S.T.A.R.S.

S.T.A.R.S. is an Autobot-allied human organization in the S.T.A.R.S. continuity portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

S.T.A.R.S. members receive the most advanced Cybertronian cardboard technology available.

The Secret Transformer Autobot Rescue Squad is an underground organization of Autobot-allied humans on Earth. S.T.A.R.S. members keep watch for potential Decepticon activity in their sector and alert the Autobots if any is detected. Recruitment drives seem to be aimed at both children and members of the US military, with at least one specific reference to G.I. Joe and Cobra.

Earth allies like you are desperately needed. We must thwart the forces of evil now!Optimus Prime

All information about S.T.A.R.S. comes from toy pack-in mail-order flyers which, unlike most Transformers fiction, were written in the second person. The reader was being actively "recruited" into the fictional organization. What this meant in real-world terms was membership in a fanclub with a few special trinkets and toys. But for the purposes of this article, we include elements like the membership card and the recruitment flyers themselves as part of the fiction.

Fiction

S.T.A.R.S. pack-in flyers

"We appreciate your vigilance, but that car parked across the street isn't a Stunticon either. Do your parents let you out much, Johnny?"

S.T.A.R.S. was created early in the Earthbound Transformers' conflict, at a time when the Autobots were desperate for help against the Decepticons. Recruitment messages made many promises to potential S.T.A.R.S. members, such as being able to "command [their] own Earth sector" and "get instant respect from Autobot allies." One later message even promised leadership of the entire S.T.A.R.S. organization, from Ultra Magnus himself. You Have Been Chosen. Whether these promises were genuine is unknown; what is known is that the membership kit included:

• A Command Center (also called a "Control Center") for monitoring one's sector
• A Tech-Spec Manual containing information about Cybertron, the Autobot base, and specific Transformers
• An iron-on patch
• A S.T.A.R.S. ID card that switched between displaying an Autobot symbol and a Decepticon one, depending on the angle of view. Personal data could be entered on the reverse side.

The first recruitment message was sent immediately following the arrival of the Omnibots, Powerdashers, and Time Warriors from Cybertron. The battle is far from over! The Autobots' situation seemed grim at the time, but soon the Omnibot Overdrive sent another message that painted a rosier picture: He claimed that the Decepticons were indeed driven back by the Autobots' renewed offensive, and the Decepticons had changed their strategy to constructing hidden bases all around the world from which to strike. He said that Optimus was holding back until human allies were ready to help take down the bases with the aid of the Omnibots and Time Warriors. This message seemed to be meant for US military personnel, mentioning G.I. Joe and Cobra specifically. Earthlings: THE S.T.A.R.S. need your help now!

Later messages, however, were targeted to the young, telling the story of Johnny, a boy whose town came under the energy-draining assault of Thundercracker. His first instinct was to activate his S.T.A.R.S. Command Center and summon the help of several Autobot cars and the Omnibots, to whom he prepared to issue orders. Have the Decepticons defeated us once and for all? However, his console lost power and then went to the mysterious "CODE RED," at which point the recruitment messages ceased telling his tale. Can one boy, alone, hold back the evil Decepticons?

At one point, Ultra Magnus sent a message recruiting for the position of S.T.A.R.S. Commander. Notably, it also contained the standard offer to become a basic S.T.A.R.S. member, which suggests that he was attempting to fill the position from outside the organization. You Have Been Chosen.

Later messages involved their recipients less directly, simply sharing tales of robot-on-robot battles and inviting the audience to help the Autobots by joining S.T.A.R.S. The Autobots Are Under Attack! The timeframe became increasingly unclear, as some messages referred to Rodimus Prime talking about a past battle, which the recipients were encouraged to get involved in. Whether this implies time-travel or just poor wording on the Autobots' part is unclear. Rodimus Prime remembers the Transformers greatest battle on Earth.Transformers Combat Data

Merchandise

Generation 1

• S.T.A.R.S. membership kit (1985)

The perfect addition to YOUR trackless wasteland!

S.T.A.R.S. was the Transformers fan club. It started in 1985, and the price of membership was $6.50 (or £4.99 and 4 Robot Points in the UK). S.T.A.R.S. members received the following:

• S.T.A.R.S. membership card.
• Command Center (a cardboard communications panel which doubled as a toy display case)
• Iron-on patch
• Transformers poster
• Tech-Specs Manual

The Japanese Transformers fan club also included a cardboard command base which many label the "Japanese S.T.A.R.S." This is inaccurate. The Japanese command base was a cardboard environment for the toys to play in, not a roleplay center, and there was no equivalent of the S.T.A.R.S. story in Japan (at least as far as the fan club went).

Notes

When the Autobot army rolls into town, wear your patch so you don't get shot.

• S.T.A.R.S. is specific to its own micro-continuity, so its relevance to the rest of the multiverse is debatable. However, other continuities contain their own parallels:
  • In the "Battle for Planet Earth" audio-story "Menace at the Dam", a network of "physicists and people who realize the gravity and importance of the Transformers' presence" are in continual radio contact with the Autobots, reporting all Decepticon sightings.
  • A commercial for the "Prizes in Disguise" contest shows Spike Witwicky and an unknown friend wearing reflective patches to gain entry to an Autobot base. These patches were available as a toy pack-in promotion, and though they weren't the same patches given to S.T.A.R.S. members, the similarity in concept is notable.
  • The Autobots are not the only ones recruiting human children, as the Decepticons have offered power and glory with the irresistible lure of the Decepto-Pack.
  • The Generation 1 cartoon's Earth Defense Command seems like a hugely-expanded, public version of S.T.A.R.S., and in fact one episode features Blaster contacting their Martian base and calling them "the stars on Mars."
• The fact that the S.T.A.R.S. ID card can switch to a Decepticon symbol as well as an Autobot one is curious. Considering that a Transformer's Autobot sigil has been seen to be encoded with verification data in the Marvel UK comic "(Double) Deal of the Century!", perhaps the S.T.A.R.S. ID likewise contains counterfeit Decepticon codes.
• The operational model used by S.T.A.R.S. seems to be lifted almost point-for-point from American Cold War paranoia about Communist fifth columnists who keep Stalinist posters, radio transmitters and little red books of ideology hidden in their attic. The ones who'll put on their identifying armbands and rush out to guide troops towards vital infrastructure when the Russkies invade. The description of the Autobots' human allies in "Menace at the Dam" even evokes leftist intelligentsia!
• The "Transformers" in the acronym is not only superfluous (since "Autobot" already implies Transformerdom), but actually incorrect (since S.T.A.R.S. members are explicitly not Transformers).
• For some reason, Nemesis has a real grudge against S.T.A.R.S.