Sunstorm (G1)

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

Sunstorm is a Decepticon from the Generation 1 continuity family.

"I like to sing-a / about the moon-a and the june-a and the spring-a..."

If bright colors are nature's way of saying "do not touch", then nature's got nothin' on Sunstorm (サンストーム Sansutōmu). Come too close, and circuits will short, steel housing will begin to melt, and psyches will break as the mind struggles to comprehend. Science would explain that his body is aflame in radiation, but Sunstorm has different ideas.

Sometimes, Sunstorm merely believes he is secretly some kind of supernatural being, keeping his comrades away with his odd behavior. At other times, he thinks that he is the living embodiment of the Will of Primus, placed by the divine in this universe to deal righteous judgment on the blasphemous. Occasionally, he just hovers silently in the background and shoots at things.

Such is life.

Fiction

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Transformers cartoon

Hey mom, I'm on TV!

Sunstorm was one of the Decepticon jets on Cybertron four million years ago. He shot at the Autobots Wheeljack and Bumblebee when they came near, and that's about it. More than Meets the Eye, Part 1

e-Hobby pack-in comic

On Cybertron, as a new morning began to rise, Sunstorm appeared to bask in the rays of the sun. He enthusiastically encouraged all those around him to wake up and take a good look at the beauty of a new dawn. Unfortunately, all those around him were dead Autobots whom he had just killed. Decepticon Aerospace Warrior Sunstorm

Dreamwave comics continuity

And thus, Starscream was rendered sterile.

Shockwave's experiments to fit a solar-powered fusion reactor into cloned Decepticon warriors reached their fruition in Sunstorm, a clone of the treacherous Starscream. Sunstorm's structure has been augmented to endure the enormous stresses involved. He was the perfect soldier; he possessed the ability to manipulate electromagnetic energy, enhanced regenerative capabilities, and a blank slate of a mind waiting to be written according to Shockwave's design.

When the Autobots took New Iacon from Shockwave, he hurriedly uploaded the compressed contents of the supercomputer Vector Sigma to multiple locations, including the hidden cloning lab near the Epsilon border where Sunstorm lay, awaiting instructions. The upload overwhelmed the lab's mainframe, spilling over into the only other available receptacle—Sunstorm. War and Peace

Fleeing the fall of New Iacon, Decepticons Runabout and Runamuck broke into the Epsilon lab, unaware of its importance, intending to use it as a safehouse. After Runamuck amused himself by frying the lab's Mini-spy attendant, the duo accidentally awakened Sunstorm, who fried them... rather badly before his scrambled programming compelled him to depart, making his way to Earth. Night of the Combaticons

J'accuse!

“	Who am I? I am the presence anointed to carry forth the light. The original light, that which has no beginning and no end. Its searing heat shall purify the earth... purging this world of all flaws, and preparing it for what lies ahead.	”
—Sunstorm emphasizes randomly, "Black Sunshine"

Flying down to Earth, he tried to get Starscream to join him in his crusade, though Starscream believed his clone to be completely insane. Black Sunshine Sunstorm battled with a number of Autobots, including Omega Supreme, until Starscream managed to attach an energy siphon developed by Ratchet to counter his energies. Sunstorm fled, uncovering an enormous well of energy deep below the ocean, sealed with a mechanical door bearing a Cybertronian symbol. Jetfire and Bumblebee fought to stop him from unleashing whatever power the well held, until Jetfire, sensing that Sunstorm's internal fusion reactor was growing increasingly unstable, flew the overzealous seeker into orbit. Sunstorm's reactor went critical and exploded violently, completely obliterating both of them. Atonement

Sunstorm's almost supernatural durability was credited to his augmented molecular structure, similar to that of electrum. When Ratchet's Energy Siphon suppressed the effect, he was eaten away from within by the destructive energies of his own power source.

Had Dreamwave not gone bankrupt, the one-shot story "The Enemy Within" would have revealed Sunstorm was possessed by The Fallen, who had escaped from the Seal of Primus after Shockwave broke it and used its energon for his experiments.

3H comics

His own worst enemy.

An alternate-universe version of Sunstorm was one of Megazarak's loyal inner circle. Megazarak's Universe profile His radioactive condition was the result of an accident at the manufacturing facility during his birth. He was apparently a Child of Primus, Sunstorm's Universe profile though it is not known if or how he participated in the Universe war. A Minion of Unicron named Sunstorm did appear in that conflict, but there is no indication that they are the same individual. OTFCC 2004 Live-Action Script Reading

IDW comics continuity

"*sigh* I will get a Masterpiece toy. Someday..."

Three years after Megatron was defeated on Earth, Sunstorm was among those Decepticons who managed to escape the human homeworld and was now under the command of the (self-proclaimed) Decepticon leader Starscream. However, with the lack of resources, poor morale and Starscream's weak leadership, the Decepticons largely collapsed into anarchy and resorted to cannibalism with not enough energon to go around. After another pointless patrol, Acid Storm and Sunstorm dejectedly sat in front of what remained of the ship that carried them to the asteroid that they now called home. All His Engines

After the war between the Autobots and Decepticons ended, Sunstorm was laboring in a factory for waste management. After Prowl had discovered Bombshell had murdered Skydive, Bombshell mind controlled Sunstorm with his cerebro-shell to hold off Prowl. Instead, he was killed by Arcee. Devisive

Wings Universe

As Devastator breached Iacon's walls, Sunstorm was there with the rest of Megatron's forces. Battle Lines, Part 5

Games

Revenge of the Fallen - The Game (Xbox 360/Sony PS3/PC)

Voice actor: Charlie Adler

While Sunstorm seems to lack his atomic touch and pure insanity, he does have a pair of kickass flamethrowers! Revenge of the Fallen

On August 27, 2009, Sunstorm was one of a handful of downloadable characters in a downloadable content pack for Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation 3. He could be used in multiplayer games and as an alternate model/colour scheme for Starscream in the single player Decepticon campaign.

Toys

Generation 1

Creamsicle creamseeker.

• Sunstorm (Decepticon Jet, 2003, 2008)
  • Japanese ID number: 89
  • Accessories: 2 missile launchers, 2 rifle-missiles, 2 rockets, left & right fists, left & right wings, left & right tail-wings, landing gear

Sold only in a separately-packaged-toys set with RoadHauler exclusive to e-HOBBY, Sunstorm is a redeco of the original Starscream toy, transforming into an F-15 fighter jet. His coloration is inspired by—but not wholly accurate to for a variety of reasons—a previously-unnamed "generic" Decepticon seen in the episode "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1". Being a Japanese release, his spring-loaded missile launchers are fully operational.

Pre-orders for the set closed on May 15, 2003. The toys shipped out in July.

Sunstorm was released again in 2008 as part of the "Encore" re-release line, but this time with an exclusive comic by Hidetsugu Yoshioka. Strangely, Sunstorm's stock picture in his e-Hobby manga presents him with fists sporting circular peg holes similar to the one seen in the previous Transformers Collection # 9 Starscream release.

The same base mold is used by Dirge, Ramjet, Skywarp, Thrust, and Thundercracker.

• More information on Sunstorm at TFU.info

Titanium Series

Hey, remember that body I never had in that comic I wasn't in? Well, now you can buy it!

• Sunstorm (6-inch Cybertron Heroes, 2007)
  • Accessories: Stand, name placard

Titanium Series Sunstorm is a redeco of War Within Thundercracker, transforming into a Cybertronian "tetrajet" as reimagined by Don Figueroa. As with all 6-inch Titanium Series Cybertron Heroes, he has large portions of his body constructed with fully-painted die-cast metal.

This mold was also used to make War Within Starscream, Skywarp, and Thrust.

• More information on Titanium Sunstorm at TFU.info

Masterpiece

• MP-11S

Sunstorm is a redeco of Masterpiece Starscream. His color scheme and layout are heavily based on the cartoon appearance. He is scheduled for release in May 2012.

Merchandise

Heroes of Cybertron

This will put your kids through college!

• Sunstorm (OTFCC 2004 attendance freebie)

A Heroes of Cybertron version of Sunstorm was given as a freebie to people who pre-registered at OTFCC 2003 for next year's OTFCC 2004. He was later made available for sale through the 3H Productions website. A repaint of the mold used to make Starscream and the other Seekers in the Heroes of Cybertron line, Sunstorm's colors are inspired by the e-Hobby toy, but given more variety in its shades of orange.

Palisades

• Sunstorm (Palisades, 2005)

A Previews-exclusive redeco of the Starscream statue, Sunstorm is a six inch tall statue with articulated head and arms. He can stand normally or use a stand to take on a "hovering" pose. Sunstorm was limited to 300 pieces, and sculpted by 3L Creation Group from a design by George Tremarco.[1]

Diamond Select

• Sunstorm (Diamond Select, 2010)

Sunstorm was planned to be a repainted and slightly-altered version of the Starscream bust sculpted by Mark Wong of Art Asylum. Along with a new head and a differently-posed left hand, Sunstorm was going to be limited to 600 pieces.

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

Notes

Look just above Astro Magnum Galactic Man grey Shockwave's gun-arm.

• An orange Cybertronic "pyramid jet" is depicted in a Cybertronian battle scene by Studio OX that appeared in TV Magazine (and was reprinted in Transformers Generations and Transformers Visualworks). Hmm. You don't think...?
• A common piece of fanon identified the all-yellow Rainmaker as the partially yellow Sunstorm. However, even taking into consideration the haphazard coloring typically given to generic Seekers, chances were not in favour of their being the same guy. After being asked the question during the August 2010 Q&A, Hasbro confirmed that the yellow Rainmaker was not Sunstorm, but some as-yet-unnamed guy.
• Hirofumi Ichikawa, who both named Sunstorm and wrote his original bio, also considered the names Flareburst and Flarestorm for him.
• Sunstorm is apparently a fan of professional wrestling, having performed both a Stone Cold Stunner and DDT when engaging in close combat with Jetfire.

External Links

• Sunstorm's OTTC profile at NFTA.net