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Scale

2021-04-08T17:45:24Z

Oshkeet: /* Variation for characterization */

[[File:OptimusSnakeEyes.jpg|right|upright=1.67|thumb|And the truck's how big...?]]
'''Scale''' in ''Transformers'' is, not to put too fine a point on it, screwed.

Virtually no era, franchise, fiction, [[toy]]line, or other incarnation of ''Transformers'' has presented scale in a logical or believable fashion (there are, of course, a few [[#Intentional attempts at a consistent scale|rare exceptions]], detailed below). Most fans agree that one must either ignore it or accept it, lest they be tempted to explain these problems and in the process [[fanon|fanwank]] themselves into oblivion.

However, the considerable and varied scale problems of ''Transformers'' still merit description.

{{bigquote|Clearly, the pitiful humans at Hasbro are so overwhelmed by the awesomeness of Cybertronian life forms that they can't get the scale right.|[[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]|[[Transformers Comic issue 23|Star Screams #23]]}}
==Scale within toylines==

===Toys out of scale with others in the same line===
[[File:DiacloneScale.jpg|right|upright=1.95|thumb|That little guy — who comes from the same toyline as all those vehicles — is supposed to be a normal-sized human. Yeeeah.]]
The early [[The Transformers (toyline)|Generation 1 toy line]], especially the pre-[[The Transformers: The Movie|movie]] releases, were [[rebranding|rebranded]] and [[redeco]]ed toys from several different Japanese toy lines. The crucial point is that the toy lines were initially unrelated. The characters ''should'' be in scale with each other as they all have real-world [[alternate mode]]s that (should) pass for real vehicles. However, since ''[[Diaclone]]'' toys were not part of the same line as ''[[Microman]]'' toys, scale issues arose. ''Diaclone'' figures such as [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys|Optimus Prime]], [[Prowl (G1)/toys|Prowl]] and [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] are more-or-less in correct scale with each other (though problems already arise with [[Sunstreaker (G1)/toys|Sunstreaker]] and [[Sideswipe (G1)/toys|Sideswipe]], whose alternate modes are based on ''the same car'' yet are not quite the same size), but many of the [[Mini Vehicle]]s from the ''New Microman'' line are clearly far too small by comparison. Even aside from their deformed penny-racer proportions, a [[Cliffjumper (G1)/toys#Generation 1|Porsche 924]] ''[[Micro Change]]'' toy is disproportionately tiny when compared to a [[Jazz (G1)/toys#Generation 1|Porsche 935]] ''Diaclone'' toy. The disparity becomes even more obvious with Mini Vehicles such as [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (a tank) and [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] (a hovercraft), who should be many times their actual size. Notably, the {{w|GAU-8 Avenger|GAU-8/A Avenger}} gatling cannon mounted to the front end of the {{w|Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II|A-10 Thunderbolt II}} ([[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]]'s alternate mode) alone is about the same size as a {{w|Volkswagen Beetle}} ([[Bumblebee (G1)/toys|Bumblebee]]).<ref name="airvec">[http://www.airvectors.net/ava10_1.html Development history of the A-10 Thunderbolt II], including a side-by-side comparison between the GAU-8/A Avenger and a Volkswagen Beetle.</ref>

Another glaring scale problem comes in the form of the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]], who turn into F-15 Eagles which, in real life, are 19.4 m (63.8 feet) long. Though their toys are some of the larger G1 toys, correctly scaled, this would make their [[robot mode]]s several times the height of most Autobots. Similarly, the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], despite also coming from the ''Diaclone'' line, are too small, in particular [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]], whose alternate mode is an "earth mover" type of dump truck, which are ''gigantic'' in real life. Far worse is the other ''Diaclone'' combiner team, the [[Trainbot]]s, who have train engine altmodes, yet their toys are among the ''smallest'' of the ''Diaclone'' releases.

Transformers are currently formalised to a variety of [[size class]]es, which dictate the approximate cost and dimensions of a figure. Consequently, if the powers that be release toys of two characters in the same line in the same size class, they're going to come out in the same size. Even if one character's a [[Starscream (Movie)/toys|twenty-metre fighter jet]] and the other's a [[Ironhide (Movie)/toys|five-metre pickup truck]]. So don't expect this one to go away any time soon.

===Toys slightly out of scale with others in the same assortment===
Sometimes toys that ship in the same assortment or [[size class]] have similar alternate modes (i.e. two cars or two planes), but are not ''quite'' in scale with each other. One possible reason for this is that one of them would be considerably smaller than the other one in real life if they were perfectly in scale. For example, ''[[Movie (franchise)|Movie]]'' [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]]'s Pontiac Solstice alternate mode is a ''tiny'' car, and any size class that includes both him and [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys|Bumblebee]] (a Chevrolet Camaro) will result in scale problems between the toys. Hasbro ''could'' have made Jazz smaller, but since the main limit for a size class is the ''weight'' of a toy, not its size (as long as it fits into the standardized packaging, that is), they decided that scale problems are more acceptable than selling a tiny Deluxe Class toy when there's still room in the budget for more plastic. With the [[Human Alliance]] assortment, Hasbro have taken a different approach by trying to keep the vehicles in scale (roughly 1:24) and adding accessories and other characters that turn into motorcycles for smaller cars such as Jazz, [[Skids (ROTF)#Human Alliance|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)#Human Alliance|Mudflap]].

Other toys with comparable alternate modes that are slightly out of scale with each other are ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|Generation 1]]'' [[Sunstreaker (G1)/toys#Generation 1|Sunstreaker]] and [[Sideswipe (G1)/toys#Generation 1|Sideswipe]] (mentioned above), who have the ''same'' basic alternate mode (with a few differences), and ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' Legends Class [[Jazz (G1)/toys#Universe (2008)|Autobot Jazz]] and [[Hot Rod (G1)/toys#Universe (2008)|Rodimus]]. Likely the first major example of this is [[Wheeljack (G1)/toys#Generation 1|Wheeljack]], who is about the same size as the other Autobot Cars, if not a bit bigger, despite his altmode, a modified Lancia Stratos, being a ''very'' small car.

===Toys out of scale within teams===
[[File:Bruticus toy.jpg|right|thumb|upright=0.7|[https://imgur.com/a/yfDTE7A Wait till you see the artist's rendition of a scale-accurate version].]]
Even toys specifically [[combiner|designed to interact with each other]] suffer from this problem. The [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] are wildly out of scale to each other—[[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]]'s [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes#Space Shuttle Orbiter|Space Shuttle]] mode should dwarf [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]], with the others somewhere in between. Instead, they're about the same size. Among the Constructicons, [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] is designed to look like a gigantic {{w|File:Liebherr t282 1.jpg|"earth-mover" mining truck}}. He should be able to carry all his teammates in his bed, with some crowding. Similarly, [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (a [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes#Concorde|Concorde jet]]) is dramatically undersized compared to his fighter-jet [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbot]] teammates. These scale problems are necessary to avoid misproportioned gestalt forms.

Don't even ask about the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] with their [[Groove (G1)|motorcycle]] and [[Blades (G1)|helicopter]] limbs...

This problem isn't just limited to the ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|Generation 1]]'' combiners either: ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' Supreme [[Devastator (ROTF)|Constructicon Devastator]] has a massive [[Scavenger (ROTF)|mining excavator]] form the lower portion of the torso, with your everyday type of [[Mixmaster (ROTF)|cement mixer truck]] that's ''almost the same size'' forming the upper portion of the torso. An [[Long Haul (ROTF)|"earth mover"-type dump truck]] that should be about the same size as the excavator forms one tiny leg, while the other leg is formed by a [[Rampage (ROTF)|bulldozer]] that should be slightly smaller. The [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|movie]] circumvents this problem by adding additional construction vehicles in the mix, which are ignored by the toy line. The [[Legends Class (2005)|Legends Class]] version of Devastator only adds another [[Overload (ROTF)|dump truck]] for the torso, which doesn't really improve things since all the individual components are still more or less the same size.

The ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' releases of the classic crews made varying efforts to avoid this. Among other changes, Blast Off's initial release was a significantly smaller jet, Swindle's tiny steering wheel suggests him to be around the same size as Brawl, Long Haul is significantly bigger than his team, and Groove is a much smaller Legends Class figure, while newcomer [[Rook (Generations)|Rook]] takes his place as one of Defensor's limbs. That said, the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticon]] molds don't scale well with anyone else bar Groove, and Silverbolt remains tiny; seemingly the only character in-scale with his mold is maybe [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]]. Newcomer [[Alpha Bravo]] is also undersized if his windows are anything to go by. There's also [[Blackjack (G1)|Blackjack]] and [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]], both of whom are smaller than their teammates when the former should be the same size and the latter larger. Aaaand then a Deluxe-sized Groove and a new Blast Off figure with a space shuttle alternate mode are added to the line in order to revert their teams to their "classic" configurations.

This also presents clear problems with similar figures whose gimmick suggests interaction, such as [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]] or [[Mini-Cons]]. In both cases, part of the gimmick is the interchangeability of their accessories, who represent whole characters in their own right, suggesting the toys are indeed meant to have some kind of scaling with each other. However, that presents problems with some characters, such as [[Sideways (Armada)|Sideways]] (motorcycle) being the same size as [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]] (jet), especially if you assume [[Mirror]] is meant to be the size of a human. The biggest case by far is [[Unicron]]. His ''Armada'' toy is notoriously covered in Mini-Con ports, despite the fact that Unicron's very nature as a character suggests that any Mini-Con large enough to Powerlinx with him would have to be about the size of Argentina.
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===Same alternate mode, different sizes===
Other scale problems come from characters who transform into the same (or similar) [[alternate mode]]s, but whose toys are different sizes. For example, [[Air Raid (G1)#Toys|the original Air Raid]] transforms into an [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes#F-15 Eagle|F-15 Eagle]], but his toy is half the size of [[Starscream (G1)/toys|the original Starscream]]'s. The same can be said for the [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes#Lamborghini Countach|Lamborghini Countach]] [[Breakdown (G1)#Toys|Breakdown]], who should be the same size as [[Sunstreaker (G1)/toys#Toys|Sunstreaker]] and [[Sideswipe (G1)/toys#Toys|Sideswipe]], not significantly smaller. These discrepancies are also seen in the other [[Scramble City (toyline)|Scramble City]]-style combiners with Earth altmodes, whose toys are all smaller than similar earlier toys.

===Multiple scales of same character===
[[File:Animated-toy MultipleSizeOptimusPrimes.jpg|right|upright=1.5|thumb|Oh great. And I thought ''Bulkhead'' was confused...]]

Starting with ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (toyline)|Beast Machines]]'', many franchises have released multiple versions of the same character in different [[size class]]es, most often the leader characters. Originally, the intent was apparently to make the popular [[Optimus (disambiguation)|Optimus]] and [[Megatron (disambiguation)|Megatron]] characters available at lower price points than just the large and expensive "Leader" class, so that children with less money would not miss out, and perhaps persuading [[completist]]-minded [[User:ItsWalky|collectors]] to buy multiple versions of one character.

While this introduces a nice range of options for the discerning collector, it can also lead to some problems. ''Beast Machines'', for example, featured three different [[Cheetor (BW)/toys|Cheetor toys]]. The [[Cheetor (BW)/toys#BMSupreme|Supreme size toy]] was so large it could not interact with most of the other toys from the line (based on [[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|the cartoon]], he's maaaaybe in scale with [[Nightscream (BM)#Toys|Nightscream]] and [[Optimus Primal (BW)/toys#Robots in Disguise|Air Attack Optimus Primal]], the latter of whom wasn't released until three years later). The [[Cheetor (BW)/toys#BMNSC|Deluxe Cheetor]], on the other hand, was too ''small'' to match scales with most of the other toys (again, using the cartoon as a yardstick). Anyone looking ''within'' the toyline for notions of a "correct" scale between the characters would be stymied by the multiple size classes and the lack of real-world scale references. That said, it does also mean that fans attempting to create "scale-accurate" collections do have more options: for instance, [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]'s releases at the Voyager pricepoint struggle to scale with the standard Deluxe-class cars, but his [[Starscream (Movie)/toys#Transformers (2010)|Leader-class incarnation]] is much closer.

Other instances of multiple-size characters are more clear cut; the [[Spy Changer]] incarnations of various [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 toyline)|2001 ''Robots in Disguise'']] characters, for instance, are simply scaled-down representations of the same characters in the same bodies, not meant to interact with the much larger "main" toys, as are the later "Legends of Cybertron" toys in ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]''. Other multiple-toy scale differences include intentionally simplified forms, such as the [[Fast Action Battlers]], which simply make all the characters the same size, with no attempt at matching scales.

Multiple-scale characters usually aren't meant to cross-interact. A rare exception is [[Movie (franchise)|live-action]] [[Blackout (Movie)#Voyager Class toys|Blackout]], who came with a [[Scorponok (Movie)#Voyager Class Blackout companions|tiny (and correctly scaled) version of Scorponok]]. A much larger [[Scorponok (Movie)#Deluxe Class toys|Deluxe version of Scorponok]] is ''also'' meant to interact with the same Blackout toy, despite the ridiculous scale disparity (and the fact that this means Blackout can have ''two'' Scorponoks of radically different size clipped to him simultaneously).

Multiple toy sizes are generally irrelevant to the fiction, though the [[Transformers: Cybertron (cartoon)|''Cybertron'' cartoon]] featured [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]] inflating to planetary size, presumably in response to the [[Starscream (Armada)/toys#Supreme|super-large "King Starscream" toy]] available at the time.

===Toys out of scale with themselves===
[[File:G1 Broadside toy.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|Kill me. Just... kill me now.]]

[[Triple Changer]]s create a whole new set of problems. The original [[Astrotrain (G1)#Toys|Astrotrain]] transforms from a 21-meter (70-foot) locomotive to a 37-meter (122-foot) [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes#Space Shuttle Orbiter|Space Shuttle]]. [[Octane#Toys|Octane]]'s original body transforms from a 20-meter (60-foot) tanker truck into a 65-meter (200-foot) jumbo jet. [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] transforms from an Earth fighter jet of indeterminate model (let's pretend for the sake of argument that he's supposed to be an [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes#F-14 Tomcat|F-14]] and say he's 18 meters (61 feet) long) into an entire ''aircraft carrier'', approximately 333 meters (1,092 feet) long.

The newer versions of Astrotrain and Octane (aka "[[trademark|Tankor]]"), while changing the specifics of their alternate modes, really don't improve on the general size disparity all that much. The ''[[Titans Return (toyline)|Titans Return]]'' version of Broadside actually makes it ''worse'': The figure includes tiny versions of the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] (styled specifically after their ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' alternate modes) to place on various spots on his aircraft carrier mode, but at the same time this Broadside is also a [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] with a [[Titan Master]] figure that can ride inside his jet mode's cockpit, arguably making the Titan Master alone larger than the ''Combiner Wars'' Aerialbots' [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] gestalt form if scale were to be taken at face value... and yet the entire [[play pattern]] of the ''Titans Return'' line explicitly calls for Broadside and his Titan Master [[Blunderbuss]] to be compatible and interchangeable with any other figure and Titan Master in the line, most of whom are supposed to be ''much'' smaller in scale. Transformers Legends even acknowledges this by having Broadside becoming a gigantic Headmaster large enough to fight level with [[Grand Scourge]], and piloting a larger Transtector who seems to be on a similar scale to most versions of Metroplex.

Even a two mode toy can have this problem. [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#20th Anniversary/Masterpiece|20th Anniversary Optimus Prime]] has wheels which are pretty tiny for a Freightliner truck, while his rear hitch section is too thick. These out-of-proportion vehicle parts were necessary to give his robot mode [[Show-accuracy|show-accurate]] proportions. The original G1 Optimus Prime toy also has scale issues. His cab is 1/48 scale, but his trailer is closer in scale to the Autobot Cars, which fall more in the neighborhood of 1/35 to 1/40 scale-wise.
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===Toys with roleplay alternate modes===
The characters with roleplay altmodes such as Generation 1 [[Megatron (G1)/toys|Megatron]], [[Soundwave (G1)/toys|Soundwave]], [[Perceptor (G1)#Toys|Perceptor]], or [[Laserbeak (Armada)#Toys|''Armada'' Laserbeak]] are scaled to be real-world [[human]]-scale (well, kid-scale). Since the [[size changing]] seen in the fiction is not possible for real toys (at least, that's what [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] ''wants'' us to think), this human-scaling makes in some cases for inordinately large robot modes. E.g., [[Blaster (G1)#Toys|Blaster]]'s toy, in robot mode, is taller than most other Transformers.

The opposite problem is seen with [[Megatron (G1)/toys#MasterpieceMegs|Masterpiece Megatron]], whose robot mode is in scale with [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#20th Anniversary/Masterpiece|Masterpiece Optimus Prime]]. The result is that, while he may transform into a very accurately-proportioned handgun, it's unmistakably much larger than the real thing... not that this has stopped him being widely banned as a "realistic firearm replica".

===Fanciful altmodes===
Characters with alternate modes that are not meant to be replicas of real-world things (or at least, close enough while being legally-distinct from said things) are difficult to accurately scale, as they generally transform into futuristic or Cybertronian vehicles whose size we don't really know... or, indeed, they don't transform into vehicles at all. The scale of characters such as the [[Dinobot (G1)|original Dinobots]], [[Hot Rod (G1)/toys|Hot Rod]] or [[Overhaul (Cybertron)#Voyager|Leobreaker]] is fairly arbitrary and can only be estimated by their relative size to other characters within the fiction, although most fiction is highly inconsistent in this regard (see below). Nevertheless, if one assumes that most vehicle altmodes are intended for [[human]]-sized passengers, comparing toys such as [[Chromedome (G1)#Toys|Chromedome]] with [[Lightspeed (G1 Technobot)#Toys|Lightspeed]] suggests the scale problem continues.

===Big toys===
It goes without saying that the [[Titan (group)|Titan]] and planetformer toys (such as [[Fortress Maximus (G1)#Toys|Fortress Maximus]] and [[Unicron/toys|Unicron]]) are not remotely to scale with normal Transformer toys. While they are indeed ''large'' toys, they're only two to five times bigger than typical Transformer toys, and thus transform into "cities" and "planets" about the (relative) size of a bungalow. The scale problems extend to the details. Some of the citybot toys have visible windows, which are too large for a city, suggesting instead a medium-sized building.

However, it's hard to begrudge [[Hasbro]] not offering us a [[Primus]] toy the size of an asteroid. Where would we keep it?

Additionally, Fortress Maximus's main adversary [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] is considerably smaller as a toy. Whereas Fortress Maximus includes a [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] figure of [[Spike Witwicky (G1)#Generation 1|Spike]], who turns into the head of [[Cerebros (G1)|Cerebros]] (whose toy is roughly the same size as the regular 1987 Headmasters toys), who in turn becomes the head of Fortress Maximus, Scorponok merely comes with [[Zarak (G1)|Zarak]] (whose figure is the same size as Fortress Maximus's Spike), who turns into a tiny head for Scorponok, covered up by a large helmet. So either Fortress Maximus is supposed to tower over Scorponok, or Zarak [[size changing|grows in size]] during his transformation into Scorponok's head.

===Action Masters===
[[File:Turbo Racer art.jpg|right|upright=1.67|thumb|A car riding inside a car. Wheeljack, you are either a genius or completely nuts.]]

The [[:Category:Action Master vehicles|Action Master vehicles]] were designed to take advantage of the fact that the [[Action Master]] figures were all the same size. They can each pilot each other's vehicles or ride as a passenger. With the vehicles as a frame of reference, it seems we should take it as fact that all of the Action Masters are literally the same size, even characters such as [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys|Bumblebee]] and [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. Did Devastator shrink?

Then again, the vehicles pose even more problems: [[Prowl (G1)/toys|Prowl]], who still sports car [[kibble]], rides a [[Turbo Cycle (G1)|motorcycle]], [[Wheeljack (G1)/toys|Wheeljack]] (who used to transform into a car himself) drives a [[Turbo Racer|sports car]], and [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys|Optimus Prime]] steers a massive [[Armored Convoy|18-wheeler truck]], despite his own chest still being the front end of a truck cab. Did [[Nucleon (substance)|Nucleon]] shrink the Transformers to ''[[human]]'' size, or are these just ''gargantuan'' vehicles?

Of particular note, Wheeljack's Turbo Racer is based on a Ferrari Testarossa, and the Action Master [[Jackpot (G1)|Jackpot]] figure (a new [[character]] created specifically for the Action Masters lineup) sports kibble that indicates he once used to transform into a Ferrari Testarossa himself!
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===Size class cross-compatibility===
[[File:ROTF-toy FuryOfFearswoopBox.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.67|Finally, toys that are more or less in scale with each other... yet Hasbro insists they are ''not''.]]

With standardized [[size class]]es and mixed-faction assortments being the norm these days, scale issues are a given. For example, the first [[wave]] of ''[[Transformers: Classics|Classics]]'' Deluxes featured Autobots [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Classics|Bumblebee]] and [[Hot Rod (G1)/toys#Classics (2006)|Rodimus]], two cars, as well as Decepticons [[Starscream (G1)/toys#Classics (2006)|Starscream]], a modified F-15 Eagle fighter jet, and [[Astrotrain (G1)#Classics 2|Astrotrain]], a [[Triple Changer]] who turns into a bullet train locomotive and a modified NASA Space Shuttle orbiter, all roughly the same size in robot mode but obviously not the same scale in their alternate modes.

However, with the increasing prevalence of multiple toys of the same [[character]] in different size classes, particularly enforced by the [[live-action film series]], it is technically possible to have somewhat more accurate scale combinations. The [[Legends Class (2005)|Legends Class]] and its successor, the Legion Class (part of the ''[[Cyberverse (toyline)|Cyberverse]]'' range for a few years), allow Autobots with cars as their alternate modes to be roughly in scale with Deluxe or Voyager-sized Decepticons that turn into aircraft. Likewise, the Legends Class version of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' [[Arcee (Movie)#Legends Class toys|Arcee]], a motorcycle, is more or less in scale with Deluxe-sized Autobots with car alternate modes.

Hasbro does not often take advantage of this possible compatibility with store [[exclusive]] [[giftset]]s and "bonus" packs. Even when toys with considerable size differences are sold in the same pack, combinations such as a Leader-sized [[Optimus Prime (Movie)/toys#Leader Class toys|Optimus Prime]] (which would be in scale with Deluxe-sized Autobots with car alternate modes) with the ''much'' smaller Legends Class versions of [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#Legends Class toys|Bumblebee]] and [[Jazz (Movie)#Legends Class toys|Jazz]] or the large Ultimate Bumblebee toy with the much smaller Deluxe-sized toys of [[Scorponok (Movie)#Deluxe Class toys|Scorponok]] (who should be roughly the same size as Bumblebee) and [[Brawl (Movie)#Deluxe Class toys|Brawl]] (who should be considerably larger than either of them) are fairly common. The ''Revenge of the Fallen'' "Shanghai Showdown" multi-pack with [[Demolishor (ROTF)#Voyager Class toys|Demolishor]]'s Voyager-sized toy and the ice cream truck versions of [[Skids (ROTF)#Deluxe Class toys|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)#Deluxe Class toys|Mudflap]] (whose combined alternate mode is Deluxe-sized) is closer, but truly scale-accurate multi-packs like the ([[unreleased toy|unreleased]]) [[Transformers (2010 toyline)|''Transformers'' (2010)]] "Sideways Sneak Attack" pack with a Deluxe-sized [[Sideways (ROTF)#Deluxe Class toys|Sideways]] (who transforms into a car) and the aforementioned Legends Class version of Arcee and two [[redeco]]s of hers as [[Chromia (ROTF)#Transformers (2010)|Chromia]] and [[Elita-One (Movie)#Transformers (2010)|Elita-1]] are rare exceptions. A particularly odd example is the ''Revenge of the Fallen'' "[[The Fury of Fearswoop]]" three-pack, which features a Deluxe-sized [[Fearswoop (ROTF)|Fearswoop]] (who transforms into a plane) and Legends Class versions of [[Sideswipe (Movie)#Fearswoop|Sideswipe]] and Mudflap (who turn into cars), making them more or less in scale with each other... yet the on-packaging [[bio]] states that Fearswoop has "grown to immense size".

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===Drivers===
[[File:DOTM Tailpipe Pinpointer SgtNoble.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.67|That sure is one big motorcycle...]]

One of the more popular play patterns in the line's history is that of the driver figure: a small figure, usually a human or one of the various -Master configurations, who is capable of fitting inside the figure and driving it. However, given that a working interior that can fit an entire to-scale humanoid would likely compromise a lot of the engineering, many figures designed with this play feature in mind have the driver be far too small in comparison to their vehicle. This was first evident in the pre-''Transformers'' days, with the various ''[[Diaclone]]'' mechs all coming with pilot figures that, if to scale with the cars, would probably be the size of hobbits. The ''[[Masterpiece]]'' line, seemingly partly in homage to the heady days of ''Diaclone'', also frequently includes characters like [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] that end up not too far off the ''Diaclone'' drivers in scale next to the vehicles they're meant to be driving.

In the case of the [[Headmaster]] figures, the Headmasters set a rather consistent scale to their toys, but one that raises a lot of questions. Notably, [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]], if his driver is meant to be about the size of a human, is a monstrously oversized car, while the issues of [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] being way too small for a city are magnified. It also creates issues since most incarnations of Headmasters are shown as interchangeable, suggesting that the toys are indeed meant to be about the same size, even if one is a car and the other is [[Highbrow (G1)|a dual-rotor copter]]. The cartoon somewhat got around this by depicting the heads of the Headmasters as significantly larger than their human and [[Nebulan]] pilots, though this may make Chromedome's issues even worse. These scale issues are largely inherited by similar lines, such as the [[Brainmasters]] and [[Titan Masters]].

''[[The Transformers: Binaltech Asterisk]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Kiss Players (toyline)|Kiss Players]]'' made use of ''Alternators'' sculpts, only with added [[human]] female driver figures... which were woefully small compared to the cars they came with. This would repeat itself with the "[[Human Alliance]]" toys for ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'': The cars/robots are all roughly the right size compared to each other ([[Skids (ROTF)#Human Alliance|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)#Human Alliance|Mudflap]] are even smaller, squatter toys and come with sub-[[size class|Scout]]-sized [[Arcee (Movie)#Human Alliance|motorcycle]] and [[Chromia (ROTF)#HumanAlliance|robots]] to make up for it), but their human drivers are all too small (amusingly, [[Frenzy (Movie)#Human Alliance|Frenzy]] seems to be about right). In fact, the size differences have even ''increased'': The [[Transformers (2010 toyline)|2010 ''Transformers'']] line introduced an even ''smaller'' scale for the driver figures, including new versions of [[Sam Witwicky]] and [[Mikaela Banes]] that are smaller than their ''Revenge of the Fallen'' predecessors. The new scale for the driver figures continued with ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (toyline)|Dark of the Moon]]'', which introduced Scout-sized robot figures that had one-man [[alternate mode|vehicle modes]] in a slightly larger scale, resulting in [[Sergeant Noble|undersized drivers]] riding [[Tailpipe (DOTM)|oversized motorcycles]]. Conversely, the [[Kmart]] [[exclusive]] ''Dark of the Moon'' "Autobot Daredevil Squad" multi-pack couples a redeco of the original ''Revenge of the Fallen'' version of Sam with a redeco of ''Revenge of the Fallen'' Deluxe Class [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#Cannon|Cannon Bumblebee]], resulting in a large human with a small Chevrolet Camaro he couldn't possibly fit into even if the Bumblebee toy had its crude interior redesigned to house a driver.

===Intentional attempts at a consistent scale===
[[File:TF2010-toy Jazz HumanAlliance.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|In the films, Jazz is only about 15 feet tall. Josh Duhamel (Lennox) is 6'4" (!). That's one tiny Lennox there.]]
There have been a few toy lines that attempt to address this weirdness and try to present scale in a much more consistent manner, however... though issues still pop up in virtually every one.

The ''[[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]]'' toyline, where every toy is a 1:24-scale representation of a real car, and thus in perfect scale with each other, was the first to buck the trend. Unfortunately, for practical reasons this limited the choice of altmodes. A [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] (Space Shuttle) toy in scale with the ''Alternators'' toys would be 1.6 meters (5.1 feet) long, while a [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] (aircraft carrier) toy at that scale would be over 12 meters (40 feet)! Hasbro actually displayed [[Prototype|mock-ups]] for an unproduced line of "military" Transformers in scale with ''Alternators'' during the [[BotCon 2007]] Hasbro Tour; two of them recycled parts of ''[[Transformers: Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' [[Unicron/toys#Armada|Unicron]], and were thus [[Size class|Supreme-sized]], which made said potential toyline not particularly commercially viable for Hasbro.

The direct—and indirect—successors to ''Alternators'' (''[[The Transformers: Binaltech Asterisk|Binaltech Asterisk]]'', ''[[Transformers: Kiss Players (toyline)|Kiss Players]]'', [[Human Alliance]]) also maintained a mostly consistent internal scale with their car figures. Indeed, given that the lines all share a 1:24 scale, they actually scale well with each other. But as noted above, these lines include "human" drivers that needed to be comparatively ''tiny'' to fit inside their partner's vehicle mode. ''[[Transformers: Alternity|Alternity]]'' would follow in ''Alternators''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s footsteps with a series of smaller 1:32-scale licensed cars... as well as stuffing [[Starscream (G1)/toys#Alternity|characters who traditionally don't have automobile alternate modes]] into modern-day civilian vehicles. That these toys represent [[Alternity|hyper-evolved beings]] most of the time make it all the more head-scratch-inducing. The follow-up to that line, ''[[Transformers GT: Mission GT-R (franchise)|Transformers GT]]'', packed each 1:32-scale toy with a 3 3/4-inch ''[[Microman]]'' "[[GT Sister]]" figure, making the girls positively ''giant'' when compared to the cars. (Admittedly the GT Sisters are non-human Cybertronians, despite appearances, but this definitely smacks of fiction working to explain the toyline's scale issue.)

The ''[[The Transformers: Masterpiece|Masterpiece]]'' line, from roughly [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#mp10|MP-10]] onward, has gone in the opposite direction, making heavy use of the in-fiction scale of the G1 cartoon - but only in robot modes. Thus, [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] comes up to [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]'s waist, which is show-accurate, but results in Bumblebee turning into a very small Volkswagen Beetle; were vehicle mode scale used, Bumblebee would actually be slightly larger. [[Star Saber (Victory)|Saber]] is also correctly the height of the Autobot cars, resulting in him being smaller than the original toy (despite the Star Saber mode being bigger). The robot mode scaling is generally very consistent to the chosen source, but there are still a few oddities, particularly when dealing with older figures being reissued or redecoed after MP-10. The [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] are about right (going by robot mode, anyway, as ever), but [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]'s reissue is a little shorter than MP-10 Optimus, when he should be about a head taller. And, much like ''Human Alliance'', the various human figures released alongside them are far too small - going by the [[scale charts]], Spike, for instance, should come up to Optimus's knee, rather than the middle of his shin.

In recent years, the "collector-aimed" mass-retail lines have made attempts to stick to an internally consistent scale (while still adhering to price points), largely based on the characters' robot mode depictions in media. The 2018 ''[[Studio Series]]'' line was the first to do so: Deluxe [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#Studio Series|Bumblebee]] is shorter than Deluxe [[Ratchet (Movie)/toys#Studio Series|Ratchet]], but taller than Deluxe [[Jazz (Movie)#Studio Series|Jazz]], with Deluxe [[Lockdown (ROTF)#Generations|Lockdown]] being taller than all three. Sadly, the scale for this line doesn't translate as well for vehicle modes even within a single price point, plus Voyager-and-up toys of larger characters ''still'' have vehicle modes far too small compared to the cars. (And they were ''never'' gonna make a properly screen-accurate-scale [[Scavenger (ROTF)|Scavenger]], though a Commander Class figure ''was'' in the works, but was canned, bummer.)

The following year, the Generation-1-based ''[[War for Cybertron Trilogy (toyline)|War for Cybertron Trilogy]]'' continued the robot-mode scale trend, with the opening series ''[[War for Cybertron: Siege|Siege]]'' roughly scaling characters according to the original cartoon's animation models. Non-show characters such as [[Spinister (G1)#War for Cybertron: Siege|Spinister]] used other media, namely [[IDW Publishing]]. The vehicle modes were (supposedly) Cybertronian vehicles which also helped ignore vehicle-mode scale issues. The following line, ''[[War for Cybertron: Earthrise|Earthrise]]'', even went so far as to make Deluxe [[Cliffjumper (G1)/toys#War for Cybertron: Earthrise|Cliffjumper]] considerably smaller all around than the other Deluxes, but filled out his price tag with his giant bazooka accessory. Of course, with much of the line now using Earth-based vehicle modes, those scale issues return. The final line in the trilogy, ''[[War for Cybertron: Kingdom|Kingdom]]'' introduced ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'' characters into the mix, which hoooo boy. The line attempts to maintain media-based robot-mode scale between the respective casts, but just kind of ignores the obvious scale issues between putting Generation 1 characters alongside ''Beast Wars'' characters. The reintroduction of the ''[[Prime Wars Trilogy]]'' Legends Class (under the name "Core Class") is another barrel of monkeys, with the majority of them being smaller takes of "G1" characters based on larger toys, which only scale amongst their own. Meanwhile, the beast Core toys do not adhere to any scale besides being smaller than the rest of the cast.
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== Scale within fictions ==
Scale issues abound within the fiction, especially the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original ''The Transformers'' cartoon]]. Some can be attributed to [[animation error]]s, such as layering problems,[[:File:Tinybluestreak.jpg|1]][[:File:Huge Ironhide and Small Ratchet.jpg|2]][[:File:CarnageMiniBlaster.jpg|3]] but some "errors" were deliberate choices, for a variety of reasons.

===Fictional scale vs. toy scale===
[[File:TeenyCliff.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|Frighteningly toy-accurate.]]
[[File:Powerglide Astoria Marygoaround.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|Actually, disturbing ''fiction'' is probably more of a concern than scale issues.]]

The original ''Transformers'' fictions often depict characters to the same relative scale as the toys, which duplicates the intra-toyline problems described above. The cartoon, for example, shows [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus]], [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] and [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] as about the same height, [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] and Autobot cars as slightly shorter (though not as much as the toys are), and [[Mini Vehicle|Minibots]] as smaller yet. This scale was carried over to their vehicle forms, resulting in differently-sized cars that, based on real world measurements, should be virtually the same size.

For another example, the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] comics portrayed the [[Pretender]]s as literal interpretations of their toys: 60-foot humans with full-scale Transformers inside. The "disguise" aspect of this was later explained by having [[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]] and [[Cloudburst]] encounter [[Femax|giant, transformer-sized humanoids on an alien planet]] which made them appear to be of a "normal" scale.

[[File:Omegasupreme astrotrain.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|I know he's meant to be big, but holy ''crap'', dude!]]

Transformers fiction commonly shrinks or inflates characters, relative to their toy sizes. "Giant" characters such as [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] are, even aside from any [[size changing]] for transport purposes, clearly not in the same scale in toy form as they are depicted on screen. [[Mini-Cassette|Cassette characters]] such as [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]]'s toys are roughly the same height as most Minibots, while in the show they are usually portrayed as human-sized.

[[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] are usually shown to be of a fairly similar height (although Magnus is much bulkier), whereas there is a considerable difference between the size of their toys. By the same token, Rodimus is always depicted as being an equal stature to his opposing leader [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], whereas the [[Galvatron (G1)/toys|toy Galvatron]] is instead the same size as Magnus. Optimus Prime is also usually shown as only a head or so shorter than Magnus (if that), which gets very strange when you realize that a [[redeco]] of Prime's toy forms but a small part of Magnus' robot mode. G1-era media also consistently depicts the members of the [[Special Teams]] as being about the same size as each other, even though the toys consistently had the leader be about twice the size of the limbs.

[[File:Beastwarsmaxgroup.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|Airazor picks the Ultra-class figure.]]

The cast of ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' were size-tweaked quite a bit, relative to the toyline. The most noticeable problem is [[Optimus Primal (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]], who has an Ultra toy (the "level four" size, almost twice the size of the "level three" Mega next-largest Maximal toys), but is shorter than both [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] and [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (both of whom are "level two" Deluxe sized toys). Further, [[Cheetor (BW)/toys#Beast Wars|Cheetor]] and [[Tigatron#Toys|Tigatron]]'s toys use the same (Deluxe) mold, but Tigatron is a head taller in the show (both because tigers are larger than cheetahs, and because Cheetor is "a kid"). New and altered characters in later seasons were generally more consistent in size (and appearance) with the toys. This problem was magnified when the Generation 1 characters cameoed in the series. [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] is a ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' but is shown in "[[The Agenda (Part III)]]", as being much smaller than Optimus Prime.
[[File:G1Prime BWMegs.jpg|right|upright=1.4|thumb|An example of how small Beast Wars Megatron is compared to Optimus Prime.]]

The ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (toyline)|Beast Machines]]''' toyline was ''far'' worse in size discrepancies with the cartoon. Of the [[Maximal]]s featured in the show, the tallest character, [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]], is [[Silverbolt (BW)#Beast Machines|the ''shortest'' toy]], while the diminutive [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]] is a [[Nightscream (BM)#Toys|massive Ultra-class toy]]. And, sadly, the most show-accurate toy, [[Optimus Primal (BW)/toys#Robots in Disguise|Air Attack Optimus Primal]], is a ''ginormous'' Supreme figure, towering over the other toys. (Weirdly, the [[King Kong]]-like size of this toy became [[canon]] in one specific [[micro-continuity]]. {{storylink|Prime Spark (story)|Prime Spark}})

[[File:ShrinkingHeavy.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|I lost thirty tons, thanks to the Jump-Cut! Thank you, Jump-Cut!]]
In the otherwise fairly toy-scale-savvy [[Unicron Trilogy]], [[Metroplex (Cybertron)|''Cybertron'' Metroplex]] and the other citizens of [[Gigantion]] are depicted as gargantuan in animation, whereas the toys are merely among the normal boxed size-classes. Within the animation, this causes problems with their [[Mini-Con]] partners, who are depicted as human-sized in robot mode by themselves, but when shown directly interacting with their larger partners, are scaled up right along with their partner... resulting in some temporarily gigantic Mini-Cons!

The Japanese ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (franchise)#Galaxy Force|Galaxy Force]]'' release of [[Metroplex (Cybertron)#Toys|Metroplex]], dubbed "Megalo Convoy", included an exclusive [[redeco]] of the [[Legends Class (2005)|Legends of Cybertron]] [[Optimus Prime (Armada)/toys#MegaloConvoy|Optimus Prime toy]] to indicate the "correct" scale.

The ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]'' franchise has its share of scale problems when comparing its toyline to the cartoon (not helped by multiple releases of some characters in different sizes—see above), with several characters seeming roughly one [[size class]] too small, such as the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]] being a mix of one Voyager size and two Deluxes, [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)#Toys|Sentinel Prime]] looking rather diminutive as a Deluxe, and, most egregiously, [[Lugnut (Animated)#Toys|Lugnut]] as a ''very'' squat Voyager who's shorter than even some Deluxes (as with [[Bulkhead (Animated)#Toys|Voyager-class Bulkhead]], more of his mass went into his width, plus his weapon takes away some from his robot mode). Conversely, the traditionally stunted [[Bumblebee (Animated)#Toys|Bumblebee]] is marginally too tall and bulky to be in correct scale to his otherwise fairly accurate core teammates, assuming one includes [[Optimus Prime (Animated)/toys#Voyager|Voyager Optimus]] and [[Bulkhead (Animated)#Leader|Leader Bulkhead]] in their lineup. In fact, ''Animated'' is one of those toylines where you're not quite sure who you're supposed to base correct scale on.

===Inconsistent portrayal===
[[File:OmegaSupremeintro.jpg|left|thumb|No! Don't wash him in hot water! He'll...]]
[[File:Omegasupreme-blasterandgrimlock.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|...too late.]]
Even if a size was decided on, it often didn't remain consistent. The height of the cartoon's [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]], just to name one, frequently varied between episodes. [[Devastator (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Devastator]] is another serial offender, particularly given his frequent appearances in episodes animated by [[AKOM]]; his size ranges from shot to shot in "[[The Core]]" from being about twice as tall as Optimus to being so large that Prowl's head doesn't even come up to the top of his foot.

The [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Generation 1 Marvel comic]] is notorious for changing the relative sizes of various characters. A single Transformer's size is rarely consistent between artists. For example, [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] vary in height relative to [[Soundwave (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Soundwave]]. A [[:File:TimeWars2-TakeUp.jpg|panel]] in the "[[Time Wars]]" arc shows [[Bumblebee (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Goldbug]], [[Ironhide (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Ironhide]], [[Scattershot (G1)|Scattershot]], and [[Swoop (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Swoop]] all the same height. [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], titanic in his original appearance, {{storylink|Command Performances!}} shrunk steadily in subsequent issues until he was not much taller than the average Transformer. [[Fortress Maximus (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Fortress Maximus]] suffered a similar problem, shrinking in size even though he was explicitly rebuilt to be twice as tall as the average Transformer. Super mode Powermaster [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] was originally about Fortress Maximus-sized, until he too shrunk to the size of his inner robot—which was never seen again.

Scale can even be inconsistent within the same story thanks to changing artists: In the Marvel UK story "[[Ladies' Night (issue)|Ladies' Night]]", a ginormous [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] picks up a tiiiiny military Jeep with one hand, implying that he grew to humongous proportions when he transformed (as his alternate mode is ''also'' depicted as a Jeep in fiction), but in the second part of the story, Swindle is hit by a burning Jeep (possibly even the same one) that is [[:File:LadiesNightSwindleJeepScale.jpg|now in scale with his robot mode]]. {{storylink|Ladies' Night (issue)|Ladies' Night}} It can even happen within the same issue without an artist change: In [[IDW Publishing|IDW's]] ''[[Spotlight: Soundwave]]'', there's a scene where a [[Hiro|human]] picks up [[Soundwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Soundwave]] in his tape deck mode, which is smaller than a thick comic book slipcase in his hands. A few pages later, [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] picks up Soundwave out of the human's hands, being barely able to hold the tape deck in his mouth, making Laserbeak about the size of a large dog (not counting the wings). Yet when [[Skywatch]] discovers Laserbeak at the end of the story, his ''head'' alone is suddenly the size of an adult human. {{storylink|Spotlight: Soundwave}}

[[File:Beastwarriors scale.jpg|right|upright=0.85|thumb|Beast Megatron's size vs. Optimus Prime's in America... and Japan. Looks like the Blasty Zone adds on a few tons to Beast Era characters.]]
Between the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] and the [[Beast Era]], the majority of the Cybertronian race considerably downgraded in size at the [[Great Upgrade]]. When entering the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], the Beast Warriors are quite small compared to the dormant Generation 1 characters, especially [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]—but just ''how'' much bigger varies quite a bit from scene to scene and episode to episode. When interacting with the Autobot technology of the Ark and the [[Autobot shuttle]], the [[Maximal]]s are often dealing with equipment grossly oversized for them (standing on the chairs to reach the controls, turning knobs the size of their heads); yet the Ark also seems to feature some human-sized computer control panels. {{storylink|Master Blaster|Master Blaster}} Without any height booster, [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] can interface well with these controls.

[[File:Cosmos MTMTE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|left|Finally, drawn in alternate mode scale!]]On the other hand, ''[[Robotmasters (franchise)|Robotmasters]]'' depicted Generation 1 and ''Beast Wars'' characters like [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and [[Optimus Primal (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] as being exactly the same size. Lovely. It's possible that passage through the [[Blasty Zone]] may somehow {{w|Boom tube#Later additions to the concept|account for this discrepancy}}. On the other hand, ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 franchise)|Car Robots]]'' characters were retconned to be time travelers from the Maximal/Predacon-dominated era of the future, yet the amnesiac [[Tow-Line (RID)|Wrecker Hook]] is the same size as his 21st century Decepticon comrades. Similarly, the ''[[Transformers: Wings Universe|Wings Universe]]'' comic "[[Hoist the Flag]]" features 21st century Cybertronians (including several ex-Decepticons) alongside 30th century Cybertronians (including Maximals as well as long-lived Autobots), all at the same size. And this continuity is ''supposed'' to contain a near-identical version of the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon.

[[IDW Publishing|IDW's]] [[2005 IDW continuity|original continuity]] frequently took liberties with scale as well: notably, [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] is consistently drawn positively ''huge'' in robot mode when standing side by side with his fellow Autobots while appearing as a regular member of the (background) cast in ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'', but as soon as he transfers over into the sister title ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'', his size is considerably scaled down a bit (although he's still a few heads taller than the average Autobot).
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===Explicit size changes===
{{main|size changing}}

Numerous characters are explicitly shown to shrink or expand at various times.

====Human-scaled alternate modes====
[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] becomes a human-scale radio; [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] shrinks into a handgun scaled for either Transformer or human hands, depending on the situation. The cartoons and comics typically show this without explanation, leaving the audience to attribute it to advanced alien technology.

====Pretenders====
Some versions of the [[Pretender]]s are shown to explicitly shrink when hiding in their human-sized outer shells. In the U.S. toy commercials, [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], and [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] in their new Pretender forms were small enough to fit in [[Powermaster]] [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]'s hand. So, at least in that [[micro-continuity]], they were human-sized or Powermaster Optimus Prime is the size of Devastator. ''[[Transformers: Super-God Masterforce (cartoon)|Super-God Masterforce]]'' featured Pretenders who did not have outer shells but rather an ill-defined holistic transformation which explicitly involved size changing. A vaguely similar explanation appeared in [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]]'s ''[[Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' encyclopedia.

===Implicit size changes===
Characters often change size in a less explicit fashion when transforming. These changes in scale are usually attributed to size-changing by that portion of the fan base who like to find explanations for things. The other explanation is that the artists hoped the audience wouldn't notice. It can also be supposed that they are hiding their mass somewhere (car style Transformers storing mass in their passenger compartments when in humanoid form, [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] folding his wings flat, the buildings in a Titan collapsing to eliminate the spaces normally occupied by humans, boat-bots filling up or getting rid of the vast empty areas used to provide buoyancy) or puffing up with empty space, but at a certain point, things just get silly. Some Transformers are smaller than solid blocks of the mass contained in their alt-modes: [[Unicron]] would have to be about as thick as the [[Earth]]'s crust while in planetary form, and [[Optimus Prime (disambiguation)|Optimus Prime]] would probably be blown away by a stiff breeze in his larger incarnations.

====Transport characters====
[[File:MakeHoistHuffer.jpg|thumb|right|Definitely ''not'' toy-accurate.]]
[[File:Ironhide carried into Ratchet.jpg|thumb|right|...And not to [[Ironhide (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|mention]] [[Ratchet (G1)|this]].]]

In the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original cartoon]], Transformers that act as transport for other Transformers, such as [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]], and [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]], will often dramatically change size relative to their compatriots between one shot and the next. For example, Cosmos is ''much'' shorter than [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] in robot form; yet Blaster easily fits within his spacecraft mode. Likewise, a whole squad of Decepticons can fit into Astrotrain's shuttle mode easily (including the combined-form [[Devastator (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Devastator]]!), yet he's an ordinary-sized trooper in his robot form.

Sometimes the cartoon would show ordinarily-scaled characters such as [[Cyclonus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Cyclonus]], [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] or [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] carrying another Transformer in their cockpit, implying either a tiny passenger or a huge vehicle. Even [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], who is supposed to be huge, would have to have a greatly expanded scale for his rocket ship component to accommodate passengers as shown on the cartoon.

The Marvel comics commonly sidestepped this issue by not using Transformers as transport characters, or else requiring the passengers to transform into their explicitly smaller forms to be carried. Yet they were not immune to this problem. In one story, the Pretender [[Cloudburst]] exited his shell, transformed into jet mode, and then his shell (and [[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]]) boarded him as a passenger. The fact that his ''outer'' shell was now much smaller than the ''inner'' robot was quietly ignored. {{storylink|Guess Who the Mecannibals Are Having for Dinner?}}

[[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave's]] ''[[Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' series of [[bio]] comics tried to explain this for characters such as Astrotrain and [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] by saying they're able to expand themselves to increase cargo space in vehicle mode, though their armor becomes thinner as it is spread out more. Conversely, the series notes, in robot mode, all that armor and structure being compressed into a smaller form makes that mode stronger and more durable for combat.

This concept is lampshaded in the credits of ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (360/PS3/PC)|War for Cybertron]]'', where [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] pulls up, and the entire Autobot cast of the game step out of his passenger door, clown car style.

====Combiner characters====
[[File:DreamwaveCover6.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|Since when is a Formula-1 car nine stories tall?]]
[[Combiner]] characters are often depicted as far larger than the sum of their parts. Characters such as [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] and [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] are frequently shown as [[Godzilla]]-sized. Given that their limbs are mere cars and construction vehicles, this is patently absurd ([[Superion (G1)|Superion]], by contrast, ''would'' be building-sized, given that his torso is a 100-seat jetliner).

Combiners are also often out-of-scale with other Transformers; a combiner with cars for legs and another car for its torso should be slightly less than three times as tall as a one-car Transformer, even when taking the alteration of their body parts into account, but they are routinely drawn as five to dozens of times taller than their comrades. In the video game ''[[Transformers: Fall of Cybertron]]'', [[Bruticus (WFC)|Bruticus]] towers at least ten times as tall as any Protectobot, crushing them under his feet. In fact when the Combaticons form him in Chapter X they are clearly swelling in size. The same is later repeated with [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] in ''[[Transformers: Devastation]]''.

Sometimes, they are even out of scale in their own team; [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]]'s torso is an [[Onslaught (G1)|anti-aircraft truck]], while one of his limbs is a [[Blast Off (G1)|Space Shuttle]] and another is a [[Swindle (G1)|two-person offroad vehicle]]. For this to work, either Blast Off has to shrink, or Swindle needs to grow. Likewise, [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] features a [[Groove (G1)|motorcycle]] and a [[Blades (G1)|helicopter]] as limbs that are inexplicably the same size.

On occasion, characters are shown explicitly changing size when forming a Combiner. For example, [[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]] was shown to grow several times his normal size when forming the head of Devastator in ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots In Disguise]]''.

====Scale problems and size-changing====
Some fans interpret the many otherwise-unexplained scale issues above to all be the result of [[size changing]], but this is debatable. If virtually all characters use mass-shifting (or whatever) to gain or drop a few feet of height for no logical reason, the technology would be pointlessly mundane. There's also no known reason for e.g. the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] to choose to get ''shorter'' when going into battle. A to-scale Starscream in robot mode could kick Bumblebee around like a soccer ball. There's simply no positive evidence that size-changing is so widespread.

===Undersized alternate modes===
Many Transformers are portrayed in fiction as having alternate modes that are smaller than the real-life objects they are imitating. Sometimes this is deliberate, allowing them to match their toy scale and/or be of a similar size to other characters; in other cases, it is essentially an artistic error.

Toys at the lowest price points usually include "mini" or "micro" in their name. [[Mini Vehicle]]s [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]], [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]], and [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] are usually depicted as smaller than other Transformers in fiction, even though their alternate modes should have them towering over other characters. This often results in minuscule vehicle forms; Seaspray is a tiny hovercraft, despite being covered with doors and windows. Conversely, if a new toy based on such a [[character]] is designed to be more in scale with other toys, such as [[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|2008 ''Universe'']] Ultra Class Powerglide or [[Transformers (2010 toyline)|2010 ''Transformers'']] Voyager Class [[Sea Spray (TF 2010)|Sea Spray]], some [[fandom|fans]] complain ''because they expect those new toys to reflect the original toys' sizes'' and, by extension, the [[show-accuracy|depiction in fiction]].

[[File:Hotrodpatrolcommercial.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|Do you have change for four hot rods?]]
The [[Micromaster]]s are explicitly downsized Transformers, roughly the size of a human in the comics, meaning that they ''should'' have explicitly tiny vehicle modes... which wouldn't make for very convincing disguises. The Micromasters are about the same height in robot mode, but they transform into equally tiny cars, trucks, planes, tanks, and other vehicles that should be vastly different sizes. The animated segments featured in the television [[commercial]]s for the toys generally play fast and loose with scale: One of them features Micromasters small enough for [[Action Master]] [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys|Optimus Prime]] to hold several of them (in alternate mode) in the palm of his hand (see the image to the left), which would mean the toys are supposed to be roughly life-sized, while others feature an entire Micromaster ''city'' that's small enough for [[Powermaster]] Optimus Prime to hold it in the palm of his hand, which would make the toys massively ''oversized''!

Conversely, the Marvel Comics depict the Micromasters merely as a little smaller than the likes of Bumblebee or Cliffjumper. One story even features [[Roadhandler (G1)|Roadhandler]] carrying a human passenger in his vehicle form, as though he were a full-sized car. Furthermore, the Dreamwave miniseries ''[[Transformers: Micromasters|Micromasters]]'' suggested that the Micromasters were scaled down to interact more easily with "smaller beings". Whether that meant creatures of human scale or even smaller stature is never clarified, but the Micromasters' passenger compartments are presumably too small to accommodate human passengers.

The [[Mini-Con]]s of the [[Unicron Trilogy]] are another race of small robots who stand approximately the same height as humans and, like the Micromasters before them, are clearly modeled to carry passengers. Really teeny passengers (notable exceptions are [[Grindor (Armada)|Grindor]] (in his original body), [[Sureshock (Armada)|Sureshock]], and [[High Wire (Armada)|High Wire]], who become small one-man conveyances). This results from the Mini-Cons scanning normal vehicles and then resizing them to fit, retaining now-useless passenger compartments. In the [[Transformers: Cybertron (cartoon)|''Cybertron'' cartoon]], the [[Recon Mini-Con Team]] have slightly-larger-than-human robot modes, but their alternate modes are large enough for a single human passenger, implying either a little size-changing or that their cockpits are kinda cramped. Though the Recon Team all originate from Gigantion, and seeing how partnered Mini-Cons seem to change size to fit their larger companions, a little size shift to accommodate a passenger doesn't seem too far-fetched compared to other scale issues.

Likewise, the [[Beast Era]] Maximals and Predacons possess roughly human-size bodies; yet when portrayed as vehicles on Cybertron ("[[Dawn of Future's Past]]", the [[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicons]] in ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]''), they feature seats and cockpits that, at their size, should be basically useless.

====Citybots====
[[File:EarlyGalvatronTVMagazine1.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|If you were ever this big in the cartoon, then we might call you a city.]]
[[File:HeadmastersScale.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|See above. Way, way, way above.]]
[[Titan (group)|A few characters]] have "city" alternate modes. As actual real-life cities can sprawl for many miles, a Titan that can notionally house a population of humans, ''let alone'' Transformers, should have a robot mode that'd make [[Godzilla]] look like a gecko. Suffice to say, almost no fiction even ''begins'' to approximate the logical size of a true "city-bot". In the American and Japanese cartoons, all four were shown as massive robots capable of housing many normal-sized Transformers. Even so, it would take something along the lines of the grossly undersized depictions of [[Unicron]] (see below) to even begin to reasonably represent the colossal size of a transformed city. Thus, in the context of Transformers, "city" is perhaps better read as "building" or "fortress".

These Titans often have "small" robots forming vital components. Scorponok has a "human-sized" being forming his head. [[Full-Tilt (G1)|Full-Tilt]], [[Six-Gun]], and [[Slammer]] must logically be building-sized in robot mode to be in-scale with Trypticon and Metroplex, but, again, are not drawn as such.

The Marvel Generation 1 comic sidestepped this issue by depicting Trypticon, Fortress Maximus and Scorponok as merely "large-standard" characters. However, Metroplex, during his one, brief appearance, was depicted as being immensely larger, crushing Quintesson attack cruisers under foot without batting an eyelid. He was still considerably smaller than a city, however, but this was justified by him merely serving as the 'transformation core' for Autobot City: Earth, not the actual city itself.

In IDW's Generation 1 comics, Metroplex's size warrants further exploration. In "[[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|Dark Cybertron]]" he's shown to be about the same size as the ''[[Lost Light]]''. If one takes James Robert's measurements into account (but then, the ''Lost Light'' has its own fair share of scaling problems), this would make him and [[Quintessa (IDW)|some]] of the other [[Titan (group)|Titans]] approximately 15 miles high in [[robot mode]] — taller than Manhattan Island is long! In panel art, characters are usually visible (albeit small) compared to him... but even if they only came up to his foot, they'd still have to be dozens of meters taller than they really are to even ''show up'' on panel. Other Metrotitans, such as the numerous dead Titans on [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]] or [[Chela]], seem to be smaller, roughly the size of a single large building. Metrotitan, the Titan that ended up on Earth, was stated by military sources to be two miles tall. It may just be that Titans vary in size like many other Transformers.

Likewise, Metroplex's internal workings are portrayed as much smaller than they'd realistically have to be. His brain module, for instance, is consistently depicted as being only a few times bigger than [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] as opposed to the city block-sized machine it would "realistically" be. These visual cheats are of course done for the sake of narrative convenience and good storytelling, so we can't really begrudge the writers and artists for this.<ref>But we'll certainly bring it up.</ref>

In ''[[Transformers: Fall of Cybertron]]'', [[Metroplex (FOC)|Metroplex]] is portrayed not so much as the city, but a part of the city; with one hand being large enough to carry Optimus or crush Megatron.

====Planets and planetbots====
[[File:Planet_scale.jpe|center|upright=2.4|thumb|From left to right: [[Unicron]], [[Lithone (planet)|Lithone]], [[Moonbase One]], [[Moonbase Two]], [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]], [[Quintessa (planet)|Quintessa]], [[Earth]]]]
[[File:Cybertronplanet.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|If we're generous and assume Cybertron is 'only' the size of Earth's moon, then the larger visible buildings are roughly the size of Massachusetts stood on end, and you could wedge France into that gash (which would probably improve both Cybertron and France).]]
Scale when it comes to planets is so fraught it's painful. The problems of describing citybots as "cities" is a thousand times worse if [[Unicron]] is supposed to have a planet alternate mode, and [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] is in turn supposed to be of similar size. Though different stories have compared Cybertron/Primus and Unicron to drastically different real planets, the fact remains that they are ''planets'', and yet are shown in such insane scale to characters as to suggest they are the size of a ''very'' small moon (or [[Darth Vader|space station]]).

To start with, Cybertron was shown throughout Generation 1 with buildings visible from space. Although this was intended to show that the planet was technological in nature, it makes little sense, as the structures would have to be the size of small ''nations'' to be visible. If the buildings were in fact supposed to be skyscrapers (or even ''2000 A.D.''-style arcologies) sized for 10 m (30') robots, Cybertron would still be less than 150km (100 miles) across, far smaller than even the smallest known (or even physically possible) dwarf planets. The rather [[wikia:starwars:Coruscant|Coruscant]]-like shots of Cybertron in ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'' may be less distinctive or "Cybertronian", but are ''far'' more believable (some people reason that the Transformers' advanced technology, along with their large size and their not needing to breathe, means that buildings actually CAN be that big).

Unicron is a more extreme problem. Assuming no [[size changing]] occurs during his transformation (and really, what possible reason would he have to become ''smaller''?), in robot mode he would be so massive that any shot featuring a recognizable ''part'' of his body, let alone the whole thing, would be on a scale such that no normal Transformer would even be visible. [[File:UnicronEatsGalvyMmmm.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|Either Galvy is humungo, or Lithone is tiiinyyy!!!]]Scenes in the [[The Transformers: The Movie|1986 movie]] in which he directly interacts with normal Cybertronians are blatantly absurd (though totally phat-looking). Shots such as the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] fleeing his grasping hand, a starship penetrating his eye, impaling [[Brainstorm (G1)#Marvel Comics continuity|Brainstorm]] on his fingernail, {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}} or ''especially'' him picking up Galvatron between his fingers before swallowing him, break any concept of "planetary" scale. Not to mention that he's described as a "''ginormous'' weird-lookin' planet," which would lead one to assume that he is ''significantly'' larger than your average-sized weird-lookin' planet. Thank you, [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]]. Thank you so much.

If Cybertron is the size of Earth's moon (and that's generous), and Unicron is about the size of Cybertron, his hands would be about the size of Europe and Galvatron (to the right) would be about the size of Denmark.

There is no explanation for any of this. Just go with it.

The depiction of Unicron's scale in ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' was (debatably) a slight improvement, in that physical interaction with normal beings was not attempted. He preferred instead to communicate with normal Transformers by possessing [[Sideways (Armada)|Sideways]]. Nevertheless, shots featuring [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]] and [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Megatron]] standing on his neck are still ''farcically'' out of scale.

The depiction of Unicron in ''[[Transformers: Prime (franchise)|Prime]]'' is another improvement - he is explicitly said to be the [[Earth's core|''core'' of the planet Earth]], which would be about 3470 km. Furthermore, only manifestations of him are seen (these vary in size), and his eyeball, which is in comparison to the Transformers about the size of a small town. It also helps that there are no regular transformers in the shot of his eyeball. It's not perfect but hey, what're you going to do?

As a side note, Unicron has been established in some continuities as having already devoured approximately 22.56% of known universes which is truly ridiculous if one takes actual planetary/galactic scale into consideration. Assuming that Unicron is ''generously'' close to the size of our moon, when compared to other stellar bodies he shows up as an all-but-invisible speck. Imagine him trying to devour a star the size of [http://www.kiroastro.com/writings/perspective.html Betelgeuse!]

===Oversized alternate modes===
[[File:RattrapLOVEScheetor.jpg|right|thumb|I'm tellin' ya, all da rats in Brooklyn are dis big!]]
Much less common are instances of a Transformer turning into an overscaled real-world object. Most such instances occur in the ''Beast Wars'' era.

Although the Beast Warriors are consistent day-to-day in their relative size to each other (a consistency made more easy to achieve thanks to CGI used to animate), their scale in relation to their real-world animal equivalents is more complex. While the bug characters such as [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] and [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] are obviously scaled-up, other characters are more subtly not quite the right size.

[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] and [[Tigatron]] are shown standing next to real members of their species, and they are both the same size as the animals in question. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 1)}} {{storylink|Law of the Jungle}} This makes them (and Cheetor in particular, since he's around more) the measuring sticks for the other characters. Therefore, [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] is a rather small rhinoceros (he's roughly the correct size for a Sumatran rhinoceros, but seriously undersized for a white rhinoceros, the two living species of rhinos with two horns and more or less the same head shape as his beast-mode), and [[Optimus Primal (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] is a roughly normal gorilla. However, despite being by far the shortest of the Maximals, [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] is still a monstrously huge rat, the size of a Labrador dog (indeed, the writers stated that Season 1 Rattrap was 5' (1.5 m) tall<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/8227a6ca84c0238d Bob Forward gives Rattrap's height from the show bible]</ref>). Likewise [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] is considerably larger than a real ''Velociraptor''. [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]], however, is a pitifully tiny specimen of a ''T. rex''. In their interactions with adult [[protohuman]]s, the Transformer characters seem between twice and three times their height. Considering our ancestors really were smaller than modern humans, this is not extremely wrong, but it deserves noting.

However, thanks to the scaling up of the arthropod characters, it is relatively safe to assume that the Transformers generally scanned only animal ''forms'' and then rescaled them to fit their own size - additionally, they were not so much attempting to ''disguise'' themselves, as to ''protect'' themselves from an excess of Energon. This is actually slightly more believable than all other series, in which the Transformers use mass shifting to make their alt-modes the ''right'' size.

The movie universe characters aren't immune to scale issues, either; the [[Dinobot (AOE)|Dinobots]] are way out of proportion compared to their real-life counterparts; such as [[Strafe (AOE)|Strafe]] (who is ''far'' too big for a ''Pteranodon'' compared to his allies), and [[Scorn]] (who isn't quite as problematic; though a real ''Spinosaurus'' had shorter legs, making his ''proportions'' more of an issue than actual scale). Interestingly, despite being markedly out of scale compared to each other, the Dinobots are actually quite well-scaled towards the other characters (with the exception of Strafe, as noted above); for example, [[Grimlock (AOE)|Grimlock]] is the same scale to [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] as a real ''Tyrannosaurus'' is to a human.

===Artistic license===
====Variation for characterization====
[[File:Prime has a huge head.jpg|left|upright=0.85|thumb|With 20th Anniversary Prime and Smallest Transformers Bumblebee, you can actually recreate this scene.]]
Some scale problems are for the sake of characterization. For example, Optimus Prime is routinely shown as thoroughly gargantuan, several stories in height, and capable of cradling humans in his palm. If he's the size of a real truck, Prime in robot mode should be 8–10 m (25'–30') tall, at best. He's drawn large because he's a leader character. Conversely, [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] is sometimes shown only a few feet taller than an average human, while in reality he would be 3–5 m (10'–15') tall (the Marvel comic actually states [[Bumblebee (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|he's 15' tall]] {{storylink|Plight of the Bumblebee!}}). He's drawn small because he's a human-friendly character, and a junior member of the Autobots.

With fighter jet alternate modes, the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] should be among the largest everyday Transformers and would ''tower'' over their Autobot adversaries; instead, the animation depicts characters such as [[Thundercracker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Thundercracker]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Wheeljack]] as about the same height. Though jets are much larger than cars, they're drawn the same height so the battles appear fair (and also to make it easier to animate; blocking a shot where characters differ radically in height is difficult). [[Animated]] departs from this, where Decepticons are sometimes depicted larger than the Autobots to emphasize the rookie nature of the team handling imposing and dangerous enemies.

In a related vein, sometimes Transformers are able to enter human buildings, fitting through their doors and running up their staircases without crashing through. {{storylink|B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.}} A cast that couldn't enter buildings would be grossly inconvenient for telling some stories, so the animators fudge things. In another variation of this, ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Prime]]'' [[Predaking (Prime)|Predaking]] is a colossal monster in [[beast mode]] that even the upgraded [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]] can barely look in the chest, but transforms into a beefy robot a head or two taller than [[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]]. Since for the majority of his presence on the show he is a loyal servant of Megatron, this was likely intentionally fudged so that he could have scenes inside the ''[[Trypticon (WFC)|Nemesis]]'', which is also where one of his biggest and most plot-important [[Synthesis|fight scenes]] takes place.

{{-}}

====Intentionally strange scale====
[[File:MarvelUS-01.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|One side makes you larger, one side makes you small (Op's been noshing on the first side too much).]]
Sometimes artists draw a character at a different size [[Authorial intent|intentionally]]. For example, on the cover of the [[The Transformers (issue)|first issue]] of [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|the original ''Transformers'' comics series]], Optimus Prime is extremely huge compared to the highway, bridge, and normal cars ([[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] is bigger than usual, too). This is purely for dramatic effect.

Another notable example is the splash screen for the "[[World of the Transformers]]" website, which depicts [[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus Primal]] (in his original gorilla body) as the same size as [[Optimus Prime (G1)|G1 Optimus Prime]] and [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Movie Optimus Prime]], directly contradicting the size difference seen in "[[Optimal Situation]]" and elsewhere (except for ''[[Robotmasters (franchise)|Robotmasters]]'').

Artwork for the [[:File:VaderVsPrime.jpg|''Star Wars'']] subline features [[:File:Megatronvsluke.jpg|humans from another galaxy]] standing at the same height as Transformers, although this is simply because most of the figures in [[Attacktix|the tabletop game advertised by this artwork]] are the same size.

[[File:World of the Transformers ent.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|Meet the Supreme class <s>[[Trukk not munky|Munky]]</s> Optimus Primal.]]
{{-}}

===Live-action film series===
[[File:Moviescale1.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|Scale is absolutely not an issue in the movie. Riiight.]]
The creators of the [[Transformers (film)|live-action movie]] took great pains to avoid out-of-scale issues (well, greater than previous franchises). This is sometimes reflected in the choice of vehicle or the design of their robot mode. E.g., [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] is an extended-hood cab in order to have more mass with which to make a taller robot mode, although [[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|Age of Extinction]] would later give Prime his more classic flat-nosed truck mode without any notecable change of mass of his robot mode. [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]'s robot mode is nearly as wide as it is tall, with shorter, digitigrade legs, so the massive jet-former won't end up twice as tall as Optimus. In the case of [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]], his huge alternate mode simply results in a hulking, towering robot mode.

There are still minor scale issues to be found, though. For example, Optimus Prime can hold both [[Sam Witwicky|Sam]] and [[Mikaela Banes|Mikaela]] in one hand. Comparing this shot with when he picks up [[Archibald Witwicky]]'s glasses a few minutes later, it seems the glasses have lenses a foot (30 cm) in diameter. This is a visual cheat so the glasses are visible to the audience, and other visual cheats to make the robots seem shorter or taller were used in the movies. There's also debate about whether [[Frenzy (Movie)|Frenzy]]'s head could compact itself into a slim mobile phone. [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] in [[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|The Last Knight]] is particularly confusing; while official sources state that there is only a two-foot height difference between Megatron and Optimus Prime, Megatron seems to tower over Prime in the shot where he steals Quintessa's staff, yet is almost exactly the same size as Optimus throughout the rest of the film. The [[Transformers (2007 toyline)|movie-franchise toys]], meanwhile, are only intermittently consistent (particularly since some of the secondary ones are redecos of toys from previous lines), with the largest contrast among the "primary" toys being between Deluxe Class [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]], a motorcycle, and Voyager Class Decepticons with helicopters as their [[alternate mode]]s, such as [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]] and [[Incinerator (Movie)|Incinerator]]. Many of the wheeled vehicles are close to 1:35 scale, although Deluxe Class [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]] and Classic Camaro [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys|Bumblebee]] are obviously not the same scale, as noted above.

[[Devastator (ROTF)|Devastator]]'s size is particularly confusing. In ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', his size is based on the actual sizes of his components; the [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)|''ROTF'' game]] inflates his overall scale to a far larger size. The movie tries to circumvent the size differences between Devastator's individual components by adding [[unknown Constructicon dump truck|more]] [[unknown Constructicon shovel|construction vehicles]] into the Devastator combination. The toy line, on the other hand, [[Overload (ROTF)|mostly]] ignores those additional components, resulting in massive scale discrepancies ([[#Toys out of scale within teams|see above]]) - [[Long Haul (ROTF)|Long Haul]], who forms Devastator's right leg, is a massive Caterpillar 773B mining dump truck, which should make him considerably larger than [[Rampage (ROTF)|Rampage]], a Caterpillar D9L bulldozer who forms the left leg.

Another interesting example is [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]]. Despite transforming into a Lamborghini Aventador (a smallish vehicle at less than four feet in height and fifteen feet in length), Lockdown unfolds into a massive robot mode that stands at least 24 feet tall. Robot mode Lockdown is pretty much the same size as Optimus, at most only a few feet shorter than him, even though Optimus is a massive Western Star Truck concept. In toy form, Lockdown's small alternate mode means you can either set his Deluxe-sized toy against a Voyager-or-smaller Prime for correct robot mode scale, or against a Leader-sized Prime toy for correct vehicle mode scale - but obviously not both!

At the time of ''[[Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee]]'', scaling concerns in relation between robot and vehicle modes were seemingly absent, at least in regards to airborne vehicles. Seekers, most notably Blitzwing (who later scans an Earth-based fighter jet) are mostly the same size as bots like Optimus, who maintains his truck mode. [[Shatter]] and [[Dropkick (Movie)|Dropkick]] were introduced as the first Triple Changers in the film franchise with two Earth-based vehicle forms (with [[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] having a Cybertronian helicopter mode alongside his car mode). While the two initially have their own customized muscle car alt-modes with no scaling issues, inconsistencies begin to appear as soon as they scan secondary airborne vehicle modes. Most notably, the additional [[kibble]] added to their bodies shows in glaring contrast to already-existing car parts, indicating that their aerial forms are quite undersized. While they're not shown next to humans in their jet and helicopter modes, their on-screen transformations do not indicate any notable size increase. In fact, they actually seem to ''increase'' their mass when changing from aerial vehicles ''into'' muscle cars.

In terms of toys, the [[Studio Series]] line is designed to more-or-less avert these scale issues, as each figure is sized in relation to other toys, even in the same [[size class]]; Deluxe #18 Bumblebee is shorter than Deluxe Jazz and #01 Bumblebee, who are in turn shorter than Deluxe Ratchet and Lockdown.

{{-}}

==Official scale guides==
'''See: [[Scale charts]]'''
[[File:Tfcartoonscaleguideic1.jpg|left|thumb|Official Scale Guides of ''The Transformers'']]
[[File:Beastwarsscalepreliminary.jpg|right|upright=1.4|thumb|''Beast Wars'' Season 1 scale guide]]
Animators and comic book artists received official scale guides showing relative and (in some cases) absolute heights. Some of these were published in the character model guides ''[[Transformers: The Ark|The Ark]]'' and ''[[Transformers: The Ark II|The Ark II]]''. Though they were sometimes ignored, they still give insight into the official scale of characters in Generation 1. However, even here, there are problems. Devastator in the Season One scale guide was approximately 2.5 times the height of Optimus Prime, but by Season Two he was somewhat less than twice Prime's height.

''Beast Wars'' likewise had an official scale guide, which appeared as a bonus on the DVD set of Season 2. Despite this guide, the series writers have indicated some measure of disregard for relative scale when it suited the needs of dramatic tension.<ref>[http://builtstlouis.net/tf/manic/m-botcon.html BotCon 98 report - see "ON THE SIZES OF CHARACTERS"]</ref> Thus, Optimal Optimus is ''ungodly'' tall in his first appearance, later reduced to perhaps two times the height of the rest of the cast.

[[File:ROTF Autobot scale guide 1.jpg|thumb|right|''ROTF'' scale guide]]

''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (franchise)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' had scale guides featured in the ''25 years of Transformers'' feature for the [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)/home video|DVD release]] which showed official heights for both the Autobots and the Decepticons. Notably, [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] gains an extra twelve feet when he wears [[Jetfire (Movie)|a corpse]].

{{-}}

==Alternate meaning of the term "scale"==
In recent years, Hasbro has actually started using the term "scale" in the context of their ''Transformers'' toys more frequently. However, the term is ''not'' used, as one might assume, to refer to the size ''ratio'' between different characters and their surroundings, but to refer to [[size class]]es. Terms like "[[Legends Class (2005)|Legends scale]]", "Deluxe scale", "Voyager scale", etc. are used in official product descriptions and press releases, and have since been adopted by the [[fandom]]. So in Hasbro terms, a Deluxe-sized fighter jet and a Deluxe-sized motorcycle are both considered the ''same'' "scale".

If one were <s>a cynic</s> decidedly snarky, one might argue that the reason Hasbro has no sense of scale with regards to Transformers is because they don't even know what the term actually ''means''.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/6db411e03e75a342?dmode=source Estimated "real-life" heights for several Transformers, derived from the size of their alt-modes, archived from alt.toys.transformers on groups.google.com]

[[Category:Fan terminology]]
[[Category:Toys]]
[[Category:Things that don't exist]]

Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity

2021-04-02T18:44:46Z

Oshkeet: /* Notes */

{{factions|decepticon|decepticong2|unicron}}
{{suite}}

[[File:Tud3 starscream smirkiest.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Why do they call me Star''Scream''? I'm Star''Smile'', you see...]]

10: Try to overthrow Megatron 
20: Fail 
30: GOTO 10 

{{bigquote|Where is your courage, Megatron?|Starscream|"[[Quest for Survival]]"}}

==''The Transformers'' cartoon==
{{voiceactor|[[Chris Latta]] (English), [[Hirotaka Suzuoki]] (Japanese)|[[Li Danqing]] (Chinese), [[Jean-Louis Millette]] (Canadian French), [[Jacques Ferrière]] (European French, 1st season and part of 2nd season), [[Albert Augier]] (European French, "The Autobot Run", "The Core" & "Microbots", then regular voice from "Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1" onwards), [[François Leccia]] (European French, "Traitor", "The Immobilizer" & "Hoist Goes Hollywood"), [[Georges Atlas]] (European French, "A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court", "The God Gambit", "Cosmic Rust" & "Starscream's Ghost"), [[Frédéric Cerdal]] (European French, "Child's Play"), [[Marie Vergracht]] (French, ''The Movie''), [[José Sant'anna]] (Portuguese), [[Alfredo Martins]] (Portuguese, "Changing Gears"), [[César Marchetti]] (Portuguese, DVD dub), [[Luiz Carlos de Moraes]] (Portuguese, "The Movie" Fox Kids dub), [[Bernd Simon]] (German), [[Claus Brockmeyer]] (German, Generation 2 Part of Season 2), [[Vadim Gushchin]] (Russian), [[Claudio De Davide]] (Italian, first dub, season 1 and part of season 2), [[Leo Valeriano]] (Italian, first dub, remainder of season 2 and season 3), [[Massimo Corizza]] (Italian, first dub, ''The Movie'' and "Ghost in the Machine"), [[Marco Mori]] (Italian, second dub, ''The Movie''), [[Alberto Bognanni]] (Italian, second dub, seasons 1-2), [[Mirko Rizzi]] (Italian, second dub, season 3), [[Lucas Cisneros]] (Spain-Spanish, TV series), [[Dani Albiac]] (Spain-Spanish, ''The Movie''), [[Carlos Nieto]] (Latin American Spanish), [[Ljubiša Bačić]] (Serbian), [[Dick Eriksson]] (Swedish, Generation 2)}}

[[File:G1toon starscream bawled out.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|"Look at me when I'm threatening you!"]]
Shortly before the outbreak of the Autobot-Decepticon war nine million years ago, Starscream was not a warrior, but rather a scientist. He and his colleague and friend [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]] were exploring an unnamed planet—the ancient [[Earth]]—when severe atmospheric conditions separated the two friends. Starscream circled the globe looking for Skyfire, but never found him. Upon his return to Cybertron, Starscream mostly abandoned his scientific pursuits, deciding that a career as a warrior would be much more exciting, {{storylink|Fire in the Sky}} and instead enrolled in the [[Cybertron War Academy]], of which he would later profess to be the pride. {{storylink|A Prime Problem}}

Starscream rose through the ranks of [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]'s Decepticons until he reached the position of [[second-in-command]], but even this was not enough: Starscream saw Megatron as old and soft, and after five million years of war drained Cybertron of all its energy, Starscream came to believe that the Decepticons would have won the conflict eons beforehand if he had been in charge. Starscream was never afraid to let Megatron know this, but Megatron was always ready with a disparaging comeback, and the constant belief that while Starscream had the ambition, he did not have the ability to lead.

{{quote|My time will come, Megatron.|Not in ''this'' universe, Starscream. "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]"}}

Starscream was among Megatron's forces aboard the [[Nemesis (G1)|space cruiser]] that pursued the Autobots' [[Ark (G1)|ship]] when it departed Cybertron to search for new energy sources on other planets. The Decepticons boarded the Autobot craft, and it subsequently crashed on Earth, entombing its occupants in stasis for four million years. When a volcanic eruption reawakened the ship's computer, [[Teletraan I]], in 1984, it indiscriminately brought the Decepticons back online, rebuilding their bodies to transform into contemporary Earth machines. Now outfitted with an F-15 [[alternate mode]], Starscream's first act on Earth was one of spitefulness, as he delivered a parting laser blast to the buried Autobot ship. The blast caused a tremor that inadvertently knocked [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] into the path of Teletraan I's restoration beam, and before long, all the Autobots were operational once more and ready to continue the war on Earth. Four million years of sleep hadn't improved Starscream's disposition any, as his thoughts immediately turned to leadership once more, and he discussed them with [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] when he and [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] accompanied him on a mission to find materials to construct a temporary base. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1}}

[[File:G1toon starscream laser turret.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|"Umm, Megatron? I think there's something wrong with my leg."]]
The Decepticons quickly began gathering energy to build and fuel a [[Victory (G1)|new space cruiser]] that could return them to Cybertron. The work proceeded apace with the Autobots unable to do much to stop the villains, but Starscream wound up costing them time when he decided to test a clutch of [[energon cube]]s by powering a laser turret with them, thereby using them up and necessitating another energy raid. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 2}} A little later, when Megatron subjected Starscream to another bout of berating, the [[Air Commander]] decided he had had enough, and tried to shoot Megatron in the back. At Soundwave's warning, Megatron blocked the beam and returned fire with his [[fusion cannon]], bringing Starscream to his knees, quite literally begging for mercy. Luckily for him, he got it, but he didn't learn his lesson, since the first thing he did once the space cruiser was completed and airborne was to try for another coup. As it turned out, he only wound up distracting all the other Decepticons, allowing Autobot stowaway [[Mirage (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Mirage]] to cripple the cruiser and send it crashing back to Earth. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 3}}

{{quote|Megatron is dead! I'm the leader now. Follow me!|Starscream, "[[Transport to Oblivion (episode)|Transport to Oblivion]]"}}

[[File:DivideandConquer Starscreampowerfist.jpg|thumb|200px|left]]
Now stranded on Earth and using the crashed hulk of their spaceship as [[Decepticon Headquarters (G1 Earth)|headquarters]], the Decepticons created a [[space bridge]] to transport energy back to Cybertron. When Megatron was apparently lost in an early test of the device, {{storylink|Transport to Oblivion (episode)|Transport to Oblivion}} Starscream leapt at the chance to take leadership, and led [[Thundercracker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Thundercracker]] and Soundwave in an attack on a munitions plant. Unfortunately for Starscream, it soon transpired that Megatron had survived the space bridge journey, when he contacted Starscream from Cybertron and re-established his leadership. {{storylink|Roll for It}} Starscream was demoted to grunt work for his next mission, shipping energon cubes over the space bridge, but his merciless selection of a hapless warrior to pilot the craft on the dangerous journey proved to be a good one. {{storylink|Divide and Conquer}}

[[File:G1toon starscream and skyfire.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|The fire is in the sky... but the heat is down here, baby.]]

{{quote|Megatron has fallen! I, Starscream, am now your leader. Decepticons, follow me!|Starscream, "[[S.O.S. Dinobots]]"}}

When the Decepticons began drilling in the North Pole in order to tap the energy of the [[Earth's core]], the excavation wound up unearthing the frozen body of Starscream's old friend, Skyfire. Starscream talked his friend into joining the Decepticons, but Skyfire could not put aside his peaceful scientific ways aside like Starscream had, and their friendship ended when he defected to the Autobots. {{storylink|Fire in the Sky}} After a battle with the Autobots' newest warriors, the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], including yet another failed attempt and taking leadership when Megatron fell (fell ''down'', that is). {{storylink|S.O.S. Dinobots}}

[[File:G1 FireontheMountain SS chestmissiles.jpg|thumb|left|200px]]
Starscream met up with Skyfire again when the Autobot returned to stop a Decepticon plot in Peru. In the process, Starscream found himself on the other side of treachery, when he overheard Thundercracker contemplating letting Skyfire destroy the Decepticons' new weapon, in the hope that Megatron would blame Starscream himself. Starscream tried to shoot Thundercracker but missed and took out Skyfire, then blackmailed Thundercracker into obeying his every command with the threat of revealing his treachery to Megatron. Unsurprisingly, the whole scheme didn't really work. {{storylink|Fire on the Mountain (episode)|Fire on the Mountain}}

[[File:UltimateDoom2 Strangling Starscream.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|right|Be careful not to ''choke'' on your aspirations, Starscream.]]

Not long after that Starscream proved he ''did'' still have some scientific leanings, as he was the only Decepticon who urged caution when Megatron pillaged energy from an unstable meteor. Starscream was ultimately correct about the volatile nature of the energy, and the resulting explosion nearly killed a number of Transformers, including Optimus Prime and [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]]. {{storylink|War of the Dinobots}}

[[File:G1toon starscream and arkeville.jpg|upright=1.2|left|thumb|"Look at me when I'm threatening -- Oh God! I learned it at home! I learned it at hooome!"]]

{{quote|Megatron IS no more! I now lead the Decepticons.|Including those you left to die on Earth, Starscream? "[[Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction]]"}}

After the Decepticons used a colossal space bridge to pull Cybertron into Earth's orbit in order to generate vast amounts of energy, {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 1}} Starscream took every opportunity he could to try and make it seem like the plan wasn't working. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 2}} When the Decepticons' human ally [[Doctor Arkeville]] was abandoned by Megatron, Starscream abducted the scientist and made the rather outlandish attempt to create energon cubes by drawing on his mental energy. When Megatron caught him in the act, Starscream fled with Arkeville {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 3}} back to the human's secret laboratory. There, Starscream discovered an [[Exponential Generator]] and destabilized it with the intent of creating an explosion powerful enough to destroy the Earth. Starscream withdrew to Cybertron to watch the cosmic fireworks, but unbeknownst to him, Megatron and Optimus Prime had joined forces to launch the exponential generator into space. When the Earth failed to explode on schedule, Starscream headed back to the planet to investigate, but was knocked out of the sky by the passage of the exponential generator and crashed, right at the feet of a vengeful Megatron. [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] then wagered the Autobots had seen the last of Starscream for a while, {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction}} and he was right: Starscream was indeed nowhere to be seen during the Decepticons' next villainous escapade. {{storylink|A Plague of Insecticons}}

[[File:Heavy Metal War Decepticons beat.JPG|upright=1.2|thumb|right]]

Whatever revenge Megatron may have reaped on Starscream, the Air Commander survived the experience, and was seen again when he and the other Decepticons bestowed their [[power chip rectifier]]s upon Megatron. This process gave Megatron access to all the Decepticons' special powers, including Starscream's [[null-ray]]s and [[cluster bomb]]s, so he could easily defeat Optimus Prime in a one-on-one battle. Starscream pointed out the sheer illegality of this scheme, but Megatron was above caring. As it turned out, Starscream was right again: although Megatron defeated Prime, when the Autobots discovered his breach of the rules, their revenge was swift. {{storylink|Heavy Metal War}}

[[File:G1toon screamer megs invisible.jpg|left|upright=1.2|thumb|Apparently, the invisibility spray doesn't get into those hard-to-reach cracks and crevices.]]

Starscream eagerly took to action in the Decepticons' next battle, {{storylink|Autobot Spike}} but was somewhat more reserved in regards to Megatron' new [[Solar Needle]] weapon, fearing that it would destabilize the Earth. Told by Megatron not to concern himself with matters he did not understand, he instead passed the time threatening and bossing around the captive [[Gears (G1)|Gears]]. {{storylink|Changing Gears}} Later, when Megatron had the Decepticons transform New York into [[New Cybertron]], Starscream had to admit that he was impressed by the scheme despite himself. {{storylink|City of Steel (episode)|City of Steel}}

{{quote|Never! Now I, Starscream, lead. And I say attack!|Starscream|"[[The Immobilizer]]"}}

Starscream helped Megatron implant a [[Personality destabilizer device]] in the Autobots' [[recharging chamber]]s by using [[invisibility spray]], {{storylink|Attack of the Autobots (episode)|Attack of the Autobots}} and then joined in the theft of [[electro-cell]]s from a human laboratory, only to wind up embarrassing himself by rushing to use them to create energon cubes, which exploded due to the cells' instability. {{storylink|Traitor (episode)|Traitor}} Starscream was later part of the Decepticon team that stole the Autobots' [[Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer|Immobilizer]] weapon, and briefly tried to seize leadership when Megatron was felled by Optimus Prime during the Autobots' attempt to reclaim the device. {{storylink|The Immobilizer}}

[[File:G1toon starscream and nergill.jpg|thumb|"So....I'm guessing you DIDN'T have fun on your vacation in [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant|Chernobyl]]..."]]
After serving as Megatron's unwilling guinea pig in the first test of the transformation-freezing [[Transfixatron]], {{storylink|The Autobot Run}} Starscream's cautious side came to the fore again when the Decepticons allied themselves with the fish-people of [[Sub-Atlantica]]. Starscream did not trust the sub-aquatic kingdom's boastful leader [[Nergill]], and his suspicions were proven correct when Nergill shot him with an [[Magnetic dysfunction ray|anti-Transformer disruptor ray]]. Starscream recovered in time to save Megatron from a blast of the ray, but Megatron did not believe Starscream's accusation of treachery until the fish-king went off the deep end and tried to destroy the Transformers, Sub-Atlantica and himself by detonating the city's energy stockpile. {{storylink|Atlantis, Arise!}}

[[File:Starscream clone G1.jpg|thumb|200px|left]]
Starscream was less than impressed with Megatron's decision to steal the Earth-made robot ninja [[Nightbird (G1)|Nightbird]], but when Megatron threatened to replace the Air Commander with the femme-bot, Starscream helped the Autobots take her down with a blast of his null ray. {{storylink|Enter the Nightbird}} Soon after, when Megatron sought to dupe the Autobots with a [[Optimus Prime clone|clone of Optimus Prime]], his plan necessitated the creation of a [[Starscream clone (G1)|Starscream clone]], so that the Prime copy could convince the Autobots that it was the genuine article by destroying it. {{storylink|A Prime Problem}}

The scientist in Starscream saw danger in Megatron's plan to drill to the Earth's core, but Megatron placated him by revealing an emergency space bridge that could whisk them off to Cybertron if things went wrong. They never got the chance, though, as the Autobots destroyed the bridge, forcing the Decepticons to work with them to halt the drill and save the planet. {{storylink|The Core}}

[[File:InsecticonSyndrome Seekers cerebroshells.jpg|200px|thumb]]
Following a brief stint as a mind-controlled minion of [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]], {{storylink|The Insecticon Syndrome}} Starscream accompanied the Decepticons to the mysterious [[Dinobot Island (G1)|Dinobot Island]], where the strange waves of chronal energy surrounding the prehistoric paradise gave him cause for concern. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 1}} Starscream theorized that draining the delicate energies of the island could disrupt the fabric of time, and he was right: time warps began appearing all across the world, and the Autobots sprang into action to stop the Decepticons' scheme. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 2}}

[[File:G1toon starscream and redalert.jpg|left|upright=1.2|thumb|"Uh, what's with the eyeliner?" "Inferno says it brings out my eyes." "...uh huh...just press the button".]]
After shooting down [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] and accusing the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] of treachery, {{storylink|The Master Builders (episode)|The Master Builders}} Starscream proved just how much of a case of the pot calling the kettle black that was when he tricked the mentally-addled Autobot [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] into giving him access to the Autobots' new [[Negavator]] tank. Starscream planned to use the weapon to take control of the Decepticons, but when Megatron rumbled his scheme, he claimed that he had only been stealing the weapon for his leader. Realizing that Starscream meant to take the Negavator from him, Red Alert turned on him, and Starscream shot him with his null rays, which wound up stabilizing his logic circuits. {{storylink|Auto Berserk}}

[[File:G1toon snakes on a plane.jpg|thumb|Starscream has had it with this motherf@!king snake on him.]]
Starscream had a nasty encounter with a snake in the jungles of [[South America]] when the Decepticons were searching for their lost original space cruiser and its power core, the [[Heart of Cybertron]], but his spirits were put right by a good bout of over-energizing with the other Decepticons that evening. {{storylink|Microbots}}

[[File:G1toon starscream prime cosplay.jpg|thumb|left|Starscream learned the true meaning of Halloween that night - sweets, and plenty of them. Well, and scaring the scrap out of people.]]
Later, Starscream donned an Optimus Prime costume as part of a plan to frame the Autobots for energy theft, which successfully resulted in the heroic robots being forced off Earth by humankind. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1}} In the Autobots' absence, the Decepticons conquered [[Central City (Earth)|Central City]], and Starscream led the Decepticon jets in easily fending off attempted human military intervention, before the Autobots returned to clear their names and put things right. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2}}

{{quote|Too bad! He's blown his vocal components. I guess that makes me the new leader!|Starscream never gives up on his dreams, "[[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1]]"}}
[[File:G1toon Starscream Attack.jpg|thumb|200px]]
Seeking to sabotage the creation of [[Greene|Professor Greene]]'s [[Ultra Plane]], Starscream suggested blasting the new device out of the sky. Megatron advocated discretion, and instead had Starscream perform a fly-over and surreptitiously drop a small explosive on the Ultra Plane. Starscream, Megatron and Soundwave then attempted to steal the plans for the Ultra Plane, but Starscream and Soundwave were tricked into retreating when [[Mirage (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Mirage]] projected a hologram of Megatron fleeing. Soon after, [[cybertonium]] degradation began to impair the Decepticons' functionality, and before he succumbed to it, Starscream took another grab for leadership when Megatron's vocal circuits were scrambled by the condition. {{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1}} After the Decepticons recovered, Starscream helped steal the [[Voltronic Galaxer]]. {{storylink|Blaster Blues}}

[[File:G1toon starscream king of the castle.jpg|upright=1.3|left|thumb|"Who put that caption down there?!"]]
While on a mission in [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]], Starscream found himself low on energy and with Autobots on all sides. Retreating into a cave with Rumble, Ravage and [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] at his side, Starscream discovered that the cave was, in fact, a mystical time travel device, which thrust them back through the ages to 543 AD, with Autobots [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] and [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] hot on their heels. Seeing a primitive world that he could easily conquer laid out before him, Starscream allied himself with local ne'er-do-well Sir [[Wigend of Blackthorn]], but soon double-crossed him and took control of his castle and army. Starscream dismissed the chivalry of the age and abducted [[Nimue]], daughter of neighboring ruler Sir [[Aetheling the Red]], demanding that he surrender his kingdom in return for his progeny's safety. All the Transformers were low on energy, so Starscream put his scientific skills to use creating gunpowder and primitive electric dynamo, giving the Decepticons the ability to fight back against the Autobots and Sir Aetheling's armies when they marshalled against him. With aid from the wizard [[Beorht]], Hoist and Warpath overpowered Starscream and hauled him back to the present, where Starscream gleefully greeted Megatron by pouncing on top of him, ruining the shot he had lined up. {{storylink|A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court (episode)|A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court}}

[[File:G1toon starscream electrum.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|Sadly, Starscream had never heard of [[Gold Plastic Syndrome]]...]]
Starscream was the first Decepticon to test out a mysterious golden lagoon of [[electrum]] discovered on Earth, and was made invulnerable by the powerful alloy. The Decepticons were easily able to defeat the Autobots in battle thanks to their new invincible coating, but Megatron was not impressed when Starscream had captives [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] and [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]] fight gladiator-style. As punishment, he had Starscream lead an attack on the giant Autobot Omega Supreme—a task Starscream was terrified at the prospect of, even with his newfound invulnerability. The attack succeeded, but when Starscream was left in charge of the prisoners, they escaped, and in the battle that resulted, the electrum effect wore off the Decepticons, and they were defeated. {{storylink|The Golden Lagoon (episode)|The Golden Lagoon}}

[[File:Gambitastrotrain&scream.jpg|thumb|200px|left]]
When Starscream, [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] and [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] pursued [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] to [[Saturn]]'s moon of [[Titan (moon)|Titan]], Starscream was less than impressed when [[Titan (species)|the natives]] began worshipping Astrotrain as their supreme god. {{storylink|The God Gambit}} Starscream later encountered Cosmos again, along with Powerglide, in New York, inadvertently revealing the location of the Decepticons' new base in the New Jersey Pine Barrens to the Autobots. {{storylink|Make Tracks}}

[[File:G1toon starscream and aron.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|Aron always wanted a Revoltech...but this one won't shut it's mouth.]]
Starscream was among a small group of Autobots and Decepticons who were transported to an alien world of giants by a malfunctioning space bridge. Starscream was nearly dissected for study by the authorities of this planet, and when Autobot scientist [[Perceptor (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Perceptor]] cobbled together a makeshift space bridge to send them home, he and the Decepticons were only too happy to make the trip back to Earth. {{storylink|Child's Play (episode)|Child's Play}} After returning, Starscream was caught up in the menace of the [[morphobot]]s {{storylink|Quest for Survival}}, a plot to mine energy rich ore from an asteroid (which accidentally unleashed [[Asteroid bird alien|a monster]]) {{storylink|The Secret of Omega Supreme (episode)|The Secret of Omega Supreme}}, then helped operate the Decepticons' new "[[energy magnet]]". {{storylink|Kremzeek!}}

Conspiring with Astrotrain and Blitzwing to overthrow Megatron by freezing him in a subterranean chamber full of absolute zero degree molecules, Starscream found himself betrayed by the two [[Triple Changer]]s and frozen in the chamber along with Megatron. Blitzwing and Astrotrain's subsequent rampage caused a tidal wave (among many other things) that freed the two frozen Decepticons, and Starscream pleaded ignorance of the betrayal. {{storylink|Triple Takeover}} Later, when eccentric big game hunter [[Chumley|Lord Chumley]] began targeting the Autobots, Starscream smirkingly pointed out that he had achieved more in two days than Megatron had in two years. {{storylink|Prime Target (episode)|Prime Target}}

[[File:G1toon starscream dancitron.jpg|left|upright=1.2|thumb|The name's Mix Master Festus, fool!]]
Using the [[Dancitron]] dance club, Starscream and Soundwave used hypnotic music signals to brainwash human beings into helping them build a new Decepticon headquarters in the heart of New York, but they were stopped by [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]], [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] and the [[Bop Crew]]. {{storylink|Auto-Bop}} Later, he returned to Cybertron to aid Shockwave in the capture of Autobot resistance leader [[Elita One (G1)|Elita One]], holding her to ransom to lure Optimus Prime into Decepticon clutches. The plan succeeded, but when Starscream attempted to melt Optimus Prime down, Elita used her time-freezing powers to save the Autobot leader. When time unfroze, Starscream believed that Prime had been destroyed, so when the Autobot leader return to aid his troops in battle, Starscream was badly thrown and called retreat right away. {{storylink|The Search for Alpha Trion}}

[[File:G1toon starscream thrashed.jpg|thumb|Hands! HANDS!!!]]
When Dirge crashed in a movie studio back lot while returning to the Decepticon base with a [[Wheeljack's unnamed invention|secret cargo]], Starscream was charged with recovering footage of the secret cargo that the filmmakers on-site had captured. Unfortunately for Starscream, Megatron was not in a forgiving mood that day, so when he neglected to steal the negatives as well, the Decepticon leader seized him, held him above his head, slammed him off a wall and tore a handful of wires out of his chest, knocking Starscream offline. {{storylink|Hoist Goes Hollywood (episode)|Hoist Goes Hollywood}}

When Starscream, [[Skywarp (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Skywarp]] and Thundercracker's aerial skills wowed the impressionable new Autobots, the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]], Starscream used their naivete to lure them into a trap set by Megatron that temporarily sent them nine million years back in time. {{storylink|War Dawn (episode)|War Dawn}} Later, Starscream accompanied Megatron, Astrotrain and Rumble on a mission to the planet [[Antilla]], during which Megatron was struck by a small asteroid that lodged itself in his armor. Starscream yanked the asteroid out of Megatron's shoulder, but too late: the Decepticon leader was already infected by [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]], necessitating the capture of Perceptor to find a cure. {{storylink|Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust}}

[[File:Starscreams brigade 5 letsgo.jpg|left|upright=2.2|thumb|To infinity... and beyond!]]

{{quote|I am now the leader of all Decepticons!|Starscream is actually right... for about five seconds. "[[Starscream's Brigade]]"}}

Starscream's next attempt at a coup was the last straw for Megatron. After Starscream attempted to shoot him in the back yet again, Megatron downed the Air Commander with a blast of his fusion cannon and banished him from the Decepticons, instructing [[Laserbeak (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Laserbeak]] to drop him on the island of [[Guadalcanal]]. Discovering the ruined hulks of several [[World War II]] vehicles on the island, Starscream was struck with the idea to create troops for himself. Overpowering Thundercracker and Skywarp, he hijacked the space bridge and liberated the [[personality component]]s of a group of dissident "[[Renegade Decepticon]]s" from the [[Decepticon Detention Center|detention center]] on Cybertron, which he placed into the war vehicles, creating the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]]. Starscream ensured the loyalty of the Combaticons by neglecting to install [[energy absorber]]s in their new bodies, meaning that they had to help him capture several Transformers so they could take theirs for their own. In a showdown with the Decepticon forces, Starscream's Combaticons combined into [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] to overpower [[Devastator (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Devastator]], and the giant robot then seized Megatron, as Starscream forced him to hand leadership over to him. Suddenly, Bruticus was ambushed by [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] and defeated, leaving Starscream without troops and at Megatron's mercy. Megatron had Astrotrain dump Starscream and the Combaticons on an asteroid, declaring them exiled from Earth forever. {{storylink|Starscream's Brigade}}

[[File:G1toon starscream asteroid.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|What did I do to deserve this?!... Oh yeah, the whole "kill leader to take his place" thing.]]
Unable to stand his imprisonment, Starscream eventually transformed to jet mode and flew off into space, despite not having enough power to make it back to Earth. The Combaticons, meanwhile, towed the asteroid to Cybertron, where they promptly overthrew Shockwave and took control of the planet. Shockwave was sent tumbling off into space and collided with Starscream, tipping the Seeker off to the fact that he was close to Cybertron. The pair returned to Cybertron, where they attempted to fool the Combaticons with holograms, but were ultimately captured and imprisoned. It took the team-up of Megatron and Optimus Prime's forces to save them and stop Bruticus. Starscream used the hologram projector to deceive the Autobots into thinking that Megatron had destroyed Bruticus, but in reality, the combiner survived and was reprogrammed by Megatron to serve him. For supplying him with this mighty new soldier, Megatron welcomed Starscream back into the Decepticon ranks. {{storylink|The Revenge of Bruticus}}

In his last recorded adventures in the 1980s, Starscream was his old snarky self, pouring doubt and scorn on Megatron's plans to have the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] steal the components to create a powerful laser weapon, {{storylink|Masquerade}} and to use a gravity-alerting device to blast the moon out of orbit. {{storylink|B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.}}

[[File:TFTM Starscream Jet.jpg|left|upright=1.2|thumb]]
Over the next twenty years, the Decepticons focused their efforts on conquering Cybertron entirely, driving the Autobots off the planet. In 2005, learning that the Autobots were readying for a major strike to take back the planet, Starscream accompanied Megatron and the Decepticons on a raid on [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]] on Earth (although Starscream himself advocated hitting the Autobots' bases on Cybertron's moons first). During the [[Battle of Autobot City|battle]], Starscream narrowly avoided being crushed by the transforming city, and was the one to call retreat when Optimus Prime grievously wounded Megatron in a one-on-one duel. On the return flight to Cybertron, the Decepticons found it necessary to reduce their mass so that Astrotrain could successfully make it back to the planet, and they chose to jettison the damaged passengers. Starscream, of course, wasted no time in setting Megatron adrift, grinning victoriously as his former leader screamed his name as he was swept off on the solar winds.

{{quote|Well. Now that Megatron has, how shall we say, ''departed'', I nominate ''myself'' as the new leader!|Starscream, ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''}}
[[File:G1toon starscream coronation.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|My fellow Decepticons, it is with a heavy heart that I must declare Megatron's demise. He shall be missed. Now then, '''all hail Starscream, leader of the'''-]]
Fighting immediately broke out amongst the Decepticons over who would become leader now, but Starscream eventually won out. Upon reaching Cybertron, he quickly arranged for a prodigious coronation ceremony complete with [[Constructicon (G1)|trumpeters]] and a [[Transformer clothing|crown]]. Starscream could not have known, of course, that Megatron would be found and reshaped by the godlike planet Transformer [[Unicron]], who recreated him as [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]].

[[File:SSBQ.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|left|And then he died, and Megatron lived happily ever after. '''OR DID HE?''']]

The reborn Megatron arrived on Cybertron in the midst of Starscream's coronation, declaring the whole affair "bad comedy". Starscream had barely a moment to realize that the being in front of him was Megatron before Galvatron transformed to cannon mode and killed him with a single blast. Frozen for a moment as his body crackled, blackened and fractured, Starscream crumbled to ash, and was seemingly no more. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}}
{{note|Starscream’s involvement in these events, or events mostly similar, were also chronicled in the comic mini-series "[[Transformers: The Animated Movie]]" and the storybook "[[Transformers the Movie (Ladybird adaptation)|Transformers the Movie]]."}}

[[File:G1toon starscreams ghost.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|"Starscream?! I thought Megatron killed you?"
"Me? No, that was my....twin brother, Screamstar. Yeah. The sparkles are because I'm super-powerful now."]]
In truth, however, this was not the end for Starscream. When the turncoat Decepticon [[Octane]] was pursued by the revenge-seeking [[Cyclonus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Cyclonus]], [[Scourge (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Scourge]] and the [[Sweep (G1)|Sweep]]s, he took refuge in the [[Decepticon Crypt]] in the lower levels of Cybertron, where Starscream was apparently honored by [[:File:StarscreamCryptMarker1.jpg|a statue that was only a set of legs]]. In the Crypt, Octane was confronted by the spectral form of Starscream, who had transcended death as a shimmering, ethereal "ghost". Starscream's ghost possessed Cyclonus, and he and Octane conspired to hand Galvatron over to Autobot leader [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]]. Galvatron was able to escape the trap, and returned to the Decepticon base on [[Chaar]] in a state of unadulterated fury. He shot his second-in-command, not realizing Cyclonus had not been himself, but Starscream silently leapt into the body of a nearby Sweep, and began planning for the future. {{storylink|Starscream's Ghost}}

[[File:G1toon starscreams last appearance.jpg|upright=1.2|left|thumb|In space, no one can hear you, 'scream.]]
Seeking to reactivate Unicron in the hope that the omnipotent being could restore his body, Starscream possessed Scourge and had him open fire on Galvatron, so that he would be branded a traitor and would have no option but to help him. Scourge was successfully able to bring Unicron's disembodied head back online, and the chaos-bringer gave Starscream three tasks he would have to complete in order to obtain his desire. Starscream was ordered by Unicron to steal the eyes of [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] and the [[transformation cog]] of [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]. Due to a mishap with one of Metroplex's eyes he ended up having to substitute one of Trypticon's eyes in its place. After he completed the task with the aid of Scourge, Scourge fled and Starscream was directed to connect Unicron's head to Cybertron itself so the planet could become his new body. Left without any hosts to possess, Starscream demanded that Unicron give him back his body so that he could complete the necessary connections... but as soon as the dark god complied, Starscream double-crossed him and tossed the cables to the ground, telling Unicron to do it himself! Just then, a payload of explosives planted by the Autobots went off, hurling both Starscream and Unicron's head off into space. Starscream was last seen soaring off through the cosmic void, out of control, as Galvatron fired upon him, and Cyclonus wondered how a ghost could tumble through space like that. {{storylink|Ghost in the Machine (G1)|Ghost in the Machine}}

{{--}}

==Japanese cartoon continuity==
{{note|The events of the American animated series occur in Japanese continuity as noted above, except that the events of Season 3, which took place in 2006 in America, were moved back to 2010. Japanese animated continuity inserts a large number of additional storylines, told through various different media, into the timeline, as detailed below.}}

===''Cloud''===
Starscream and his fellow Decepticons were reluctantly forced to side with the Autobots in a battle against "[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Cloud Megatron]]". This alternate reality Megatron proved too powerful to overcome, but luckily [[SARA]] was able to teleport him away, leaving Starscream and his teammates dazed and confused. {{storylink|Leap}} {{storylink|Rampage (Cloud)|Rampage}}

===''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' manga===
[[File:Starscream smokescreen manga.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Ow, don't punch a man in the chest!]]
In the late 1980s, Megatron began focusing the Decepticons' attacks on [[Japan]], rather than America. Starscream led the Decepticon jets' first attack on the country, although he wasn't happy about the fact that Megatron was commanding from afar while they did all the actual work. When the Autobots arrived to confront them, Starscream summoned up the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]], who combined into [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]]. With the aid of a local boy named [[Kenji]], the Autobots were able to use a broken freeway ramp to launch themselves into the air and take the Decepticon down. [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] scored the hit that brought down Starscream. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 1|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #1}}

Starscream later joined in an attack on [[Ark (G1)|Autobot Headquarters]], {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 2|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #2}} then teamed up with Megatron and [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] to terrorize [[Tokyo]], only to be defeated by a "Prime-Magnus Double Cross Kick" from Optimus Prime and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]]. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 4|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #4}}

Starscream was among the Decepticons who witnessed the test launch of [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] on a peaceful island. When the Autobots arrived and defeated Trypticon with a [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] hologram, Starscream was first to retreat, suggesting the other Decepticons follow his lead. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 6|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #6}}

When Megatron instructed the Combaticons to hunt down a seemingly harmless [[Battle Dog|dog]], Starscream inquired why the animal was so important. Megatron explained that the dog had been augmented through Decepticon experimentation, and they couldn't allow its power to be used against them. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 8|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #8}}

===''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' story pages===
Starscream was one of the Decepticons who attacked New York City early in their conflict with the Autobots on Earth. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (story page)#Part 1|Broadcasting on TV! Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers}}

===Scramble City: Mobilization===
{{voiceactor|[[Hirotaka Suzuoki]] (Japanese)}}

[[File:Scramble city seekers.jpg|left|thumb|Somehow I feel like we've seen this before...]]
When the Decepticons succeeded in locating the construction site of the Autobots' [[Metroplex (G1)|Scramble City]] project, Starscream stepped forward to lead Thundercracker, Skywarp and the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] in an attack on the hidden facility. They were met by an Autobot contingent led by Optimus Prime and a firefight ensued, at which point Starscream instructed the Constructicons to combine. The [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] soon arrived to back up Prime's team, and a barrage of fire from them sent Starscream tumbling from his perch atop a cliff. Although Starscream tried to continue the fight, the Decepticons were badly outnumbered, and he eventually called retreat. {{storylink|Scramble City: Mobilization}}
{{-}}

===Full Throttle Scramble Power!===
[[File:StarscreamMangaHugs1.jpg|upright=1.7|thumb|One wouldn't normally assume solid metal to be suitable for cuddling, but what do we know?]]
To counter [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]'s latest evil scheme, a giant death-ray called the [[Omega Wave Cannon]], the Autobots dispatched [[Hound (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hound]], [[Tōru]] and [[Jenny (G1)|Jenny]] to search for the Decepticons' hidden base. They found it, but were immediately captured by Starscream. Trapped within an energy cage, they were forced to watch as Megatron prepared to send his Decepticons out to plunder Earth's energy... some more.

Jenny hatched a clever plan and disassembled her communicator. This caught Starscream's attention and he plucked her out of the cage, violently threatening her. Turning on her feminine charms, Jenny begged for Starscream's mercy, giving him a big snuggly hug. As Starscream gleefully accepted, Jenny slyly slapped a device she had fashioned from her communicator onto Starscream's back. Content with a good hug, Starscream returned Jenny to her cage.

Jenny immediately activated the device, an override machine which she used to control Starscream's motor functions. Unloading Starscream's chest missiles, Jenny destroyed the Omega Wave Cannon and most of the Decepticon base. Starscream quickly recovered, unaware of what he'd just done, and was yelled at by Megatron. Almost immediately afterward, Starscream and all the other Decepticons fled when [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] arrived alongside the entire Autobot army. {{storylink|Full Throttle Scramble Power!}}
{{-}}

===''Legends'' comic===
At some point between 1985 and 2004 in the early days of the Transformers' war on Earth, Starscream was seen alongside Megatron and Soundwave taking part in a battle against the Autobots. {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. 6|Bonus Edition Vol. 6}} During an attack on the Autobot base, Starscream was annoyed that Megatron considered appointing [[Slugslinger (G1)|Slugslinger]] the new [[Air Commander]] and protested that he was superior, but this only got him blasted in the back by Slugslinger. Following a failed attempt by Slugslinger at overthrowing Megatron, Starscream took his revenge by ordering the Decepticons to hunt down and punish the traitor. {{storylink|Slugslinger's Ambition}} He was part of a group of Decepticons who fell in a pitfall trap prepared by [[Twin Twist]], but being Decepticons, they simply flew back out. {{storylink|Jumpstarter Chapter#Operation: Destroy the Decepticons|Operation: Destroy the Decepticons}}

===''The Battle of the Star Gate''===
[[File:Stargatebattles starscream and his ghost.jpg|left|upright=1.2|thumb|Me and my shadow.]]
In the late 1990s, Starscream was among the Decepticons who attacked the human-built interstellar teleport system known as the ''[[Trigger]]''. The sole survivor of their attack on the space station, [[Makoto (Star Gate)|Makoto]], was able to activate the teleport system and send the Decepticons hurtling towards the portal, but Megatron blasted the portal and knocked it offline just as Starscream was about to fly through it. The Autobots soon arrived to stop the Decepticons, {{storylink|First Contact (Star Gate)|First Contact}} but Megatron still had his sights set on the ''Trigger'', and was content to wait until it was repaired so that he could make another play for it. Starscream advocated destroying the ''Trigger'' completely to stop the Autobots from using it, but Megatron dismissed the idea, mockingly suggesting that Starscream's passage through the ''Trigger'' had devolved him to its primitive level. Starscream stalked away, infuriated, and stared angrily at his own reflection... but while Megatron's assessment may not have been accurate, something clearly ''had'' happened, since Starscream's reflection was ''talking'' to him... {{storylink|Divided Views}}

Soon after, Starscream concocted a plan of his own to gather more energy, establishing a protection-racket style scam with the [[Prime Minister of Japan]], promising no attacks against his country in return for free reign to gather energy. Of course, Starscream had a double-cross in play, as [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] were secretly creating earthquakes in Japan that the Decepticon could tap for energy, while the Japanese government was left to believe they were simply natural disasters. The Autobots soon got wise to the villain's schemes and headed for Japan to stop the Decepticons, but when a team of flying Autobots pursued the fleeing Starscream out over the ocean, none of them could have suspected that the ''Trigger''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s warp gate would suddenly burst out of the sea below them, accompanied by a mysterious ''second'' Starscream! {{storylink|Activation}}

[[File:Stargatebattles starscream trigger.jpg|upright=1.5|thumb|Starscream auditions for the final boss of ''Final Fantasy XIII''.]]
This second Starscream spirited the original, along with the energy he had gathered from Japan, back to the ''Trigger'' out in space, where the original Starscream demanded to know the identity of the strange, phantasmal doppelganger. The second Starscream revealed that he was, in fact, the ghost of Starscream's own future self, who had inadvertently been transported back in time by the ''Trigger'' after he was destroyed in the future. Both the Decepticons and Autobots soon tracked down the Starscreams to the ''Trigger'', but before they could act, Starscream's ghost, determined to alter history and ensure his own survival, used the purloined energy to fuse both present and future Starscreams together with the ''Trigger''. The space station transformed into a monstrous, misshapen robot of mammoth proportions, which tore through the Autobot and Decepticon ranks, until the ''Trigger''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s human staff—including Makoto—activated a system purge, disconnecting most of the armored hull from Starscream's new ''Trigger''-body. Megatron exploited this vulnerability to cripple Starscream with a point-blank cannon blast, but Starscream had one last trick up his sleeve, twisting the remains of his body into a giant warp gate and threatening to suck all the Transformers into a [[black hole]] in the depths of space. It took the combination of Optimus Prime and Megatron's power to finally destroy Starscream. The ''Trigger'' was obliterated, and the fate of Starscream's ghost was unrevealed, but the present-day Starscream survived. {{storylink|The Battle of the Star Gate}}
{{-}}

===''Story of Binaltech''===
In 2004, while the majority of the Decepticon forces under Megatron's command were focusing their attention on finally taking over all of Cybertron, Starscream was appointed leader of the small remaining Decepticon force operating within Earth's solar system. Exploiting the Autobots' lowered guard, the Decepticons struck with a plague of Cosmic Rust, disabling many of their foes and leaving Earth open to attack. However, with the aid of the [[Earth Defense Command]] and many of Earth's automotive companies, the Autobots were saved and rebuilt with powerful new "[[Binaltech]]" bodies. {{storylink|Story of Binaltech, Chapter 1}} With the strength of these new forms, the Autobots forced Starscream's Decepticons off Earth, {{storylink|Binaltech Is...}} but Starscream did not take the defeat lying down, and got back in touch with his old ally, Doctor Arkeville. Bribing Arkeville with the offer of access to [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]'s mind-controlling [[cerebro-shell]] technology, Starscream had the doctor combine his old [[hypno-chip]] designs with the shells, which were then used to take control of several of the [[Binaltech Project]]'s human workers. With these humans under their sway, Starscream and Arkeville began co-opting Binaltech technology to rebuild the Decepticons into Binaltech forms. {{storylink|Arise! Evil Binaltechs}}

At some point, Starscream initiated a rebellion against [[Shockwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Shockwave]]'s Earthbound forces. The fighting, however, was quelled by the two Autobot BT units hijacked by [[Unicron]] for [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] and [[Decepticharge]]. The servants of Unicron informed the Decepticons that Unicorn was displeased with their infighting and commanded the Decepticons to destroy Optimus Prime and the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/08}}

Now fighting the Autobots on more even footing, the Decepticons were nonetheless thrown into disarray when the time-tossed Decepticon [[Ravage (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ravage]] used the [[Kronosphere]] time machine to alter the flow of history by teleporting Megatron and most of the Decepticons outside of time. {{storylink|Changing Lanes}} It is unclear if Starscream was among these Decepticons; Ravage specifically had Shockwave to be reborn in a Binaltech body to take up leadership of the remaining Decepticons, and Starscream was not heard from again until Megatron's forces returned some time later. {{storylink|Binal Time}}

{{Note|At this point, the original timeline was retroactively restored through the intervention of the [[Alternity]] and the events of the ''Story of Binaltech'' diverged into a parallel universe. Skip to "[[#Robotmasters|Robotmasters]]" below to continue reading about the original timeline; exactly how many (if any) of the events related in this section, even prior to the divergence, occurred in the original unaltered timeline are unknown.}}

In the parallel universe that Ravage's alteration of history had created, the Decepticons were mostly defeated when the Autobots activated the [[Quintesson]]s' [[large switch|kill switch]], and [[Nemesis Prime (G1)|Nemesis Prime]] took leadership of those that remained. {{storylink|Kill Switch}} By means unrevealed, however, Starscream was able to avoid the deactivation effect of the switch (perhaps suggesting he had been upgraded to a Binaltech body at some unspecified point), and was among the Decepticons present when Nemesis Prime tried to create a synthetic Matrix using the human population of an Australian town. When the Autobots stopped Nemesis Prime's plan and destroyed him, Starscream led the retreat as he and all the remaining flying Decepticons made good their escape. {{storylink|Unfinished Business, Part 4}}

===''Robotmasters''===
{{note|While ''[[Robotmasters (franchise)|Robotmasters]]'' is explicitly placed in Japanese cartoon continuity, none of the various pieces of actual ''Robotmasters'' fiction tells the story of the line in its entirety, and each of them relate certain events in notably different ways. Precisely ''which'' of the iterations of the story—covered individually below—should be considered the [[canon]] one for the cartoon timeline is unknown.}}

====Pack-in manga====
[[File:RobotMasters1cover.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|What the heck is going ''on'' here?!]]

In the year [[2004]], Megatron had vanished and the Autobots joined with the [[United Nations]] to initiate the [[Autobot City (G1)|Scramble City]] project. In the confusion, [[Megatron (BW)|Beast Megatron]] traveled back in time via the [[Blasty Zone]] and seized command of the Decepticons; a reality that the ambitious Starscream resented. Beast Megatron then sent Starscream and the other Decepticons on missions to collect the [[Solitarium]] energy source, but they were immediately repelled by the forces of the Autobots, who now had the time-displaced [[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus Primal]] among their ranks. {{storylink|The New Battle Begins!}}

{{--}}

====Online manga====
[[File:Robotmasters starscream arsenalforce.jpg|left|upright=1.5|thumb|Double, double, toil and trouble...]]
When Starscream dared to challenge Beast Megatron's bid for leadership, he was promptly blasted through a wall. {{storylink|The Usurper Decepticon Takes Control}} Seeking a means to dethrone this new leader, Starscream turned his attention to manipulating solitarium, and forged four weapons from the new mineral, which could be combined to create the "[[Arsenal Force]]" super-weapon. Starscream combined the weapons and unleashed the power of the Arsenal Force on Megatron... which, despite some impressive pyrotechnics, completely failed to injure him. Starscream had his right arm blown off in retribution. {{storylink|Starscream Grins 3 Times...}}

During a later battle, when [[Ginrai (robot)|Victory Leo]] was attempting to go to the aid of [[Star Saber (Victory)|Star Saber]], Starscream appeared with [[Air Hunter]] and [[Wingstun]] to block his way. Fortunately, [[Optimus Primal (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] and [[Bound Rogue]] leapt into the fray to keep the Decepticons busy while Leo carried on with his mission. {{storylink|Bonds Stronger than Steel}} Starscream, Wingstun, and new recruit [[X-Gunner]] later approached Optimus Primal, [[R-Blade]] and [[Delta Seeker]] while they were on patrol, and challenged them to a test of air-speed. The Decepticons took the lead, but R-Blade soon got ahead and blinded them with a smokescreen, allowing Delta Seeker to knock Starscream and the others out of the sky. {{storylink|Through Sea and Sky: The World's Fastest Race}}

The original Megatron returned soon after, in the guise of "[[Reverse Convoy]]", {{storylink|Strategic Meeting: The Mysterious New Warrior}} and joined back up with the Decepticons. {{storylink|The Dark Emperor of Destruction, Reborn}} Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker, and the two Megatrons then engaged Optimus Prime, Optimus Primal, Victory Saber, and [[Lio Convoy]] in a mighty battle, but the heroes ultimately prevailed. {{storylink|And Then}}
{{--}}

====Cartoon====
{{voiceactor|[[Kunihiro Kawamoto]] (Japanese)}}

[[File:Starscream robotmasterscartoon.jpg|thumb|How Galaxy Force-esque.]]
Starscream attacked Star Saber when the Autobot ventured out on a solo mission to investigate a mysterious explosion, striking him with a sneak attack from behind and easily avoiding his return fire. Even when Star Saber summoned Victory Leo and the pair combined into Victory Saber, Starscream reigned supreme in the fight, until Optimus Prime arrived and blasted him out of the sky. As Starscream plummeted towards the ground, he was snatched out of the air by Megatron, who arrived riding atop [[Gigant Bomb]]. Megatron dismissed Starscream as useless, and tossed him away before turning his attention to Prime. {{storylink|Fight! The Group of the Strongest Commanders!}}

Later, Beast Megatron discovered a large deposit of solitarium beneath a human city and ordered the Decepticons to tear the place apart. Starscream, [[Smokesniper]], [[Gigant Bomb]], and [[Wingstun]] did just that, blowing up buildings and razing a good portion of the city. Starscream was then shot out of the sky by another time-displaced Autobot, Reverse Convoy. Reverse Convoy quickly gained the trust of the other Autobots after being seen blasting Starscream, only to reveal that he was, in fact, the original Megatron in disguise. {{storylink|The Lio Convoy Typhoon Enters (episode)|The Lio Convoy Typhoon Enters}}
{{--}}

====3D diorama manga====
Starscream was building a Decepticon base in the [[Congo]], but was foiled by [[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus Primal]]. {{storylink|Robotmasters Vol. 2}}

Later, Starscream chased after [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Reverse Convoy]], who had intelligence on a secret Decepticon base. The Autobots came to Reverse Convoy's rescue, and it was Reverse Convoy himself who got the last shot in, sending Starscream fleeing. {{storylink|Robotmasters Vol. 9}} This turned out to be a pretense to get the Autobots to trust Reverse Convoy, who was in actuality the original Megatron reborn. The secret base turned out to be a trap that drained the Autobots of energy, and Starscream gloated along with Reverse Convoy and other Decepticons. But the Autobots were rescued by [[Lio Convoy]] and a new [[Optimus Prime (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]]. Starscream found himself blasted away along with the other Decepticons by the combined energies of the Autobot commanders. {{storylink|Robotmasters Vol. 11}}

====''Black Body'' prose story====
[[File:Robot Masters black starscream.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1]]

From his secret base in darkest [[Idaho]], Starscream used [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]] to spy on the Autobots as they developed the new [[black body]] technology. Using is scientific skills, Starscream replaced their data with a flawed formula of his own design. With the data switched, Optimus Prime became infected and was forced to go into quarantine in a remote cave.

At Decepticon HQ, Starscream tried to repeat his success on his new leader, Beast Megatron, only for his plan to backfire. Beast Megatron's Predacon physiology accepted the tainted data and gave him a true black body. Frustrated, Starscream returned to his base and applied the complete black body data to himself. He launched an attack on Optimus Prime, but an earthquake buried him in the canyon where Prime was quarantined. Meanwhile, Beast Megatron attacked the Ark all while mumbling that Starscream finally did something useful. Hearing this, and realizing Starscream would never willingly help a Megatron, Optimus Primal applied the tainted black body data to himself. He then located Prime with a [[Sky Spy]] and used his complete black body data to "cure" Prime. The two then returned to the Ark and defeated Beast Megatron, damaging his black body chip and returning their enemy to normal.

Infuriated, and having built up a tolerance to the black body data leaving him unable to assume it a second time, Beast Megatron tracked down Starscream's secret base and destroyed his black body data. Starscream dug himself out (his black body upgrade having worn off) and returned to his base to only find one black body chip left. He inserted the chip, unaware that it was actually the tainted black body data of his own design... {{storylink|Black Body}}

{{--}}

===e-HOBBY comics===
[[File:Ehobby dead starscreams.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.8|These ''Marvel Zombies'' variant covers are getting out of hand.]]

Immediately after being killed by Galvatron at his own coronation in 2005, Starscream's spark found its way to the twilight realm of [[Limbo]], somewhere on the edge of life and death. He soon discovered that he was not alone: the sparks of many deceased Starscreams from all across the multiverse were also there. Sharing the stories of their deaths with one another, they formulated a plan to restore themselves to life, each one all the while secretly willing to sacrifice the others if it would benefit him. The scientific skills of several of the Starscreams were used to create a kind of crystal they termed a "[[flip-soul]]" that would enable their spirits to retake physical form in the real world—but predictably enough, all the Starscreams then began fighting for possession of the crystal. The primary Starscream was able to triumph over the others and took off with the crystal in hand, but was then seized about the legs by the other Starscreams before he could get away.

The victorious Starscream ingested the crystal, and in a flash, all the Starscreams disappeared from Limbo, and he reappeared in the material realm. However, he now found himself in the future, somewhere beyond the year [[2025]], floating in space near Earth. But where there had once been many Starscreams, now there was only one, giant Starscream, a fusion of all the different versions of the duplicitous Air Commander from throughout time and space. The fusion was not a complete one, however; each Starscream had left small fragments of themselves in Limbo, resulting in a giant Starscream who was not quite "complete", but more of a towering transparent "ghost". As Starscream ruminated on this, he spotted a team of Autobot warriors cruising the ocean waves nearby, and promptly launched an attack. {{storylink|MP-3G Destron Air Commander / Starscream Ghost Ver.}}

{{note|This story is also related through the bio of the toy the comic was included with, Masterpiece Starscream Ghost Ver. In the bio's telling of events, there is not one crystal, but many, which the Starscreams argue over portions of, and the giant ghost Starscream appears in a city on Earth, rather than in space. In either version, it seems to be attempting to explain why Starscream became a ghost after his death in ''The Transformers: The Movie'', expanding on the "mutant spark" explanation from ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''.}}

How that battle wound up going, we may never know. Starscream's ghost eventually returned to the present or thereabouts and became aware of the dark thoughts forming in the mind of the new Autobot [[Supreme Commander]] [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]]. Starscream's ghost influenced Rodimus into finding an old Decepticon base on Earth and activating the [[clone synthesizer]] within. The darkness within Rodimus Prime gave life to the clone now known as [[Black Rodimus Convoy]]. {{storylink|Destron Doppelgänger Black Rodimus Convoy}}

===''Beast Wars'' cartoon===
{{main|Starscream (G1)#Beast Wars cartoon}}

===''15 Go! Go!''===
[[File:Starscream teletraan15.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|"I'm Starscream's girlfriend. Seriously." [[Lunaclub|I'll kill 'er!]]]]
Dispatched on a mission through time and space to discover the identity of a mysterious saboteur who damaged [[Teletraan I]], the humanoid robot [[Teletraan 15]] was possessed by Starscream's ghost when the spectral Decepticon invaded her [[Transwarp cruiser]] in 2006. Starscream crashed the cruiser into the artificial satellite [[Nana]], where 15's superiors [[Teletraan 10]] and [[Ravage (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Black Panther Man]] were stationed, and emerged from the wreckage to seize 10 around the throat. He introduced himself as the Decepticon Air Commander, prompting a shocked Black Panther Man to realize the true identity of the force possessing Teletraan 15. {{storylink|Starscream? Volume}} Teletraan 10 tried fighting back in true slapstick anime style, but Starscream just blasted her with eyebeams. As it happened, Starscream didn't hang around for long; learning of the super-powered [[Kiss Player]]s that were currently operating on Earth, Starscream left Teletraan 15's body, and departed for [[Earth Defense Command]] Headquarters on Earth. {{storylink|Starscream? Volume 2}}

[[File:AtariScream.jpg|left|upright=0.85|thumb|Not his finest moment, but possibly his most fabulous.]]
The first Kiss Player Starscream discovered in the EDC headquarters was the young [[Atari Hitotonari]], who was using the ladies' room at the time. Starscream promptly possessed the girl, turning her EDC uniform black, but he couldn't understand why the giggling Kiss Players wouldn't take "Atari-scream"'s demands and threats seriously, even after he pulled a gun on them and fired into the air. The reason soon became apparent: unfortunately for the Air Commander, he had neglected to pull Atari's underwear back up when leaving the bathroom. {{storylink|Starscream? Volume 3}}

Seriously.

===''Kiss Players'' radio drama===
Still possessing Atari, Starscream found himself unable to possess other Transformers that possessed [[spark]]s, and forced her to seek out his old ally, the cybernetic scientist Doctor Arkeville. Arkeville built a [[Starscream (G1)/toys#Masterpiece|new body]] for Starscream converted from a stolen fighter jet, into which Atari transferred his spirit with a kiss. Starscream was reborn... for a couple of minutes, until a squad of [[Autorooper]]s arrived to blow up his new body and send his ghost flying back into space. {{storylink|Transformers: Kiss Players (radio drama)|Kiss Players radio drama #27}}
{{-}}

===''The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers''===
[[File:StarscreamGhost.jpg|upright=0.85|thumb|Th-That's obvious!]]
In 2010, Starscream's ghost teamed up with the [[Quintesson]]s, who built him a powerful new body. This new body, equipped with attacks such as "Right Arm Decepticon Gun" and the "Revolver Laser", was created using a combination of Optimus Prime's and Megatron's designs. The result was [[Gilthor]].

Gilthor joined the Decepticons and quickly became Galvatron's right-hand man (literally—in, like, 5 seconds). Galvatron tricked Rodimus Prime into engaging him in a one-on-one battle in which Gilthor faked defeat. When Rodimus least suspected it, Gilthor attacked and laid the smackdown. Galvatron complimented Gilthor on his power and loyalty, and instinctively, Gilthor beat the crap out of Galvatron and declared his ambition to take over the Decepticons. Rodimus Prime and Galvatron called a truce and joined forces to defeat Gilthor. They wrecked him something fierce, destroying his body and forcing out Starscream's ghost. They then ended the truce and went about their business. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 4|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #4}}
{{--}}

===''Henkei! Henkei! Generations'' manga===
[[File:Henkei starscreams ghost.jpg|left|thumb| I think I'll possess that [[Drift (G1)|sword guy]] next...]]

His errant spark still wandering throughout time and space, Starscream's ghost found his way into a [[Primax 209.20 Gamma|parallel universe]], where he immediately began sowing his usual brand of terror. Possessing this new world's native Octane, he attacked [[Ironhide (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ironhide]], but was taken down by [[Mirage (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Mirage]]. Undeterred, Starscream's ghost simply departed the fallen Decepticon's body and contemplated which Autobot to possess next. {{storylink|Mirage's Activity}}

After defeating Mirage, however, Starscream discarded the notion of possessing an Autobot, and decided to turn his attention to taking out this world's Megatron instead. Pulling his old coronation cape and [[Transformer clothing|crown]] out of nowhere, he took off for the Decepticon base, but was immediately blasted through the chest by Megatron as soon as he arrived. Naturally, the blast had no effect on his ghostly form, greatly intriguing Megatron. {{storylink|Starscream's Ambition}}

Megatron quickly deduced that this was not his world's Starscream, and sent Astrotrain and Onslaught against him, but Starscream's ghost simply possessed Onslaught and began rampaging. Mirage and Ironhide arrived in the middle of the battle to try and help take out Starscream, but then, while Starscream was in the midst of ranting about possessing the body of this world's Starscream, a portal opened above the combatants and disgorged [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] and [[Screech (Generations)|Screech]], a pair of dimension-hopping "Quantum Operatives" from Starscream's home universe, who had come to take him back there. While these two newcomers were keeping Starscream distracted, Mirage used his illusion-casting powers to create a hologram of Galvatron, terrifying the spectral Decepticon and causing him to flee the universe. {{storylink|Starscream's New Body}}
{{--}}

===''The Headmasters'' cartoon===
In a flashback to the good ole days of Megatron, Starscream was seen joining the other Decepticons in an assault on the Ark and the Autobots defending it. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}}

===''Super-God Masterforce'' manga===
Out of the blue, Starscream appeared alongside numerous "legendary Decepticons" (including Galvatron) to menace [[Ginrai (human)|Ginrai]] and the Autobots! In the end, it turned out that it wasn't the real Starscream at all, but a hologram projected by [[Turtler]] to confuse and intimidate the Autobots. {{storylink|Burn, Super Soul! The New Commander Super Ginrai!}}

===''Legends''/''Unite Warriors''===
[[File:Legends EX StarWasp.jpg|thumb]]
Upon meeting [[Starscream (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Armada Starscream]] in the [[Legends World]], G1 Megatron was shocked at his presence, explaining to [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Armada Megatron]] about how his Starscream was a devious traitor. {{storylink|LG14 Ultra Magnus Prologue#The Autumn Megatron Festival Chapter|The Autumn Megatron Festival Chapter}}

After a long series of adventures as a ghost, Starscream concluded that the best body he'd ever possessed was Waspinator's. He followed the Predacon to the Legends World and possessed him again, using his body to try to take over [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]. {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. EX (Waspinator)|Bonus Edition Vol. EX}} Starscream defeated [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] and the two [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattraps]] defending the city-bot, but was in turn exorcised and defeated by the similarly ghostly [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]]. Reduced to the form of a spark, Starscream fled, swearing revenge. {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. EX (Rhinox)|Bonus Edition Vol. EX}}

[[File:StarscreamNewBody-GrandGalvatronChapter.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9]]
In [[2021]], Starscream's ghost stumbled upon Cyclonus and [[Galvatron II|Galvatron]] striking a deal with the crippled Unicron within the [[Triple Z Point]]. Unicron had agreed to summon Transformers from throughout the multiverse to combine them into a new "[[Grand Galvatron]]" body for the Decepticon leader. In exchange, the Decepticons would leave Unicron's own body untouched. After [[Breakdown (WFC)|Breakdown]], [[Roller (G1)|Roller]], and [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]] had been summoned forth to combine with Cyclonus, Starscream made his presence known, and asked for a new body to join them in their gestalt form. Unicron partially granted his wish, bestowing onto Starscream a semi-corporeal body. Starscream was miffed, but Unicron explained that he knew that Starscream was too treacherous to be given any more in the way of a body. Unicron further stated that Starscream should be grateful, as his new form allowed him to retain all of the abilities he had access to as a ghost. The Transformers then combined into Grand Galvatron, who took off towards Cybertron while plotting to conquer it for himself. {{storylink|Grand Galvatron Chapter}}

[[File:LunacloverStarscream MegatroniaChapter.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.7]]
Cyclonus had the group undergo training by exposing them to the lava pools of [[Thrull]], which Starscream didn't enjoy one bit. He tried to sneak away, only to be caught in the attempt by Doctor Arkeville, who'd been charged with keeping an eye on him. {{storylink|Unite Warriors Offshot#Special Training in the Lava Baths of Planet Thrull!|Special Training in the Lava Baths of Planet Thrull!}}

When Grand Galvatron attacked Cybertron, Starscream and the other limb components were removed from Cyclonus by [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]]. As they continued the battle on foot, Starscream was confident that [[Wheeljack (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Wheeljack]]'s [[Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer|Immobilizer V2]] wouldn't affect his semi-corporeal body, only to be quickly proven wrong when the weapon froze him regardless. After he'd recovered, the team re-combined into Grand Galvatron to fight [[Sky Reign]]. {{storylink|Sky Reign Chapter}} Upon the arrival of [[Megaempress]] and her [[4 Guards]], Grand Galvatron's components quickly scrambled in fear of the powerful Decepticon empress. Starscream was tackled by his old fan Lunaclub, who immediately begged him to possess her body and become the new Decepticon leader. Irritated, Starscream explained that in his current half-ghost body, he could only jump dimensions and not possess people, which prompted Lunaclub to strangle him in an attempt to make him dead again. {{storylink|Megatronia Chapter}} He was still stuck in Lunaclub's embrace when Unicron himself showed up to make Cybertron his new body. {{storylink|Ruination Chapter, Part One}} Though Galvatron's spirit had left his body, Cyclonus convinced Starscream and the others to combine with him one last time for the sake of defeating Unicron. Once the battle was won, Starscream flew into space to get far, far away from Lunaclub. {{storylink|Ruination Chapter, Part Two}}

[[File:Legends 57 Headmaster Starscream.jpg|thumb|left]]
Lunaclub would catch up with Starscream in [[2022]], decapitating the half-ghost and letting the body be destroyed by a meteoroid. Uninterested in Lunaclub's affection, Starscream sought to get back to the Legends World so that he could become a [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]], a desire which [[Moonheart]] offered her assistance for. Once there, Moonheart and Lunaclub attacked [[Octane]]'s [[transtector]], while the now-Headmaster Starscream snuck aboard and took control. With the transtector, Starscream boasted that he would take over from [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Mayor Megatron]], but it turned out that Octane had built a device within the transtector for situations such as this and activated it, shocking and expelling Starscream from the body. True to self, the defeated Starscream begged Megatron for mercy; he was punished by being forced to appear in one of Octane's videos with Lunaclub, but its sales proved to be dismal. {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. 57|Bonus Edition Vol. 57}}

Starscream then began working under Megatron at his mayor's office. {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. 59|Bonus Edition Vol. 59}} When [[Megatron (BW)|Beast Megatron]] attacked them, he was shocked by Megatron's insistence on settling things peacefully rather than just killing the intruder. {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. 63|Bonus Edition Vol. 63}} Starscream was allowed to borrow Octane's transtector to help defend the city from [[Majin Zarak]]'s attack, {{storylink|Targetmaster Chapter Finale: Legends World in Imminent Danger! Part One|Legends World in Imminent Danger! Part One}} and was hugged by Lunaclub during the victory celebrations. He then returned to his own dimension alongside everyone else when the Legends World was destroyed. {{storylink|Targetmaster Chapter Finale: Legends World in Imminent Danger! Part Two|Legends World in Imminent Danger! Part Two}} He reemerged as a ghost in [[2035]], prompting the [[Powered Master]]s to discuss any possible relation between him and [[Violen Jiger]]'s ghostly origins. {{storylink|The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 2}}
{{-}}

===Hero Set===
[[File:Legends Hero Set Starscream box art.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|It's all fun and games until Starscream screws everything up.]]

In the year 2025, Starscream, in his new corporeal body, battled [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]], [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]], and [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] in the far reaches of space.<ref>Packaging blurb for the Japanese-exclusive "Hero Set" release of the [[Classic Pretender|Pretender Classic]] versions of Bumblebee, Jazz, Grimlock, and Starscream, confirmed to be part of cartoon continuity by Takara's [[Generation 1 cartoon timeline (Japan)|2007 timeline]].</ref> {{storylink|Source:Generation 1 cartoon timeline (Japan)#After 2025|Kiss Players timeline}}

===Ask Vector Prime===
Starscream's [[Pretender]] battles against Jazz, Grimlock, and Bumblebee went very poorly and continued to soil his image in the eyes of the revived (and now peace-hungry) Megatron. Hoping to shatter the [[Cybertron Alliance]], Starscream tricked one of Megatron's oldest friends, the peaceful [[Kiloton]], into visiting the unfriendly territory of [[Moscow]] on [[Earth]]. Kiloton, who thought he would be anticipated as a diplomat, was instead seen as an invader and killed by [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] soldiers. Enraged, Megatron dissolved the Alliance in retaliation; all according to Starscream's plans. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/07/29}}
{{--}}

===e-HOBBY toy bios===
Starscream adopted [[Starscream (G1)/toys#BlackStarscream|a new black chassis]] in the wake of the [[Machine Wars (event)|Machine Wars]]. {{storylink|Starscream (G1)/toys#BlackStarscream|Starscream Black Version bio}}

==''Wings Universe''==
Starscream originally studied at Cybertron's [[Science and Exploration Academy]]. There, he rose at the top of his class by sabotaging his colleagues' works and conspiring against them. Upon graduating, he became friends with [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]] and traveled off-world, finding adventure on their scientific investigations. Starscream's career as a scientist was promptly abandoned when the war broke out on Cybertron. He enlisted in [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]]'s army hoping to attain fame and recognition. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 37|Starscream's ''Wings of Honor'' profile}}

Starscream was the captain of Deathsaurus's Skyraider-Seeker Brigade until Deathsaurus used [[Falcon (G1)|Falcon]] to assassinate most of the other Warlords by suicide bomb. With the new opening, Starscream was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. {{storylink|A Team Effort}} He led Deathsaurus's forces in a strike against the Elite Guard, along with the newly recruited Combaticons. {{storylink|The Coming Storm: Part 5}}

[[File:BattleLinesStarscreamandLyzack.jpg|thumb|300px|left]]
Starscream was happy to report the success of the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticon]]s' success against the [[Elite Guard]] with their new form of [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]]. He warned Deathsaurus that the five ex-Autobots were likely stab him in the back, but Deathsaurus told Starscream that it was ambition that made them the perfect Decepticons, and instructed him to tell [[Lyzack (Victory)|Lyzack]] to ready the medibay for their return. Starscream passed on the message, and noted that Lyzack seemed overly formal, suggesting he would be able to get her out of her timid shell. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 1}}

As that repairs on the Combaticons proceeded, Starscream admired Deathsaurus's foresight in adding an override control to Bruticus, but admitted he bore bad news: Elite Guard forces were closing in on their base. Deathsaurus instructed him to deploy the troops. ''All'' of the troops. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 2}} Starscream led the initial wave of defenders, shooting [[Ricochet (Timelines)|Ricochet]] out of the sky. While he was still ranting at the barrage of missiles unleashed by [[Flak (G1)|Flak]], he was cut off mid-sentence by a missile strike which struck him square on. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 3}} When more Autobot reinforcements showed up, one of Starscream's subordinates asked if they should retreat, and Starscream's response was an emphatic order to counterattack. After belting [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]], he was distracted by the sight of Lyzack savagely dealing to Magnum with a huge sword and could only stare open-mouthed. Starscream came to his senses after she was belted by [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]], but he was too late to avoid being blasted by [[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]]. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 4}}

When Starscream arrived back at base to find [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] had taken over, he readily switched allegiances, though he vowed under his breath that he would someday take his place as rightful heir to Deathsaurus. Megatron sent him with [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] to retrieve the data on the [[Combiner]] process that Deathsaurus had perfected. A week later, Starscream was part of the Decepticon forces who broke through [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]]'s outer walls, thanks to [[Devastator (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Devastator]]. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 5}} He was still by Megatron's side when Devastator fell and took part in the subsequent retreat. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 6}}

Circa [[2013]], [[Cybertronian (faction)|Cybertronian]] leader [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] cloned Starscream to create [[Starscream (MW)|a clone commander]] and [[Starscream drone|clone drone]]s of him. {{storylink|Termination}}

[[File:StarscreampossessesCannonball-TPJ.jpg|thumb|upright=1.75|I'm just going to hijack your body and you can't do anything about it. That alright with you? ''Great''!]]
Some time before [[2984]], Starscream's immortal disembodied spark ended up in a prison on a [[Shut-Up-Tornado-I'm-Trying-To-Think|planetoid]] surrounded by black holes near former [[Quintesson]] space. Also with Starscream's immortal spark was a Quintesson who Starscream apparently had dealings with and had died by 2984. Breaking out of custody after their capture by the [[Cybertronian Knight]]s, the pirate crew known as the [[Star Seeker]]s sought Starscream's immortal spark as their next prize, following a map drawn by [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]]. When Captain [[Cannonball (G1)|Cannonball]]'s crew got inside Starscream's prison, they only found the Quintesson, whose corpse Starscream possessed to use as a Trojan horse. The apparent Quintesson negotiated passage off the planetoid in exchange for supposedly telling all that he knew of Starscream's last location. Once aboard the ''[[Tidal Wave (G1)|Tidal Wave]]'', Starscream abandoned the Quintesson body and went around possessing various crew members, searching for a suitable host. While in [[Lockpick]]'s body, Starscream forged an alliance with the female Decepticon [[Flamewar (G1)|Flamewar]], whose life goal was to restore the [[Decepticon Empire]]. Together, they entered the ''Tidal Wave''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s bridge and executed a coup. Starscream's spark knocked out all of the bridge crew members except [[Tornado]] and after Flamewar threw a vial of [[forestonite]] at Cannonball, Starscream's spark entered the pirate captain's chassis. With the added edge of the forestonite, Starscream expelled Cannonball's spark and then [[reformatting|remade]] the captain's chassis into a body resembling his old one. Flamewar and Starscream then gathered the remaining Star Seekers and gave them three choices: join Flamewar's Decepticon cause, remain marooned with Cannonball's spark on the planetoid, or die. A third of the crew remained loyal to Cannonball to the end. Afterwards, the ''Tidal Wave'', its engines supercharged with forestonite by [[Ferak]], escaped the planetoid. {{storylink|Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur}} After entreating Captain Flamewar to his presence for a short time, {{storylink|Legacy (issue)|Legacy}} Starscream flew off the parts unknown, promising to repay his debt to her. {{storylink|Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur}}

==''Mars Attacks: The Transformers''==
[[File:Mars Attacks The Transformers - Not the face!.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|'''*girly scream*''' ''NOT THE FACE, NOT THE FACE!'']]
After a particularly harrowing defeat at the hands of the Autobots, the Decepticons found themselves in the middle of a [[Martian]] invasion. They attempted to team up with the invaders, only to be double crossed and trapped in a force field with the Autobots. After the Martians shrunk Megatron to the size of a toy, Starscream saw his opportunity to become the new Decepticon leader, however Megatron launched himself at Starscream's face and Starscream could only run around in panic. Things went back to normal once the Martians were repelled. {{storylink|Mars Attacks: The Transformers}}
{{--}}

==Ask Vector Prime==
[[File:StarscreamMW Genesis.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|right]]

In [[Primax 1185.04 Alpha]], Starscream was part of Megatron's forces who awoke in 1984 on a [[Cobra]]-controlled Earth. After repeatedly being foiled by Cobra in plundering Earth, Megatron was defeated and captured. Starscream took this opportunity to seize control of the Decepticons. Realizing that Cobra completely outmatched them, Starscream gathered what little energon Megatron's schemes had produced and withdrew his forces to Cybertron, self-destructing the space bridge behind them. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/13}}

In [[Primax 903.0-M Lambda]], the ghost of Starscream possessed the corpse of [[Skyquake (G1)|Skyquake]] to get revenge on [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] during the [[Golden Age|New Golden Age]], initiating the [[Machine Wars (event)|Machine Wars]]. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/27}}

In one particularly weird universe that incorporated the [[GoBot]]s, Starscream killed [[gbwiki:Ace|Ace]], [[gbwiki:Royal-T|Royal-T]], and [[gbwiki:Spy-Eye|Spy-Eye]] when the Decepticons besieged [[Autobot City (G1)|Guardian City]], retreating after Megatron suffered critical injuries. After history blipped again, Starscream was replaced by [[Zero]] as the usurper lieutenant of Megatron. {{storylink|Echoes and Fragments}}

{{-}}

==''Deviations''==
[[File:TF-Deviations-Megascream-Combiner.jpg|thumb|left|200px|"and tell him, 'Who's laughing now?'"]]
In an alternate timeline where [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] survived the [[Battle of Autobot City]] and killed [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]], Starscream recovered his former leader's fusion cannon as proof that Megatron had finally fallen. Predictably, Starscream nominated himself as leader, and after returning to Cybertron Starscream held a coronation for himself. Unfortunately, Unicron crashed the ceremony. Soundwave suggested that Starscream make first contact with the entity; Starscream agreed to serve Unicron and destroy the Matrix in exchange for his own life. In return, however, the Air Commander requested an upgrade for himself and his cohorts.

Now calling himself '''Megascream''', the Decepticon leader took [[Thundercracker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Thundercracker]], [[Sunstorm (G1)|Sunstorm]], and [[Acid Storm (G1)|Acid Storm]] to Earth, where he led the Decepticons in an attack on Optimus Prime's convoy of shuttles. Although the Seekers succeeded in crippling the ships, they had to abandon the assault early after [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] reported that Unicron had attacked Moonbase One. Megascream confronted Unicron over this apparent betrayal, but Unicron, tired of his whiny underling, ignored Megascream and began his final assault on Cybertron. Optimus spearheaded the attack on Unicron's surface... only to be met by Megascream, who demanded that Prime turn over the Matrix so that Megascream could destroy Unicron himself. Another battle ensued; Megascream revealed the full extent of his upgrades by [[combiner|combining]] with Soundwave, [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]], and [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] to form a gigantic warrior. Megascream easily crushed and injured Optimus beneath his fist before seizing the Matrix. At the last moment, the stowaway Hot Rod intervened, snatching the Matrix away from the Decepticon leader and opening it. The ensuing explosion destroyed Unicron, with Megascream, his underlings, and Hot Rod all lost in the blast. {{storylink|Transformers: Deviations}}

{{-}}

==Notes==
*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 "the Hollywood 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.
*In the Japanese dub of ''Transformers'', Starscream's voice (originally provided by [[Hirotaka Suzuoki]]) lacks [[Chris Latta]]'s raspy, outrageous tone. Rather, he has a smoother, foppish pretty-boy demeanor. All subsequent performances of the character in those territories borrow from these respective portrayls.

===Foreign names===
*''Czech:'' '''Křikloun'''

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Alternators Decepticons]]
[[Category:Alternity Decepticons]]
[[Category:Beast Wars Decepticons]]
[[Category:Cloud Decepticons]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Generation 1 cartoon Decepticons]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Seekers]]
[[Category:Ghosts]]
[[Category:Henkei! Henkei! Decepticons]]
[[Category:Kiss Players Decepticons]]
[[Category:Legends Decepticons]]
[[Category:Machine Wars Decepticons]]
[[Category:Robotmasters Decepticons]]
[[Category:Unite Warriors Decepticons]]
[[Category:Variable gender characters]]
[[Category:Wings Universe Decepticons]]

Noble (BM)

2021-03-27T09:38:44Z

Oshkeet: /* Notes */

{{Picsneeded|Japanese toy}}
{{factions|maximalbm|vehicon|mutant}}
{{disambig3|Noble}}
:''Noble is a [[Maximal]] from the [[Beast Machines: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Machines]] portion of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Noble.jpg|upright=1.88|thumb|A Predacon Werewolf in Iacon.]]
The strange organic monster known as '''Noble''' is the only known purely-organic Transformer. He was created as an unintended, unforeseen side effect of [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] seeking to rid himself of the organic portions of his beast form. Once Megatron's animating spark left the beast, it retained life and became a distinct living creature in its own right. Stripped of Megatron's mind, however, the thing that remained was basically all animal and acted as such. His humanoid form resembles a werewolf, and his alternate mode is a dragon (known as "'''Savage'''"). The animalistic Noble formed a close bond with [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]] akin to that between a boy and his dog.

==Fiction==
===''Beast Machines'' cartoon===
{{voiceactor|[[David Kaye]] (English), [[Yūichi Nagashima]] (Japanese)|[[Han Li]] (Chinese), [[Mauro Ramos]] (Brazil), [[Michael Telloke]] (German), [[Patrick Waleffe]] (French), [[José Gilberto Vilchis]] (Latin-American Spanish)}}

[[Image:SavageNoble Savage approaches.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.6|"Now I'll sneak up behind it and stick my thumb up its butt-hole, now that'll really piss it off!"]]
When Noble first appeared, the creature was basically Megatron in disguise, his spark having been unexpectedly trapped in the organic half he had sought to purge. It is unclear whether his seemingly random violent rages were genuine or if they were a deliberate ruse. Once he seemed to gain more self-control and began speaking, Noble claimed to be a survivor of the transformation lock virus in need of help, and so he was quickly accepted into the [[Maximal]] fold and befriended by [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]]. {{storylink|Savage Noble}} Noble began experiencing "blackouts", however, when his animal mind supposedly took over his actions and led him to Megatron's Citadel, desperately clawing to get in. These "spells" fooled the Maximals long enough for Megatron to make his move. After breaching the Citadel's defenses, he used a spark extractor on himself and downloaded his [[spark]] into a [[Grand Mal|Giant Warship]]. {{storylink|Prometheus Unbound}}

[[File:Noble The Siege.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb]]
The discarded Savage/Noble entity was left a pure beast with an instinctual mind and no spark. Noble continued to follow Nightscream, helping where he could but also at times jeopardizing the team. {{storylink|In Darkest Knight}} He lost none of his effectiveness against the Vehicons, however, thrashing a whole squadron of Motorcycle Drones when he stumbled across Nightscream under attack in the underground city of Iacon. {{storylink|Sparkwar Pt. II: The Search|The Search}}

The first time Megatron consumed all the sparks on Cybertron, Noble attacked him in defense of Nightscream; now more disgusted than ever, Megatron used his new-found power to kill Noble. This sacrifice led to the enraged Nightscream defeating Megatron. {{storylink|Sparkwar Pt. III: The Siege|The Siege}} [[:File:Noble Spark of Darkness.jpg|The ill-fated creature was later mourned by the Maximals and praised for his sacrifice]]. {{storylink|Spark of Darkness}}

===''Beast Machines'' toy bio===
A warrior known to boast about nature's superiority of technology, "'''Beast Changer'''" was the first of several side-effects that came about due to Megatron separating his organic and technological halves. He possessed acute senses and immense power in both modes; in his wolf mode, he could easily claw and bite through synthetic alloys, and in his dragon mode, his scales provided him with more protection than any Vehicon armor. Although he was an intelligent warrior, with an intense hatred for Megatron, the other Maximals still had their doubts about him, due to his bizarre origin. Nonetheless, he found sympathy within his fellow Maximal, [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]]. {{storylink|#Toys|Beast Changer toy bio}}

===''Legends'' comic===
Savage was Nightscream's pet. They celebrated [[Christmas]] by watching ''[[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|Age of Extinction]]''. {{storylink|Merry X'mas!!}} Nightscream was walking Savage when he ran into [[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus Primal]], {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. EX (Convobat)|Bonus Edition Convobat}} and again following the reconstruction of [[Akihabara]]. {{storylink|Targetmaster Chapter Prologue}}

As part of their takeover of [[Tera-Kura Co.]] for their resources, the [[Concurrence]] used [[Cobra Commander|Old Snake]]'s [[Synthoid]] technology in reverse to convert [[Megatron (BW)|President Megatron]] into a fully robotic being loyal to the Concurrence. The "beast portion", Noble, was disposed of, and picked up by Nightscream, who got him a job as an opera singer at [[Weirdwolf (G1)|Weirdwolf]]'s [[Wolf Circus]] (one performance of which was watched by Savage). Once [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Mayor Megatron]] got wind of the Concurrence's plans and the existence of Noble, he and his subordinates were able to convince Weirdwolf to turn over Noble. By using some trickery, they were able to have Noble take Beast Megatron and combine with him, restoring his normal mind and helping chase away the Concurrence. Remaining split between two bodies, the robotic President Megatron still showed an evil streak, but Noble tried his best at setting him on the right path. {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. 63|Bonus Edition Vol. 63}}

===Ask Vector Prime===
In some realities, "Noble Savage" was a [[Mutant (BW)|Mutant]]. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/01}}

==Toys==
===''Beast Machines''===
[[File:BM-toy BeastChanger.jpg|right|thumb|300px| Sadly, not cherry flavored.]]
*'''Beast Changer''' (Deluxe Class, 2001)
**''Accessories'': Wings (left & right)

: The ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (toyline)|Beast Machines]]'' Beast Changer (so called due to [[Hasbro]]'s inability to secure the [[Trademark]] on "Savage Noble") transforms from wolf-creature to dragon-creature (the packaging announces a conversion from "savage beast to noble wolf", a reference to the name Hasbro wasn't able to trademark). A spring-loaded tab on the dragon's head opens his jaws. The toy's [[spark crystal]] has its own unique symbol, a merger of the ''Beast Machines'' Maximal and Vehicon insignias. Its spark-action [[gimmick]] is a wind-up spinning claw attack which can be switched on or off by sliding the spark crystal up or down. His dragon wings cannot transform in any way; for a show-accurate werewolf mode you are required to pop off the wings and set them aside, making him a mild [[partformer]].

:Despite the character being fully organic, there are mechanical parts visible through his chest. Whether these parts are visible on purpose, or just a byproduct of the mechanisms for his gimmicks exposed by his translucent plastic, isn't known.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2001/Maximal/BeastChanger/beastchanger.htm More information on "Beast Changer" at TFU.info]''

===''Beast Wars Returns''===
*'''Noble Savage''' ([[April 14]], [[2005]])
**''ID number'': '''BR-11'''
**''Accessories'': Wings (left & right)

:A redeco of the Beast Changer toy, colored to appear somewhat more show-accurate and released in Japan as part of the ''Beast Wars Returns'' toyline, [[exclusive]] to [[Toys"R"Us]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2001/Maximal/BeastChanger/beastchanger.htm More information on Noble Savage at TFU.info (scroll down)]''

===''Legends''===
[[File:TF-Legends-LG63-G2-Megatron-Noble.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.67|]]
*'''G2 Megatron''' ([[February 24]], [[2018]])
**''ID number:'' '''LG63'''

:''[[Transformers Legends (franchise)|Legends]]'' Noble is redecoed from ''[[Titans Return (toyline)|Titans Return]]'' [[Fangry (G1)#Generations|Fangry]]'s drone accessory, transforming from dragon to bipedal wolf monster to [[5 mm post|5 mm]] triple-barreled blaster. He is included with the larger Voyager-sized [[Megatron (BW)/toys#Legends|G2 Megatron]] toy.
{{TRFangryMold}}
{{--}}

==Notes==
*While "Savage" is clearly Megatron's dragon half, it is unclear where the DNA for the wolf form "Noble" originated. Some fans have speculated a connection to [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]]'s wolf fuzor form, but nothing in the show particularly supports this.
*Given the Beast era's focus on a Transformer's life force and personality being bound up in its spark, it is questionable whether Noble, after losing its spark, was technically still a Transformer.
*The [[Mutant (BW)|''Beast Wars Mutants'']] line contained prior examples of beast-to-beast Transformers.
*[[Mainframe Entertainment|Mainframe]] would later borrow the "Noble" character model as a werewolf for the beginning of ''Casper's Haunted Christmas''.
*The names "Savage" and "Noble" refer to the concept of a "Noble Savage," wherein humans in a non-civilized state are thought to be intrinsically moral because they supposedly lack greed or vice. While initially serving as a critique of Industrial Era society, the concept is now seen a romanticized stereotype rather than a compliment.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Noble''' (ノーブル ''Nōburu''), '''Savage''' (サヴェッジ ''Savejji'')
*''Mandarin:'' '''Noble''' (Taiwan, 諾博 ''Nuòbó''), '''Móhuàn Lóng''' (China, 魔幻龙, "Fantastic Dragon")

[[Category:Beast Machines Maximals]]
[[Category:Beast Machines Vehicons]]
[[Category:Legends Decepticons]]
[[Category:Legends Maximals]]