Quillfire (RID)

Quillfire is a Decepticon from the Robots in Disguise portion of the Aligned continuity family.

I'll get to the point, I'm a bit of a prick.

Quillfire is a Decepticon anarchist who took Megatron's call for social upheaval and ran with it. Considering himself the leader of his self-styled "revolution", Quillfire lashes out at anyone and anything he considers "authority", no matter how minor their control may be. Not terribly bright, he's loud, brash, and theatrical, inscribing his personal insignia on institutions that he's "liberated". He's full of bravado up until it looks like things are getting hairy, at which point he's ready to turn and run.

Which is when he's the most dangerous, actually. His primary weapon is a spray of quills fired from his back, usually as he's hoofing it away from the authorties. Aside from being sharp enough to pierce Cybertronian armor, his quills contain a toxin that has an unpredictable effect on his victim's nervous system. The effects are temporary, as the bot will revert to normal once the toxin's run its course, but this can last up to a few days.

Fiction

2015 Robots in Disguise cartoon

Voice actor: Andy Milder (English), Daisuke Kishio (Japanese), Gabriele Marchingiglio (Italian), Frédéric Meaux (French, Breathing Room), Jesco Wirthgen (German, first voice), Dennis Sandmann (German, second voice), Víctor Ugarte Fonseca (Latin-American Spanish), Fábio de Castro (Brazilian Portuguese), Janusz Wituch (Polish)

Looks like he scanned his vehicle mode from the same dealership as Bulkhead.

Quillfire was among the Decepticons imprisoned aboard the prison ship Alchemor, and was freed when the ship crashed on Earth. The Autobots eventually detected his signal and made a bid to recapture him, however he led them on a chase through a carpark into a warehouse area, and succeeded in escaping after he nailed Bumblebee with a quill.

SOUND THE TRUMPETS OF REVOLUTION!

He found his way to a carnival where he spotted a number of captive elephants and set about liberating them from their oppressors. When the Autobots again turned up, Quillfire used one of his signatures to lure Strongarm and Grimlock onto a carnival ride, trapping them on it. He then sought a hiding place and entered a tent, only to find the floor was covered in bouncy material. Bumblebee, regressed to an immature state by his toxin, began causing him to bounce, and when Quillfire attempted to hit Bumblebee with more quills, the bouncing instead resulted in him being hit himself. Quillfire passed out and was subsequently captured. Adventures in Bumblebee-Sitting!

Dude, chill! I didn't take the last cream puff. Honest!

Quillfire was accidentally freed when Jetstorm's escape pod crash-landed in the Autobot's scrapyard and damaged his stasis pod. Intending to spark a jailbreak and overthrow the Autobot oppressors, Quillfire managed to reactivate Springload, who immediately re-embarked on his quixotic quest for Doradus. Quillfire won over the other Decepticon by pretending to be in touch with the "spirits", and persuaded Springload to come along with him. The duo managed to break into a human military base and commandeer an experimental tank; Quillfire assured his increasingly skeptical partner that the human contraption would carry them to Doradus. When the Autobots intervened, Quillfire and Springload were forced to fight against the far more agile Jetstorm and Slipstream. Springload wound up accidentally kicking Quillfire, who accused his partner of harming the leader of the revolution. Springload finally snapped and attacked him, and the two Decepticons began fighting, destroying the tank. Both of them tried to escape and were summarily recaptured. One of Our Mini-Cons Is Missing

After Steeljaw and his gang broke into the scrapyard, Quillfire's stasis pod was deactivated. He was quickly re-frozen by the Autobots before he could escape. Lockout

When Steeljaw broke into the scrapyard a second time, he successfully deactivated Quillfire's stasis pod, alongside several others, as part of a bid to bolster Glowstrike's forces. When Thunderhoof brought up Steeljaw's past failures at leadership, Steeljaw informed the Decepticons of his alliance with Glowstrike, and gave them coordinates to follow while he remained at the scrapyard. The escapees later reconvened at Steeljaw's coordinates, where they was inspected by Glowstrike, who seemed pleased by the new cadre of "elite warriors". Misdirection

Vegeta! Look, more bald people.

Teamed with the Mini-Cons Back and Forth, Quillfire was sent to Crown City to obtain supplies and proceeded to leave his insignia everywhere. Bumblebee and Strongarm found him raiding an auto parts store, but after a brief chase, he was able to take them out with his quills, knocking them unconscious and trapping them in their vehicle modes. He continued raiding stores, only to be found by Grimlock disguised as a crane. But the Dinobot was unused to his new disguise, and failed miserably in putting up a fight. Quillfire was forced to withdraw when the other Autobots arrived, but headed for a nearby truck stop to continue his scavenging. The Autobots caught up with him, and though he was able to evade Bumblebee and Strongarm, Grimlock's crane hook snagged him and he was later carted back to the scrapyard on Strongarm's trailer. Impounded

Quillfire's stasis pod was later taken back to Cybertron by Optimus Prime, Windblade and Ratchet. Decepticon Island (Part 2)

When the High Council released Steeljaw from prison to keep Bumblebee and his team occupied while they made plans to summon Megatron, Freedom Fighters Quillfire was also released with the promise of a full pardon should the Pack succeed in terminating the Bee Team. Returning to Earth, they mounted on assault on the scrapyard which drove out the Autobots, but lost track of where their quarry had gone. They lured the Autobots to the Crown City Dam, and during the battle that followed, Quillfire was clobbered by Grimlock, causing one of his quills to jam a generator. After being zapped by the generator himself, Quillfire joined the other Decepticons in a retreat which ended with them plunging into the raging river. Exiles

You’ll see, I’m their hero/I’ll be lionized

Quillfire managed to locate and get the jump on Bumblebee, recording his capture of the Autobot leader before he dragged Bumblebee back to the subway which the Pack was using as a base. Steeljaw got him to use his quills to torture Bumblebee, but with the random effects the quills produced, they didn't get very far. The captured Autobots eventually got loose and the Pack were forced to retreat. Breathing Room Gaining new orders from Soundwave, the Pack headed to a waste disposal site so they could dig up radioactive substances. Despite interference from the Bee Team, they successfully found some waste, and when Quillfire interrupted another of Steeljaw and Thunderhoof's disagreements, Steeljaw tasked him with carrying the waste. He eventually got tired and stopped in a warehouse to ask someone else to carry the load, resulting in the Autobots catching up with him. During the ensuing fight, Steeljaw ordered him to knock down some acid, however he ended up being taken out by Sideswipe and the Decepticons once again retreated. Prepare for Departure

Setting his sights on breaking into the nuclear power plant, Steeljaw set Quillfire and Clampdown to work digging a tunnel. When the Autobots found them, Quillfire managed to run past them and cave in the tunnel behind them. He rejoined Steeljaw, Thunderhoof and Underbite as they adopted camouflage so they could slip into the power plant directly. The Autobots again caught up with them, and Quillfire ended up pinned to the wall by his own quills. He was carried unconscious from the power plant when it was in danger of melting down, and later incarcerated in a makeshift cell in the Autobots' cave. Prisoner Principles

When the Autobots returned to their scrapyard base, Quillfire and the other Decepticons were taken with them and reinstated in stasis pods. Something He Ate

Games

Robots in Disguise mobile game

Quillfire is ready to fire his quills into the fight against the Insecticon clone army overrunning Crown City. Robots in Disguise mobile game

Toys

Robots in Disguise (2015)

You will be hearing from my solicitors in the morning! I'm going to write to my MP!

• Quillfire (One-Step Changer, 2015-2016)

Part of the eighth wave of Hasbro's Robots in Disguise One-Step Changers, Quillfire transforms from robot to humvee with feet sticking out of the trunk. His transformation entails folding his undercarriage, which makes everything else unfold into place. He features articulation at his shoulders and is constantly looking downward.

The scannable insignia badge on his hood temporarily unlocked this version of Quillfire as a playable character in the Robots in Disguise mobile game, and could only be scanned once per day. With the game now defunct, it obviously does not do so anymore.

Quillfire can ride on Stomp & Chomp Grimlock, although this does not activate any of the larger figure's gimmicks.

This figure was released twice: first in late 2015/early 2016 under the Mini-Con Weaponizers subline imprint, and then again in late 2016/early 2017 in the Combiner Force subline imprint packaging refresh.

• More information on 1-Step-Changer Quillfire at Transformers-Universe.com

You haven't got an MP, Rick. You're an anarchist. (Hasbro version pictured)

• Quillfire (Warrior Class, 2016)

• TakaraTomy ID number: TAV39
• TakaraTomy release date: March 19, 2019
• Accessories: Blaster, quill

Warrior Class Quillfire transforms from a porcupine-like robot into an off-road SUV. He includes a small non-firing blaster weapon which can be stored under the rear of his vehicle mode. He also comes with single large, removable quill which he can either hold in his hand or plug into his back, inside a solid-molded array of quills. His back-mounted quills are on a hinge so they can fit in his blister card. He also features an articulated jaw, allowing you to simulate him running his big fool mouth. Sadly, he is missing his personal insignia on the hood / top of his head, though strangely enough, this insignia is present on his weapon instead.

His scannable Decepticon insignia is centered on his chestplate. This badge is easily scannable while still in-package. His secondary stock photo erroneously depicts him having an Autobot scan badge.

Oh. Well, then I shall write to the lead singer of Echo and the Bunnymen! (TakaraTomy Version Pictured)

Quillfire was first released as part of the sixth wave of the Warrior Class assortment, but was then re-released as part of the subsequent wave in the Mini-Con Weaponizers subline imprint packaging refresh.

The TakaraTomy version of the figure, released in the thirteenth wave of Adventure product, features a (somewhat) more show-accurate color scheme via numerous extra and more detailed paint applications, including a tampograph of his personal insignia on his hood. Yay! However, despite having many more show-accurate details, Takara's Quillfire has gold eyebrows/jawline and brown thighs and arms, as opposed to his cartoon counterpart's gray (correct on the Hasbro version).

This mold was also used to make Scatterspike.

• More information on Warrior Quillfire at TFU.info

Merchandise

Tiny Titans

• Quillfire (Tiny Titans, 2015)
  • Series: 2
  • Number: 8/12

Part of the second assortment of Tiny Titans blindpacks, this version of Quillfire is a very small, soft-plastic figure of him in robot mode, though he is cast in purple plastic due to gang-molding with three other items in the assortment.

He includes a collectible card that includes a scan-badge for the Robots in Disguise mobile game, which unlocks a random amount of Energon "currency" and a randomized bonus power-up item.

• More information on Tiny Titans Quillfire at TFU.info

Notes

• When asked about Quillfire's ultimate fate, Adam Beechen stated in a deleted blog post that he was brought back with the other imprisoned Decepticons to Cybertron after the events of "Freedom Fighters".
• In the Japanese version, Quillfire's sentence ends with "-ttsuno" and the character carves the crest while saying " sine, cosine, tangent", a reference to Trigonometric functions.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Quillfire (クイルファイヤー Kuirufaiyā)
• Mandarin: Huǒ Yǔ (火羽, "Fire Feather")