Tailgate is an Autobot scout, not so much for his skill (for he is mediocre at best) but for two unrelated reasons. First, his hood conceals a ridiculously powerful iron-cobalt magnet, which he can use to tailgate closely beside other vehicles and travel far into enemy territory without fuel. Second, his bizarre idees fixees make him extremely poor company for other Autobots. Still, every time he sees a bicycle chained to a pole, his spark burns hot with righteous anger. "Some day, my brothers will wear no chains," he thinks. "Some day, we shall break free!"