Drift (G1)

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

Drift is an Autobot from the IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

"Oh Drift-chan, you smell awesome, and not at all like feet!"

Drift (ドリフト Dorifuto) was not always an Autobot. In fact, he slaughtered quite a few when he was known as the Decepticon Deadlock. But Deadlock's eyes were opened to what the Transformers' war had become when he stumbled across a lost faction of neutral Transformers long since forgotten. He discarded his ruthless ways, abandoned his guns for swords, and changed his name and appearance. When Drift returned to the Transformer war to make right what he put wrong, he was a bot of few words and disciplined action.

These days, Drift is a member of a ragtag team of rebels under the command of Kup, working alongside many members of the disbanded Wreckers. Because of his brutal past, Drift isn't well-liked or trusted by a few of the Autobots. The rest don't seem to care, or are genuinely impressed by his incredible skills, so long as they're used against the other side!

We're going about this the wrong way, all of us! After countless centuries of fighting ... the Autobots are a step away from what we were when all this started. And us—the Decepticons have become something worse than any of us could have imagined.Drift explains his new perception of the war to his former commander, "Spotlight: Drift"

Fiction

IDW comics

This section covers fiction that is ongoing. It will be added to as the story progresses. If it isn't current, you can help by updating it.

Deadlock prefers to pose so his legs don't block any of the action.

Further information in this article is coming soon as it pertains to information that may not yet have been officially released. See Help:Coming soon for policy on the matter, and do not add further information unless the relevant material has been officially released. To the person who added this tag: Please give a "fair game" date with |when=

While he was known as Deadlock, Drift used to be the second-in-command of the Decepticon Turmoil. During this time, he earned a reputation by slaughtering his Autobot opponents. At some point, Deadlock disappeared and was thought to be dead. Turmoil's only wish was that he had killed the traitor himself.

He's your horrible fancharacter.

Some time later, after receiving a new body, fighting style and totally sugoi super-long sword that he can only use in the totally direst of times (and to pose for comic covers) from his mysterious benefactors, Drift set off to make a difference. His chance came in an attempt to free a group of Autobots held captive on the ship he'd previously served aboard. Upon entering Turmoil's ship, his attempt at stealth was successful until the Wreckers arrived and blasted their way aboard. Jumping into the battle to assist them, he piqued the interest of a few Autobots. Perceptor was injured as Turmoil entered the battle and, recognizing Drift's voice as that of his former lieutenant, attempted to destroy him. However, his attack only resulted in knocking Drift and Kup to another room. The two quickly worked together to program the ship to overload. In his final confrontation with Turmoil, Drift stated his intention was to help, not kill, and left to rescue Perceptor before the ship blew up.

After his arrival on the Autobot ship, Kup invited Drift to join his new unit as an Autobot. Spotlight: Drift

File:AHM15 DriftKupPerceptor.jpg

Kup values Drift's contributions to the discussion.

Now a crew member of the spacecraft Trion, Drift got to know his new teammate Blurr over many friendly games of Go. Perceptor felt he owed a debt to Drift for saving his life, and so devoted much of his time to upgrading himself for more combat-oriented tasks. While Kup discouraged this, Drift stoically accepted Perceptor's new ambitions. Lost & Found

Seriously, you made this guy up when you were eight.

They were soon baited into a Decepticon ambush over Cybertron. The Trion's command codes were hacked due to their being sold to the Decepticons by an Autobot traitor, and, left defenseless, it was forced to crash-land on the desolate landscape of the planet. Eventually, the crew were found by Optimus Prime's unit, who unfortunately proved to be also stranded. When Mirage was revealed by Jazz to have been standing invisibly among them, Drift was the only one who didn't appear surprised. All Hail Megatron #5

When an advance scout of the Insecticon Swarm discovered the Autobots' base camp, Drift was dispatched to take care of it. Drift stood stock-still as the creature walked up to him, greeting it with a simple, smirking "hello" as the monstrous beast snarled in his face. Finally, he beheaded the scout with a single wave of his sword. A second creature tried to attack Drift from behind, but the smirking Autobot merely tilted his head slightly, allowing Perceptor to kill the beast with some precision sniping. Cliffjumper thought the incident was the coolest thing ever. All Hail Megatron #6

After Sunstreaker revealed to Ironhide that he was the traitor, an army of the Swarm came after them. Drift saved Ironhide while Sunstreaker blew up a bridge, killing himself and the Swarm army. Later, Drift visited Ironhide and claimed that the Decepticons had access to the Autobots' systems in a way that Sunstreaker couldn't possibly have. Ironhide asked if this meant there was a second traitor, but Drift replied that there was simply more to the situation than they knew. All Hail Megatron #8

Drift-slap! 'Cracker don't take crap!

When Mirage was showing some doubt in the Autobot cause, it was Drift who said that, now more than ever, the Autobots should continue being who they are. Bumblebee insinuated that Drift had no right to say something like that, which started an argument that was only stopped by the return of Optimus Prime. All Hail Megatron #9

Drift took part in the battle against the Swarm and joined the others in escaping Cybertron in Omega Supreme. All Hail Megatron #10. On Earth, he battled the Decepticons, and when Thundercracker volunteered to divert the humans' nuclear bomb, Drift attempted to congratulate his former comrade on seeing the light. Thundercracker called him a traitor, slapping Drift's hand away and claiming he was merely following the Decepticons' true ideal.All Hail Megatron #12

Two years later, Drift is still with the Autobots, hiding on Earth. ...For All Mankind After Optimus Prime left the Autobots, Drift decided to stay with the larger group, rather than leave with Rodimus and his fellow defectors. Drift celebrated Bumblebee's election with numerous other Autobots. The Hanging Sword

Robot Heroes

He makes it so hard to like him and then he does this. So confused!

Drift was Optimus Prime's friend and always let his actions speak louder than words. When the Autobots arrived on Earth, he hid himself in a lake. Upon Optimus's order, he transformed into his car mode to roll out. Later, when the Decepticons attacked, he pushed Starscream over a tripwire held by some of the Autobots' human allies. I Am Optimus Prime

In "I Am Optimus Prime," Drift transforms from his Cybertronian robot mode to his Earth car mode. Also, he's either mute or doesn't like to talk.

Toys

Generations

Comes with a gun that shoots swords.

• Autobot Drift (Deluxe, 2010)
  • Accessories: Two "dual swords", one large sword

Drift transforms into a cross between an Nissan Silvia S15 and the Mitsubishi FTO. In vehicle mode, Drift's two shorter "dual swords" store inside his doors (which double as his hip sheaths during robot mode), while the larger sword stores in a set of grooves on the underside of his vehicle (also used in robot mode). It can also be stored (in robot mode) in the doors where the windows fold up. Behind his windshield kibble is his pre-Earth chest design, in a nod to the form Drift had been seen in almost exclusively at the time of the toy's unveiling. Due to his ball jointed wrists, Drift is one of the few Transformers figures that can hold a sword with a two-handed grip.

While Drift's Earth mode designs showed him sporting the katakana ドリフト ("drift") on his car doors, the toy instead sports the kanji 侍 ("samurai"). The large sword sports the kanji 天下無双 (tenka musō, "peerless under heaven", or just "peerless" if you're not feeling idiomatic.)

Drift's mold will be retooled into Generations Blurr.

Notes

• Commenting on what inspired him to create Drift, writer/creator Shane McCarthy said that "I wanted a character in AHM that had a particular element to him that I didn’t see readily available elsewhere and secondly because, frankly, I thought it would be a great idea for Hasbro to have an Autobot Drift racer." He later said he wanted to show what'd happen if a former Decepticon became an Autobot. Of course, this has never happened before.

• According to McCarthy, Drift's Japanese overtones are meant to be a tip of the hat "to the country that gave birth to [Transformers]." It is possible (though unlikely given how many people mistakenly believe Transformers is Japanese) that he meant Diaclone and Micro Change, as the Transformers franchise was developed between Hasbro, Griffin Bacal and Marvel Entertainment, three American companies.

• Drift's name is derived from the Japanese driving technique of "drifting", rendered in Japanese as ドリフト走行 (dorifuto sōkō). This is also the source of the Japanese katakana writing on his car mode doors and in Chris Ryall's announcement; it is a transliteration of his English name and is not from Japanese fiction.

• IDW Publishing initially claimed that Drift had been solicited by Hasbro to receive a toy in the Universe line. This may have been premature, as it was followed several months later with a denial, albeit from Hasbro's Australian offices. This was rebutted by IDW editor Chris Ryall at New York Comic-Con 2009, denied again in the March 2009 Hasbro Q&A for Seibertron.com, and finally acknowledged by Hasbro at BotCon 2009, when early design sketches were unveiled for Drift's toy. The toy itself was first shown at Toy Fair 2010.