Long Haul

Origin

Long Haul has appeared in multiple continuities to include Comics, Cartoons and Movies. While he is normally a Dump Truck. He is one of the Decepticons know as Constructicons and forms the lower torso of the Combiner Devastator.

Creation

Long Haul was created by Marvel Productions and Sunbow Productions for The Transformers (1984) Cartoon. He was first seen in 1986 Marvel Comics' The Transformers issue #10 by writer Bob Budiansky and editors Jim Shooter.

Major Story Arcs

Generation 1 Continuity

Marvel Comics

During the Transformers' War on Earth, Shockwave used the engineering material of G.B. Blackrock's aerospace plant with the stolen power of the Creation Matrix to give life to the first of a new generation of Decepticon warriors, the Constructicons. The Constructicons were not only given individual life, but also the power to merge into Devastator. Long Haul and the other Constructicons were immediately given a mission to construct a communications tower to transmit a message to Cybertron. Despite the Autobots intervention, the transceiver was successful enough to open communications between Straxus and the Decepticons of Earth.

After Megatron took back command of the Decepticons, Long Haul and the other Constructicons were charged with building perimeter defenses around their current base of operations at a coal strip mine in eastern Wyoming. Devastator's services were again required when the Autobots staged a surprise attack, but the Decepticons retreated once they had what they needed.

During Ratbat's command, an attack was ordered on the combined Autobot forces on Earth's moon while Blaster and Grimlock dueled for leadership. Under cover of battle, Long Haul and the other Constructicons retrieved the remains of several fallen and captured Decepticons.

Marvel UK

Long Haul and the Constructicons, after troubleshooting their union as Devastator, were sent by Shockwave to abduct Buster Witwicky. Their attack was called off to regroup when Soundwave discovered Buster held the rest of the Creation Matrix in his head.

IDW Publishing

Long Haul has not yet appeared in Regeneration One.

IDW Continuity

Megatron Origins

After getting laid off due to the Senate "reforms" being championed by Ratbat, Long Haul and the other Constructicons sought out work with Megatron. The Constructicons were given the unique and challenging job of building a new arena from scratch before every battle, using only the scrap and other materials on-site. They also worked with repairing Megatron and other injured gladiators after their battles.

Autocracy

The Constructions battled against the Autobots when they made an assault on the Citadel. As the war began between the Autobots and Decepticons, the Constructicons remained loyal followers of Megatron.

Iron Age

The Constructicons were stationed on Varas Centralus with Swindle and Sky-Byte, the atrocities they committed caused Sky-Byte to abandon the Decepticon cause.

Back on Cybertron, Long Haul was part of a convoy along with Ramjet, Octane and the other Constructicons bringing energon to the war effort. They were intercepted and captured by Optimus Prime and Ironhide.

All Hail Megatron

The Constructicons joined Megatron's Earth forces, where they used their new ability to combine into Devastator against the Autobots. With the Autobots defeated, Long Haul joined in the attack on New York City.

Long Haul defected with Starscream's during the Seekers rebellion against Megatron. The Constructicons attacked Megatron in the form of Devastator, and would have killed him if they hadn't been interrupted by the arrival of European fighter jets. Devastator started swatting the jets out of the sky, only to be attacked by Omega Supreme when the Autobots returned to the planet. The Constructicons were defeated when Omega blasted a hole straight through their combined mode.

Chaos

Megatron would later use space bridge technology built into in his new body to summon Long Haul and the rest of the Decepticons to Cybertron. While battling the Autobots, the other Constructions combined into Devastator. Because Devastator's combined form was imperfect due to Scrapper's death, they eventually lost because their right leg was paralyzed. They were then mind-controlled by D-Void and combined with Galvatron's army and formed a monster construct.

Robots in Disguise

After Cybertron's rebirth, the remaining Decepticons were captured by the Autobots. However Ratbat organized them and made plans to rise up and take control by assassinating Autobot leader Bumblebee. Long Haul worked in a Decepticon factory and joined his fellow Constructicons coming to the aid of Bombshell when he was being chased by the Autobots Arcee and Prowl. They then tried to kill Prowl who threatened to detonate their I/D chips, but soon realized the Constructicon's chips were already disabled. Prowl then had to use Wheeljack's pass-code to override the chips and destroyed all the Constructicons.

Powers & Weaknesses

Long Haul in vehicle mode can carry up to 90 tons for 1200 miles. He also has a dual-heat seeking missile launcher. In robot mode he carries a laser pistol. He combines with the other Constructicons to create the Torso of Devastator. Long Haul is slow and occasionally ineffective. To prove his worth he will attempt fights that he is outmatched.

Characteristics

• Allegiance: Decepticon
• Sub Group: Constructicon
• Function: Warrior/Transport
• Alt-Modes: Hitachi DH321 Dump Truck, Waste Management Garbage Truck, Crane, Earth Mover, CAT 797 or 773B
• Color Schemes: Green/Purple (G1, IDW), Green (Film/Games), Yellow (Games), Blue (Energon)

Alternate Versions

Marvel Comics

Generation 2

Long Haul was seen on board the Warworld among the Decepticons rallied by Megatron against Jhiaxus's Cybertronian Empire.

Devils Due

G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers

The terrorist organization known as Cobra found the Autobots that had crashed to earth four-million-years ago. They dug them out and began rebuilding them into a Cobra-controlled vehicles. With Wheeljack and Bumblebee's help, the mind-controlled Transformers were awakened, and the Constructicons, including Long Haul, attacked their captor, Doctor Mindbender.

Soundwave stopped them from killing the doctor, because he was needed for other purposes. The Constructicons were ordered to protect the SPS Satellite controls from the attacking Autobot and G.I. Joe troops. To do so, Long Haul combined with the others to form Devastator, but the giant was soon defeated by the attackers.

Dreamwave Productions

War Within

Long Haul was involved in the early days of the Decepticons, and Megatron's plan to turn the planet into a warworld. He defended the project from Grimlock's Lightning Strike Coalition. He and the other Constructicons later created the combiner process, giving them the power to merge into Devastator. After the technology was widely distributed to both Autobots and Decepticon factions. Eventually the Crisis Intervention Accord was passed banning the use of Special Teams as they were too dangerous. The Constructicons were the first to break the Accords during the Dark Ages, joining up with Ratbat and his Ultracons. They attempted to seize control of the Tagan Heights from the Wreckers, but ran into the Protectobots who merged to form Defensor. Devastator was taken down by the Protectobots who caused him to unmerge into their individual components.

Generation 1 (2002)

The Constructicons made their way to Earth in order to serve with Megatron and the lost crew of the Nemesis. Like all Transformers, they vanished after the destruction of the Ark II, but were reactivated by Lazarus. Long Haul and the Constructicons formed Devastator and began attacking California after regaining their free will, but were ultimately destroyed when Optimus Prime shot Devastator in the head.

The pieces of Long Haul and the Constructicons were taken by Earth Defense Command, and were held in their Roswell facility for study.

Fun Publications

Shattered Glass

Long Haul and Scrapper discovered the deactivated Cliffjumper and brought his body to Megatron.

IDW Publishing

Tales of the Fallen

Long Haul's body type was one of the early "construction drones" used to build Star Harvesters. One of the Long Hauls joined The Fallen's original Decepticons. Long Haul discovered the humans on Earth. When Jetfire ordered work on the harvester to be stopped, as they couldn't kill a living world, Long Haul told refused the order.

Jetfire turned on the Fallen over this, and so the construction drones were ordered to kill him. Unfortunately Long Haul was destroyed instead.

In Other Media

Television

Transformers (1984)

Long Haul's exact origins are unknown. He was alive on Cybertron several million years ago, where he helped create Megatron. According to Omega Supreme, Long Haul and the Constructicons were good once, and built Crystal City. This changed when Megatron attacked the Constructicons with his Robo-Smasher, reprogramming them into Decepticons.

Episode Appearances

• Heavy Metal War
• City of Steel
• The Autobot Run
• The Core
• Desertion of the Dinobots, part 1
• The Master Builders
• The Golden Lagoon
• The Secret of Omega Supreme
• Triple Takeover
• Masquerade
• Five Faces of Death, part 1, 4 & 5
• Carnage in C-Minor
• Fight of Flee
• The Burden Hardest to Bear

Transformers: The Headmasters (1987) (Japan)

Long Haul and the Constructicons were stationed on Earth, under the command of Sixshot.

Episode Appearances

• Four Warriors Come out of the Sky
• The Mystery of Planet Master
• The Great Cassette Operation

Transformers: Energon (2004)

Duststorm was never referred to by name, nor was he ever presented as an individual being. Most of his appearances were as the torso of Constructicon Maximus.

Episode Appearances

• Galvatron!
• Distribution
• Spark

Film

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

After the AllSpark shard was retrieved from NEST's secure bunker, Long Haul, Rampage, Mixmaster, Scalpel, Ravage and Scrapmetal stowed away on-board the Bayos freighter heading towards the North Atlantic. Once the ship passed over the Laurentian Abyss, the Decepticons dived down to Megatron's body. Scalpel ordered the death of the smallest Constructicon Scrapmetal to rebuild Megatron, a request that Long Haul and the others obliged with.

A Long Haul drone was along with the other Constructicons during the battle in Egypt. This Long Haul and other Constructicons waited in a quarry in their construction vehicle disguises until the humans Seymour Simmons, Leo Spitz and the Autobots Skids and Mudflap arrived. The Constructicons combined into Devastator and attacked. Devastator shrugged off the Autobot twins and started demolishing the Great Pyramid of Giza when Simmons called upon the United States Navy to attack Devastator. The U.S.S. Kidd fired her experimental rail gun, smashing one of his arms to pieces and destroying Devastator.

Elsewhere, Long Haul joined Starscream and the other Decepticons in their search for Sam Witwicky and the Matrix of Leadership. Long Haul fought against the NEST forces in the Egyptian town near the great ruins of the pyramids, killing soldiers and even shooting down a Jordanian helicopter. Long Haul was destroyed soon after during the United States Air Force air strike on the remaining Decepticons.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)

Igor may have originally been the head of one of the Long Haul drones who perished in the Egypt battle.

Long Haul's protoform body-type was hiding under the surface of Earth's moon with other Decepticon troops. Once Sentinel Prime and Megatron activated the space bridge pillars, he and his hidden brethren were able to cross over from the moon to Washington, D.C..

Another Long Haul drone took on the alt-mode of a Waste Management garbage truck.

The Long Haul was present during the Decepticons' occupation of Chicago. Optimus Prime destroyed him in a rampage that left several Decepticons dead

Video Games

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)

Decepticon campaign

Long Haul served as the Decepticons' ground-based heavy-hitter, with his long-range charged grenades and flamethrower. He could also initiate a combat repair sequence that would rapidly regenerate his health, much like the Autobot Ratchet's repair ability.

Autobot campaign

Ironhide was eager for payback for his earlier defeat at the hands of Long Haul. He destroyed the Combaticon units assigned to the area to draw Long Haul out, then the two battled each other. Once again, both were roughly evenly matched in terms of physical strength and firepower, but in the end, Ironhide's experience and cunning prevailed.

Along with the green Long Haul, there were also several yellow Long Haul Constructicons. These units were equipped with an Energon Wave Cannon similar to Grindor's. Long Haul also has an alternate color scheme.

Books

Transformers: Hardwired

Transformers: Annihilation

Transformers: Fusion