Silverbolt (WFC)

The name or term "Silverbolt" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Silverbolt (disambiguation).

Silverbolt is an Autobot from the War for Cybertron portion of the Aligned continuity family.

That's not a pose, he's just in shock because he thinks the white means he's flying.

Silverbolt is a brave Autobot. Who else would command the Aerialbots despite his fear of heights? He cares more for his friends than himself, and as a true believer in the Autobot cause, he would gladly sacrifice himself to protect them.

Back before the war Silverbolt loved watching police procedural and forensic video fiction. He was enough of a fan of it all that he actually knows more about the forensic side of things than former investigating officer Prowl!

"Nobody stand behind my engines!"Silverbolt when transforming to his jet form in Transformers: War for Cybertron

Fiction

The Covenant of Primus

Silverbolt emerged from the Well of All Sparks during the Age of Wrath and, indeed, heralded its end. The Quintessons had first enraptured the Cybertronians by claiming to bestow the gift of the transformation cog on the populace, elevating them into a higher state of being. In fact, the transformation cog was merely a long dormant piece of Cybertronian physiology, one that the Thirteen had intended for the Cybertronians to discover in their own time. As Sentinel Zeta Prime and his council recognized the Quintessons' many deceptions, they planned an elaborate showing to rally the population for revolution. The Wreckers seized control of the Well just as Silverbolt made his way to the surface. Doctors Ratchet and Cogwheel examined the newborn Silverbolt, scientifically demonstrating on a live broadcast that the T-Cog was present from birth. Silverbolt dramatically proved their theorem by transforming into his flying alt-form, and in doing so beginning the uprising against Quintesson rule. The Covenant of Primus

Aligned novels

Part of the Ark crew, Silverbolt was present when the Autobots rediscovered Velocitron, his aerial alternate mode drawing a few stares. To try and shake the metaphorical rust off the colony, Optimus ordered Silverbolt to fly overheard during the next Speedia race. Though this won the awe of many Velocitronians, it earned Ransack's ire. Exiles

When the Nemesis caught up with the Ark above Aquatron and caught it in a tractor beam, Silverbolt led his team during the initial counterattack where the five combined into Superion, crashing through the bridge before making their way to the hangar area with the intent to destroy the engines. Within such closed quarters however, the combiner's size proved more of a detriment than an asset allowing Megatron to expel them from his ship, seriously injuring them in the process.

They were repaired when Sideswipe brought the Ark down to the Quintesson city of Hydratron to rescue Optimus Prime and the others. The five fliers initially provided cover fire for their capital ship before they again combined into Superion to fight off the Sharkticon hordes. When the Autobots and Decepticons formed a shaky alliance against their mutual foes, the Ark was forced to physically tow the damaged Nemesis back to orbit with Superion providing the boost necessary to get the clamped ships airborne. When the warships had reached orbit however, the truce was declared over with the Aerialbots decombining and entering the Ark which set a course deeper into the Orion Arm. Retribution

Games

Transformers: War for Cybertron (360/PS3/PC)

Low-hanging fruit?

Voice actor: Patrick Seitz (English), Marc Saez (French), Roberto Cuadrado (Spain-Spanish), Peter Wenke (German)

As the Autobots tried to take back Iacon, Silverbolt and Jetfire tried to stop Starscream from getting to the Decagon, but failed to stop their former comrade, sustaining heavy damage during the fighting.

Though the Autobots had reclaimed their capital, such a victory would prove hollow as Optimus Prime found Cybertron's core to be so grievously polluted by Dark Energon that it had to reboot itself. With no recourse left, Optimus ordered the whole of the Autobot fleet to abandon their home only for their ships to come under attack from Megatron's orbital station. Optimus dispatched Silverbolt's team to the disable the space gun only for its defences to claim all but three fliers; Air Raid, Jetfire, and Silverbolt himself. Deducing that the best way to disable such a massive complex was through its cooling system, the Aerialbots managed to disable the plasma within the regulator and knocked the weapon offline. In their haste however, the Aerialbots had neglected to account for backup power systems, the bombing continuing unabated. As the trio flew deeper into the station, they found it to be a Titan known as Trypticon. When the monster turned his sights on Optimus Prime, Air Raid realized that they could target Trypticon's conversion cog and revert him to robot mode. While they were successful, the Titan used his jet pack to continue a coordinated assault on Iacon forcing the fliers to destroy the pack before gravity brought the ancient mech hurtling down to the planet.

Unable to keep up with a such a rapidly falling mass, the Aerialbots caught up with Optimus as he was fighting the giant. While Jetfire and Silverbolt drew the monster's attention, Silverbolt ordered Air Raid to heal Optimus's group only for Trypticon to swat all three fliers aside. By the time they rebooted, Optimus had triumphed and showed off their new flagship, the Ark, in which Autobot High Command would eventually leave Cybertron. War for Cybertron

Transformers: War for Cybertron (DS)

Voice actor: Patrick Seitz (English), Peter Wenke (German)

As the Decepticons attempted to restart the Energon Bridge, Silverbolt set a group of Autobot fighters on them and used Energon dampeners to disrupt the flow of power. Though the Decepticons quickly destroyed the dampeners, they were forced to attempt to reroute the Energon through a back-up link. Silverbolt confronted them at the back-up controls. He proved unable to stop them, and they successfully reactivated the bridge. Silverbolt had still bought the rest of the Autobots time, and the Decepticons discovered that they had used the Omega Key to sever the connection to Cybertron's core, limiting the power flow. War for Cybertron - Autobots/Decepticons

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark

Silverbolt appears as an Escalation-only character. His default ability is the Hive Mind Link and his default weapon is the Photon Burst Rifle.

Rise of the Dark Spark (console)

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

When the Lightning Strike Coalition Force had abandoned their post, the Decepticons jumped on the opportunity to claim the Ark and swarmed into Iacon. The battle left Silverbolt grievously wounded, costing him both his wings, and to begin leaking energon. Despite the waning supply of resources, and the intermittent power failures, Optimus and Ratchet managed to stabilize him.

When the Ark finally launched from Cybertron, it made for a space bridge portal only to be attacked by the Nemesis. After the grappling cables had been severed, Bruticus jumped across the ship and began through the Ark's engine deck. The Aerialbots assisted Jazz in launching several air-strikes at the Decepticon whenever the gestalt was tripped by the faster Autobot before a final barrage sent him hurtling off the ship and back to Cybertron. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

Notes

• Silverbolt's model is usable in War for Cybertron multiplayer as the Interceptor-type chassis for Scientist-class characters. His parts are also available to Scientists in Fall of Cybertron, now classified as Skymaster-type components.
• In the DS version of War for Cybertron, Silverbolt is a playable character, unlocked by going to Options on the start menu and then Code Input. The code is 10141.
• In Fall of Cybertron Silverbolt seems to have retracted his wings when on Ratchet's medical table.
• Silverbolt's War for Cybertron design was recycled for Generation 1 Silverbolt beginning in the third issue of IDW's Robots in Disguise series before he received an upgrade via the Enigma of Combination.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Silverbolt (シルバーボルト Shirubāboruto)
• Mandarin Yín Jìan (China, 银箭, "Silver Arrow")
• Russian: Silverbolt (War for Cybertron, Сильверболт), Arbalet (Арбалет, "Crossbow")