Streetwise (G1)

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

Streetwise is an Autobot Protectobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.

What snakes? What plane? I don't get it.

Who's the black-and-white Protectobot
That knows every street and parking lot?
STREETWISE!
Ya damn right!

And who is the bot that would risk his spark
For his brother bots?
STREETWISE!
Can you dig it?

What interceptor won't back down
'Til his target's run to ground?
STREETWISE!
Right on!

They say this cop car is a bad mother—
SHUT YOUR MOUTH!
I'm just talking about Streetwise!
We can dig it!

He's a combination bot,
But no one gets to use him but Defensor!
STREETWISE!

French-Canadian name: Aviso

Italian name: Phantom

Fiction

Cartoon continuity

Voice actor: Peter Cullen (English), Yoku Shioya (Japanese)

If you see me walking down the street / walk on by, walk on by

When the Insecticons attacked an inhabited city on Earth, Optimus Prime called upon the Protectobots to evacuate the civilians caught in the crossfire. Streetwise was carrying civilians when he discovered an injured man and called First Aid over to help him. Later, as Earth's orbit was diverted to the Sun by the Combaticons, Streetwise and Groove commandeered a meat locker to keep the overheated humans cool. Streetwise assured Groove that given the constantly rising temperatures outside, the humans would not freeze to death. The Revenge of Bruticus

Streetwise, as part of Defensor, totally blew up Bruticus. Afterward, he was with the Protectobots when they saved some window-washers from a burning skyscraper, catching the humans when Blades blew them off their platform. Later still, Streetwise and the other Protectobots were ordered to help defend Autobot Headquarters from a Decepticon attack. They merged into Defensor and activated his useless force field, which almost immediately deactivated, allowing the Decepticons to blast Defensor back into his component parts. B.O.T.

Bad Boys / Bad Boys / Watcha gonna do / Watcha gonna do when they come 4 u.

In the year 2006, the Autobots were asked to help the Dutch authorities deal with French rebels. After dispersing the human aggressors by crashing a trash can into them, the Protectobots came under attack from the Decepticons. Streetwise expressed concern that the Decepticons didn't care how many innocent humans they killed so long as they destroyed the Protectobots. Later, it turned out the battle was only a diversion to allow Swindle to steal Metroplex's transformation cog, First Aid left the Autobots when he failed to stop the theft. Unfortunately, just as First Aid left, the Autobots were called upon to deal with a rampaging Trypticon. Hot Spot ordered the remaining Protectobots to combine into Defensor, and they successfully saved a train full of civilians, even without First Aid. The Ultimate Weapon

Later in 2006, the Protectobots arrived at the aftermath of the battle between the Technobots and Terrorcons at Mark Morgan's laboratory. They transported the injured Jessica Morgan to County General Hospital and watched over her as the doctors restored her ability to walk with an exo-skeletal structure, enraging the robo-phobic senior Morgan. This had negative consequences. What a jerkface. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1

Japanese cartoon continuity

Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers

When the Stunticons attacked a baseball stadium, Kenji alerted the Autobot combiners that they were needed. As the Protectobots arrived, Streetwise got the humans to safety while Hot Spot extinguished the blaze caused by the Decepticons. They transformed into Defensor, but Hot Spot was damaged in a savage attack by Menasor and Bruticus, leaving the Protectobots unable to combine. Seizing upon an idea, Kenji told Superion to shoot out the Decepticons' legs. Streetwise and First Aid then swooped in and combined with Bruticus, while their comrades did the same with Menasor. With their own legs out of control, the Decepticon combiners were tossed out over the ocean by their own limbs. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 5

Later, Streetwise transported the Autobot Mini-Cassettes Eject and Rewind into battle, pitting them against their Decepticon counterparts, Rumble and Frenzy. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 7

Scramble City cartoon

Streetwise and the Protectobots participated in the Scramble City project under Ultra Magnus's direction, working towards the construction of Metroplex. After the Decepticons uncovered their secret building site, the Protectobots rode into battle alongside the newly completed Metroplex. Streetwise and his comrades arrived and formed Defensor just in time to act as the harbinger of Metroplex and his really big gun. Scramble City

The Great Transformer War

Streetwise and the Protectobots joined forces with the Aerialbots for a raid on Trypticon. They intended to rescue Doctor Dalton, a scientist Galvatron had kidnapped in order to force him to use his knowledge to upgrade the Decepticons. The Aerialbots, as Superion, charged in first, but were torn to shreds by the Combaticons and Stunticons. Hot Spot went to work in his repair bay mode fixing them up, and tasked Blades with infiltrating Trypticon to recover the missing scientist. In the meantime, it was up to Streetwise, Groove and First Aid to keep Bruticus and Menasor occupied long enough for Hot Spot and Blades to complete their missions. Soon, the revived Aerialbots stepped in to save their Protectobot comrades, and Blades successfully freed the doctor from the Decepticons whle they were distracted watching the battle. The Great Transformer War issue 1

The Headmasters cartoon

In 2011, Galvatron attacked Cybertron looking to take control of Vector Sigma. Streetwise and the Protectobots were active in Cybertron's defense as Defensor during the assault. Four Warriors Come out of the Sky The Mystery of Planet Master Later, Streetwise's team assembled on Earth at Ultra Magnus's command. Their mission was to stop the Decepticons from interfering with Hot Rod and the Headmasters, who were searching for the hidden location of the Matrix of Leadership. On a security sweep, the Protectobots ran across their old nemeses, the Combaticons, and went into battle. The two teams quickly assumed their combined forms as Bruticus and Defensor, as the fighting escalated. Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime

When Galvatron made another strike on Cybertron, this time to steal the super-metal Cybertonuron, Streetwise and the Protectobots assembled before the Space Bridge on Earth to be transported into battle. Seeking out the Combaticons on the battlefield, the Protectobots soon formed Defensor and fought once more with Bruticus. Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1 Defensor and Bruticus's battle continued as Defensor delivered a devastating smash to Bruticus's back. For at least part of the battle, the two teams disassembled again for man-to-man combat, Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2

Streetwise and the Protectobots were dispatched to Peru with the Trainbots when a volcano erupted, leaving a mountainside village in dire peril. Their rescue mission was blocked by the Predacons. Shoki and the Trainbots occupied the fiends so that the Protectobots could proceed on to the village and protect the innocent lives. Nevertheless, the Protectobots failed to reach the village, as they were intercepted by the Decepticons' second wave, the Headmasters. Streetwise and the Protectobots briefly struggled with the Headmasters before forming Defensor, but that left them grouped together and vulnerable to an underhanded attack. Defensor was taken out of action by Mindwipe's paralysis ray, which was strong enough to force Streetwise and the Protectobots apart and leave them completely immobilized. The Dormant Volcano Mysteriously Erupts

Streetwise and the Protectobots were part of a strike team that flew to the moon to disrupt Scorponok's gathering of Decepticons. They immediately formed Defensor upon entering the battle. Return of the Immortal Emperor When the planet Sandra sent out a distress call asking for energy, the Autobots of Earth responded. While they were loading the Trainbots full of supplies, however, Galvatron and the Decepticons arrived to take the energy for themselves. Streetwise and the Protectobots fought back against the enemy, and formed Defensor to counter Devastator on the battlefield. SOS from Planet Sandra

After the death of Ultra Magnus, the Autobots were desperately trying to pick up the slack during Sixshot's campaign of destruction around the globe. Streetwise and the Protectobots assembled as Defensor to go out and confront Sixshot at one of the attack sites, but they apparently didn't fare too well. The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg When the Decepticons seemingly abandoned Earth, Streetwise and the Protectobots assisted Spike in rebuilding the planet after the enemy's departure. On one occasion, they located Sixshot's old command base. By combining into Defensor, the Protectobots helped Raiden and Computron obliterate the base, wiping out all trace of the Decepticons' presence. Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 1)

Following a lengthy period of inactivity, the Decepticons renewed their attacks on Earth. With Fortress still off in space, Spike Witwicky dispatched Streetwise and the Protectobots to attend to the threats. In Canberra, Australia, the Protectobots confronted Bruticus at one of Scorponok's new Death Towers. As Defensor, the Protectobots were beaten severely by Bruticus, and First Aid was even knocked out of the arm socket. Using Scramble Power, Defensor switched Streetwise up to his shoulder and reattached First Aid as a leg, still carrying his fireball cannon. Despite this cunning(?) trick, Defensor was defeated by Bruticus. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 1) As part of Defensor, Streetwise participated in the Autobots final battle with Scorponok's Decepticons at the North Pole. He lent his energies to the Headmasters' Head Formation to revitalize Fortress Maximus at the critical moment. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)

Marvel Comics continuity

Generation 1

Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.

Streetwise and the other Protectobots were created on Earth by Wheeljack and the Autobots after they stole a recording of Devastator's combiner transformation sequence and modified it (and after Optimus Prime and Buster Witwicky shared a Matrix-induced vision of the future with the Special Teams in it). Second Generation!

On their first mission, the Protectobots joined Optimus Prime in protecting Energy Futures Industries and the hydrothermocline from Megatron and the Combaticons. After agreeing to battle for the prize in a virtual reality so that neither the hydrothermocline nor innocent bystanders would be harmed, Optimus and the Protectobots entered the bizarre landscape of Multi-World. Searching for the Combaticons, Streetwise and First Aid entered Vineland. On a hunch, Streetwise chose to lift a falling web of vines out of their path instead of blasting through it. This left them open to attack by Brawl and Swindle, but it also earned the respect of the living vines populating Vineland, who entangled the Combaticons long enough for the Protectobots to beat their opponents. Streetwise did so by shattering the enemies with his air-compressor cannon after First Aid crystallized them. Afterdeath!

Get me Undercover Brother!

After the Multi-World battle led to the death of Optimus Prime, the Protectobots fell under the command of Grimlock. They were sent to capture the deserter Blaster, which led to another confrontation with the Combaticons in a used car lot. During the battle, Streetwise blinded Vortex with his photon pistol. Used Autobots They successfully arrested Blaster, but ran into the Combaticons yet again while Streetwise was reporting the mission results to the Ark. This battle went poorly compared to the past ones, as the Protectobots were defeated by Bruticus, the Combaticons' combined form. Child's Play

Later, Streetwise helped a young boy teach Starscream the meaning of Christmas. Okay, so actually he was trying to shoot Starscream. And sure, Starscream didn't actually learn the meaning of Christmas so much as deliberately fake it in order to piss off Streetwise because the humans liked him better than the Autobot. But still... holiday spirit and all that. Stargazing

Generation 2

When Optimus Prime and Grimlock discovered the threat of the Cybertronian Empire, they called in Autobots scattered across the galaxy, including Streetwise. And, when Grimlock chose to disobey Prime's directives and make a tactical first strike against Jhiaxus's ships, Streetwise went with him. They were quickly found out and captured, though, leaving it to Optimus to bail them out of trouble. Devices and Desires!

Dreamwave comics continuity

Hot buttered 'bot

During the so-called Dark Ages, when Optimus Prime and Megatron vanished in a space bridge accident, Streetwise stuck with his Protectobot team after the signing of the Crisis Intervention Accord. Whilst in their base at Iacon, Streetwise reported the rumour of the Ultracon Devastator having been unleashed in the Tagan Heights against Springer's Wreckers. Deciding that they could not afford to ignore this or let the combiner arms race begin once again, the Proctectobots rolled out to assist the Wreckers. Arriving in Tagan Heights, they formed the mighty Defensor and the battle of the titans was on. Escalation Unfortunately, they could not control Defensor's dim-witted battle lust, and were forced to separate and find a less destructive means of taking down Devastator. While Devastator manhandled Springer, the Protectobots hooked him up to a nearby power generator. With the Ultracon was distracted, Streetwise threw the switch, overloading the enemy combiner and forcing him to separate into the individual Constructicons. Devastation

Whilst the Protectobots were trying to figure out what went wrong during the battle in their combined form, the Chaos Trinity, minions of the mysterious being known as The Fallen, attacked. As Streetwise drew a bead on Bludgeon, he was hypnotized into blasting First Aid by Mindwipe. Confrontation

IDW comics continuity

Streetwise was one of many Autobot survivors who made it through Megatron's all-out attack on their defense network. In the two years following the attack, he made his way to Earth and united with Optimus Prime and the Autobots stationed there. In order to keep an eye on the humans, Streetwise and Prowl infiltrated the police force in their alternate modes. Both were present for an emergency response to Breakdown attacking a power plant. The robot hunters of Skywatch arrived and disabled the Decepticon, but then proceeded as if they were going to execute him on the scene. Despite Streetwise's words of caution, Prowl transformed to stop the execution and was captured. Streetwise maintained his cover and reported the incident back to Prime. ...For All Mankind

Toys

Generation 1

• Streetwise (Protectobot, 1986)
  • Team ID number: P1
  • Japanese ID number: C-73

Streetwise transforms into a Nissan 300ZX Turbo police car. In car mode, he has a large, rear-mounted, double-barreled cannon accessory. He can also form a limb of any Scramble City-style combiner, but his usual place is as Defensor's left leg. He was available both on an individual card or as part of the Defensor gift set.

This mold was also used to make Streetstar.

Generation 2

Black and red?? G2 toys were so neon!

• Streetwise (Unreleased)
  • Team ID number: P4

Streetwise and the other Protectobots were slated to be redecoed and re-released as part of the Generation 2 toyline. However, they and the redecoed Stunticons were canceled, with less than a half-dozen production samples of each mold known to exist (save the BotCon 1994 Breakdown, of course). The reason for the cancellation is unclear; it's possible they were considered redundant product due to the Aerialbot and Combaticon re-releases, especially since Hasbro was putting out entirely new-mold Transformers then, and would most likely have wanted those to have as much shelf space in toy aisles as possible.

Your bargaining posture is highly dubious. Proceed on your way to oblivion. This item has been canceled, with no current plans for release.

Timelines

• Generation 2: Redux (BotCon 2010 box set)
  • Accessories:

Streetwise is part of the BotCon 2010 boxed set, alongside Breakdown, Spark, Clench and Skybyte.

Trivia

Ahhhh .. Freak out! Le Freak—c'est chic ... Freak out!

• Streetwise's animation model appears in the Armada cartoon as a "generic" Cybertron at (presumably) Autobot HQ, alongside Wide Load, Landmine/Lander and Sixknight. He is only seen from the back and pretty heavily recolored, making him hard to identify. First Encounter

• The Streetwise mold is unique amongst Scramble City-style combiner limbs in that he has a "normal" robot head that does not also function as a connector peg—instead he features a fold-out connector peg to attach him to Hot Spot.

External links

• Streetwise at TFU.info.
• Streetwise's Universe profile at NTFA.net.