Laserbeak is a spy and scout for the Decepticons and one of Soundwave's Mini-Cassette minions. He is also a fearsome aerial warrior, capable of even outmatching the Seekers, despite his size and physical weakness. However, frontline assaults are not Laserbeak's forte; he prefers to conduct sneak attacks from behind and takes a maniacal pleasure in crippling his enemies and making their last moments as terrifying and painful as possible. His sadism is matched only by his cowardice, however, as he will quickly turn tail and flee if the odds are not in his favour. He does nothing to hide his cowardice from Megatron because he knows that the Decepticon commander has a special appreciation for his talents.
History[]
G1 cartoon and movie[]
More Than Meets The Eye[]
Prior to the Autobots' departure from Cybertron, Soundwave deployed Laserbeak to spy on them and learn about the Ark's launch time. After the Ark crashed on prehistoric Earth, Laserbeak went into stasis-lock along with all the other Transformers. He was revived in 1984, now with the ability to transform into a shape reminiscent of Earth's birds.
While the Decepticons began construction of their new ship, they were being spied on by the Autobots Hound and Cliffjumper. Cliffjumper attempted to snipe Megatron only to miss, prompting Soundwave to deploy Laserbeak to investigate. The two Autobots fled, splitting up in the hopes that Laserbeak couldn't track them both, but the Decepticon spy deployed one of his laser pods to pursue Cliffjumper while he continued to tail Hound. While Cliffjumper destroyed the laser pod chasing him, Laserbeak fired on Hound and sent him tumbling down the mountainside.
Laserbeak would continue to provide combat support as the Decepticons and Autobots fought on Earth. During an attack on an oil rig, he intervened in a duel between Megatron and Optimus Prime, striking the Autobot leader and allowing his commander to break away from combat. When the Autobots later tried to stop the Decepticons from launching their new cruiser, Laserbeak flew alongside the Seekers as they bombarded the ground with laser fire.
Transport to Oblivion[]
Once the Decepticons dug their space cruiser out of the briny deep, they resumed their attacks on a nearby solar power station. While the others engaged the larger Autobots, Laserbeak kept to squawking around Bumblebee's head. Later, Laserbeak spied on the Autobots to ensure they took the bait for a trap Megatron had set for them. He tried to help in the cave trap later on, but Ratchet trapped him instead inside a tiny net.
Roll With It[]
After Megatron was accidentally sent to Cybertron following an early space bridge test, Laserbeak and Rumble were present to greet Megatron on his return. Laserbeak perched on Megatron's arm, signifying Megatron's resumption of command of the Earthbound Decepticons. Once the Decepticons set their sights on the antimatter formula, Laserbeak attempted to steal it from Chip Chase and Bumblebee, but to no avail.
Divide and Conquer[]
After Starscream's strike team blasted Optimus Prime something fierce, Megatron assigned Laserbeak to infiltrate the Ark and ascertain the Autobot leader's true condition. For once, Laserbeak demonstrated his cowardice in Megatron's presence, but reluctantly went forth on his mission. Perhaps looking to prove himself after showing his yellow streak, Laserbeak took some extreme risks. First, he transformed into cassette mode and landed right on the powerhouse Brawn's shoulder to enter the Autobot base. Then, at Megatron's prodding, he flew down in full sight of the entire Autobot team and fired laser beams straight into Prime's exposed chest cavity. This exacerbated the damage and made the Autobot mission to find a replacement cosmitron for Prime of great priority.
Fire on the Mountain[]
When the Decepticons were on a mission in South America, they were temporarily interrupted by an attack from Brawn and Windcharger. Windcharger soon realized the duo were outclassed fighting so many Decepticons at once, and directed Brawn to pull back. Well, bless his cowardly tin-plated heart, Laserbeak waited until after Windcharger sounded the retreat to get involved, showing great "courage" as he shot the Autobots in the back as they were driving away. Still, never let it be said that Laserbeak doesn't have his uses. When Brawn later returned and stole Megatron's fusion cannon, blasting the Decepticon leader with his own weapon, it was Laserbeak who flew in to retrieve the cannon for his master.
The Ultimate Doom[]
One afternoon, while the Seekers engaged in yet another grab for energy, Soundwave and the Cassettes carried out Operation: Guinea Pig at the Ark. As his partners Rumble and Ravage created a distraction for the present Autobots, Laserbeak swooped in and carried off one of their human comrades, Sparkplug Witwicky. Laserbeak delivered the human to Megatron and Doctor Arkeville for testing of their new hypno-chip.
After a successful test, Laserbeak flew out to collect more potential slaves for the Decepticons. He also took advantage of a well-placed earthquake to kidnap Spike Witwicky as well, while Bumblebee was dangling over a crevace. Unfortunately for the beryllium buzzard, Bluestreak was on the scene. His sharpshooting ability blasted Spike right out of Laserbeak's clutches, and drove off the Decepticon spy.
Countdown to Extinction[]
After the plot to change Cybertron's orbit failed, Laserbeak reported to Megatron about the treachery of Starscream and Doctor Arkeville. Seeking out the traitors, Megatron and the Decepticons ran afoul of the Autobots along the way. To deter pursuit, Megatron led the Autobot cars into a valley of quicksand, hoping they would sink out of his way forever. He left Laserbeak behind to monitor their demise. When Ironhide started to get his hand free, Laserbeak tried to divebomb the Autobot, only to be blasted by Mirage's rocket launcher. Stunned, the Decepticon reverted to his cassette mode, and was captured by Jazz. Once the Autobots got free, Jazz used his own audio system to replay Laserbeak's findings, alerting the Autobots to the Decepticons' destination at Arkeville's secret lab.
City of Steel[]
When the Decepticons moved their operations to New York City, Laserbeak was put on Autobot patrol, and alerted Megatron to their enemies' rendez-vous in Central Park. He was also joined by his fellow avian cassette, Buzzsaw, for the first time in this battle.
Attack of the Autobots[]
In an attack on the Ark, Laserbeak and the Decepticons were charged with distracting the Autobots while Megatron and Starscream snuck inside to sabotage the Autobots' equipment. Laserbeak bit off more than he could chew with Prowl, though, and ended up being lassoed to the Autobot's rifle. It was a stand-off as Laserbeak fired at Prowl from the air while Prowl tried to drag him to the ground, until Megatron sounded the retreat. Laserbeak cut the wire with his blasts and took off as fast as his little wings could carry him.
Atlantis, Arise![]
Laserbeak and Buzzsaw discovered the city of Sub-Atlantica on the bottom of the ocean floor, which led to an uneasy alliance between the Sub-Atlanticans and the Decepticons, and the subsequent attack of both parties on Washington, D.C. In D.C., Laserbeak popped out of Soundwave and was almost immediately shot down by Hound. By the time he was back in the air, the Dinobots had broken through the Decepticon defenses and Swoop took out Laserbeak and Buzzsaw with missiles moments after arriving at the battle.
Day of the Machines[]
In order to gain control over the super-computer TORQ III, Laserbeak was joined by Megatron and Soundwave in his infiltration of the defense compound where the computer was housed. Laser blasting their way to the core, Megatron was able to reprogram the computer to serve only him. Using TORQ to guide them, Megatron arranged for countless oil tankers to converge on Decepticon headquarters. An Autobot scouting party attempting to thwart his plans at the site, but Laserbeak swiped Spike Witwicky in the middle of battle and forced the Autobots to lay down their arms. Luckily, another contingent of Autobots confronted TORQ directly, deactivating the computer, and made their way to Megatron's refinery, freeing their friends.
A Prime Problem[]
Despite his well-documented cowardice, Laserbeak is sometimes surprisingly effective in combat. Immediately after Optimus Prime single-handedly disarmed Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp at once in battle, Laserbeak swooped out of the sky and managed to incapacitate Prime just as easily with a hail of laser beams. At Megatron's direction, however, he did not finish the job. Instead, Laserbeak used his recording equipment to create a fully-body holographic scan of the Autobot leader, allowing Megatron to manufacture a perfect duplicate of Optimus Prime for his plans. Later on, he also easily overpowered Starscream and unceremoniously dragged him back to Megatron in his talons.
Transformers: The Movie[]
By 2005, the war was going in the Decepticons' favour as they had managed to conquer Cybertron while the Autobots had been divided between two of the planet's moons as well as Autobot City on Earth. After being dispatched to spy on the Autobots on Moonbase I, Laserbeak learned that they were sending a shuttle to Earth to pick up a shipment of energon cubes. He returned to Cybertron to relay the information to Megatron, who organized an attack on the shuttle in order to bypass Autobot City's defences.
Following the failed assault on Autobot City and Megatron's ejection into space, the Decepticons began fighting over who should become the next leader. Soundwave nominated himself, only for the Constructicons to insult him. Laserbeak was deployed along with Ravage, Rumble and Frenzy to defend Soundwave's honour.
Marvel Comics[]
To be added
Dreamwave Comics[]
To be added
IDW Publishing[]
To be added
Abilities[]
- Flight - With his avian design, Laserbeak is an expert flyer. His top speed is 250 mph with a range of 1500 miles.
- Visual/Audio Recorder - Laserbeak has cameras housed within his head that capture video and photographic images with flawless detail. As a cassette, he can playback his findings on any recording device.
- Laser Cannons - The laser pods on Laserbeak's back are capable of detaching from him and flying on their own to attack targets independently. The beams they fire can pierce 2-inch thick steel from 30 miles away.