ALLEGIANCE: AUTOBOT
SUB-GROUP: POWERMASTER
HUMAN COMPONENT: HOTWIRE
FUNCTION: WARRIOR
FIRST APPEARANCE: TRANSFORMERS # 41 (Joyride), TRANSFORMERS # 42 (Hotwire)

“Enjoy each moment like it’s your last.”

Profile: Although a fierce warrior and a skilled technician, Joyride is best known for his high-speed highway antics. He drives too fast and too recklessly to be allowed on the same road with most other vehicles. He only bothers to pay attention to the traffic around him on those occasions when he accidentally plows into some of it. His thrill-seeking isn’t limited to racing alone. The only reason he joined the Autobots was for fun: He gets a kick out of war. He can imagine nothing more enjoyable than fighting a troop of fuelthirsty Decepticons, which is an attitude that grates on some of his more serious-minded comrades-in-arms. He’s as quick to jump to conclusions as he is to floor his accelerator. This impulsive behavior often results in Joyride’s pursuit of various
ill-considered courses of action. Often, only the interference of some of his more thoughtful fellow Autobots prevents him from falling victim to a disaster of his own creation.

Hotwire was classified as a “chronic unlicensed private vehicle procurer” on his home planet of Nebulos. On Earth he would be called a car thief. After Hotwire was caught by the authorities once too often, the brilliant Nebulan scientist Hi Q gave him a chance to straighten his life out by working at the Hi Q Industrial Research Complex. Recognizing Hotwire’s natural talent as a mechanic, Hi Q employed him as his top systems troubleshooter, a job in which Hotwire checked out and de-bugged all of the complex’s newest mechanical creations. Hotwire excelled in this role, but his career ended when he chose to undergo the Powermaster Process. He was biomechanically engineered to have the ability to transform and function as Joyride’s engine. This binary bonding has made each of the duo dependent on the other for his survival.

Abilities: In vehicle mode Joyride can reach a maximum speed of 525 miles per hour and has a range of 800 miles. His titanium-belted tires secrete an adhesive that gives him pinpoint maneuverability on virtually any road surface. In both robot and vehicle modes he is equipped with a photon blaster, which has the ability to lock the molecular structure of any metallic target its beam touches, resulting in the freezing of any moving mechanism it hits.

Weaknesses: Joyride is a frequent victim of his own impulsiveness. He gets into numerous debilitating accidents and battles as a result of his penchant for ill-considered decisions.