Despite appearances, his chest is not someone's face.
The goofy-looking Mudflap and his twin Skids are a result of a split spark, and share a close bond accordingly. Mudflap is hyperactive, noisy, argumentative, and eager... not that different from his brother. He's so desperate to impress that he comes off as having the robot equivalent of ADHD.[1] When they're not trying to outdo each other in crazy, daredevil antics, the twins are usually bickering with each other over anything. Like Skids, he possesses hyper-reactive optical imaging scanners, making him able to process tactical information faster than any other Transformer (except Skids).[2] As irritated as Mudflap gets from Skids' vocal one-upmanship, he realizes that they actually work best as a team.[3]
Each twin can transform into smaller, separate vehicles or combine into a single, more durable alternate mode.[4] Upon first arriving on Earth, Mudflap and his brother took the form of a beat-up old ice cream truck, but he later scanned a Chevrolet Trax for a disguise, and, sometime after that, a Chevrolet Spark. That being said, it's unlikely the twins will keep an alt-mode for long.
Fiction Movies Revenge of the Fallen filmICE CREAM!... ICE CREAM!... I'm all out of ICE CREAM!...
The twins were first into action for NEST's mission to Shanghai, slowly trundling through the city streets in their ice-cream truck mode and taunting Decepticons in the area to show themselves. Two Decepticons soon did: Demolishor and Sideways. At NEST's orders, the twins went after the smaller foe and, working with Arcee, managed to herd him into an alleyway. However, their slow, ungainly choice of alternate mode left them unable to keep up with Sideways. While Arcee leapt through a building to pursue the Decepticon, the twins tried to go around the building to catch him. However, the twins inadvertently split apart from one another when they rounded the corner too sharply, thus taking them out of the chase. Mudflap took the blame for the crash, but Skids still berated (and smacked) Mudflap for his failure.
Ben and Jerry?
Upon arrival to Diego Garcia and NEST headquarters, the twins were given new, individual alternate forms to make sure another incident like that never happened. Mudflap wanted the Chevy Beat as a vehicle form, but after a brief wrestling match with his brother, he was relegated to the form of the Chevrolet Trax.
Later, the twins, along with the other NEST-allied Autobots, were dispatched to look for Sam Witwicky when Decepticons were detected heading towards his college. After Optimus Prime was killed by Megatron, the twins helped the Autobot force fight off the Decepticon leader and Starscream, allowing Sam, Leo Spitz, Mikaela Banes and Bumblebee to make good their escape. Skids and Mudflap met up with Bumblebee and the humans, and together they fled to a remote location. After the twins teased Leo for a while for his panic attack, Sam inquired whether one of them could interpret the Cybertronic symbols with which he had become obsessed. The twins claimed that they couldn't read the ancient Language of the Primes and weren't much into reading, anyway.
And this is us when we traveled to...hey, Skids, where did we go again?
With the help of the Decepticon Wheelie and former Sector Seven agent Seymour Simmons, the group made their way to the Smithsonian, where the humans reactivated the venerable ex-Decepticon Jetfire. He teleported them all to Egypt before telling them the tale of the original Primes, the Star Harvester, which had the potential to destroy all life on Earth, and finally, the Matrix of Leadership, the key to activating the harvester and possibly the only thing that could bring Optimus Prime back to life. When the Matrix could not be found at the ruins of Petra, Mudflap questioned why they were helping Sam, wondering what they had done for the Autobots. Skids pointed out that Sam had killed Megatron, but Mudflap said the point was moot since Megatron was now back. After calling each other "scared" and "ugly" the two began to fight with one another. After damaging the structure and nearly crushing the humans, Bumblebee picked the twins up, bashed them together, and threw them out the door. However, their bickering created a hole in the wall where the Tomb of the Primes lay, and with it, the Matrix.
Making their way back to the Pyramids where NEST waited with Optimus Prime's body, the group came under attack by Starscream. Mudflap, Skids, Leo and Simmons acted as a decoy to lure the Decepticons away from Sam and Mikaela. Unfortunately, they attracted the attention of the Constructicons, who combined into Devastator and attacked by vacuuming up loose objects such as sand, cars, and Mudflap. Hanging on for dear life inside the monster's mouth, he tried to use his "kung-fu grip", but was sucked further inside, losing his shoulder guards in the process.
As Skids mourned the loss of his twin, Simmons realized that the safest place to be was directly under the giant. But he had survived being vacuumed up by Devastator, and to escape he had blasted a hole through its head. To buy the humans time to escape, Skids clambered up Devastator's right forepaw to assist Mudflap. Skids threw a cable to Mudflap, who grabbed it and swung off Devastator's head onto his arm. However, once they had landed, Mudflap accidentally shot Skids in the face, knocking them off. At Megatron's command, Devastator continued onto the Great Pyramid of Giza. Revenge of the Fallen
Dark of the Moon filmMudflap and Skids were at the end of an Autobot convoy as the team rolled into the hangar of NEST's Washington, D.C. base.
Mudflap was later parked next to Sideswipe when Sam arrived at NEST HQ for the first time. Dark of the Moon
Mudflap and Skids were originally scripted to feature in Dark of the Moon, but their appearances were cut from the finished film, save for this very brief shot. See "adaptations" below for what they would have done if they'd made it through to the final cut.
Age of Extinction filmFive years after the Battle of Chicago, Mudflap was not listed as "deceased" by the CIA taskforce, Cemetery Wind.[5] Age of Extinction
Titan movie comicsQuick! We have to get to auditions before the cool characters!
Sometimes, he has a small forcefield in vehicle mode. Turnabout
Mudflap first met Bumblebee when they were about to be thrown into a smelting pool. It was fun! Dogfight!
Mudflap and Skids happily stayed on Cybertron, going through intensive training (which totally wasn't goofing off) and having extreme-sports contests. Neither wanted to leave their homeworld, and they were the only Transformers on it until Starscream turned up with a Decepticon army. When they heard him mention a Star Harvester, Mudflap said they should tell someone...but was a bit upset to find out the fastest way to do that would be to leave Cybertron and tell the Autobots in person.
The decision was made for them when the Decepticons attacked. Mudflap took some hits, causing Skids to obliterate the Decepticons responsible, but for the most part, their training paid off. However, he realised they were running out of places to run, so he followed his brother in leaving the plane, with only one course of action remaining: follow the message Optimus Prime had beamed into space and head for Earth. Training Day
The twins made it to Earth soon, crash-landing in Toronto, Canada. On the way in, Mudflap hit a big tower, and was a bit guilty since he knew how these primitive luddite humans still needed radio waves (the saps). They swam their way to Ball's Falls, where they picked up Earth alternate modes and, Mudflap taking charge, set out to try and find local Autobots and warn them about the Star Harvester.
Driving along the wrong side of the Interstate, the twins were attacked by the Seeker Ransack, who pursued them across open countryside, trying to kill them on Starscream's orders. Mudflap transformed and blinded the old Decepticon with a fistful of dirt, which bought the twins some time to find cover. However, the airborne enemy kept up with the twins, and Mudflap lost a chance at cover when he ran back to save his brother. Luckily they were saved by Bumblebee, who attacked and forced Ransack to retreat. Dogfight!
Sorry,
Jon, at some point you have to draw their ugly mugs.
Now living at NEST's Californian base with Bumblebee as their minder, Skids and Mudflap repeatedly asked to deliver their info to Optimus Prime—and only Optimus, much to Ironhide's annoyance. He was more annoyed when they ambushed him to get to Optimus...who, as it turns out, was away on a need-to-know mission anyway.
After this defeat, and with Ironhide having bluntly told them nobody believed them, they desperately asked to join in a NEST op in Las Vegas...getting turned down, because they were too crap to get involved. Mudflap almost called their superior a very rude word over this, and after the team had left, he decided they should go to Vegas anyway to show Ironhide just what they could do! What they could do, it turned out, was screw up a successful mission by freeing a captured Decepticon by trying to "shoot him down". Mudflap was left mortified. Ironhide, recognising what they were trying to do, told him that maybe they could work on training the twins not to jump in without looking, and that the trick was to learn from mistakes. The twins claimed they'd try. Learning Curve
They soon wished they hadn't, as they were condemned to NEST's Orkney Islands base for days of sim-com (simulated combat) training under Sideswipe. Mudflap agreed with Skids' theory that this was an excuse to keep them away from Optimus, and the whole situation got on his nerves. They both protested to Sideswipe that they could handle Decepticons. Him pointing out their failure with Grindor shut them up. However, the training was interrupted when a huge metal cat monster broke into the base, KOed Sideswipe, and tried to eat the twins!
Nice kitty...nice kitty...
They transformed and fled, with all attempts at holding it off failing. Mudflap hit on a plan of trapping the creature in the sim-com room and letting the drones shoot it down. He pulled this off, using himself as bait; in the process, he received a communication from the monster's master, who demanded to know what the twins knew about some lost and fallen guy. Mudflap briefly wondered who this dude was, then shrugged and just sprang the trap on Ravage.
With that done, the twins tried to fill in the revived Sideswipe... except the creature had gone, leaving their instructor with the view that they'd knocked him out in revenge for their training. Between that and Grindor, he thought they were up to something... New Tricks
The twins were later taken to Diego Garcia, and ecstatic to learn Optimus was coming there! Okay, he's only dropping a prisoner off, he's not here to see them and knows nothing about their story, but they ignored all that and drove off when Sideswipe wasn't looking so they could greet the leader. Mudflap squeed over how Optimus would be so proud with his work! Skids picked up on that and accused his brother of trying to steal the glory, and soon the two of them were having a big fight and slagging match...
And so their first meeting with Optimus Prime was to be yelled at for conduct unbecoming of an Autobot warrior. (See the pic to the side to find out how that went.)
That was when Scorponok made his attack, blasting at the distracted Prime and moving to free the prisoner Sideways. Mudflap swiftly grabbed a weapon to stop this escape, but Sideways snatched it from his hands and used it himself to cover his retreat. Sideswipe, watching from a distance, believed Mudflap had given over the weapon, and convinced Prime that the twins were traitors: they must have helped Scorponok get here and now assisted him in his mission, on top of freeing Grindor and attacking him! Mudflap and Skids protested they were being set up because they knew too much, but it fell on deaf ears as they were taken into custody... Reversal of Fortune
Heart, head, near enough...
Following this, the decision was made to exile the twins into orbit. Mudflap and his brother moaned that they should've just ignored the Fallen, but help was at hand... from the Decepticons? Mudflap angrily told Decepticon agent Wheelie that they didn't want to be freed by him, but the complaint fell on deaf ears: now the twins looked like even bigger traitors. The two went underground to clear their names, and hit on the foolproof plan of abducting Sam Witwicky from his house and pleading with him to tell their story to Optimus. All this did was cause Bumblebee to launch an attack to rescue Sam. Mudflap pleaded with the angry Bumblebee that they weren't traitors, that they had vital info...
...and then Soundwave gunned down the scout and offered the twins sanctuary in the Decepticons. Nowhere else to go, Mudflap took Soundwave's hand and said he'd never liked Earth anyway... Outlaw Blues
"No offence, Sideways, but you're a boring, stupid, unimportant waste of metal and your mum hates you."
Once in the Decepticons, he had fun dissing all the other members as being losers and getting on everyone's nerve, before Soundwave finally sent them on a mission to bring in a rogue member. Once on Earth again, he was genuinely surprised to find out Skids was only pretending to defect; his annoyed brother explained the plan was that, since Soundwave would send a minder to watch them, they could ambush their minder and have a prisoner to give to the Autobots.
The rogue member turned out to be Ransack, and Mudflap helped Skids lie to him that the Fallen had sent them. Talking instead of fighting? That annoyed both of their minders, and they came under attack by Grindor and Sideways! Mudflap was ordered after Sideways, and engaged him in a game of chicken; the Decepticon blinked first and crashed into a tree. He thought this was enough, but Skids was determined that they'd now take the fight to Soundwave himself! (Mudflap's considered response was "YOWZA!") Turnabout
Upon returning to the Phobos base, Mudflap was consulted about having a plan of attack. He decided why bother having plans now, just attack! The twins stormed the base, and Mudflap was able to defeat Ravage by ducking the beast's attacks and planting an electrical bomb on him. However, this success was quickly undone and Mudflap found himself about to be killed by Starscream... but the battle gave Ransack an opening to shoot the Seeker in the back and escape, causing the other Decepticons to chase after him! The twins had no idea what that was all about... but this was just a short respite, as the twins discovered just what that army massing on Cybertron had been planning: to arrive at the Phobos base en route to Earth...
The twins stood ready to make their last stand, and Mudflap prepared to take down as many drones as possible... when Optimus arrived with the other Autobots! The twins had been tracked to Phobos and to their shock, the other Autobots had realised they weren't traitors and were even apologising! And with all the street cred of uncovering the Phobos base, the twins were welcomed to the Autobots' Earth division. Skids briefly wondered if they should mention "the Fa-" again, but Mudflap told him they were never mentioning that bloody thing again. Whatever happened, would happen... Back-to-Back
IDW movie comicsOff to go hang out with Derpy Hooves, I'm sure.
After hearing Optimus Prime's call into space for all Autobots, Skids and Mudflap were captured by the Decepticons Thundercracker and Flatline just before reaching Earth. Seeking to perfect some new medical experiments, Flatline tried to forcibly reprogram the brothers' processors, but only succeeded in leaving them addled and confused. Another of Flatline's experiments, the tri-fold biker named Arcee, helped Skids and Mudflap escape. They picked up a ship and made their trek the rest of the way to Earth. Tales of the Fallen #6
Mudflap is the one in back.
Skids and Mudflap followed Optimus Prime's message to Earth and arrived on the planet with Topspin, Leadfoot, Roadbuster, Sideswipe, Arcee, Chromia and Elita-One on the Wreckers ship Xantium. The ship and the Wreckers stayed behind in NASA, Dark of the Moon Dark of the Moon #3 The Twins both chose the combined form of an old, beat-up ice cream truck. The newly arrived Autobots joined the human-Transformer military alliance NEST and began training in earnest at Diego Garcia, but soon had to be deployed to Shanghai, China. Alliance #4
Skids and Mudflap were in Seattle with NEST tracking the Decepticon straggler, Alice. They helped guide her stolen RV right into Sideswipe's sights, and he then impaled the "girl" in her seat. Nefarious #1
Later, when Theodore Galloway and his unit were attacked by Ransack en route to investigate the mysterious activities of the enigmatic Initiative at Hoover Dam, the Autobots dispatched Skids and Mudflap to Galloway's aid. Together, they held Ransack off until a NEST strike team could arrive and finish him off. The Twins then accompanied Galloway and the soldiers to Hoover Dam, and while the Initiative forces had already cleared out, Skids and Mudflap realized what they had been after: residual energy from the AllSpark that had been kept there. Nefarious #4 To uncover the Initiative's secret goals, the Autobots soon allied themselves with Soundwave, and followed his lead to the Initiative's base of operations in Crater Lake, Oregon. Skids and Mudflap were deployed to attack the base from the east; when they were met with resistance in the form of the Initiative's troops, they took them out of the equation by disabling the advanced weaponry they were wielding with precision blasts. Nefarious #5 He and Skids then worked as back-up for Bumblebee's team of cadets in the final battle at Crater Lake. Nefarious #6
When NEST discovered that Starscream was selling Transformer weaponry to humans, a sting operation was staged in which Theodore Galloway would pose as a buyer to lure the Decepticons in. When Skystalker, Divebomb and Fearswoop took the bait, the Twins joined Arcee, her sisters, and the human forces of NEST in tackling them. Fearswoop surrendered while the other Decepticons were killed. Rising Storm #1
After Sam Witwicky contacted NEST as Philadelphia was beign attacked by Decepticons, the Twins joined Prime and the other Autobots in helping the boy. Rising Storm #2 Rising Storm #3 Skids and Mudflap survived the battle when the Driller took Shockwave away. Rising Storm #4
Okay, they're
dead, alright? We're not going to be seeing them again.
Mudflap and Skids were present at NEST's Washington base during Optimus Prime's conversation with Charlotte Mearing about the moon landings.
Later, the Twins were among the Autobots charged with escorting Sentinel Prime to NEST headquarters for safety when the ancient Autobot revealed himself to be a traitor by killing Ironhide. Skids was next to die, intercepting a shot meant for Bumblebee, sending Mudflap into a rage. He lunged at the turncoat Autobot, seeking revenge for his brother's death, but even his righteous anger could not make him a match for Sentinel, and he too met his ends moments later. Sentinel eulogized him with some degree of respect, remarking that he at least died a death worthy of an Autobot. Dark of the Moon Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation
Mini Mayhem!Mudflap and Skids wanted to be characters in a strip of Mini Mayhem, but wound up being late to the punch, and had to settle for a one-panel cameo. Mini Mayhem!
Hunt for the Decepticons storybooksSkids and Mudflap had been tasked with looking over Sam while Bumblebee was away on a mission. The twins reported to Optimus that they suspected a new lab assistant working at the science lab at Sam's university to be a Decepticon spy. They turned out to be correct. Even after Megatron's latest plot had been foiled, and the Twins requested some time off from "spying" on Sam, Optimus informed them that their battle against the Decepticons was far from over. Prime Target
Upon learning that Buzzsaw and Ratbat were causing trouble, Optimus ordered Mudflap and the rest of the Autobots to roll out to face the Decepticons. Thanks to Soundwave's tampering with their communications, however, the Autobots arrived at an abandonned warehouse instead of where the trouble was taking place. Thankfully, Sam and Bumblebee met with the Autobots, and led them to the correct location. The Decepticons were defeated and the Autobots cheered Sam for his help in the mission. Satellite Meltdown
Toy biosYoung and eager, Mudflap idolized Optimus Prime and the other great Autobot heroes. He and Skids went to Earth solely in the hope of joining up with their idols, and it was a dream come true for them! Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe Mudflap In an early mission, however, they found themselves used as guinea pigs for experimental combination technology; trying to stay combined in their gestalt vehicle mode took up more of their focus than fighting Decepticons! Autobot Skids and Mudflap (Deluxe Combiner)
Skids believes himself to be the "smart one" of the twins, mostly because he is slightly less hyperactive than Mudflap. Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe Autobot Skids However, he must have impressed the Autobots as later, he was assigned to help Sideswipe take down an empowered Fearswoop! The Fury of Fearswoop Normally, his role was to create diversions. Robot Replicas Skids
During Sideways's sojourn into the Autobot camp, Skids and Mudflap became suspicious and reverted to their old ice cream truck form to keep track of him. Having discovered Sideways's treachery, they planned to prove their worth by defeating him on their own! High-Speed Spy Battle
Mudflap eventually started hanging out with Seymour Simmons, because his bravery that seemed stupid struck a chord with the 'bot! Human Alliance Mudflap / Chromia / Seymour Simmons
While his daredevil stunts have appeared brainless, the energetic Mudflap remained a true Autobot by being courageous, loyal to the end, and ready to take on the baddest Decepticons yet. Cyberverse Mudflap While he has quickly become a veteran Autobot soldier, there are days he cannot believe he is battling Decepticons shoulder-to-shoulder with Prime. Even though his enemies have to wait years before they can fear him, Mudflap continues to show the courage and enthusiasm of a distinguished Autobot. Dark of the Moon Deluxe Mudflap
Kre-O online mangaMudflap celebrated as the giant Devastator was tickled to defeat. A New Menace! The Giant Soldier Devastator Appears!
Play-Doh VideosOptimus Prime got into a fight with Grimlock but they were eventually interrupted by the Red Play-Doh, who made them clean an ice cream truck. After they completed their task, the ice cream truck transformed into Mudflap and scared away the Red Play-Doh.[6]
Commercial appearancesMudflap joined the rest of the Autobots in combating the Decepticons on battlefields on Earth, the Earth's Moon and on Cybertron. Sometimes there were many of him! Cyberverse Battle Builder
Toys Revenge of the FallenE.T.'s healing touch is bigger and better than ever.
Hey, I stepped in mud. Buy me again!
Fearswoop doesn't even
haveclaws, so how'd he get those scratches, eh?
How many damn copies of the Legends Mudflap mold do we
need?
Despite appearances, he is not a basset hound.
He was always the horse's rear end in school plays.
Muddy Mudflap.
Pimp my Derogatory Stereotype.
It says "Eye Screem" on my truck, not "Ice Cream"! Get it?
At the auditions for "cannon fodder gunmen" on
Gurren Lagann.His special finger: There's no other like it.
Nobody will know who I am now!
Believe it or not, his head looked like that before he entered the car compacter.
included to act as
scalperrepellant.
Also called 'hit and run Mudflap'
They ate themselves out of their own profits!
Basically, everyone would be happier if this was actually
Pinkie Pie.
No, this image hasn't actually been squashed.
The "versus" on the package must refer to their infamous Egypt showdown.
Looks like
the hybridfound himself a new friend... a total mudflap!
Hey guys, wait for me!
That's right. Enjoy your
Robot Heroesice cream truck.
I guess Skids isn't the only Spark around!
What, no milk shakes? Bummer.
Yeah, that's not phallic at all.
From watching Revenge of the Fallen, it should be pretty obvious that the depiction of the Twins is rooted in racist stereotypes of African-Americans. Their illiteracy in Cyberglyphics is framed as "never learnin' to read", they speak in an overall stereotypical manner and are generally shown to not be very clever and quick to violence. Furthermore, compared to the other Autobots (and even fellow black-coded movie Autobot Jazz), their designs are visibly more hunched and ugly, with disfigured faces and a gold buck tooth on Skids. One later attempt to "smooth over" the problem would reveal that the pair act the way they do due to them being brain damaged, which only exacerbates the issue.
What's unclear is where exactly this imagery originated from: writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman claimed to have been following Michael Bay's lead on the character, while Bay stated that it came from a piece of improv by actors Tom Kenny and Reno Wilson. Though Kenny, who is white, declined to comment when interviewed, Wilson, who is black, stated that they had been given direction to play the twins as "wannabe gangster types". This was supposed to play off the fact that, as alien robots who had learned human language and culture from the internet, they could not be black, with Wilson likening them to white rappers like Kevin Federline.[19] What this means for Jazz, as well as the other characters Wilson has played, is unknown. Whatever the intent, nobody involved seems to want to be tied to the issue. Orci and Kurtzman have attempted to distance themselves from the characters, stating that the stereotypes weren't in their script.[20] For whatever reason, the Revenge of the Fallen novel, written by Alan Dean Foster and based on Orci and Kurtzman's screenplay, only depicts Skids as the film-accurate slang-talker, while Mudflap speaks like any other Autobot, albeit with a thick lisp. Meanwhile, Simon Furman's Revenge of the Fallen material has both of the twins using less slang; presumably, Furman likely did not wish to try his hand at "street".
Whatever the intended direction for the characters, the "wannabe gangster" shtick doesn't come across in the finished project. Robert Epps, the only prominent black human character in the film, is never shown having anything to say about them, for example. Ultimately, the Twins' portrayal was rightfully deemed pretty disgusting, and the resultant public backlash was likely what led the studio to quietly drop the pair partway into the filming of Dark of the Moon. While their intended role in the film survived into that film's novelization and comic book adaptation, the Twins are thankfully not present in any future movie stories, and are indeed conspicuous by their absence in the cross-film Studio Series toyline.
Around fifteen years after the film's release, the twins were referenced in a not-so-subtle way on Prime Video's The Boys television series.[21]
Foreign namesRetroSearch is an open source project built by @garambo | Open a GitHub Issue
Search and Browse the WWW like it's 1997 | Search results from DuckDuckGo
HTML:
3.2
| Encoding:
UTF-8
| Version:
0.7.4
