Knock Out (G1)

Knock Out is a Velocitronian or Decepticon from the Generation 1 continuity family

"Sir, reporting high levels of sass."

Knock Out (aka Knock-Out) is slick, smooth, stylish... and more than a little conceited. Although he's a talented cosmetic surgeon, always willing to help out those unfortunate 'bots who weren't blessed with his impeccable build (for the right price, of course), he spends most of his free time on the racetrack, pushing his alternate mode to the limit while ensuring that every finish is a photo finish.

Although Knock Out's narcissism and general self-interest mean that he'll fall in with the Decepticons more often than not, he's not what you'd call a fighter. When danger looms, he'll gladly bail, or, in the worst-case scenario, even throw his own allies to the wolves, to save his own impeccable paintwork. Although some 'bots find him hard to get along with, Knock Out's managed to find a loving relationship with Breakdown.

Fiction

2005 IDW continuity

First appearance: Transformers: Windblade vol. 1 #4

Knock Out was born from a hot spot inside Navitas, one of the Titans who had left Cybertron to colonize other worlds. Windblade vol. 1 #4 Despite his love of speed and a high self-regard for his aerodynamic design, Knock Out would find an unlikely Conjunx Endura in Breakdown, an atypically slow Velocitronian. Windblade vol. 2 #4 Windblade caught a glimpse of him racing another 'bot while she was merged with Metroplex's mind. Windblade vol. 1 #4

Knock Out and Moonracer were investigating the possible sources of strange seismic activity, ultimately coming across the footprints left behind from the rampaging combiners from Cybertron. All That Remains The pair were sent as ambassadors to Cybertron, and met with Starscream to discuss becoming a part of the Council of Worlds. Negotiations fell through, with Knock Out maintaining that Velocitron didn't need anything from neighboring planets, and the duo left the meeting chamber. Windblade tried to reason with the pair, and invited them to Maccadam's so that they could experience both Camien and Cybertronian cultures. Knock Out totally dissed Blurr before returning home through Metroplex's spacebridge. Windblade vol. 2 #4

During the Benefit 500, Knock Out watched with Moonracer and Override. He failed to recognize Blurr at first, and was shocked when Windblade's tampering with Navitas's controls let her manipulate the racetrack to help Blurr win the race. Race Against the Light After Blurr's victory ensured Velocitron's entry into the Council of Worlds, Knock Out returned to Cybertron and signed the treaty, begrudgingly acknowledging Windblade's resourcefulness. Windblade vol. 2 #6

Approximately two weeks later, Knock Out was present for the ceremony inducting Obsidian and Strika into the Council of Worlds. The Will of the Few Though he was preferential to the creature comforts of Velocitron, Knock Out chose to stay on Cybertron for the sake of Breakdown, who was overjoyed to settle down in a place where there was more to life than speed. The Chosen One When Starscream announced the creation of a new holiday, Knock Out and his Conjunx decided to take a vacation in the Acid Wastes. Choose Me

At some point, Windblade allowed Knock Out to examine her "for science". Knock Out concluded from his investigation that Camiens had evolved lower-frequency sparks as a means of energy conservation. The Last Autobot

After Optimus Prime announced his intent to annex Earth into the Council of Worlds, Knock Out attended the first council meeting discussing this sudden change of events. New Worlds Order Knock Out was present for a Justice Committee meeting regarding mnemosurgical attacks on several Decepticons on Cybertron and distrust of the Badgeless. The Committee moved to have Ironhide investigate the crime spree. 07:00:00 When tensions boiled over in Iacon following the death of a Decepticon bystander, Knock Out and Moonracer attended a second meeting discussing the future of law enforcement on Cybertron, with Ironhide offering to take over the investigation as the new head of the Badgeless. Applicable Skills The Velocitronians later attended a meeting where Ironhide reported on the progress of the new recruits. Things We Said We'd Never Do When the newly-formed Bruticus attacked Iacon, Knock Out and the other Council delegates were temporarily evacuated. The Line Between Us

The Council later met with Optimus to hear his side of the story. Although Prime insisted that his intentions were pure, its members unanimously voted against allowing Earth a seat on the council; Knock Out in particular criticized Prime's poor judgement. The Medium and the Message Starscream was initially pleased with this turn of events, but the Council's opinion began to shift after news of Optimus Prime's raising of Metrotitan on Earth reached Cybertron, prompting them to reconsider admitting Earth into the Council. No Fair Fights

When Cybertron came under threat from a fleet of zombie Titans, Knock Out was hesitant at the idea of declaring war, suggesting a full-scale evacuation. Nevertheless, Starscream decided that Cybertron would stand united against the menace, and Knock Out joined the fracas as the Titans made planetfall. Ping Though he and Blurr initially put up a good fight - blasting one Titan who had caused him to scuff his finish - the battle dragged on, and the combatants were forced back to the Council Spire. Desperate Times

When the crisis had passed, the Council reconvened to meet with Optimus Prime as the Autobot leader discussed sharing Transformer technology with the Junkions, who had recently landed on Earth. Starscream shot down the proposal; as Earth was not yet a member of the Council, any transactions between the two species would be a violation of the Tyrest Accord. Behind My Bleeding Back

When humans attacked Iacon during Earth's induction into the Council of Worlds, Knock Out supported Elita One's proposal of killing all humans, convinced that Liege Maximo's potential return and retribution was the bigger concern. First Strike #4 In the aftermath, the Council had a meeting regarding alternative energy sources after the Talisman had corrupted Cybertron's energon supply. The Dead Come Home, Part 1

When Windblade was due to return to her seat on the Council of Worlds, Starscream commemorated the occasion with a photo-op before cancelling said photo-op when the Camien nearly revealed Liege Maximo's freedom before Knock Out (very briefly) explained the ancient Prime to Marissa Faireborn. After Windblade revealed the Prime's freedom and ran for office, Knock Out visited her in Maccadam's Old Oil House to offer advice and words of encouragement. At the debates, he sat next to Breakdown and Airazor and was later present at Windblade's victory party. The Chosen One

When Unicron attacked, Knock Out and Breakdown stood by as Optimus Prime and his fleet returned from their defeat at Caminus, Last Stand with Knock Out later attending what would become the final meeting of the Council Of Worlds as they discussed the threat. Stranger Eons

Of Masters and Mayhem

Fitting cleanly into wiki categories isn't very avant-garde.

During the Great War, Knock Out was a scientist associate of Shockwave. After successfully sending Toxitron to wipe out an Autobot unit, Loudpedal and Oil Slick telecommunicated with Knock Out and Shockwave about their experiment. Knock Out thinly smiled at the news that Toxitron was a self-repairing walking toxic sludge weapon. Some time later, Knock Out and Shockwave telecommunicated again about the Toxitron experiment, but it was during this call that Knock Out realized that Toxitron was secretly plotting to break out of the laboratory he was in. Knock Out and Shockwave warned Loudpedal and Oil Slick to prepare themselves before cutting the call. The Toxic Transformer

Beast Wars: Uprising

The ex-Decepticon Knock-Out was a member of the corrupt Builder Assembly that ruled over stagnant post-war Cybertron. He was well known on the council for his love of racing—owning most of the racetracks on Cybertron, including the racetracks that held the prestigious Ibex Cup—and his general vanity, in spite of being immobile and confined to an exo-walker. Derailment Unsurprisingly, Eject thought unfavorably of Knock-Out and the other assembly members. Broken Windshields

When Lio Convoy's Resistance army threatened to invade Iacon in the final battle of the Grand Uprising, the Builder Assembly voted to rescind "General Order 66", which would allow the recently invented Vehicon army access to Iacon. The vote came down to Knock-Out, so after some theatrics and horse-trading he voted "aye", mostly out of spite for having a recent tax break bill of his fail. As the Resistance pushed closer and closer to the High Pavilion, Knock-Out grew bored with the last stands.

Knock-Out's vainglorious attitude would come back to bite him in the skidplate: Vehicon general Galva Convoy duped the Council into exposing themselves and summarily betrayed them, forcibly transforming them into mindless Vehicons save Riker. As the last mech standing, Knock-Out attempted to save himself by offering Galva Convoy access codes, including ones he wasn't supposed to have, but to no avail. Derailment

My Little Pony/Transformers

During King Sombra's siege on Cybertron, Knock Out took advantage of the chaos by attempting to steal a set of designer tires. As he was escaping, however, he was captured by Ratchet and Rarity, believing him to be one of Sombra's slaves. Realizing he was acting of his own free will, an annoyed Ratchet planted a device on Knock Out's shoulder which he said he would detonate if the Decepticon didn't cooperate. He found it refreshing to meet a fellow appreciator of aesthetics in Rarity, and begrudgingly accompanied them in their pursuit of a group of enslaved Transformers whom he revealed were searching for power supplies. Impressed by Rarity, Knock Out took her on a tour of Cybertron's most beautiful spots during their pursuit. This led them to a natural energon spring, where Knock Out was reminded that Breakdown was among those possessed by Sombra. His attempt at using paralyzing electricity on the horde failed to free them, and he was informed that he would need to use his own passion for Breakdown to help Rarity free him. Knock Out gave an impassioned speech about Breakdown being his better half which Rarity channelled to successfully release him from Sombra's control. Though delighted to be reunited with Breakdown, he was embarrassed to learn that he didn't need to say anything for the spell to work. When asked to free him, Ratchet revealed he had planted a mere tracking device on him and that he was free to remove it at any time. The Beauty of Cybertron

2019 IDW continuity

A citizen of Velocitron, Knock Out announced his intention to run in that year's Speedia 500 on behalf of the Ascenticon party. Tread & Circuits Part 2 Unbeknownst to the other racers, however, he and his significant other Breakdown had established an agreement with the members of the Mayhem terrorist cell as part of a plan to put an Ascenticon in power—a plan that involved violently eliminating the rest of the competition on the day of the race. Tread & Circuits Part 4 The day before the race, Knock Out attended a party in one of the planet's many sports bars, where he boasted about his skill at the Mechanic Mania! arcade game until Minerva, a member of the recently arrived Wreckers, showed him up at his own game. Not long afterwards, Knock Out and Breakdown watched as Thunderclash and the other Wreckers rushed out to receive an emergency distress call from Circuit.

Speed. I am speed. One winner, forty-two losers. I eat losers for breakfast.

On the day of the race, Knock Out attended the opening ceremonies and later shared a kiss with Breakdown before the race began. Tread & Circuits Part 2 Once on the track, the Ascenticon racer kept pace with Road Rocket, Override, and Sideways; as the racers took the first turn, however, Skullgrin and the other members of Mayhem triggered a rockslide that barred the other racers from overtaking their preferred candidate. As the other racers struggled to deal with the rigors of both the race and a full-scale Mayhem attack, Knock Out finally took the lead after Submarauder caused a massive pile-up. However, Knock Out then had to deal with Axer, who'd gone rogue and attempted to kill Mayhem's preferred candidate, but proved nimble enough to evade his opponent long enough for Breakdown to catch up with him and obliterate Axer with a heavy artillery barrage. Thanks to this last-minute intervention, Knock Out came in first place and was thus appointed Velocitron's new First Senator. Tread & Circuits Part 3

In the Velocitronian Senate building, Knock Out attended his swearing-in ceremony, but was first forced to contend with a staged "assassination" attempt by Mayhem—when the undercover Wreckers intervened, the phony attempt became real when Minerva tried to wrestle away Submarauder's gun and wound up harpooning Knock Out in the chest. Critically wounded, the new First Senator collapsed, and by the time that Aileron managed to resuscitate him the other Wreckers had dealt with the villains. However, thanks to Minerva being in the wrong place at the wrong time and holding the suspected murder weapon, Breakdown had her arrested.

Although Knock Out promised Thunderclash that he'd sort out the situation and expedite her release, this would not come to pass: after Megatron renamed his movement and overthrew Sentinel Prime on Cybertron, Knock Out and his new inner cadre adopted the Decepticon name and insignia. Although Minerva soon realized that Knock Out had orchestrated the entire Speedia fiasco, Knock Out sentenced her to indefinite stasis. Tread & Circuits Part 4

Games

Transformers: Earth Wars

Knock Out arrived to stop a fight between Scorponok and Fortress Maximus. Shaken, Not Stirred

Transformers Roleplaying Game

Knock Out was a Decepticon racer and medical engineer who frequently associated with his assistant Breakdown. A clever and pragmatic fighter, Knock Out preferred to escape unwinnable fights whenever possible. Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

Toys

Main article: Knock Out (Prime)#Toys

Notes

• In his first appearance in The Transformers: Windblade #4, Knock Out appeared in a single panel racing in his vehicle mode. Author Mairghread Scott later named him and clarified that he was meant to be a cross-continuity transplant of the Decepticon of the same name from the Transformers: Prime cartoon,^[1] as the comic panels above demonstrate. Knock Out made his first speaking debut the next year in issue 2 of the second Windblade volume, which noted that he possessed a Conjunx Endura. Scott again clarified that this as-yet unseen character was meant to be a Generation 1 version of Prime Breakdown,^[2] likely a wink at fans who believed that Prime Knock Out's relationship with Breakdown was more than platonic. Although Breakdown eventually became a supporting character, he wasn't named until the preview for Transformers vs. Visionaries #1 in 2018, perhaps on account of the the identically named Stunticon.
• Knock Out is seen wielding a bow on Alex Milne's cover for Unicron #2, but this did not appear within the story.
• The Knock Out featured in "The Toxic Transformer" has elements of both Prime Knock Out and the Micromaster Knockout. His Beast Wars: Uprising counterpart, however, is lifted wholesale from the Prime and IDW incarnations of the character.
• Knock Out's appearance in Tread and Circuits is likely inspired by preliminary designs for his Legacy toy, as the Tread and Circuits comics were released before the toy was revealed. As there are some discrepancies in the designs, the comic was likely drawing from an unfinished version of the toy.

References