Wing Saber (Energon)

2009-09-11T19:33:40Z

71.188.41.178: /* Toys */

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{{disambig2|the character in [[Energon (franchise)|Energon]]|the [[Maximal]] who later became Airazor|Airazor (BW)}}
{{factions|autobot}}
:''Wing Saber is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Unicron Trilogy]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:WingSaber-comic.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Wing Saber joins Robots in Disguise Ultra Magnus in the proud tradition of being a Power Mushroom for an Optimus.]]
'''Wing Saber''' is an Autobot who used to be called '''Wing Dagger'''. Then [[Shockblast (Energon)|Shockblast]] happened to him. Since then, Wing Saber has led a noble life of becoming parts for [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]]. Wing Saber even has his own personal team of [[Mini-Con]]s, the [[Caliber Mini-Cons]].

:''Japanese name:'' '''Sonic Bomber''' (''Galaxy Force'')
:''Hungarian name:'' '''Éleskard''' ("Sharp Sword"), '''Éleskés''' ("Sharp Knife", Wing Dagger)<ref>On the ''Ultimate Battle DVD'' special, Wing Dagger is called '''Tőrszárny''', the most accurate of the translations (means "Dagger Wing"), but not the most fancy-sounding.</ref>

==Fiction==
===''Energon'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Colin Murdoch]] (English), [[Kōji Yusa]] (Japanese), [[Christian Jernbro]] (Swedish)

Wing Dagger served the Autobots as a security guard on Cybertron; he was the jailer in charge of the Decepticon criminal [[Shockblast (Energon)|Shockblast]]. During a Decepticon uprising, Shockblast escaped his prison. {{storylink|Alpha Q: Identity|Alpha Q: Identity}} Wing Dagger and his friend [[Padlock]] pursued him, but Shockblast ended up killing Padlock. Wing Dagger grieved for his friend and swore revenge on Shockblast. {{storylink|Shockblast: Rampage}}

During a Decepticon assault on Cybertron, Wing Dagger lassoed Shockblast with energy bands, but the powerful Decepticon simply pulled him up into the air. As they wove through the sky among the [[Energon Tower]]s, the Decepticon blasted one of the towers, causing it to crash down upon Wing Dagger and Tidal Wave. Tidal Wave survived with damage, but Wing Dagger died. {{storylink|Each One Fights...}}

Wing Dagger's inert form was taken to [[Primus]]. {{storylink|Unicron Unleashed}} With the aid of [[Rad White|Rad]], Primus restored the warrior, imbuing him with a [[Spark of Combination]]. {{storylink|Open Fire!}} Reformatted into Wing Saber, he joined Optimus's team not only to find energon, but to avenge the death of his friend.

Wing Saber, having been reformatted and re-powered by Primus himself, understood his task of being Optimus Prime's personal servant. Optimus Prime reminded Wing Saber that he was not Prime's property, and Wing Saber seemed to have issues figuring out who he was. He went with Optimus's team as they pursued Megatron into [[Alpha Q's universe|a fledgling new dimension]]. {{storylink|Ripped Up Space|Ripped Up Space}}

Wing Saber eventually faced off with Shockblast again on [[Iron Planet]]. After making sure that his half-dozen buddies were backing him up, he gave the lone Decepticon a thorough trashing and captured him. Oh, brave Wing Saber! Shockblast was defeated at last; Padlock was avenged, and justice was served. {{storylink|Protection}}

Shockblast escaped about a day later. Wing Saber didn't seem to notice much. {{storylink|Imprisoned Inferno}}

Wing Saber continued to help Optimus and the other Autobots defend Alpha Q's planets. {{storylink|Jungle Planet (episode)|Jungle Planet}} He braved the hazards of the [[Rift (Energon)|rift in space]] to locate Unicron's missing body. {{storylink|Omega Supreme (episode)|Omega Supreme}} Like most of the team, he was severely damaged during the final confrontation with Unicron. {{storylink|Optimus Supreme}} He returned to the ''Miranda II''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s sick bay as the battle neared its end. {{storylink|Unicron Perishes}}

Later, he returned to Cybertron, {{storylink|Ambition}} and led underground resistance to Galvatron's invasion of the planet. {{storylink|Galvatron!}} {{storylink|Break Through}} Optimus finally arrived to help them, and he and Wing Saber linked up once more to stand up against Galvatron. {{storylink|The Omega Train}} They took a direct hit from the planet's [[energon grid]], however, and went down in flames. Wing Saber was left unconscious, and was nearly destroyed by Galvatron until the Omnicons arrived to restore him. He and Optimus recombined, striking a devastating blow to Galvatron, prompting him to retreat. {{storylink|Decepticon Army}}

Wing Saber was among the gathered troops who joined with Optimus Prime in spark form to confront the massive [[Megatron (Armada)|Galvatron]]-[[Unicron]] fusion. Like the others, he was restored to his own body after the battle's conclusion. {{storylink|The Sun}}

===''Cybertron'' cartoon===
:''Voice Actor:'' [[Sam Vincent]] (English), [[Takayasu Usui]] (Japanese)
{{cleanup|October 2008|It is poorly written as one giant paragraph and slightly out-of-universe. Needs storylinks.}}

Wing Saber returned during the search for the [[Cyber Planet Key|Cyber Planet Keys]], but with a new rebellious, irreverent edge. Having undergone a falling out with Optimus Prime in the brief period between ''Energon'' and ''Cybertron'' involving the life of a stranded astronaut, Wing Saber took off into space and returned when he encountered the [[Omega Frequency]] wave after the [[Velocitron|Speed Planet]] Key was inserted into the [[Omega Lock]] on [[Earth]]. Wing Saber now showed signs of a new defiant attitude toward his former allies, even to the point of violence. He attacked Optimus Prime at one point (claiming Prime had it coming) and fired at Hot Shot's feet when the latter questioned him once. However, Wing Saber quickly found himself part of the team again, which led to reviving his ability to combine with Optimus Prime to create their Sonic Wing Mode. Wing Saber continued to aid the Autobots until the end of the series, at which point he departed and eventually encountered (and dueled with) the mighty [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]], who had somehow survived his duel with Galvatron on [[Gigantion|the Giant Planet]].

{{note|Sonic Bomber is not the same character as Energon Wing Saber in ''Galaxy Force''. Probably. Maybe. Takara's [[retcon]] of ''Galaxy Force'' back into [[continuity]] with ''Super Link'' makes things questionable.}}

==Toys==
===Energon===
[[Image:EnergonWingSaber.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Brickimus Maximus!]]
*'''Wing Saber''' (Mega, 2004)
**''Japanese ID Number'': '''SC-17'''
**''Accessories'': 2 missiles
: ''Energon'' Wing Saber transforms into a Cybertronic "flying wing" jet and a homage to [[Star Saber (Victory)|Star Saber]] from g1. In both jet and robot mode he has a pair of spring-loaded missile launchers. He disassembles into four portions, which attach to the limbs on the Super-class ''Energon'' Optimus Prime toy. When Wing Saber's upper-body parts and wings are attached to Prime's arms, they are in "Flight Mode", while the lower-body-as-arms configuration brings Wing Saber's non-firing cannons to the forefront, forming "Fight Mode".

:As Wing Saber is essentially a glorified accessory for the Super class Optimus Prime figure, his robot mode is a [[brick]], with almost no articulation beyond some minor movement in his lower arms.

: The [[Takara]] version predated the [[Hasbro]] release by several months. The two versions are largely identical, but Takara's has a greater number of more intricate [[Paint operation|paint applications]].

::*[http://www.tfu.info/2004/Autobot/WingSaber/wingsaber.htm More information on Wing Saber at TFU.info]

===Cybertron===
*'''Wing Saber''' (Ultra, 2005)
**''Japanese ID Number:'' '''GC-22'''
**''Accessories'': Left & right blades, 2 blade-handles, left & right spring-loaded missile launchers, 2 missiles, Autobot Cybertron-planet Cyber Key
[[Image:Cyb wingsaber toy.jpg|left|170px|thumb|His guns have guns on them which also shoot tiny guns.]]
: ''Cybertron'' Wing Saber transforms into a heavily armed military plane based on an A-10 Thunderbolt. Pressing the button behind his cockpit canopy causes a machine gun sound to emit from a speaker on the bottom of the nosecone. Plugging a [[Cyber Planet Key]] into the key slot behind his canopy splits the nosecone fuselage in half and exposes a cannon with a red LED. Pressing the button activates the same machine gun sound effect, this time with the red LED flashing.

:Wing Saber's wing-flaps detach to form swords; for Wing Saber to use them, they need to be inserted into sword-handles that plug into 5mm holes in his forearms, as his hands are incompatible with the standard weapon-pegs. His removable spring-loaded missile launchers, mounted under his wings, can also be attached to those ports. Wing Saber can also form a backpack for Leader class Optimus Prime's super mode, forming their '''Sonic Wing Mode'''.

[[Image:GF SonicBomber toy.jpg|right|150px|thumb|FAINARU FYU-Oh wait, wrong show.]]
:Wing Saber comes with a silver-bordered Cybertron planet Autobot Cyber Key with the [[Cyber Key Codes|key code]] '''uya7''' printed on the back.

:The vast majority of [[Takara]]'s ''Galaxy Force'' GC-22 Sonic Bomber figures have a misaligned "nose guard" that can obscure the eyes in some cases. This problem was fixed for the [[Hasbro]] Wing Saber figure. The Sonic Bomber figure preceded [[Hasbro]]'s Wing Saber by several months and has a slightly different deco. Differences include silver chromed saber blades and a gold chromed chest shield. Minor changes were also made to graphics on the plane, such as an entirely red nosecone as opposed to Sonic Bomber's red striped, and smaller [[Autobot]] insignias on the wings.

:This mold was [[Redeco|redecoed]] to make [[Wingblade]].

::*[http://www.tfu.info/2006/Autobot/WingSaber/wingsaber.htm More information on ''Cybertron'' Wing Saber at TFU.info]

*'''Sonic Convoy''' (Gift set, 2005)
**''Japanese ID Number'': '''EX-02'''

:[[Takara]] issued a slight Sonic Bomber [[redeco]] as a (rushed) Toys "R" Us [[exclusive]] set with transparent [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Galaxy Convoy]] and a [[retool]] of "[[Scrapmetal (type)|Rumble]]" as "[[Cobybot|Coby's Rumble]]". Sonic Bomber received only very minor changes; the saber blades were changed from silver chrome to gold chrome, all red paint was changed to metallic red, and the chest shield halves were now red chrome rather than gold. Benefiting from a [[Hasbro]] tweak, this version also has a properly aligned "nose guard".

*'''Optimus Prime and Wing Saber''' (2-pack, 2006)

:This set, consisting of totally unmodified versions of Cybertron Optimus Prime and Wing Saber, was released as a CostCo exclusive. The set also includes a DVD with the Cybertron episode ''[[United]]''. This set comes in a particularly huge box, and retailed for $35.99, five dollars less than the MSRP for Optimus Prime by himself.

==Notes==
* ''Energon'' Wing Saber was a toy-concept initiated by [[Takara]] and left largely to their own design team to develop, though they had to follow various [[Hasbro]] price-point mandates. The toy was detail-designed by noted Japanese fan [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]] and incorporates elements of fan-favorites [[Predaking]] and [[Star Saber (G1)|Star Saber]].

* Ichikawa originally envisioned Wing Saber's personal weapon to be the [[Energon Saber]]. This was nixed by the animation production staff, however, along with many other toy-team concepts.

* ''Energon'' Wing Saber was originally named [[Superion Maximus]] for his western incarnation, but the name was shelved in favor of simply reusing the established Japanese name. "Superion Maximus" was reused for the combined form of the ''Energon'' [[Air Team]] shortly thereafter.

[[Image:CYB sonic bomber originalsculpt.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Sonic Bomber has wing sabers.]]
* Wing Saber's bio on Transformers.com, first appearing under the "Superion Maximus" title, was largely different from anything else, wherein "Wing Saber" was a venerable defender of high ranking Autobots and was the personal carrier of the Autobot high council.

* ''Cybertron'' Wing Saber's original sculpt featured a different vehicle mode nosecone design than seen on the final toy. As revealed by the Japanese online retailer [http://www.amenbo.com Amenbo.com] on April 29 2005, the original sculpt had a much greater resemblance to the A-10 Thunderbolt, with a rounded nose cone, a correctly shaped (translucent) canopy, and twin translucent Gatling cannons. It is unknown what prompted the change from this more realistic sculpt to the entirely opaque one seen on the final toy.

*''Cybertron'' Wing Saber was originally named "Knockout", but this was presumably shelved to have another preexisting character in the series.

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_frm/thread/b064ea50d2b114d0/43847f79db724831?lnk=st&q=&rnum=3&hl=en#43847f79db724831 An interview with Hirofumi Ichikawa on his ''Energon'' work]

[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Costco exclusives]]
[[Category:Cybertron characters]]
[[Category:Energon characters]]
[[Category:Security officers]]
[[Category:Toys "R" Us exclusives]]

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Wing Saber (Energon)