Colossus Rhodes

Origin

Cyrus Rhodes was a frail and decrepit man who came to Prometheus Black, head of Biotech Unbound, for a complete biochemical makeover. Black injected Rhodes with experimental steroids and implanted biotech pistons in his shoulders to electrically stimulate these steroids, allowing him to transform into a powerful, hulking behemoth. Black boasts that Rhodes is one of his greatest successes in biotechnological enhancement.

Rhodes has no love for machines and is entirely loyal to Prometheus Black.

Creation

Colossus Rhodes was created for the 2007 Transformers: Animated TV series where he was voiced by Corey Burton.

Colossus Rhodes' name is a reference to the Colossus of Rhodes, a giant statue considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Major Story Arcs

Total Meltdown

Colossus Rhodes first appeared as a fighter in a wrestling match against Bumblebee the Autobot. This match was staged by Prometheus Black in order to show off his biotechnology. Rhodes' transformation from a tiny, old man into a behemoth surprised Bumblebee, and Rhodes quickly proved to be more than a match for the Autobot. He tossed the Autobot out of the ring and then proceeded to wreck him and most of the surrounding parking lot, but Rhodes was then disoriented by the sounds of a nearby car alarm, giving Prowl a chance to disable the pistons that granted him his enhancements. Captain Fanzone was not impressed by Rhodes' crazed rampage and denied Black the coveted Detroit Police contract.

Later, as Black attacked the Sumdac corporation as the villainous Meltdown, Rhodes was left to mop up the opposition outside. Prowl again tried to disable his pistons, but Black had reinforced them to prevent this from happening again. Ultimately, he became disoriented again when he accidentally tossed Optimus Prime against a church bell. Prowl quickly figured out that sonic attacks were Rhodes' weakness, and so Prime repeatedly struck the bell, forcing Rhodes back into his regular, weak self.

Attention Surplus Disorder

Rhodes was arrested after his defeat, but eventually managed to escape prison and went on a rampage. The police could do little to stop Rhodes, and so the Wraith, a local hero, tried to stop him. Unfortunately, Rhodes had seen the news report where Bumblebee accidentally revealed the secret behind Wraith's powers and tipped the hero out of his truck. Before he could crush him though, Bumblebee showed up and short-circuited Rhodes' pistons, stopping Rhodes' rampage but inadvertently humiliating the Wraith.

Survival of the Fittest

Several weeks later, Rhodes resurfaced, still working for Black. After Black forced Swoop to kidnap Sari Sumdac, Black left Rhodes to guard her. However, he wasn't very good at it, as Sari tricked him into walking into a bathroom and drenched him with water, shorting out his electrical pistons. He later got his pistons working and emerged from Black's hideout along with two of Black's mutant freaks to help their boss against the Autobots, but were met by the Dinobots. After being frightened by the Dinobots' menacing flaming weapons, Rhodes and his cohorts were thoroughly trashed by them as revenge for what Meltdown had done to them.

Powers & Abilities

Colossus Rhodes is an experienced wrestler who can grow from a small, frail man into a massive powerhouse thanks to the experimental steroids in his body. These steroids are activated by the electrical biotech pistons in his shoulders. In his hulked out form, Rhodes is strong enough and tough enough to go head to head with most Autobots.

The pistons that allow Rhodes to power up are unfortunately also his greatest weakness, as any damage to them can make him unable to control his transformation. It's been shown that the pistons can be shorted out by hitting them with enough force, disrupting them with certain powerful enough sound waves, or simply getting them wet. Prometheus Black does his best to upgrade the pistons after each time Rhodes is defeated in order to weed out their weak points.