Tailgate is an evilAutobot from theShattered Glasscontinuity family.

The guy on the right.

Tailgate just loves humans. They're so cute, scurrying around in their little houses and making noises almost like they're talking. He also knows the importance of giving his pet human the right amount of exercise, so whenever possible, he takesButch out for fresh air and walkies. Always considerate of his pet's needs, he keeps an eye out for other strays the Autobots can adopt to give his pet new playmates.

Fiction

Fun PublicationsShattered Glass continuity

Tailgate indulged Butch's power fantasies by taking him toFranklin Burns High School and terrorizing the students there. Butch particularly urged him to shootLisa Presser. Before Tailgate could do so, he was confronted bySephie Beller. He didn't see a car around, so he suggested to Butch that she was probably a stray and they could take her home. Unfortunately for Tailgate, Sephie possessed a suit made from Cybertronian technology, which she used to deliver a jolt to his chest. He picked her up and attempted to drain her power using his magnets, however she retaliated with a blast that sent him crashing into the side of the school building. He charged at her, only to find himself being hit by his own energy-draining power. At that point Beller's suit overloaded, and a badly damaged Tailgate retreated with his pet, while muttering that someone needed to call the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Autobots.Transhuman

While on a lunch date withInferno, Tailgate let the larger bot talk him into a makeover. He was already self-conscious about the new paint job when Rodimus Prime pointed out it made him look like the dead 'bot,Blurr.Coalescence

Tailgate participated in an attack onDecepticon City led by Optimus and Rodimus. When Optimus was cut down in battle byGalvatron, the Autobots fell back into a retreat aboardSky Lynx.Memory's Splinter When their ride announced they'd have to lighten their load,Rodimus promptly dumpedOptimus Prime out the nearest hatch. Tailgate had no objections to Rodimus declaring himself the new leader.Familiar Reflections

Tailgate and the Autobots were soon attacked by the returning Optimus Prime, now the enlightened Nova Prime.Out of the One, Many

Timelines

You appeared on-screen together! It must be love!

From a negative polarityAxiom Nexus, theTranscendent Technomorphs observedCyclonus and Tailgate ofCybertron -PG05.Epilogue Two

IDWShattered Glass comic

As a member of theWreckers, Tailgate helped tie upJetfire when the group took control ofMetroplex.Shattered Glass II #3

FollowingUltra Magnus stealingOptimus Prime's body, Metroplex stumbling allowedSoundwave to break the Wrecker lines. Tailgate was the first to open fire on Soundwave only to have this shots dodged and Soundwave to throw him intoDrift.Shattered Glass II #5

Toys

Timelines

• Krok / Nightracer (Multi-pack, 2015)

Timelines Nightracer is aredeco of theGenerations: Thrilling 30 Legends ClassTailgate mold, using the blues requested (but not used) for her original BotCon toy. She transforms into a muscle car of undetermined, probably-made-up model.

She shipped as the "freebie" figure in Version 3.0 of theTransformers Figure Subscription Service, in the same box asKrok, the sixth and final paid figure in the service. She came packed with a similarly-recolored version ofGroundbuster namedShakar, whose name is an anagram of Nightracer's creator,Raksha, who also contributed the text for Nightracer's packed-in bio card.

This toy also doubles asNightracer's clone and this mold was retooled intoCombiner WarsWindcharger.

Notes

• For his first visual appearance inAnother Light, SG Tailgate is modeled on G1 Tailgate's Legends ClassThrilling 30 body in one of the color schemes used forCamaro, the Brazilianredeco of theWindcharger toy, from which Tailgate's original G1 toy wasretooled. In "Coalescence", released later but set earlier in-universe, Tailgate was given a temporary paint job based onNightracer's colors, recycling a toy released by the Collectors' Club.
  • At one point, writerGreg Sepelak had considered repurposing the live-action film series incarnation ofClocker as Tailgate, but that idea never went anywhere.^[1]
• Tailgate and Cyclonus's joint appearance in "Epilogue Two" is an obvious homage to theirpositivecounterparts' romantic relationship in the 2005-2018 IDW comics.
• Interestingly in IDW Publishing's comic, Tailgate maintains his previous IDW-styledThrilling 30 body instead of using the 2017Power of the Primes toy model.

References