TRANSFORMERS: THE BASICS on BOMBSHELL 

Fun fact! Transformers Prime Hardshell was voiced by none other than David Kaye. Yeeeesssss.

I’ve always liked how Bombshell looks like he’s wearing a knight’s helmet

4:35 The armor equivalent of Mr. Bean getting his head stuck in a turkey.

In the original cartoon Bombshell strangely seems to change colours when he transforms. He's purple as an insect but grey in robot mode.

2:43 Bombshell met his favourite Scooby Doo character Shaggy

Imagine the Prime Hardshell version with the mind control powers of the original Bombshell. He would be quite a force to be reckoned with.

I think it’s worth noting Combiner Wars Cyclonus is said to use mind control powers to force bots to combine with him to form Galvatronus. Now I’m not saying that definitively proves Bombshell was turned into Cyclonus but since this specific version of Cyclonus has mind control powers it only makes sense that this one was made from the remains of the guy (in)famous for mind control.

I always knew he was not the original leader, but he always was my favorite insecticon! I loved when he started being depicted as the leader. Thanks Chris!

7:21 I was thinking that the Hardshell in Prime was a clone of him after the original one from the games was recovered after his defeat by Grimlock and used as a basis to create a new version of the Insecticons (some staying on Cybertron to act as sentries).

Yeah, IDW's arc where he was messing with Prowl was probably the scariest he's ever been. Like... when someone that evil is also able to be subtle, that's not a good thing for the heroes. On the other hand, I did love how Miko was able to shut down Starscream's Cliffjumper murder bragging with "Big whoop. I snuffed Hardshell."

Kickback was always my childhood favorite because I liked grasshoppers, but Bombshell is arguably the coolest Insecticon for all the reasons Chris mentions. I always liked the knight-esque head sculpt of his robot mode.

Happy birthday to the voice of Hardshell in Transformers Prime David Kaye.

Fans: “Bombshell is totally the leader of the Insecticons!” Shrapnel: “Am I a joke to you…you?”

Bombshell has controlled the minds of Transformers fans since 1984 by being arguably the most interesting of the Insecticons, even going so far as to challenge Shrapnel for the role of Insecticon leader. The controversy surrounding if it was Bombshell or Skywarp who was rebuilt into Cyclonus, to his mind control powers that seized control of enemies and allies alike, to his role is a creepy insect in IDW's comics, there's no denying that is really is a bombshell of excitement when the Insecticon mind controller enters the battle field.

If Bombshell is all about mind control, Could he control all Decepticons and become their leader? Which Autobots can measure up to him?

"I love warping minds for you, Megatron....love it." My favorite line of his.

In the cartoon I always thought they didn't have a leader. They seem to just get along and shared scheme ideas. At the time I thought it was an interesting dynamic for a group of villains.

Let me get this straight, the insecticons debuted and bowed out, a year early from their intended dates? I heard of early birds, but bugs is just plain ridiculous! Anyone else agrees or i'm just hot air?

Let´s face it, Bombshell is a cooler boss than Shrapnel, and I can´t wait to get my hands in the legacy one.

Ah, one of the few G1 Transformers that I actually had a toy of. I loved my Bombshell toy, managed to keep it in good shape even as the chrome paint wore off.

Poor Shrapnel, Bombshell stole his place as leader of the Insecticons, Insecticons It seems that mind-controlling abilities are more interesting than a speech quirk, quirk!!!

I never knew that Bombshell would be mistakenly identified as leader of the Insecticons, but I certainly know about the debate around him becoming Cyclonus. There's also another rhino beetle Transformer out there, a Deluxe Insecticon named Barrage who appears less than Bombshell.

In my Transformers headcanon Bombshell is the leader of the Insecticons and he's Cyclonus.

Great video, as always. I'm fairly certain I remember reading a disturbing story involving Bombshell in on the UK Transformers annuals. In the story, Bombshell and Shrapnel didn't have their own minds and were under the control of Ravage. The three were following Optimus Prime, and when he released Roller, Ravage sent Shrapnel to follow the buggy. A short time later, Prime is standing over Ravage, who is having Bombshell creep up behind him. He orders Bombshell to implant a cerebro-shell in Prime, but somehow sends a signal to Shrapnel as well, who destroys Roller. As Bombshell swoops in to plant the shell, Prime doubles over in pain, feeling Roller's destruction, and Bombshell ends up implanting the shell on Ravage. The story ends with the image of a vacant eyed Ravage and the narration points at that as Ravage was controlling a mindless Bombshell, he has now been left without a mind of his own.

3:40/4:40 Don’t know if I’m alone with this, but as someone who didn’t grow up with the cartoon, it was because of the Cyclonus debate that I believed that Bombshell was the leader. Because the other two got turned into Sweeps, I thought, “he must be the leader, because he didn’t become a generic foot-soldier.” Oh, how wrong I was.

The 80s were definitely a different time in how stories were told to kids. I had a Transformers Choose Your Own Adventure book in which Bombshell was a major antagonist in. One of the bad decisions led to Spike having to hear the screams of his father as Bombshell bore one of his cerebro shells into him. The outcome concludes with the fact that the shell didn't work as planned on Sparkplug and he was left permanently damaged from it. When I explained that particular outcome to my parents, my Dad said I was into some F'ed up stuff.

The Insecticons have the potential to be the central threat of a full-blown Transformers movie if Hasbro are ever willing to go ahead with it 😊

I own the Combiner Wars Bombshell. It's a nice figure

I love the emphasis when you say the Bomb in Bombshell

The Insecticons in general were always one of my favorite sub-groups, given how they leaned into the swarming devourer concept so heavily. I always felt like it was a missed opportunity that they never did more with their clone armies, it seems like something Megatron would pick as a go-to for swelling his forces.

Another great video I loved this one, funny thing I have the original toy of Bombshell I found him at a garage sale a few years back and got it for like $5. The big suprise for me was he has all his original stickers and apart from a little wear on the edges of the chrome horn he seems to be mint. That is a part of Transformers fun never knowing where you'll find one ;) lol

5:49 - 5:55 Until being skewered in the head by Arcee.

I’ve loved Bombshell ever since I read IDW All Hail Megatron a while ago, just everything about how he’s presented there. He was practically engineered to be a mad scientist with a sadistic nature and brought the Decepticons closer to victory than they ever get in most stories.

bombshell essentially taking leadership from shrapnel gave me an idea what if bombshell is mind controlling shrapnel and making him a fake leader? like while shrapnel is the one perceived as "in charge," it's really bombshell that's calling all the shots and is using shrapnel as a way to make himself less conspicious. could be made even worse if kickback has no idea bombshell is doing this

As a kid who found himself fascinated by bombshell, I really loved this one. Great job as always.

It's so weird that you said Bombshell's ability creeped you out. That scene where he slowly walked to Mirage and fired into his forehead bothered me and stuck with me to this day and I don't know why.

Mr. McFeely seems to have had a lot of fun writing the puns for the close of this video retrospective. It was quite entertaining, so thank you.

9:31/9:49 Why do I feel like he makes a better Insecticon leader (and not just because he has a faceplate)? Shrapnel can be his second-in-command.

Great basics video. It blew my mind seeing that comic page where Bombshell was on a leaf. For some reason it never occurrd to me that the insecticons might change size like Megatron and Soundwave. One of my favorite moments with the insecticons was in the episode where those space soores were growing out of control around Cosmos. As Autobots and Decepticons fight to get through to claim the robotic insecticide the insecticons think Megatron is trying to keep something valuable from them. So when the swarm shows up Megatron shouts, "It's the Insecticons! Those noble creatures have come to help us!"

Headcanon: Bombshell planted a cerebroshell in Shrapnel and Kickback to make them think Shrapnel was the leader, while all the thinking and plotting was actually done by Bombshell

So he’s basically Animated Dirtboss before TFA was made?

I always debated whether Bombshell or Shrapnel were the leader, though I preferred the latter. I wish they had expanded on that 80s cartoon episode where Spike saved Shrapnel before exploding.

Bombshell the "Decepticon master of mind control". Something tells me Mindwipe might take offence to that tittle. And he doesn't even need special hardware to control people!

my Bombshell toy is still one of my favourites. Thanks for shouting out one of my favourite bots!

this was amazing and gave me great appreciation for the character

What do you think is the best thing about Bombshell? Which movie or TV Show do you think did a great job in portraying him? Are you going to do Shrapnel next?

Thanks for finally doing this video and Bombshell has always been my favourite Insecticon and my favourite line is "I love warping minds for you, Megatron...love it!" and it just shows how twisted minded he really is and I’m having fun with his new toy so far along with Kickback and Shrapnel and don’t suppose Hasbro might re-release the figures again in one boxset and repaint them a bit to better match their colour scheme (at least in my opinion) but all and all I’m so glad to have the whole collection and just like Bug collecting.

Daiaclone of Insect Robo toy my sister had in collection.Surely Bombshell expertise of mind control and using explosions though.

My headcanon (haha using that in relation to Bombshell) was that as part of his manipulative way let Shrapnel look and act the leader, to keep attention off himself and his schemes. And the scheming behind the curtain is one of the reasons Venom is so god awful paranoid. He could just take over with his cerebro-shells but he doesn't because using them too much diminishes how terrifying they are and would encourage more efforts to counteract them (as in the Joe/TF crossover story mentioned).

Do THE BASICS on GRAPPLE next!

No waaaaay childhood memory unlocked! I'm in Australia, I used to have that power master Bombshell

In retrospect, it was kind of inevitable, but I remember being pretty bummed when they killed Prime Hardshell off; no Transformers series can go wrong adding David Kaye's amazing voice!

I'm happy to say G1 Bombshell was played by Micheal Bell, who not only played Duke from GI JOE, but also Drew Pickles from Rugrats and even Quaker Jack from Darkwing Duck! ITS PLAY TIME!!!!❤

I really hope you do separate basics videos for Shrapnel and Kickback later down the line.

When I was a kid I thought he was the muscle of the trio entirely because he was the biggest. But then I learned he was actually a mad scientist with mind control powers and he quickly became my favorite bug-bot.

Funny enough Bombshell is the only Insecticon not to have a Transformers Retro toy released yet.

One of my favorite depictions of Bombshell has to be from the Transformers Galaxies comic series. In their he managed to convince the constructicons (who at this point arent decepticons yet) to turn on their would be bosses using not his cerebral probes but his convincing words alone. It really shows that while his probes might do the job quicker,it doesn't mean he cant control people through other methods as well.

Hardshell is one of my favourite evil transformers so far in the overall franchise. The Insecticons' design as a whole in Transformers Prime is beyond amazing (not to mention that the howls that they make sound like something straight out of a nightmare, making them truely terrifying), but the scarring across his body also make him look like a veteran warrior of many fights, and someone who definitely looks like an individual that the insecticon hive would've chosen as their champion.

A huge missed opportunity in tfp was not having Hardshell and Airachnid branch off and become an actual threat to Megs leadership. As for the who became Cyclonus debate goes, personally I go with the Bombshell and Skywarp were merged theory.

Honestly i didn’t know diddly squat about bombshell, when i first saw him in the show I thought he was the bruiser of the trio, but now that i know more about him, i think he’s one of the best villains in the series.

I always had a soft Spot for Bombshell since he was my first Action Masters Figure back then. I was very Happy to collect his Legacy Figure a few Weeks ago. Some sort of full circle thing.

2:08 shockwave should make him as his second back up scientist

First saw this guy in Marvel Comics when I was a kid. His awesome design always stuck out to me and ever since, Bombshell is my favorite Insecticon.

Bombshell/Hatdshell is one of my favorite transformers Charakters ever and i love this episode❤

I too have been Bombshellpilled. Love the creepy characterisation mixed with his ever grinning faceplate. His Dreamwave story was a fave of mine. And the original toy is one of the great transforming robots of all time. Who doesn't like a beetle robot?

I love Bombshell, he's one of my favorite characters. Not only mind control, I also like that he's been given the ability to fire out explosive pink goo, as seen in Devastation.🙂

Now I want "The basics on Personality Changes" because I still think Skywarp became Cyclonus and went through one in the process.

I didn’t realize Hardshell was supposed to be Bombshell. I thought he was an original character and they just used a similar sounding name

The insecticon trio also appeared in the game Transformers: Devastation

In my opinion he has one of the best insecticon robot mode design

Bombshell was my only Insecticon till sometime this century, so is a sentimental favourite. Having said that, he never fooled me regarding leadership. I got that Shrapnel was his boss, but felt that Bombshell had the ability to integrate better into the wider Decepticon ranks, given his unique skills. My own G1 cartoon head canon is that he was last seen scavenging on Chaar with the other two, and that it was Reflector who got recycled by Unicron...

Bombshell had one of my favorite design, I always saw him as a knight with a twisted sense of honor

I remember the episode when Bombshell used his weapon to re-assemble Shrapnel after he exploded in the original G1 series. My favorite was Shrapnel but he definitely didn't seem like their leader.

Bombshells easily in my top 5! Thank you!!!! His head piece with that freight train mouth guard and his manipulator up top is probably my favorite. It's pretty sinister, especially in the IDW comics.

This was my fist G1 Transformer as a kid in 1985, I was so happy then to get a real Transformer, love the memory of it, 47 years old I am, still love G1 Transformers😳

I always love bug transformers. Thanks for this one, I forgot about the insecticons and Bombshell from the OG transformers. 👍

Between his helmet design, the lack of a weird speech impediment like Shrapnel, and the fact he actually did stuff unlike Kickback, Bombshell's always been my favorite of the main Insecticon trio.

Sharpshot, Skrapnel, Hardshell, Bombshock. In a way not losing the Kickback trademark is vad thing since we do not have alternate names to give to Locust Insecticlones that make up the Swarm.

I liked how on his original toy the hinge on his arms made the pupil of his bug form, thought it was clever engineering (but three barrels on his gun, three on his head cannon, and one each on his arms?)

I guess WfC establishes that universe's Hardshell as a counterpart to Bombshell, but going by Prime alone, Hardshell would seem to have more in common with Barrage, the green and yellow Deluxe Insecticon rhinoceros beetle.

Honestly, Bombshell being the leader just feels just…right! He arguably the smartest guy on the team plus his design gives him the look of a knightly brawler.

Love the humor in the intro and outtro!

Honestly, I accepted that Bombshell & Hardshell from the Prime canon were two different bots. Given how BS was killed by Grimlock in FoC. Lastly, how come he didn't mention Bombshell appearing in 2015's Transformers: Devastation?

Hi Chris, Great video about Transformers: The Basics On Bombshell, keep them coming,Also your latest video is very good, Also Bombshell is always my favorite Insecticon! I too loved when he started being depicted as the leader. Thanks Chris and keep up the good work. Also Bombshell is one of my favorite Decepticons of all time, Bombshell has controlled the minds of Transformers fans since 1984 by being the most interesting of the Insecticons, even going so far as to challenge Shrapnel for the role of insecticon leader. Also the following information and bio for Bombshell is the following Comic Books they are:1.Transformers Universe(limited, mini-series)#1(december,1986),2.The Unofficial Guide To Transformers 1980's Through 1990's(1999) Schiffer Publishing,3.Cybertronian The Unofficial Transformers Recognition Guide Volume 1(April,2001),4.Transformers More Than Meets The Eye(limited, maxi-series)#3(2003),5.Transformers The Ark A Complete Compendium of Character Designs Trade PaperBack Vol 1(2007),6.Transformers The Ultimate Guide(2006),7.Transformers The Ultimate Guide(Updated Edition)(2004,2007),8.Transformers: The Complete Ark Omnibus Trade Paperback(2009),9.Transformers More Than Meets The Eye Official Guidebook Volume 1(of)2 Trade PaperBack (Dreamwave) (2004),10. Transformers More Than Meets The Eye Official Guidebook Volume 1(of)2(2008),11.Transformers Classics Volume 7(2015) Idw/ Idw Publishing,12.The Ultimate Guide to Vintage Transformers Action Figures Paperback, Krause Publications Illustrated edition(2016),13.The Unofficial Guide To Vintage Transformers: 1980's Through 1990's Paperback(2017) Schiffer Publishing,14. Transformers: A Visual History Hardcover(2019) Viz Media,15.Transformers Legacy: The Art of Transformers Packaging Hardcover(2014),16.Transformers Legacy: The Art of Transformers Packaging Paperback(2019), they are: Bombshell, Allegiance:(as of 2023): Decepticon,Subgroup:(as of 2023): Insecticon, Primary Function/Function:(as of 2023): Psyhological Warfare, Transformation:(as of 2023): Rhinoceros Bettle, Also Bombshell the G1 Cartoon Version is a cruel experimenter. He enjoys taking control of other's minds(Male,Female, Human, Humanoid,semi Humanoids, Cybertronians,Nebluans, ) and then sadistically torturing them mentally and physically. But also orders his victims to perform humiliating acts that ruin their personal lives, Also Bombshell has above-average intelligence and is an expert in cognitive psychology.In the original cartoon Bombshell strangley seems to change colours when he transforms. He's purple as an insect but grey in robot mode. Also I'm really glad the new Legacy toy gave him the purple torso. Looks better than the cartoon grey anyway. Also I'm forward to buying The Transformers Legacy Bombshell later this year. Also Chris seems to have had a lot of fun writing the puns for the close of this video Retrospective. It was quite entertaining, so thank you.Also Thanks for finally doing this video and Bombshell has always been my favorite Insecticon and my favorite line is " I love warping minds for you Megatron love it" and it just shows how twisted minded he really is. Also Bombshell is Transformed to Cyclonus by Unicron in Transformers The Movie, also I Always say Bombshell as the Unofficial leader of the Insecticons! He's a personal favorite and i loved his 'Evil knight' looking helmet. Whether he be Cyclonus or not, it was a pretty cool addition to the team! also thank you for sharing Chris keep up the good work stay safe out there and have a good day. 10:03 am.🙂💪😃🟢

That's funny... if anybody saw their first appearance in the cartoon, you'd know that Shrapnel was the leader. I remember when they were first released, Kickback was the popular one with kids. I remember I had Bombshell and my brother had Sharpnel... years later we finally got a second hand kickback to complete the trio.

so iconic we need more insecticons before shockwave gets drunk flying starscream again

Oh I loved waking up to this! I love the Insecticons!

In the Wreckers Comic which takes place in and around Beast Machines, Skywarp says to Cyclonus "I liked you better as a bug," which confirms that Bombshell is Cyclonus.

He is my favorite G1 character, I absolutely love Rhinoceros Beetles

Fantastic video and story!👍👍👍👍

I was lucky to get Legacy Bombshell at a GameStop, and nothing felt as satisfying as completing the iconic G1 Insecticon trio in Legacy form

Excellent work on the Insecticon Bombshell/Hardshell, my friend!

It’s fun to see an insecticon get some poularity

I like how the slits in his mouthplate make him look cool and unique

Bomb shell in my mind was always the leader, I always loved his design the most and had always been my favorite Insecticon (by a small margin because I love all of them equally)

I love your explanation at the end about why we think he's the leader 😁It doesn't help that he's a different colour than the other two in the G1 cartoon.

MyHeadCanon: Bombshell is one of three decepticons that left in a escape pod and landed on earth in the fight between The Ark and The Nemesis. Where He gained a Rhinoceros Beetle alt mode, he was a psychological warfare expert and an Insecticon brute. He uses Cerebro shells to control the minds of Transformers and Humans. HardShell is natural born Insecticon. He was born with a Hercules Beetle alt mode and a Insecticon warrior he fought in the gladiatorial arena in kaon. His Gladiator fight between Megatron was the time where Megatron announced his ideals of peace. He joined Megatron’s Decepticons to farther pursue his lust for combat and at the time the Decepticons assaulted The Ark he was order by Megatron to help Shockwave guard his Energon vaults and Decepticon Outposts on Cybertron Trivia Bombshell’s Cybertronian alt mode was a Cybertronian Bomber Jet Hardshell and Bombshell are NOT the same in anyway and they are NOT same person Bombshell shoot Cerebro shells from his horn

Hardshell the Hercules beetle needs to continue existing as a fourth member. But i think three beetles is a bit too much

I always wanted to see bombshell in beast wars. It would have been fun to him interacting with with Tarantulas and Rampage

I appreciate your restraint in not including a picture of Cyclonus in the thumbnail