Redline

Redline is a Mini-Con from the Legends of the Microns portion of the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

WE ARE THE PRINCES OF THE UNIVERRRRRRSE...

Safety officer for the Mini-Con starship Exodus, Redline (レッドライン Reddorain) is selfless in his goal of bringing the Mini-Con race to peace. He's technically brilliant and incredibly brave in battle despite his hatred of violence. But he also tends to put himself in far more danger than he needs to in order to spare others, when they're just as willing to take the risks. Sometimes he needs reminding that he can't save everyone and can't do it all by himself.

He and Falcia have had a long-standing clash of opinion about how to achieve Mini-Con independence. Redline wants to go it alone and find their own way, while Falcia is all for joining with the Autobots and wiping out the Decepticons. The two have butted heads over this for a long, long time. Totally a Moonlighting thing.

He's also seen by Twirl as a father (not a father figure, literally a father), and of all the Mini-Cons, he is perhaps the one to whom Stella Holley is closest.

Man, he gets all the chicks.

Fiction

Linkage

Where is Insectopia?

Redline, Servo and Flat-Out ejected from the crashing Exodus in an escape pod that landed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Washington. They lay dormant for centuries until the Mini-Cons were reactivated due to the actions of Rad White and Carlos Lopez. Upon reactivation, the trio crawled onto the shore and took new alternate forms suited to the environment. They were suddenly pursued by a pair of Fixer Bugs and escaped into a parking garage. Redline used the Evolution Protocol on a nearby vehicle, Powerlinxing it into a Turbo Cannon to blast their pursuers into smithereens. Linkage Part 1

The Mini-Cons introduced themselves to the vehicle's owner, Stella Holley, and connected with her through a psychic link so that she could understand their language. Stella agreed to hide Red and his friends in her basement while they looked for their fellow Mini-Cons and tried to establish a peaceful existence. As the maintenance 'bot for the Exodus, Redline revealed he had preserved a quartet of Mini-Con storage panels in his chest compartment before abandoning ship.Linkage Part 2

Sensing a spaceship arriving in India, Redline, Servo, Flat-Out and the newly reactivated Rollbar transmatted there to investigate. Before they could reach the ship, however, they were attacked by the Speed Chaser Team and their Fixer Bugs. Linkage Part 3 Redline and his friends fought back, but the war-like evil Mini-Cons had an edge against them in pure combat. The fighting ended when Scavenger, the Bulk pilot of the spaceship, Powerlinxed with Rollbar and blasted away at the Magnawing with his dozer cannon. Scavenger agreed to leave the ship with Redline, but Rollbar left with Scavenger. Linkage Part 4

As Redline explained the "Servility Program" to Stella, Falcia arrived looking for one of her friends. She "liberated" Twirl's panel from Redline's chest before taking off. Linkage Part 5 The Super Stunt Team followed her, rightly afraid the Speed Chasers would be looking for her as well. The Magnawing attacked Falcia in mid-air, knocking her to the streets below. Combusta drove them off, but Twirl's panel was seriously damaged in the firefight. Linkage Part 6

In order to save Twirl, Redline and Falcia entered the Linkage and recovered her soul. They transferred it into a new digital entity frame created from their shared energies. Stella remarked after the operation that this made Red and Falcia into Twirl's parents, an idea both of them quickly rejected. Linkage Part 7

Take that, Dinoking!

During the operation in the Linkage, Redline felt the presence of Unicron, and realized that time was growing short to establish the Mini-Cons' independence. Linkage Part 8 Using scans from the Speed Chaser Team and their Fixer Bugs, Redline constructed a conversion driver that contained the fabeled "Master Key" to Mini-Con evolution. No longer bound by Servility Programs and the need to Powerlinx with another to access his full energy levels, Redline was now capable of calling upon his full powers on his own, in control of his own destiny. Linkage Part 9

In battle with the Speed Chasers' Bulk slave, Ravenus, Redline informed Combusta that he uploaded the Master Key into the Linkage, giving all Mini-Cons the chance for upgrade and evolution. Linkage Part 10 As his comrades began to access the Master key and evolve themselves, Redline chased down Ravenus to rescue Twirl, who had been forcibly Powerlinxed to the creature. Linkage Part 11 They uncovered Ravenus's origin as an Autobot, horribly altered by his Mini-Con addiction. With the power they could now call upon, Redline and his friends reversed Ravenus's transformation, restoring him to his original heroic form. Red also claimed the Doomstone, a crystal of agonized souls the Unicron-allied Mini-Cons intended to detonate in the Linkage to destroy all Mini-Con consciousness. Instead, Redline sealed it off inside his storage dimension until the Doomstone could be dealt with safety.

As Perceptor, Sparkplug, and the Autobot-aligned Mini-Cons made for space to battle Unicron, Redline agreed that all Mini-Cons must fight to end the threat of Unicron before they could be truly free. He said good-bye to Stella, telling her that their souls were far more alike than they were different. Linkage Part 12 Once the Mini-Cons succeeded in the war against Unicron, Redline sent a message back to Earth to let Stella know they were at peace. Linkage Part 13

Toys

Legends of the Microns

In Soviet Russia, Mini-Con controls Unicron!

• Super Stunt Team Micron (DVD pack-in, 2003)

• Release date: May 1, 2003

Legends of the Microns Redline is a redeco of the Street Speed Mini-Con Team member Backtrack, transforming into a Cadillac XLR luxury car. His wheels are designed to allow for relatively speedy rolling on flat surfaces.

He was only available with limited-edition copies of the first Legends of the Microns DVD, in a three-pack with his teammates Flat-Out and Servo. This set also came with the first volume of the Linkage comic. Later pressings of the disc, however, did not include the toy or comic.

This mold was also used to make Armada Side Burn and Dice. It was planned to be used for Energon Override and packed with Ultra Magnus, but that release was changed late in the production run and given a different Mini-Con Team.

• More information on Redline at TFU.info

Notes

• Legends of the Microns Volume 1 is the only DVD in the series to come with an entire Mini-Con Team; the rest only have a single Mini-Con per volume.
• Redline's coloration was going to be applied to the unreleased Energon Mini-Con Brakedown. That whole team was a "one-off" of the Super Stunt Team, shuffling the colors from each member onto different molds.
• Seeing as Mattel owns the trademark for their Hot Wheels franchise, don't expect Hasbro to use this name in the US anytime soon.