Knock Out (ROTF)

Knock Out is an Autobot from the Revenge of the Fallen portion of the movie continuity family.

Knock Out is a bit of a show-off. While quite flashy and skilled on the battlefield, he's also really insecure, and very desperate to receive attention from his comrades. He's also curious about this combination retrofit everyone's so crazy about. Knock Out's big dream is to lead his own special operations group.^[1]

Fiction

The Veiled Threat

A recent arrival to Earth, the hot-headed Knockout questioned the Autobots' alliance with the humans in NEST and Optimus Prime's concern for their safety. He didn't think the loss of a few humans "among their swarming billions" would be missed.

Knockout was sent to Peru along with Longarm, Epps, and Petr Andronov to investigate a Decepticon signal. As soon as Knockout sighted their enemies, he rushed off, only to come running back as Blademaster and Ruination chased him. After Longarm slapped him for being such an idiot, Knockout actually did a good job of helping in the ensuing fight, even saving the older Autobot's life by holding Ruination back.

Later, when the team was hunting Swindle and Deadend in Rome, Knockout was the one most capable of navigating the tight streets. He once again ran off on his own, but this time, he had good intentions; he got the two Decepticons to crash into each other, damaging them (albeit not severely) and annoying the hell out of Starscream. Knockout watched along with the other Autobots when the Decepticon commander challenged Optimus Prime to a fight, but they soon found themselves dealing with him instead when he tricked and trapped Optimus. But the Autobot leader soon arose, causing Starscream to take flight.

Later, Epps and Major Lennox were relaxing on the beach on Diego Garcia when Knockout came to them, saying something was about to happen and wondering what "shanghaied" meant. The Veiled Threat

IDW movie comics

Knock Out was one of the Autobots sent to Florida to investigate the convergence to five unknown spark traces. However, as the team closed in on their target, they came under attack by Soundwave and were forced to fight back. The Decepticon soon withdrew, but his attack had distracted Knock Out and the others from the investigation, and the spark traces were already gone. Nefarious #1 After the mission, Knock Out returned to Edwards Air Force Base and watched as Director Galloway complained to Lennox that he hadn't been informed about new reinforcements like Knock Out and Jolt. Apparently, Galloway was unaware that Knock Out had already been part of NEST for quite some time. Nefarious #2

After Soundwave was captured by Optimus Prime, Knock Out and his fellow cadets, Jolt and Dune Runner, helped Bumblebee transport the Decepticon spymaster to a secure location. They were shot down en route and forced to deal with Dirt Boss and Soundwave's "familiars". Knock Out tried to flatten Ratbat like a bug on his windscreen, but soon it became clear the Decepticons were too much for the small squad to deal with. Having recently lost Breakaway in battle, Bumblebee deliberately freed Soundwave and let the Decepticons have him, rather than risk another death among his troops. Nefarious #3

"Yeeehaaaa!"

Knock Out joined the rest of the NEST team when they tracked down the mysterious Initiative at Crater Lake. Nefarious #5 Cut off from Bumblebee, Knock Out and the other cadets were given help by Sideswipe and the Twins, but came under non-physical attack when Carter Newell attempted to use a replica AllSpark to destroy all Transformer life on the planet. The Autobots ultimately triumphed. Nefarious #6

Some time later, Knock Out was present at Diego Garcia when news reached NEST that Sam Witwicky was under attack from Decepticons. While the other Autobots moved out, he, Jolt and Dune Runner were left behind to keep an eye on the Autobot refugees who had earlier been liberated from the Initiative. Rising Storm #2

Knock Out was spending his time on duty playing cards (and cheating) with two human soldiers when Shockwave suddenly arrived on the island. He was easy prey for the powerful Decepticon, who killed him and threw his corpse through the base's wall. Rising Storm #3 Shortly after his death, a grave was made for him. Dark of the Moon #1

Toys

Revenge of the Fallen

Who are you calling young and impetuous?

• Knock Out (Scout Class, 2009)

• TakaraTomy ID number: RA-07
• Known designers: Eric Siebenaler (Hasbro)

Knock Out is part of the first wave of Revenge of the Fallen Scout Class figures. He transforms into a green racing motorcycle. Similar to Bumblebee, his right hand is morphed in a plasma cannon. The vehicle cowling panels, which becomes the leg kibble in robot mode, are only held in place by pegs and tend to fall off during conversion. His waist does not peg into his torso and becomes dislodged by simply moving his legs (as seen in Hasbro's stock photography on the right).

This mold was also used to make Reverb and Trenchmouth in the same toyline and Backfire in the 2010 Transformers toyline.

• More information on Knock Out at TFU.info

Notes

Q: Why do motorcycles need kickstands?
A: Because they're two tired.

• Despite his toy being a racing bike, The Veiled Threat describes his altmode as a chopper-style bike. His holographic rider is described as being lifted from a 1950s American film.
• In The Veiled Threat, Knock Out has the ability to balance in motorcycle mode while standing still. This is apparently an uncommon ability since Arcee requires kickstands.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Knock Out (ノックアウト Nokku Auto)

References