Name: Punch
Aliases: Counterpunch
Allegiance: Double Agents
Function: Double agent
Timeline: Generation 1
In my business there are no friends, only suspects.
Profile:
Long before the outbreak of the war for Cybertron, Punch was one of Cybertron's greatest method actors. Nicknamed "the bot of a thousand faces", Punch would become the characters he played - adopting not only their character mannerisms and traits, but physically transforming his body into his role. Punch always claimed his ability to change his body was a "trade secret"; the few who knew the secret knew it was because Punch is a shifter - a Cybertronian who has the ability to transforming their entire bodies to assume new identities as easily as other Cybertronians turn into cars and jets. Punch's talents and abilities made him a natural candidate for undercover work, and when he infiltrates the Decepticons, Punch assumes the identity of Counterpunch. When Punch becomes Counterpunch, he adopts several Decepticon traits, including a general lack of mercy and restraint, and a ruthless streak a mile wide. Counterpunch is ill-tempered and volatile, with a hair-trigger temper; he's prone to taking casual remarks to heart and lashing out violently. When among the Autobots, Punch is a very different individual. He speaks with the gravitas of a classically trained actor, which combined with his coolness under pressure helps him rally those around him. His stoicism is something many Autobots admire, and while he's sometimes aloof, those who know what Punch does understand that in his line of work saying too much invites death. What they don't realise is how the pressure of being an undercover operative, forever balanced on the knife-edge of discovery and betrayal, got to Punch a long time ago. He is a complete nervous wreck. Punch is forever suspicious of the Autobots around him, suspecting almost everyone of being a Decepticon informant. The front of being well-adjusted, stoic and take-charge is as much a front as the violent Decepticon Counterpunch. Punch maintains this second identity because he's deeply afraid of what might happen if the full extent of his mental problems became known and he were relieved of duty. Most of all, Punch is starting to fear that his Counterpunch identity has taken on a life of its own. Years ago, friends expressed concern that Punch would lose himself in his acting roles - roles he'd play for a few decacycles at most. Having spent dozens of stellar cycles as Counterpunch has led to Punch not only losing himself in his Counterpunch role, but experiencing episodes where he cannot account for his location while in his Decepticon identity. Punch sometimes questions which of his identities are the "real" individual: Punch, or Counterpunch?
Sports car mode:
Author notes:
When I approached writing Punch / Counterpunch, I wanted to add a bit of a fresh interpretation to the character and give him a bit of a backstory. What came to my mind was to ask where Punch originally came from, and how he gained the ability to transform into a Decepticon. I very quickly came up with the idea that he'd have been a method actor before the war, someone who perhaps got a little too into his charaters - so he's a bit of a Heath Ledger.
Even though I had that great idea for a fresh take on the character, I struggled to work out how to pull everything together and craft a profile. I decided to mix things up from previous profiles by detailing the Counterpunch persona first, then filling in Punch, but something I kept going back and forward over was the fatal flaw in Punch's personality. Originally, I went for a radically different take on his issues, and suggested that Punch was also a false identity - the real Autobot beneath it all no longer able to distinguish the facts of his life from the fiction he'd crafted for himself. In the end I backed away from that - but it's still a potential story you could tell involving Punch / Counterpunch.
It's a real shame this character has never had any real use in Transformers media. Other than his handful of appearances in Headmasters and The Rebirth - including a hilariously incompetent moment in The Headmasters where he forgot which mode was his Decepticon mode - Punch / Counterpunch has never really had any use. IDW had actually planned a four part miniseries focused on the character - and allegedly it was fully scripted - but it never got released due to the change in direction for the Transformers comics in 2012. A shame, since we might finally have had an exploration of this character!
Fans collecting the Transformers Subscription Series figures from 2016 will remember that there was a Counterpunch figure in that line, based on Combiner Wars Wheeljack. In my mind, that's the final fate of Punch / Counterpunch - Counterpunch does indeed become the dominant personality, and becomes a Decepticon full time. I feel that's the logical end for this character - he's a tragic protagonist who wants to keep working, even though he has every chance to stop himself. I liked that part of the old Marvel bio, actually - Optimus Prime keeps offering Punch a chance to get out of this life of his. Punch always declines. In the end, it costs him his very identity. I'd like to propose a further twist of the knife to the character's fate, and suggest he's still alive by the time Beast Wars takes place, locked away in an asylum somewhere as psychologists try to unravel the mess of his mind.
Toys of Transformers Generation 1 Punch / Counterpunch
Transformers Power of the Primes Punch / Counterpunch
The Prime Wars (Power of the Primes) Punch / Counterpunch is a fun toy. He's ambitious as an update of the original toy, and like the original manages to pull off the two distinct robot modes. I feel that both robot modes have a few compromises to make the design work - Punch's shoulders limit the articulation on the arms and restrict the outward motion on the arms, while Counterpunch has more movement in the shoulders, but because of the way the hands flip round, he has red patches in his forearms. Even so, this is a fun toy who looks great no matter which mode he is in. I do find it puzzling that Punch only has one gun, though - one of the draws of the original was that he had different weapons for both robots, as a part of the two identities. I mean, sure, you can use the Prime armour to provide a second gun, but that's not ideal. I tried the G1 guns on this one though, and they look good, even though the pegs are a little thick. There's probably a market for some 3D printed weapons there.
Even though I'm critical, I like this toy. It's fun and does something unique with the design.
More information on Transformers Power of the Primes Punch / Counterpunch at TFW2005
See more
Transformers Power of the Primes toys in my collection.
Transformers Collectors Club Exclusive Transformers Punch / Counterpunch
When this toy came out in 2010, he genuinely felt like he would be the best Punch / Counterpunch we'd get in a modern Transformers line. He uses the Sunstreaker / Sideswipe mold from the Universe line, which was clever in the way it was designed to have two different robot modes from the same car mode - the back of one toy is the chest of the other. The convention exclusive Punch / Counterpunch uses this to have both an Autobot and a Decepticon robot mode. It's not perfect - the leg transformation for Punch mode is difficult to work as shown in the instructions, so I (and others) put the feet out the back as heels, and in Counterpunch mode the hands are upside down. Plus the head is a bit too small for the body. They're compromises to rework the existing toy to get the overall concept to work, but at the time it was the best version of the character available. And it's a decent mold with great poseability. It's still good, but the Power of the Primes version was designed from the ground up to be Punch / Counterpunch, and you can see the difference.
More information on Convention Exclusive Transformers Punch / Counterpunch at TFW2005
See more
Convention Exclusive Transformers toys in my collection.
Transformers Generation 1 Punch / Counterpunch
The original Generation 1 Punch / Counterpunch occupies a unique place in Transformers history. I've heard him called the first "gimmick" toy of the original line, but his gimmick is a cool one: he transforms from Autobot to Decepticon. One of the things that really appeals to me is the simplicity of the design - he essentially has a second figure on his back, like the Revell Power Lord figure from 1983. A few simple steps is all that is needed to get from one form to the other. He's got that chunky feel of those later G1 toys, which I like, and the arms have a decent amount of movement (for the time). Overall, a fun toy.
More information on Transformers Generation 1 Punch / Counterpunch at TFW2005
See more
Transformers Generation 1 toys in my collection.
