Rad White - Transformers Wiki

This article is about the human from Armada. For the human from Shattered Glass, see Brad White.

Rad is an Autobot-allied human from the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

Bradley "Rad" White is your typical kid who's the son of brilliant scientists. He likes to ride his bike, he likes to explore caves, he likes to grab excitedly at radioactive things—wait, what?

Basically, Rad has a natural, insatiable curiosity about all things. Unfortunately, this curiosity goes unchecked when he's hanging out with his best friend Carlos, so it takes the watchful eye of the intelligent-but-much-more-reserved Alexis to keep them both out of trouble. His parents hope that some day Rad can channel this curiosity more productively.

Fiction

Cartoon continuity

Armada cartoon

Voice actor: Kirby Morrow (English), Masataka Nakai (Japanese), Akiko Toda (Japanese, young), Jiang Guangtao (Chinese), Christian Jernbro (Swedish), Yoann Sover (French), Samuel Harjanne (Finnish), Stefan Günther (German), Stefano Crescentini (Italian), Blanca Rada (Castilian Spanish), Juan Carlos Vázquez (Latin-American Spanish), João Cappelli (Brazilian Portuguese), Kim Jang (Korean)

When Rad was a young boy, his parents moved to a new home near the Cosmoscope Research Center. Due to a bending of time, he had a vision of the Transformers and Mini-Cons, but his parents just dismissed this as a wild imagination.

Years later, he and Carlos went exploring into the caverns deep beneath the local observatory. Inside, they found the curious remains of a clearly artificial construction, seemingly far in advance of human technology. Against the advice of Carlos, Rad was drawn towards a glowing, green, pentagonal artifact half-buried in the rubble. When he touched it, the entire structure began to shake, suddenly springing to life as thousands of computers lit up the walls.

At home, Alexis felt the tremors and used her computer to pinpoint the epicenter of the apparent earthquake as the mountain caverns that Rad and Carlos were exploring. Similarly, the scientists and researchers at the observatory were baffled by the sudden movement of the Earth. As Rad and Carlos made their escape with the artifact, a bright light engulfed the chamber they were in, simultaneously shutting down all electronic equipment in Lincoln, as well as emitting three distinctly coloured distress signal beams into the sky.

One beam, green, reached an ancient starship wreck on the dark side of the Moon, causing it to fire hundreds of smaller beams of green light at the Earth. The two remaining signal beams, coloured red and purple, continued deep into space until they reached a cold, distant, metal world.

Little did Rad know that he had unwittingly set in motion the next destructive phase in the great Transformers war, an endless battle of rage and hatred between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons. Thanks a lot, kid. First Encounter

After being joined by Alexis, the kids attempted to flee on High Wire, but were stopped by the arrival of Starscream and Demolishor. Demolishor tried to grab the boys, but they were saved by the arrival of Hot Shot and Red Alert. Rad fled back into the cave, calling Carlos and Alexis after him. Rad was sure they'd be safe there, but Alexis was concerned that the bigger robots might still follow them. High Wire led the three into a smaller room, to Alexis' further distress; Rad and Carlos, however, assured her that they'd be safer there. While in there, he accessed the ship's computer and the kids learned about the Transformer conflict.

At this point, High Wire activated a hidden storage panel, revealing Grindor and Sureshock, who bonded to Carlos and Alexis. The Street Action Mini-Con Team took their new friends out to play in the woods, but ran into Megatron. The timely arrival of Optimus Prime initially seemed to Rad and Carlos to make things worse, but when Alexis said she trusted the big Autobot, the boys admitted they felt they could do so as well.

Optimus Prime took them into his cab and sped off to a distant location, where he set them down. Unfortunately, Megatron had followed close behind, and so Optimus had to combine with his trailer to fight him off. Metamorphosis The commanders' battle caused a landslide to fall on the kids, but they were shielded by Hot Shot. They then dug up some more Mini-Cons, but two of those were stolen by Cyclonus. The Decepticons retreated, and so the kids and robots made proper introductions. Rad was particularly upset by the idea that he had started a massive war by reactivating High Wire.

The next day at school, Billy grilled them over recent earthquakes; Rad and Carlos played dumb, while Alexis pointed out that if there was an earthquake, it would have been mentioned on the news. When Billy asked where Rad got his new bike, Rad claimed it was a birthday present from his grandmother. He and Carlos headed on up to the mountain; on the way, Alexis chewed them out for almost blowing their cover.

At the Autobots' base, Optimus Prime presented them with Laserbeak to aid them with their reconnaissance work; right then, another Mini-Con was detected Base in the Big Canyon. The kids ran out with the Autobots, Rad falling slightly behind, and got spiffy new adventure suits on the way.

When they got to the canyon, Rad was initially left alone once again when Alexis and Hot Shot sped off, forgetting him. They came back, though. Hot Shot then sped off as fast as he could over the rough terrain, severely shaking up the two humans. Rad sent Laserbeak off to find the Mini-Con, and was himself chided by Alexis for being a coward.

When the Mini-Con was finally found, Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Starscream simultaneously tried to claim it. Rad gave a yell of concern, which inspired High Wire, Grindor, and Sureshock to combine into Perceptor, who in turn managed to hold off both Megatron and Starscream. Optimus Prime claimed the Mini-Con—who turned out to be his old partner, Sparkplug—and the kids helped dig up Hot Shot form where he'd gotten himself buried Comrade.

Later, they played tag with Hot Shot, which got him in trouble with Optimus Prime as he was supposed to be helping Red Alert install some equipment. They then went to find a new Mini-Con in Antarctica, where Rad and Alexis rode in Red Alert while Carlos went with Hot Shot. Red Alert ended up having to save Carlos and Hot Shot from Starscream Soldier.

Rad later came up with the sensible notion of bringing some camping supplies to the Autobot base in case they ever had to stay the night. Soon after he got them to the base, another Mini-Con was detected, and so the good guys all warped over to a forest. Carlos found a path that had been cut down by illegal loggers, prompting Rad to make a speech about how important it is to protect the environment.

During this mission, Rad used Laserbeak to find the Mini-Con, Swindle. However, the Decepticons also found him, and started a forest fire. At Rad's insistence, the Autobots temporarily broke off their search to protect the animals, allowing Starscream to make off with Swindle. Rad felt guilty about this, but Optimus Prime assured him that his heart was in the right place. Jungle

Back at the base, the kids tried to wake up the dormant Mini-Con they'd found in Antarctica, but to no avail. Rad and Carlos fell for the old "pass me that spanner that's clearly too big for your species to lift" joke and, seeing there was nothing they could do to help, decided to take High Wire and Grindor to a local carnival, followed by Sparkplug, Longarm, and Jolt.

At the carnival, the boys were initially concerned that bringing five alien robots to a crowded area might blow their cover, but quickly came up with the idea of telling everyone they were super-advanced human-developed robots that would be available for purchase in the future. After a while, the boys tried to take the robots home, but it turned out that Billy and Fred were also at the carnival, and got suspicious. They tried to capture one of the Mini-Con, causing the entire situation to descend into slapstick farce.

They were saved by the timely arrival of Hot Shot, Sureshock, and Alexis, who managed to get things under control, swore Billy and Fred to secrecy, and gave the lads a good scolding. As punishment, Rad and Carlos had to clean up their quarters back at the base. Carnival The kids later accompanied the Autobots to the Sahara Desert, and fell into a sand pit after an altercation with Demolishor. They found themselves in an ancient temple, where they were attacked by ancient guardian robots, but fortunately Demolishor was there to blow them up. Further into the temple, they found a Mini-Con storage panel; Carlos accidentally activated a trap, and Rad knocked him out of the way. After that, the floor collapsed, but Perceptor was able to rescue them. Demolishor got the Mini-Con. Palace

The next day, back in America, Billy and Fred pursued the three to the Autobot base. Rad, Carlos, and Alexis all tried to outrun them, but soon had to split up when Cyclonus attempted to capture them. Cyclonus chased after Rad, but was thrown off the trail by Laserbeak and so captured Billy and Fred instead, intending to hold them for ransom. They tracked Laserbeak to a ghost town, where the kids tried to rescue the bullies, but all ended up being captured by Megatron, who demanded Optimus Prime hand over all their Autobots' Mini-Cons in exchange for the humans' lives. Optimus Prime went through with it, but Megatron, naturally, refused to hand them over. However, Rad was able to use Laserbeak to free all the other humans, and Hot Shot was able to rescue Rad with Fred's surprising help. Confrontation

The day after that, when Hot Shot whined about having to do work on the ship, Rad facetiously offered to take his place. Before anything could come of this, however, a new Mini-Con was detected in a disused subway system. The kids accompanied the Autobots in their search and actually managed to find the storage panel; as soon as they did, however, Smokescreen, who had been discreetly following them, stumbled onto the scene. Mistaking him for a Decepticon, the kids took off, and encountered the real Decepticons in their flight. Smokescreen revealed himself to be their ally just in time for him to rescue Rad and the others from being crushed by a pile of rubble. Underground

A while after that, the Autobots received a transmission from Atlantis and took the kids with them to search for yet another Mini-Con. At the ruins, while the Autobots fought the Decepticons, the kids went inside to look around. A holographic display activated, and Carlos chased after the hologram of Amphitrite; Rad and Alexis followed. 'Amphitrite' gave them a canned history of Atlantis, focusing on how its inhabitants used the Star Saber to dominate the world, and were eventually defeated by another civilisation who wielded the Skyboom Shield. Despite this warning of the danger of the Mini-Cons' power, the kids decided to find the Mini-Con in Atlantis anyway, but it was claimed by Leader-1 for the Decepticons. Dejected, the kids left with Optimus Prime. Rad tried to comfort Carlos, Ruin and when they got back, mused that at last he knew what happened to Atlantis.

He asked Optimus Prime if there was any way to end the war with the Decepticons, to which Optimus gave him the origin of the war and what he knew of the Mini-Cons. Rad changed his line of questioning, asking if there was a way to fight without involving the Mini-Cons; Optimus responded that the Decepticons would use Mini-Cons to fight anyway, and so the Autobots had to do the same to prevent them from capturing any more than they already had.

While searching for the Mini-Con of the week, this time on a volcanic island, Rad sent Laserbeak to look for it at Alexis' prompting. They found it, but it was carried off in a lava floe, and eventually claimed by Red Alert. During this adventure, Rad was moved by the Autobot-aligned Mini-Cons leaping into the fray to protect one of their own from falling into Decepticon hands. Seeing this put his mind at ease over the smaller robots being part of the war. Prehistory

After that adventure, the trio decided to give Billy and Fred a tour of the Autobot base, but were separated when the Decepticons attacked. Since the bullies were in danger of the automatic defenses, said defenses were shut off, allowing the Decepticons to penetrate deeper into the base that anyone would have liked. The Autobots had to turn to trickier tactics to get rid of the intruders, and Rad helped out by leading Cyclonus to the warp gate and teleporting him out of the base. After a battle, the Star Saber was reassembled and put in the hands of Hot Shot, so the day ultimately turned out all right. Swoop

The next day, Rad and Carlos tried to sort out the human quarters on the base while Alexis and Sureshock were out shopping. For some reason, the fridge was full of tools. Overmatch

When Alexis tracked down the next Mini-Con, the trio, plus Billy and Fred, rushed off with the Autobots to cheer them on; Rad and Carlos rode in Hot Shot. They were let out so Hot Shot could focus on fighting Cyclonus. At that point, Sideways arrived and dropped off Billy, who clung onto Rad often his wild ride. After the Autobots managed to acquire Spiral, Alexis and Rad discussed Sideways. Both were deeply suspicious of him, but they decided not to raise their misgivings with Optimus Prime in case it turned out their first impressions were false. Gale

When Hot Shot and Sideways were warped to the Decepticons' base, Rad worried over whether or not they would return safely. Some of the other kids were certain that while the Star Saber was in his possession, Hot Shot could handle anything the evil robots could throw at him. This didn't turn out to be true; Rad witnessed Hot Shot return to Autobot headquarters barely alive, minus his sword and his partner; Sideways had betrayed the Autobots! Credulous

With Hot Shot feeling naturally depressed about this disaster, all five kids tried to cheer him up by making silly faces. Though it worked, it still wasn't enough for the Autobots to win their next confrontation with the Decepticons. Soon after, however, Scavenger came over to the Autobots, and revealed he had been a double agent all along. Conspiracy

In the aftermath of Sideways' betrayal, the trio weren't exactly eager to trust Scavenger. He seemed to be more interested in sleeping than mentoring Hot Shot, but when the kids tried to raise this with Optimus Prime, his explanation was cut short by the detection of still another Mini-Con. The Autobots warped off to somewhere with a lot of snow, while the kids observed from back at base. Scavenger heroically saved Optimus Prime's life, very nearly plunging to his own death, and so the kids (and Smokescreen) apologised to him for their earlier suspicions when he got back, Scavenger accepted with characteristic stoicism. Trust

At some point after that incident, the boys went on a camping trip with Hot Shot and Red Alert, forgetting to tell Alexis. Carlos, Fred, and Billy played in the water and invited a little boy named Shaun to play with them, while Rad tried his hand at fishing.

That evening, a storm blew in, resulting in a landslide which trapped Red Alert, Carlos, and Shaun beneath a massive pile of mud. Optimus Prime ordered Red Alert to transform in order to escape, but Rad explained that there was a human news crew present, and so Red Alert transforming would completely blow the Autobots' cover. Hence, he deployed Laserbeak to distract the reporters while the rest of the Autobots rolled in and saved the day in their altmodes. Everybody returned to base post haste, where they found Alexis waiting with baited breath. Fond reunions were had be all. Vacation

All five kids observed the battle in which Blurr made his first appearance. They tried to make friends with the new arrival, but he turned out to belong to the monosyllabic loner school of heroism. When Blurr and Hot Shot's attitudes led to the Decepticons getting their servos on Downshift, Alexis and Rad gave Hot Shot a talking down for letting his competitiveness get the better of him. The loss did also cause Blurr to mellow out however, and the kids were glad to see that Hot Shot and Blurr formed a friendship later that evening. Reinforcement

The next day, Blurr and Hot Shot trained together while the kids watched. They also congratulated Smokescreen for succeeding in a test where Hot Shot failed, even though Hot Shot only failed because he was competing with Blurr in addition to trying to dodge the obstacles.

This session was interrupted when Megatron challenged all the Autobots to a final, decisive battle. Due to the danger, the kids were left at the base to watch the proceedings from afar. Megatron would have won if Optimus Prime hadn't managed to get his hands on the Skyboom shield, and when the Star Saber was used against the shield, a mighty light was released which Rad and Alexis recognised as the same one that they had seen when High Wire was awoken. This light streaked off into space, to awaken Unicron. Decisive Battle

Despite this victory, Optimus Prime decided the situation was too dangerous for the kids and barred them from the base. Frustrated, they wandered off, but were soon joined by the Street Action Mini-Con Team, who had received a transmission from the Decepticon-allied Mini-Cons. Fred figured that the Decepticon Mini-Cons were lonely and wanted to join up with their friends on Earth, so he and Rad went to deliver the message to Optimus Prime. The rest of the kids headed to the coordinates where the Decepticon-allied Mini-Cons were supposed to warp in. Unable to enter the base, Rad used Laserbeak to deliver the message, prompting Optimus Prime and Hot Shot to emerge and take matters into their own hands; Blurr and Smokescreen followed.

However, the transmission turned out to be a trap orchestrated by Megatron, who was seeking to divide and conquer. Rad, Fred, and the bulk of the Autobot forces found themselves scattered around the globe via a series of Warp Gates. Along the way, Optimus explained that the Mini-Cons viewed Megatron as something akin to a father-figure, and thus his control would not be easy to break. After bringing them to a desert, Megatron and his Mini-Cons fought Optimus Prime while Rad and Fred stood on the sidelines. Optimus Prime's refusal to harm the Mini-Cons led to them defecting to the Autobots, just as Alexis managed to re-establish contact with the group. The rest of the Autobots teleported in and drove off Megatron, leaving the Autobots victorious once again. Vow

After that adventure, the kids were allowed back into the Autobots' base, but were still not taken on missions. Rad found himself in the unenviable position to trying to keep the bored Carlos and cranky Alexis from murdering each other. Despite not being at the front of the action, the war would still impinge on their lives when Sideways hacked the Autobots' computer system. Despite Rad and Alexis' best efforts, Sideways's virus quickly took control of the base and projected himself into it. Faced with no other options, the trio resorted to physically smashing the terminals, which granted them a brief reprieve.

However, this relief proved to be short-lived when Sideways sucked the minds of the kids as well as their partner Mini-Cons into a cyberspace landscape of his own devising. Rad and Carlos actually enjoyed the lack of gravity in this new realm for a while before Sideways's digital avatar appeared to them and tried to claim their Mini-Cons.

Back at the base, Billy and Fred tried to wake the trio up. Meanwhile, in cyberspace, the kids and Mini-Cons fled Sideways, and discovered that all they saw was just an elaborate illusion. Sideways managed to capture Sureshock, but then Alexis realized that since he had gone to so much effort, he clearly wasn't in control of this illusion - and also that he couldn't really harm them.

At this, Sideways panicked and made a desperate bid to take the Mini-Cons, but the kids' lack of belief in the world they saw put paid to that plan. At that point, a massive force of evil manifested in cyberspace - Unicron, the one entity Sideways feared! The kids fled back to the meatspace through a portal opened by Red Alert, leaving Sideways to his master's mercies. Chase

When Fred tried to tell the others about strange lights seen recently in space, Rad just thought he was being silly. All the kids expressed relief when Sideways appeared on the battlefield during the next Mini-Con related skirmish, as this meant he couldn't hack their system again. The Autobots won this battle, bringing Prowl into the fold, and the kids were all there to welcome him when they took him back to base. When Fred's story about strange lights turned out to be the arrival of Thrust and Jetfire, Rad was especially pleased to welcome the newest Autobot. Tactician

In a subsequent battle, Optimus Prime was seriously injured, forcing Jetfire to take command. None of the kids were impressed by the new guy's constant boasting. They also got a brief history lesson on battles the Autobots had lost due to Thrust's tactical genius; while Carlos was confident that Jetfire could easily counter Thrust, the others weren't so sure.

As it turned out, the kids were right about Jetfire, as his overconfidence nearly led to the Autobots being taken out after he got himself caught in another of Thrust's ambushes. To his credit, Jetfire was contrite, saying he had learned his lesson and would be more cautious in the future. Linkup

The next day, the kids watched Jetfire and Smokescreen have an arm-wrestling competition. They also filled in Jetfire on who Sideways was and what he had previously gotten up to. Jetfire then displayed his cunning side by showing the kids a still of Sideways shooting down Cyclonus after Sideways had defected, which cast doubt on the turncoat's allegiance to the Decepticons. The kids tried to figure out what Sideways's deal was, while the Autobots went to obtain yet another Mini-Con. Detection

While the Autobots were dealing with Tidal Wave, two Mini-Cons were detected in addition to the one the Transformers were at the time specifically fighting over - one on the Moon, and the other right in the Autobot base! The kids and Street Action Mini-Cons rushed off to look for the one on Earth, locating it when Fred fell through a rotten floor. This Mini-Con revealed itself as Sky Blast before shooting High Wire and running off. Awakening The kids gave chase, and Rad managed to persuade Sky Blast that he wasn't in any danger. After Rad promised his protection to Sky Blast, Red Alert took the Mini-Con, Rad, and Carlos to the beach where the factions' main forces were duking it out; while Alexis alerted the other Autobots to the situation, Rad and Carlos sought out Payload.

The situation was growing grimmer for the Autobots until Sky Blast walked off and played a melody which awoke both Payload on the beach and Astroscope on the moon; the three Mini-Cons came together and did indeed form the Requiem Blaster, which Optimus Prime obtained and used, forcing the Decepticons to retreat. Rad realized that the Mini-Cons weren't afraid of fighting per se, but rather of their power falling into the wrong hands. Desperate

Out of concern for the rights of the Space Mini-Con Team, Rad and the other kids disguised the Mini-Cons in baggy clothes and took them to a farm outside the city, pursued by the Autobots. At an abandoned farmhouse, they set up a complex system of home-made traps and alarms which worked surprisingly well when Thrust inevitably arrived; while they didn't manage to actually stop the Decepticon, they did delay him long enough for Optimus Prime to arrive and drive him off.

When the other Autobots arrived, Rad took a stand and urged the Autobots to see the Mini-Cons as individuals, not as weapons of war to be exploited and then tossed aside. Surprisingly, Optimus Prime had much the same view, and explained that they were fighting so the Mini-Cons would be free to live in peace, and if any of them wanted to join the struggle, that was their decision. Satisfied, the kids and Mini-Cons returned to base. Runaway

All three kids were present when Side Swipe made his rather eager appearance at the base, but they weren't terribly impressed and went off to play a video game Past at which Alexis beat all comers. Past II

Later, the kids stayed at the base with Red Alert when the Autobots went out to counter a Decepticon attack. However, this attack proved to be nothing more than a distraction posed by Starscream, while the rest of the 'Cons attacked the Autobot base in search of the Requiem Blaster. The kids ran for hiding before the Autobots warped back, and bore witness to Megatron obtaining the Blaster and using it on Smokescreen, apparently killing him. Sacrifice Smokescreen clung to life, if only barely, and Red Alert went to task fixing him. As they watched, the children were given a brief lesson in Cybertronian anatomy, specifically on what a Spark was. Afterwards, Starscream joined the ranks of the Autobots. Though the kids were initially suspicious, they eventually welcomed him when they saw his attendant Mini-Cons genuinely looked up to him. Regeneration Despite this display of camaraderie, Starscream dismissed them, as he was only concerned with defeating Megatron. The kids' favorable opinion on Starscream was further cemented when they watched him aid the Autobots rescue the Decepticon-held Mini-Cons from the enemy's moonbase. Rescue Later, the kids asked Starscream to bring them back a souvenir when he and Jetfire travelled to Mars in search of a Mini-Con panel. In spite of his rude, lone-wolf demeanor, Starscream brought back a mysterious green rock for the kids, thus earning him a place in their hearts. Mars

In return for his kindness, the kids threw Starscream a surprise party, sewing a large Chamois of Friendship out of several smaller rags. Starscream was touched by this, but unfortunately still had trouble adjusting to life with the Autobots. Rad, Alexis, and Carlos later took the Race Mini-Con Team out for a walk, inadvertently leading to Starscream being accused of stealing the Skyboom Shield for the Decepticons. Though the kids explained themselves to Hot Shot, the damaged had been done, and Starscream abandoned both his gift and the Autobots when he was duped into returning to the Decepticons by Thrust, ostensibly so as to destroy Megatron. Crack In the aftermath, Carlos and Billy were enraged, and so Rad and Alexis had to try and calm them down. They all went home to blow off some steam; Rad watched TV without paying any attention or interest.

The next day, all the kids returned to the base to discover the Autobots and their allied Mini-Cons working quickly to complete the Axalon in order to retrieve the Decepticons' Mini-cons. The kids discussed Starscream a bit and decided never to speak of him again; Rad tried to comfort Alexis, but she said she was fine. At Fred's suggestion, they all went to see a comet. Afterwards, Alexis, still upset over Starscream, begun to walk away, though Rad followed to convince her to stay with her friends. Then, the comet was destroyed by the Decepticons' newly fisnished Hydra Cannon. Threaten Rad and Alexis raced back to their friends, though all the kids could only stand around wondering what to do when confronted with the awesome might the Decepticons had acquired. Crisis

As it turned out, the Decepticons were thwarted through the noble sacrifice of Optimus Prime. The kids all suffered a heartfelt grief, and Rad mused that Prime knew he would die and how unfair it was that nobody on Earth knew he had saved their lives.

Over the next week, the Autobots busied themselves with completing the Axalon, but Hot Shot and Scavenger soon came to blows. The kids were confused by this and watched from afar as the two fought on an abandoned highway. When the rest of the Autobots joined in abusing Hot Shot, the kids tried to persuade them that bullying their youngest member wouldn't help anything, but were overruled by Red Alert, who insisted that they had to get this out of their system. It turned out Scavenger was trying to snap Hot Shot out of his own depression. In due course, Hot Shot did come to terms with Optimus Prime's death, and everybody's morale was raised; it was raised so much so, in fact, that Hot Shot was chosen as the Autobots' new commander. Remorse

Under Hot Shot's understandably unsteady command, the Axalon was soon completed and preparations made to depart for Cybertron. The kids were looking forward to seeing another planet, and so were naturally miffed when Hot Shot told them that he was leaving them on Earth where it was safe. High Wire, too, told Rad to remain on Earth - in English, surprisingly. All the kids glumly returned home.

When he got home, Rad had breakfast with his parents and tried to subtly raise the subject of his not being allowed to leave the planet by asking them if they ever wanted to go into space. The adults brushed him off, just telling him to concentrate on his schoolwork.

That night, he woke up his parents and spilled the beans on the Transformers, Mini-Cons, and the war. For some reason, they found his story about alien robots that turn into cars implausible, and told him to go back to bed. However, his father seemed to sense he was trying to tell the truth, and came into his room a few hours later. The two had a heart to heart talk, and father told son that he could go to Cybertron provided he promised to return.

Rad was thrilled at this, and ran over to Carlos' house at the crack of dawn. To his delight, Carlos had also packed his bags, as had Alexis, who they met after leaving. The three skipped over to the Autobot base, but when they arrived, Hot Shot once again insisted that it was too dangerous for them to come along. Upon hearing this, the Mini-Cons collectively rebelled and blocked all the ship's systems, refusing to budge until the kids were allowed on. Hot Shot relented, and the kids and Autobots blasted off into space. Depart

During the journey, the kids bore witness to the arrival of thousands of new Mini-Cons and the rebirth of Optimus Prime, Miracle the conflict with Nemesis Prime, and the Mini-Con powered recoloration of several Autobots and Decepticons. Puppet

Following a confrontation with the Decepticons, the Autobots arrived at Cybertron, to discover it had already been conquered by Galvatron. When the Street Action Mini-Cons tried to sneak down to the surface, Rad and Alexis supported their desire to set foot on their home planet, in opposition to Carlos' fears for the little ones' safety. Uprising With the Mini-Cons gone, the kids were left with nothing much to do but watch the lights of battle on the surface. They did try to stop Hot Shot making a one-robot mission to the heart of the Decepticon stronghold to warn Galvatron about the impending threat of Unicron, but then Rad persuaded everyone to let him go ahead with it. Dash

At some point, Rad found a human-sized shower on the ship and, when he was in the middle of using it, Carlos walked in. Rad expressed an odd feeling that he'd met High Wire before, but Carlos just thought he was being loco.

Shortly thereafter, they got a transmission from High Wire that Hot Shot, Wheeljack, and Starscream were independently chasing Thrust (who had in the meantime allied with Sideways and Unicron) beneath Cybertron's surface. The lads went to see Alexis, and the trio then joined up with their partner Mini-Cons to plunge deep into the heart of Cybertron.

They came across Starscream standing off against Thrust. Thrust seized the opportunity and threatened the kids with the Requiem Blaster, and so Starscream, remembering their earlier kindness, bravely threw himself into the path of the blast, saving them. At that point, High Wire used his time powers to send Rad and the others to the past and future and the Rad found himself on Earth several years in the past, arriving at his new home. He asked where the Transformers were, but his parents just assumed he was confusing a dream with reality.

Time warped again, and he found himself with Alexis and Carlos millions of years in the past, in an future timeline. They encountered Hot Shot, being entangled in a semi-organic growth; Hot Shot revealed that the Mini-Cons had been created by Unicron, and the Transformers' use of them had led to the downfall of the entire race.

With that happy thought, the kids were sent back even further in time, where they witnessed the first Mini-Cons being spawned. Among these were High Wire, Sureshock, and Grindor. Rad grabbed High Wire, and the little robot imprinted in some way on the human. High Wire gained free will from this encounter, which then spread telepathically among all the other Mini-Cons. Rad urged the Mini-Cons to leave Cybertron and go to Earth, thus creating a temporal loop.

Finally, the kids were warped back to a few seconds back before Thrust killed Starscream, allowing the Mini-Cons to combine into Perceptor and knock Thrust's aim off. Thrust's blast was redirected, saving Starscream. The ceiling then collapsed, but Starscream used his own body to shield the kids while Thrust flew off. At that point, Hot Shot and Wheeljack arrived. Drift

The team continued to explore the tunnels, and the various organic... things soon separated Alexis and Starscream from the others. Rad, Carlos, the Mini-Cons, and carbots made it to the surface, where they met up with Alexis and Starscream again. Then, the group made two shocking discoveries in quick succession. First, the organic tunnels they had been exploring were actually the interior of one of Cybertron's moon. Second, that moon wasn't actually a moon, but the dormant body of Unicron. Unicron began to awaken, and Jetfire arrived just in time to take the kids to safety. Portent

When the kids learned of Starscream's demise, Alexis ran off in tears. Rad tried his best to comfort her, though he admitted to not knowing all the answers Alexis posed him in her grief. Cramp Later, he attended the cease-fire meeting between the Autobots and Decepticons. Alliance

When Optimus Prime and Galvatron managed to sneak inside Unicron, the Street Action Mini-Cons decided to infiltrate the titan's body as well. The children and Red Alert tagged along, barely avoiding getting crushed getting through the warp gate that led to Unicron's interiors. Union Red Alert was left behind, but the rest of the group soldiered forth. They found the two leaders restrained by Unicron's tentacles, with Unicron trying to verbally break Optimus Prime through Sideways' vocal synthesizer. Unicron destroyed the Mini-Cons' human-derived personalities, restoring them to blank drones, and then dragged the kids into a bizarre mindscape. However, the kids' mental fortitude was strong enough not only to break Unicron's thrall over them, but also to restore the individual personalities of the Mini-Cons. The kids and Mini-Cons then managed to release the weapons, allowing Optimus Prime to blow up Sideways with the Requiem Blaster.

However, on the way out, Galvatron challenged Optimus Prime to a final battle, Origin on the grounds that as long as both of them still existed, the hatred and enmity would last forever and thus Unicron would never be permanently defeated. The kids fled, and were picked up by Jetfire and Cyclonus on Unicron's surface. Optimus Prime won the battle, and Unicron and Galvatron were both (apparently) destroyed.

Hot Shot and Jetfire returned the kids to Earth, where they said tearful (but temporary) goodbyes. Rad thought he'd particularly miss the mini-Cons, and was also concerned for the fate of Optimus Prime. He mused that Optimus would always be a part of them. Mortal Combat

Rad and Alexis stared up in horror as the Decepticons unleashed the might of the Hydra Cannon towards the Earth. Though there was little they could do to stop the incoming desolation, Optimus thankfully sacrificed himself to prevent Earth's destruction.Prime Spark

Rad was at the beach with his friends when Alexis was pulled into the Legends World to help save Starscream from sacrificing himself. LG-18 Armada Starscream Super Mode Prologue

Energon cartoon

Voice actor: Kirby Morrow (English), Masataka Nakai (Japanese), Christian Jernbro (Swedish), Vincent Barazzoni (French), Markus Blom (Finnish), Stefano Crescentini (Italian), Blanca Rada (Castilian Spanish), Paweł Iwanicki (Polish)

When Dr. Brian Jones traveled to Cybertron with his son, Kicker, he also brought along Rad, Alexis, and Carlos to the alien planet. Team Optimus Prime

By 2020, Rad had been shipped off to Cybertron and was working as an assistant to Dr. Jones, presumably because he wouldn't shut up about the Transformers. Much to Dr. Jones's chagrin, his daughter appeared to have a thing for Rad.

During their collaboration, Rad told Dr. Jones about a new vein of energon that had been discovered on Mars, right where Dr.Jones had predicted. As it happened, Alpha Q was listening in, and sent a force of Terrorcons to steal it. Rad and Dr. Jones received word from Carlos and alerted Optimus Prime, then activated the space bridge so the Autobots could deal with the problem. Cybertron City After the Terrorcons' first attack, Rad and Dr. Jones informed Optimus that a cache of Energon was discovered left behind on Mars City, and warned that the Terrorcons might launch another strike in light of the station's weakened defenses. Their assessment turned out to be correct. Megatron's Sword

Optimus Prime was injured in the following battle, and so Rad and Dr. Jones worked to repair the Prime Force drones. They also gave them a few tweaks and upgrades, making the overall combination and operation run smoother. The New Cybertron City He continued to act as assistant to Dr. Jones, aiding him in sending an energon tower to the Moon to repel a Decepticon attack. Kicker Beware!

At some point, he travelled to Cybertron and was given command of that planet's new energon grid. Some time later, the Miranda II encountered the Decepticon-controlled Unicron and fled to Cybertron, where Rad activated the grid to keep the villains at bay. Battle Stations However, Megatron's arrival inspired the Decepticons across Cybertron to rise up and start causing chaos; worst of all, Shockblast escaped from prison, and so Rad directed Inferno and Hot Shot to the manaic's location. Shockblast escaped, and so Rad tried to destroy him by manipulating the energon grid. Shockblast didn't die, but this did force the Decepticons to retreat. Shockblast: Rampage Rad then worked with Jetfire in an attempt to use the grid to shoot down the Decepticons' mobile fortress, but they failed due to Shockblast's next attack. Each One Fights... Wing Dagger was also injured in this fight, and so Rad rebuilt him into Wing Saber, Unicron Unleashed which he accomplished with the aid of Primus. Open Fire!

Following some more battles, the other Autobots plunged into a new universe created by Alpha Q. Rad reported back to Dr. Jones that he had completely lost contact with all those who had traversed into this new realm. Team Optimus Prime Eventually, Hot Shot and Downshift returned to Cybertron, where Rad greeted them. The two Autobots asked for an energon tower, which Rad seemed to think was a reasonable request, but Dr. Jones was less than thrilled. Bulkhead However, the doctor evidently relented, as the Autobots were next seen with the tower they needed. Farewell Inferno Rad remained on Cybertron, overseeing the day-to-day operations while Dr. Jones sought out Omega Supreme. When he succeeded, the two contacted Optimus Prime about this new discovery. They also rebuilt the destroyed Inferno as Roadblock, and sent him with a whole bunch of energon towers as well as Omega Supreme to aid the Autobots against Unicron. Omega Supreme Rad later heard that Optimus Prime's team was engaged in fighting Unicron, and in order to win, they would need all the energon from Cybertron. He and Dr. Jones weren't thrilled about that, but could do little to stop Primus from doing so. Optimus Supreme

Fortunately, Unicron was apparently killed, and so Rad and Dr. Jones drank a non-alcoholic (honestly!) toast. While Dr. Jones was thrilled with recent events, Rad was concerned as to the state of Primus.

A little later, during a conversation with Sally and Miranda, he detected the arrival of Megatron, Starscream, and Scorponok through a warp gate and alerted Wing Saber. Ambition Rad and the Joneses hid in the control room; Demolishor gave a cursory search of the room and gave up to go look elsewhere, at which point they fled. Wishes Miranda cooked everybody a nice dinner, and while Brian and Sally tucked in, Rad didn't have much appetite. Sally tried to feed him a few spoonfuls, but was interrupted by an earthquake, which was caused by Galvatron trying to move Cybertron to Alpha Q's planet. Galvatron! Fearing the worst, the men tried to find a route down to Primus's chamber. The main elevator shaft was in ruins, but they had to jump down anyway when a Cruellock drone found them. Break Through

They eventually fell down the hole through which Kicker had fallen about ten years ago, and were saved from a fatal fall by Primus, despite the entity still being in sleep mode. However, before they could do anything, Mirage, Demolishor, and Snow Cat burst into the chamber. Demolishor and Snow Cat ordered Dr. Jones to show them where the location of the Super Energon, while Mirage stayed behind to guard Rad. The Omega Train Rad was rescued by Kicker and Arcee, and told them where Dr. Jones had gone. Ironhide Team

Rad stayed in the core to oversee to revival of Primus, Formidable and when Dr. Jones returned from trying to deal with Decepticons, Rad told him that Primus was still weak and would need a lot more energon, above and beyond what the Omnicons had been able to provide. Meanwhile, Sally managed to infiltrate the control room and turn the base defenses against the Decepticons, which also allowed the humans and Autobots to escape the core chamber. Rad and Dr. Jones went to rendezvous with Sally, who greeted Rad with a great big hug. Galvatron Terror

Rad then returned to the core to once again oversee Primus's transfusion of energon, where he argued against Dr. Jones's haste when the Omnicons started to suffer fatigue from excess energon transfer. Spark However, they ultimately succeeded, and Primus bubbled out of Cybertron to power up Optimus Prime enough to destroy Galvatron and Unicron once and for all. Rad, along with the other humans, celebrated with a big smile. The Sun

Cybertron cartoon

In 2030, Rad, Carlos, and Alexis were present at the launching of the four ancient colony ships as they began the second attempt at a galaxy-spanning space bridge network. Beginning

Rad does not appear in the Galaxy Force version of the show.

Dreamwave Armada continuity

Dreamwave Armada comic

When Rad and Carlos were in the third grade, Rad accidentally broke a window in Carlos's house with a baseball bat. Carlos's parents didn't want their son hanging out with Rad afterwards, but Carlos convinced them to change their minds, vouching for the good nature of his friend. Armada Free Comic Book Day

Rad Agent Awesome Agent Secret Agent built a wicked sweet Project Supernova aircraft alongside Agent Sidekick and Agent Bubblegum, only to watch it get shot down by bullies Sid and Seth shortly after his dramatic launch speech. With all his enthusiasm about the project gone, Rad went to fetch his bike helmet from the wreckage, only to fall into a cave full of mechanical equipment. Inside, he accidentally activated the three Street Action Mini-Cons and Sparkplug, who he thought were awesome and hid in his garage, much to Alexis's chagrin. He and Carlos managed to convince her that the robots were (probably) good guys, which proved to be right when the Mini-Cons repaid their trust by building a new Supernova. Armada #3 During its maiden flight, however, the kids and their new friends were attacked by Megatron, having arrived on Earth in search of the Mini-Cons. After escaping from him, Rad and Alexis began arguing again about being pulled into an alien war, but eventually agreed that they couldn't back out now. Together with the Mini-Cons, they fled to a nearby canyon, where they met Optimus Prime. Armada #4 Prime and his Autobots confronted and defeated Megatron's Decepticons, while in the meantime Rad and his friends were attacked by Demolishor and had to be saved by another group of Mini-Cons. Armada #5

While Rad was excited about hanging out with these alien robots, Optimus Prime did not agree. While messing around in the Black Hills, the kids were approached by Prime, who refused to let them get involved in the Transformers' war. Rad, Carlos and Alexis wouldn't let themselves be separated from their new Mini-Con friends so easily, however, and later helped Sparkplug when he broke Prime's orders to bust the Air Defense Team out of the Decepticon base. Armada #6 The kids were left with an order to call for help if their friends weren't back within thirty minutes, which they weren't. After using their Mini-Con panic-pager, they were approached by the Land Military Mini-Con Team, but the new arrivals refused to get involved with the Transformer war. Their attitude got Rad proper angry, and he yelled at them for trying to play irresponsible after themselves bringing the war to Earth, before heading off to save Sparkplug and the others by himself. Faced with his words and courage, the Land Military Team realized that they were at fault, and agreed to help. Armada #7

Seeking extra class credit for science class, Rad and Carlos went on a nature hike on their bikes. During their venture, they came across Swindle, apparently on the run from Starscream. Rad was suspicious of the little 'bot, (his name literally being "Swindle" and all) but Carlos convinced him to give the Mini-Con a chance to be their friend. Before they could make headway, both Cyclonus and Starscream flew down to apprehend the group. Hot Shot, Smokescreen, and Red Alert turned up to rescue them, but the Autobots were defeated when Megatron joined the fight as well. Rad and Carlos tried to sneak off in the confusion, but Swindle turned on them; Swindle revealed that he had been put up to lure them into a trap, so Megatron would have some human subjects to experiment on. He hadn't done so out of malice however; Swindle was motivated only by earning his freedom, which Starscream had promised to give him if he participated in this scheme. Predictably enough, the Decepticons laughed in the Mini-Con's face when he asked to be let go. Optimus then turned up, and knocked Rad and Carlos free from Megatron's grip, allowing them to get to a hiding place while he faced off against the Decepticons. But Optimus was quickly defeated as well. A repentant Swindle thanked both of the boys for offering him friendship when he needed it, and freed all four of the captive Autobots, allowing them to force the Decepticons into a retreat. As he pulled back, Starscream retook Swindle, which saddened both of the boys. Armada Free Comic Book Day

Some time later, Rad and his friends were hanging out with Street Action Team after they saved them from Billy and Fred. Suddenly, the Mini-Cons went out of control in their vehicle modes and began heading straight for Kansas, with the kids coming along for the ride. After ending up at a strange structure under attack from the Decepticons, Rad called the Autobots using Sparkplug's communicator, leading to a battle that distracted everyone from the fact that the Mini-Cons were entering the structure. Again, Rad decided to take matters into his own hands and followed them, only for the structure to slam shut and blast off into space with him on it. Armada #8 He ended up on a base on the Moon, where the unscrupulous Dualor and his team strapped him inside a space-mine to keep the Autobots at bay. Armada #9 As such, Rad quickly learned that not all Mini-Cons were good guys, as Dualor explained that he was more than ready to sacrifice a human to protect his people from both the Autobots and Decepticons. Rad was sent into space as part of a large minefield, but Dualor was then knocked out before he could actually warn the Autobots about the human shield. Armada #10 While the Autobots were ready to blow the entire minefield apart with sonic warheads, Mirage learned about Rad's fate and recruited Sparkplug and the Space Mini-Con Team to save him. When they failed to either recall the mine or eject its explosives, Sky Blast went out in person and towed the entire mine onto an Autobot ship. Finally freed, Rad was reunited with Carlos and Alexis (or at least their Simulcrum holograms). Armada #11

After staying away from the Autobots' next major conflict, Rad and his friends learned that the Autobots, Decepticons and Mini-Cons had to return to Cybertron to fight off the threat known as Unicron. Rad thought it sounded "intense". The kids then said their goodbyes to Optimus Prime and the Mini-Cons before returning home, not to see the Transformers again for a long while. The End

Energon comic

In the ten years following the departure of the Transformers, Rad grew up and, along with Carlos, found work at Alterenergy. The company was searching for the new energy source "01 Source" in Australia when the Terrorcons attacked their drilling operation to steal the fuel. Rad was present at Alterenergy Mobile Command when Carlos informed them of the attack, and the two agreed that it was the return of the Transformers. Rad then headed out to the drill site alone to find and save Kicker, the son of Alternergy scientist Brian Jones. What Lies Beneath Upon arrival, he found that the Terrorcons had kidnapped the boy because he had the ability to detect 01 Source, or "Energon". Coincidentally, they had also captured Alexis as a hostage, and Rad went in to heroically save her and Kicker... only to be immediately attacked by the guard, Battle Ravage. With help from Carlos, he managed to blow up a nearby Energon sapper, knocking the Terrorcon out. What Lies Beneath, Part Three While it turned out the Terrorcons had taken Kicker with them, Rad and Alexis ran into a team of Autobots a short while later, and had a quick reunion with Optimus Prime and Hot Shot. After Kicker was saved with help from the Omnicons, Rad asked Optimus if the Autobots were leaving again, but he replied that they were staying on Earth this time. What Lies Beneath, Part Four

Having a bunch of armed alien robots on their world sparked protests amongst humanity, which bothered Rad. It bothered him even more that Alexis, who had become a peace activist when she grew up, claimed to understand where the protesters were coming from instead of agreeing with him. Rad initially brushed her off and left, upsetting her, but realized he was being immature and apologized just as she got in a cab to leave. Then Los Angeles was attacked by Insecticons and the taxi was destroyed in front of Rad's eyes. Multiplicity He was left in despair, regretting never having told Alexis about his true feelings for her, only for her to show up alive and well. Rad embraced her and told her to never leave him again, causing an awkward moment between the two semi-estranged friends. Multiplicity, Pt. 2 Getting into Rad's heavy off-roading car, the two plowed through Insecticons as they left for Alterenergy's west coast headquarters. Realizing that the Autobots needed extra energy to successfully battle the hordes of Terrorcons, Rad contacted Carlos and had him prepare the Energon Volant Accumulator plane for him. Multiplicity, Pt. 3 After shooting down some Insecticons and reuniting with his old Mini-Con pals on the Street Action Team, he turned the atmospheric Energon radiation captured by the EVA into gas and spread it onto Jetfire's team of Autobots. Together with some unexpected help from Megatron, they were then able to exterminate the Insecticons. Multiplicity, Pt. 4

Energon ceased publication before the story could conclude. The following would have taken place in unpublished issues.

Together with Brian Jones, Rad oversaw Kicker's training to help him develop his powers and avoid future abduction attempts. Doomsday Redux! When Kicker became rebellious and ran off, the Alterenergy base was attacked by a returning Demolishor, and Rad called Jetfire for help. However his troops, Grimlock and Swoop, failed to stop Demolishor from kidnapping Kicker. Armageddon Part 1 Rad blamed himself and was determined to find the boy. Armageddon Part 2 He had to retrieve Kicker before Unicron's Four Horsemen forced the Autobots to lower the planetary defense shield that would have allowed Demolishor leave the planet via space bridge, and managed to close in on his location thanks to Alexis, who had connections to the United Nations. Armageddon Part 3 Together with some Autobot backup, Rad's team located Demolishor in Mexico, and while the others held the Decepticon at bay, he personally rescued Kicker. Armageddon Part 4 After Kicker killed Demolishor using his powers, he travelled to Cybertron, and Rad, Carlos and Alexis said their goodbyes to him. Armageddon Part 5

Panini Armada comic

After accidentally dropping down a hole one day, Rad found the remains of a spaceship hidden underground. He brought Carlos with him to explore it, but ended up bumping into some machinery and reawakening the Mini-Con High Wire. After leaving the caves and meeting with Alexis, the kids tried to communicate with High Wire, only to come under attack from Megatron. They were saved by Optimus Prime, and High Wire grabbed Rad and his friends and took them to the other Mini-Cons. First Encounter! When he heard that the Mini-Cons weren't getting involved with the Autobot-Decepticon war again, Rad became angry—Optimus Prime was getting his aft handed to him by Megatron, and they were just going to abandon him? Rad decided to take matters into his own hands and confronted Megatron, offering to take him to the Mini-Con ship in exchange for sparing Optimus Prime. However, Megatron wasn't big on deals, and merely threatened to kill Rad if he didn't show him the ship right away. He ended up being saved by High Wire and the other Mini-Cons, who had changed their minds upon witnessing his feat of bravery. After Megatron had been chased off, Optimus Prime also complimented Rad on his courage, even if it hadn't been the smartest move. Friends and Foes!

Rad and his friends quickly befriended the Street Action Mini-Con Team and had a great time racing in the desert on them. Their fun and games ended when Optimus Prime ordered both humans and Mini-Cons to go get the locator log from the wrecked Mini-Con ship. When they found the log, they were attacked Demolishor, who incapacitated the Street Action Team. Quickly improvising a plan, Rad grabbed the locator log and hid it in an unstable part of the caves. When Demolishor followed, he accidentally caused it to explode, and was buried in the ensuing rockfall. Deep Trouble! Some time later, Rad was learning chemistry at school when the troublesome twosome Billy and Fred messed up his experiment behind his back. Not only did this get him into trouble with the teacher, but he also noticed that High Wire was sneaking around on the school grounds. Rad decided to bolt, and found that Carlos and Alexis had had similar problems with their Mini-Con friends trying to adapt to life on Earth. He didn't really mind the Mini-Cons' little mistakes, and promised to guide them personally. Just a Memory!

When the Autobots decided to send the Mini-Cons back to their home planet, Rad said he refused to let it "end like this", but didn't actually do anything about it. When Megatron arrived to put a stop to it, Rad tried to trick him that the Mini-Cons were already gone, so he might as well leave too. When Megatron made it clear he wouldn't leave Earth just because some five or six Mini-Cons went home, the plan was canceled and the Mini-Cons remained on Earth. No Way Back! Some time later, Rad caught wind of Sparkplug's plan to save the Mini-Cons held in the Decepticon headquarters. He thought it was a stupid plan, and convinced the Autobots to send a shuttle to stop him. Into the Lions' Den!

During another race around the desert, Rad and his friends were interrupted by Starscream, who attempted to capture the Street Action Team. High Wire threw Rad off and told him to get help. When Rad expressed doubt that the Street Action Team could stand up to Starscream, the three Mini-Cons proved him wrong by combining into Perceptor. In the aftermath of the battle, an impressed Rad was high-fiving with High Wire when they were suddenly approached by a man named Amos Hume. The Two-Edged Blade Amos explained that he had been given a message by a Mini-Con long ago, which Rad didn't find too hard to believe. After introducing Amos to the other Mini-Cons, the kids and Autobots used the message he had received to locate and rescue the Land Military Mini-Con Team. Sale of the Century!

Reader's Digest Armada novels

12-year old Brad was one of the many self-titled "Cosmo Kids" that lived in the community around the Cosmo Scope Research Center and Interstellar Observatory. He preferred to go by the nickname "Rad" however, after the radical moves he had on his bike. During an early autumn afternoon, he and his friends Carlos and Alexis headed out into the nearby mountains for some trail exploring. While riding his BMX bike, Rad noticed a trail he had never seen before, and prompted his friends to join him in scoping it out. Carlos and Alexis were hesitant to continue down the trail when they spotted some signs indicating it was dangerous, but they were goaded on by Rad into pushing forwards. The path eventually led to a cave, which the kids decided to explore. Within, they found cave paintings depicting giant robots battling one-another. One of the paintings depicted three smaller, peaceful-looking robots. As if prompted by an unknown instinct, Rad reached out to touch one of the three robots. This action triggered a mechanism hidden within the cave, which after some rumbling, revealed real-life versions of the three robots the children had touched in the drawing. Rad met High Wire, a Mini-Con who could only be understood by Rad himself. The children learned about Cybertron and its civil war from their new robot friends. The moment was cut short when Autobots and Decepticons were teleported on-site by a mechanism within the Mini-Cons' ship. Finding themselves in the middle of a vicious battle between mechanical titans, Rad and his friends thankfully escaped from harm thanks to the efforts of the Mini-Cons, and the newcomer, Optimus Prime. Learning that Optimus had the best of intentions for both Earth and the Mini-Cons, Rad promised to keep the Transformers' existence a secret, and rode back to town on High Wire, now reformatted into a high-tech BMX bike. Meeting with Carlos and Alexis the next day at school, the trio dismissed insinuations from Billy and Fred that anything exciting had happened to them the day before before heading off to class.The Battle Begins

To explain to his parents how he had gotten a totally sweet new BMX bike, Rad made up a story that he had won it in an extreme riding competition. They bought the story, and Rad took to riding High Wire to school. The next afternoon, he, Alexis and Carlos readied themselves to visit the Autobots when they encountered Billy and Fred. Their schoolmates were inquisitive as to where they had gotten the new vehicles, and Rad knew they wouldn't be fooled by the story he had told his parents. Rad instead claimed that his dad got them the vehicles through some "connections," and that his BMX was next year's model. Having narrowly avoided exposure, the trio then took off for the Autobots' base. Strangely, they found the cave leading to the headquarters now sealed by a stone door. The Mini-Cons maintained a wireless connection to their vessel however, and were able to grant themselves access to the base. But once inside, the group found the base deserted. They found Optimus and his fellow Autobots, Hot Shot and Red Alert, at a nearby highway, adopting new alternate modes. After brief introductions were made, explosions were heard off in the distance. The Decepticons were attacking the Autobots' base! Rad, Alexis and Carlos raced ahead of the Autobots on their Mini-Cons, coming face to face with Megatron. The Decepticon leader halted his assault in order to demand the children surrender their companions. The Autobots arrived on the scene before Megatron was able to act on his threat, and Rad and the others hid in some nearby brush to watch the battle unfold.

During the battle, a stray shot from Megatron caused a rock slide to tumble down towards the kids and their Mini-Cons. Hot Shot zipped in and rescued them, though the ride within the two-seat sports car was a cramped one for all three kids. As they drove back to Optimus, Alexis noticed four Mini-Con panels sticking out of the rubble. Carlos and Rad helped her dig them out. Two of the panels activated in the Autobots' presence, one of them becoming Red Alert's partner, "Longarm" and the other Hot Shot's partner "Jolt." Red Alert instructed Alexis and Rad to keep the remaining two panels safe, and the children hid themselves once again. The Decepticons were soon forced to retreat, but one of them, Cyclonus, lingered long enough to snatch the panels from Alexis and Rad before warping away. The children were torn up about allowing the Mini-Cons to fall into enemy hands, but Optimus assured them they had done everything they could. Race for the Mini-Con Robots

One Halloween, the kids attempted to explain the holiday to their three Mini-Cons, and ended up taking them Trick-or-Treating. Rad explained they could t.p. the houses of people who didn't give them candy. Something Robotic This Way Comes

Bendon Armada books

Rad, Carlos, and Alexis talked Optimus Prime into letting them explore some nearby caves in the hopes of finding other Mini-Cons, claiming that he and Carlos had already explored a few of them in the past. The trio succeeded in finding a crystal, but had to be saved by Hot Shot after a surprise Decepticon attack caused a landslide. Cave Catastrophe

In another adventure, Carlos talked Rad into joining him for a Mini-Con race, to which Alexis invited herself. They foolishly left themselves out in the open, allowing Megatron to attack. Fortunately for them (your mileage may vary), Optimus and Hot Shot were there to save them yet again. Race to Disaster

Notes

• According to the now-defunct TV Tokyo Legends of the Microns website, Rad was 12 years old at the start of Armada. The page also stated that he enjoyed outdoor sports, and implied that Optimus Prime gave him Laserbeak as a personal possession.
• Transformers: Armada Official Guidebook backs up that Rad was 12 years old at the start of Armada, and that he enjoyed outdoor sports, specifically on his BMX bike.
• Rad's catchphrase "I'm here to tell you about the Transformers!" (sometimes varies as "I want to tell you about...) is from his introductory narration during the main titles sequence of the earlier episodes of Armada. Needless to say, this became rather repetitive after twenty or so episodes.
• Rad has the unfortunate penchant of saying '"Wicked Sweet!", usually when something impresses him greatly. Perhaps Dreamwave hoped that by 2010 this would be an acceptable form of slang. Alternately, perhaps Rad was from Boston originally.
• Rad makes an Easter egg cameo appearance in IDW's Robots in Disguise #29 as a resident of Poverty Flat.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Brad "Rad" (ブラッド Buraddo, ラッド Raddo)
• Korean: Richie Blatt (리치 브랏트 Richi Beurasteu)