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Starscream (Animated)

2009-05-29T16:44:27Z

93.96.113.186: /* Animated cartoon */

{{factions|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Starscream}}
:''Starscream is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Starscreamanimated.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Special skills: <s>barefist fighting</s> backstabbing, aggressive negotiation, dramatic oratory, self-resurrection, clone production, [[chin]]-stroking.]]
'''Starscream''' is easily as accomplished, powerful and deserving of leadership as [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]. At least, that's what he thinks. Power-hungry and driven by jealousy, Starscream operates through three ideals: lying, manipulation and deception. And when all else fails, a bit of sabotage never goes astray. Wise bots are careful about turning their backs on Starscream, just in case it's the day he finally decides to shove in the knife.

Though not as powerful as Megatron (despite what he thinks of himself), Starscream is by no means a wimp. His weapons can demolish large buildings, and he can fly around so fast that he can break free of [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet's]] magnetic powers. Unfortunately, all these abilities are offset by an enormous ego and the tendency to make long, overbearing speeches when he should just get on with it and fight. More than once, his leanings towards bombast have caused him to miss a golden opportunity. Sadly, he doesn't seem to be learning from these mistakes.

{{bigquote|Don't worry. I'll tell them all you went offline valiantly... just after you named ''me'' as your successor!|Starscream to a bound Megatron|"[[A Bridge Too Close, Part II]]"}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
{{note|Events from [[IDW Publishing]] comics are in italics.}}
:''Voice actor:'' [[Tom Kenny]] (English), [[Stefan Staudinger]] (German), [[Krzysztof Korzeniowski]] (Polish)

== Search for the Allspark ==

Starscream was aboard the ''[[Nemesis (Animated)|Nemesis]]'' when it came across an [[Teletran-1|Autobot repair ship]] that appeared to be emitting the energy signature of the fabled [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]]. Starscream's doubt of the AllSpark's very existence and his dismissal of Megatron's millennia-long search did not sit well with [[Lugnut]], and an argument broke out on the bridge until Megatron himself arrived and all fell silent. Starscream was forced to eat his words when [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] confirmed that the energy coming off the ship was indeed that of the AllSpark, but quickly volunteered to secure it for his leader. Seeing through his lieutenant's greed, Megatron put a dent in Starscream's wing and rose to obtain it for himself. As he was leaving, however, Starscream arrived at the airlock to wish Megatron luck and patted him on the back—planting an overload device on him in the process. As Megatron attacked the Autobot ship, the device overloaded his circuits and caused an explosion that led Starscream to believe that Megatron was no more. In the aftermath of the blast, Starscream got so caught up in his own greatness that he didn't notice that his comrades had left him on the ship, hurtling towards an exploding space bridge.

[[Image:MegsRisingPt1-StarTeeth.jpg|left|150px|thumb|He gained strength and speed and shiny teeth and as the Huntsman was reboo-oorn!]]
Surviving the explosion, Starscream spent the next fifty [[Units of time|solar cycles]] searching for the [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]] on his own, using the damaged ship as a base (and probably getting a few screws loose in his [[central processor]] in the meantime). Detecting the faint signal of the AllSpark on [[Earth]], Starscream tapped into television broadcasts from the planet and discovered that the Autobot ship had landed there. ''While heading for the planet, Starscream was approached by Blackarachnia, who was also seeking the AllSpark for her own purposes and proposed an alliance. Starscream was unsurprisingly unwilling to share power, and he booted Blackarachnia out into space just before the ship warped away. Starscream was so occupied by the task, however, that he failed to notice Earth's [[Moon (moon)|moon]] appearing in the ship's path.'' {{storylink|The Arrival issue 1|The Arrival #1}}

One crash-landing later, Starscream abandoned the ruined hulk of the ship and headed down to Earth, immediately drawing the attention of military jets. After a brief dogfight, Starscream scanned one of the jets as an alternate mode in order to continuing searching incognito. The search did not go on long, as Starscream found the Autobots watching a [[Crimson Angels]] air show, and he quickly joined in the proceedings. Upon revealing himself to the Autobots, he quickly thrashed each of them individually. Starscream mocked them, apparently assuming that the Autobots thought ''they'' had really defeated Megatron (whom he referred to as "the great Megatron" without sarcasm, so he seems to have at least a loathing respect for his leader's power). All too boastful of his cunning, Starscream boldly admitted that Megatron was already defeated by the bomb which Starscream himself had put on him. Despite being more powerful than the Autobots, Starscream failed to take the AllSpark, partially because he [[Megatron (BW)|spent too much time gloating]]. [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] grabbed Starscream in midair, and they opened the AllSpark, releasing a massive wave of energy. Optimus was killed by the energy surge and subsequent fall (he got better), while Starscream disappeared. {{storylink|Transform and Roll Out}}

''Starscream was hurled into the wilderness by the AllSpark energy surge, where he lay, unconscious and undisturbed, for an unspecified period of time. Eventually, Starscream came back online, only to discover that his body had succumbed to [[stasis lock]], leaving him immobile. As "luck" would have it, it was at this moment that he was happened upon by the villainous [[Professor Princess]], whom Starscream attempted to sweet-talk into triggering his manual reset. She was insistent upon "fixing up" Starscream first, plastering him with makeup and a wig, but when the horrified Starscream screamed at her, she just decided to blast him. Her rainbow-blast jumpstarted Starscream's systems, and he seized the Professor, but before he could reduce her to a pink stain, she threatened to broadcast an image of the prettified Starscream all over the world and perhaps the galaxy. Preferring ''not'' to be hideously embarrassed, Starscream let her live and quickly departed, unaware that she'd worked her fashion magic on his wings, too.'' {{storylink|Whatever Happened To Whatisname?}}

== Megatron Reborn ==

[[Image:Megatron rising 1 Starscream freakout.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"Do you have any idea how long I spent preparing that speech!?"]]
Starscream laid low on Earth, until he revealed himself to a badly damaged [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] and Lugnut, offering them help in exchange for their loyalty. {{storylink|Lost and Found (episode)|Lost and Found}} After repairing the duo, Starscream continually had to reassert his authority over the two walking malfunctions, who were quick to point out that their service was by threat, not choice. As Lugnut went prostrate with praise, Starscream was initially quite flattered by the hulking Decepticon's obsequity, but quickly learned that the big guy was being manipulated by an outside source. Tracking the transmission, he came to [[Sumdac Tower]] and was quite surprised to find the disembodied head of his former leader. Megatron, aware of Starscream's betrayal after seeing a news report on his earlier battle with the Autobots {{storylink|Home Is Where the Spark Is}} but not wanting to tip his hand, greeted Starscream as a "devoted and faithful subject", while Starscream adopted a subservient attitude himself. Beginning the smug monologue to end all smug monologues, he was interrupted by the senseless heroics of the Autobot [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]]. Focusing his attentions on the yellow little squirt, he mistakenly assumed that Megatron was helpless, an oversight that allowed the galactic despot to control the lab's machinery and defenestrate the traitor. Even so Starscream remained fixated on Bumblebee, and thus was caught unaware when the repaired form of Megatron burst from the tower roof. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 1}}

[[Image:PayThePiper.JPG|left|150px|thumb|Ghost in three...two...one...]]
Starscream watched with interest, tossing Bumblebee around absentmindedly as Megatron trashed the Autobots. When Megatron called out his loyal Decepticons, Starscream gracefully landed on Lugnut's head, ready to return to his position as second-in-command. Megatron prepared to fire on the Autobots, but quickly lashed out and rammed the [[Key]] into Starscream's chest, seemingly offlining the traitor, who then crumpled to the ground. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 2}}

== Becoming immortal ==

[[Image:Jagged.JPG|right|150px|thumb|All tied up and ready for Kiss Players.]]
Sometime later, Starscream awoke on a garbage barge, evidently thrown in by an Autobot cleaning up Detroit. He found he couldn't detect any Decepticons, not even himself. Panicking, he wondered if he was dead, but recovered when he realized he was still on Earth. Furious, he managed to track down Lugnut and Blitzwing and to follow them to the Decepticon base. There he challenged Megatron and was soundly sliced, blasted and thrown off a cliff. However, he again revived, except now he had no [[spark]]! Starscream discovered he was being kept alive by an AllSpark fragment embedded in his head. Using this newfound immortality to his advantage, he again attacked Megatron... and again and again and again, each time taking a trouncing and having his corpse thrown off a cliff by Blitzwing and Lugnut. Discovering another fragment, he set up a trap that would draw Megatron out and blow up both him and the city. He embedded the shard in a train engine, and as the overloading machine drew out Megatron, Blitzwing, the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]] AND the Earth team, the plan seemed to be working. Unfortunately, the Autobots stopped the train, and Megatron knocked Starscream out of the sky, sending him crashing into the midst of the Autobots. He blasted [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] and took back his fragment, but was put into stasis lock when Optimus slipped [[Stasis cuffs|some cuffs]] on him. He was last seen bound, gagged and being taken onto the [[Elite Guard flagship|Elite Guard vessel]]. {{storylink|Mission Accomplished}}

== The Clone and Space Bridge incidents ==

While in transit on said vessel, Starscream somehow blasted his way out, once again vowing revenge against Megatron. Magnus sent word to Optimus Prime, warning him that Starscream was most likely on his way back to Earth. Megatron, eavesdropping on the conversation, offered a substantial reward for bringing Starscream to him.

To this end, [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] ran off by himself to the resting place of the ''Nemesis'' on the Moon, where he ran right into Starscream. Despite getting in behind Prowl, Starscream was rather easily disabled and put in stasis cuffs. While [[Lockdown]] and Prowl battled, Starscream somehow managed to escape.

Lockdown and Prowl agreed to team up, and they tracked down an apparently very scared Starscream, who was captured easily. While Lockdown brought him to Megatron, another Starscream turned up. This Starscream tried to deal with the Autobots, suggesting they team up to deal with their common enemy, Megatron. Prowl disabled him with ease, despite making a total mess.

[[Image:Lotta starscreams.jpg|left|thumb|Megs is gonna have a field day.]]
Shortly after Lockdown delivered "Starscream" into the hands of Megatron, the Autobots showed with the other Starscream. Confusion ensued, and suddenly both Starscreams exposed internal bombs, and a recording of the real Starscream revealed that his entire plan was to allow the [[Starscream clone|clones of himself]] to be captured and take out all his enemies in one fell swoop. In his infinite wisdom, however, he apparently programmed the bombs to explode long after everyone had realized what had happened. Prowl sent the clones into the sky, where they exploded without destroying the city.

Afterwards, Megatron increased the bounty on Starscream, this time stipulating that it had to be the ''real'' one. Watching, Starscream cursed Megatron (again) and dismissed his failure, noting he had plenty more clones—an army of them. {{storylink|A Fistful of Energon}}

[[Image:Starscream with Shescream.jpg|thumb|Technically, she is my sister, and therefore unable to take me as her lover. After much soul searching, I have reluctantly decided, "What the hell", I just won't tell her.]]
His time alone allowed him to produce five clones of himself, which he empowered with small slivers of the AllSpark fragment in his head, giving them life. He quickly learned that each of the Starscreams was a different aspect of his personality: [[Skywarp (Animated)|cowardice]], [[Thundercracker (Animated)|ego]], [[Sunstorm (Animated)|sycophancy]], [[Liar Starscream|deception]], and...[[Female Starscream|something else]]. He asked the female version of him where she came from, and she said not to ask. Once introductions were done, he ordered them on their merry way to Megatron's base. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part I}}

[[Image:TFA ABTC1 Screamer Clones Emerge.jpg|left|thumb|There can be only one!]]
Upon reaching the base, the clone army attacked, leading to a free-for-all against Megatron's forces and the Autobots who'd assembled to stop the Decepticon leader's plan. During the fight, Starscream became fed up with his female clone telling him how to handle Megatron, as he'd been working on killing him long before she existed. She was unimpressed with his results to date. Eventually, his team overwhelmed Megatron, allowing two of the clones to subdue him while Starscream prepared to deal the killing blow. Starscream relished the moment, wryly assuring Megatron that he'd tell everyone that he died fighting valiantly—after naming Starscream as his successor. Abruptly, Starscream got head-jacked by [[Isaac Sumdac]] in a [[Headmaster (Animated)|Headmaster]] unit.

Starscream's inert body fell on top of his head, which put him out of action. Panicking, he told his clones to attack, but was outraged when they all sided with Megatron instead. Starscream's head was then glued to one of the walls by [[Mixmaster (Animated)|Mixmaster]]'s concrete. When he tried to mock Megatron's plan for the conquest of Cybertron, he had his mouth closed by more concrete. Poor Screamer.

[[Image:TFA ABTC2 Megatron Screamer End.jpg|150px|thumb|So...Megatron..how've you been]]
When Megatron's newly activated [[Space bridge]] ran out of power to maintain the portal to Cybertron, Megatron replaced the AllSpark fragment with Starscream's head, which overloaded the power systems. This caused the portal to expand and attempt to suck everything around it into itself. This included Starscream's head and Megatron, the latter of whom was disabled by Autobot stasis cuffs, which prevented him from resisting the space bridge's pull. The overload also caused the space bridge receiving coordinates to be deleted, dumping the pair into empty space. Without a body to manoeuvre, Starscream was forced to look at Megatron, while Megatron, still disabled by the stasis cuffs, suffered a similar problem. A long night of bickering commenced. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part II}}

== Lost in Space and Beyond ==

[[Image:TransWarpedStarscreamsScream.jpg|thumb|left|200px|How... literal. And disturbingly yonic.]]
Somehow, Starscream managed to manoeuvre his head to begin trying to free Megatron from his stasis cuffs, either by gnawing on them or by picking them with a fragment of asteroid in his mouth. Megatron berated Starscream for his incompetence, whereupon the indignant Decepticon pointed out that this would be much easier if Megatron had reattached his head to his body back on Earth, and that they wouldn't even be here if Megatron hadn't overloaded the Space Bridge. Fuelled with anger, Starscream screamed that this was all Megatron's fault, during which the fragment in his head lit up... and Starscream's face suddenly unfolded into a sonic blaster that smashed Megatron's cuffs.

This was evidently not something from Starscream's original design plans, as he could be heard asking where that had come from once it had fired. Megatron didn't care, though; all that mattered was that he was free now. Starscream was petrified when Omega Supreme chose that moment to float into view, trying to denounce Megatron in order to save his own hide. Fortunately for them both, Omega Supreme was currently offline, giving Megatron an idea. Though Starscream nearly gave the plan away when he was brought inside the awoken giant, Megatron succeeded in installing Starscream's head into the computer to be used as a combination of power source and control mechanism.

[[Image:TransWarpedDigitalStarscream.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Take me to ATARI!]]
Megatron used Omega Supreme to attack the Autobots on Earth, and during the battle, [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] infiltrated Omega, accessed his internal processor, and helped him fight off Megatron's control... only for Starscream to take over instead. He continued fighting the Autobots until Megatron suggested that they just go conquer Cybertron instead. Starscream agreed that it was a good idea, but failed to make Omega transwarp as the giant's old friend [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] swayed his control. Eventually overpowering Omega's mind, Starscream tried flying into space, only for Optimus Prime to plant a [[plasmadynamic thruster]] on his new body, causing it to start warping around randomly in outer space. {{storylink|Transwarped}}

At some point during Starscream and Megatron's warping adventures, Starscream stopped controlling Omega Supreme's body, again reduced to a sarcastic head. After one of the warp jumps, Lugnut suddenly smacked into their windshield and joined their merry group. {{storylink|Decepticon Air}} Removing the plasmadynamic thruster, they traveled into Cybertron airspace, even though Omega Supreme was offline and drained of energy. Starscream advocated that they abandon the hulk before the Autobots picked them off in their helpless state, but Megatron disagreed. After the Decepticon agent [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] obtained Omega's activation codes, they picked him up and transwarped back to Earth's moon, where Starscream noted Lugnut's anger at Megatron complimenting Shockwave. {{storylink|This Is Why I Hate Machines}}

== Finally Offline ==

[[Image:TFA-Endgame-MegatronFieldDay.jpg|thumb|left|Megs has his field day.]]
Goading Lugnut into fighting Shockwave, Starscream used the distraction to roll himself back to his old headquarters, the wrecked ''Nemesis'', where he used a [[protoform]] and one of his many clone bodies to get himself back to 100%. Megatron subsequently destroyed the rest of the lifeless clone bodies, before explaining to Starscream his ultimate plan—creating Decepticon clones of Omega Supreme. When the time came for these clones to imprint upon a leader, Starscream went for a power grab yet again, knocking Megatron down and taking his place. However, he was in turn tackled by the eternally loyal Lugnut, who ended up becoming the template of the three "[[Lugnut Supreme]]s". As Megatron explained that this had been his plan all along, Starscream retorted that the giants would just be lifeless shells without his AllSpark fragment.

[[Image:TFA-Endgame-StarscreamBits.jpg|thumb|"It’s incredible! I can feel, I can touch, I’m alive! I can fondle, I can fiddle! Phwooar! I am ali—"]]
Unfortunately for him, Megatron had found three other fragments in Omega Supreme's spark chamber, and so and deemed Starscream useless before blasting his lower body to smithereens with a fusion cannon shot and leaving him on the surface of the Moon. {{storylink|Endgame, Part I}}

{{spoiler|Endgame, Part II|30th May 2009}}
But this did not destroy the tenacious traitor, and he painstakingly reattached himself to a reassembled lower torso before transforming and flying to Earth. There, he was distracted from his goal of taking revenge on Megatron by a sudden severe pain in his head, which pulled him to Sumdac Towers, where he found Jazz and Prowl using their Processor-Over-Matter skills to reassemble AllSpark fragments. Realising what a threat this posed to him, he opened fire on them in an effort to distract them, but failed. His fragment was torn from his head, and Starscream, his sparkless body no longer fueled by the AllSpark, fell from the air, finally dead.

[[Image:TFAni EndgamePart2 Screamer Offlined.jpg|thumb|left|The ''seventh'' time's the charm.]]
He did leave behind a nasty post-mortem surprise, however: Upon the disconnection of Lugnut from the [[Lugnut Supreme]]s, a hidden program kicked in, a message from Starscream revealing that each of the Omega clones had been secretly outfitted with a nasty set of concealed explosives, now primed and ready to detonate. Unfortunately for Starscream, his revenge would not come to be. Not only did Omega Supreme destroy one clone while deactivating its explosive, the other was encased in an AllSpark-powered force field and failed to destroy anything...not even Megatron, who took the full force of the blast (albeit he was heavily damaged). {{storylink|Endgame, Part II}}
{{--}}

===Titan Magazines===

[[Image:Starscreamanimated_DinoMIGHT.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"''They're not singing<br>they're not singing<br>they're not singing any morrrre!''"]]

Megatron kept uncovering Starscream's hide-outs, so Starscream took his [[Starscream clone|clone army]] and seized control of the Autobots' own base, reasoning the Decepticons would never look for him ''there''. His plan was undone by the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]]. {{storylink|Dino-MIGHT!}}

He later acted as the backer for the supervillain [[Crossroads]], giving him a sliver of Megatron (no, it ''wasn't'' explained how he got it) that completed the man's robot-controlling gauntlets. Starscream didn't care that Crossroads was going to hurt robots, as long as he made sure to turn the city against the Autobots. Boo, hiss! {{storylink|Crossroads!}}

Later still, he appeared out of nowhere to hack into the [[Wraith-X]] stealth bomber and send it off to bomb Detroit to bits, seemingly just for shits and giggles. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 23|Divebomb}} It turned out he'd been let back into the Decepticons for... some reason, joining their massed attack on the Autobot base. Of course, he used that as a way to ensure Megatron had an "accident", and then "saved him"; as a result, Megatron become stupid and believed he could be trusted with temporary command of the Decepticons... {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 24|Megatron's Revenge}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
===Animated===
[[Image:TFAnimated Voyager Starscream toy.jpg|right|250px|thumb|What? Decepticon sigil not upside down? HERESY! HERESYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!]]
*'''Starscream''' (Voyager, 2008)
*''Accessories:'' 2 missiles
: Starscream transforms into a futuristic, forward-swept wing fighter jet based upon the [http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/s37/ Su-47 (S-37) Berkut Experimental Fighter] and the [http://www.new-un-spacy.com/macrossplus/yf-19.htm YF-19 "Alpha One"] from the series ''[[wikipedia:Macross_Plus|Macross Plus]]''.

: His twin sonic shock blasters can slide forward, opening panels on his forearms (referred to as blasters on the packaging). Landing gear in his vehicle mode flip down from his undercarriage, and his blasters flip forward or back for a "hidden" attack. He also features two [[automorph]] gimmicks. When his nose cone is pushed in, his undercarriage folds into his hips. Folding his shoulders down also pushes up his head. Though not really an "automorph", with the arms and legs out of the way, his spring loaded wings fold down by themselves. His arms are also ''just'' poseable enough to stroke that enormous chin.

:His missiles have tiny shark faces molded into them.

:As with [[Seeker|past incarnations]], Starscream was [[Redeco|redecoed]] as [[Skywarp (Animated)|''Animated'' Skywarp]] and redecoed again as [[Sunstorm (Animated)|''Animated'' Sunstorm]].

[[Image:Activatorsstarscream.jpg|right|250px|thumb|I shall call him Screamer and he shall be mine and he shall be my Screamer. Come here, Screamer!]]
*'''Starscream''' (Activators, 2008)

: A smaller, simpler version of Starscream, the Activators Starscream toy has a spring-loaded autotransform gimmick that springs him from harrier jet mode to robot mode in one easy step, although robot to harrier jet mode is still that good old manual click-it-up yourself transformation, giving you the best of both worlds.

: Activators Starscream greatly resembles Voyager Starscream, especially when compared to several other Activators and their respective larger toys, with the only discernible difference between Activators and Voyager Starscream is that Activator Starscream's wings sit lower on his back. Most notably, this toy possesses more show-accurate weapons than its Voyager counterpart, due to the lack of a launching mechanism.

: This mold was also used to make ''Animated'' [[Thundercracker (Animated)|Thundercracker]] and [[Dirge (Animated)|Dirge]].

*'''Starscream''' (McDonald's Happy Meal Toy, 2008)

:A simple version of Starscream with a very simple transformation sequence. A tad unique among the McDonald's ''Animated'' toys, he has given up a toy accurate vehicle mode for a toy accurate robot mode. You transform him by splitting the front of the jet to form the legs, snapping up the feet, lowering the rear wings and rotating his head. His robot mode, save for the fact the wings are pointing the wrong direction and that he is missing his guns, is decently [[Show-accuracy|show-accurate]], but his vehicle mode totally sucks. Plain and simple.

*'''Rescue Ratchet''' (Animated 3-pack, 2008)

: A ''Universe'' Legends-class Starscream came packaged with this version of [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]], as well as a Legends [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]].

<br clear="all" />

===Universe (2008)===
[[Image:Universe2008-toy LegendsAniStarscream.JPG|right|250px|thumb|]]
*'''Starscream''' (Legends, 2008)

:Legends-class Starscream transforms surprisingly similarly to his larger counterparts. He is notable for being the only version of the character to have his weapons mounted correctly on his upper arms, rather than his lower arms (though this is largely because he completely lacks elbows). However, as with his past versions, he is again not gray, but apparently a shade of blue.

:This toy can also be found as part of the ''Animated'' [[Ratchet (Animated)|Rescue Ratchet]] three-pack with Legends [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]], but with a more purple redeco.
{{--}}

==Notes==
*In a podcasted audio interview, [[Marty Isenberg]] revealed that he originally wanted to play Starscream's name ironically — he wanted the character to have a quiet, whispery tone, as he '''really''' didn't like the screechy voice of [[Starscream (G1)|the original Starscream]] (though, at the same time, he pointed out that he has nothing against [[Chris Latta|his actor]]). [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] argued against this idea, and Tom Kenny's reading finally won Marty over.
* Though he never ''truly'' took out Megatron, this Starscream may be the most successful to bear the name to date.
* There is some confusion as to precisely what weapons Starscream has. According to the Decepticon character descriptions sent out in the initial [[Cartoon Network]] press release for ''Transformers Animated'', Starscream "can affect a sonic scream and produce powerful blasts of sound that can send enemies spinning through the atmosphere". His toy packaging declares that he has "twin sonic shock blasters" rather than the [[null-ray]]s of his Generation 1 counterpart, while a bio on the [[Hasbro]] website declares that ''Animated'' Starscream '''does''' have null-rays... while otherwise being a direct copy of the press release text, which doesn't mention them anywhere. What is unquestionably Starscream's "sonic scream" appears in the third season episode "TransWarped", apparently a modification created by the AllSpark fragment in his head. Similarly, in the same episode, Blurr tells [[Skywarp (Animated)|Skywarp]] and [[Thundercracker (Animated)|Thundercracker]] to use alternating sonic pulses to destabilise the concrete the trio are trapped in. This could point to Starscream's arm-mounted cannons being sonic shock blasters, as he was addressing Skywarp, but also could be a reference to Generation 1 [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] and his ability to create sonic booms.

==External link==
* [http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/Starscream/starscream.htm Starscream at TFU.info]

[[Category:Animated characters]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]

Wasp

2009-05-29T16:36:10Z

93.96.113.186: /* Animated cartoon */

{{picsneeded|Needs (non-toy) pics of "Waspinator" in one piece}}

{{factions|autobot|decepticon}}
{{disambig2|the ill-destined wasp robot from ''Animated''|the ill-destined wasp robot from ''Beast Wars''|Waspinator (BW)}}

:''Wasp was an [[Autobot]] from the [[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]]. After a freak mutation, he donned a [[Decepticon]] [[insignia]] and took the name '''Waspinator'''.''

[[Image:WaspAutobot.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Wasp and Bee. Obvious, with hindsight.]]
'''Wasp''' is a lot like [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]]... physically, at least. Built from the same chassis and sharing many of the same specifications and subroutines, the two Autobots attended boot camp together. Wasp's pompous, smarmy personality leaves something to be desired, but he had a lot going for him as a soldier, being highly skilled in the use of his stingers and knowing just how to toe the line with the drill sergeant. In a better life, he might have been [[Cybertron Elite Guard]] commander material.

''Might'' have.

These days, though, Wasp is a broken bot, mentally unstable and on the run from the Autobots who have branded him a traitor. And, thanks to [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia's]] experimentation, he's been reformatted into a high-powered, techno-organic monstrosity. What little remains of his mind is focused on just one goal... destroying Bumblebee, the bot who ruined his life!

{{bigquote|You were always mean to me and Bumblebee. You may not be a traitor... but you were ''never'' a good bot.|[[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] tells Wasp off|"[[Where Is Thy Sting?]]"}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Tom Kenny]] (English), [[Jaron Löwenberg]] (German)

== Boot camp and revenge on "Bumblebot" ==

Wasp was a cadet in the same group as Bumblebee, [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]], [[Ironhide (Animated)|Ironhide]] and [[Shockwave (Animated)|Longarm]]. Right away, Wasp took a dislike to Bumblebee, insulting him out of the blue as the yellow bot mused to himself about his future in the Elite Guard. He also dubbed Bulkhead a "[[Mudflap (slang)|mudflap]]", much to the amusement of his fellow cadets. The loud-mouthed drill sergeant [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Minor]] took an immediate liking to "Wasp", as he dubbed him. Wasp and Ironhide quickly became close friends, often competing in little tests of strength, usually involving Wasp hitting or stinging Ironhide while the latter was in armor mode.

After Bumblebee "bumbled" several times, leading to many [[transform-up]]s for the whole group, Wasp and Ironhide decided to take matters into their own hands, unscrewing Bumblebee's lower legs and leaving them out of reach even before they dumped the rest of him in a locker.

Unbeknown to Wasp, however, the reason for Bumblebee's foul-ups was that he was trying to out a traitor in the group—and had pegged Wasp as the likely culprit after seeing him walk out of a hangar in which someone had contacted [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]. (Plus, let's face it, he was a complete jerk. And Decepticons are jerks, right?) At Longarm's prompting, Bumblebee eventually found evidence incriminating Wasp as a spy. Wasp was stripped of his Autobot insignia and wheeled away, protesting his innocence and swearing revenge on Bumblebee.

[[Image:WaspAnimated2.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Wasp was once a 'Bot...]]

Many years later, Wasp escaped from Autobot custody and apparently eluded the now-Sentinel Prime by jumping through a [[space bridge]]. What was left of Wasp hid beneath the bridge as Sentinel left, [[Waspinator (BW)|buzzing and twittering to himself]], still swearing revenge on "Bumblebot". In reality, however, the innocent bot—broken mentally by his years of imprisonment—had been set up with evidence planted by "Longarm", who had also arranged Wasp's "escape" to divert suspicion from himself. {{storylink|Autoboot Camp}}

Needless to say, when the truth was revealed to Bumblebee by his old "friend", Longarm Prime (aka the Decepticon Shockwave), he took it pretty hard. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part II|A Bridge Too Close, Part II}}

[[Image:WhereIsThySting-Bumblebeecreepilydefeated.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Bee-st Wars!]]

Wasp headed straight for the Autobots' base on Earth, with Sentinel Prime and [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]] in pursuit. Waiting until Bumblebee was left alone on monitor duty (and actually playing ''[[Ninja Gladiator]]'' instead), he struck during a power outage, knocking Bumblebee cold and switching color schemes, helmets and even speech synthesizers with his rival. When Bumblebee came to, the others had returned and had him prisoner, with the disguised Wasp at their side. Despite Bumblebee's muffled cries, the Autobots fell for Wasp's ruse, forcing Bumblebee to flee into the night. Wasp stayed behind as the others tracked Bumblebee down, allowing him to try beating Bumblebee's video game and to search through Bumblebee's personal files.

When the others returned, joined by Sentinel, Jazz, [[Jetfire (Animated)|Jetfire]] and [[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]], Wasp was able to recount several of Bumblebee's adventures which were logged in his files to keep the Autobots confused as to which bot was which. Unfortunately for Wasp, [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] proposed the two battle against each other in in ''Ninja Gladiator'', so that Bumblebee's video game skills would be readily apparent and the traitor revealed. Before their video game could begin, Wasp panicked and attacked Bumblebee, holding him hostage so he could make his escape. Wasp left Bumblebee with one final indignity, turning off the [[electronic paint job]] he'd installed in Bee and stealing his helmet back... tricking Bulkhead into pummeling the real Bumblebee while Wasp fled. {{storylink|Where Is Thy Sting?}}

== Becoming Waspinator ==

The Autobots continued to pursue an erratic Wasp, though for different reasons: Sentinel Prime was still commanding the Elite Guard to bring him in on suspicion of treason, while Optimus and Bumblebee just wanted to help him (or at least keep him from damaging himself and bystanders during his crazed flight). In the midst of a pursuit through the streets of Detroit, Bumblebee tried once again to convince Wasp that he was now known to be innocent and was set up by Longarm, but Wasp refused to listen. During the chase, Wasp was suddenly abducted by [[Swoop (Animated)|Swoop]], who carried him to [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]].

[[Image:PredaconsRising-WaspinatorBlackarachnia.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Waspinator's back...and he's tired of being comic relief.]]

Wasp soon found himself in [[Meltdown (Animated)|Meltdown]]'s old underground lab going ga-ga over [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]]. The spiderbot used her feminine wiles and familiar-sounding sob stories of Autobot betrayal to win Wasp's trust, and she convinced him to undergo an organic power augmentation procedure by impressing him with the ferocity of her own beast mode (while shielding him from seeing the disfigured mutant corpses left behind from her prior experiments). Wasp entered one [[transwarp]] chamber, a real organic wasp was put into another, and out came... Waspinator, three times larger than before, with more powerful energy "stings" and a deeper, heavily processed, voice.

When he was finally tracked down by Bumblebee, who apologized to him, he decided that while "Wasp" forgave his former accuser, "Waspinator" preferred violent revenge. But before Waspinator could deliver the final blow, he overheard Blackarachnia admitting to the Autobots that she only viewed her new "friend" as another experimental attempt to cure her own organic infection. Irate at yet another betrayal, Waspinator started attacking everybody—and if that wasn't scary enough, his transwarp energy became unstable. Just as Waspinator reached critical mass, Blackarachnia sealed them both within a cocoon of her energy webbing, containing the explosion of transwarp energy.
[[Image:TFAni Predacons Rising Waspinator Hazz Planzzz.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Some assembly required.]]
While only a crater was left on Dinobot Island, Waspinator and Blackarachnia were teleported by the transwarp energy to an unknown jungle. Although reduced to pieces by the explosion, Waspinator was still functional, and slowly began putting himself back together. After all, he couldn't go offline yet... because "Wazzzpinator hazz planzzz!" {{storylink|Predacons Rising}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
===Animated===
[[Image:Waspinatoranimateddeluxe.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Finally Blackarachnia has a pal... and by "pal", we mean "guinea pig".]]
*'''Waspinator''' (Deluxe class, 2009)

:Despite his cartoon origins, Waspinator is ''not'' a [[redeco]] or [[Retool|retooling]] of Bumblebee. Part of the sixth wave of ''Animated'' Deluxe-class toys, Waspinator transforms from a techno-organic wasp into a techno-organic, four-armed, winged robot that resembles his ''[[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'' namesake, only far freakier-looking. In both modes, a lever on the thorax flaps his wings back and forth.

:His antennae are made of softer rubber, to allow them to be wedged within his insect head, as well as [[for safety reasons]].
{{--}}

==Notes==
*A wasp and a bee, sharing the same mold? [[Waspinator (BW)|How]] [[Buzz Saw|preposterous]]!

*The small, vestigial arms present on the Deluxe Waspinator toy's robot mode torso have their origin in an early design concept for [[Lockdown]]; the bounty hunter robot's character model was subsequently altered to make his appearance less monstrous, but [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] loved the concept of the vestigial arms enough to incorporate them instead into Waspinator's design.<ref>[http://derrickjwyatt.blogspot.com/2008/05/evolution-of-lockdown.html The Evolution of Lockdown ] and [http://derrickjwyatt.blogspot.com/2008/10/tfa-s3-chin-on.html TFA S3: CHIN ON!]</ref>

*The signature quote given to Waspinator on his toy packaging is "Waspinator rules!", one of several iconic catchphrases associated with the original ''[[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'' incarnation of Waspinator. He uttered it in "[[A Better Mousetrap]]" and "[[Maximal, No More]]".

* Derrick Wyatt states on his blog that this incarnation of Waspinator is inspired by his ''Beast Wars'' counterpart, but made more monstrous and buglike. Wyatt examined photographs of actual wasps, nature shows like "Life in the Undergrowth" and monster movies for inspiration. The FX studio, Audio Circus, added insectoid clicks and other background sounds for the character.<ref>[http://derrickjwyatt.blogspot.com/2009/04/oh-canada-here-i-come.html Oh Canada, here I come!]</ref>

* In technorganic mode, Wasp is capable of firing energy blasts from his vestigial arms.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category: Animated characters]]
[[Category: Autobots]]
[[Category: Decepticons]]

Wreck-Gar (Animated)

2009-05-29T16:27:03Z

93.96.113.186: /* Animated cartoon */

{{factions|autobot|decepticon}}
{{disambig2|the garbage truck from ''Transformers Animated''|the Junkion from Generation 1|Wreck-Gar (G1)}}
:''Wreck-Gar is a very confused individual from the [[Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Wreck-garanimatedpoint.jpg|right|360px|thumb|Put down that chainsaw and listen to me!]]
Recently brought to life by the power of the [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]], '''Wreck-Gar''' is simple-minded and highly suggestible. As he attempts to learn more about his identity, he never loses his sense of humor. His trash bin is an impressive bag of tricks, able to stash and deploy many useful (and even more useless) items at a moment's notice, or make them seemingly disappear forever. This ability is a bit of a mixed blessing, as Wreck-Gar will frequently confuse your request with something that sounds vaguely similar.

Wreck-Gar's primary goal in life is to acquire an identity. Additionally, he is eager to help people and be liked. He will automatically take on whatever role is suggested to him. This makes him rather unpredictable and prone to making the wrong move at the wrong time. However, if he can learn to think for himself instead of relying on others, there's potential in this friendly mix-and-match bot.

{{bigquote|I am Wreck-Gar! I am only good for one thing... '''GARBAGE!'''|Wreck-Gar cheerily takes [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] at his word, "[[Garbage In, Garbage Out]]"}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [["Weird Al" Yankovic|"Weird Al" Yankovic]] (English), [[Joachim Kaps]] (German)

[[Image:Wreck-garisgoodforonlyonething.jpg|left|180px|thumb|OKAY I CAN HEAR YOU NOW!]]

== Brought to Life ==

Wreck-Gar emerged from a garbage scow, activated by a shard of [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]] energy that was close to [[Sari Sumdac]]'s [[Key]], self-aware but with no sense of history or identity. He tried to figure out what he was by studying objects in his environment and was briefly tricked by a food label into thinking he was high-fructose corn syrup. Spying a blimp proclaiming the [[Detroit]] Metro Police Department was "here to help", Wreck-Gar went off in search of the police for help. Once ashore, Wreck-Gar's clumsy curiosity prevented police officers from apprehending the [[Angry Archer]], and the villain quickly conscripted Wreck-Gar as a sidekick, even giving the confused mechanoid his new, shorter name (as "worthless-''wreck''-walking-pile-of-''gar''bage" was a bit overlong). Wreck-Gar helped the Archer disable an armored car, allowing him to steal a canister of unknown content right in front of the [[Autobot]]s [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] and [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]].

Upon seeing the Autobots and overhearing that they protected life and caught bad guys, Wreck-Gar decided he wanted to do that, slapped an [[Insignia|Autobrand]] on his chest, and chased the escaping Archer. Throwing the Archer high into the air in order to "catch" him, Wreck-Gar only got the canister, as the Archer used a grappling arrow to escape. After being harshly told by Ratchet he was only good for one thing, ''GARBAGE!'', Wreck-Gar proudly declared he was good for only one thing—''GARBAGE!''—and set about trying to deliver the stinky stuff to the entire citizenry of Detroit. (Detroit just happened to be in the middle of a garbage strike as well. Hooray!) The Autobots gave chase, having discovered the canister Wreck-Gar held contained experimental [[Sumdac Systems]] garbage-eating microbots, which Ratchet worried would be dangerously mutated by Wreck-Gar's AllSpark energy.

[[Image:Wreck-garanimatedvehicle.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Buy some sensible shoes and a Chevrolet!]]

This mission became much more dangerous when he was approached by [[Lugnut]], who was out to retrieve the AllSpark shard from Wreck-Gar's body. Thanks to Wreck-Gar's habit of repeating everything said to him (specifically, Ratchet's proclamation that "you're not an Autobot, and you never ''will be'' an Autobot!"), Lugnut believed the newcomer was just as much a loyal [[Decepticon]] as himself. When Ratchet accosted Wreck-Gar, Lugnut prepared his [[Punch of Kill Everything]], which Wreck-Gar took to mean the [[universal greeting]], so he gave Lugnut a high-five that left a colossal impact crater. As the Autobots ran for it, Wreck-Gar hopped on the pursuing Lugnut, pulling out the now-cracked microbot canister he'd gotten. A small amount spilled on Lugnut and began eating through his tail section. Wreck-Gar helpfully disassembled the tail, sending Lugnut plummeting somewhere in Detroit, with himself and the tail landing in a full garbage scow, which the nanobots quickly began to consume. From the shore, a group of bystanders began cheering as they saw the scow's load diminish. Now supplied with a fresh load of garbage and mistaking the cheers as intended for his delivery of said garbage, Wreck-Gar pushed the scow full steam ahead.

Wreck-Gar's attempt to deliver it was impeded by Ratchet, who first screamed at the junk-bot that the nanobots would destroy the entire city should they reach shore, but Wreck-Gar was adamant. Ratchet then did the hardest thing he'd ever had to do: ''apologize'' for his insults and bad attitude. Ratchet told the now-even-more-confused robot that he could be whatever he wanted and to not let others decide for him who he was. Wreck-Gar decided he truly wanted to be a hero, and slapping the Autobot symbol on his chest once again, began vacuuming up the nanobots. The nanobots began to overload within his backpack, however, and as Wreck-Gar tumbled off of what was left of the scow, he cried out his thank-you to Ratchet. An explosion of AllSpark energy burst from the water, and all Ratchet's magnetic power could retrieve was random junk...

And, at the bottom of the lake, Wreck-Gar smiled to himself, a hero. Despite being buried up to his shoulders, he assured the fish passing by he was there to help...but first...could somebody give him a hand or a fin? {{storylink|Garbage In, Garbage Out}}

[[Image:Wreck Gar Polka Party.jpg|thumb|180px|left|You better squeeze all the Charmin you can, when Mr. Whipple's not around!]]

== The Substitute Autobots ==

Eventually roused from his lakebed slumber by the crude raft of Sari Sumdac's [[Scrapper (Animated)|ragtag]] [[Snarl (Animated)|crew]], he joined the [[Substitute Autobots]] to help liberate Detroit from the grip of [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]]. A bit less befuddled than in previous encounters, he proved (mostly) effective in aiding Sari in battle, only being defeated once Soundwave was able to focus his attentions solely on controlling [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]]. Afterward, he enthusiastically pitched in on the cleanup efforts, collecting the scraps of hundreds of [[Porter C. Powell]]'s damaged Soundwave toys.

[[Image:TFAni_Human_Error_Part2_Wreck-Gar_Merry_Trashmas.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The sleigh bells are ringing and the carolers are singing while the air raid sirens blare!]]

He even got into the [[Christmas|holiday]] spirit a bit, playing Santa and handing out garbage to all the good little girls and boys. {{storylink|Human Error, Part II}}

{{-}}

==Toys==
===Animated===
[[Image:Wreckgaranimatedvoyager.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Ya gotta buy one if you wanna get one free!]]
*'''Wreck-Gar''' (Voyager, 2008)
**''Accessories'': 2 scissor-blade weapons

: Wreck-Gar transforms into a garbage truck with articulated lifting-forks. Pushing a small spring-loaded lever on the back of either of the lifting forks will extend the fork forward. The sliding lever on the top of the truck exposes both of his weapons from slots in the rear. These blade- or scissor-like weapons can attach to his forearms, or combine into a single bladed weapon which can also attach to either of his forearms. (Don't run with them!) His [[Shellformer|transformation]] involves pulling nearly his entire robot mode out from under the truck mode, meaning he wears his vehicle mode like a backpack. However, you don't care because Wreck-Gar is awesome (and it's show-accurate).

:According to the back of his box, he collects things others throw out, watches more TV than even Bumblebee, and believes everything he reads on the internet. How he manages to watch TV and browse the internet ''at the bottom of a river'' is unknown, but this is still awesome.

==Notes==
* Originally, the creators wanted [[Eric Idle]] to play Wreck-Gar, as he was the original voice for his [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Generation 1 namesake]]. As Idle was busy with the production of ''Spamalot'', Weird Al was selected instead.

* Wreck-Gar's head is an old-fashioned portable TV set, complete with channel selection dials, aerial and a handle for transport. As art director/character designer [[Derrick Wyatt]] has admitted to being heavily influenced by [[wikipedia:Gainax|Gainax]] shows, this may well be a visual cue to [[wikipedia:FLCL|FLCL]], along with the resemblance to the original Wreck-Gar's head and his "TV talk" persona.

* Wreck-Gar's line "I ''dare'' to be stupid!" is something of a double-callout, as the Weird Al song "[[Dare to Be Stupid]]" was featured in the original [[The Transformers: The Movie|''Transformers'' movie]], and Wreck-Gar himself is voiced by Al.

* Then, of course, there's the accordion in one of the above images. Al himself has been an accordion player since the age of 7.

* ''Transformers Animated'' story editor [[Marty Isenberg]] stated in an interview that the idea of a garbage bin that Wreck-Gar can pull anything out of was inspired by Harpo Marx.<ref>[http://www.cvcomics.com/artandstory/?p=242 CVComics.com's Art & Story 68 audio interview with Marty Isenberg.]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Animated characters]]
[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]