Gears

Gears supporting character in the Transformers: Generation 1 Franchise. He is the Autobots' resident grouch, who often complains and grumbles about being on Earth. He was voiced by the late Don Messick, who also voiced Scooby-Doo.
==Biography==
Gears is anti-social, a self-proclaimed misfit. His tech spec indicated he acted this way to cheer others up as they attempted to cheer him up. However, his portrayal in the animated series indicated he tended to annoy his comrades with his constant complaining. Despite this he never shirks from battle with the Decepticons.
=== Animated series ===
Gears was among the original Autobot crew of the Ark which crashed on Earth. In "More Than Meets the Eye" his infrared sensors, a feature of his tech spec, allowed him to track down Ravage, although he left the actual capturing of the Decepticon to others.
Gears' most prominent appearance came in the episode "Changing Gears". Megatron stole a chip from Gears to complete his Solar Needle, a weapon that could pierce the sun itself. The removal of the chip altered Gears' personality from cranky to jovial, and he willingly assisted Megatron in completing the device. However, this eventually backfired on the Decepticon leader as he held Optimus Prime at gunpoint. Prime asked Gears to do him a favour - and he did, sabotaging the device. After the Decepticons were defeated, Gears was restored to his previous personality, and reverted to moaning as the other Autobots drove off without him.
Gears didn't make anymore prominent appearances. A debate can be made that Gears was one of the two Autobots who was dropped into the pool of acid before Jazz, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, and Spike were saved by Spike's son, Daniel. Although amongst most fans, Gears' only appearance in the film was on Moon Base 1 sitting next to Ironhide before he leaves.
===Marvel Comics===
Gears was among the Autobots aboard the Ark introduced in the initial miniseries. (The UK annual story "And There Shall Come a Leader" would later reveal he worked closely with Optimus Prime from the early years of the war, helping him blow a bridge to block the Decepticons' progress to the Autobot capital.) He appeared prominently in Issue #3, where he played a key role in the rescue of Sparkplug Witwicky from the Decepticons, teaming up with Spider-Man and taking down several Decepticons before retrieving Sparkplug. However, when Megatron blasts a hole in the floor, he falls and is severely damaged, although Ratchet is able to effect a partial repair.
In the UK-exclusive story "The Enemy Within", set during the miniseries, he is among the Autobots trying to restrain a rogue Brawn. In the subsequent "Raiders of the Last Ark", he fought Frenzy during a Decepticon attack on the Ark and was among the few Autobots fit enough to report to Optimus Prime at the conclusion of the battle. He was left inactive at the end of the miniseries after Optimus Prime devoted all the available fuel to keeping a small number of Autobots active.
Gears was shown to be back online in US Issue #9 and accompanied acting leader Prowl in an attempt to rescue Optimus Prime in Issue #12, only to be ambushed by a fake Optimus Prime and the Decepticon cassettes and blasted by Buzzsaw. The US comic would subsequently treat him as offline but he would appear for a while longer in the UK stories, arguing against Prowl's plan for constructing Autobot warriors in "Crisis of Command". In "Dinobot Hunt", he was part of a team with Cliffjumper and Windcharger searching for a feral Sludge, only for them all to be ambushed and gunned down by Soundwave, Skywarp and Scavenger.
Gears was treated as offline for some time afterwards, although he was shown among the active Autobots in "Target: 2006" (where he witnessed Optimus Prime's disappearance into limbo and took part in a battle with Scourge) and "The Harder They Die" (where he helped retrieve the remains of a facsimile Optimus Prime). He was listed as deactivated in US Issue #26 but shown online again in Issue #36, where he was among the Autobots who welcomed Blaster back to the Ark. He was one of those who gathered to witness the duel between Grimlock and Blaster in Issue #41.
Gears was last seen active in Issue #50 during the Underbase Saga, where he was part of a joint Autobot-Decepticon team led by Blaster and Ratbat who defended New York from the Underbase-powered Starscream. He was among a group of older Autobots who followed Goldbug into battle only to all be immediately killed by Starscream. He was shown inactive aboard the Ark in Issue #52.
==Trivia==
* Gears is one of the few Transformers who hasn't appear in any of the cartoons after G1, he has appeared in the live action movie series toyline and aligned continuity toyline.
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