Shadow Striker (Cyberverse)

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

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

Shadow Striker is a Decepticon from the Cyberverse continuity family.

"When I was a girl, I had a fear of spiders. I was told they felt no emotion, that their hearts never beat, but I know the truth. At the moment of the kill, they are never more alive."

On the surface, Shadow Striker (also Shadowstriker) seems like another stone-cold Decepticon killer: her face is in a perpetual glare, and she calls any Autobot she sees a fool. But this ruthless façade conceals a much darker origin story than any other Decepticons she fights alongside; blown to bits and left for dead by Bumblebee, Shadow Striker was given a second lease on life by Shockwave—one that she didn't ask for. Reconstructed as a patchwork 'bot from bits and pieces and robbing her of her once-legendary fighting skills in the process, Shadow Striker's new goal in life is to hunt down Bumblebee, the one she holds responsible for her gruesome transformation.

Though her combat skills aren't what they used to be, she's still no slouch compared to your average Decepticon. Toting a personal arsenal of knives, machetes, and rifles, if she's got a weapon it's best advised to steer clear of her.

I was the best there was. And you took that from me.Shadow Striker, "Shadowstriker"

Fiction

Cyberverse cartoon

Voice actor: Deanna McGovern (English), Akeno Watanabe (Japanese), Rosa Leo Servidio (Italian), Pino Pirovano (Italian, "Allspark" only)

"What are you looking at?"
"An annoyance."

In the days before the Autobot-Decepticon war, Shadow Striker was a patron of Maccadam's. During one visit to the bar, she argued with Hot Rod over who should've won the latest cube match. Maccadam's As the gladiator Megatron began recruiting followers, Shadow Striker was an early convert to the faction, standing behind Megatron on the podium as he unveiled the Decepticon movement. Later on when Optimus Prime and Bumblebee visited Megatron's current base to try and talk the Decepticon leader down, Shadow Striker glared at the yellow Autobot and intimidated him into moving on. Megatron Is My Hero

During the subsequent war, Shadow Striker became renowned as a skilled and vicious fighter. She and her Seeker underlings were even able to capture Optimus Prime, keeping him imprisoned in an energon warehouse while Shadow Striker arranged for Megatron to take custody of her prisoner. During a brief absence, however, Bumblebee took out her guards and freed Optimus. On discovering the intrusion, Shadow Striker battled Bumblebee as he dragged the disoriented Optimus to safety, but a shot from Bumblebee's blaster wound up igniting a nearby energon tank that consumed the building and seemingly destroyed Shadow Striker with it.

"You were once a legend, but what are you now? Just a shell of a woman."

This, however, would not be the end for Shadow Striker. Having somehow survived the explosion, Shockwave would recover her body, piecing her back together using parts from the remains of her Seeker guards. Though online once more, Shadow Striker resented the circumstances behind her unlikely rebirth; her new patchwork body limiting her once-vaunted combat skills, she was unable to fight the way she used to and eventually came to swear vengeance against Bumblebee, whom she held responsible for her fate.

She and Bumblebee next crossed paths some time later aboard a crashing energon tanker bound to hit Iacon City. Though Bumblebee was able to steer the ship away from the city, Shadow Striker knocked him unconscious before he could pilot the ship to safely land. As Bumblebee came to, Shadow Striker chased him through the ship before shooting a leaking energon pipe, inadvertently pinning them both beneath a fallen bulkhead. Both of them trapped, the Decepticon explained the story behind her unlikely return, but Bumblebee was soon freed after another explosion blew the bulkhead loose from on top of him. Bumblebee was momentarily conflicted as to whether or not he should save Shadow Striker as well, but his conscience won out and he set her free... only for the Decepticon to follow him up the ladder to freedom, where she was blasted by Grimlock. Though Grimlock was prepared to finish her off, Bumblebee convinced his friend to let the troubled Decepticon retreat. Shadowstriker

"Ça pique, n'est-ce pas?"

In the later days of the war, Shadow Striker was part of the Decepticon team that chased Bumblebee after the scout learned of Megatron's plan to seize the AllSpark. Bumblebee was able to take her out of the fight by paralyzing her with his stinger, but was ultimately captured by Soundwave, and the two Decepticons delivered him to their leader. Megatron Is My Hero

During the battle to eject the Allspark through Cybertron's space bridge to put it beyond Decepticon hands, Shadow Striker attacked Bumblebee, but was quickly dispatched by Windblade. Allspark Some time later, following the launch of the Ark from Cybertron, Shadow Striker was present when Megatron located the AllSpark on Earth. Fractured

After the reawakening of the Autobots and arrival of the Decepticon fleet under Megatron himself, at one point Shadow Striker and Prowl engaged in a high speed chase that quickly devolved into a hand-to-hand fight. This fight was apparently one of the first public battles fought between Autobots and Decepticons, as an observing human expressed confusion at what he was watching. Later on, she was part of the Decepticon contingent defending Shockwave's Planet Smasher against the Autobots as both sides fought a pitched battle on the moon. Detecting Prowl and Hot Rod attempting to make their way to the device through a crater, she ambushed the pair and managed to cause them to crash, temporarily taking them out of the fight. She was also present when an enraged Megatron stripped Starscream of his rank as leader of the Seekers. Sea of Tranquility

Having retreated to the Decepticon secondary position beneath the moon's surface, Shadow Striker was witness to Starscream suddenly and viciously attacking Megatron. Before she or anyone else could react, Starscream apparently terminated Megatron and declared himself their new leader. The approach of the Autobots led by Optimus Prime prevented any argument, and she joined the others in retreating to the Nemesis. Once aboard, she managed to restrain Soundwave from attacking Starscream by pointing out it wasn't the time for in-fighting. She was then witness to Megatron's return to the ship's bridge, and she arrived at the ship's hangar just in time to watch Megatron blast Starscream with a full power shot from his fusion cannon, apparently killing the Seeker.Bad Moon Rising

After attending Starscream's eulogy, Shadow Striker was one of the high-ranking Decepticons present when Megatron declared that whoever brought him Optimus Prime's head would take Starscream's place as second-in-command. She recruited Lockdown and Clobber as part of her scheme, not knowing that the hapless duo had already been caught up in Soundwave and Shockwave's plotting against each other. She was annoyed when she ran into the pair later for not carrying out her orders and preparing a shuttle for them, and was even more annoyed when it turned out they'd somehow captured Hot Rod. When the Autobot broke free, she attempted to pursue him but failed to prevent his escape.Bring Me The Spark Of Optimus Prime

Shadow Striker was part of a team Megatron intended to take with him to secure the AllSpark, but something went wrong with the groundbridge and only Megatron was actually transported. Trials

When the Autobots launched a full scale assault on the Nemesis in the mistaken belief the Decepticons had the AllSpark (not knowing that Starscream, the one who actually stole the AllSpark, had gone rogue), Shadow Striker was one of the defenders. Dark Birth

During peace talks between Megatron and Optimus Prime to discuss an alliance against Starscream, Shadow Striker tried to take advantage of the lull in the fighting by scanning the Ark but was prevented from doing so by Prowl. The two foes were later seen happily discussing the pros and cons of modifications she'd made to a blaster. The peace sadly didn't last when a fight broke out (unknown to Shadow Striker, it'd been brought about by Bludgeon murdering Slipstream). Parley

When Optimus Prime and the Autobots arrived at the Nemesis in response to a distress signal from Megatron, they found Shadow Striker and Shockwave paralyzed from having their energon drained. The two Decepticons had apparently been taken by surprise by Starscream's new army. She was presumably restored along with everyone else when Starscream was driven away. Starscream's Children

Shadow Striker was present on the bridge of the Nemesis when one of Shockwave's drones (a floating hand) went berserk and began rampaging throughout the bridge. She was unable to hide her glee at the idea that Shockwave was finished, outright whispering as such to Soundwave. Sadly, when Shockwave arrived and disabled the rogue drone, he managed to mollify Megatron by showing that he now had a way of taking control of Starscream's monsters. Secret Science

Shadow Striker was one of the Decepticons who accompanied Megatron in confronting Jetfire when the Autobot superjet attacked the Nemesis in search of his arch-rival Sky-Byte. When the shark actually did appear and arrived at the Nemesis, Shadow Striker grumbled that he was about as welcome as "a hole in the head". Considering that shortly after Jetfire reappeared in a suit of spark armor and kidnapped Megatron, she might've been onto something. Infinite Vendetta

Nevertheless, she was part of the Decepticon strike force Megatron assembled in order to take back the AllSpark. Led by Sky-Byte, the team arrived at the cavern formerly used as the artifact's hiding spot just as the Autobots were making their own way through. Before a battle could really begin, an AllSpark-infused Starscream arrived and attacked everyone present. Shadow Striker nearly lost her spark alongside everyone else when Optimus Prime used the Matrix of Leadership to disable the AllSpark and knock out Starscream. During the confused brawl that followed, Shadow Striker found herself battling Windblade but was finally taken out of the fight by a blast of the Autobot's turbines. I Am The Allspark

Shadow Striker was part of the bridge crew of the Nemesis as they attempted to prevent the Autobots from fleeing Earth with the AllSpark, Escape From Earth and later joined in a chant of "Destroy them! Destroy them!" when Megatron successfully lured the unsuspecting Autobots back to Cybertron, where she and the other Decepticons secretly lay in wait. The Crossroads

Toys

Cyberverse

"Adieu, chérie!"

• Shadow Striker (Scout Class, 2019)
  • Action Attack: "Stealth Sniper Shot"

Scout Class Shadow Striker transforms from robot into a vehicle-with-her-torso-sticking-out, officially called a "transformational mode". She features a "Stealth Sniper Shot" rocket-trail gimmick on the legs/vehicle rear.

"One shot, one kill."

• Shadow Striker (Ultra Class, 2018)
  • Action Attack: "Stealth Sniper Shot"

Shadow Striker is part of the second wave of Ultra Class Cyberverse toys, and transforms between robot and Cybertronic car modes. Designed to resemble her pre-accident self, Shadow Striker transforms simply with little useful articulation, and her "Stealth Sniper Shot" action gimmick results in a large backpack that hangs all the way to her feet while in robot mode. Her gimmick, which works in best in vehicle mode, involves pushing the inner portion of her front bumper in towards the vehicle, causing the back middle portion of the vehicle to flip forward and unveil weaponry. If you manipulate this mechanism in robot mode, her head merely ducks inside, but you can force the deployed weapon past the ratcheting clicks if you want to tuck more of the backpack away during robot mode while keeping the head outside her torso.

Notes

• This is the first major usage of the name "Shadow Striker", having only been used previously for a convention exclusive and an obscure Target exclusive, both of whom are female Decepticons with sports car-like alternate modes.
• All of her toy iterations use her design from before the events of the flashback in "Shadowstriker", favouring the more cohesive design over the pieced-together design used from then on, mainly for constructive ease and to match her packaging artwork. If you want a patchwork version, splatter it with paint.
• In the Italian dub of "Allspark", Shadow Striker was erroneously given a male voice. This was corrected in her later appearances.
  • A similar gender error happened with Shadow Striker's Canadian French and Brazilian Portuguese online toy descriptions.
• Shadow Striker's concept art takes some sneaky inspiration from another female Decepticon with a sports car mode who originated as a convention exclusive: she's seen holding a gun closely based on Nightracer's.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Shadow Striker (シャドウストライカー Shadō Sutoraikā)