Downshift (Energon)

This subject of this article goes by multiple names that apply to other articles as well. See Downshift (disambiguation), Wheeljack (disambiguation).

Downshift is an Autobot from the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

No, I'm not Wheeljack. Or Wheeljack. Or Cliffjumper.

During his rookie years, Downshift was a decidedly headstrong individual who lacked the virtue of maturity. One likely would not believe that now, though; after diligent training under Hot Shot, the warrior has transformed into a silent and cautious soldier, barely resembling his past self. Now a markedly more responsible Autobot, he’s taken to replacing his previous naivety with an expertise in different forms of combat. Woe be to the Decepticon who challenges Downshift–all it takes is one moment of vulnerability for the Autobot to put his training to good use, and take them down.

Despite being something of a loner after years of service in the Powerlinx Battles, he's in a relationship with Joyride, his lifebond partner. He's also often confused with the thrill-seeker Cliffjumper, despite them looking and sounding nothing alike.

Fiction

Energon comic

Downshift was one of many Autobots assembled by Jetfire when four Earth cities were attacked by Alpha Q's Terrorcon clone army. He joined Prowl and Blurr in Tokyo, Japan fighting against a horde of Cruellock drones. Multiplicity, Pt. 2 He and his team later witnessed a reborn Megatron massacre the Terrorcon hordes before he mysteriously disappeared. Multiplicity, Pt. 4

Cartoon continuity

Energon cartoon

Voice actor: Ty Olsson (English), Makoto Yasumura (Japanese), Carl Utbult (Swedish), Bruno Lähteenmäki (Finnish), José Mendez (Latin-American Spanish, main voice), Ricardo Omaña (Latin-American Spanish, alternate voice), Ledner Belisario (Latin-American Spanish, episodes 44 & 45)

Downshift was a rookie soldier sent into the rift, along with his partner Cliffjumper, to locate Optimus Prime and his scattered crew. Protection They searched fruitlessly for some time over several planets and asteroids. Imprisoned Inferno Eventually, the duo found the Autobots' trail on Iron Planet. There they were joined by their assigned field commander, Bulkhead. The old coot's eccentric cackling really got on Downshift's nerves, but he respected the chain of command. The three Autobots tracked their comrades down to Jungle Planet, where the Decepticons were attacking. Downshift demonstrated that he possessed a Spark of Combination by Powerlinxing with Hot Shot and Inferno in turn. Jungle Planet

Downshift and a crew of Autobots made their way back towards Cybertron in order to get the energon towers necessary to defend the energon-rich planets beyond the rift. They were attacked en route by a squadron of Divebombs, but Downshift and Hot Shot broke off from the others and made their way through the rift. Thanks to the power of teamwork, they were able to destroy the Terrorcons who pursued them, and transformed to speed off to Cybertron as fast as their wheels could carry them while spinning in the void of space. Uh. On Cybertron, Downshift learned that crazy, cackling old men pop up in a variety of species. After securing an energon tower from Doctor Jones, they returned to Jungle Planet and activated the tower, driving off the Decepticon invaders. Bulkhead

Downshift and Hot Shot continued to oversee the arrival of more energon towers for Alpha Q's planets, including the replacement tower called in for Ocean Planet at the original was destroyed by Mirage. They powerlinked in order to hold off the Insecticons attacking the tower. Farewell Inferno When Planet Q was rebuilt by Alpha Q outside the Autobots' energon grid, they were forced to defend it without the aid of an energon tower; they had already used the last one in their reserve. By the time Downshift and the others made it to the planet, Scorponok had already begun to ransack it of its energon. Downshift and Hot Shot joined forces again to protect Planet Q from Megatron's forces. When Kicker and Ironhide got in over their heads in a bout against Scorponok, Optimus sent both Downshift and Hot Shot off to aid them. But when they joined Kicker on the battlefront, he sent the two Autobots to deal with Terrorcons instead, while he assisted Ironhide on his own. Return! Our Scorponok

In the Autobot Grand Prix, Downshift was one of the more heated competitors. He trash-talked with Ironhide before the race, and held onto second place behind Hot Shot until losing control and causing the first pile-up. Unlike Prowl, Downshift was largely unconcerned with the injuries he caused in the pile-up, and took the first opportunity to abandon Prowl and the others to get back in the race. Crash Course

When Megatron finally got Unicron up and running, Downshift joined the Autobots for an all-out assault on the Planet-Eater. Omega Supreme As the battle continued, Downshift and Roadblock competed against Starscream on the surface of Unicron. The Autobots fought and failed to prevent Unicron from reclaiming Alpha Q's energon orb as his head, and the dark creature was made whole once more. A Heroic Battle Eventually the fighting became too severe, and the Autobots were forced to retreat to a safe distance while Optimus Prime and Omega Supreme prepared to battle Unicron personally. The Power of Unicron Unicron demonstrated his awesome power by consuming Blizzard Planet entirely. The Autobots were forced to struggle against the energy vortex he created, as entire chunks of the planet flew at them through space. Downshift and a half-dozen other Autobots were too seriously injured at this point to continue the war. They were placed in stasis chambers aboard the Miranda II in order to repair. Optimus Supreme

After Optimus Prime and Omega Supreme apparently won the war against Unicron, Downshift and the other damaged Autobots were taken back to Cybertron to complete their regeneration cycles. Ambition

In a virtual training program, Downshift and Prowl were made tag-team partners. Unfortunately, they didn't properly coordinate their Powerlinx, and ended up combining as two tops with no bottom. Their opponents, Demolishor and Snow Cat, were just about as stupid, but managed to defeat the squabbling Autobots anyway. Distribution

As Bulkhead, Downshift and Prowl were recuperating, Cybertron was conquered by Galvatron, who flooded the surface with energon gas that repelled the Autobots back into space. A small team managed to infiltrate the planet through an opening in the gas, after which Ironhide and *snicker* Team Ironhide were dispatched to rescue Downshift and the others. Eager for news about what had been happening while they were inactive, Downshift and Prowl pummeled Ironhide with questions, until he finally yelled at them to shut up and let him talk. Taking to the streets, Downshift and the others met up with Optimus Prime in battle with Galvatron, and the Autobots were fully assembled for the first time since the war with Unicron. Decepticon Army Reunited with their crazy ol' commander, Cliffjumper and Downshift joined Bulkhead in a daring rush on the Decepticon position. Later, when Six Shot set off an eruption in the energon gas pipeline, they were pulled to safety by Superion Maximus. Although damaged, Downshift and the others resolutely continued to fight, assaulting the energon towers to prevent Cybertron from destroying the planets it was passing by through space. Formidable

The Autobots had just reclaimed the control center for Cybertron when Galvatron bathed fully in the Super Energon pool, rapidly growing to Unicron size. Downshift, Cliffjumper and Hot Shot went out to lend aid to Team Rodimus in the field. Even Powerlinked, however, Downshift and Hot Shot were outgunned by the amassed Decepticon soldiers. As the enormous Galvatron began towing Cybertron out into space, Downshift and the other Autobots continued to war with the Decepticons, fluttering around Galvatron like skirmishing insects. Destructive Power Downshift spent most of the battle Powerlinked to Hot Shot, but they eventually separated as Optimus Prime assumed responsibility for the fight, funneling the power of Unicron himself in order to defeat the possessed Galvatron. Spark

Prime could not overcome Unicron on his own, however, and needed the Combination Sparks of all his fellow Autobots to face the final conflict. Downshift willingly stepped forward to give up his individuality for the greater good of the team. His body was converted into pure energy as he became one with his spark, so that it could in turn become one with all the other Combination Sparks, revitalizing Optimus. Filled with the strength of all his men, Optimus united with Omega Supreme in the ultimate Powerlinx, grappling with Galvatron until the Decepticon leader shrugged off Unicron's influence and plunged into the sun. Downshift and the other Autobots then separated, and were restored to their individual forms. The Sun

Cybertron comic

Downshift. Always getting himself in some really awkward positions. At least he gets a dope upgrade from this one though!

Downshift grew up in the Fourth Parallax neighborhood. There, his smarts allowed him to outclass the Decepticon thugs that ran the local raceways. Though he had always dreamed of joining up with Optimus Prime's crew to fight in the war, his upbringing had left Downshift reckless on the battlefield, and he almost died in his first battle. He pulled through, spent some time on Earth, and came to be a warrior who thought two steps ahead of his opponents. Downshift's profile in Club magazine #10 After the evacuation of Cybertron due to the threat of the Unicron Singularity, some soldiers chose to stay behind. Downshift was one of these brave souls, and he guarded the Spark Core Access Tunnels that led to Primus's inner chambers. While on duty, Downshift was attacked by Ramjet and Nemesis Prime, impaled to a wall by one of the latter's harpoon missiles. Balancing Act, Part 4 Vector Prime and Cybertron's other defenders had to deal with the "melty, evil guy", so Downshift stayed up on the wall a little longer than he would have liked. Balancing Act, Pt 5

After being released, Downshift helped Vector Prime bring Skyfall to the Chamber of Alpha Trion, the later having suffered grievous injuries of his own. Downshift's injuries were looked after by a worker drone as an Optimus Prime and an Ultra Magnus from another dimension joined them, allies for the struggles yet-to-come. Much of the damage dealt to him was too extensive for his body to be salvaged however, and so Downshift was reformatted into a new muscle car form. As this process was put under way, Vector Prime vanished, and yet another ally presented himself to the group: Overrun, a Mini-Con who's consciousness had been integrated into the planet's Vector Sigma node. Revelations Part 2

After the group spent some time repairing the damages dealt to Vector Sigma, Over-Run alerted them to a distress call from the Mini-Con Council of Sages. Downshift joined Sentinel Maximus, Omega Prime and Skyfall in lending assistance to the Autobot-aligned Mini-Cons, under assault from insurgents and their Decepticon associates. Revelations Part 4 Though Downshift and the other larger robots quickly gained an upper hand against the miniature aggressors, the situation became more dire when Unicron and Soundwave, the secret architects of this conflict, revealed themselves and joined the fray. Revelations Part 5 Downshift and his comrades managed to hold off the Chaos-Bringer until Primus made himself known, and the now out-sized Unicron beat a hasty retreat. After the Unicron Singularity was finally dealt with, Downshift and his new friends took off in the hopes of meeting the Devil face-to-face once again and taking him down for good. Revelations Part 6

Toy bios

Energon

Hot Shot saw a kindred spirit in the headstrong young Autobot Downshift and decided to take him under his wing, trying to help him develop into a more mature warrior.Energon Downshift toy bio

Universe

With the evacuation of Cybertron due to the Unicron Singularity, Optimus Prime assigned Downshift to stay behind as one of the few Autobots left on Cybertron, with the specific task to guard the entrances in Iacon leading to the planet's Energon core. A loner by nature, Downshift felt at home on the desolate and damaged planet. Universe Downshift toy bio

After spending most of his time on guard duty and watching Earth kung fu movies, Downshift was assigned by Optimus Prime to search for the legendary Pirate Oasis, a lost lake located deep inside Death Valley, where he encountered a group of buccaneers led by Cannonball.Unverse Downshift vs. Cannonball: Search for the Pirate Moon toy bio

Cybertron

Under Hot Shot's mentorship, Downshift did indeed become a more mature warrior following the Energon Wars, now valuing patience and consideration over impulsiveness.Cybertron Downshift toy bio

Downshift eventually fell in love with a female Autobot and was joined with her under the Covenant of Primus. Unfortunately, just as the two were planning to spend some time in the Crystal Cities, the Unicron Singularity threatened Cybertron, necessitating the evacuation of the planet's inhabitants to Earth. During the evacuation, Downshift was separated from his lifebond partner, but finally found her again following a lengthy search. Optimus Prime then ordered the two to stay in hiding in a small town south of Providence, Rhode Island. Later, the two stayed behind on Earth as envoys of Cybertron. Downshift's Cyber Key Code text

This information contradicts Downshift's Universe toy bio, which claims he's a "loner by nature" and "perfectly at home on the desolate and damaged planet", and which his portrayal in the Cybertron comic built upon. It should be noted, though, that the Cyber Key content was often heavily tongue-in-cheek, therefore it's hard to say if this information was originally really supposed to be "canon". However, the Facebook edition of Ask Vector Prime later settled the matter and even declared the "motorcycle refugee" from the Cybertron cartoon and Downshift's "fembot lifebond partner" to be one and the same, giving her the name "Joyride".

Games

Transformers: Battle Tactics

Energon Downshift participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was an Epic character who was available as a reward to 100 leagues in the "Energon: Episode 2" event. Transformers: Battle Tactics

Toys

Energon

"Hi, I'm Cliffjumper!"

• Downshift (Combat Class, 2004)

• Takara name: Wheeljack
• Takara ID number: SC-19
• Takara release date: July 15, 2004
• Accessories: Spoiler, missile launcher, missile, rifle
• Known designers: Eric Siebenaler (Hasbro), Takashi Kunihiro (Takara)

Released in the fourth wave of Energon Combat Class toys, Downshift transforms into a fictional sports car that seems to be primarily inspired by the Cadillac XLR, with the addition of a few design traits, such as his headlights, also generally resembling the first generation Mercedes-Benz SLK. He is deco'd in a red-and-green striped rally livery as a homage to Wheeljack's Alitalia livery from Generation 1. His rear window features a pair of louvers, again; also evoking Generation 1 Wheeljack's Lancia Stratos alternate mode. The Generation 1 homages continue into his robot mode has he features Wheeljack's head, a simulated car roof on his chest, and even feet with a hint of shaping based on Wheeljack's original Stratos "grill-feet" (although these aren't actually visible in this figure's car mode).

Downshift comes with a pair of clear-plastic guns, one a spring-loaded missile launcher, one non-firing. These can be hand-held or attached to Downshift in various ways in both modes. The wheel on his right shoulder contains a spark crystal to mount an energon chip to. This amusingly means the crystal and any potential chip mounted to it will spin when serving its vehicle mode role as the hubcap of the left rear wheel. Unfortunately, due to Downshift's chest being underneath his vehicle mode, the red paint on his Autobot insignia is usually one of the first paint applications to be worn off from play. Good luck trying to find one loose on the aftermarket with a fully-painted insignia!

When Powerlinxing with the other Autobot Combat Class toys in the line, he can either form a lower body or a torso. When forming the torso, he becomes Powerlinx Downshift. Due to the connections being the same, Downshift can also Powerlinx with the Mega Class Autobot toys, but this just looks plain silly.

The Takara Super Link Wheeljack release replaced the pale-olive plastic color of his robot parts with a medium silver.

Downshift was first released as part of the final wave of "normal" Energon black-backed cards, a shipment that appears to have been very brief, mostly showing up in Kohl's department stores and Canada. This naturally caused a panic. He was later released in much greater numbers in the "The Powerlinx Battles" packaging.

Downshift was later redecoed as BotCon 2010's Decepticon Slice.

• More information on Energon Downshift at TFU.info

Universe (2003)

Wheelshiftjumper

• Downshift (Deluxe Class, 2005)

• Accessories: Spoiler, missile launcher, missile, rifle

For Universe, the original Energon Downshift was redecoed with blue stripes and a large Autobot sigil on his car mode, which, strangely enough, has the "eyes" filled in. However, his robot mode was almost totally unchanged, save yellow plastic replacing the pale-olive. The paint operations on his robot mode chest were not even changed to match his new vehicle mode deco.

A KB Toys exclusive alongside Snow Cat, the pair were released during a time when Kay-Bee was having great financial difficulty, closing multiple stores nationwide. Few Kay-Bees appear to have actually received these. The bulk of these exclusives appear to have been sent instead to "Kay-Bee Toy Works" outlet stores.

• More information on Universe Downshift at TFU.info

• Downshift vs. Cannonball: Search for the Pirate Moon (Two-pack, 2007)

• Accessories: Left & right missile launchers, 2 missiles, Earth-type Cyber Key

As a 2007 Black Friday special, Walmart got two Universe-branded two-packs of Cybertron Deluxes. The Cybertron version of Downshift (see below) was repackaged with Cannonball, with a cardback story about Downshift hunting Cannonball's gang of pirates… in a setting that had nothing to do with a moon. Oh well. Both toys were identical to their individual releases.

Cybertron

"Am I Wheeljack now?"

• Downshift (Deluxe Class, 2006)

• Accessories: Left & right missile launchers, 2 missiles, Earth Cyber Key
• Cyber Key Code: dm8r
• Known designers: Eric Siebenaler (Hasbro), Hirofumi Ichikawa (detailing), Marcelo Matere (packaging artist)

Part of the fifth wave of Cybertron Deluxe Class toys, Downshift transforms into a green car that combines elements from various 1970s era muscle and pony cars. In either mode, inserting a Cyber Key into a flip-up slot in his rear window springs open a claw from the car's grill, with a grinder in the center. He comes with two large spring-loaded missile launchers, which can peg via 5mm post on his vehicle side-panels/robot legs, or mount on his shoulders.

This mold suffers from a design flaw: Even though his head has a swivel joint, it's rendered useless because the ridges on his chest (the air vents in vehicle mode) get in the way in both directions.

While Downshift's Wheeljack-modeled head in this form is not surprising, he still retains his Lancia-grill feet. Funky.

This mold was also used to make Transformers: AllSpark Power Big Daddy, who was then repurposed into Shattered Glass Big Daddy.

• More information on Cybertron Downshift at TFU.info

Notes

• The Energon cartoon switched Downshift and Cliffjumper's dialogue recordings around from their first appearance in "Imprisoned Inferno" onwards, leading to several moments where the characters would refer to themselves with the wrong names. Additionally, other characters would refer to them with the wrong name, due to the unintentional swapping of recordings.
  • This name mix up got so bad in the Latin-American Spanish dub that the regular voice actors for Downshift and Cliffjumper would also switch roles due to this confusion.
• The Japanese version of the character was also going to have the name "Downshift" (ダウンシフト Daunshifuto), like the English version, until he was renamed "Wheeljack" in accordance with the homage he became during the design phase.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Wheeljack (ホイルジャック Hoirujakku)
• Hungarian: Lejtő ("Slope"), Sziklamászó ("Cliffclimber")
• Russian: Sbros (Сброс, "Downcast") Skalolaz (Скалолаз, "Rockclimber")