Beast Machines: Transformers (franchise)

2009-04-16T18:30:05Z

74.70.108.129: Replacing page with 'This Series sucked. Screw you for even looking at it'

This Series sucked. Screw you for even looking at it

Seeker (body-type)

2009-04-16T18:18:21Z

74.70.108.129: The history of the Seekers

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{{disambig2|the group of Decepticon jets|the Mini-Con|Seeker (Energon)}}

[[Image:Seekers.png|right|300px|thumb|Well, they keep the toy-repainting fans off the streets, at least. (Generic Seekers from, clockwise: 1) MtMtE Part 3, 2) sticker sheet, 3-6) Five Faces of Darkness)]]

The term '''Seeker''' refers to [[Decepticon]] jet troopers who all share the same body style. That is, the Decepticons in ''[[Generation 1]]'' that looked like [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], but in different colors or with minor variations in wing and head shapes, and also the Decepticons in later franchises such as ''[[Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' where similar "families" of jets appear.

The word "Seeker" hovered a long time in a strange gray area between official and fan-coined terms. It seems to have originated in ''extremely'' obscure official or semi-official writing, but somehow became widely used among fans. In 2002, the term appeared in dialog from the first issue of ''[[The War Within]]'' from [[Dreamwave Productions]], [[Canonizing|making it truly official]] after years of controversy. It has subsequently appeared in many other places such as on toy packaging, books, and in other stories.

:''Japanese name:'' '''Jetron'''

==''Generation 1'' Seekers==
===The originals===
In ''Generation 1'', there were six Seekers originally given names and characterization: [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]], [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]], [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]], [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]], and [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]]. The first three, the season one Seekers, had animation designs done primarily by an unknown designer in Japan.

<center>[[Image:MainSeekers.gif|none|300px|thumb|The original Seekers]]</center>

==="The Coneheads"===
The last three Generation 1 Seekers are usually designated as [[Conehead]] Seekers by fans for their distinctive transformation that leaves the jet nosecone pointing up. The animation models for the Conehead Seekers were designed by [[Floro Dery]],

<center>[[Image:ConeheadsGenerations1.jpg|none|200px|thumb|The Coneheads.]]</center>

===And all the rest===

[[Image:MTMTEGenerics-OilField.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Aw, not "When Continents Collide" again...]]
In the ''Generation 1'' cartoon there were large numbers of [[generic]], unnamed Seekers in addition to the named characters. They came in a wide variety of colors, from extra duplicates of Starscream or one of the other named guys, to original and distinct looks all their own. They seem to have formed the bulk of the Decepticon forces on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], as well as among [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s initial troops on [[Earth]]. They gradually became less common, perhaps as a result of casualties... or the cartoon's production team becoming more careful, or more-likely having more "actual" Decepticons to work with as the toy line expanded. (Extra [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] units and alternate color cassettes were also used along with these Seekers, early on, to fill out the comparatively thin Decepticon ranks.)

These unsung Seekers would be recognized years later in ''[[Heroes of Cybertron]]'' toy form as the [[Air Warrior|Air Warriors]] (all using the common lavender/white color scheme). Soon afterward, the [[Dreamwave]] ''Generation 1'' comic series introduced an army of similarly-colored Seeker drones.

[[Image:AirWarriors MTMtE.jpg|right|150px|thumb|You talking to me? Or him? Or the other one?]]
Around the same time, another background Seeker was also given a new life through toys and Dreamwave comics: [[Sunstorm (G1)|Sunstorm]]. This yellow-orange Seeker was a nameless background character in the first episode of the ''Transformers'' cartoon, until [[e-Hobby]] turned him into an [[exclusive]] toy (available with an [[Autobot]] also based on a [[Roadhauler|first-episode cameo]]). Now [[Hasbro]] [[Sunstorm (disambiguation)|can't get enough of him]]. Another generic Seeker was given attention: [[Acid Storm]]. Like Sunstorm before him, he was based on one of the background Seekers from the original cartoon, in this case the episode "Divide and Conquer" (see below).

Unnamed Seekers with their own distinct color schemes appear in the following episodes as noted below:

* "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1|More Than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]": - In the "return to [[Iacon]]" scene on Cybertron, five to seven Seekers appear (wide shots depict a group of five, but the close-ups give us seven distinct color schemes.) The first three are (as far as colors are concerned) Skywarp, Starscream (with a deeper voice), and Thundercracker. In a following shot, we see a lavender Seeker with a flamethrower pack, a medium-blue Seeker with white trim, holding his arm gun like a rifle, a yellow/orange Seeker who would become Sunstorm... and lurking in the back, a very dark-blue Seeker with white trim barely visible, but there if you look.

<center>[[Image:Sunstorm Cartoon.jpg|none|250px|thumb|One for all, and all for one. Sunstorm and co. attack.]]</center>

* "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2|More Than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]" and "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 3|Part 3]]" - The motherlode of unnamed Seekers. Especially if you like variations of blue and lavender. Crowds of them appear at the start of the final battle. At least six different Seekers of various shades and decos of blue and at least or four of various shades and decos of lavender (two with black tail fins in jet mode, two with white). Also, a blue variant (seen in the picture above) missing his wings and shoulder vents appears in "Part 3". (The infamous "Lady in Purple" a piece of well known [[fanon]], for possibly being female due to weak line strength in the art also appears here)

<center>[[Image:MmteSeekers2.gif|none|250px|thumb|Lots of generic Seekers from this one.]]</center>

* "[[Divide and Conquer]]" - Avert your eyes! One deep blue, one eye-burning bright green, and one garishly bright yellow. This trio is often referred to by fans as "the [[Rainmakers]]" because they started an [[acid rain]] to destroy a group of Autobots. They're names from left to right are "Rainstorm", "Acid Storm, and "Sunstorm".

<center>[[Image:DivideandCon.gif|none|300px|thumb|Divide and Conquer Seekers]]</center>

* "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 3]]" - Two blue variants, and one really nice looking pine-green Seeker appears.

<center>[[Image:UltimateDoom.gif|none|300px|thumb|Ultimate Doom Seekers]]</center>

* "[[Five Faces of Darkness]]" - One all-gray Seeker, one with [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]]'s coloration, and one with [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]]'s. There's also an interesting Conehead variant. (All of which appear in the main image above.)

* "[[:Image:DirgeseekerTFMovie.jpg|Seeker]] with Dirge's colors appears in jet mode in the attack on Autobot City in the movie, and next to the actual Dirge in the episode.

<center>[[Image:NotDirge.gif|none|200px|thumb|Dark Awakening Seeker]]</center>

* Puffy stickers - A sheet of Transformer puffy stickers featured a rare generic with a Starscream-based color scheme. He is pictured above as well.

* "[[Return to Cybertron]]" - This relatively obscure [[Sticker Adventures]] tale gives us a brief glimpse of a Seeker with a Thundercracker/Skywarp mix; blue body, purple tailfins and wing stripes. You can't tell much more about him, given that he is A: partially obscured and B: exploding.

<center>[[Image:Returntocybertron-seeker.jpg|none|183px|thumb|Return to Cybertron Seeker.]]</center>

==Unicron Trilogy Seekers==
According to one minor source in ''[[Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'', when any Transformer converts to a jet, he is called a "seeker. But the closest specific characters to the ''Generation 1'' Seekers are this universe's own [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]]/[[Thundercracker (Armada)|Thundercracker]]/[[Skywarp (Armada)|Skywarp]] trio. All three even used the same toy mold in their first release, although Skywarp was heavily [[Retool|retooled]] from the others (including getting an entirely new-mold [[Mini-Con]] partner). While new Decepticon-allied jet characters named [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]] and [[Ramjet (Armada)|Ramjet]] were released in ''Armada'', they each had their own unique molds. However, whereas Ramjet was simply the Mini-Con partner of [[Tidal Wave]], Thrust was a [[bulk]] who even had a VTOL engine in jet mode, a conehead and vertically-oriented wings in robot mode. Although Thrust's original toy was green, redecos looked a bit more like his G1 incarnation.

Though only Starscream appeared in the follow-up franchise, ''[[Energon (franchise)|Energon]]'', several Seekers appeared in the final portion of the Unicron Trilogy, ''[[Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]]''. Starscream was back in a form heavily inspired by ''[[The War Within]]'' Starscream design (itself based on the "tetrajet" (see below)), while Thundercracker received a completely different body. A Skywarp was also released as a redeco of Thundercracker.

Further, the ''[[Legends of Cybertron]]'' Starscream toy, a tiny, simplified version of his main toy, was redecoed three more times: Skywarp as a giveaway at [[ComicCon 2005]], [[Ramjet (Universe)|Ramjet]] as a giveaway at [[BotCon 2005]], and [[Sunstorm (LOC)|Sunstorm]] as part of the last wave of the LOC line at retail.

==Live-action movie franchise Seekers==
In the [[The Reign of Starscream issue 2|second issue]] [[IDW Publishing|IDW's]] ''[[The Reign of Starscream]]'' series, a sequel to the 2007 [[Transformers (2007)|live-action movie]], the movieverse versions of [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] and [[Thundercracker (Movie)|Thundercracker]] are referred to as Seekers for the first time. However, according to writer [[Chris Mowry]], in this universe the term Seeker has more to do with the skill sets that they possess than with the body-type that the two thus far identified as such happen to share. He describes the Seekers as a crack unit of Decepticons under Starscream's command akin to the "[[wikipedia:United States Navy SEALs|United States Navy SEALs]]", possessing superior tracking and detection skills and a high-level of firepower, who can "just get things done better than anyone else."
Knowing Starscream, he reminds everyone of this fact every chance he gets.

[[Category:Decepticon subgroups]]
[[Category:Fandom]]
[[Category:Generation 1]]
[[Category:Seekers]]
[[Category:Mass-produced Transformers]]

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