Black Shadow (G1)

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This article is a featured article, and considered to be one of the most informative on this wiki.

This subject of this article goes by multiple names that apply to other articles as well. See Black Shadow (disambiguation), Sky Shadow (disambiguation){{#if:|, [[{{{3}}}]]|}}{{#if:|, [[{{{4}}}]]|}}{{#if:|, [[{{{5}}}]]|}}{{#if:|, [[{{{6}}}]]|}}{{#if:|, [[{{{7}}}]]|}}{{#if:|, [[{{{8}}}]]|}}{{#if:|, [[{{{9}}}]]|}}{{#if:|, [[{{{10}}}]]|}}.
Black Shadow is a Decepticon Crossformer from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Some people call me the Space Gangster/Some call me the Cowboy of Love...

Hailing from somewhere beyond the Milky Way galaxy, Black Shadow (ブラックシャドー Burakku Shadō, aka Sky Shadow) is a vile gangster whose skills in robbery, extortion and murder are available to anyone who can meet his price. He is loyal only to the highest bidder; even the Decepticons are loath to work with him that often, as they can never be sure he won't betray them in mid-job if he gets a better offer. In jet mode, he can devastate buildings around him with powerful sonic shockwaves by breaking the sound barrier while flying at low altitudes, a technique he calls his "Sonic Boomer Attack".

His partner in crime is Blue Bacchus, a gunman with a similar personality and moral fiber who looks up to him. The pair's partnership has made them infamous throughout space, and there is a massive bounty on their heads, but Black Shadow would actually kill Blue Bacchus without remorse if the situation demanded it.

Fiction

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Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

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Victory cartoon

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Voice actor: Yūji Mikimoto (Japanese) {{#if: John Culkin (English, Omni Productions dub), Vadim Gushchin (Russian)|, John Culkin (English, Omni Productions dub), Vadim Gushchin (Russian)}}
I'm a spaaaaace gangster. Bet you weren't ready for that!

Black Shadow and his partner, Blue Bacchus, were hired by Hellbat of the Breastforce to help him loot Planet Micro of all its energon. While the Crossformers caused massive panic and destruction, Hellbat got a clear run at the energy reserves. The incredible size and power of the Crossformers, especially on a world full of Micromasters, made their mission relatively easy, until Branch Chief Raikuru called in Star Saber to help.

He's space gangstering you with his space gun, making you a space offer you can't space refuse!

When the Autobot commander arrived to stop the villains during their attack on the plasma energy plant that provided Micro with a third of all its energy, Black Shadow informed Hellbat that he would need to triple their pay for them to risk their hides in battle with the legendary Star Saber. Hellbat grudgingly agreed, but before the two Crossformers could attack Star Saber, they themselves were attacked by Saber's ally, their former partner in crime, Greatshot, who had reformed and joined the Autobots. At first, the pair seemed to have the six-changer on the ropes, until he used his "Disappearing Dust" technique to get the drop on them and destroy their guns. The pair proved to be no match for Greatshot with their bladed weapons, and he destroyed their outer shells, forcing them to retreat in their small vehicle modes, vowing revenge. Hellbat joined them in retreat, without any energy to show for his trouble, but the Crossformers insisted that he would still be paying them. Planet Micro - The Mysterious Warrior

The Breastforce weren't very happy that Hellbat hired them. Rescue! Guyhawk

Train Wars

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Hired to work for Overlord's faction of Decepticons by Hydra and Buster, Black Shadow and Blue Bacchus joined Darkwings in attacking the Second Army led by Goshooter so they could acquire the transtector factory in G Nebula 89. Thanks to Goshooter and Shūta Gō, the Decepticons were repelled. Train Wars: Goshooter & Shūta Gō Chapter

TransTech

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Right here, his inner robot has already appeared as often as Thunderwing's.

Black Shadow was a resident of Axiom Nexus, performing manual labor for Cryotek at The Blue Deployer and... other work as came up from time to time. When Gutcruncher started stirring up the Offworlder population for a revolt against the TransTechs, Black Shadow was hired to eliminate the rabble-rouser. At Gutcruncher's rally, Black Shadow assassinated the mech with a photon charge through the central cortex, killing him instantly. Also, thanks to his stealth field and deliberate positioning, he was able to frame two newly arrived Autobots named Jackpot and Hubcap for the murder.

Black Shadow monitored the patsies to make sure they didn't implicate him somehow, and he was overjoyed when they "showed" their guilt by escaping from the police. Taking advantage of the situation, Black Shadow planned to execute the duo to cover his tracks and collect on the bounty Gutcruncher's pals had taken out on the "assassins". He gloated openly about his schemes to the two Autobots, until they split up and scampered, hoping he couldn't follow them both. Well, he could—Black Shadow split from his Crossformer shell and took off after both Autobots. However, Hubcap ultimately outsmarted the Decepticon. The little Autobot used his speakers to draw as much attention as possible to their chase. Then, when Gutcruncher's flunky Dirge and a pack of Malignus Revolutionaries responded, Hubcap played back a recording of Black Shadow's gloating admission of the crime for all to hear. One more fancy bit of wordplay tricked the Crossformer into admitting his photon charges killed Gutcruncher, and the verdict was in. The Malignus Revolutionary Army and their Gigantion buddy Menasor ended Black Shadow's existence very quickly. At the same time, a mysterious capsule of Scraplet digestive acid went off in Black Shadow's shell, saving Jackpot's life and preventing any information from being recovered from the shell's CPU. Black Shadow's own head (and therefore his datatrax) also went missing in the melee after his death... almost as if someone was covering their tracks... Gone Too Far

Black Shadow was later mentioned by Cryotek when he was questioned by Cheetor about Comet, saying that he "couldn't give him Black Shadow's old job in the loading docks". Withered Hope

2005 IDW continuity

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First appearance: Last Stand of the Wreckers #2
Space mafia? More like space cheerleader, amirite?

Black Shadow was one of the first Decepticons that Megatron selected for a torturous upgrade process that would transform him into a planet-devastating superwarrior. With an infusion of ununtrium rendering him virtually indestructible, Black Shadow became part of a small group known as the "Warriors Elite" that also came to include Sixshot and Overlord. Remembrance Day He and the other Warriors Elite were at the Battle for Hell's Point and were confronted by Ultra Magnus. The Gloaming At the height of the war, Megatron chose to repurpose the Warriors Elite as "Phase Sixers", who would enact the doomsday protocols called for by the sixth and final phase of his new infiltration protocol. Informed of this via teleconference with their leader, Black Shadow and Sixshot were excited to serve the Decepticons in this expanded capacity, but Overlord chafed. Last Stand of the Wreckers #2

I sprouted wings at some point.

Black Shadow's exploits were notorious, and were among the prominent highlights of the Great War Cyclonus recalled when he educated Tailgate on the war's history. The Chaos of Warm Things Said exploits included his single-handedly murdering three billion inhabitants of Rigel IV, a battle with the Wreckers during which he killed three of them and dismembered their leader Hyperion, and his massacre of 3,003 members of the Autobots' 113th Battalion, an encounter that saw him personally best Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus.

However loyal Black Shadow was to the Decepticon cause, though, he was more loyal to wealth, and he accepted half a billion Shanix from the Autobots to turn on the Decepticons' fleet of War Worlds. News of his betrayal reached the Decepticon Justice Division, and eventually they caught him and he found himself at their mercy. He was melted by Helex, lost his legs to Tesarus, was electrocuted by Kaon, and was ultimately talked to death by Tarn, his spark exploding spectacularly as he expired. Rules of Disengagement

Titans Return marketing material

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Sky Shadow was a thief partnered with the Titan Master Ominus. With Ominus's hacking ability, no system in the galaxy was safe from them. Titans Return Ominus/Sky Shadow toy bio

Games

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Transformers: Battle Tactics

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"I'm going to become a Gang-Star!"

Sky Shadow participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was a Rare character who could be recruited by collecting 100 units of Cybermetal, 50 units of Transmetal, and 30 exclusive cores. Transformers: Battle Tactics

Transformers Legends

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Black Shadow, on the run from the Decepticon Justice Division for taking bribes from the Autobots, fled to the planet Clemency. There, he met up with a group of Decepticon scavengers. The DJD soon found them, and though Black Shadow put up a valiant fight, he and the scavengers were soon killed by the DJD. Rules of Disengagement

Toys

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Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers

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He may not be a mafioso, but he'll still cut off your horse's head.
  • Black Shadow (Crossformer, 1989)
  • ID number: D-309
  • Accessories: Crossformer shell, 2 large rifles, small rifle
  • Known designers: Kōjin Ōno (TakaraTomy), Masakatsu Saito (concept artist){{#if: |, {{{2}}}}}
Released in the Victory portion of Takara's Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers toyline, Crossformer Black Shadow is a retooling of the Hasbro Pretender Thunderwing, transforming into a Cybertronic jet. His outer Crossformer shell's chestplate/head piece is retooled from Thunderwing's to make it more robotic. However, it still transforms into a larger Cybertronic jet like the original version. The inner vehicle can be attached underneath the nose of the larger vehicle to create a combined starship mode. All three of his guns can be mounted on his shell's vehicle mode.

Generations

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Once a retool, always a retool...
  • Sky Shadow (Deluxe Class, 2011)
  • Accessories: 2 missile launchers, 2 missiles, recon drone
  • Known designers: Joe Kyde (Hasbro){{#if: |, {{{2}}}}}
Part of the final Generations wave in 2011 (alongside Junkheap), "Sky Shadow" is a retool of Thunderwing, featuring a new head and chest piece based on the Victory cartoon's design. He transforms into a fighter jet loosely based on an F-22 Raptor but with different wings, yet retaining the F-22's characteristic zigzag "stealth" patterns. The nose of the jet can detach and become a separate aerial drone, while the two missile launchers can detach from the wings and become hand-held weapons or clip together into one massive gun. The middle sections of the sculpted missiles on the sides of the guns are also compatible with C joint accessories.
Sky Shadow was originally "leaked" via Thunderwing's instructions, as they initially depicted him with Sky Shadow's head and chest. A running change version of the instructions depicts Thunderwing's own head, but keeps Sky Shadow's chest unchanged.
This mold was also used to make Adventure Black Shadow and differently retooled into Timelines Metalhawk.

Titans Return

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...except for when he's a pretool.
  • Ominus & Sky Shadow (Leader Class, 2017)
Titans Return Sky Shadow is a Leader Class figure consisting of two vehicles, a tank and a jet, which are able to combine together to form a robot mode or a base mode. The barrel of his tank mode becomes a gun for his robot mode, and he also comes with a "shield" that he can hold or peg onto his arm which fulfills the role of his original toy's inner robot in jet mode, attaching under his nosecone. The two accessories can combine to form a larger weapon, which seats a Titan Master and can plug into other Leader Class figures' base modes as a turret (Sky Shadow's own base mode lacks the clearance to accommodate it). In base mode he can connect to other Leader Class figure's base modes and Titan Class figures and by way of fold-out connectors on what were his robot mode feet and on an additional connector on the back of the base mode. Unfortunately, the tank's turret cannot be rotated.
Sky Shadow is a premold of Overlord, who was released in the following wave of Leader Class figures, and was separately retooled into Legends Dai Atlas.

Merchandise

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Transformers Trading Card Game

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 {{#if:|
}}
  • Sky Shadow, Elite Warrior (2020)
    • Stars: 14
    • Sky Shadow (Plane)
      • Wave 5: Titan Masters Attack
      • Rarity: RT
      • Card Number: T37/T46
      • Stars: 7
    • Sky Shadow (Tank)
      • Wave 5: Titan Masters Attack
      • Rarity: RT
      • Card Number: T38/T46
      • Stars: 7
This card's set was originally set for an April 2020 release, however due to the global COVID-19 pandemic the release was pushed back to May 29, 2020.

Notes

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  • In Japanese, Black Shadow's function reads "Uchū Gyangu" (宇宙ギャング), which translates to "Space Gangster". The common misconception that he is a member of the "Space Mafia" is due to a mistranslation some years ago in which "[[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}gangster|{{#if:||gangster}}]]" was interpreted as "[[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Mafia|{{#if:||Mafia}}]]". Big difference.
  • The Crossformers' ID numbers are a huge jump backwards in the numbering system. The other Victory Decepticons' numbers start at D-322. However, Shadow and Bacchus' D-309 and D-310 put them right in the middle of the Super-God Masterforce Decepticons' numbers, between 1988's Browning and BlackZarak, even though the Crossformers were released in 1989. What the hell?
  • While "Sky Shadow" is the name of the first Generations figure on its card and elsewhere, Walmart's product database listed the figure as "BLCKSHAD" and printed as such on the receipt.

Foreign names

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  • English: Thunderwing (Omni Productions dub)
  • Mandarin: Hēi Yǐng (黑影, "Black Shadow"), Tiān Yǐng (天影, "Sky Shadow")
  • Russian: Gromovoy (Громовой, "Thunderous")
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