Head were there as well and she was soon overwhelmed and left damaged. She did however notice a strange gravitational disturbance during the attack and reported it to Leader-1 and Scooter, suggesting it could lead the Guardians to Roguestar. While they couldn't attack the ship head-on, the Guardians instead worked out what the Renegades' next target would be a human space station. They sneaked onboard and thus were able to get inside Roguestar. Path Finder handled planting the detonator, evading Pincher by tricking the Monster GoBot into flying into an asteroid. She even got to gun Crasher down and promptly placed the explosives before the Guardians escaped. Roguestar was seemingly destroyed by the explosion but had in fact jettisoned the explosives and slipped into stealth mode at the last moment. The Quest for Roguestar Along with Blaster, she was called to Tri-Ceti to try and prevent Cy-Kill from gaining control of the Tramulet. They were initially unsuccessful and only narrowly escaped Tri-Ceti before it exploded. Renegade Rampage, Part I The pair of reinforcements then disappeared before the Guardians and Trindles were ultimately able to regain control of the Tramulet and restore Tri-Ceti. The Renegades' Rampage, Part II

Path Finder was again onboard the Command Center when it and the Renegades' Thruster were kidnapped by the alien B'oosa, who restrained sold both groups of GoBots to Crespas, who made them fight in gladiatorial games on the planetoid Kolob. Things didn't go particularly well in the first bout for Path Finder, who was shot down by Cop-Tur and needed to be rescued by Turbo. Thankfully, Nick was able to cobble together a device to counter the restraints thanks to parts donated by other prisoners of Crespas, allowing both the Guardians and Renegades to escape before their power levels ran out. Gameworld She was then assigned to oversee security of a new prototype Astrobeam at the Astro-Science Center, along with Night Ranger and Sparky. However, the facility was raided by Cy-Kill, Crasher, Cop-Tur and Steamer, and the helicopter Renegade once again shot her down. Steamer's Defection She was serving on the Guardian Council when the spectrometer-controlled Leader-1, Turbo and Blaster attempted to kidnap them. Path Finder stood up and objected, only to be blasted by Leader-1. Thankfully, Scooter, Nick and Buddy were able to get the Guardians back on their normal alpha frequencies before the Council could be handed over to the Renegades for reprogramming. Whiz Kid She was also present at purported peace talks with the Renegades in Vienna; however, it was just a ruse as the conference had been infiltrated by Renegades using personal stealth devices. As such Path Finder was able to do little about Crasher hitting her with an antique chair before Scooter turned up with a decoder. Pacific Overtures

Along with Leader-1, Heat Seeker, Turbo and Scooter, Path Finder was responsible for the capture of Cy-Kill, and later present on GoBotron when the Renegade was imprisoned on Elba, passing a strange distress call from Heat Seeker on to Scooter. Escape from Elba She later travelled to Earth along with Zeemon in response to Leader-1's behaviour after he was put in a personality-inverting exo-suit by Cy-Kill and Dr. Go; as a result of his actions they were forced to declare him a Renegade. A New Suit for Leader-1 She was again on hand as the Guardians discussed the destruction of the Guardian Space Lab by Crasher, before finding out that Professor Von Joy and Sparky had been able to escape before it was destroyed. Element of Danger As a high-ranking Guardian she attended graduation ceremonies at the Guardian Academy; at one the Dread Launchers Re-Volt, Chaos and Traitor disguised themselves as cadets, Astrobeaming Cy-Kill, Crasher and Cop-Tur in to help kidnap Zeemon. While the Blue Team of Twister, Tork, Tri-Trak and Staks chased after the Dread Launchers she was one of the Guardians who drove the other three Renegades towards the Thruster simulator. Guardian Academy Later when the Guardians helped the human colony ship Pilgrim evade Renegades she joined Leader-1 and Turbo onboard the ship as it was used as a decoy to draw out the Renegades while the colonists went on to New Earth escorted by the Secret Riders. Quest for New Earth

Robo Machine featuring Challenge of the GoBots annuals

Cy-Kill attacked Matt, Scooter and Spay-C as they transported Professor Von Joy's new Battle Suit from GoBotron to Earth, forcing them down towards the dangerous Arpinkus-3. However, Path Finder was patrolling in space when she encountered the friendly Godaikin GoBots who had previously ran into the group, who told him their destination. Path Finder arrived in time to save them and escorted them back to Earth. The Professor's New Baby Later he travelled to Earth, helping Leader-1 and Heat Seeker shoot down missiles Cy-Kill had fired at Earth's major cities, then joined the other Guardians in defeating the huge Renegade army gathered at Mauna Mauna. The Battle at the End of the Earth

She's a dude in the annuals.

GoBots Magazine

Path Finder was out for a stroll, unaware that she had been targeted by the Renegades for a good old-fashioned capture-and-brainwash routine. Thankfully they had CCTV of their meeting about the plan running and Scooter was able to hack it. He flew out and warned Path Finder and they met with the other Guardians to use the Renegades' own plan against them. Instead they built a gigantic Wily E. Coyote magnet and used one of Scooter's holograms to trick the Renegades into getting stuck on it before switching polarities and launching them off into space. Path Finder then joined everyone for a hearty chuckle at a famous Leader-1-liner. Scooter's Mighty Magnet She later scrambled after the Evil Rock Lords Magmar, Brimstone and Slimestone had sneaked onboard the Command Center and let the Renegades onboard. After Scooter and Nuggit raised the alarm Path Finder joined in the fight, shooting Cop-Tur in the chest at point-blank range. Conquest of the Command Center!

Fun Publications

Renegade Rhetoric

While relating the events that led up to his run for President of the United States, Cy-Kill recalled Sky-Jack avoiding detection by a Guardian while tapping into Earth's satellite broadcasts. He could not recall, however, if the Guardian was Path Finder, Spay-C, or Apollo. Cy-Kill For President Path Finder and Guide Star were guarding a UNECOM outpost on Mercury when they were attacked by Renegades. Remarkably, they were saved by the arrival of Zebediah Braxis, Ph.d, and his new Destabilizer Cannon. Once Braxis Twice Shy Part 1

Go-Bots comic

Path Finder was a Go-Bot built on Earth, and joined Leader-1's army to face off against Cy-Kill and the Renegades after they rose up against mankind. Issue 2 Many, many, many years later Path Finder was still in Leader-1's service as he set himself up as king of Gobotron. and later helping battle the Renegades in space when they attacked the Command Center with Thruster. Issue 3 The resulting chase took the Go-Bots back to the long-forgotten Earth, now at the centre of Gobotron. During Leader-1's quest for the Lazer Lance they found the Go-Bot god Courageous, and Path Finder donned one of the armour suits that made up part of its' body for a showdown with Zod. After Leader-1, Turbo, Scooter and Screw Head defeated Zod, Path Finder was one of the first to notice their return to the surface, and then mourned Leader-1 after he was gunned down by the weapons of the stolen Command Center. Issue 4 After Cy-Kill was killed and Road Ranger unified the Go-Bots, Path Finder was one of those watching Spay-C take his crew back through the time tunnel in the Command Center, wondering if the shuttle Go-Bot and his crew made it back to pre-uprising times. Issue 5

The series is non-committal as to whether Path Finder retained her female gender as Crasher did or changed to reverted to male as Spay-C did.

Toys

GoBots

GoBots

• Path Finder (GoBot, 1984)
  • Friendly Robot UFO
  • ID number: 29
  • Accessories: none

Path Finder was released by Tonka in the first series of GoBots, and converts from robot to spaceship in 5 steps. The toy was a repackaging of UFO Robo from Machine Robo, with no significant changes but omitting the extra sticker sheet from the Japanese release, which consisted of extra details for the robot mode. Featuring die-cast metal and chrome parts, she can roll freely on several wheels under her alternate mode, but this tends to cause damage to the silver paint on her arms. Path Finder has articulation at the shoulders and hips, though the latter is only parallel with her body.

• Path Finder was offered in the second assortment of GoBots figures manufactured in 1984 (#7201). The figure remained available throughout the line's life as part of the second and third series' Friendly/Guardian assortment (#7253). The third series version came with a card-mounted 3-D GoBots Sticker.
• Bilingual Canadian releases used the alternative name Rodeur.

• Learn more about Path Finder at Liberator.Net

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  1st series card

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  2nd series card

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  3rd series card

Robo Machine

Robo Machines

• Path Finder (Robo Machine, 1984)
  • U.F.O.
  • ID number: RM-29
  • Accessories: none

The European version of Path Finder was identical to the Japanese release. It was also the first Robo Machine figure to be issued from the start with the same name as the GoBots release.

• 

  Card

Machine Men

Machine Men

• Pathfinder (Machine Men, late 1984/1985)
  • Friendly Robot
  • ID number: 25
  • Accessories: none

As the first figure sold after the shift to Tonka-based titles, Pathfinder retained both her GoBots name (minus the space) and faction. She was released by Bandai Australia on a black backing card depicting a yellow-tinted alien landscape.

She's the one that doesn't look anything like Path Finder.

Transformers Collector's Edition

• G1 GoBots (Multi-pack, 2004)
  • Takara ID number: 84
  • Accessories: none

Path Finder is a redeco of The Transformers Mini Vehicle Cosmos toy, transforming into a flying saucer based on George Adamski's "eyewitness" designs of "real" flying saucers. She was only available in the Japanese e-HOBBY-exclusive Collector's Edition "G1 GoBots" six-pack with Bad Boy, Bug Bite, Road Ranger, Small Foot, and Treds.

• More info on Path Finder at TFU.info

Generations Selects

• Go-Bot Guardians 3-Pack (Multi-pack, 2024)

• Accessories: Blaster, Guardians Flag

Legacy United "Go-Bot Pathfinder" is a redeco of Velocitron Speedia 500 Collection Autobot Cosmos, transforming into a blue flying saucer. Her blaster can be accessorized with a flag featuring the rarely-seen Guardian insignia, making its first retail-item appearance since 1986.

She was only available in the Generations Selects "Go-Bot Guardians 3-Pack", packed alongside "Go-Bot Treds" and "Go-Bot Smallfoot", who also homage their e-HOBBY counterparts.

The set was revealed by BigBadToyStore's Twitter account on June 12, with preorders going up at multiple online outlets the day after.

Notes

• Path Finder's name is derived from the brief profiles in Tonka's 1984 catalogue, which stated Path Finder was an "Undercover Agent" who specialised in building devices to track the Renegades. While this isn't contradicted by anything else, it wasn't really used either. The same went for an apparent rivalry with the initially-female Spoiler.

External links

TFWiki.net has content relating to Path Finder. The unofficial Transformers knowledge database!