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Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 franchise)

2010-06-16T10:53:24Z

82.3.48.129: Removed the word, it, and replaced with the franchise name. To add clarity.

{{nav-rid}}

'''''Robots in Disguise''''' is a Transformers [[franchise]] that launched in the year 2001. It was an American port of 2000's Japanese Transformers series ''''' Transformer: Car Robot''''' (トランスフォーマーカーロボット). Many of the characters were changed into new incarnations of characters from [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]], and it remains notable for its numerous vague reference to characters and events from other series, making it difficult to place in relation to other continuities. Despite [[Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers|fan rumors]] to the contrary, ''Car Robot'' was never called and was never going to be called "Transformers 2000".

The ''Robots in Disguise'' franchise featured the following primary components:

*[[Robots in Disguise (toyline)|A toyline]]
*[[Robots in Disguise (cartoon)|A cartoon series]]
*[[Ultra Magnus...to the Rescue?|A single American comic book story]] by [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]] (produced after the series ended production) set in the same continuity as the cartoon series.

''Robots in Disguise'' was intended as a low-cost, minimal-work "filler" line after Hasbro scrapped [[Transtech]], the series slated to follow ''[[Beast Machines (franchise)|Beast Machines]]''. Hasbro used the time this bought to co-develop ''[[Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' with their Japanese partner, Takara. ''Robots in Disguise'' aired on Fox Kids (the last Transformers series to air on a broadcast network) and saw surprising commercial success, laying the groundwork for the success of the subsequent series, ''Armada''. The series dub was inadvertently bought by Disney in 2002, due to [[Saban Entertainment|Saban]] being bought out by the company.

The series has had several DVD releases, all of them in the UK only. The DVDs are Region 2 and in PAL format, to serve you better and protect us all from robot [[Cannonball|pirates]].

==Continuity headaches==
* The ''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon rewrote the Japanese Transformers series ''Car Robots'', ''transforming'' the all-new Japanese cast into familiar American characters, notably [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]].
* [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] considers ''Robots in Disguise'' to be the 'same' series as ''Car Robots''.{{fact|August, 2009}} Thus, the American release of Sideways for the ''Robots in Disguise'' toyline means that [[Armada (franchise)|Micron Legend]] [[Sideways (RID)|Doubleface]] (Sideways's Japanese name) first appeared in ''Car Robots''.
* The ''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon included numerous references that seemed to make it follow season 2 of the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original cartoon]], but which precluded it being in the same continuity as the [[The Transformers: The Movie|movie]] and season 3. Though unprecedented at the time, as of this writing there are now 3 or 4 more 'branch off before the movie' continuities. {{fact}}
* Takara placed ''Car Robots'' in the year 2000 of its Transformers Generation 1 timeline, and the Generation 1-based ''[[Kiss Players (franchise)|Kiss Players]]'' storyline makes several references to its story events taking place in then-recent history (even suggesting that, thanks to time travel, [[Fortress Maximus (G1)]] and [[Fortress Maximus (RID)]] are the same character). Yes, we're aware that's crazy.
* [[Optimus Primal/toys|Air Attack Optimus Primal]] is a cartoon-accurate version of [[Beast Machines (franchise)|Beast Machines]] [[Optimus Primal]], originally produced for ''Beast Machines'', but released as an exclusive in ''Robots in Disguise'' packaging. His on-package bio states he is from the future and served as a spirit guide for [[Optimus Prime (RID)]]. This implies that the [[Beast Era]] (or at least Beast Machines) is somehow in the future of the Robots in Disguise continuity.
* Several of the toys released in the second and third year had no featured role in ''Robots in Disguise'' continuity fiction. Instead, these characters were effectively treated as belonging to the [[Universe (2003 franchise)]] as they were seamlessly included in fiction from that continuity.
**[[Cryotek (RID)|Cryotek]]
**[[Megabolt]]
**[[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]
**[[Dreadwind (RID)|Dreadwind]] & [[Smokejumper]]

==Trivia==
*'''Car Robots''' is also the original name of the [[Autobot Cars]] (including [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]) in the ''[[Diaclone]]'' toyline.
* This universe is to date the only one without a [[universal stream]] prefix.

==External Links==
* [http://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/TF/table.html Takara's Transformers Continuity Map places ''Car Robots'' in Generation 1.]

{{stub}}

[[Category:Continuity families]]
[[Category:Franchises]]
[[Category:Robots in Disguise| ]]

Trailbreaker (G1)

2010-04-26T15:59:17Z

82.3.48.129: /* Notes */ added a word so the sentence makes sense.

{{picsneeded|appearances in fiction}}
{{factions|autobot}}
{{disambigr|Trailbreaker|the live-action movie-verse Autobot|Trailbreaker (Movie)}}

:''Trailbreaker is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Trailbreakerg1.jpg|right|240px|thumb|I may not be fast... but I'm effective and provide soothing relief.]]
It's hard not to like '''Trailbreaker'''. He's a good-humored cheerleader, always ready with a joke or comment to lighten the mood when things get dark. Sadly, Trailbreaker's joking is often a cover for his low self-esteem. His form is the most fuel-consumptive of the ''Ark'' crew, and his vehicle mode is very slow. As such, he feels like a useless drain on their limited resources. The Autobots know better, of course. Trailbreaker's good humor, bravery, and impenetrable [[force field]] are all of great use, but convincing him of that is hard, especially when he begins to mope about his handicaps.

:''Preliminary name:'' '''Guzzle'''
:''French-Canadian name'': '''Glouton''' ("Glutton")
:''Hungarian name'': '''Ösvényvágó'''
:''Portuguese name (Portugal comic):'' '''Pica-Trilhos'''
:''Portuguese name (Brazil comic):'' '''Abre-alas'''
:''Italian name'': '''Tuono''' ("Thunder")
:''Chinese name (Taiwan):'' '''Kāi-lù Hsīen-fēng''' (開路先鋒, "Trailbreaker")

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
{{noteukonly}}
Trailbreaker was part of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]]'s original crew, crashing to Earth four million years ago aboard the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]''.

Trailbreaker joined a detachment of Autobots investigating robot sightings in Merry Ol' England. After making contact with a young boy named Sammy, the Autobots were caught by surprise when the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] fire-bombed them from the sky. Trailbreaker was blasted before he could activate his force field. Like a freakin' drama queen, he went offline whimpering, "It's no good. Everything's gone... just plain ruined..." {{storylink|Man of Iron (story)|Man of Iron}}

Like many Autobots, Trailbreaker was too low on fuel to join Optimus and the others in what would've been their climactic battle with [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron's]] forces, and was taken prisoner without a fight when [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] assumed command of the Decepticons and the ''Ark''. He was revived after [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] reclaimed the ''Ark'', however. When the Autobots went to recover Optimus Prime's head and restore their leader to functionality, Trailbreaker was one of many Autobots caught off-guard by the false Prime created by Shockwave and was shot down before he could raise his force field. {{storylink|Prime Time!}}

''On another occasion, the Dinobot [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] was under the control of a human scientist and attacking the Autobots. Trailbreaker jumped in his path and tried to wrestle the pteranodon to the ground. Instead, he was lifted up and slammed into the cliffside...'cause he never turned on that force field. {{storylink|The Icarus Theory}} During the Dinobot Hunt, Trailbreaker joined [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] and [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] in hunting [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] among the sands of the Black Rock Desert. They managed to collect him virtually without a fight once Snarl wandered into a secret military base and unleashed a molecular disintegrator bomb that ended his rampage. {{storylink|Dinobot Hunt!}}''

''When [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] and his future Decepticons arrived in the present, the Autobot chain of command was crippled as Optimus Prime, [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], and Ratchet vanished and [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] was taken prisoner. [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] attempted to rise to command, accepting support from [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]], but the Autobots were simply outclassed. Trailbreaker was part of a group of more than a half-dozen Autobots who collectively failed to bring down even one of Galvatron's lieutenants. In desperation, the Autobots turned to Megatron himself (who had quickly been disposed of by Galvatron when he first arrived) as a temporary ally and battlefield advisor. Under the Decepticon's direction, the Autobots staged a trap for the lone future Decepticon [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] in order to weaken Galvatron's power base. Unfortunately, Scourge's enhanced sensors detected the trap almost immediately, and his acid ray nailed Trailbreaker THROUGH a wall before the battle even began. (Too early to have activated that force field, huh?) Scourge was ultimately brought down, but Trailbreaker was left inactive for days until Ratchet was restored to the present and able to repair him. {{storylink|Target: 2006}}''

''Well, he was up and about soon enough, and accompanied Prowl and Jetfire on a mission to stop the Decepticons from accessing a NASA space transmission facility, only to get knocked around helplessly by [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]], and beaten to the ground long enough for the Decepticons to escape...all because he didn't turn on that slaggin' force field to protect himself. Remember, Trailbreaker? The force field? You're not built for speed or energy efficiency; you were built for power, specifically that one power that makes you ''special'' and ''unique''. Or is it "just plain ruined" these days? {{storylink|The Gift}}''

====Marvel UK future timelines====
''In 2008, Trailbreaker was one of the Autobots taken down and strung up by the [[Quintesson|Quintessons]] when they invaded [[Autobot City]]. Some of the Autobots seen deactivated like this showed up alive later, and [[Time Wars]] probably wiped out the reason for the Quintesson attack in the first place, so Trailbreaker probably survived one way or another. {{storylink|Space Pirates!}}''

===American cartoon continuity===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Frank Welker]] (English), [[Ken Shiroyama]] (Japanese)

{{charstubfiction}}

[[Image:Trailbreakerdance.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Do a little dance...make a little love... get down tonight... I said get down tonight!]]

Trailbreaker was part of the bridge crew of the ''Ark'' spaceship when it blasted off from Cybertron to search for new sources of energy four million years in the past. When he was awakened in 1984, [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] reformatted him so that his alt-mode was a terrestrial Toyota 4WD camper truck. Trailbreaker accompanied his fellow Autobots on their first mission to stop the Decepticons on Earth, a mission that took him to an off-shore oil rig. The Decepticons plundered the rig for energon and destroyed it, leaving it a flaming wreck that endangered its human crew. Trailbreaker used his force field to contain the fire, while [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] used his built-in fire-suppression systems to douse the flames. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1}}

Later, Trailbreaker served as a spy despite his stated function as defensive strategist. ([[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] was apparently busy that day.) He, along with the humans [[Sparkplug Witwicky]] and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]], camped out near the Decepticons' headquarters and eavesdropped on their plans to raid the ruby mines of Burma. Their surveillance did not go totally unnoticed, however, as a set of [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] spotted the Autobot making his getaway. Trailbreaker summoned the brothers [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] and [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] to fend off his pursuer and got the information safely back to Prime. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 2}}

{{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 3}} {{storylink|Transport to Oblivion}} {{storylink|Roll for It}} {{storylink|Divide and Conquer}} {{storylink|S.O.S. Dinobots}} Trailbreaker and [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] were going for a drive one day, only to find two [[Starscream (G1)|suspicious-looking]] [[Thundercracker (G1)|jets]]. The jets revealed themselves as Decepticons who had come to a nearby refinery to make off with its steel to build a weapon. Brawn and Trailbreaker interrupted them, but Starscream blasted missiles at them, destroying the refinery, and made his getaway. The Autobots reported the incident back to Optimus Prime. Toward the end of the ensuing battle in [[Peru]], Trailbreaker pitched in to fire at the new weapon. {{storylink|Fire on the Mountain}}

When the Autobots began studying a meteorite that had fallen to Earth, Wheeljack discovered the sample fragment was highly unstable and summoned Optimus and Trailbreaker to his laboratory. On command, Trailbreaker unleashed his force field around the meteorite to contain the explosive blast. {{storylink|War of the Dinobots}}

{{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 1}} {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 2}} {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 3}} {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (episode)}} {{storylink|A Plague of Insecticons}} {{storylink|Heavy Metal War}}

{{storylink|Autobot Spike}}

One time, when Megatron temporarily reprogrammed [[Gears (G1)|Gears]] to be a happy-go-lucky kind of Autobot, Trailbreaker was the one who voiced what everyone was thinking and said maybe they should just leave him that way. {{storylink|Changing Gears}}

{{storylink|City of Steel}} {{storylink|Attack of the Autobots}} {{storylink|The Immobilizer}} {{storylink|The Autobot Run}} {{storylink|Atlantis, Arise!}} {{storylink|Enter the Nightbird}} {{storylink|A Prime Problem}}

When the Dinobots attempted to demonstrate their newfound "finesse" to the other Autobots, [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] accidentally set fire to the ''Ark'', threatening Teletraan I. Thinking quickly, Trailbreaker projected his force field over the Autobot supercomputer, allowing [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] time to extinguish the blaze. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 1}}

{{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 2}}

On another occasion, the Autobots were forced to abandon Earth by Megatron aboard a spacecraft set on a course into the sun. After the Autobots discovered they couldn't alter their course, their ship exploded. Trailbreaker cast a massive force field large enough to contain the entire Autobot force safely; from within the field, [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] towed the group back to Earth. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2}}

{{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2}} {{storylink|Blaster Blues}} {{storylink|The Golden Lagoon}} {{storylink|Make Tracks}} {{storylink|Child's Play (episode)|Child's Play}}

After that, a Decepticon coup by [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] and [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] resulted in a city being flooded. Trailbreaker used his force field to protect himself and a small group of Autobots from a large tidal wave. {{storylink|Triple Takeover}}

{{storylink|Prime Target}} {{storylink|Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust}} {{storylink|Masquerade}}

{{note|In storyboards for the movie, Trailbreaker's dead body is seen at the end of the Autobot City battle. However, this didn't make it into the final film, leaving his status after the battle up in the air.}}

===Japanese cartoon continuity===
====''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' comic====

When [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] sent [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]]s and [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] to raid [[Tokyo]] for energy, Trailbreaker accompanied [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and a unit of Autobot vehicles to defend the city. Trailbreaker didn't perform very well, cowering in fright beneath Menasor's size and taking the [[combiner]]'s humongous fist to the face. Luckily, his pummelling made the perfect distraction for Optimus Prime, [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]], who drove up a ramp and slammed Menasor and the Seekers directly in their faces, sending them into retreat. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 1}}

As a member of the [[4-Wheel-Drive Brigade]], Trailbreaker accompanied [[Kenji]] and the rest of the team to a crater in Kyushu where Decepticon activity had been discovered. Entering the crater, however, Trailbreaker and the Brigade were caught off-guard by numerous landmines that had been planted by the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]]. As they sunk toward as steaming pit of magma, the other four members of the Brigade managed to defeat the Decepticons by forming a human pyramid and using their "4-Wheel-Drive Robo Combination Scrumbuster" attack. Trailbreaker, unfortunately (or perhaps ''fortunately''), had to sit that one out because he was escorting Kenji within himself and couldn't transform to robot mode. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 3}}

====''Story of Binaltech''====
Trailbreaker was one of many Autobots who suffered from an outbreak of the [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]] virus after the Decepticons unleashed it on Earth. He was supposed to receive a new body thanks to the [[Central City (G1)|Central City]] Institute of Technology, but the Decepticons managed to infiltrate the Binaltech Project. Through the use of [[hypno-chip]]-controlled spies and pawns, Trailbreaker's new body was hijacked and used to upgrade the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticon]] known as [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] instead. {{storylink|Expose All of Evil's Designs!}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
{{notekeepers}}
Trailbreaker was present under the command of [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] at the battle of [[Altihex]] when the Decepticons destroyed a building full of neutral Cybertonians. Unable to save the city, the Autobots helped evacuate civilians before retreating. {{storylink|The War Within issue 1}} When Decepticon Military Operations Commander [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] led a force of Decepticons against the Autobot capitol of [[Iacon]], Trailbreaker was among the Autobots who defended the capital. {{storylink|The War Within}}

When Decepticon leader [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and Autobot leader [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] disappeared in an accident with a [[space bridge]], the Autobot and Decepticon forces splintered into smaller factions. Trailbreaker stayed with the Autobots under the leadership of [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]]. He was part of the group of reinforcements that helped battle the giant [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]. {{storylink|War Within: The Dark Ages|The War Within: The Dark Ages}}

Trailbreaker was among the Autobots who followed Optimus Prime on his mission on board the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]''. They were attacked by Megatron's ship, the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]''. After being boarded, the ''Ark'' crash-landed on [[Earth]], where all on board were preserved in emergency stasis. In 1984, a volcanic eruption awakened the ''Ark'''s computer, Teletraan I, and it repaired all on board.

Eventually, the combined forces of the Autobots on Earth and their human allies were able to capture the Decepticons. In 1999, a ship called the ''[[Ark II]]'' was built to take the Cybertonians back to Cybertron, along with some human companions, but the ship exploded shortly after takeoff. The human allies were killed, but the Cybertonians were lost in the ocean, again in stasis lock. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 1}} Three years later, Spike Witwicky assisted the US "Defense Ministry" in reactivating Optimus Prime by placing a piece of the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] into his chest. Optimus traveled to the remote Arctic shoreline where he'd been found after the crash and used the Matrix to revive Jazz, Mirage, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, [[Superion (G1)|Superion]], Trailbreaker and Wheeljack from where they lay under the waves. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 2}}

Shortly afterwards, the Autobots assisted the US military in rescuing the survivors of the Smitco Oil Refinery attack. When Optimus Prime learned the attackers were Autobots and Decepticons under the control of terrorist arms dealer [[Adam Rook]], he asked his Autobots to accompany him to fight for '''Great JUSTICE.''' Trailbreaker was among the Autobots who agreed to come along, stating that Prime only needed to point him in the right direction. Trailbreaker participated in the battle at Rook's destroyed base when [[General Hallo]] double-crossed them and attempted to destroy all the Transformers with a low-yield nuclear weapon. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 3}}

[[Image:DW Trailbreaker Devastatorstomp.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Devastator crush puny Autobot... and make scale joke while crushing. Har har har!]]
After the Autobots extricated themselves from the nuke-absorbing hardened virus shell, Trailbreaker helped rescue the captive Autobots Megatron was using to fuel his technovirus. After Ironhide informed the other Autobots of Megatron's imminent attack on [[San Francisco]], they flew there and engaged the Decepticons. Trailbreaker smashed Grimlock in the face with a steel girder and informed the former Dinobot commander that he'd made the wrong choice in leaving the Autobots and was now going to pay. Unfortunately, Superion was taken down by the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] and [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], prompting Trailbreaker to join Optimus Prime, Sideswipe and Megatron in a moment of [[dull surprise]], gaping at Devastator as if they had never seen him before. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 4}}

As Jazz and the Autobots in [[Canada]] were preparing to deal with the technovirus, Trailbreaker frantically radioed them for backup, reporting that Superion was down. As he was distracted, Devastator attempted to stomp on the Autobot. Trailbreaker caught the foot in time, but was crushed into the pavement. He was later retrieved and placed into restraint by the Decepticons as Megatron attempted to convince Optimus Prime to join his cause to wipe out the humans and rule the universe. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 5}} Once Prime managed to free the Autobots with assistance from human firefighters, Trailbreaker resumed his assault on Grimlock by sending him flying with a punch. After Superion sacrificed himself to save San Francisco from General Hallo's unauthorized nuclear strike, Trailbreaker called Optimus over when he and Sideswipe discovered the abandoned Grimlock under rubble. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 6}}

''While the [[Keeper (species)|Keepers]] were invading Earth, the Transformers also had to deal with an over-reaching American President who wanted to destroy all the Cybertronians. He offered the Autobots his help in setting up an ambush for the Decepticons, but Prime and his advisors quickly realized the President planned to eliminate all of them. Taking what seemed to be the lesser of two evils at the moment, the Autobots forged an alliance with the Decepticons before travelling to the ambush site. Trailbreaker was among the Autobot soldiers Optimus chose for the battle. He fought against the military forces and apparently survived the attack of the [[deconstructionite]]s relatively unharmed. {{storylink|Fusion (novel)|Fusion}}''

Months later, the united Cybertronian army arrived on Earth, demanding the surrender of all combatant Autobots and Decepticons. Trailbreaker suffered serious injuries battling [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] and the Seekers and had to be placed in a [[CR chamber|CR chamber]] for repairs on the flight back to Cybertron. He fought alongside the ''Ark''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s crew and the various insurgency groups on Cybertron to reclaim [[Iacon]] for the Autobots and force Shockwave out of power. {{storylink|War and Peace}} Afterwards, he joined Prowl and the rest of the ''Ark''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s old crew in returning to Earth to work on the construction of a new Autobot City.

===''Universe''===
[[Image:Rattrap legs.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Gah! Someone call an exterminator!]]
Hundreds of years later, Trailbreaker and fellow Autobots [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]], [[Roulette]] and [[Shadow Striker (Universe)|Shadow Striker]] arrived on the newly technorganic Cybertron roughly one year after the defeat of [[Megatron (BW)|this era's Megatron]]. They were welcomed by the surviving members of [[Optimus Primal]]'s band of [[Maximals]], including [[Rattrap]], who offered to share a vintage keg of [[Maccadam's Old Oil House|Maccadam's Old Oil]] with the Autobot veteran. Unfortunately, Trailbreaker did not have an opportunity to take Rattrap up on his offer, because immediately afterwards, he and his associates were abducted by [[Unicron]] and teleported to the [[Cauldron]]. There, they were rebuilt against their will into new bodies... except Trailbreaker, because why mess with success? {{storylink|Abduction}}

[[Image:Optimusprimaluniverseend.jpg|left|150px|thumb|You've got me? Who's got you?!]]
{{storylink|Escape (issue)|Escape}}
[[Optimus Primal]] led the [[Child of Primus|Children of Primus]], which included Trailbreaker, into a final fight with the [[Minion of Unicron|Minions of Unicron]] on the surface of Unicron himself. However, as their victory was imminent, Unicron began to dissolve beneath their very feet, and [[King Atlas]] had to carry Trailbreaker and [[Roulette]] to safety, through a transwarp portal back to their native Cybertron. {{storylink|Revelations Part 2}}

{{-}}
===Devil's Due G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers continuity===
[[Image:GIJoevsTF5_Autobots.jpg|thumb|right|200px|]]
Trailbreaker was among the Transformers discovered on Earth by [[Cobra]], and reworked into a piloted death mechanism known as a [[Stinger (G.I. Joe)|Stinger]]. The Transformers were eventually freed, and the Autobots fought both their Decepticon enemies and their Cobra oppressors. During the battle, Trailbreaker and several other Autobots located [[Cobra Commander]] and tried to capture him, but he was protected by Cobra troops in robotic [[S.N.A.K.E.]] suits. Unfortunately, the Autobots underestimated their human opponents, and Trailbreaker was decapitated by [[Storm Shadow]] during the battle. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 5|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #5}}

This was apparently not as fatal as it seemed, however, as Trailbreaker was up and fighting again shortly afterwards. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 6|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #6}}

{{-}}

===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}
[[Image:MegsOrigin4 Trailbreaker.jpg|left|150px|thumb|I STILL SUPPORT THE RAILING SYSTEMMMMmmmmm!]]
Trailbreaker (along with nearly every other Autobot, apparently) served in the Autobot Security Forces under the command of [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]]. He participated in the battle of [[Kaon]] where the criminal known as [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] began a rampage with his army of convicts. Trailbreaker grabbed [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] as the criminal was flying away, only to be kicked off for his trouble, falling to his apparent demise... {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 4|Megatron Origin #4}}

[[Image:SpotlightKup Trailbreaker.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Mommy told me never to open the door to strangers.]]
Except he survived. Many years later, Trailbreaker was a specialist called in by [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] to extract a deranged [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] safely from the planet where he had crash-landed. The planet possessed a radiation which was dangerous to Transformers without special protective covering, causing Kup, in his delusions, to believe his rescuers were monsters trying to attack him. Trailbreaker's force fields allowed him to walk on the planet without any protective gear, and his appearance shocked Kup for long enough that he could save the old bot's spark core from meltdown. {{storylink|Spotlight: Kup}}

Later, he was one of [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]'s old friends who took time off duty to greet the return of "The Voice". {{storylink|Spotlight: Blaster}}

A year later, Trailbreaker had joined [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]'s team of Autobots on [[Earth]]. They made a plan to drive the Decepticons off the planet once and for all, but fell into a trap and were defeated by [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}} Trailbreaker and the rest were subsequently dumped on the ruined [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to be finished off by the [[Insecticon swarm]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1|All Hail Megatron #1}} His primary role appeared to be playing bodyguard to [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]], making sure nobody lynched the guy for being a suspected traitor. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4|All Hail Megatron #4}} After the Autobot starship ''[[Trion]]'' crashlanded on the planet, Trailbreaker and the others listened to [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]'s story about what happened. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}} They proceeded to mingle with the rest of ''Trion''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> crew. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} Trailbreaker later oversaw the process of putting a giant cannon in place on the Autobots' temporary base. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 9|All Hail Megatron #9}}

Two years later, after the Autobots had returned to Earth and driven the Decepticons away, Trailbreaker watched as [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and several other Autobots got sick of the planet and defected. {{storylink|New Arrivals, Old Encounters}}

{{-}}

===3D Battle-Card Game===
Trailbreaker was one of [[Optimus Primal]]'s many Autobot allies in a fight against [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]'s Decepticon forces, in what might possibly have been an inter-universe battle. {{storylink|3D Battle-Card Game#Energon Wars expansion|Energon Wars Expansion Set}}
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==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1Trailbreaker toy.jpg|right|250px|thumb|If your vehicle mode looks like this, you might be a redneck! You also happen to be indestructible]]
* '''Trailbreaker''' (1984, 2001, 2008)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''25'''
**''Accessories:'' 2 "Twin Blasters", 2 missiles, radar scanner, 2 fists (left & right)

: Trailbreaker transforms in a Toyota 4WD Hi-Lux camper truck. In robot mode, both of his lower arms are projectile launchers, able to load and fire either his fists or his projectiles, which consist of two [[Vacuum metallizing|vacuum metallized]] silver missiles and two silver "twin blasters". The [[Hasbro]] version of the toy severely weakened the springs [[for safety reasons]].

: This mold was later [[retool]]ed to make [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]].

: In 2001, Trailbreaker was given a short-run reissue (limited to only 1,000 pieces) by Takara as a convention-exclusive item, bundled together with Hoist. Since this toy was never reissued by Hasbro, it remained one of the more elusive reissues by Takara, until his 2008 ''[[Encore]]'' reissue. Of note, this reissue gives him a blue visor.

===Other attempts===
There are quite a few Transformers toys that were at one point in their development supposed to be a new form for (or tribute to) Trailbreaker, but so far all of these have become other characters with other names, most likely due to [[Hasbro]]'s inability to secure the [[trademark]].

Trailbreaker's appearance in the [[3H Productions|3H]] [[Universe (2003 comic)|Universe comics]] stems from early plans to release a Trailbreaker redeco of the [[Robots in Disguise (toyline)|Robots in Disguise]] [[X-Brawn]] mold as a convention exclusive in 2003. Reportedly, Hasbro themselves also had the same idea for the mass retail Universe Deluxe assortment, but due to the aforementioned reasons, the toy was ultimately given a different deco and released as [[Ratchet (Universe)|Autobot Ratchet]] instead.

Later, a [[redeco]] of the [[Robots in Disguise (toyline)|Robots in Disguise]] [[Spychanger]] [[Ironhide (RID)|Ironhide]] was released as a Wal*Mart exclusive under the [[Universe (2003 franchise)|Universe]] banner, a black pickup truck with the distinctive red and yellow stripes from Trailbreaker's original toy. Ultimately, this toy would be released as [[Ironhide (Universe)|Ironhide]] instead.

The next attempt was in the [[Alternators]] line, the toy that would eventually become [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] and later [[Rollbar (G1)|Rollbar]]. A [[retool]] of the [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] Jeep Wrangler toy, its head is a cross between the original Trailbreaker toy's helmet and the cartoon model's face, surprisingly similar to [[Dan Khanna]]'s rendition of the character in 3H's Universe comics. A black and white version of a proposed color guide for the unreleased Trailbreaker version of the mold was depicted in the Japanese ''[[The Transformers: Binaltech & TF Collection Complete Guide]]'' book.

Finally, the [[Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]] Autobot [[Overhaul (Cybertron)|Overhaul]] was originally going to be called "Trailbreaker", and the head mold was to have more elements from the Generation 1 character's design. These plans were again scrapped, but the character's upgraded form, '''Leobreaker''', retains the "breaker" portion of the name, since "Leohaul" sounds really silly.

==Merchandise==
[[Image:MovieTrailbreaker3DCard.jpg|right|100px|thumb|Admit it. That head peeking up from the truck mode is hilarious.]]
===3D Battle-Card Game===
*'''Trailbreaker''' (2007)

: A 26-point "common" character in the [[3D Battle-Card Game|3D Battle-Card Game]]'s "Energon Wars" expansion, Trailbreaker "transforms" into a black pickup truck with a camper shell. He uses the same parts layout as [[Payload (Movie)|Payload]] and [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]].

:The Battle-Card may or may not actually represent [[Trailbreaker (Movie)|the live-action movie version of Trailbreaker]], as the design is clearly in the live-action movie aesthetic (and a version of the Trailbreaker character exists in the "movie" universe anyway). The card's listed abilities {{m-}} an Invisible Force Field and a Radio Jammer {{m-}} line up with Trailbreaker's G1 abilities, however, so who knows.

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==Notes==
[[Image:DiacloneTrailbreaker.jpg|thumb|250px]]
* Trailbreaker's mold was originally a ''[[Diaclone]]'' "4WD Hi-Lux", available in three different colors; black, blue or yellow. The blue version was sold by [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] in North America as the ''[[Diakron]]'' "DK-3" Car/Robot in 1983, seemingly just a few months before the toy would be rebranded as a Transformer.

* Trailbreaker laid some serious smackdown on Grimlock in the ''Prime Directive'' miniseries. He was shown laying the Dinobot commander out with a steel girder, went on to survive being stood on by Devastator, and then resumed kicking Grimlock's skid plate, knocking him off his feet with a single punch, and then leaving him buried in rubble only to be left behind by Megatron. So much for being a liability. Shockwave was incredibly lucky that he didn't face him in the next volume.

* In "[[A Prime Problem]]", [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (the ''real'' one, that is) mistakenly refers to Trailbreaker as "'''Trailblazer'''".

* Originally, ''[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]]'' was going to be used in ''Spotlight: Kup'', but Roche put Trailbreaker in after re-looking at the guy's tech spec and thought his power and cheery personality would work better. "It's nice to use a character who gets no love." <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIkqheta3GE Nick Roche interview with Moonbase Two]</ref>

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1984/Autobot/Trailbreaker/trailbreaker.htm Trailbreaker at TFU.info]
*[http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Trailbreaker Trailbreaker's Universe profile at NTFA.net]

[[Category:3D Battle-Cards]]
[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Defense specialists]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Strategists]]
[[Category:Universe characters]]

Starscream (G1)

2010-01-13T15:42:03Z

82.3.48.129: /* Transformers: War for Cybertron */ corrected someone's typo.

{{factions|decepticon|decepticong2}}
{{disambig3|Starscream}}{{suite}}
:''Starscream is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Starscreamg1.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Let me guess. You're gonna attempt to overthrow Megatron, fail, cry, then repeat the cycle.]]
'''Starscream''' is the treacherous Decepticon [[Air Commander]] and the deadliest of the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]]. The self-proclaimed pride of the [[Cybertron War Academy]], he's famous not only for his incredible skill, but also for his limitless (and troublesome) ambition. Starscream believes that he is more suited for command than [[Decepticon leader]] [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. Thankfully for Megatron, Starscream's mutinous, power-grabbing plots are almost always transparent, and he can never muster up enough patience to complete a grandiose power play. Even on the few times he has taken control of the Decepticons, he quickly loses control of a situation, but is too arrogant to realize when he's in over his head. He never learns from his mistakes, but then again, Megatron doesn't either, seeing as how he's never turned Starscream into [[Slag (slang)|slag]]. Despite his constant failures, Starscream believes it is only a matter of time before he prevails—his destiny is inevitable.

Starscream's never give up attitude extends even to the afterlife: unlike most Transformers, he has a mutant, indestructible [[Spark]]. His life-force cannot be destroyed and can persist even without a body to contain it. However, there is no indication that Starscream (or anybody else) was aware of this fact prior to his destruction.

{{bigquote|''Why?'' That's what they ''all'' asked me. Why him... why ''Starscream''? Why, of all the Decepticons, did I decide to revitalize the one whose record of deceit and betrayal is ''legend''? Because I'm an ''idiot'', that's why!|Megatron on Starscream|"[[Total War!]]"}}

:''Alternate names:'' '''Pretty Poison, The Silver Snake''' <ref>Bob Budiansky's notes; "The origins of the Transformers" featurette, [[Shout! Factory]]'s Transformers: Season 1 DVD set</ref>
:''French-Canadian name:'' '''Égo'''
:''Czech name:'' '''Hvězdolam''' ("Starbreak")
:''Euskera (Basque) name:'' '''Izaroihu'''
:''Hungarian name:'' '''Üstökös''' ("Comet")
:''Italian name:'' '''Astrum'''
:''Italian name (Beast Wars):'' '''Scintillor'''
:''Polish name ("Cosmic Rust"):'' '''Gwiazdowrzask'''
:''Polish name (Beast Wars):'' '''Gwiezdny Krzyk''' ("Stellar Cry")
:''Portuguese name (Brazil comics):'' '''Cometa''' ("Comet")
:''Portuguese name (Portugal comics):'' '''Estrela-Estridente''' ("Shrill Star")
:''Russian TV dub name:'' '''Scandalist''' (Скандалист, "Troublemaker")
:''Spanish name:'' '''Grito de Estrella''' ("Star Cry")
:''Chinese name (Taiwan):'' '''Hǒu Hsīng''' (吼星, "Roaring Star")
:''Chinese name (China):'' '''Hong Zhizhu''' (紅蜘蛛, "Red spider")
:''Cantonese name:'' '''Seng Seng Giu''' (星星叫, "Star Shouting")

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{noteukonly}}
[[Image:Introdump decepticons marvelus01.jpg|left|300px|thumb|He's the nigh-identical jerk on the right.]]
''Millions of years ago, on the troubled planet Cybertron, Starscream acted as the figurehead leader for the controlling dictators of the city-state of [[Vos]]. Following a botched attempt at igniting war between [[Iacon]] and [[Tarn]], Vos itself went to war with Tarn, and both cities were destroyed by an exchange of [[Photon missile|photon missiles]]. The survivors of both cities—presumably including Starscream—were gathered together by the ex-gladiator [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], who used their bitterness towards Iacon to unite them under his control as the Decepticons. {{storylink|State Games}}''

Four million years ago, Starscream was part of Megatron's attack raid on the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]]. After its crashlanding on [[Earth]], Starscream was revived and rebuilt into an Earthern form in 1984, along with the other survivors. After a Decepticon roll-call, they fled the Ark. When the Autobots were spotted near a native settlement, aka a drive-thru movie theater, Starscream and the other Decepticons were commanded to attack. While Starscream extolled the use of guile and stealth, [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] saturated him with his [[glass gas]] gun, which coated Starscream, making his metal brittle and breakable as glass. As his chassis shattered, Starscream ordered his fellow jets to flee. {{storylink|The Transformers (issue)|The Transformers}}

Megatron led his Decepticons to a perch above the half-constructed [[Harrison Nuclear Power Plant]], with intent to take it with brute force. Starscream suggested that [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]] scout the area first. Megatron reluctantly agreed with Starscream, choosing [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] to scout in Buzzsaw's stead. It wasn't until Ravage's report that Megatron realized it was the [[Human|humans]] who created the machines in their midst, and thus they must have the technology to convert their fuel to a form they could use. Starscream quietly acknowledged Megatron's shrewdness, and felt that he must never let his eagerness to take over the Decepticons blind him to Megatron's cunning. The Decepticons attacked, and when they had achieved victory, Starscream and the others each hauled off chunks of the plant's machinery to construct their own [[Fortress Sinister|base of operations]] atop a harsh cliffside. Starscream and the other Decepticons next attacked the auto repair shop of [[Sparkplug Witwicky]], a friend of the Autobots whom the Decepticons suspected could convert fuel for them. Once Starscream abducted Sparkplug, the Decepticons retreated. {{storylink|Power Play!}}

[[Image:Addstarscreamtothedamagereport.jpg|right|250px|thumb|He'd better get used to this.]]
Starscream and the others returned to their cliffside headquarters with Sparkplug Witwicky, as Starscream found humor in the role reversal of this planet's human domination over machines. He continued to boast of his successful kidnapping in front of Megatron and the others, a ploy that did not go unnoticed by Megatron. Their captive, Sparkplug, needed materials to aid him in converting Earth fuel to Transformer fuel, so Starscream and [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] were dispatched to bring back a tanker truck full of fuel for Sparkplug to work on. The Decepticons' actions did not go unnoticed, and the human media and military crowded around their headquarters. But it wasn't until the Autobots arrived that Starscream and the other two jets were unleashed upon the crowd. {{storylink|Prisoner of War!}} Though the human escaped, it was not before he had successfully done their work for them. Regardless, Starscream berated Megatron for allowing the human to be rescued, to which Megatron responded to with a blast from his [[fusion cannon]]. {{storylink|The Last Stand}}

''Starscream was one of a group of Decepticons who were sent to the [[United Kingdom]] to investigate tales of the [[Man of Iron]], who was in reality an Autobot sent from [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to Earth to look for the missing Ark. Starscream destroyed him. {{storylink|Man of Iron!}} Meanwhile, Megatron had begun to grow weary of Starscream's constant attempts to undermine his authority, and he sent Ravage to follow Starscream, hoping he would uncover enough damning evidence to permit Megatron to destroy Starscream once and for all. But when Starscream failed to rally the Decepticons behind him by staging a conflict with the Autobots, he tried to kill [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] to keep this secret. When caught, he demanded a trial-by-combat and was pitted against [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]], a fight which he won, until Starscream was shot down and deactivated by Ravage. {{storylink|The Enemy Within!}}''

When it was discovered that Sparkplug had failed to convert fuel for the Autobots, Megatron ordered an attack on the Ark to destroy them once and for all, showing them what lay in wait for those who dared to defy him. Starscream meekly agreed. Despite the Autobots' dangerously low fuel levels, Starscream was amazed at [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]]'s commanding power. But just as victory was about to be handed to the Decepticons, Starscream and the others doubled over in pain. Sparkplug Witwicky had poisoned their converted fuel. If not for the sudden appearance and intervention by the long-lost [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], the Decepticons surely would have been defeated. {{storylink|The Last Stand}} Shockwave, having defeated the entire Autobot army, save the Autobots' medic [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], set up a base of operations inside the Ark and began rehabilitating Starscream and the others. {{storylink|The New Order}} When Megatron awoke and rebelled against Shockwave, the former Decepticon leader was humiliated in his still-weakened state, and paraded in front of Starscream and the others as a warning to those who would cross Shockwave. The Decepticons hailed Shockwave as their new leader. {{storylink|The Worse of Two Evils!}}

[[Image:Starscreamdisintegratedcircuits.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Starscream's treachery is a little more subtle when he's allowed to have thought balloons.]]
When Megatron went missing, leaving control of the Ark back in the hands of the Autobots, Starscream disparaged Megatron's failure in front of Shockwave. The Decepticons had in the meantime taken control of one of [[Blackrock Industries]]' aerospace plants, and [[G.B. Blackrock]] had constructed a superweapon to retaliate. Starscream convinced Shockwave to let him and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] destroy the weapon to boost morale (or maybe allow him to steal the superweapon and use it to destroy Shockwave and take command). There, Starscream and Frenzy not only encountered the Autobots [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] but also a super-powered human who was determined to destroy all robots, [[Circuit Breaker]]. Starscream suffered few injuries, but had to drag Frenzy's body from the conflict. {{storylink|DIS-Integrated Circuits!}}

''Shockwave went missing as well, and with both him and Megatron gone, [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] assumed command. Soundwave wasted no time in telling Starscream why he would never lead the Decepticons -- he's just "a missile with a mouth". Soundwave orchestrated [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]'s capture, and challenged Optimus Prime to fight his way through the Decepticons to rescue him. Although Starscream loudly boasted of being a "leader killer", once he faced Optimus Prime alone, he stammered and hesitated, and was quickly defeated. {{storylink|Crisis of Command!}}''

Shockwave returned, and none too soon! Starscream and the other jets had been standing watch over their captured Blackrock Industries oil rig for weeks. Shockwave unveiled the [[power siphon]] he had built during his absence, which Starscream and the others would soon use to convert sound energy from a [[Brick Springstern]] concert into [[Energon cube|Energon cubes]]. Their plot was stopped abruptly when they were defeated by Bumblebee and a group of new Autobot recruits. {{storylink|Rock and Roll-Out!}} Starscream soon agreed with Shockwave that Bumblebee would be a perfect candidate for them to add to their own ranks. They waited until Bumblebee was alone, and then hunted him relentlessly. It wasn't until human authorities and the Autobots arrived to rescue Bumblebee did the Decepticons abandon their hunt. {{storylink|Plight of the Bumblebee!}}

Starscream, among others, escorted Megatron to the Space Bridge, where they were expecting reinforcements from Cybertron. Though only a team of Autobots had made it through the Space Bridge to Earth, their disappointment was brief. The Autobots had in the meantime launched a full-scale attack on the Decepticons' base, which Megatron reckoned meant that the Ark was unguarded. Indeed, the sole obstacle in their way to the entrance was a tank and a rocket. However, these elements soon combined into the impressive super robot [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]. One by one, Megatron's troops fell before the titan, including Starscream. Only Megatron and [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] survived. {{storylink|Command Performances!}}

''The Autobots gathered up Starscream and the other deactivated Decepticons and placed them in life support capsules within the Ark, holding them imprisoned in stasis. Not long afterward, the Autobots were plunged into a state of disarray by the violent arrival of the enigmatic time-travelling Decepticon, [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], and [[Grapple]] was in such a rush to depart the medical bay and attend a mission briefing that he failed to notice an alert signifying the malfunction of Starscream's capsule. Starscream awoke and punched his way out of the capsule, and proceeded to steal out of the medical area and listen in on the Autobots' briefing. He was shocked to overhear that the Autobots had teamed up with Megatron to defeat Galvatron, and Starscream immediately decided to sneak off to join forces with this powerhouse from the future. Galvatron went along with Starscream's toadying, as the irony amused him; Galvatron was, in fact, a recreated future incarnation of Megatron, and would go on to kill Starscream twenty years in the future! When Galvatron and his men faced Megatron once again, Starscream shot Megatron in the back, but had to be stopped short of killing him by Galvatron himself, who knocked Starscream unconscious in order to secure his own future existence. Starscream's body was placed back into its stasis capsule by the future Autobots [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], who then proceeded to trick Galvatron into returning to the future through a complicated plan that involved painting Skywarp to look like Starscream, and then duping Galvatron into destroying him. After killing "Starscream", Galvatron rationalized that he must have travelled back to a parallel timeline, since Starscream was not supposed to die until 2006, and returned to the future with his men. {{storylink|Target: 2006}}''

[[Image:Starscreammerrychristmas.jpg|left|150px|thumb|His heart grew three sizes that day.]]
''Rather than do the smart thing and return Starscream the Ark, the future Autobots rather unwisely left his capsule lying in the middle of a field. As happenstance would have it, Starscream lay there, undisturbed, until he awoke at [[Christmas]] the following year. Desolate, he wished he could go home again, and was in mid-mope when he was chanced upon by a [[Christmas kid|a human]] who sought to inform him of the meaning of Christmas. Urged to help a busload of elderly humans who had become stuck in a snowdrift, Starscream wanted to know what would be in it for him. As Starscream debated this good deed, he was suddenly attacked by [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]], who suspected him to be up to his usual do-baddery. After a brief battle, the human intervened to chastise Streetwise, and Starscream proceeded to show up the Protectobot by saving the bus, purely out of spite. {{storylink|Stargazing}}''

{{note|Starscream never awoke in the American stories—his deactivated body remained captive within the Ark for years, and was not rescued until the events of "[[Totaled!]]", when [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]]'s forces saved all the Decepticons aboard the craft. When this story was reprinted in the UK, Starscream's name was erased from the artwork. As far as the UK stories were concerned, Starscream sought out Ratbat's Decepticons to join up with them.}}

Starscream quickly ingratiated himself with Ratbat and helped run [[Club Con]], a human island resort that covered their attempt to uncover subterranean information on the legendary [[Underbase]]. {{storylink|Club Con!}} When a pair of Autobot audio and video tapes recording the loss of the Underbase were found, Starscream convinced Ratbat to let him watch the tapes with him. In the "[[Realvision]]" playback, he witnessed a young Optimus Prime thwart Megatron's early attempts to possess the Underbase by shooting the legendary database into space. {{storylink|The Flames of Boltax!}} Starscream then set about a chain of systematic betrayals in order to gain access to that power. He set loose [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]], whom the Decepticons had been holding prisoner, with equipment that would lure the Autobots to the Decepticon's Antarctic base. The ensuing battle served to distract his fellow Decepticons as he then stole a ship from [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] to look for the Underbase. {{storylink|Cold War!}}

[[Image:Underbaseallmine.jpg|right|250px|thumb|This is way more graphic than was needed.]]
Upon finding the ancient database, Starscream began absorbing its power but was unable to finish the task as he was blasted by Ratbat's ship, piloted by a temporary Autobot/Decepticon alliance. However, while the light of the Underbase had only shone on Starscream for a moment, that moment had been enough to fill him with its awesome power, and the now-cosmically-powered Air Commander survived the attack. Growing to monumental proportions, Starscream hurled his ship at Ratbat's craft, and promptly headed for Earth with the intention of proving his power by destroying [[New York City|New York]], [[Tokyo]] and [[Buenos Aires]]. The Autobots and Decepticons traveled to those locations to try and stop Starscream, but they ultimately failed, as a massive amount of the Transformers active on Earth were badly damaged and incapacitated by Starscream's Underbase-powered rampage. Starscream only stopped after intercepting a radio transmission between [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] and Optimus Prime, and realized that the great Autobot leader was elsewhere, plotting against him. Starscream fled back out into space to find Prime, and rediscovered the Underbase. Starscream attempted to finish absorbing its power, only to have the absolute knowledge overwhelm him, which resulted in his destruction. {{storylink|Dark Star (issue)|Dark Star}}

[[Image:ZombieScream1.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Braaaiiiinnnssss!]]
''Starscream's corpse crashed in South America, but the Decepticon still clung to some semblance of life, as his shattered husk was reanimated by the residual energy of the Underbase that still saturated it, and driven by Starscream's own muderderous impulses into an insane rampage. After nearly killing [[Susan Hoffman]] and [[Susan Hoffman#Related characters|her Assistants]], the [[zombie]]-like Starscream was confronted by [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]] and [[Darkwing]], who had been sent by Megatron to recover Starscream's body, and the Autobot [[Triggerbot|Triggerbots]]. Triggerbot [[Backstreet]] was able to appeal to the fraction of the Underbase that was still within Starscream and convinced it to try and regain control of itself, but as soon as it did, Dreadwind and Darkwing had their [[Powermaster]] partners [[Hi-Test]] and [[Throttle (G1)|Throttle]] siphoned all the Underbase's remaining power from the walking cadaver. Starscream's corpse returned to being an inanimate pile of scrap, which the pair quickly collected.'' {{storylink|Race with the Devil}}

Starscream's remains were delivered to Megatron on Cybertron, who kidnapped [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and forced him to rebuild Starscream with a powerful [[Pretender]] shell. Ratchet was shown three different shell prototypes, and a final design meant for Starscream. {{storylink|The Resurrection Gambit!}} As Ratchet worked on repairing Starscream, he feigned a friendly attitude towards Megatron, but this was a facade to cover Ratchet's true motives. Though Megatron had some tweaks in mind for Starscream's personality, Ratchet had something else in mind. After the Pretender shell had finished healing the body inside, Megatron sent Starscream to Earth, where Scorponok and Optimus Prime had clashed over a misunderstanding. As they were about to peacefully discuss the machinations that had gathered them there, Starscream's shell appeared! The Transformers and Nebulans below gaped in horror as the shell opened up to reveal the treacherous Starscream! {{storylink|All the Familiar Faces!}}

[[Image:Starscreamskindeep.jpg|right|300px|thumb|These are the Delboest panels ever.]]
Starscream's new form was powerful, but what gave him his true edge was how much he spooked his victims. He was believed to be a ghost, an invincible force of revenge, and most of Scorponok's troops quickly fled the battlefield. It wasn't until Hot Rod manned up and shot their attacker did they realize that this was no ghost at all, but rather a physical being that could [[Furmanism|feel pain and be destroyed.]] This was further sold by Starscream's sudden display of cowardice. Ratchet had arranged for Starscream's true personality to eventually surface, and Hot Rod's blast had knocked it free. Completely outmatched, he surrendered and begged Scorponok for forgiveness. {{storylink|Skin Deep}}

''Briefly after becoming a Pretender, Starscream began to wallow in self-pity, believing that all the other Decepticons considered him a joke for his many failed takeover attempts and defeats. His self-esteem crumbled every time the other Decepticons refused to speak to him or spoke about him behind his back. In reality, the other Decepticons were terribly frightened of Starscream (thanks to that whole Underbase thing) and were avoiding him so they wouldn't be killed. Starscream sulked about it for a while until he defeated and captured a few Autobots and his confidence began to return.'' {{storylink|Fallen Star!}}

[[Image:Ratchetjollies.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Ooooh, better leave this one off the resume.]]
Starscream was a source of dissention among the Decepticons, who were angry with Scorponok for letting him back in {{storylink|Primal Scream (issue)|Primal Scream}}—and it ''was'' pretty dumb, as Starscream tried to capture the mutant [[Dynamo]] and use him as a [[Powermaster]] so he could challenge Scorponok. He failed, but was then met by [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], then believed to be dead. {{storylink|The Human Factor!}} Starscream joined his gang in a [[Decepticon Civil War]] against Scorponok, and pressganged [[Triggerhappy]] and [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] into the group. {{storylink|Eye of the Storm}} Thanks to the Autobots and [[Neo-Knights]], it was a bust. {{storylink|Out of Time!}}

Starscream was transported to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to take part in the fight against [[Unicron]]. "Take part" as in "ran away". Along with Shockwave, he hijacked and repaired the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] so they could escape the dying planet. Shockwave and Starscream found Megatron and Ratchet awakening from the [[Nucleon]] on board the ship, both very confused and addled due to their mind-link. Starscream tried to kill Ratchet and got [[:Image:Ratchetjollies.jpg|totally beaten up]], before the medic directed one of Starscream's null-rays into the Nucleon storage tanks, causing enough of a chain reaction to send the Ark into a crash-landing on Earth, once again resulting in Starscream's deactivation. {{storylink|A Savage Circle}}

=====Earthforce=====
{{earthforcefiction}}
''In an alternate series of events, Starscream and Shockwave's army grew much larger, and their main competition was not Scorponok, but a revived Megatron and his group of Decepticons. As Shockwave's second-in-command, Starscream had few responsibilities, and even less power. The final indignity came when he was assigned to mere monitor duty at their undersea base. Still, even that ignoble assignment presented an opportunity, as Starscream caught Megatron's spies, the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]], trying to tune in to Shockwave's war room. After incapacitating the bugs, Starscream surprised them by offering to let them go free, if they would report back to Megatron that Shockwave would be alone at a certain spot the next day, ensuring that Megatron would go out to battle him alone. {{storylink|Bugged!}} With the trap baited, Starscream contacted his opposite number, Megatron's second-in-command Soundwave, and proposed an alliance. Soundwave had already been playing both sides by feeding information to him, and so the two of them conspired to join the Decepticon factions under their joint rule. Sure enough, after Megatron and Shockwave's private battle came under Autobot fire (Autobots who had been anonymously tipped off by Starscream), they radioed their respective bases only to hear that the Decepticons no longer considered the two of them leaders. {{storylink|Internal Affairs!}}''

''Starscream's first major action as Decepticon leader was the ol' "bait and switch" -- sending Soundwave and a Decepticon strike force to keep the Autobots busy at their Earthbase, while he personally attended to stealing a supply of oil from a tanker in the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. It seemed, however, that Starscream's plan hadn't accounted for Earthforce's newest recruits: the [[Survivors]]. A quick 1-2-3 by [[Carnivac (G1)|Carnivac]], [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] took the fight out of Starscream, and so he retreated, radioing his troops to do the same. {{storylink|Divide and Conquer!}}''

''Sometime later, returning to the Decepticon base in the Louisiana bayous, Starscream suddenly found himself fighting for his life against several mismatched bounty hunters and mercenaries. Believing his co-commander Soundwave must have been responsible for the contract, Starscream stormed back to their headquarters to confront him. {{storylink|Assassins}} He wasted no words in confronting his "treacherous" partner, but fortunately Soundwave had had the foresight to prerecord an explanation. While trading blows and dodging laser fire in person, Soundwave's recording outlined how the situation was clearly a set-up to make them fight each other. Fortunately, Starscream believed him. Unfortunately, [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] and the [[Mayhem Attack Squad]] stormed in at that moment, having been paid by the true contractors, Megatron and Shockwave, to eliminate anyone left standing. {{storylink|External Forces!}} The two Decepticons would have been overwhelmed if they hadn't received aid from an unlikely source: Earthforce. It seemed the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]] [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] was dying of [[Corrodia Gravis]], a wasting disease which required an energy transfer from a compatible Transformer, and Starscream fit the bill. After driving off Megatron, Shockwave and the Mayhems, Starscream made a deal with Earthforce to help Snarl in exchange for their aid against any future uprising by the former Decepticon leaders. {{storylink|The Lesser Evil}}''

''Soon afterwards, Starscream and Soundwave engaged in Project: Smear, a campaign to ruin the Autobots' good name among the humans, and ensure they received no additional aid in the war. A straight-forward attempt to brainwash [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] into wrecking a human settlement didn't pan out, {{storylink|Inside Story!}} so a more subtle plan was engineered. Starscream had [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] use his [[Cerebro-shell|cerebro-shells]] to subvert the will of a human reporter, [[Irwin Spoon]], and compel him to write a story bashing the Autobots and portraying them as kidnappers, or worse. {{storylink|End of the Road! (UK)|End of the Road!}}''

====''Generation 2''====
[[Image:Starscreamtongue.jpg|left|100px|thumb|Who have you been talking to, Starscream?]]
Starscream had been damaged to the point of stasis lock when the Ark crashed on Earth for a second time. Megatron, apparently the only one to recover from the crash more or less unscathed, decided to revive Starscream. {{storylink|All or Nothing!}} He would later question his own judgement in doing so, but in his defense, the only other Decepticons involved in the crash had been Shockwave and Galvatron (and Galvatron had walked away from the crash anyway), so his options for loyalty were slim.

[[Image:Starscream uscomics.png|right|150px|thumb|"I am only saving you so that I may punish you later."]]
Predictably, though, Starscream would indeed betray Megatron and the Decepticons once again, this time by giving [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] and his troops information that allowed them to take control of the Decepticon flagship ''[[Warworld]]''. {{storylink|Total War!}} Starscream then doublecrossed Jhiaxus, stole the [[Creation Matrix]] (which Megatron had stolen from Prime earlier) and used its powers to merge himself with the ''Warworld'', becoming an unstoppable force of destruction. As Optimus Prime and Megatron entered the possessed ship to try and stop him, Starscream exhibited a startling control over the physical nature of the vessel, turning the ''Warworld'' into an ever-shifting maze of horrors to torment the two leaders. {{storylink|Dark Shadows!}} But when they confronted him face-to-face, he found that the Matrix was having a disagreeable effect on his own mind. He found himself wanting to be, in his own words, "good". He desperately gave the Matrix back to Prime in the hopes that the effect would be temporary. This reverted Starscream to his ordinary form, presumably severing his connection with the ship. {{storylink|A Rage in Heaven!}}

====''Classics''====
{{note|The ''Classics'' comic takes place after the end of the original Marvel Comic, but in a new timeline that does not include the events of the Marvel UK-exclusive stories or ''Generation 2''.}}
Starscream reappears alongside several other Decepticons restored by Megatron fifteen years after the Ark crash-landed. He still appears to enjoy making snide remarks at Megatron's expense.

===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
{{main|Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity}}
[[Image:G1toon_starscream_bawled_out.jpg|left|thumb|220px]]
A former scientist who joined the Decepticons with gusto after the loss of his friend [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]], Starscream quickly decided that Megatron's leadership was old and outdated, and that he was the one who should be in charge. Cue nine million years of backstabbing, treachery, cowardice, coups and general disobendience, which continued when the war moved from Cybertron to Earth. In fact, it was Starscream's refusal to listen to Megatron that kept the war going, when a petty parting blast that he delivered to the Autobot's crashed starship jostled the body of Optimus Prime into the path of [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]]'s restoration beam. Starscream's scheming was a constant throughout the Earth conflict, and culminated in his expulsion from the Decepticon ranks, following which he created the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] to serve as his personal army, only to have them turn on him, forcing him to rejoin Megatron's ranks.

Even in death, Starscream was unstoppable. Following Megatron's climactic battle with Optimus Prime in 2005, Starscream set his commander's battered body adrift in space, and promptly appointed himself the new Decepticon leader. In the midst of a grandiose cornoation ceremy, however, Megatron returned, recreated as [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] by the power of [[Unicron]], and promptly blasted Starscream to ashes. Surprisingly, Starscream's lifeforce persisted as a ghost, which continued to bedevil the Transformers, even across the gulf of time.
{{--}}

===Big Looker storybooks continuity===
[[Image:DecepticonsCarShow.jpg|right|200px|thumb|I have no idea what colors I am!]]
Starscream and his fellow Seekers performed a threatening flyby over the Autobots' headquarters in order to distract the heroic robots while the other Decepticons stole a tanker of oil that would give them the power to rule the world. Thanks to [[Shooting Star]], the Autobots got wise to the Decepticons' tactics and [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] blew up the villains by dropping missiles on them. Starscream arrived on the scene to spitefully blow up the oil tanker so that no one could have it, then he and his fellow airborne Decepticons carried off the remains of their fallen comrades. {{storylink|Decepticon Hijack}}

Starscream was part of the battle that resulted when the Autobots came to rescue the mind-controlled [[Grapple]] from the Decepticons' clutches. When Grapple was freed from the effects of the [[cerebro-shell]] controlling him, he kicked Megatron over on top of Starscream and Skywarp, winning the day. {{storylink|Insecticon Attack!}}

At some point in the future, when Galvatron had taken leadership of the Decepticons, Starscream suggested to his leader that he create a city of his own to gather energy, as the Autobots did with their Autobot City. Galvatron decided to go about it in the most circular way possible, by stealing a robot car on display at a car show that night and duplicating its circuitry to create an army of drones to build said city. While investigating the Decepticons' presence at the show, Kup was captured by Starscream. When the Autobots arrived in response, Starscream threatened Kup's life to stay their hands, but luckily, Hot Rod soon saved Kup, and the Decepticons were defeated. {{storylink|Car Show Blow Up}}

===Ladybird Books continuity===
[[Image:Starscream ladybird books.jpg|right|215px|thumb|Toy-accurate art makes Starscream ANGRY!]]
A brash and aggressive character, Starscream is constantly running up against the older, smarter Megatron. He once convinced Rumble to help him attack and destroy an Autobot tower (believed to be for communications) against Megatron's orders. In the process, he caused Megatron and the other Decepticons to come get him back. (They arrived ''just'' as he was slagging off Megatron.) Since that tower was actually used for channeling lightning storms into power, the entire Decepticon team was viciously injured by an electric surge due to his disobedience. {{storylink|Autobots' Lightning Strike}}

Starscream later tried to overthrow Megatron when the commander was off on a mission and requested the other Decepticons rendezvous with him. Starscream's act of rebellion was to blow up the building he thought Megatron was in and declare himself leader. Megatron turned out to be standing behind him, and he gave Starscream a valuable lesson on leadership (i.e., told him how dumb that was whilst punching him). {{storylink|Megatron's Fight for Power}}

When [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] time-travelled to the 20th Century and took command, Starscream served under him. He'd learnt his lesson since the early days, not trying to overthrow his commander ''once''. {{storylink|Galvatron's Air Attack}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers PD Type''===
[[Image:Starscream pd type.jpg|left|190px|thumb|HaHA! I have caught the Golden Snitch!]]
As various [[Decepticon|Decepticons]] from across the timestream joined forces to track down the all-powerful [[Blackball|Blackballs]], Starscream proved most effective at the hunt. Discovering a Blackball, he immediately carried it over to [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] for some praise. Unfortunately, the "Blackball" turned out to be a cartoon bomb, which promptly exploded in their faces. From a distance, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] were astounded that their plan actually worked. Inside the smoking crater, a badly singed Megatron strangled Starscream, frustrated at his consistent failures. {{storylink|Transformer PD Type|Don't Cry! Megatron!!}}

Later, Starscream uncovered another Blackball. For a moment he considered giving it to Megatron, but then decided that if he kept it for himself, he could use the power to seize command of the Decepticons. He then immediately became suspicious that the Blackball might be another bomb, but dismissed the suspicion just as quickly. Then it exploded. {{storylink|Transformer PD Type|Good Luck! Starscream!!}}
{{-}}

===''Beast Wars'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Doug Parker]] (English), [[Kazuki Yao]] (Japanese)

[[Image:Starscream ghost BW.jpg|right|250px|thumb|EBENEZER SCROOGE...!]]
Little was known about Starscream among the [[Maximal|Maximals]], as the [[Maximal Elder|Maximal Elders]] had classified most of his information. At some point in time the Elders had attempted to duplicate Starscream's mutant indestructible spark effect, which led to the origin of the monstrous [[Protoform X]].{{storylink|Bad Spark}} [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]], a student of military history, was familiar with Starscream's record of deceit and betrayal. It is possible that [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] was also aware of his history, as he ordered [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] to keep an eye on Starscream.

Starscream's ghost traveled through time and space to the prehistoric earth of the [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]], where he possessed [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]]'s body during an electrical storm. He ingratiated himself with Megatron, claiming that he had been destroyed by [[Unicron]] while protecting [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. After leading a successful raid on the [[Axalon (BW)|''Axalon'']], he was left in command of the captured Maximal ship, along with Scorponok and [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]--the latter having sufficiently impressed Starscream by seeing through his historical deception that he took her on as a "protégé". When the defeated Maximals surrendered to him, he took Dinobot and [[Optimus Primal]] hostage and ordered the remaining Maximals to attack the ''[[Darksyde]]''. Scorponok objected, but he was very forcefully overruled. Shortly after the attack began, the two captive Maximals broke out and drove the Predacons out of the ''Axalon''. Starscream fled, pursued by Primal, and abandoned Blackarachnia to her fate. After a spirited chase, Primal cornered Starscream at an [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] deposit, paralyzing him. As he tried to bargain his way out of his predicament, his vengeful ex-partner Blackarachnia detonated the energon, blowing Waspinator to scrap and forcing Starscream's spark out of his body. Waspinator is restored back to normal by Megatron, and Blackarachnia explains her betrayal as an attempt to find Starscream's true motives, and at that point, Megatron pardons her.

Adrift in space once more, Starscream's ghost screamed vengeance into the void. {{storylink|Possession}}
====Transformers Beast Wars: Transmetals Video Game====
{{note|This game takes place in an alternate version of the second season of the [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]] cartoon.}}
[[Image:N64Starscream.jpg|200px|thumb|Yes, that's Transmetal Waspinator in original Waspinator colors as Generation 1 Starscream. No, that's not normal.]]
{{Note|Starscream is only available for game play in the Nintendo 64 version of this game.}}
Starscream returned to the Beast Wars following the [[quantum surge]], with a strange but powerful new [[Transmetal]] body. Fearing that the Beast Wars would alter history against his liking, Starscream set out to destroy any Maximal or Predacon that opposed him. After vanquishing his foes, Starscream entered the Ark and infused himself with the power of his old body, just as Megatron and Optimus Primal had increased their power. This fusion of old and new allowed Starscream to finally achieve his eons long goal of restoring his original body. Finally whole, Starscream undertook the long journey through transwarp back to Cybertron. {{storylink|Transformers Beast Wars: Transmetals}}
{{note|Each character possessed an alternate ending, displayed if the N64 version of the game was beaten with said character. Each character has only their own ending listed on their pages, see the other characters' pages for Starscream’s fate in those outcomes.}}
{{-}}

====IDW Beast Wars Comics====
After his defeat at the hands of the Maximals, Starscream's immortal spark wandered through space and time, until it found an alternate timeline with another Waspinator to possess. When the quantum surge hit prehistoric earth in this timeline, Waspinator was transmetalized, and Starscream, still inhabiting the Predacon's body, was somehow able to influence Waspinator's metamorphosis, giving him a third fighter jet mode resembling Starscream's own old alternate form. Although the two of them bicker over control of the body constantly, their two seperate voices audible to whoever hears them argue, Waspinator secretly enjoys the enhanced skills Starscream grants him. {{storylink|Beast Wars Sourcebook}}
{{-}}

===Transformers Legends===
While Starscream lay [[stasis lock]]ed in the Ark, [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] broke in and implanted a fraction of the original Megatron's spark into the Air Commander, allowing the two Megatron's to control him. The Decepticon leader, whose spark had been implanted into Megatron, attempted to use Starscream to return to his own body, but was subdued in a battle of wills with beast Megatron. Starscream's services ultimately went unused until the [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]] ended, at which point the [[Maximal]]s were able to extract the spark fragment. {{storylink|A Meeting of Minds}}
{{Charstubfiction}}
{{storylink|Redemption Center}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
[[Image:Starscreamwarwithin.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Smirkier-than-thou.]]
Starscream was a competitor in [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]'s underground gladiatorial matches, the breeding ground for what would eventually become the Decepticons. He enjoyed baiting his fellow combatant, [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]; in fact, he was a master at it. Once war broke out, he kept taunting his old friend, which eventually backfired when he told Grimlock exactly where the Seekers were going to attack, giving Grimlock time to set a massive bomb. Starscream's life was saved only by the fast action of Skywarp. {{storylink|The War Within Preview}}

In typical fashion, Starscream tried to seize power. While Megatron was deep within the bowels of Cybertron, Starscream instructed [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] to initiate the planet's long-hidden transformation sequence, hoping Megatron would be crushed in the process. Some people never learn. {{storylink|The War Within issue 5}}

[[Image:Predaconstww.jpg|left|200px|thumb|My... people.]]
A few millennia later, after the apparent death of Megatron, Starscream created a splinter group of Decepticons called [[Predacon (War Within)|Predacons]]. However, when your smartest subordinates are [[Motormaster]], [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] and [[Octane]], you can't expect much of your forces. {{storylink|Fragmentation}}

Starscream was among the Decepticon boarding party that attacked the Autobot flagship Ark, causing its crash-landing on Earth and putting all Autobots and Decepticons alike in emergency stasis. In 1984 a volcanic eruption awakened the Ark's computer, Teletraan-I, and it repaired all on board. Starscream's actions over the next fifteen years are largely unrecorded, but he probably did what he did best: strafe the Autobots and fleshlings and attempt to betray Megatron, smirking all the while. In 1998, the combined forces of the Autobots and Earth defeated and captured the Decepticons. Starscream was secured on board the ''[[Ark II]]'' along with the other Decepticons when the ship exploded, killing the human crew and scattering the Transformers across the ocean. Arms dealer Adam Rook (aka. [[Lazarus]]) recovered several of the Autobots and Decepticons and used them as a reprogrammed weapons for hire for terrorists and despots. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 1|Prime Directive #1}} As part of a demonstration to prospective buyers, Rook had Starscream join an assault against the Smitco Oil Refinery alongside half a dozen Transformers. When Megatron eventually broke free of Rook's control, he freed the other Decepticons. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 2|Prime Directive #2}}

The reactivated Starscream, along with his Seeker brothers Thundercracker and Skywarp, took a particular pleasure in dismantling the Autobot Minicars. When Megatron complained that he didn't rewire them so they could sit around and do nothing, Starscream playfully said they were only having some fun with their new "toys". Megatron ordered the three Decepticons to follow him, and when Skywarp asked Starscream what their leader's plan was this time, the air commander casually tossed [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]'s head over his shoulder and said that he didn't care, as it was going to be evil, and evil is ''always'' fun. Soon afterwards, the Autobots arrived and attacked. As Starscream attempted to choke [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] paid him back with a nice throat punch. All the combatants were then bombed by rogue members of the U.S. military. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 3|Prime Directive #3}}

The Decepticons escaped and attacked [[San Francisco]]. When [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] appeared to stop [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], Starscream led the other Seekers in bombing the Autobot giant, forcing the Aerialbots into their component team member forms and putting them at the mercy of Devastator. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 5|Prime Directive #5}} Starscream and the other Decepticons secured the Autobots after Optimus Prime defeated Devastator. The Autobot leader managed to free his comrades after humans distracted the Decepticons, and the battle was rejoined. Fellow F-15 [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] punched Starscream in the face, repaying him for the earlier defeat. After the Aerialbots, as Superion, sacrificed their lives to save San Francisco from [[Robert Hallo|General Hallo's]] unauthorized nuclear strike, Starscream and the other Decepticons escaped. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 6|Prime Directive #6}}

[[Image:Starscreamshhhhhh.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Holy crap! Expressions!]]
Starscream led the Decepticons in joining Shockwave's Cybertronians after Megatron was defeated and was the first to recognize the mind-altering techniques being employed. Starscream escaped the CR chambers long enough almost to succeed in assassinating Megatron. Punishment didn't deter him, and Starscream was almost immediately creating a small sect of separatist Decepticons on Cybertron. He used the cover of Menasor's release to steal the incapacitated Combaticons to form his own army. If only he hadn't tried to hijack [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]]. Yet another rebellion defeated by bad planning. Some people never learn. {{storylink|War and Peace|War and Peace}}

[[Image:Starscreamdaydream.jpg|right|200px|thumb|There but for the grace of a fusion cannon go I.]]
After returning to Earth, Starscream unleashed the Decepticons on the Autobots under the leadership of [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]]. Unfortunately, most of the Decepticons were incapacitated. Worse, Starscream's clone [[Sunstorm (G1)|Sunstorm]] arrived on some bizarre mission. Starscream was forced to ally with the Autobots in exchange for getting his forces freed. After the misadventure, Starscream took the Combaticons for some practice against Sky Lynx. This also ended in disaster, for [[Predaking]] soon arrived, and Starscream discovered that Soundwave, his cassettes, and the other Seekers had allied with Predaking's master... Megatron! Starscream was again forced into a subservient position, with Megatron preparing to lead the Decepticons in the conquest of Earth... {{storylink|Generation One (Dreamwave comic)|Generation One (ongoing)}}

{{note|...at which point [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]] self-destructed.}}
{{-}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
[[Image:JoeVsTF1 Starscream transforms.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Even when Starscream's nothing more than a mindless drone, he still manages to smirk.]]
When the nascent terrorist organization known as [[Cobra]] uncovered the buried hulk of the Ark, they removed the bodies of numerous Transformers with the intention of using them as weapons of war to threaten America. Cobra scientist [[Doctor Mindbender]] hacked the brain functions of the captive Transformers, reducing them to the level of remote-controlled drones, and dubbed them "[[Battle Android Trooper|Battle Android Troopers]]". Starscream was reconfigured to transform into a jet plane known as a "Night Raven", and was selected for use by the [[Cobra Commander]] as his personal aircraft.

Starscream was among the Transformers deployed during Cobra's opening attack on world freedom, when they targeted the [[United Nations]] Headquarters. Starscream transformed to robot mode and was punching his way through the building when a U.S. Military soldier code-named [[Snake-Eyes]] opened fire on him with a machine gun. Although unharmed by the attack, Starscream returned fire with his lasers, blowing up the missile tank upon which the soldier was perched and horribly scarring his face. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 1|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 1}} Returning to Cobra's island base, Cobra Commander began his meeting with [[Destro]] by having Starscream dramatically fly by overhead and transform, for no reason other than to impress the arms dealer. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 2|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 2}}

Meanwhile, Autobot scientist Wheeljack had been able to avoid capture by Cobra, and had allied himself with America's newly-formed special mission force [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]. Hacking into Cobra's system, he was able to shut off the terrotists' control of the Transformers, liberating their minds and bodies. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 3|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 3}} Naturally, the first thing Starscream did once he was free was to interrupt a battle between Optimus Prime and Megatron by shooting Megatron in the chest in a bid for leadership. Megatron returned the sentiment, blasting him with his fusion cannon, and Starscream slunk away as Megatron returned to more important matters. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 4|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 4}}

[[Image:Starscream snakeeyes eye gouge.jpg|right|350px|thumb|"You've got something in your eye. Let me get it out."]]
Lurking in the island's jungle, Starscream crossed paths with Snake-Eyes, who took revenge for his disfigurement by shattering the unsuspecting Starscream's eye with his sword and shoving a grenade into the socket. Clawing at his face, Starscream tumbled over a cliff and was badly damaged in the fall. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 5|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 5}} His still-operational body was soon happened across by Cobra Commander, who was attempting to flee the escalating battle between the Autobots, Decepticons, Joes and Cobras that was engulfing the island, and Starscream made the human proposition: help him remove the grenade, and he would get him off the island. Naturally, the commander agreed. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 6|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 6}}

[[Image:Starscream gijoe energyropes.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Starscream is allergic to glow stick ropes.]]
Starscream and Cobra Commander resurfaced two years later, when Cobra Commander learned that human scientists had created an interstellar wormhole to Cybertron. With Starscream forced to do his bidding (via unspecified means), he used the portal to travel to Cybertron with the intention of gaining control of the wormhole technology by stealing the super-computer [[Teletran 3]]. However, a G.I. Joe ambush that struck just as they were carrying out their plan caused a catastrophic malfunction in Teletran 3, scattering numerous Transformers through the wormhole network across space and time. Starscream was not among those scattered, but he was promptly bound with energy ropes by Perceptor and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] while they assessed the severity of the situation. It transpired that the chronal disruption caused by the time-lost Transformers would dsestroy the Earth, and teams of Joes and Cobras were soon dispatched through the timestream to retrieve the robots and save the planet. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 1|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 1}}

While the Joes and Cobras were off on their time-tossed mission, the forcefield protecting Magnus, Perceptor and Teletran 3 collapsed, at which point Decepticon commander Shockwave struck. Shockwave freed Starscream and reprogrammed Teletran 3 to prevent Transformers from being able to return to their proper times, so that Earth would be destroyed and he could invade it, as he had always planned to—it was Shockwave who had leaked the wormhole technology to humans in the first place. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 3}} When a small team of Joes and Cobras that remained on Cybertron tried to undo his programming, Starscream spotted [[Lady Jaye]] modifying Teletran 3 and shouted a warning, but it came too late. The Transformers were returned, and Starscream escaped in the midst of the chaotic battle that resulted.

In the aftermath of the battle, Shockwave accused Starscream of deliberately trying to foil his scheme by trying to steal Teletran 3. Starscream denied any treacherousness on his part, and Shockwave was just starting to come around when a recording Cobra Commander had programmed into Starscream began to play, informing the Decepticon leader of Starscream's general uselessness. At that point, Starscream promptly exploded, taking out the Decepticon headquarters in the process, courtesy of forty-five pounds of plastic explosives that Cobra Commander had lined his housing with, in case the Decepticon had ever escaped his clutches. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 4|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 4}}

===''Transformers/G.I. Joe''===
[[Image:Starscream gijoe ww2.jpg|right|180px|thumb|"Pathetic fools! There's no escape!"]]
When the foundling terrorist organization known as Cobra discovered the Ark buried in the [[Fera Islands]] in 1938, they inadvertently awoke the Decepticons from their stasis. The evil robots entered into an alliance with the organization's leader, Cobra Commander, to conquer the world and strip it of its energy, but Megatron's true goal was to take the Matrix of Leadership—stolen from the body of Optimus Prime—from around Cobra Commander's neck. Starscream adopted the alternate form of a P-51 Mustang aeroplane.

One year later, in 1939, the American military formed a special mission force to counter the Cobra-Decepticon alliance named "G.I. Joe". Laserbeak spied upon the first meeting of this team and reported the information to Cobra; Starscream stood nearby as Cobra Commander vowed to kill the Joes, and opined that heroes were ''born'' to die. G.I. Joe's first attack came soon after, and Starscream distracted their aircraft in his jet mode while Megatron attacked them from above and downed them. {{storylink|The Line|The Line}} As it happened, the Joes bailed out and landed near to the buried Ark, where they wound up awakening the Autobots within the craft. Starscream watched as the ship sent out a repair drone to scan for alternate modes, aware of what it meant and seeing it as a threat to Megatron's leadership that he could exploit. Megatron happened upon Starscream as he was monologuing about taking the power of the Matrix for himself, and witnessed the drone going about its business. Knowing he would need the scheming Starscream for the coming battle, he ordered the Air Commander to help him move their stockpiled energon cubes to safer location. {{storylink|Transformed|Transformed}}

Megatron proceeded to mass the Decepticons for a major battle with the Autobots, save for Starscream, who was left to languish within their base. Unfortunately for Megatron, this merely left Starscream with an opportunity to conspire with Cobra Commander's own traitorous second, [[Destro]], and together the pair prepared to unleash the newly-constructed giant robot, Bruticus, upon everyone. {{storylink|Wolves|Wolves}}

[[Image:Starscream gijoe ww2 weakspot.jpg|left|250px|thumb|"I...will...keep reaching...uuuhh."]]
Even this conspiracy proved to be a deception on Destro's part, however, when he had his lover, the [[Baroness]], shoot Starscream in his weak spot: an inch below his right ear, just behind his jaw hinge. Starscream's head flared with electricity and he collapsed, while Destro loosed Bruticus upon all his assembled enemies. G.I. Joe member Snake-Eyes ended the threat when he plucked the Matrix from Cobra Commander's clutches, and at Optimus Prime's direction, hurled it at Bruticus. The resultant explosion of creation energy destroyed Bruticus, but apparently killed all the Transformers in the process. {{storylink|The Iron Fist|The Iron Fist}}

Forty-six years later, in 1985, Starscream was revealed to have survived his injuries and the destruction of the Matrix through unexplained means. Discarding his archaic alternate mode for the form of an F-15, Starscream was performing a flyby over Cobra Island, seeking a means to return to Cybertron, when he intercepted a communication about an alien starship (actually a Cybertronian craft containing Blaster and Perceptor) crashing in [[Oregon]]. Starscream saw the craft as his ticket home, and while he was too low on energon to claim the ship for himself, he was content to let Cobra take it and then steal it from them later. {{storylink|Targets of Opportunity|Targets of Opportunity}}

{{note|Due to Dreamwave's bankruptcy, how Starscream survived, and his subsequent actions, remain a mystery.}}

===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}
Starscream and his comrades, Skywarp and Thundercracker, were recruited by Soundwave when Megatron requested fliers. They believed they had been called to join Megatron's gladiatorial team, but accepted the offer to join the Decepticons. Starscream immediately proclaimed his allegiance and declared how much of an honor fighting alongside Megatron would be. After going through some upgrades to boost their firepower, the Seekers' first duty was to capture a senator, who would be executed at Megatron's recruitment rally. He was also informed by Megatron of confidential plans in which he would play a key role. When the security forces intervened, Starscream was captured, and—surprise, surprise—offered to reveal Megatron's plans to save his own neck. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}} However, this turned out to have ''been'' Megatron's plan—Starscream, together with Soundwave, executed the council questioning him, then freed every prisoner in the building, solidifying his loyalty to Megatron... until such time as Starscream felt like betraying his leader. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 4|Megatron Origin #4}}

Starscream ended up as Megatron's bodyguard, a position largely for show, and developed a mutual hatred with Sixshot. {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} He would also appear to settle with Megatron instead of carrying on being an attempted traitor. Megatron viewed this as them moving on from such things but it was actually because Starscream feared him—a fear he initially thought was respect. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}}

Another one of his duties appears to have been recruitment, as he made a very pointed effort to convince [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] to join the team {{storylink|Spotlight: Blurr}}

[[Image:Infiltration6 takeyourpunishment.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Starscream, seen here actually getting off easy!]]

{{bigquote|Thanks to Ore-13, Megatron, I have evolved... beyond you! I am the ''future!''|Starscream|[[Infiltration issue 6]]}}

Millions of years later, Starscream was the leader of a Decepticon [[Infiltration protocol|insurgent cell]] that had operated covertly on [[Earth]] for at least four years, working to destabilize Earth's governing organizations and create global anarchy. However, since the discovery of the mysterious, Energon-like substance known as [[Ultra-Energon|Ore-13]], Starscream had stepped outside standard procedure, establishing a second command bunker in [[Oregon]] above a richer seam of the ore than the one in [[Nebraska]]. Unfortunately, the abandoned Nebraska bunker had been infiltrated by a human named [[Stoker]], who had managed to obtain data on Starscream's operations, forcing Starscream to have the human eliminated, though he didn't count on [[Verity Carlo|another human]] obtaining Stoker's [[SM-40]] computer and an [[Ratchet (G1)|Autobot counter-insurgency agent]] bringing the evidence to the Autobots. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 1|Infiltration #1}} Meanwhile, Starscream had ordered [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] to cover his tracks by destroying all evidence of Stoker's travels and what remained of the Nebraska bunker. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 5|Infiltration #5}} Starscream intended to use Ore-13 to challenge [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] for leadership of the Decepticons, but when the moment of truth finally arrived, the energy source proved insufficient to destroy the Decepticon leader, and Megatron blasted Starscream with his fusion cannon at point-blank range, virtually obliterating him. Megatron told the other Decepticons, "See to the remains. If he lives, then I'll decide what to do with him." {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}}

[[Image:Starcasm idw dev6.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Sarcasm from Starscream?? NO!]]
As it turns out, Starscream survived and was placed in a [[CR chamber]] for extensive repairs. The other Decepticons were worried that Megatron was jumping the gun by calling in [[Sixshot]] early, and Astrotrain realized Starscream might be the only one of them willing to tell Megatron this. {{storylink|Devastation issue 1|Devastation #1}} During an attack on Decepticon headquarters by the [[Reaper|Reapers]], Starscream completed his recovery and was confident that he would prevail in the upcoming battle. {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation #4}}

[[Image:AHM3Starscream.JPG|right|150px|thumb|Hey, I just spotted the janitor from Futurama!]]
When [[Sixshot]] arrived, he initially attacked the Reapers, but they insisted he join them or die. Starscream then emerged from base calling out Sixshot—his hatred of Starscream caused the living weapon to decide to switch sides after all, at which point Starscream promptly activated Sixshot's shutdown command, sending him crashing to the ground. Screamer then proceeded to bomb the Reapers, causing Megatron to agree to take the fight to the Reapers. (Based on the timing of his emergence and his co-plotter Astrotrain immediately going "look at brave Starscream, Megatron!", it seems having an excuse to take out Sixshot and thus force Megatron to go against the Reapers was all planned by Starscream) {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} Starscream once again accepted Megatron as his liege, and together they teamed up to destroy the alien invaders. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}}

Sometime in between the events of ''Devastation'' and ''All Hail Megatron'', Starscream met with [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] and persuaded him to lead the rest of the Autobots into an ambush (under the pretence that Megs would be defeated, the Autobots could leave Earth, and the 'Cons would get Earth to themselves), where they were promptly defeated. Optimus was rendered almost offline, and Starscream watched in glee as Megatron delivered the news of a [[Sunstreaker (G1)|traitor]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7}}

Some time later, Starscream (now an F-15 for [[Shane McCarthy|some]] [[GEEWUN|reasons]]) was back in a subordinate position under Megatron and getting increasingly annoyed with it. He joined in Megatron's attack on [[New York City]], quite enjoying that whole "killing humans who can't fight back" thing. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1|All Hail Megatron #1}}

Starscream personally shot down the fleeing Air Force One in [[Washington, D.C.]], after which he returned to join Megatron in New York City. Upon his arrival, Megatron mused that it was fitting to have Starscream beside him, as a Decepticon who had been with the cause since the start. Starscream, believing Megatron to be sarcastic, retorted that he'd been there before even Megatron. A somewhat weary Megatron clarified, congratulating him and complimenting his skills. He further explained that Starscream was very nearly the living embodiment of the Decepticon ideal, but a step short of realizing it. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 3|All Hail Megatron #3}}

With the conquest completed, Starscream stood at Megatron's side as he addressed the gathered Decepticons. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4|All Hail Megatron #4}} However, he soon reverted to type when he noticed Megatron didn't have a proper plan now that he'd won and the fun on Earth was a distraction for the troops. He taunted Megatron with the knowledge that he knew this and told him other Decepticons would start getting restless, so Megatron's position would soon be challenged by hordes of bored sociopaths whom Megatron had indoctrinated to be violent and take things. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}}

Later, Starscream met with the [[Insecticon]]s (passing a depressed [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] on the way) and discussed the possibility of overthrowing Megatron. They agreed. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8}}

{{charstubfiction}}

{{note|The events of ''Spotlight: Mirage'' possibly take place in an alternate/unknown continuity.}}

At the war's end, Starscream and a small team of Decepticons accompanied the mercenary [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] to the [[Pegasus Star Cluster]]. He led the Decepticons into the Autobot bunker after Mirage destroyed the Autobot security system, but stood back during the ensuing fight. After Megatron ordered the Autobot prisoners executed, Starscream held [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] back as Mirage prepared to kill [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Mirage}}

===''Hearts of Steel''===
[[Image:Starscream HOS.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Ye olde Tyme treacherie.]]
Starscream is the nominal leader of the Decepticons on 19th-century Earth, while Megatron sleeps in [[stasis lock]]. He decides to conquer the Earth in this time, and use that power to overthrow Megatron when he should wake up. Posing as a benefactor to humanity, he enlists the help of inventor [[Tobias Muldoon]] to design new [[Alternate mode|altmodes]] for the Decepticons. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 2|Hearts of Steel #2}} In particular, Starscream builds (or reformats) [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] for an assault on [[New York City]], and the new electrical generators there. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 3|Hearts of Steel #3}} It all ends badly. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 4|Hearts of Steel #4}}

Starscream has three bodies through the course of these events. His initial "Ice Age Wars" body appears to be a prehistoric flying reptile. He then takes on two different biplane bodies, one with one engine per wing and bat-wing-shaped propellers (as seen at left), and one with two engines per wing and straight-bladed propellers<ref>[http://www.idwpublishing.com/titles/transformers/images/hos/decepticon_planes.jpg ''Hearts of Steel'' sketch at IDW Publishing]</ref>. No reason is given for him changing from one biplane body to the next. (The fact that planes are an anachronism in the 19th Century is lightly glossed over.)
{{-}}

===''Henkei! Henkei!'' pack-in mini-comics===
{{charstubfiction}}

===''Henkei! Henkei!'' Bun Bun manga===
{{charstubfiction}}
{{-}}
===3D Battle-Card Game===
Starscream serves under [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] as one of his Decepticon soldiers, battling [[Optimus Primal]]'s many Autobot allies in what might possibly have been an inter-universe battle. {{storylink|3D Battle-Card Game#Energon Wars expansion|Energon Wars Expansion Set}}
{{-}}

==Commercial appearances==
Starscream's [[commercial]] appearances include:

* An appearance in the first Transformers animation, a commercial for [[The Transformers (issue)|Issue #1]] of Marvel's ''[[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|The Transformers]]'' comic book. Alongside Thundercracker and Skywarp, Starscream attacks an Earth power plant, then defends himself against an Autobot counterattack.

* Starscream and Thundercracker are seen strafing three Autobots, then getting shot down, in the Jetfire/Shockwave commercial.

* A 1985 commercial for [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]. Starscream leads Thrust over the desert to attack the Autobots' new defense base, brushing off Thrust's concerns about the whereabouts of the Autobots themselves. He is caught off-guard when the base transforms into [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]. Good goin' there, Screamer. This is the only ad in which Starscream has a speaking part; he's given his usual cartoon voice.

* He makes a short appearance in the 1986 commercial for Hot Rod/Kup/Blurr.

* He is seen in jet mode leading an attack on the Autobots' power station in a commercial for Ultra Magnus.

* He can be glimpsed flying into battle alongside Galvatron - yes, Galvatron! - in the Galvatron/Magnus commercial.

* He and the other two standard Seekers are seen battling the Dinobots on the ground in a commercial for the Predacons.

* Starscream briefly features in the [[Pretender Classic]]s commercial. He's shown lurking in the dark of an Earth city as Optimus Prime is reunited with Jazz and Bumblebee. Narration from [[Victor Caroli]] leads the viewer to believe that his lurking is quite evil and also provides Starscream's voice.

* Still in his Pretender Classics body, Starscream is seen dunking [[Wildfly]] and company into colorful vats to create the [[Pretender Monster]]s in their commercial.

* He features alongside Prowl and [[Over-Run (G1)|Over-Run]] in a commercial for [[Action Master]] vehicles; he's shown battling Prowl aboard his [[Turbo Jet]] on Cybertron.

* His jet form is shown in an early ''Generation 2'' commercial, rendered in CGI and flying over a rocky landscape alongside Ramjet.

==Games==
===''Transformers: Call of the Future''===
{{charstubfiction}}
{{storylink|Transformers: Call of the Future}}

===Sector Seven Alternate Reality Game===
[[Image:Starscream 1982.jpg|200px|thumb|Masterpiece attack!]]
Disguised as an F-15 Eagle fighter jet, Starscream was active on Earth in early 1982, with documented sightings of jets sporting his unique colors on several continents before he was caught on camera transforming to robot mode in California. This sighting (and its subsequent leak) was the direct impetus for [[Hungry Dragon|Hungry Dragon 1]].

Later, during late April/early May of 2007, [[Sector Seven]] intercepted two sound clips through Agent Cod3x and another source (currently unknown). Apparently, Starscream wanted to make his presence known and left a message announcing that he would have the All Spark, and that Agent Powers would be the one to hand it over. These messages were somewhat garbled, as they were apparently received over a SETI@home system. So far, only these two "blips" have been analyzed (the second still needing work), but more may come in the near future. {{storylink|Sector Seven (game)|Sector Seven}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' - The Game===
[[Image:ROTF_360PS3PC__DLC_G1Starscream.jpg|thumb|200px|]]
:''Voice actor:'' [[Charlie Adler]]

====Xbox 360/Sony PS3/PC====
{{Note|On [[August 27]], [[2009]], Starscream was one of a handful of downloadable characters in a DLC pack for Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation 3. }}
{{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)|Revenge of the Fallen}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers: War for Cybertron''===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Doug Parker]]

Coming Soon!
{{-}}

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

==Notes==
[[Image:Ulchtar.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Phew.]]

*In [[Jim Shooter]] and [[Denny O'Neil|Denny O'Neil's]] original Transformers treatment, Starscream was named "'''Ulchtar'''." Yes. When [[Bob Budiansky]] took over Transformers preproduction from them, he changed it to "Starscream." [http://transformers-advent.blogspot.com/2009/07/exclusive-interview-with-bob-budiansky.html] And "Starscream" was the name given to [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]]'s bio, so who knows what else was going on. This may be related to a mix-up that involved all three jets' [[Tech Spec]] numbers being switched around (Starscream was given Skywarp's stats by mistake).

* An early ''[[Transformers Universe (Marvel comic)|Universe]]''-style character profile published in ''[[The Transformers Comics Magazine]]'' gave Starscream the smirk-worthy nickname of "The Silver Snake". A second "alternate name" for Starscream shows up in Bob Budiansky's hand-written write-up of his bio, which is briefly visible in one of [[Shout! Factory]]'s DVD featurettes. In addition to "The Silver Snake", the hand-written bio gives Starscream the alternate name of "Pretty Poison". Oookay then...

[[Image:Starscreamg1early.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Confusing Nelson Yomtov since 1984.]]

* For the first half of the [[Marvel Comics]], Starscream's chest was colored dark blue, versus the red seen on the toy and in the cartoon. The apparent reason for this discrepancy is hinted at in animated segments in early [[commercial]] footage (see right), where Starscream's chest and forearms are black. Lack of color depth in comic books at the time required black to be represented by dark blue. Starscream's "true" colors began appearing in the Marvel Comics starting with issue 47, "[[Club Con!]]"
* In the French dub of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', Starscream (along with [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]]) inexplicably became a female. This change, however, was only for the movie, as it used a different dubbing team from the television show. Most likely, the movie's French dubbing team mistook Starscream's rather high-pitched voice for a woman's voice.

* The Generation 1 executive script consultant, [[Flint Dille]], has claimed in personal interviews that [[Chris Latta]] frequently had to be bailed out of jail by members of the production staff. This apparently caused so much annoyance that it was a major factor in phasing Starscream out of the series.

* According to the line art of Starscream by Studio OX, each side of his chest has a turbine mounted on it. This concept has influenced his [[Action Master]], [[Masterpiece]], and [[Classics (2006)|Classics]] toys and the [http://tfu.info/2004/Destron/RMStarscream/starscream.htm art of the Robot Master version].<ref>[[Transformers Visualworks]]</ref>

[[Image:StarscreamMW Genesis.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Bringing a [[Particle cannon|cannon]] to a [[canon]]-fight.]]

*In ''[[Genesis: The Art of Transformers]]'' is a picture by [[Matt Kuphaldt]] of [[Machine Wars]] Starscream wearing a purple cape and brandishing [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]'s torn-off arm cannon. To date, this remains the only canonical appearance of Starscream in this body—so far as the canonicity of art books can be placed.

* Starscream appears in the DLC for Revenge of the Fallen on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 in his G1 appearance with quite a few new features, not the least of which is the fact that he can summon and fire [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron's]] gun mode (despite the fact that Megatron is already playable as a separate downloadable character).

==Footnotes==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://tfu.info/1984/Decepticon/Starscream/starscream.htm Starscream at TFU.info]

*[http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Starscream Starscream's Universe profile at NTFA.net]
*[http://www.transformertoys.co.uk/content.php?/transformers-toys/toy-gallery/1784/Generation+2/Starscream.html Gallery of G2 Starscream with comparison to BW Starscream at Transformers At the Moon]

[[Category:Action Masters]]
[[Category:Attacktix]]
[[Category:Beast Wars characters]]
[[Category:Classics characters]]
[[Category:Convention exclusives]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Gender-switch characters]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Generation 2 characters]]
[[Category:Live-action film ARG characters]]
[[Category:Ghosts]]
[[Category: Henkei! Henkei! characters]]
[[Category:Kiss Players characters]]
[[Category:Machine Wars characters]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen characters]]
[[Category:Mail order exclusives]]
[[Category:Matrix bearers]]
[[Category:MyClone]]
[[Category:Predacon leaders]]
[[Category:Predacons]]
[[Category:Pretenders]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Robot Masters characters]]
[[Category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Seekers]]
[[Category:Titanium Series]]
[[Category:Unicron-related characters]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]
[[Category:Zombies]]

Sentinel Prime (G1)

2009-06-05T07:43:08Z

82.3.48.129: Closed an open bracket

{{disambig3|Sentinel Prime}}
{{factions|autobot}}
:''Sentinel Prime was an [[Autobot]] leader in several portions of the [[Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

'''Sentinel Prime''' was [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime's]] immediate predecessor as [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]]. ([[U-Haul Robot|Except when]] [[Zeta Prime|he isn't]].)

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
[[Image:Sentinel prime lou.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Well, shoot, who wants the Matrix?]]
Sentinel Prime is mentioned frequently in the recitation of Primes before Optimus, but little or nothing is known of him.

{{note|The retelling of [[Unicron|Unicron's]] origin in the UK comics included a brief glimpse of a dying Matrix bearer passing the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to Optimus Prime. However, as he is unnamed, the only way we can presume this being is Sentinel Prime is because, as we are told later, Sentinel Prime was the leader before Optimus.}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
:'' Sentinel Prime's biggest shortcoming is that he leads with his head, a peacetime leader in a time of war. His successor, Optimus Prime, leads with his heart, backed by his fists— a much more suitable combination.''

Sentinel Prime was Autobot leader for the first 500,000 years of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]. More physically massive than Optimus Prime, Sentinel Prime's armor was made of trithyllium alloy impregnated with irradiated carbon fibers, unbreakable short of a precisely-aimed point-blank shot.

Sentinel Prime's primary weapons were his swiveling shoulder cannons, capable of firing a variety of specialized payloads including concussive and shrapnel-needle shells, and gyro-inhibiting and magnetic inducer shells. (Disruptive warheads which foul an opponent's systems.) He was also armed with a solar-energy rifle and an energon-charged sword.

Sentinel Prime used an [[electro-disrupter]], a device capable of projecting several copies of his image, to disorient his opponents in battle. When interrupted, electro-disrupter images de-rez, leaving a visible path back to the real projector. Because using direct attacks would reveal which image was the real Sentinel Prime, he must limit himself to indirect weapons like shrapnel shells when using it.

Sentinel Prime's only physical weakness was his shoulder-cannons. A direct hit down their barrel could cause the ammunition inside to explode, causing catastrophic damage. To minimize that risk, he swivels the cannons to his back except when about to fire<ref>Nearly all of his technical specifications come from descriptions found in the Keepers Trilogy.</ref>.

====The War Within====
[[Image:Sentinel prime dw.jpg|right|180px|thumb|"Marley was dead to begin with..."]]
8.2 million years ago, Sentinel Prime went to reason with [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], seeking to reach him with sermon and doctrine. He failed and was tortured and destroyed by Megatron. Megatron was chagrined to discover that Sentinel Prime (suspecting he might be killed) had not brought the Matrix with him into battle.

====The Keepers Trilogy====
The Matrix used a vision of Sentinel Prime to strengthen Optimus Prime's resolve during a battle with Megatron by confronting him with the claim that Megatron had chosen Optimus to be Prime, knowing that he was weak. Megatron's alleged influence over the Prime selection process was never substantiated.

[[Keeper (species)|The Keepers]] subsequently created a robotic duplicate of Sentinel Prime to confuse Optimus and undermine his confidence. Though possessing all of Sentinel Prime's considerable abilities, Optimus eventually realized that the duplicate had been created from his own memories of Sentinel Prime, and was incapable of doing anything ''new.'' Optimus destroyed the duplicate of Sentinel Prime, having largely overcome his own doubts about his fitness to be Autobot leader.

===IDW comics continuity===
{{note|The original IDW Sentinel Prime sketch included in ''[[Spotlight: Optimus Prime]]'' was clearly based on his first (and otherwise only) appearance in the Marvel comics panel shown above. Though his resemblance as drawn in Megatron: Origin is less distinctly similar due to artistic interpretation and the helmet Milne draws him wearing. He also definitely resembles, by and large, the Keepers description of the character, in that he is quite heavily armed. However the keen interest he shows in the use of those weapons and combat in general seem a stark contrast to the "peacetime leader unsuitable for war" portrayed in that continuity. IDW Sentinel is more likely to smash you with his [[Apex armor]] than try to ply you with doctrine.}}
[[Image:IDWSent.gif|left|120px|thumb|Do I look pacifistic enough yet?]]
Sentinel Prime assumed office sometime after the disappearance of [[Nova Prime]] into the [[Benzuli Expanse]]. It is unknown if any Primes existed between Nova and Sentinel.

[[Image:IDWSentface.gif|right|150px|thumb|That comes in "Optimus Prime" and "Marvel Comics" inspired varieties...]]
In the ancient past of Cybertron's peacetime, Sentinel Prime operated out of the [[Security Services Headquarters]] in [[Kaon]], generally regarded as "the worst place on Cybertron." Prime had much disdain for government authority, viewing the ruling [[Senate|Senators]] to be spoiled whiners. He worked alongside [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], his [[Second-in-command|lieutenant]]. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 1|Megatron Origin issue 1}}

After a surge in illegal [[Gladiatorial combat|gladiatorial bloodsports]], he assigned [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] and [[Fastback]] to stake out one of the sites associated with the matches as part of a dragnet. Unfortunately, their communications were jammed by [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] just prior to their untimely demises. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 2|Megatron Origin issue 2}}

Sentinel Prime vowed not to let their deaths be in vain, and at their funeral, the Autobot leader urged others to let their deaths be a call to arms. Eventually, after Senator [[Decimus]] was kidnapped by the [[Seeker|Seekers]] at Megatron's orders, Sentinel Prime led a raid on Megatron's base. They captured Megatron and most of the others, but were forced to free Soundwave per Senate directive, much to Prime's frustration. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin issue 3}}

[[Image:IDW SentPrime Apexarmor.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Okay, What about now?]]
When [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]'s "betrayal" led to the eventual eruption of the war, Sentinel Prime held the line at Kaon until he decided to take things to the next level. Thus, Prime returned with his massive "Apex" mode, a battle-armor/super-powerful/more-firepower-than-[[Primus|god]] mode. It didn't make much of a difference, seeing as Megatron tore into it and pulled Prime off a cliff. Sentinel was defeated by Megatron. Afterwards, the former Prime's barely functional body was dumped into the middle of the Autobot forces. Prowl ordered a retreat. We would too.

The next morning, Megatron discussed his next moves with Soundwave... sitting on a throne made out of Prime's Apex armor. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 4|Megatron Origin issue 4}}

He was immediately succeeded by [[Zeta Prime]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Blurr|Spotlight: Blurr}}
{{-}}
==Trivia==
*As revealed in the [[Transformers Collectors' Club]] roundtable panel at [[BotCon 2007]], the original concept for the convention-[[exclusive]] redeco of [[Cybertron Defense Team|Cybertron Defense]] [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] was Sentinel Prime. The mold DOES bear a decent resemblance to his IDW appearance, but in the end it was decided that [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] was a better choice for the mold (and likely for the [[Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club (magazine)|ongoing club comic]] story).

* Despite being in five continuities, he has yet to receive a toy of any kind.

==Footnotes==
<references />

[[Category:Autobot leaders]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Matrix bearers]]
[[Category:Comic-only characters]]