TRANSFORMERS: Revisiting The Characters of Generation 1 - KUP

TRANSFORMERS:  Revisiting the Characters of Generation 1

    "The past is the greatest teacher." - Kup, 1986.

AUTOBOT

Name - KUP

Function - Warrior

Nebulan Partner - RECOIL

Series Debut - 1986 / Wave 3

Sub-Group - None (1986), Targetmaster (1987)

BACKGROUND...

    Kup is a brave, veteran Autobot warrior who has seen countless battles across the universe.  He uses these past experiences to face the current problematic issues in the present.  It's not uncommon to hear him spinning a tale from way-back-when with some sort of parallel to the current situation, while being knee-deep in a firefight.  Not all of Kup's Autobot brothers appreciate his yarns, but the Dinobots LOVE to hear him tell a good story!

    Kup sees himself as somewhat of a mentor to the Autobots that lack the experience that he has.  One in particular would be the Autobot - Hot Rod.  In his mind, the young Autobot could learn a thing or two from him if he would just stay still and listen.  Unfortunately, Hot Rod is extremely impulsive and hot-headed.  Yet he means well, and Kup understands this and actually enjoys when the two of them have the opportunity to team up.

    In battle, Kup carries a Musket Laser - an old-fashion weapon from a by-gone age.  The rifle is still quite effective though and fires blasts of powerful hydrochloric acid which can eat through metal.

    Even though Kup was eventually stationed at Autobot City on Earth, he retains his Cybertronic alt-mode of a futuristic truck.  While not the fastest Autobot, Kup can still reach impressive speeds up to 100 mph.

    In 2005, Kup was present when the Decepticons staged a full-scale assault on Autobot City.  He was outside when the city began to transform into it's battle station mode.  Dodging Decepticon laser blasts, Kup and Hot Rod made a mad dash for the city, barely making it inside.  Though the fight saw massive destruction and numerous casualties, Kup survived.

    Not long after the Battle of Autobot City, several Autobots launched into space in effort to stop the giant planet-eater, Unicron, from attacking Cybertron.  In route to Cybertron, Kup's group was assaulted by Decepticons and crash-landed on the planet - Quintessa.  While there, Kup, Hot Rod, and the Dinobots, managed to get captured by the Quintessons, cause a temporary revolt, and escape the strange planet.

    Soon after leaving Quintessa, Kup would find himself faced with a situation that left him speechless.  Seeing the massive Unicron with his own eyes... this has been the only time Kup had no advice to give as this was unlike anything he had ever seen before in all his experiences.

    A few years after Unicron's defeat, the Transformers war began to spread to the far planet of Nebulos.  As the war ravaged the planet, the citizens began to take sides with both Autobots and Decepticons.  This led to an eventual combining of the two different technologies.  These became known as the Headmaster or Targetmaster process.  Here, Transformers were partnered with Nebulans who either transformed into the head or the weapon of the robot.  Kup became a Targetmaster paired with former all-world Prismaball athlete - Recoil.

    

MY THOUGHTS...

    Lets just say that as the 1986 line was unfolding, I was very confused.  There was no internet, so we had to rely on the commercials, what we saw in the stores, and word-of-mouth to understand what was going on.  Things would become a little clearer once you picked up a figure that had the new catalog with it.

    A neighborhood boy (Billy) bought Kup before I had seen it on the store shelves.  When I saw it... it looked so different than the Transformers from the previous series.  Yet, there was no denying it was a Transformer with Autobot symbols and a rub-sign.  And what did he transform into???  What was that supposed to be?  I asked his name and Billy said "Kup", which I heard as "Cup".  Cup???  Why is his name Cup?  Is there an Autobot named "Spoon" too?  Or "Fork"?  

    He said "no, his name is Kup, as in picKUP Truck".  What???  THIS was NOT a pickup truck... and how did Billy know that?  I do not know.  Is this a thing?  Do people call pickup trucks - "Kups"?  In the many years since, I have heard this reasoning behind his name defended.  Is this really why he is called Kup?  I really want to know!  Does anyone have a clue?

    Next Billy got Scourge.  I saw it and I'm thinking "now we have robots with beards???  What is happening to this toyline???"

    ANYWAYS... it all made sense when all the Movie hype started making the rounds.  These cartoon-y looking, Cybertronian-style characters were coming from a new era of the Transformers lore.  The story was no longer about alien robots marooned on Earth disguising themselves as human vehicles.  The scope was much wider now!

    Seeing Kup in action in the Movie, especially the "demolition derby" part, cemented in my mind how cool Kup really was!!  He finally had my acceptance.  I loved the interplay between older, wiser Kup and younger, impulsive Hot Rod.  Or the way the Dinobots were fascinated with his war stories.  Furthermore, I really dig his futuristic truck mode too.

    Kup, here, is represented by the Titans Return - Kup.  Now he is more of a Headmaster, rather than being a Targetmaster in 1987.  This is a very cool update to the character, but I have to admit, I prefer the look of the original "truck" mode of the Generation 1 figure.

Kup and the other Series 3 Autobot cars from the 1986 catalog!

    (Information on the character's lore was taken from the Sunbow Transformers cartoon series, including the Movie and the figure's original Tech-Spec.)