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Jazz (G1)

2009-07-08T10:23:58Z

118.208.235.113: /* Trivia */ linked to the book

{{factions|autobot|autobotg2}}
{{disambig3|Jazz}}
{{picsneeded|appearances in fiction}}
:''Jazz is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]]. He is also known as '''Meister'''.''

[[Image:Jazzg1.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Eat floor, dig?]]
'''Jazz''' is [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]'s [[Sub-Commander|right-hand man]]. Unlike [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], Prime's military strategist, Jazz responds well to change and improvisation. Whatever surprises the Decepticons spring, Jazz can deal with it. His position as [[Special Operations]] head calls for all the skills he possesses, yet he still has time to add some style to everything he does.

An admirer of [[Earth]] music of every kind, Jazz loves culture. More than most other Autobots, he has his finger on the pulse of Earth trends and lingo. Chances are, Jazz could tell you the status of almost any reality television show and each week's Top 40 list.

Jazz's personality makes him well-liked among the others of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] crew, especially [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find an Autobot who ''doesn't'' like or admire Jazz. Except perhaps [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], who doesn't like anyone anyway.

:''Nickname'': '''Coolsville'''<ref>Nickname found in early ''[[Transformers Universe (Marvel comic)|Universe]]''-style profiles published in [[The Transformers Comics Magazine]].</ref>
:''Preliminary name'': '''Jazzz''' 
:''Portuguese name (Brazil comics)'': '''Lero-Lero'''
:''Japanese name'': '''Meister''' 
:''French-Canadian name'': '''Saxo''' 
:''Italian name'': '''Tigre''' ("Tiger") 
:''RTM1 dub name'': '''Marshall'''

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{noteukonly}}
[[Image:Jazzg1marvelfirst.jpg|left|100px|thumb|Hey, man, this is not my scene!]]
''Before Optimus became leader, Jazz was part of the self-styled [[Magnificent Six]], a team of Autobot warriors who would be tortured and humiliated by the sadistic [[Megadeath]].'' {{storylink|The Magnificent Six!}}

Jazz was one of the Autobots who crashed on [[Earth]] four million years ago, waking up in 1984. Jazz showed an affinity with [[human]] pop culture almost immediately, responding to [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]]'s non sequitur assertion that his "logic center dictates the most advantageous course of action in any situation" with "Well, that is neat-o, Prowl." {{storylink|The Transformers (issue)|The Transformers}}

Jazz's first foray into action came when the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]] attacked him and his fellow Autobots at [[Witwicky Auto Repairs]], resulting in the kidnapping of [[Sparkplug Witwicky]]. {{storylink|Power Play!}} Later, when Sparkplug was rescued and it was learned that the auto repairman had devised a way for the Decepticons to convert Earth fuel into a usable resource, the Autobots were enraged. Jazz shot a stream of fire to prevent Sparkplug's escape, causing the human to suffer a heart attack. {{storylink|The Last Stand}}

''It was discovered that after the Autobots crash-landed on Earth, a rescue ship was sent after them which was buried somewhere in [[England]]. The [[Man of Iron]], one of its crew, had awakened a number of times in England's history and had become a local legend. Jazz, along with [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]], [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]], and [[Bluestreak]], was dispatched to England under [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]'s supervision. Jazz befriended (and kidnapped) a young boy, [[Sammy Harker]], whose dad worked at the castle where the Autobot rescue ship had been partially unearthed. After questioning the boy, it became apparent that the rescue ship must be destroyed. At the climax of a battle with the Decepticons over the buried ship, Jazz fired his weaponry down into it, and it was pulverized.'' {{storylink|Man of Iron!}}

When the Autobots were repaired by [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and regrouped under Prowl, it was Jazz who came up with the solution to their fuel problems: telling [[G.B. Blackrock]] that with the Decepticons around, owning an oil industry was ''dangerous'' work and it'd be a ''shame'' if something happened, when for just a bit of fuel the Autobots could ensure he had "protection". Their first bit of protection saw Jazz and Wheeljack defending Blackrock against the Decepticons, only for Jazz to be hit by [[Circuit Breaker]] and nearly killed. {{storylink|DIS-Integrated Circuits!}}

Blackrock was later weirded out by the sight of the wounded Jazz being repaired while still conscious, {{storylink|The Next Best Thing to Being There!}} but not as weirded out as Jazz was when Optimus' body was Decepticon-controlled and shot him up. {{storylink|Prime Time!}}

[[Image:G1 Jazz ChristmasBreaker.jpg|right|150px|thumb|She's not a material girl.]]
''Jazz later was [[Christmas]] shopping with [[Buster Witwicky]] when he was again attacked by Circuit Breaker. However, Buster's pleas and the spirit of Christmas prevented her from killing him.'' {{storylink|Christmas Breaker!}} ''After this, Jazz would take the side against building Autobot [[Ultimate Autobot|super-warriors]] in a heated debate {{storylink|Crisis of Command!}} and was part of the team retrieving [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] in the Dinobot Hunt.'' {{storylink|Dinobot Hunt!}}

''Later, Jazz took part in a mission in England to find a power source that reversed Transformers' personalities. Jazz eventually ended up destroying the core of [[PARD]] during a battle with [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]].'' {{storylink|To a Power Unknown!}}

''Jazz spent three weeks in a shipping container in order to get to Skagway, [[Alaska]] unnoticed by the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]]. [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] then became stuck while scouting the base, and Jazz suffered brain damage while coming to his aid. Hoist was forced to drag the uncooperative, bewildered Jazz through hostile territory to safety. The damage was repairable.'' {{storylink|The Mission}}

''When [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] time-jumped to 1986, Jazz was sent to scout out Decepticon territory and was captured. He was then used as bait to draw the Autobots into an ambush and was told of Galvatron's origin before his brain was operated on to turn him into a murderous [[zombie]]-soldier. He was used against his fellow Autobots and needed severe repairs afterward.'' {{storylink|Target: 2006}}

When an [[Underbase]]-powered [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] attacked New York, Jazz was part of the team to ambush him. Although most of the team was easily defeated, Jazz managed to hit him with a photon blast from behind, and while Starscream retaliated with a fatal blow, Jazz's attack was still enough to throw him off the Brooklyn Bridge into the jaws of the [[Seacon (G1)|Seacons]]. {{storylink|Dark Star (issue)|Dark Star}}

Later, exhausted from the workload of fixing all the Autobots Starscream damaged, Ratchet began having nightmares of being attacked by his deactivated comrades. The Decepticon [[Sports Car Patrol]] took advantage of this mental breakdown and took control of Jazz and others's circuits to [[Zombie|"zombify"]] them and torment him. When this failed, the [[Sports Car Patrol]] passed themselves off as Autobots and convinced Ratchet to come with them to Cybertron to get medical supplies. Ratchet took Jazz, along with [[Goldbug (G1)|Goldbug]] and [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], with him, only to find [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] waiting for him! {{storylink|Back from the Dead}} While Ratchet was forced by Megatron to revive Starscream using [[Pretender]] technology, he had an idea of what to do with three discarded Pretender shells... {{storylink|The Resurrection Gambit!}} which turned out to be repairing Jazz, Grimlock and <strike>Goldbug</strike> Bumblebee! {{storylink|All the Familiar Faces!}} While the others dealt with Megatron, Jazz had more than his hands full fighting off the Sports Car Patrol, who were definitely tougher than they appeared. Finding out from Ratchet that he could remotely control his shell, Jazz managed to turn the tide against his smaller opponents, but Megatron realized two heads weren't necessarily better than one when he bashed Jazz's head against his shell's and tossed them out of his fortress, where he was safe from the explosives Ratchet teleported back from the Ark. {{storylink|Skin Deep}} Along with Bumblebee and Grimlock, he remained on Cybertron for a while, ''and would be sent to investigate a brutal group-killing {{storylink|Demons!}} that saw him and several Decepticons battle the ferocious [[Demon]]s.'' {{storylink|Dawn of Darkness}} The [[Classic Pretender|Classics]] emboldened the Autobot resistance, leading eight successful raids on Decepticon fuel and ammunition depots, before getting reassigned to Earth. However, the [[Mayhem Attack Squad]] attacked the Autobase and accelerated the dimensional interface, sending Jazz, Bumblebee, Grimlock and the [[Rescue Patrol]] to the heart of Cybertron and face to face with their creator, [[Primus]]! {{storylink|Yesterday's Heroes!}} Despite the objections of Grimlock, Jazz and the others prostrated themselves before their creator, and listened to the [[Keeper (Transformer)|Keeper]]'s story of how Cybertron came to be. Interrupted by an assault by the [[Mayhem Attack Squad]], Jazz quickly traded blows with [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] but was overmatched, and rescued by Bumblebee before Bludgeon could deliver the killing blow. After recovering, he cleverly introduced [[Stranglehold]] to a very hard wall. Unfortunately, a stray shot from [[Octopunch]] awakened Primus, just as the dimensional interface was repaired. [[Emirate Xaaron]] ordered Jazz and company sent to Earth. {{storylink|Primal Scream (issue)|Primal Scream}}

Along with his Pretender mates, Jazz was part of the team sent to [[VsQs]] to retrieve the [[Matrix of Leadership|Creation Matrix]] during the [[Matrix Quest]]; he had to both put up with Grimlock and be almost eaten by the [[Matrixspawn]] creature, only to be defeated by [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]] when his power ran out. {{storylink|Dark Creation}}

He fought in the battle against Unicron, and was briefly rear-ended by a speeding [[Siren]]. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}}

In an alternate future of 2009, Jazz was one of the last seven Autobots left alive in the universe. After the destruction of Cybertron and the death of [[Rodimus Prime (G1)|Rodimus Prime]], [[North America]] was left completely under the control of [[Galvatron II|Galvatron]] and the Decepticons. With the rest of the world united as a [[European Crisis Coalition]], Jazz and the human leader, [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]], were left with a 24-hour deadline to show the world America was still fighting. If they didn't, the remaining human governments were going to unleash nuclear armageddon in a last-ditch effort to eliminate the Decepticons. With little time to spare, the few Autobots left staged an assault on the Decepticon powerbase. [[Getaway]], [[Chainclaw]] and [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]] made a suicidal play to keep the most powerful Decepticons, [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] and [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], occupied, while [[Crossblades (G1)|Crossblades]] sacrificed his life to let Jazz and the others in through the base's force field. Forced to fight Galvatron himself single-handedly, Jazz held out long enough for Spike to scale the base's tower and unfurl an American flag, showing the world outside that there was still fight left in the U.S. of A. As if to punctuate that point further, the heralds of Unicron known as [[Hook, Line, and Sinker]] suddenly arrived from cross- and down-time, disabling Galvatron in moments and then vanishing with him in a flash of light. Shocked by his sudden good fortune, Jazz led his two remaining comrades, Prowl and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]], in a renewed effort to save the human race. {{storylink|Rhythms of Darkness!}}

=====Earthforce=====
{{earthforcefiction}}
''When Optimus Prime took the Ark out into space and named [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] as Autobot Commander of Earth, Jazz chose to remain on Earth under his Dino-buddy's leadership as part of [[Earthforce]]. {{storylink|Break-Away!}} His first mission was to recover the poison gas [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] had planned to seed in Earth's atmosphere by rocket. He and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] raced to the site where [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] had forced the rocket to crash, hoping to beat the two Decepticon factions to it before they could recover the poison. They failed, as both the [[Battlecharger|Battlechargers]] and the [[Stunticon|Stunticons]] got there ahead of them. Jazz was ready to risk fighting through the 'Cons, but Prowl showed up and pulled him aside. It seemed Prowl had already had plenty of time to render the rocket harmless, and now the Decepticons were fighting over a useless contraption! {{storylink|Life in the Slow Lane}}''

''On another occasion, Jazz joined Sunstreaker, [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] in infiltrating the Decepticon [[Enclave]]. They arranged a fake assassination attempt against Megatron, and framed [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]'s men for it. The feuding that followed carried the Decepticons out of the cave where they were holding their detente, and so Jazz and the others took the opportunity to listen to their music and eat their munchies. Partee! {{storylink|The Bad Guy's Ball!}} Later, he also joined Earthforce and the [[Survivors]] in bringing down the [[Mayhem Attack Squad]]. He scored an impressive hit against [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]], paying him back for [[Primal Scream (issue)|past indignities]] that probably did not or would not happen in this timeline. {{storylink|Where Wolf?}}''

''When [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] unveiled his new defense system for the Autobot Earthbase, he forgot to keep track of the little details, like how it wasn't a good idea to bring everyone outside for a demonstration when the defense grid could only be turned off from ''inside the base.'' As Prowl ran the gauntlet to reach the shutdown control center, Jazz and Bumblebee ran interference for him, drawing the fire from some of the defensive cannons to clear his path. {{storylink|The House that Wheeljack Built!}} Soon after, Jazz helped repel a Decepticon attack on the Earthbase, while their defenses were still down from the earlier incident. {{storylink|Divide and Conquer!}}''

''As time passed, one Decepticon named [[Octane]] began making even more trouble among the humans than his fellow soldiers. A bully by nature, Octane enjoyed "playing" with humans, scaring them on the highways before ultimately driving them off the roads. Fed up with the Decepticon's antics, Jazz posed as a human vehicle and presented himself as bait. By eluding Octane's attempts to run him down, Jazz enraged the Decepticon to the point where he chased his "prey" without paying attention to where they were going, and so Octane ended up stranded in the middle of a military testing ground, chock full of inflammable fuel, and running the risk of exploding at any second. As Jazz watched from a nearby hilltop, the icing on the cake came when Octane radioed his fellow [[Triple Changer|Triple Changers]] for help, and instead they abandoned him after hearing how he got himself into the mess. {{storylink|Manoeuvres!}}''

''After training in the Combat Room with Ironhide, Jazz was called into action when the Stunticons kidnapped the Autobots' reporter friend, [[Irwin Spoon]], and he joined his fellow cars in chasing down [[Motormaster]]. Jazz managed to get close enough to transform and shoot out the Stunticon leader's rear tires, but this gave [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] a chance to ram his legs out from under him as well. Still, Bumblebee and [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] managed to catch up to the slowed Motormaster and recover Spoon. {{storylink|End of the Road! (UK)|End of the Road!}}''

''Jazz, along with [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] and the remaining [[Magnificent Six]], was sent in 1990 to recover any traces of the Underbase in [[Yuss]], where they'd run afoul of [[Megadeath]]. They re-encountered their old enemy and were tortured by their memories, and it was up to Silverbolt to convince them to fight on. Jazz helped beat Megadeath to death, exorcising his demons.'' {{storylink|The Magnificent Six!}}

=====Marvel UK future timelines=====
''Jazz was present in 1995 at the California football stadium where Optimus Prime unveiled [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] to a group of human feminists as the "first female Autobot". Observing Prime's misguided efforts to placate the interest group, Jazz tried to explain to [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] the difference between human men and women, but only ended up offending one of the women while describing her "upper chassis". {{storylink|Prime's Rib!}}''

''In 2007, after the defeat of [[Unicron]], the Autobots were trying hard to defend their territory from Shockwave's Decepticons. Jazz was seen working with [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], ambushing a team of Decepticon flyers when they made an assassination attempt on Rodimus Prime. {{storylink|Wanted:Galvatron — Dead or Alive!}}''

====''Generation 2''====
Before the Autobots broke off into micro-units after [[Klo]], they had another encounter with [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]]'s Decepticons on a long abandoned world. Jazz was part of that unit alongside Prime and the others. He separated from the rest of the Autobots for a time but, when Optimus Prime and Grimlock discovered the threat of the [[Cybertronian Empire]], they called in Autobots scattered across the galaxy, including Jazz. He was first seen as part of the rescue squad Grimlock assembled to pull Prime out of Decepticon clutches on Earth. {{storylink|The Gathering Darkness}} Jazz remained involved, if peripherally, in the conflicts with the Cybertronian Empire on Ethos and Earth over the coming days. {{storylink|Escalation!}} {{storylink|Total War!}} When Autobots and Decepticons alike joined forces to defend against the coming [[Swarm (G2)|Swarm]], Jazz worked with [[Rotor Force]] member [[Powerdive]] to assemble the shield generators that would protect their position. {{storylink|A Rage in Heaven!}}

====''Generation 2'' (UK)====
When Bludgeon began his assault on Earth, Optimus Prime was summoned back to the planet by Grimlock and brought Jazz, [[Skram]], and [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] with him. While Prime confronted Bludgeon directly, Jazz and his operatives engaged another detachment of Decepticons. Despite their small numbers, Jazz's team defeated their more plentiful opponents thanks to the fact that the 'Cons were operating on reduced power levels. Too much prolonged death and destruction takes its toll. They then joined up with Optimus and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] to drive off the returning Megatron as well.

===Generation 1 cartoon===
:''Voice Actor:'' [[Scatman Crothers]], [[Wally Burr]] (English), [[Kōki Kataoka]] (Japanese)

[[Image:Cybertronjazz.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Spoiler Alert. HAW!]]
Blacker than the inside of a drive shaft—that's how Jazz described the north side of Cybertron. The slang-talking operations specialist was on a recon mission to ascertain Cybertron's bleak energy reserves, and his reports were what prompted the Autobot mission to search for new sources of energy outside of their home world. Jazz served as pilot for the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] until severe asteroid turbulence knocked him from his seat. The Decepticons took advantage of the confusion and attacked, and both vessels and parties crash-landed on [[Earth]].

Four million years later, in 1984, the Autobots and Decepticons awoke reformatted to fit in on the planet. Jazz traded in his sleek Cybertronian form for an even sleeker Porsche 935 Turbo mode. As a lieutenant to [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], Jazz was charged with assembling task forces and special mission teams to counter the Decepticon threat. Jazz accompanied the first mission to an offshore oil rig, where his wrist-mounted grappling hook and winch came in handy saving Optimus Prime. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1}} He used the same line to stop Prime from riding the rapids at [[Sherman Dam]] and to pull [[Bluestreak]] and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] from an unscheduled lake swim. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 2}}

{{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 3}}

[[Image:Jazz and music.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Jazz likes disrupting motor functions!]]
Throughout their stay on Earth, Jazz was seen giving orders and accompanying Optimus Prime on almost any mission they undertook. He also actually used his [[sound and light show]] attack on at least two occasions.

{{storylink|Transport to Oblivion}}
{{storylink|Roll for It}}
{{storylink|Divide and Conquer}}
{{storylink|Fire in the Sky}}
{{storylink|S.O.S. Dinobots}}
{{storylink|Fire on the Mountain}}
{{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 1}}
{{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 2}}
{{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 3}}
{{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction}}
{{storylink|Heavy Metal War}}
{{storylink|Autobot Spike}}
{{storylink|Changing Gears}}
{{storylink|City of Steel}}
{{storylink|Attack of the Autobots}}
{{storylink|Traitor}}
{{storylink|The Immobilizer}}
{{storylink|Atlantis, Arise!}}
{{storylink|Enter the Nightbird}}
{{storylink|A Prime Problem}}
{{storylink|The Core}}

[[Image:Insectsyndromejazzhelps.jpg|thumb|right|180px|]]
Jazz took part in attempting to defend the [[Nova Power Plant]] against the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]]s, and was impressed by [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]]'s sharp shooting. He rescued some pilots who were trapped in a crashed helicopter, and helped pull [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] out from under a destroyed tower, helping Wheeljack to climb into Prime's trailer for the trip back to base. He later took part in the attempt to defend the [[Iron Mountain]] military base, and was the only Autobot to sensibly take cover when [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] exploded. {{storylink|The Insecticon Syndrome}}

{{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 1}}
{{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 2}}
{{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1}}
{{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2}}
{{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1}}
{{storylink|Blaster Blues}}
{{storylink|The Golden Lagoon}}

In addition, he helped liberate the people of [[Titan]] from subjugation by Decepticons pretending to be gods and appeared particularly horrified at the Decepticons' use of religious enslavement. {{storylink|The God Gambit}}

{{storylink|Make Tracks}}
{{storylink|Kremzeek!}}
{{storylink|Prime Target}}
{{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2}}
{{storylink|Aerial Assault}}
{{storylink|Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust}}
{{storylink|Starscream's Brigade}}
{{storylink|Masquerade}}

{{charstubfiction}}

[[Image:JazzTFmovie.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Did I ever tell you folks about The Shine'?]]
By 2005, those dang Decepti-jerks had overtaken all of Cybertron, forcing the Autobots to operate on [[Moonbase One]], [[Moonbase Two]] and [[Autobot City]] on Earth. Though most of the Autobots' senior command staff were killed as a result of the Decepticons' [[Battle of Autobot City|attack on the city]], Jazz remained on Moonbase One, where he and [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] survived. Bad news was, the ginormous [[Unicron]] arrived, and subsequently ate both moons. Fortunately, Jazz, Cliffjumper, Spike, and Bumblebee were spared when Spike's son [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel]] saved them from being dropped in an acid pit. Jazz and the other Autobots drove out of Unicron (and through space) and arrived on Cybertron, where he joined in the chanting of "[['Til all are one]]" as Unicron's severed head orbited Cybertron. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie|The Transformers: The Movie}}

Optimus Prime ordered Jazz to Autobot City on Earth to get more [[Energon cube|Energon cubes]]. <ref>''The Transformers Animated Movie: The Director's Cut Comic Book Adaptation'' (packed with ''Transformers the Movie 20th Anniversary Special Edition'' DVD)</ref>

====''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' manga====
During the Autobots' stay in [[Japan]], Jazz helped Optimus Prime, [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] and [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] fight back some Decepticons menacing the city of Yokohama. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 4}}

====''Scramble City'' OVA====
{{charstubfiction}}

====''The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers'' manga====
Jazz was stationed at [[Metroplex (G1)|Scramble City]] when it was attacked by [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 3}}

====''The Headmasters'' cartoon====
In 2011, Jazz was positioned on the Autobot base on [[Athenia]] under Optimus Prime. When the Decepticons began a full-scale assault on Cybertron in order to get their hands on [[Vector Sigma]], he followed his leader to the planet to help reinforce their defenses. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} Jazz later returned to Earth to help protect [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] from any Decepticons out to stop him from finding the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]. {{storylink|Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime}} Following this, Jazz stayed on Earth, accompanying [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] aboard [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]. {{storylink|The Great Cassette Operation}}

====''Binaltech''====
When the Decepticons began to infiltrate the Binaltech project, Jazz volunteered to uncover how the enemy had managed to co-opt several new Autobot bodies for themselves. Working with several members of [[Earth Defense Command]] on this counter-intelligence endeavor, nicknamed "Operation: Carwash", Jazz decided to undergo the Binaltech process in secret himself in order to keep an eye on the programs better. To aid him on his special operations missions, Jazz also adopted a variation on the [[GT System|Genetronic Translink]] tech into his new body, enabling him to communicate with and direct a second autonomous body. Gifted with a self-developing artificial intelligence based on his own personality, this secondary Transformer was nicknamed "[[Zoom-Zoom]]" by Jazz, and the two began operating as a highly skilled combat duo on Earth.

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
8.2 million years ago, Jazz and [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] met [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] in the remains of [[Praxus]]'s [[Helix Gardens]] to discuss the worthiness of [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optronix]] to lead the Autobots. Jazz later attended the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]-transfer ceremony at the [[Chamber of the Ancients]]. He attempted to save Optronix—now Optimus Prime—when Prime was attacked by [[Decepticon|Decepticons]], but was restrained by Grimlock. When Prime defeated the assassins, Jazz was convinced of his worth.

Soon afterward, Jazz questioned Prowl's decision to allow Prime to explore the depths of the planet alone, but was prevented from pressing the issue any further when [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] attacked [[Iacon]] with an army of Decepticons. Jazz helped direct the battle from the [[Decagon]], but the defenders were soon overwhelmed. Jazz was forced to begin evacuating important artifacts and hardware from the city, but was unable to finish before the Decepticons overran the Decagon. He and a handful of Autobots made a desperate last stand, but were saved from extinction when [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] activated the planetary engines, devastating the city and forcing Shockwave's army to retreat. {{storylink|The War Within}}

7.4 million years ago, Jazz witnessed the [[space bridge]] explosion that seemingly killed Prime and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. After the subsequent fragmentation of the Autobot faction, Jazz remained with the Prowl-led Autobots. He accompanied a group of Autobots to investigate a [[Trypticon (G1)|new mobile battle base]] at the [[Praetorus Wharf]], only to learn that the base was fully operational. Despite the arrival of reinforcements, the titan was too much for Jazz and his cohorts; only when Shockwave recalled Trypticon to the [[Neutral Territories]] were they saved from certain doom.

Battered, Jazz and the others limped back to Iacon, only to be forced to repel an attack on [[Autobase (G1)|Autobase]] by the [[The Fallen|Fallen]]. Although Jazz, [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]], and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] fought valiantly, the mysterious entity defeated them and achieved his objective: freeing [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] from captivity. {{storylink|The War Within: The Dark Ages}}

Jazz was among the crew of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] when it crashed on [[Earth]], and he awoke in 1984 to battle the Decepticons. After years of fighting, Jazz and the other Autobots took part in [[Operation: Liberation]] in 1998, a joint human/Autobot operation that defeated and captured the Earth-bound Decepticons. However, the ''[[Ark II]]'', which was meant to convey the Autobots, the captured Decepticons, and a number of humans back to Cybertron, was sabotaged by General [[Robert Hallo]], sending Jazz and his comrades to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean.

A few years later, Optimus Prime awoke Jazz and a number of other Autobots to combat the sinister [[Lazarus]]. He aided in the cleanup of Lazarus's latest target, the SmitCo oil refinery, and then moved on to Lazarus's base, which had been taken over by a revived Megatron and his deadly "metal virus". Jazz and the others briefly battled the Decepticons, but were stopped in their tracks when Hallo dropped a nuclear bomb on them. The virus absorbed most of the blast, leaving the Transformers unharmed, but continued to expand across the countryside. Jazz remained behind with a team to combat the virus, while Optimus Prime took a contingent of warriors to combat Megatron in [[San Francisco]]. Armed with [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]-designed blasters to combat the virus, Jazz and his squad fought bravely, despite the blasters draining their energy and the well-meaning interference of the [[Canada|Canadian]] Army. But soon the virus overwhelmed them, forcing Wheeljack to sacrifice himself to destroy it. Jazz mourned over Wheeljack's fallen form. {{storylink|Prime Directive}}

Some time later, Jazz participated in a battle in Alaska over possession of an escape pod containing [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], only to be forced to flee with the other Autobots when Shockwave arrived from Cybertron, proclaiming a new era of peace. While Optimus Prime and a number of other Autobots surrendered to Shockwave's lieutenant, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], Jazz was left behind on Earth to command a small team of Autobots. After Magnus and Prime had departed, Jazz, [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]], and [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] returned to the battlefield, but found no trace of the pod or Scourge. {{storylink|War and Peace}}

When Starscream returned to Earth with a small unit of Decepticons, Jazz and his team fought back against them and managed to capture most of the invaders. Starscream's enforcer [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]], however, proved to be too much for them to handle, and Jazz was deactivated and left to rust at the bottom of a lake by the mighty super-robot. {{storylink|Night of the Combaticons}} He was eventually fished out by [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] and [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] (who had arrived from Cybertron with Bumblebee with supplies), but they were waylaid by [[Earth Defense Command]]. The EDC completed the repairs on Jazz, Sunstreaker and [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] themselves, and asked a favor in return: for the Autobots to accompany their agents in investigating a small town which had mysteriously gone off the grid a few days before. Teamed with [[Marissa Faireborn]], they uncovered a plot by [[Bombshell]] and the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]] to take over the humans with [[Cerebro-shell|cerebro-shells]] and breed a swarm of techno-organic Insecticlones. The Insecticons were defeated and captured by the Autobot forces. {{storylink|Extermination}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. Transformers''===
[[Image:GIJoeTFJazzPimpmobile.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Number 5, Pimpmobile.]]
{{charstubfiction}}
{{-}}

===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}
[[Image:MegatronOrigin2 boredAutobots.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Jeez, Prowl, you're starting to make me and everyone in this room bored with your prickery.]]
Millions of years ago, Jazz was a member of the Kaon Security Services prior to the Decepticon uprising and the subsequent civil war. He spent many an hour being bored to death by Prowl. How little things change. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 2}}

Sometime afterwards, Jazz was part of a team taking part in a rescue mission. He managed to find the lone survivor, Tracks, but before the two could be extracted, their transport was destroyed by the Predacons. The two managed to fight off the Decepticons, however, until a second extraction team could find them. {{storylink|Spotlight: Jazz}}

[[Image:SpotlightBlaster Jazz Smokescreen Landfill.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Let's see if there's anything on that screen. I hope it's CMTV!]]
Shortly after [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing's]] rampage across Cybertron, Jazz was holed up in a bunker with [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] and [[Landfill (G1)|Landfill]] while they awaited a rousing, morale-boosting broadcast from [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], a transmission that was never made. Shortly thereafter, their position, along with every other Autobot position on the planet, was hit by the Decepticons. {{storylink|Spotlight: Blaster}}

In modern times, Jazz was part of a detachment of Autobots that had operated covertly on [[Earth]] for at least four years, attempting to foil a Decepticon insurgency. He was present when Prowl gave [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] a dressing down for risking their secrecy by saving [[Verity Carlo]], [[Hunter O'Nion]] and [[Jimmy Pink]] from the Decepticon [[Infiltration protocol|infiltration team]]. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 3}} When Ratchet and Bumblebee's unauthorised sojourn to the abandoned Decepticon bunker in [[Nebraska]] uncovered [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]'s plans for [[Ultra-Energon|Ore-13]] and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron's]] arrival on Earth, Jazz and the rest of the Autobots moved out to the Decepticon Siege Armature in [[Oregon]] in the hopes of containing the confrontation between the Decepticon leaders. Fortunately for all concerned, Megatron downgraded the Infiltation status of the mission and left the Autobots alone. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6}}

[[Image:Escalation2 Jazz transform.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Whoops! I better wind down my woofers!]]
Shortly after the arrival of Optimus Prime on Earth, Jazz received a crash course on Earth culture by Hunter, Verity and Jimmy, and was surprised to find the emotionless, dead-eyed fixed smile on his [[holomatter]] avatar creeped people out. However, the humans were forced to leave the ''[[Ark-19]]'', ostensibly for their own safety. Jazz observed how unhappily the humans took their eviction, so he later thanked them for their help. {{storylink|Escalation issue 1}} After Ironhide and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] were ambushed (and the latter thought to have been destroyed) by [[Machination|a highly skilled and organized human group]], Jazz and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] were attacked by the clandestine organization's agents when trying to locate (Sunstreaker's remains, but fortunately survived. {{storylink|Escalation issue 2}} He was later deployed to [[Brasnya]] with the other Autobots to investigate Megatron's meddling in the fragile region's politics. He remarked that [[orbital jump|orbital bounces]] scrambled his circuits, to which Prowl told him to shut up. Prowl is a jerk. {{storylink|Escalation issue 3}} He was forced to engage the Decepticons when they tried to stop the Autobots from capturing the [[Georgi Koska]] [[Facsimile Construct|facsimile construct]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 4}} After Optimus Prime was [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|seemingly killed]] by Megatron, Jazz didn't think even their best efforts could stop the Decepticon leader. Fortunately, Optimus Prime returned from the brink of death and Megatron was forced to retreat. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6}}

[[Image:Devastation4 Sixshot Jazz armrip.jpg|left|250px|thumb|[[DIS-Integrated Circuits!|He's had worse.]]]]
After it was decided to move the ''Ark-19'' due to the Machination's knowledge of their whereabouts, Jazz brushed off Verity and Jimmy when they pointed out that the Autobots were doing very little to find out about Sunstreaker and Hunter's disappearance. Jazz was tasked with monitoring the engines when the ''Ark-19'' lifted off from [[Lake Michigan]] and subsequently shot down by the Decepticon "living weapon" [[Sixshot]]. {{storylink|Devastation issue 1}} He fought Sixshot alongside the other Autobots, but was seriously injured when the Decepticon tore off his left arm with apparent ease. {{storylink|Devastation issue 4}} He was still injured when Optimus Prime ordered the Autobots to leave Earth for [[Garrus-9]] due to the liberation of the prison's [[Pretender Monster|newest inmates]] {{storylink|Devastation issue 6}}

A year later, he was serving in a high command position; Optimus was severely injured and the Autobots were hiding on Cybertron, so whatever put him in this role wasn't fun. Prowl brought him some bad news which left Jazz despondent. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1}}

Jazz then had to sort out an argument between Prowl and Ironhide that ended with Ironhide punching Prowl after he told Ironhide that he might be the suspected Autobot traitor that put them in this predicament. Prowl wondered why Ironhide wasn't afraid of him, but was of Jazz, to which Jazz replied "tone", after which they discussed their situation. Later, Jazz and Ironhide talked about the good old days, with Ironhide wondering what Jazz was hiding from him and the Autobots and getting upset about it. Ironhide believed that Mirage sold them out and walked off, but Jazz told Ironhide to leave Mirage alone. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4}}
{{-}}

==Commercial appearances==
Jazz has appeared in numerous [[Commercial|television commercials]] over the years:

* He appears in the first Transformers appearance ''ever'', an animated advertisement for [[The Transformers (issue)|the first issue]] of the Marvel Comic. The animation features [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]], and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] attacking a power plant; Jazz, [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], and [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] drive out from their headquarters to counterattack. When Megatron joins the battle, the three Autobots fly away. The cover of Marvel #1 is shown, with a note that it's "Coming Soon". Non-speaking role.

* In an advertisement for the 1985 Autobot cars, Jazz is briefly shown fighting alongside Optimus Prime in Earth's ubiquitous rocky deserts. Non-speaking role.

[[Image:LiveActionJazz-Skywarp01.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Not cosplay—cos'''work'''.]]
* Jazz is featured in a 1986 commercial for the [[Prizes in Disguise]] contest. When some humans approach an Autobot base, Jazz orders to Cosmos to shine their headlights on them, to reveal their allegiance. Jazz then declares that it's okay, since they humans are wearing Transformers [[Iron-on patch|reflective patches!]] Jazz is voiced by [[Scatman Crothers]], his usual voice actor on the cartoon. One of the contst prizes was a party with "life-size" Transformers! Among the "life-size" Transformers shown were Jazz and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]]. If you actually did party with Jazz and Skywarp, please let us know. So far, only a certain "Starscreamer89" has reported going partying with them.

* Jazz next appears in a 1988 commercial for the [[Pretender Classics]], emerging from his shell alongside Bumblebee and running up to help Optimus Prime in a darkened city. Prime gives them both a hug. Non-speaking role.

* He appears ''very'' briefly in an ad for the Micromaster base; he can be glimpsed alongside Bumblebee as they pull two Micromaster vehicles into an Autobot base.

[[Image:Hotrodpatrolcommercial.jpg|right|200px|thumb|]]
* Jazz returned a year later in the first [[Action Master]] commercial. When Prime challenges a group of Autobots to give up their transforming powers to become "faster stronger more alive", Jazz is the first to volunteer. He's voiced by a sound-alike doing a passable Scatman Crothers imitation.

* Jazz appeared soon afterwards in an ad for the [[Hot Rod Patrol]], telling Optimus Prime to check them out. The same voice actor provides his one line.

* Jazz appeared in one of the first ''Generation 2'' commercials; he was depicted in CGI driving down a ramp in a city and transforming. Victor Caroli noted that he came equipped with a "robot ripping rocket launcher".

==Toys==
{{main|Jazz (G1)/toys}}

==Trivia==
* Jazz is one of the main characters in the series up to season three, when he started making only a few cameos with no lines. This is because [[Scatman Crothers]], who voiced Jazz, died not long after ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' (which takes place between seasons 2 and 3) finished production. He is given speaking lines and more on-screen time, however, in the Japanese-exclusive ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|Headmasters]]''.
[[Image:PretenderJazzModel.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Dag! My visor's all outta whack!]]
* When Jazz reappeared in the Marvel Comics as a [[Classic Pretender]], he returned to his original toy's [[character model]], rather than one based on his new form. A new character model did appear in various toy commercials, however. These included one which introduced him and the other Classic Pretenders, and one where he and Bumblebee stupidly drag [[Micromaster]] bases into Autobot headquarters, causing everyone to flee when they transform and attack.
* Scatman Crothers (as Jazz) is often credited as having coined the term "ginormous" (a combination of "gigantic" and "enormous") when using it to describe [[Unicron]] in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', a term which was officially added by the Merriam-Webster Online dictionary in 2007<ref>[http://www.m-w.com/info/newwords07.htm Merriam-Webster adding the word "ginormous]</ref>; however, the term has actually been around for much longer, being listed in the Oxford English Dictionary as a "British informal" word that has existed since at least the mid-20th century. <ref>[http://www.mtannoyances.com/?p=327 Mother Tongue Annoyances—Origin of "Ginormous"]</ref>
* His real name is unpronounceable in English, so just call him Jazz. {{storylink|Man of Iron!}}
* In recent years, toys sporting the name "Jazz" require an additional "Autobot" prefix for [[trademark]] reasons, hence making the official name "'''Autobot Jazz'''".

[[Image:UnicronTrilogy jazz.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Fire, Heart, Wind and Rock n'Roll]]
* Like a lot of other G1 characters, Jazz's character model was subject to a few re-uses in the [[Unicron Trilogy]], first apppearing as a hapless victim of Unicron who had been absorbed into the chaos-bringer's body in the ''[[Armada (cartoon)|Armada]]'' episode, "[[Portent]]". Later, in the ''[[Cybertron (cartoon)|Cybertron]]'' episode, "[[Balance]]", Jazz turned up in a less-generic capacity, as one of the [[four wise elders]] who began the [[space bridge]] program—although he seemed a little like the odd 'bot out in the group, given that the others were Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus and Rodimus Prime. Curiously, neither appearances adheres strictly to his original character mode—"Portent" gives him individual eyes, rather than a visor, and "Balance" outfits him with [[Show-accuracy|toy-accurate]] shoulder-doors.
* The first toy planned for the [[Alternators]] line was Jazz as a Porsche 986. A prototype was made, but Porsche refused to grant Hasbro and Takara the license, stating that "Transformers are not worthy [of] carrying the Porsche trademark. They are war machines, and the toyline in no way represents the lifestyle and ideas which Porsche represents."<ref>[http://www.tfarchive.com/community/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24622 Former Porsche employee Addl recounting an informal inquiry with Porsche's licensing department at TF Archive]</ref> As a consequence, the toy ultimately never went into production. Photos of the prototype were depicted in the Japanese book ''[[Transformers: Binaltech & TF Collection Complete Guide]]'', and Hasbro later also displayed the prototype during the BotCon 2007 Hasbro Tour.
* The [[Alternators]] Mazda RX-8 (which ultimately ended up as Meister) was originally intended to be named "[[Camshaft (G1)|Camshaft]]", according to various early store listings and a premature reply from Hasbro's customer service. This would also fit with the early idea of making the Alternators toys "direct updates" of their characters' G1 predecessors. A prototype was leaked to the public in early 2004 sporting the same basic colors as the later Alternators "Autobot Camshaft" toy (the Acura RSX), although it's uncertain whether the prototype colors for the RX-8 were supposed to be indicative of the proposed colors for Camshaft (since the Acura redeco was originally intended as a G1 Bluestreak [[homage]] before being renamed into "Autobot Camshaft"). The reason why the RX-8 Alternator was ultimately not named "Camshaft" was apparently because the real-life Mazda RX-8 car doesn't ''have'' a camshaft. The irony is staggering, as Camshaft's original toy was an RX-7, which ALSO lacks a camshaft.
* Furthermore, there have been at least two different reasons stated why the Hasbro toy was named "Meister" rather than "Autobot Jazz": For once, Hasbro was still hoping that Porsche would have a change of mind and grant them the license after all, as Chevrolet had done; also, Aaron Archer has been quoted stating that he thought a third toy named "Autobot someone" following "[[Hound (G1)|Autobot Hound]]" and "[[Tracks (G1)|Autobot Tracks]]" would have been somewhat "redundant".
* Jazz went through a slight redesign in IDW's G1 comics, going from more G1-looking legs in ''Infiltration'' (car kibble mainly on the back and sides) to more Alternators-like legs in ''Escalation'' (with the rear bumper forming the feet and such).

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://www.toybin.org/search.php?q=1984+Autobot+Jazz ToyBin Jazz Toy Gallery]
* [http://www.tfu.info/1984/Autobot/Jazz/jazz.htm Jazz at TFU.info]
* [http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Jazz Jazz's Universe profile at NTFA.net]

[[Category:Action Masters]]
[[Category:Alternators]]
[[Category:Attacktix]]
[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Classics characters]]
[[Category:E-Hobby]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Generation 2 characters]]
[[Category:Headmasters characters]]
[[Category:Kmart exclusives]]
[[Category:MyClone]]
[[Category:Pretenders]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Titanium Series]]
[[Category:Toys "R" Us exclusives]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]
[[Category:Universe characters]]

Masquerade

2009-07-07T16:52:59Z

118.208.235.113: /* Trivia */ added windcharger/wildrider toy co-incidence (that never materialized)

{{episode
|image=Masquerade Menasors.JPG
|caption=Menasor crush...destroy knockoff.
|series=G1toon
|ep=64
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=61
|title="Masquerade"
|written by=[[Donald F. Glut]]
|production code=700-63
|airdate=[[December 16]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''After defeating the Stunticons, five of the Autobots pose as the crazed combiners to learn of Megatron's newest plan.'''

:''Japanese title:'' マスカレード (''Masquerade'')
:''German'' Generation 2 ''title:'' "'''Perfekte Tarnung'''" ("Perfect Disguise")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Masquerade Prime Motormaster chicken.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Shortly after this, Menasor threw up.]]
[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] sends the [[Stunticon]]s on a mission to find components for an unrevealed purpose, including the world's largest, most perfect ruby. While searching for their components, the actions of the Stunticons catch the attention of the [[Autobot]]s, who track their movements and their crimes. Breakdown and Wildrider get the first component: laser lenses from a scientist. Dead End and Drag Strip get the second component: an experimental generator from the Army. Motormaster gets the last one: a perfect ruby from a museum.

The Autobots split into teams and manage to be extremely effective at capturing the Stunticons in the middle of their capers. [[Grapple]], [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]], and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] take on [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] and [[Wildrider]]. [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] and [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] take on [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] and [[Drag Strip]]. Finally, [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] go for [[Motormaster]], who challenges the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] to a game of “chicken” and ends up in a head-on collision. Spike, Bumblebee, and Blaster peer through the dust to see who survived, and it turns out that Optimus is the clear victor with merely a minor headache, while Motormaster lies in a wreck.

[[Image:Masquerade Wheeljack Optimaster.jpg|right|200px|thumb|No Motormaster disguise is complete without a hunk of Big League Chew.]]

Although all five Stunticons have been captured, the Autobots still don’t know what their plans were for the components they stole for Megatron. [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] guesses that the parts are going to be made into a weapon. (Nooo, really?) Optimus hatches a scheme to disguise Autobots using camouflage paint and penetrate the Decepticon camp disguised as Stunticons: Optimus Prime as Motormaster, [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] as Dead End, [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] as Breakdown, [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] as Drag Strip, and [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] as Wildrider.

[[Image:Sideswipe FakeBreakdown.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Sideswipe? I, Breakdown, have never heard of such a being!]]

The disguised Autobots infiltrate the Decepticons, although their arrival causes some raised eyebrows because they are driving too "safely". They deliver the stolen components to Megatron without being detected.

Back at the [[Ark (G1)|Autobot base]], the Stunticons manage to shimmy and shake their way out of their cells, merge into [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] and overcome their Autobot captors. They then head back to the Decepticon base.

[[Image:Masquerade Megatron manning gun.jpg|right|200px|thumb|We've been here before.]]

The Constructicons complete Megatron’s new weapon, and he reveals its power, but just then Menasor arrives and declares the Autobots as infiltrators. Using Windcharger’s electric field ability and Mirage’s illusion power, the Autobots merge into their own Menasor. The two giants battle it out, and the Autobots are overcome. Megatron trains the new weapon on the Autobots, but the device blows up in his face after a few scattered shots.

Autobot reinforcements arrive, and the Decepticons flee without their usual promises for revenge. It is revealed that Ironhide had made adjustments to the ruby back at Autobot HQ, which caused the device to explode. The Autobots head for home, victorious.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (9)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (10)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (12)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (13)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (14)
* [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (18)
* [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (19)
* [[Grapple]] (20)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (21)
* [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (22)
* [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (23)
* [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (24)
* [[Bluestreak]] (25)
* [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (26)
* [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (27)
* [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] (28)
* [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (29)
* [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (30)
* [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (31)
* [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (32)

|c2=
* [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (1)
* [[Wildrider]] (2)
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (3)
* [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (4)
* [[Motormaster]] (5)
* [[Drag Strip]] (6)
* [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (7)
* [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (8)
* [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (33)
* [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]]
* [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (34)
* [[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (35)
* [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (36)
* [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (37)
* [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (38)
* [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] (39)

|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (7)
* Optician (15)
* US Army troops (16)
* Museum guards (17)
}}

==Quotes==
"A near miss deserves a couple of near-missiles!"
:—'''Inferno'''

"I'm probably going to hate myself in the morning, but..."
:—'''Inferno''' before he douses the flames on the Stunticon Breakdown

"Blam! Boom! Pow! I'm going to make that hot rod even hotter. HA HA HA!"
:—'''Warpath''' firing on the Stunticons Dead End and Dragstrip

"Well, look who's here! The old King of the Road! When I'm finished with ya, you'll be King of the Junkyard!"
:—'''Motormaster''' taunting '''Optimus Prime''' into a game of chicken

"You did it! You did it, Optimus! You stuffed that loudmouth once and for all." 
"I...hope so, Spike, because I'd hate to go through that again."
:—'''Spike''' congratulates a shaken '''Optimus''' as he recovers from a head-on collision with Motormaster.

''[The Autobots are towing the defeated Stunticons to the ''Ark'']'' 
'''Wheeljack''': Here they come. 
'''Ratchet''': I won't bother asking who won. 
'''Breakdown''': ''(taking note of the Autobots looking at them)'' They're gawking at us! How mortifrying! 
'''Dead End''': The word, Breakdown, is mortiFYing, my sentiment exactly. 
'''Motormaster''': I'm in no mood for your big words, Dead End. 
'''Ironhide''': For you, Motormouth, this '''IS''' a dead end.
:—Motormaster complains about Dead End's SAT-level vocabulary

"Man, Optimus. You're a dead ringer for Motormaster." 
"Did you have to say ''dead'' ringer, Spike?"
:—'''Spike Witwicky'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s vocabulary causes '''Optimus Prime''' to wince.

"All right, then...ah...Stunticons, let's roll for it. "
:—'''Optimus Prime''' disguises as Motormaster.

"Everybody out on bad behavior!"
:—'''Breakdown''' after freeing himself and taking out Inferno, Grapple, and Hoist.

"Imagine my turning that ray on the Autobots' headquarters. Perhaps when it's gone, someone will put up a memorial parking lot. Mwahaha!"
:—'''Megatron'''

"Machine appears unstable. Suggest abandoning it." 
"Suggestion noted—and ignored!"
:—'''Soundwave''' warns '''Megatron''', for all the good it does.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
[[Image:Huge Ironhide and Small Ratchet.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Introducing Ultra class Ironhide and Scout class Ratchet.]]
* As a result of animation cels being stacked incorrectly, Ratchet appears teeny-tiny in the front of a crowd shot, making Ironhide look colossal by comparison. The tiny Ratchet should, of course, be (barely visible) at the ''back'' of the crowd.
* When approaching the crater, Jazz appears to be driving above and not under rocks.
* When the real Menasor takes off to warn Megatron, he has an Autobot insignia.
* When the Autobots begin firing on Menasor, his face is entirely black.
* Just before Megatron fires the laser, Windcharger is miscoloured in green and grey.
* In the mid-1990s, many G1 episodes were aired on the [[SciFi Network]]. To allow expanded advertising time, they were edited down, cutting "unnecessary" dialog and scenes out. Some of the "unnecessary" dialog cut from this episode included parts of Grapple and Inferno's lines, resulting in them collectively uttering "Time to add firobably hate myself in the morning, but..."

===Transformers references===
* Megatron's line "Suggestion noted...AND IGNORED!" when Soundwave warns him would be revisited during the [[Nemesis Part 2|Beast Wars]] when his [[Megatron (BW)|namesake]] utters those exact sentiments to [[Dinobot II]] on board the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]''.

===Trivia===
[[Image:Soundwave fly.jpg|right|200px|thumb|In fact, Soundwave can fly in his alt mode, too.]]
* Ratchet's voice actor in this episode is [[Wally Burr]], not the usual [[Don Messick]], and it shows.

* Although Mirage had illusion-creating powers described in his [[bio]], the show limited it to him simply being able to turn invisible in all but this one instance, leaving it a bit anomalous within the cartoon series itself. This limitation occurred, of course, because Mirage being able to create illusions was rather redundant in the face of Hound being able to do exactly the same thing. Per their bios, though, illusions were actually supposed to be Mirage's "thing", while Hound used his holograms to create ''maps'' and could only make simple images on rare occasions.

* Did anyone know that Soundwave can fly in his tape deck mode? Because at the end of this episode he transforms and then flies off behind Starscream.

* Probable coincidence or not, ''[[Classics (2006)|Classics]]'' Menasor is a [[redeco]] from ''[[Legends Class|Legends of Cybertron]]'' [[:Image:LOC_CybertronPrime.jpg|Optimus Prime]], while ''[[Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]'' [[:Image:Universe2008_DragStrip.jpg|Drag Strip]] is made from [[:Image:Classics_Mirage_toy.jpg|''Classics'' Mirage]] redeco. At one point there was intended to be a ''[[Alternators|Binaltech]]'' [[Wildrider#Trivia|Wildrider]] created from ''[[Alternators]]'' [[:Image:AltWindcharger_toy.jpg|Windcharger]] (or rather, his [[:Image:Binaltech_Overdrive_Toy.jpg|''Binaltech'' counterpart]]), but that never eventuated. Maybe someday there will come a [[:Image:Universe2008_SideSwipe_toy.jpg|''Universe'' Sideswipe]] redeco to represent ''Universe'' Breakdown. ''[[To sell toys|Who knows]]''?

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/masquerade.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicles]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]