TRANSFORMERS: THE BASICS on STRONGARM

Sometimes Transformers history takes an unexpected left turn, and a 'bot who started out as one thing becomes something entirely different - as you'll find out in the story of the 'bot who went from energon-sculpting Omnicon to rule-obsessed police cadet! These are The Basics on STRONGARM!
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End card music: "Tech Live" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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[@itsahostiletakeover]

I do enjoy RID Strongarm, she's not quite as "adorkable" as my girl Nautica but she comes close. The best example that comes to my mind is her routinely sneaking out of the junkyard to indulge in the relaxation of carwashes, as if that's taboo to her by-the-books norm 😄

[@Blitzwing.Seeker]

She recently got a legacy figure

[@inesatt1313]

I agree I really enjoyed her character!

[@Afanof1]

I loved her relationship with bumblebee, Like a father and daughter relationship

[@inesatt1313]

@@Afanof1 I know! Or a brother to his younger sister!

[@shintheshrew3079]

@@inesatt1313 nah, definitely father-daughter

[@Actionfan19]

I can just picture a new version of Strongarm being on a law enforcement team with Prowl, Chase, Groove and Streetwise.

[@majesticgothitelle1802]

I would also put barricade,

[@majesticgothitelle1802]

@@metal_fusion we got stakeout, smokescreen, barricade, chase, groove, streetwise, strong arm, k-9, Autorooper, Goshooter and siren all are police base transformers. That they are able to backstory on how they were in the same police unit and how barricade was the bad cop that turned into a police spy. That led to the escape of decepticons prisoners and joined Megatron. Do to different views on Justice.

[@EclipseWarlord]

​@@majesticgothitelle1802When was Smokescreen part of a police unit? The closest I recall is in Prime where he joins the Elite Guard and is stationed as security at the Hall of Records before the fall of Iacon. With the amount of characters using the same name, it gets hard to keep track.

[@ltb1345]

@@metal_fusion He could start out as a good guy and then defect to the Decepticons.

[@majesticgothitelle1802]

@@ltb1345 yes it would make a great story telling and imagine k9 a first predicon joined a cypwrtron police unit and strong armed as a rookie and barricade who slowly becoming a decepticon. Smokescreen who is an undercover cop

[@angelbasiliorodriguezbusto2065]

Strongarm's personality often clashing with Sideswipe's was one of my favorite aspects of Robots in Disguise

[@astonmartin1800]

Think about it! She's like the transformers version of Susan Storm, while Sideswipe is Susan's younger brother, Johnny Storm, from Marvel's Fantastic 4!

[@holli_jeremy5278]

Sideswipe also has a head similar to the Johnny from the Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes cartoon.

[@The_Brainsturgeon]

I just love Constance Zimmer's voice. During her run on RiD she also had a small role in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I was like: I "I know that voice from somewhere," but couldn't place it. 😅

[@TheTeamIsSHaRP]

What episode and what did she play?

[@neovoltron25]

She played Rosalind Price. She appeared in early parts of Agents of SHIELD Season 3 becoming Phil Coulson's love interest until she was killed by Grant Ward.

[@ltb1345]

@@neovoltron25 No way, I never knew she was Strongarm's VA.

[@ericgorman9942]

I don't know why or how it happens but I always come away from these videos with a new found appreciation for characters I'm unfamiliar with. Thanks for doin' what you do.

[@cyberprime9355]

2015 Strongarm, arguably the most iconic version of Strongarm, is probably my favorite incarnation....showing that while Rules and Regulations are nice and all, they aren't the be all, end all. Plus, another example of "The Bulkhead Effect" taking shape. Another success story formed from the unlikeliest of places.

[@TFfangeek]

Energon Strongarm and RiD 2015 Strongarm are completely different characters, but it only goes to show that a Transformers name can be successfully applied to characters from across the entire Transformers franchise.

[@alexanderstavroulakis335]

But do either of them have STRONG ARMS?

[@gabrielchee8470]

​@@alexanderstavroulakis335the Energon character works in a mine so yes. The rid 15 char was shown weight lifting a bar with scrap on each side in one ep so yes she's strong too. Plus her bulky physique is why she's popular.

[@alexanderstavroulakis335]

@@gabrielchee8470 👍

[@j-sant-animations8105]

It seems every obscure character eventually evolves to cop. Barricade was a f1 car known to destroy.. well barricades by ramming thru. Now he's a ruthless cop

[@gabrielchee8470]

​@@j-sant-animations8105nah, its just chase, strongarm, barricade and (to an extent) their junior-rba whirl

[@ShanaReviews]

RID Strongarm is definitely the breakout character of the name and show she came in, and what I like with RID Strongarm's design is that she is one of the Transformers who also broke away from the typical Feminine body type most Female Cybertronians had, the first one to my mind being Strika from BM and TFA, definitely helps for showcasing diverse body types

[@originaluddite]

It also pushes them to do more than just redeco the same old mould for every fembot. I love the Engergon Arceee design but then it gone done to death.

[@torinodeguzman4243]

For me, it fits her alt mod. It's like a female cybertronian transforms into a tank but somehow all that bulk and armor disappears and her robot mode is slender

[@pickedceasar1216]

@@torinodeguzman4243 yeah I like that it looks like she still has a feminine figure but she’s also supposed to look like she’s kitted to the nines with tactical gear Sometimes she looks like a magical girl that turned into a swat officer and it honestly makes me like her more 😂😂

[@DeamonChocobo]

The little Animated Strong-arm was super cute. Honestly I want to see Early RID15 Strong-arm meet MTMTE Ultra Magnus. Side Note: this reminded me how much I love the Energon Stars & Weapons from Energon.

[@ShockwaveFPSStudios]

It would be cool if Strong Arm was a superhero name, that’s been passed to several Cybertronians for generations. With the RID Strong Arm being the recent Cybertronian to take on the mantle of Strong Arm, with the Energon Strong Arm being her predecessor.

[@EL1J4H640]

Well, it's a bit of a massive spoiler to say this, but I think you'll like IDW's rendition of Ultra Magnus in MTMTE and Lost Light.

[@starry53]

I do like the RiD 2015 Strongarm the most as being the "Stick to the Rules" kind of Autobot she is. Seeing the Legacy toy version Strongarm for the first time, I am quite looking forward buying her someday.

[@DarthShadow91]

I think another thing that lead to RiD Strongarm’s popularity was that she was a female Autobot lead character that wasn’t just given a sports car or motorcycle with a skinny body type. She was bulky and strong. Sure we had Strika long before her, but she was a villain. You didn’t see many plus-sized characters like Strongarm serving the roles they did.

[@KnightsofGaming2016]

She's also a strict policewoman and I think some people have that sort of thing going for them too.

[@JohnWilliams-wl9px]

Also Strika was a main character in RiD. So she of course got more attention drawn to her.

[@archivist8523]

And then of course the Legacy toyline forcibly shoves her into the skinny body type used for Elita-1 and Minerva, and her toy visibly suffers for it

[@SilviaLikesCherries]

@@archivist8523 it's Legacy, of course she's a remold.

[@gabrielchee8470]

​@@archivist8523maybe she refoematted herself into that form becuz some silly g1 rulebook said so

[@sivanlevi3867]

Robots in Disguise Strongarm is my favorite Autobot from that series, but I like the IDW version of the character, especially being a member of the Wreckers which I think is seriously fitting.

[@SwiftpawWolffox]

I think the characters like this are the ones that make the best videos. You get to see how much different character can be put under the same name, even when one version has become the most dominate version in media. Especially when Chris finds the obscure offshoot versions.

[@Brickerbrack]

Nah, Offshoot is one of the _other_ Omnicons... 😜

[@GeekBearReporter]

A bot who grew to popularity and heights ❤

[@obnoxiouslegofan]

Even though the Energon Strongarm was the first incarnation of the character that I'm introduced to, the Aligned Strongarm is the one that I'm mostly associated to. For my version of Strongarm, she not only had to clash with Sideswipe, but she also had to clash with his sibling, Sunsteaker (who was female in my story).

[@arcmate9193]

Funny how both the Barricade and Strongarm are both the most memorable uses of their names and are also Cop-formers

[@TheDigitalApple]

Seems the popularity of RiD Strongarm could almost rival Prime Arcee.

[@TheAutisticOwl]

I had been looking forward to this and i was not disappointed. While her RID15 incarnation is my favourite, it was interesting looking at all her other variants

[@CaptainDemo779]

Somewhere in the future, I DESPERATELY need RID Strongarm to butt heads with Flamewar. The dynamic between those two would be really fun to watch.

[@user-zn8ue5yb6n]

RID version of strong arm has always been my favourite, talented, strong and beautiful, well done 👏 ❤️😊

[@schorpioen007]

Same ^^

[@user-zn8ue5yb6n]

@@schorpioen007 I agree 👍 😊

[@leoalcaraz6153]

The RID strong arm is easily the best; she could hold her own and has a very memorable personality; I’m glad to see they’re keeping this version around

[@SignoftheMagi]

RID Strongarm benefits from a clean design (white and blue, with easy to recognize features), a clear personality, and time in the spotlight to grow.

[@FrankenXANA]

RiD 2015's Strongarm is still my favorite character from that series. I hope that Steeljaw from RiD 2015 also gets to have a new toy in the Legacy line. Also, for another Transformer name with various faces, how about a basics on "Rook"? Please?

[@michaellombardi1620]

I like her design; its memorable even though I haven't seen the tf cartoon she's in much

[@kingdragoonmk10]

There is always something so magical when a Name finds its Ideal Bearer , I hope we get to see a Legacy styled Rescuebot Whirl as I feel she'd be a great addition, and would look adorable next to Terran Twitch ^^ heck I could see her looking up to RID Strongarm as a big sister like rolemodel

[@MasterArchfiend]

Besides being a great character, I think part of why RID has become the Strongarm is because she’s more or less the first female transformer to have a more bulky physique. She doesn’t have a body shaped akin to a classic pinup model. It gives her a unique silhouette in the crowd at the time. I have a friend who openly does not like RID ‘15, but will say that it was still a good thing as it gave us the best Strongarm. Just goes to show that good things can come from something that you don’t like.

[@cybersoldier2010]

You forgot one thing: Derrick J. Wyatt made an Animated head of Strongarm (from Robots In Disguise 2015) and it's featured on the pages of the Complete Allspark Almanac. You should check out. Also, if he hadn't died, it could be possible that Derrick could have made a full Animated style version of Strongarm.

[@omegon2540]

Somewhere, there is an alternate timeline where, to this day, the energon strong arm is the only strongarm toy and keeps getting re-released

[@blueraccoon1088]

I will say strongarm was of the inspiration for one of my family members to be a detective she wanted to voice her in a private stopmotion series I've been writing and rewriting so I thought she and the other cop bots would get a spinoff but the cons would be hard to include. Plot would be simular to RID with strongarm,chase sideswipe, blades, bumper as her cadet and my series guest star some characters with other transformers. She grew out of it but I would still do my own series

[@CT-1735]

After i finished watching 2015 RID, Strongarm fell into obscurity for me until i saw a review of her legacy figure. Once i got my hands on it, it gave me a new appreciation for her character. To date, she's my all-time favorite deluxe-class next to legacy scraphook

[@tannerprice2018]

Total missed opportunity for Hasbro to do another crossover between RID’15 and Rescue Bots, where Strongarm partnered alongside Chase the Police-Bot.

[@TomMSTie1138]

Thanks Chris for another enlightening episode. I hardly knew anything about Strongarm, other than her being a female police officer. Her connection with Bumper in the IDW reboot makes me long even more for a Generations release of him to go with Strongarm.

[@BrokenBluebird6]

Finally a vid on the coolest Energon design. ^^ Edit. RiD Strongarm and her different interpretations are cool too, one of my favorite modern autobots alongside MTMTE Minimus Ambus

[@pious83]

I must get around to buying the Allspark Almanacs someday. Animated had so many interesting takes that never appeared onscreen.

[@gioanysgonzalez3396]

Her and Mirage are one of my favorite transformers. I got tired of Arcee and Windblade constantly being the go to lead role female character so It’s really refreshing to have a brand new character take the spotlight and Mirage is by far the BEST update characterize transformer EVER!!! That guy is so much of a bro and I love him!

[@matteomascaropennacchi2220]

Man I wish Animated series could continue só we could see more new Transformers

[@jackthedragon612]

RID 2015 Strongarm is and will always be my favourite version of the character.

[@schorpioen007]

Me too.

[@livingphoenix1]

Love rid 2015 strongarm, she reminds me a little of rid 2001 prowl They have both have an obsession with rules 😂

[@AJGundam]

Strong-arm could strong arm me anyday

[@shauncook9987]

I think Strongarm’s an amazing character of the Transformers franchise!👍🏻

[@nuriochi]

Great video of one of my favorites of recent years (RID version). Thank you!

[@muhammadhabibieamiro3639]

Another amazing video

[@Spike-Prime]

RID 2015 may not have been the best show, but Strongarm is definitely its biggest success story. Rarely to female characters in Transformers get to have the kind of design and role she does, and it was such a good idea to break the mold visually, which of course blew the doors open on diversity in design for Transformers of all gender. Plus her personality is just so endearing. I'm glad this incarnation has broken through this show to be the definitive "Strongarm" in the minds of TF fans, despite not being the first to bear the name.

[@diegos7337]

Thanks Chris!

[@pigeon3769]

Yknow, personally I’d love to see a video on the multi force

[@inesatt1313]

I love her RID version she's awesome and the other Strongarms

[@mekman4]

Great Stuff, as always!

[@Galaxxi]

i am making my annual request for The Basics on Tracks 💙 also i'm very impressed at how long this series has gone on for, good work

[@ah08223]

my son love Strongarm defiantly will get the legacy version for him

[@anwenlokier2292]

In my school vr game she along with rescue bots chase and whirl were found on Highway 666 trying find clues on a 3 vehicle accident and sightings of a large horse with a demon on the road and a mech flying over it which she commented as the most random case ever

[@MrDoctorVK]

I lean heavily on RID2015 Strongarm, even have her Warrior and Legion Class figs. Looking forward for one point having her Legacy toy.

[@PaulSmith-vo3ge]

Another great episode!!

[@ultroytheroy34]

My first transformers experience was RID(2015) and my first transformers toy was strongarm and she's still my 6th favorite autobot

[@KamenRiderSeiryuXV0]

I like Blast Arm/Strong Arm from Transformers Superlink/Energon still my fave also had toy too.

[@DBWalks2010]

Fantastic story!

[@ulty1472]

My nostalgia makes me Energon fanboy as i gotta go with that version as my favorite

[@robrice7246]

8:21/8:22 This is the role I associate Constance Zimmer with.

[@YoAce420]

Just what ı was waiting for!

[@fancomiczilla4275]

Love your content. I was wondering if you'd by chance do a video on the autobot Tracks in the near future? He's one of my personal favorites haha

[@moonwhooper]

The best thing RID 2015 did

[@crizman7032]

to me, it seems like OG Strongarm was like a cybertronian dwarf equivalent. With the mining, strong work ethic, and axe main weapon.

[@Brickerbrack]

No beard, though. 😜

[@facundopollacino7956]

Nadie me puede negar qué Strongarm merecia estar en un programa mejor qué RID2015.

[@toolatetocolonize]

Didn’t know there was an animated version of the Energon character. That character model was so unexpected and yet fits so well

[@mattr75]

The StrongArm toy from RID 2015 I own is alright. Wish that Steeljaw's toy was better

[@pandegaarkanrauf8413]

Amazing Dude

[@EternityKingdomsHeadHoncho]

Personal canon: Strongarm is a police SUV sharing her body type with Flashpoint, Nightra, and Smolder.

[@171QA]

Great video.

[@6bambolbi6]

I love new Strongarm specially because of body variation. It breaks that thing of female characters having that skinny and curvy body tipe and because she doesn't have to look like that and is more square like the male ones, she isn't a shellformer.

[@DBWalks2010]

Fantastic video and story!👍👍👍👍😎I personally liked the the Energon version of Strongarm! He’s the best!

[@DBWalks2010]

Thanks for your comment 👍

[@Powerlinx88]

Strongarm was also released in the Revenge Of The Fallen toyline based of his 2 energon characters and the 2007 repaint of him his colour scheme in the Revenge Of The Fallen was in desert colours and i own that figure and his energon components were very clear plastic

[@ChrisMcFeely]

That recolour is named Crosshairs - you can learn more about that version of the character in The Basics on Crosshairs!

[@gabrielchee8470]

Strongarm only had 1 release in the 07 line

[@EclipseWarlord]

As I had just rewatched Energon last month, that Strongarm is the one I know best. One day, I will get around to watching RID15. Its art style right after watching Prime was too jarring for me at the time.

[@carlosfelipe2988]

Gran video como siempre 🤩🤗😎!!!

[@danielhuie4706]

I like all versions of strongarm they are all my favorites and can the next transformers basics video be about transformers animation errors

[@adamshafeeq8685]

Hope you do Jetstorm and Jolt next

[@TheGundamsword]

RID Strong-Arm was basically a female Prowl. The movie recolor of Energon Strong-Arm looked more like Hound.

[@tylermcweeny2256]

Strongarm is also in Angrybirds transformers

[@Prenses-TV-NM-2-MS]

Yes-Yeah!!!!

[@TrueKoalaKnight]

Hands down the RID'15 version is my favorite and I really wish there was a really good toy of her that I could add to my G1 focused collection. (No, the new Legacy one is no good.)

[@Werezilla]

Why does the so called "evil" Shattered Glass version of Strongarm look so adorable?

[@PaigeRobins-ky4qc]

I love strongarm on robots in disguise because it shows there's time and place for everything.🤖🚓🚔🚨

[@trexadvent4726]

Which version of Strong-arm do you think is the best? I'm familiar with the one from the robots in disguise series

[@ultramaximusreviews]

Wow RID was almost 9 years ago now???

[@mm123gseries5]

I would like to see Transformers do a hole Autobot police squad, made up Prowl, Strongarm, and Chase, and even give Barricade some history with them as an ex-member who was kicked out for abusing his authority. With this history leading into Prowl becoming a more strict commander, believing he can’t afford any insubordinations in this war, so he picks on the new Lunette Strongarm for making mistakes or acting out of line, with Chase being the voice of reason to side against Strongarm’s abuse.

[@majesticgothitelle1802]

Don't limit yourself to just these few. We got stakeout, smokescreen, dropforge. groove, streetwise, strong arm, k-9, Autorooper, Goshooter and siren. For the police unit

[@mm123gseries5]

@@majesticgothitelle1802 Wait, really? I wasn’t aware of that many.

[@majesticgothitelle1802]

@@mm123gseries5 many were forgotten overtime

[@gabrielchee8470]

Then RBA whirl can join as a late addition.

[@numnuts16]

Strongarm was the best thing to come out of RiD'15

[@LeoxandarMagnus]

Energon Strongarm was my very first Transformer toy. I lost the little shoulder bits at some point, but then stole them from a friend’s Strongarm.

[@Lucsld]

Please! Let the next video be about the Junkions.

[@ultragodzillafan]

I hope you eventually do a Basics on Toxitron. I got a figure of him recently, and would like to know the history of the character.

[@ChaoticTeen16]

RiD15 Strongarm being a Plus-Sized Female Autobot definitely helped her popularity. It was a role that was usually left to villainous characters like the Vehicon/Decepticon Strika, and would later be seen in the Decepticon turned Autobot Clobber. That, along with her charming personality, and budding friendship with both Sideswipe and Windblade definitely made her fun to watch.

[@crazyviperblack1176]

I don’t know if you have done it yet but. Possibly a basics video on sparks like normal sparks or green sparks ?

[@alexcanine4948]

nice one on strongarm also another character deserves the basics treatment like Bluestreak

[@0H00C]

Good vid

[@sonicx24cool51]

I Headcanon that should Nitro Zeus be in the Transformers Animated Continuity, he would of course be a Shockwave look-alike but much like Shockwave, he can transform into an Autobot disguise and while Shockwave went by “Longarm”, Nitro Zeus would go by “Strongarm”

[@holli_jeremy5278]

Fitting that this dropped the week my Legacy Strongarm arrived from Hasbro Pulse.

[@zaxitron2714]

I loved the transformers energon one

[@FernandoMazzo175]

Ok but why does Classics/Cybertron Strongarm looks like it could be a damn interesting design for Barricade?

[@knightofelemia1567]

I like her the part I don't like is the pop up face plate. The face plate should not be popping on and off when in a battle.

[@deanthorne4984]

Please do a basics on tarantulas. He is my favorite character.

[@Stablemable2]

Shattered Glass or Shattered WindShield? LOL I really like Strongarm in the TS RID series. I think the the voice casting really sells it too.

[@chrisneustaedter6788]

Hurray! A new Autobot!

[@deniseg9210]

Can you do a basics video on Shokaract?