Skipjack (ROTF)

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

Skipjack is a Decepticon Constructicon from the Revenge of the Fallen portion of the live-action film series continuity family.

They say the chance of an average person finding a yellow lobster is one in 30 million. For this yellow lobster, the chances of finding him seem similar.

Skipjack is a Constructicon who looks a lot like Rampage. Because of this, he can form the left leg of Devastator whenever Rampage is preoccupied in battle.

Fiction

Toy bios

Skipjack was present in Egypt during Operation: Firestorm. He combined with his fellow Constructicons to form the mighty Devastator, forming the lower half of his left leg.

Toys

Transformers (2010)

• Skipjack (EZ Collection, 2010)

Skipjack is a Japanese exclusive yellow redeco of Hunt for the Decepticons Legends Class Rampage. Because he is not encumbered with the need to combine, both his robot and vehicle modes are much more accurate and detailed. His "jackhammer" mode can be achieved by connecting his legs together and flipping his cab-feet down as the tip (as per the stock photos), although he will not be able to stand up well. Meanwhile, his instructions depict a more stable biped configuration, with his legs spread out and his cab-feet folded back in their vehicle mode position as his "heels".

Generations

Studio Series

The Jerkhammer: Yellow Edition.

• Constructicon Skipjack (Voyager Class, 2020)
  • Hasbro ID number: 67
  • TakaraTomy ID number: SS-EX
  • TakaraTomy release date: November 28, 2020
  • Accessories: 2 hand blasters, base, "Pyramid Desert Battle" backdrop

Studio Series "Constructicon Skipjack" is a yellow redeco of Rampage, replacing the red with yellow and darkening the grays, along with changing his eye color from orange to red.

He comes with two blasters, made from the pistons of his vehicle mode, that can be placed inside his hand, and a cardboard backdrop display depicting Operation: Firestorm. Owing to Skipjack's unique monopod design, the figure also comes with a small black plastic base to help him stand, which can be stored between his treads in vehicle mode. In combined mode, the stand plugs into Devastator's rump.

Skipjack can be combined with the other Studio Series Constructicons to form Devastator. Due to the choice to release Rampage in red, reflecting his desert battle with Bumblebee, Skipjack can be used in Rampage's place to give Devastator a screen-accurate color scheme.

This release features a correctly-assembled waist, unlike his predecessor.

Skipjack's existence was revealed via official full-color images of Devastator, before renders of his own figure were even drawn up. Rather than regular retail release, Skipjack was only available to Japanese fans as a TakaraTomy Mall exclusive, and is the first Studio Series figure to be released this way.

Like the majority of the Studio Series Constructicons, he lacks a Decepticon symbol. Oddly enough, his hand blasters in his official render are colored incorrectly. The one on the left hand is colored black... and the one on the right is colored yellow. While this is incorrect in and of itself (as both guns are displayed as black on the bulldozer render), the real toy has them in gunmetal-gray.

• Devastator (Gift Set, 2020)
  • ID Number: 69

The entire 8 Constructicon components, save for the original red Rampage, were released in a huge box set. Deco additions include the dirt patterns on some of the Constructicons, as well as some bronze detailing on Devastator's face.

The gift set first saw release in Thailand without any announcement from Hasbro, with it later being officially revealed on a Fan First Friday.

Who is Skipjack?

• The identity and legitimacy of this Constructicon being a component of Devastator is fairly suspect and should be taken with a grain of salt.
• "Skipjack" was originally a working title for Rampage during early production of ROTF and that name still made it into the end credits for the actor who voiced him. However, in a subtitle in the film itself, Starscream tells Rampage to "spring the trap."
• Up until 2020 the yellow bulldozer that forms the lower half of Devastator's left leg was always named Rampage. Now saying that, all of the toys up until that point specifically made Rampage the full left leg in combined mode, whereas in the film, a smaller yellow earth-moving truck was added to the extra height and mass of the left leg to allow it to be more believable in size when in comparison to the right leg.
• Much like all of the other Constructicons in ROTF, each component of Devastator has a doppelgänger or identical drone. This results in there being some idividual Constructicons present during Operation: Firestorm while also having lookalikes concurrently part of Devastator.
• That being said, the individual Rampage that was present fighting Bumblebee was reddish-orange, while the one forming Devastator's leg was yellow. Now the fact they are two different colors isn't necessarily because they are two different characters, it could quite well be because they scanned different colored alternate forms.
• Original concept art for Rampage, which also served as the basis for his original deluxe class toy during the ROTF toyline was yellow, while later on in the very same toyline, Rampage was rereleased in red to make him more accurate to his scene from the movie.
• As mentioned above, the Studio Series toyline introduced a yellow bulldozer replacement named "Skipjack" in 2020, to give fans a more movie accurate yellow leg for their Devastator. While it is likely that this is the only reason Skipjack was added into the toyline, the packaging bio for him specifically mentions that he "combines with his comrades to form CONSTRUCTICON DEVASTATOR," while Rampage's bio only mentions his role luring "Sam Witwicky into a trap to force him to give up the MATRIX OF LEADERSHIP." The Devastator gift set that was later released in the same year, only had Skipjack packaged in with the other components, leaving Rampage as an individual outside of the combination, further implying that Skipjack may actually be the bulldozer that forms Devastator's left leg.
• Mike B., a Hasbro employee, who worked on the Studio Series Devastator, went on to mention in an interview posted on Hasbro Pulse's website that "In the movie, Skipjack and Rampage both have the same build or form but are colored differently, Skipjack being yellow and Rampage being orange." It is entirely possible that this is a subtle retcon suggesting that the yellow bulldozer that forms the left leg is in fact Skipjack.

Notes

• "Skipjack" was the preliminary name for Rampage during production of Revenge of the Fallen, and this name (along with Demolishor's "Wheelbot") was used in the credits for the voice actors. In Rampage's case, this can be considered definitely inaccurate, as the toys' name "Rampage" is used in a subtitle in the movie, thus making the name in the credits the odd one out.
• The stock photography (top of the article) for both EZ Collection Skipjack and Payload depicts them in shades that hew closer to orange than the yellow they came out in. Whether this was an artifact of the photographic process or an intentional plastic color-change is uncertain. Additionally, TakaraTomy's website calls the toy Rampage rather than Skipjack.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Skipjack (スキップジャック Sukippujakku)

See also

• Rampage, who is sometimes called "Skipjack" and shares a similar body-type.