BurnOut was along on a routine mission with Zartan to steal some top secret files from a Government facility for Cobra Commander. They took their Bikes and parked them close by for a quick getaway but far enough so that they would not be heard during their escape. Burnout decided to take his latest custom Bike with him because it was made specifically for these type of silent ops. Zartan was admiring Burnout's latest creation on the way and asked to try it out for the ride back. After successfully getting the files they wanted the two men swapped bikes for the ride home, when unexpectedly Zartan's Bike exploded with Burnout on it. Burnout lost 30 % of his body and was severely burned in the accident. With his engineering background Burnout was able to rebuild himself into the cyborg we see today. He blames the joes for sabotaging Zartan's Bike and is desperate for revenge but what he does not know was that Zandar was the one who planted the bomb on Zartan's Bike in hopes to kill his brother and replace him as leader of the SpaceNoks!