Nightbird (ROTB)

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

Nightbird is a Terrorcon from the Rise of the Beasts portion of the Movie continuity family.

Tonight, you will die with HONOR!!!!!

A sword-wielding Terrorcon known for her haughty demeanor towards less skilled opponents, Nightbird is a deadly assassin not to be trifled with. A ninja-like ‘bot with frightening expertise in deactivating those who stand in her way, Nightbird may be more measured and less savage than her Terrorcon cohorts, but that doesn’t diminish her power or lethality in the slightest. Slinking through the darkness with her dual katanas hunting down her prey, or flying through cloud cover with her rocket thrusters raining down hellfire on her opponents, Nightbird will only settle for utter victory and the accomplishment of her goals – anything less isn’t worth her attention or focus.

“	Aw... don't be frightened, humans. This will all be over soon.	”
—Nightbird, Rise of the Beasts

Fiction

Rise of the Beasts film

Voice actor: Michaela Jaé Rodriguez (English), Ryōka Yuzuki (Japanese), Daniela Calò (Italian), Maëva Trioux (European French), Carolina Vera (German), Clodd Dias (Brazilian Portuguese), Andrea López (Latin American Spanish)

Nightbird landed in New York City in 1994 alongside Scourge and Battletrap to hunt for the Transwarp Key, under orders from their master, Unicron. She engaged the Autobot group of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Mirage and Arcee on Ellis Island, surprising Mirage with her ability to fly using rocket thrusters. The Autobots' lack of effective resistance disappointed her, having hoped they'd be more of a challenge. Her desire for a good fight was almost answered when Airazor arrived, but Scourge ordered their retreat, having gotten the Key and seeing no need to waste time in summoning Unicron. She was present when Scourge mentally communicated with Unicron, and watched when the latter started torturing him for only retrieving one half of the key.

Travelling to Peru, she and the other Terrorcons observed as the Autobots' human allies Noah Díaz and Elena Wallace attempted to locate the half of the key hidden underground. They gave chase to Mirage and Optimus up the mountain roads once the humans began fleeing from Freezer, believing them to be in possession of they key half (in actuality, their search had been fruitless). In the chaos, Scourge fought Optimus, while Nightbird and Battletrap handled the other Autobots. She attempted to run Mirage off the road but was knocked by an avalanche triggered by Arcee and Wheeljack's confrontation with Battletrap. After Airazor destroyed the bridge between Optimus Prime and Scourge, breaking up the fight, Nightbird noted that the Autobots were fleeing, only for her leader to inform her they wouldn't get away so easily due the corruption he had inflicted upon Airazor.

She was present when Scourge activated the Transwarp Key, generating the structure to open a portal to summon Unicron. During the attack on the bridge by the combined forces of the Autobots and Maximals, she fought to keep them from the Key itself. At one point she swept Noah up and dragged him into the sky, but a hasty spear throw from Cheetor hit her and forced her to release her captive. She and a horde of Sweeps had Noah cornered to the edge of a lava pool, however, preparing to move in for the kill... but that was when Bumblebee was airdropped in by Stratosphere after his resurrection, firing off a barrage of blasts her way from above that decimated the Sweeps backing her up and allowed Noah to rejoin the battle. Angered, she flew straight up at the Autobot scout to attack him, but this proved to be her undoing. Latching onto her airborne form, Bumblebee used her as a robot shield to protect himself from Scourge's blasts; the other Terrorcon leader seemingly uncaring about his subordinate's own life. He then proceeded to rip one of her wings off and jam it into her spark mid-flight, and the resulting explosion reduced her to nothing more than a shower of broken parts, with her katanas being the only remnants that remained intact. Rise of the Beasts

Nightbird's involvement in the preceding events, or events mostly similar, were also chronicled in the books "Mission at the Museum" and "The Search Is On".

Toys

Buzzworthy Bumblebee

• Cheetor / Nightbird / Wheeljack (Jungle Mission 3-pack, 2023)
  • Accessories: Sword, two-part rake-claw blade

Released as part of a Target-exclusive Buzzworthy Bumblebee "Jungle Mission 3-pack", Nightbird is a Deluxe Class figure that converts to an unlicensed approximation of her Nissan GT-R R33 in 19 steps. She includes a sword and a small rake weapon that combine to form an asymmetrical spoiler for her vehicle mode. The rake weapon can be mounted to her wrists as a single claw or split into two smaller blades.

Nightbird comes packaged with Cheetor and Wheeljack.

The instructions have a slight error for transforming her into vehicle mode: it says that the panels on her waist are meant to be pushed in as opposed to be being pulled out like on the actual toys.

Rise of the Beasts

• Nightbird (Flex Changers, 2023)
  • TakaraTomy name: Rolling Change Nightbird
  • TakaraTomy ID number: BKC-02
  • TakaraTomy release date: April 15, 2023

Released in the first wave of Rise of the Beasts "Flex Changers", this Nightbird transforms from vehicle to robot with the use of a flexible plastic band, which activates by flipping both sides of the car panels forward to initiate the transformation, with the front and rear hoods forming the remaining body.

Along with the rest of the Flex Changers, Nightbird was first revealed by TakaraTomy prior to being unveiled by Hasbro.

• Nightbird (Deluxe Class, 2023)
  • TakaraTomy name: Deluxe Class Nightbird
  • TakaraTomy ID number: BD-04
  • TakaraTomy release date: July 15, 2023
  • Accessories: Sword, two-part rake claw blade

The Nightbird from the Buzzworthy Bumblebee Jungle Mission 3-pack (above) was also available individually at general retail in Rise of the Beasts packaging.

Studio Series

Where's her "splitting apart" gimmick? ...Oh. There it is.

• Nightbird (Deluxe Class, 2023)
  • Movie: Rise of the Beasts
  • Hasbro ID number: 104
  • Accessories: Sword, "Attack at the Museum" Backdrop

• Known designers: Sam Smith (Hasbro)

Part of the final wave of Studio Series deluxes for 2023, Nightbird transforms into a fully licensed Nissan GT-R R33 in 21 steps and back. She comes with one of her swords (albeit shortened), and a backdrop depicting the attack at the Ellis Island museum. Unlike her other figures, this toy features the wings she had in the film, though they are quite small compared to her body.

Hasbro first revealed Nightbird at their panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2023, on July 20. The stock images (seen on the right) released after her reveal hilariously show a damaged sample, with a cracked joint at the pin where her ankle tilts are, as well as a visible stress mark on the hinge of her foot.

Notes

• Nightbird's alternate mode was first revealed via Steven Caple Jr.'s Instagram account on 6 October 2021, along with the other two senior Terrorcons, Battletrap and Scourge.
• Nightbird's promo art on her mainline release features a different control art than the one seen at the top of the page. It is more similar to a CG render, while also sporting the front end of an R34 GT-R instead of the R33 GT-R used in the control art and movie proper.
• According to Nightbird's designer Furio Tedeschi, the beak-like visor on her head is directly based on the visors from Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, as the characters are also ninjas with a bird theme.
• The original Nightbird had a yellow shuriken marking on her waist. While it's difficult to spot, this Nightbird also has this same marking, above her central skirt armor. This can be seen in concept art and in the movie itself.
• One previs design of Nightbird's R-33 GT-R alt mode has a Hello Kitty keychain on its rear bumper.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Nightbird (ナイトバード Naitobādo)
• Mandarin: Yèyīng (夜莺, "Nightingale")