Starscream (WFC)

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

Starscream is a Decepticon from the Aligned continuity family.

In a cruel twist of fate, perhaps the most legitimately competent Starscream ever, but no one will take him seriously for even a minute.

Starscream was an Air Commander of the Energon Seekers, Cybertron's finest air warriors. His dream was to recover the Matrix of Leadership and become the Prime that would return the Transformers to the Golden Age, and he saw opportunity with the rebel upstart Megatron. A patient and polite schemer, Starscream used to wish Megatron would drop the heroic anti-caste charade and be more honest about his lust for power.

These days, he alternatively wishes Megatron would stop being obsessed with his lust for power and chafes under having to work for such a madman. While he serves as Megatron's right-hand man, he constantly looks for a way to become the commander himself and Megatron knows it: Starscream's extremely volatile personality means he is not adept at hiding his true intent. Fortunately for Megatron, Starscream is prone to panic, cowardice and bombastic gestures, meaning that it'd take exceptional circumstances for Starscream to actually manage to get behind him to shove the knife in.

He may be a scientist, but we're not quite sure.

That shot was perfect, much like the one who fired it!Starscream after achieving a headshot, Transformers: War for Cybertron

Fiction

Aligned novels

Starscream may or may not have had a history as a scientist. Regardless of what he did prior, in the early days before the war began he was one of the leaders of the Cybertronian Air Command. When Cybertron fell into chaos following bombings by Megatron's Decepticon followers, Starscream was posted as Sentinel Prime's bodyguard. He was with the Prime at Altihex Casino during a performance by comedian Armorhide when the Decepticons attacked. Sentinel's attempt to flee rather than fight back made Starscream ashamed of his leader, so he had Skywarp and Thundercracker take him to Kaon Prison rather than the safety of Iacon. This earned him loyalty with Megatron, but wary of how sour a revolution could quickly turn Starscream opted not to be directly involved in the gladiator's operations, posting his Seekers at Moon Base One and Trypticon Station. Megatron was intrigued by why Starscream wanted to occupy "that semi-sentient pile of junk" but despite Orion Pax's research they found no clues, with information regarding the Station seemingly censored.

Whenever Starscream's Seekers were present, the Decepticons were victorious in battle against the Autobots. Starscream however, found Megatron's strategies overly convoluted. As the war devolved into a siege of Iacon, Megatron and Soundwave, by probing into forgotten areas of the DataNet, discovered Trypticon was a storage of Dark Energon, the life essence of Unicron. When questioned, Starscream explained since even the Air Command was not sure what Dark Energon was, he had forbidden its use, fearing the damage Megatron's gladiators would unleash. Megatron forgave Starscream, noting how he "was smart enough to be afraid of it", and was granted access.

Starscream sent a message to the Autobots proposing a meeting. Optimus only granted him a communication channel. Starscream stated if the Autobots did not know what Dark Energon was (they did) they would need to find out — and asked what would he could expect from them if something happened to Megatron. Optimus replied that he sought a just peace. Starscream said he understood, broke off the conversation and flew to Kaon Prison where Sentinel was held. Starscream offered Sentinel a chance to redeem his cowardly behavior at Altihex. The ultimate aim of this road to becoming Decepticon leader was to become Prime in a peace settlement with Optimus, and lead Cybertron back to its Golden Age. Starscream then flew to Moon Base One when Megatron ordered him to Trypticon, where he found the Decepticons had invaded the Station and slaughtered and maimed his scientists.

Megatron and Shockwave forced Starscream to select two survivors to absorb Dark Energon, for what was a successful experiment. Requiring more for the Decepticon war effort, Megatron ordered Starscream to capture the Geosynchronous Energon Bridge, below the ruins of Crystal City. Empowered by his first taste of Dark Energon, Starscream activated the device that transmitted Energon to the Station for it to be Darkened. But the Bridge still did not produce enough, and Starscream was ordered to find the Code Key of Power and Key of Justice to the Plasma Energy Chamber underneath the High Council Tower in Iacon. Starscream decided it was time to release Sentinel, renouncing Dark Energon after realizing Megatron had turned his soldiers into addicts. Starscream found the Key of Power within the Hall of Justice and flew underground to find his plan had failed, as Megatron had mortally wounded Sentinel. He could see within Sentinel's body was the Key of Justice, but was prevented from taking it by Blackout. Megatron fought Starscream to a standstill, sparing him because he realized he was a better soldier than a would-be example.

As Megatron entered the Chamber, Teletraan-1 activated the legendary Omega Supreme to fly it away. Aware Starscream had a better chance of escaping Omega's awakening, Megatron ordered Starscream and his Seekers to down Omega, in exchange for more Dark Energon. Giving up on his attempt to give up his addiction, Starscream gleefully accepted and they successfully blew Omega out of the sky, allowing the Decepticons to retrieve the Chamber and corrupt the core. As Cybertron became uninhabitable, the Autobots left on the largest starship ever built - the Ark. Starscream left the planet with Megatron as they gave pursuit on Trypticon, now a Nemesis-class supercruiser. The two ships entered a space bridge, which separated the two ships to unknown parts of space... Exodus

Exiles

Prime comic

Hey, look, a backscratcher!

Starscream had been on Earth at some point, but was assigned by Megatron to scour the galaxy for remnants of space bridge technology. Returning to their dead homeworld, Starscream built a weapons lab in Kaon and began building a space bridge. He was informed by his Vehicons elsewhere they had apprehended the Autobot spy Cliffjumper. Later, after basking in the glory of successfully activating the space bridge that would return them to Earth and its Energon, Starscream realized Cliffjumper was present. The Autobot claimed to be freed by his captors after defecting to the Decepticons, and warned them of Arcee: this ruse successfully distracted Starscream long enough for Arcee to activate and overload the space bridge, but he jumped in after them moments before the lab was blown sky high.

Falling to Earth, a dazed Starscream picked up a bunny rabbit, commenting that humans were smaller than he remembered. Scanning a fleet of jets flying overhead, he found Cliffjumper and Arcee driving on a road and launched a missile at them. He picked up Arcee's blown off arm and started battering Cliffjumper with it, but the Autobot blew up the rock formation above them and crushed Starscream with the rubble. Having received Starscream's signal, Breakdown came to his rescue, and the duo pursued and overwhelmed the Autobots. Just as Starscream was about to send them back to the AllSpark, Optimus jumped and landed on him, while gunning Breakdown away. As Starscream greeted his opponent, Bumblebee tapped him on the shoulder and sent him flying. Optimus opted not to finish the job, allowing Starscream to escape and fight another day as he got Cliffjumper and Arcee to base. Transformers: Prime

Prime cartoon

Voice actor: Steve Blum (English), Satoshi Tsuruoka (Japanese), Leopoldo Ballesteros (Spain-Spanish), Jin-uk Hong (Korean), Gianluca Iacono (Italian), Gerald Paradies (German), José Antonio Macías (Latin American Spanish), Nicolas Dubois (French), Nestor Chiesse (Brazilian Portuguese)

One look sells him as Starscream.

Before Starscream joined Megatron and the Decepticons, he was commander of a squadron of Energon Seekers on Cybertron. Partners

Following the Great Exodus, Starscream intercepted a coded Autobot transmission and managed to trap Arcee and Cliffjumper. When his interrogation methods failed to extract anything he could use to decode the transmission, he took them to Shockwave, who used a cortical psychic patch on Arcee and revealed the transmission to be from Optimus Prime on Earth. Upon being questioned by Cliffjumper of his lack of bravery, Starscream tried to kill the Autobot only to be captured by Arcee. Upon being threatened by Arcee he cracked and revealed Shockwaves plan; to build a space bridge under Kaon. Starscream was then knocked out but regained contentiousness and perused the two Autobots to the space bridge. Unfortunately the space bridge was destroyed with Shockwave, Cliffjumper and Arcee still inside but Starscream was able to escape. Starscream presumably took the Decepticons to earth via the Nemesis soon after. Out of the Past

When the Decepticons arrived on Earth, Starscream scouted an old Decepticon ship called the Harbinger that had crashed landed years back. However he failed to record the coordinates of the crash site or find the Immobilizer. Partners In time, Megatron departed Earth to gather an army out in space, leaving Starscream in charge. Starscream spent his time sending out Decepticon grunts to search for Energon depositsDarkness Rising, Part 2, and managed to set up a lucrative energon mine in secret. Rock Bottom

Three years later, one of Starscream's energon searches was interrupted by Cliffjumper. Once Cliffjumper was defeated by the Vehicons, Starscream personally killed the Autobot. Soundwave alerted him to Arcee's location, and Starscream decided she would be their next target. Later, when Soundwave received a signal from deep space, Starscream hesitantly opened the space bridge for Megatron's return. Darkness Rising, Part 1 Megatron revealed to Starscream that he'd brought back Dark Energon, and Starscream provided Cliffjumper's corpse so they could test the substance's reanimation properties. When the undead Cliffjumper's signal led the Autobots to the mine, Starscream blew the facility up on Megatron's orders. Darkness Rising, Part 2

"No, Mister Fowler, I expect you to be saved at the last minute!"

Following a test of Dark Energon on himself, Megatron took off for parts unknown, leaving Starscream in charge once more. When Soundwave picked up Agent Fowler's transmissions, Starscream had the human captured and began trying to extract the location of the Autobot base from him. Darkness Rising, Part 3 The interrogation almost succeeded, but for the arrival of Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead who, after a standoff, forced Starscream to retreat. Once Megatron returned to the ship, he was outraged at Starscream's actions and proceeded to beat his subordinate for "delaying his plans". Starscream managed to quell his master's anger by announcing he had a way to get their plans back on course. Darkness Rising, Part 4

Oh my God. It's called toothpaste, use it.

As it turned out, his plan was to send Soundwave down to use the Giant Sized Array radio telescope on Earth to set the space bridge's target. Once the bridge was properly targeted, Starscream opened it so that Megatron could throw the chunk of Dark Energon though. Starscream moved the ship back to a safe distance when the fighting on the rim of the space bridge became more intense, while imploring his master to withdraw as well. Alas, the space bridge exploded, apparently taking Megatron with it, and Starscream gave a brief eulogy before declaring himself leader Darkness Rising, Part 5 and danced in celebration while imploring the troops to chant his name. Patch

What'cha doin' on your back?! You should be dancing, YEAH!!!!

*ping* "FINE! FINE! I'LL WRITE A THANK-YOU NOTE!"

Starscream's speeches were poorly received. Intending to find more potentially-loyal warriors, Starscream took Soundwave to try to revive the long-dormant Skyquake. To Starscream's disappointment, Skyquake was loyal only to Megatron, and interested only in fighting the Autobots who arrived. A signal detected by Soundwave sent Starscream to the location of the space bridge explosion, where he found Megatron's body and ripped the sliver of Dark Energon from it. He was forced by the observing Laserbeak to return the body to the Nemesis, where he also learned that Skyquake had been terminated by the Autobots. Masters & Students

When Wheeljack arrived on Earth, Starscream had him captured and substituted Makeshift with the mission to open the Autobot GroundBridge to let the Decepticon forces into the Autobot base. Unfortunately Wheeljack broke free before the plan could succeed, and as a result, Makeshift was expelled from the Autobot base onto the Nemesis hull with an activated grenade. Starscream vacated the hull before Makeshift exploded. Con Job After Soundwave picked up on another Autobot operation, Starscream figured it was a good opportunity to get rid of the Autobots while they were distracted, and sent a squadron of Vehicons on a search and destroy mission. Convoy

"We've had too much Energon shed. I think that a cleansing is in order."

To Starscream's discomfort, the crew held a vote and he was obliged to call in Knock Out and Breakdown to aid in Megatron's recovery. The discovery that an Energon Harvester was located in an museum on Earth was all the excuse Starscream needed to put that on hold, and the other Decepticons soon obtained the device for him. While they were testing it in Greece, Bulkhead attacked them and destroyed the Harvester. Deus ex Machina Starscream was irritated by Knock Out's participation in street racing, and eventually decided to make an example of him. Speed Metal

That's not how ATB Megatron and Starscream combine!

Some time later, after the ship's electromagnetic shielding failed, Starscream put the Vehicons to work fixing it. Offering Knock Out a post as second-in-command, Starscream persuaded him to help convince Soundwave that Megatron was a lost cause. They were interrupted by Arcee and Bumblebee, who were doing something with Megatron's corpse, and after chasing the two Autobots off, they discovered that Megatron no longer had any brain activity. Sick Mind Overjoyed at this, Starscream began a new plan, constructing a heat ray which he attempted to use to melt a glacier to get to a huge energon deposit. Unfortunately, not only did the Autobots arrive and destroy the heat ray, but Megatron was resurrected and dragged the protesting Starscream away for punishment. Out of His Head

Damn, in another continuity the arm comes off and they mock it in this one.

Starscream ended up in the infirmary as a result of Megatron's punishment, but continued undaunted in his plans. He took the chunk of Dark Energon he'd been hiding, and went to the site of Skyquake's grave, intending to resurrect the warrior as well as imbuing himself with Dark Energon. Unfortunately the Autobots arrived before Skyquake rose, and Starscream had to retreat through the Decepticon GroundBridge, albeit minus his right arm. After subjecting himself to treatment from Knock Out, Starscream returned to the site to confirm whether Skyquake had risen, only to be attacked by Skyquake's zombified right arm. Shadowzone

When Breakdown was captured to MECH, Starscream's suggestion they rescue their comrade was turned down by Megatron. Starscream went anyway, and found Breakdown had already been rescued by Bulkhead, but escorted Breakdown back to the ship. Operation: Breakdown At an old energon mine, Megatron confronted Starscream about his many transgressions and prepared to terminate his subordinate. Starscream was only saved by the arrival of the Autobots, but on escaping the collapsed mine, realized that he would have to go back in and attempt to rescue Megatron, or face his master's possible wrath later. Venturing back inside, he ended up tangling with the Autobots, and when Megatron later found him, he had been left supporting a large boulder. Rock Bottom

Why am I always seen like this? Chest and lower body off to one side, head towards y'all.

Starscream was sent with Airachnid to locate the Harbinger wreck, only for the spider to leave him webbed up when it turned out the ship was broken in half and the weapon they sought was in the other half. Starscream was found by the Autobots and attempted to convince them he wanted to switch sides, even pointing them to the location of the weapon Airachnid was after. Unfortunately he let slip he'd been the one to kill Cliffjumper, provoking Arcee into attacking him. After fighting her, he was able to limp away, though he decided from then on he would be an independent. Partners

Many months later, Starscream snuck on board the Nemesis to steal energon cubes and blundered into the workroom that was being used by the recently-amnesiac Optimus Prime. Orion Pax, Part 1 Starscream soon realized what was going on, but when more Vehicons arrived, he was wounded while fleeing the ship. He contacted the Autobots to exchange information for medical help. When Ratchet and Bulkhead arrived, it turned out they already knew about Optimus's situation, but were interested in what he knew about the space bridge, so he was able to trade the information for aid. Orion Pax, Part 2

"Wanna know how I got these scars?"

Tracking a signal, Starscream stumbled upon a MECH trap already sprung by Bumblebee. He was intrigued and followed the MECH helicopter and watched as they tried to install the T-cog they'd taken into a robot. When their attempt to make the robot work failed, Starscream revealed himself and managed to strike a partnership with them. Operation Bumblebee, Part 1 With Starscream's help, MECH secured a source of energon and Starscream was there when they used it on their robot. As Bumblebee came looking for his T-cog, Starscream helped defend it, but when it looked like Bumblebee might get it back, Starscream blasted it and left. Unfortunately Silas was less than impressed, and after a short nap thanks to MECH's weapons, Starscream woke up minus his own T-cog. Operation Bumblebee, Part 2

Ouch.

While scavenging for energon, Starscream found that Airachnid had been cast out from the Decepticons and obtained a pet in the form of an Insecticon. She spurned his suggestion that they team up to defeat Megatron, and he barely escaped with his life. Wounded, he employed his previous trick to get medical help from the Autobots in exchange for information about Airachnid's activities, and even later saved Arcee from Airachnid, sparing her life like she spared his much, much earlier. Crossfire

Starscream returned to the Harbinger in search of energon, and instead found a laboratory containing five protoforms and the equipment necessary for cloning. He had soon whipped up five Starscream clones, which he dispatched to dispatch Megatron. Unfortunately he soon discovered that he could sympathetically feel every injury they suffered, which gave him a good idea how the mission was going. When the last clone returned to report failure, Starscream sensed the clone's treachery and blasted it. Fully aware of the effect on him, he terminated the clone, screaming in their shared pain as he did. Armada

Starscream SMASH!

He was about to operate on himself to install the clone's T-cog when the ship detected the Decepticons sending teams out to locations around the globe. Intrigued, he used the ship's GroundBridge to reach Antarctica, only to be captured by Dreadwing, whom he at first mistook for Skyquake. Eventually, Optimus arrived, and after Dreadwing was buried in an avalanche and the Vehicons accompanying him were dispatched, Starscream now found himself as Optimus's prisoner. The two followed a trail to a human research station where the relic everyone was after was being held. Dreadwing soon arrived and another battle between him and Optimus took place. As they fought, Starscream freed the relic, the Apex Armor, from the ice block containing it and claimed it as his own. Covered in a full body suit and towering over both of them, Starscream used the armor to fight both Optimus and Dreadwing, a fight in which he was the aggressor for once in a long time. Though Starscream had enhanced strength and was rendered invulnerable, he still couldn't fly, and a few of Dreadwing's bombs created a hole in the ice which he fell through. He was subsequently forced to plod along the bottom of the ocean. Triangulation

Next on his list of cat-related videos is Nyan Ravage.

Back at the Harbinger, Starscream discovered a photo of Red Energon on the Internet, as well as a dancing monkey which came as much amusement to him. He took the Apex Armor with him, tracking the substance down to a dockyard where he was confronted by Optimus, Arcee and Bumblebee. Donning the armor, he attempted to retrieve the Red Energon first, and managed to rip a chunk off after Optimus knocked him off the crane. While he was trying to tip the crane over, Smokescreen arrived, and using a phase shifter, removed Starscream from the Apex Armor. The Decepticon responded by firing a missile at the three Autobots on the crane and escaping with a chunk of Red Energon. New Recruit

Starscream set about refining the Red Energon, though the process was slow and only yielded enough for one or two doses. Alerted to a Decepticon operation by the Harbinger's computers, he used it on himself and soon found Smokescreen had uncovered a relic. Using his new hyperspeed to blindside him, Starscream was able to obtain one of the Omega Keys, which he later overheard Bulkhead describing as a way to revitalize Cybertron. Hard Knocks

"Full house!" "Fantastic poker hand Starscream, but we're playing gin."

Though thinking of restoring Cybertron and ruling it himself, Starscream decided that he didn't have the proper resources to do so. Coming up with a plan, Starscream lured Optimus, Ratchet and Bulkhead to a remote location with the promise of the key he'd found in return for the installation of the T-Cog from his clone. In reality, he used his remaining Red Energon to allow him to infiltrate the Autobot base while leaving the clone behind for the Autobots to find. While stealing the other three keys from, the Autobots figured out his clone was a ruse, and Starscream only just managed to get back through the Ground Bridge. After taking a moment to taunt the Autobots, the Red Energon wore off, and he quickly bridged away to the Nemesis, with the Omega Keys as a peace offering to Megatron. Inside Job

Requesting to rejoin the Decepticons, the unconvinced Megatron subjected Starscream to a cortical psychic patch and began rummaging in his memories to determine his true motives. Despite the incriminating nature of most of the memories, Megatron's analysis of Starscream's strengths and weaknesses (including the loss of his T-cog and the fact that Starscream is not the only untrustworthy Decepticon on the Nemesis), has him decide to allow Starscream to serve by his side, as he is better with him than against him. Starscream was so relieved by the turn of events that he thanked the All Spark, but Dreadwing was not so pleased about this development. Patch

Plot details for Regeneration (Prime) follow. Spoilers have expired, you may remove this tag

Knock Out restored Starscream's T-Cog, though immediately afterwards Starscream was attacked by a murderous Dreadwing and had to be saved by Megatron. After Starscream helped Knock Out unlock the secret of the Omega Keys, Megatron left him in charge of the Nemesis. Starscream used information gathered by Soundwave to kidnap the Autobots' three human friends and took them to Cybertron for Megatron to use as hostages. Regeneration

Titan Magazines Prime comics

The president's been kidnapped by Decepticons! Are you a bad enough dude to save the president?

Starscream accompanied Megatron on a trip to Antarctica to attack the NS Yamal. He carried the static lance that Megatron intended to use to detonate the ship's nuclear reactors, and when the Autobots arrived to intercede, Starscream used the weapon to knock Ratchet out. He tried to do the same to Bumblebee, but the Autobot dodged the blow and kicked him in the head. Ice Breaker

Tasked by Megatron with trying to draw the Autobots out, Starscream attacked and captured Air Force One, taking it to the Grand Canyon. He sent a message demanding Optimus Prime's surrender in exchange for the safe return of the President, but the Autobots turned up in force. Starscream's accompaniment of Vehicons was soon quashed, and Optimus rescued the President, whom Starscream was using as a human shield, by chopping the Decepticon's left arm off. Defeated, Starscream fled. All the President's 'Bots!

Starscream was appalled when Megatron revealed the latest plan—pit the Vehicons against each other in a series of deathmatches to ensure their army contained only the toughest. He was even more shocked when Megatron expected him to fight against Fearstorm. Through application of his wits, Starscream was able to defeat the much-larger Decepticon and Megatron let him return to the ship. Megatron's Law

Plot details for Transformers Comic issue 4.12 follow. Spoilers have expired, you may remove this tag

On Soundwave's prompting, Starscream set up an ambush for the Autobots in The Wave. When it predictably went badly for the Decepticons, Starscream demanded his companion take matters into his own hands. Soundwave did, and as a result Starscream had to later help Soundwave look for his missing hand. The Evil Shred

Games

Transformers: War for Cybertron (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)

Voice actor: Sam Riegel (English), Gianluca Iacono (Italian), Leopoldo Ballesteros (Spain-Spanish)

Where are your stupid Macross jokes now?!

Have no fear, Lord Megatron. Under my leadership, Decepticon victory is assured!Starscream being all modest, Transformers: War for Cybertron

For the last thousand years of the Great War, Starscream was in charge of an orbital facility that had the capability of producing Dark Energon, though they maintained only a small stockpile because of its unpredictable and uncontrollable nature. The station's force of neutral soldiers were no match for Megatron's invading forces, while Starscream and Jetfire's repeated warnings that no one could control Dark Energon had no effect on Megatron's determination. Instead, Megatron tempted Starscream with knowledge of his past, reminding him of his demotion from Sky Commander to a mere guard over an all-but-derelict station, and offered to let him join the Decepticons, something Starscream scoffed at — at least, at first. Starscream attempted to destroy the station's stock of Dark Energon before the Decepticon leader could reach it, but failed, and watched, first with amusement as Megatron entered the storage chamber...and then with shock as Megatron infused himself with the substance and bent it to his will within moments. Starscream quickly volunteered his services for the Decepticon cause, causing Jetfire to label him a traitor and leave to warn Zeta Prime. Megatron sent him with Thundercracker and Skywarp to Cybertron to reactivate the Energon Bridge. Starscream performed the mission successfully using his trademark style, flair, and modesty, never mind Megatron's taunting and unreasonable impatience, or Thundercracker's warning him of the danger of certain courses of action, or even Skywarp's cluing in to his constant insults.

During the Battle of Iacon City, Starscream led the Decepticons aerial squadrons and Brawl led the Decepticons' ground assault, while Megatron, Soundwave, and Breakdown went behind enemy lines and tried to secure the Omega Key. When Megatron's group met up with Brawl, Starscream refused to send Dark Energon bombers, saying that he wouldn't let Brawl waste anymore of "his ships". Megatron took issue with Starscream dubbing the bombers his, and overrode Starscream's refusal. Later that evening, while looking for the "real" Omega Key, they ran into it: Omega Supreme. Starscream assumed Megatron was killed when Omega attacked a dropship Megatron was heading for and declared himself Decepticon commander. Shortly afterward, Megatron managed to communicate with Starscream and ordered him to attack Omega Supreme, getting the massive Autobot off of Megatron's back. By the time Megatron's group were heading for the Autobot turrets, Starscream was ready to sound a retreat, which Megatron overrode with the threat of marking any retreating Decepticon as "kill on sight". Fortunately, Megatron arrived moments later and managed to defeat Omega Supreme, making the retreat unnecessary. Later on, he was present at the Core of Cybertron as Megatron corrupted it with Dark Energon.

As the Battle of Iacon continued, Starscream fought through Jetfire and Silverbolt, and attacked Optimus's group in the Decagon. However, the Air Commander was injured by Optimus's Energon-axe and forced to retreat. The wound was apparently bad enough to cause him to sit out the remainder of the conflict. Transformers: War for Cybertron

Transformers: War for Cybertron (DS)

Voice actor: Sam Riegel (English), Gianluca Iacono (Italian)

Starscream had been in control of Trypticon Space Station for years, until Megatron and his forces invaded. Megatron wished to revive the Dark Energon project to aid him in his conquest of Cybertron, but Starscream would have none of it. Megatron was able to fight his way to Starscream himself, and after a brief battle, Starscream had lost. He begged for mercy, and Megatrons spared Starscream in exchange for loyalty to the Decepticons. Starscream obliged and Megatron was taken to the core of the station.

After a test run of the Dark Energon's effects on Decepticons in Kaon Prison, Soundwave deduced the element would only destroy the host. A furious Megatron set Starscream to work on fixing the problem, with Starscream continuously bickering with Barricade over his usefullness. The problem was eventually solved in time for an attack on Iacon City. When Megatron felled Zeta Prime and found the Omega Key, the titanic Autobot Omega Supreme was unleashed upon the Decepticons, quickly crushing them with ease.

Megatron was downright furious with Starscream, declaring he had brought Omega Supreme's rampage upon them all. Starscream retorted that if it wasn't for Megatron and his blind troops, none of this would've happened. Starscream invited Megatron to kill him, but warned him it wouldn't do a thing about Omega Supreme out for their blood. Megatron for the moment let it go, and finally felled Omega Supreme, gaining total dominance over Cybertron.

Sometime later, Starscream ambushed an Autobot recruit-in-training, and would've killed him if it wasn't for Optimus charging to the rescue. He wasn't seen again after that. Transformers: War for Cybertron

Transformers: Cybertron Adventures

Voice actor: Sam Riegel (English), Gianluca Iacono (Italian)

Being Megatron's "right-hand man," he wonders how the war could have changed if HE were to be the leader, not Megatron. Still he was ordered by Megatron to do his dirty work, and growing jealous, he waits for the right time, to take his place, as leader of the Decepticons. Transformers: Cybertron Adventures

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

Voice actor: Sam Riegel (English)

Under Megatron's orders, Starscream and the Combaticons ambushed and captured Optimus Prime under the ruins of Iacon during the assault on the Ark. Starscream's gloating on how he defeated Megatron's archnemesis would earn him a blast from the Decepticon's leader's fusion cannon. Starscream's luck would take an uphill turn, however, for Megatron was soon crushed by Metroplex, leaving him the new leader of the Decepticons. At the urging of both Prime and Metroplex, Starscream ordered the Decepticons to retreat.

Starscream's reign as a leader was lackluster at best. He used most of the Decepticon energon and supplies to further his own ego and cover the Decepticon bases with portraits and effigies of himself and constantly broadcasting self glorifying speeches to his troops. Anyone who wasn't on board with Starscream's reign was thrown into the prisons of Kaon. Needless to say, the prisons were full to bursting as barely a handful of Decepticons hand any faith in their new leader. When the Autobots aquired the entire energon supply the Decepticons kept in the Sea of Rust. Starscream sent the Combaticons to stop the transport. When the transport was out in the open, Starscream ordered an assault on it, despite the fact the anti-aircraft gun were still functional. As the Decepticons suffered heavy losses, Starscream aborted the mission and ordered a full retreat. The Combaticons ignored the order and brought the transport down, at the cost of half the energon on board. Despite the fact that the Combaticons had saved the mission he had abandoned, Starscream accused them of failing and had them arrested.

Later, Starscream decided to have a coronation for himself (despite the fact he had been in charge for some time now). Though sadly it was not to be, as a newly rebuilt Megatron crashed the event and took his crown back from the would-be king, much to everyone else's elation. Luckily, the Air Commander escaped Megatron's wrath, swearing revenge.

Seeking the means to get back at Megatron, Starscream made his way to Shockwave's lab. He came across Grimlock and promised to free him and his team if they would serve him. The Dinobot kindly refused the offer by throwing him into the control panel, freeing himself. Fall of Cybertron

Transformers: Prime - The Game

Voice actor: Steve Blum (English)

Further information in this article is coming soon - it just needs someone like you to write it up. This article is now fair game, you may remove this tag and add info as you please

Transformers: Prime - The Game

Toys

War for Cybertron

So I'm Cybertron Starscream in Generation 1 Starscream colors as Prime Starscream. Confused? Good! *BLAM*

• Starscream (Legends Class, 2010)

This redeco of Legends Class Cybertron Starscream appeared pretty much out of the blue one day, when, without fanfare, it was offered as a promotional giveaway in the United Kingdom to those who purchased the Transformers: War for Cybertron video game from ShopTo.Net. He transforms into a Cybertronic jet fighter and features hidden weapons in his wing-sections/biceps: the right arm hides a blade, while the left arm has a non-firing cannon.

This toy was later offered as a gift to attendees at the Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong fair 2010 if they made a combined purchase of Transformers toys amounting to more than HK$400.

This mold was also used the make Cybertron Ramjet, Skywarp and Sunstorm, Universe Ramjet and Thrust, and Dark of the Moon Cybertronian Starscream.

Prime: First Edition

He's got legs, and he knows how to attach them to the underside of his jetmode.

• Starscream (Deluxe Class, 2011)
  • Number: 003
  • Japanese release date: December 28, 2012
  • Accessories: 2 missile pods, stand (Hasbro only)

Deluxe Class Starscream transforms from a jet resembling a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon into a skinny robot and back! He comes with two missile pod accessories that can either attach onto tabs on the underside of his wings, or onto the rear wings on his arms in robot mode. Additionally, he has a 5mm peg hole that goes through each arm, both of which become the sides of his jet mode tail. This allows accessories with the same size peg to be used in either mode. Also, since the tail stabilizers fold into the sides of the tail to become the arms, the hole isn't very deep in robot mode unless you leave these fins folded out. Undocumented in either of his Hasbro and TakaraTomy instructions, Starscream has a couple of features that help make him slightly more show-accurate: he has a deployable winglet on the back of each of his legs, and his large wing kibble can tilt slightly upward.

Some units have the head aerial deformed in-package due to being made of soft plastic. This is due to friction preventing it from hinging back. The aerial is supposed to fold back along the head for transformation, but can be tough enough to get in place due to simply flexing instead of changing position. His knee spikes also tend to deform.

As with all Hasbro-release "First Edition" toys, a cardboard stand is included. The Takara release omits the stand in order to fit the toy into the bubble in robot mode.

This mold was retooled to make Prime Skywarp, Timelines Slipstream and Prime Thundercracker

Prime

File:StarscreamCommander.jpg

• Starscream (Cyberverse Commander, 2012)
  • Series/Number: 2 / 003
  • Japanese number: EZ-03
  • Japanese release date: March 31, 2012
  • Accessories: 2 "missile cannons"

This Cyberverse-scaled Starscream is cast partly in translucent plastic so that the toy can be lit using the electronic lights featured in the larger playsets. He also comes with two translucent "missile cannon" weapons and a pack-in file card. The Hasbro release features soft, rubbery material on both the nosecone and tailfin for safety purposes, but not on the pointier missile cannon accessories. Starscream's arms can separate from the nosecone fuselage on the elbow joint for greater show-accuracy, if you ignore the giant jet pieces hanging off his arms. Or the fact that the 'con symbol on his chest is purple.

• Cyberverse Starscream at tfu.info

I'd be a poor man's Skywarp if I didn't cost more to import.

• Bumblebee vs. Starscream: Ultimate Opponents (2012)
  • Accessories: 2 missile pods

This deluxe-class Starscream is a redeco of his First Edition release in lighter gray plastic with several purple highlights, possibly intended to represent his powering up with Dark Energon in the episode Shadowzone. Unlike the original release of this mold, this version features paint operations on its soft plastic parts, such as his forehead crest and missile-tips.

Starscream came packed-in with a redeco of First Edition Bumblebee, small unarticulated figurines of Silas and a MECH soldier, as well as a DVD containing the episodes Convoy, Sick Mind and Out of His Head. The two-pack was also available in Australian markets virtually unchanged, except the DVD was replaced with a booklet including short (and by that, we mean one sentence) bios as well as Tech Specs for most of the characters.

The stock photography on the packaging depicts Starscream's cockpit and abdomen as translucent, and with the stripes on his wings being on the leading edges instead of their final placement.

Oh, that can't be aerodynamic.

• Starscream (Voyager, 2012)
  • Series/Number: 1 / 003
  • Japanese release date: 6-30-2012
  • Japanese ID number: AM-07
  • Accessories: Missile pod/light-up null-ray blaster & two missiles (Hasbro only), "Gul" Arms Micron (TakaraTomy only)

A larger mold, Prime: Robots in Disguise Starscream still transforms into a fighter jet. He now comes with two missiles, as well as a missile pod attached to a half-translucent base of random parts, both of which can be mounted (via 5mm posts) behind his canopy/on his back, or onto his wings, arms, and hands. Additionally, the missile pod itself features a peg-hole on each side, and his wings each feature a Mini-Con-compatible peg. When the missile pod/lever is pulled, the LED inside the weapon housing lights up red and swivels down, and the base extends to form his "null-ray blaster", all while being illuminated by the LED as a sort of "Energon glow". As with other Robots in Disguise Voyager Class toys, the deployed weapon cannot lock into place.

His prototype stock photography depicts additional paint operations on the wings and vertical stabilizer that were omitted in the final product. His instructions and stock photos also incorrectly show his completed robot mode's shoulder-pads as being left flipped-up, despite the instructions telling you to flip them down just a few steps before.

The TakaraTomy release, which was part of the fourth wave of Prime product in Japan (despite his ID numbering placing him before toys released in the third wave), loses a lot of his detail-based paint operations, replacing them with customer-applied foil stickers. Unlike most of the Arms Micron line, Starscream himself appears to have no retooling whatsoever, using only the Hasbro version's existing 5mm posts and holes. Instead of the light-up cannon-thing, he comes with the Arms Micron Gul, a robotic eagle that transforms into a bladed plasma weapon of exceedingly dubious similarity to any of Starscream's built-in weapons on the show.

• Hasbro Voyager Starscream at tfu.info
• Arms Micron Starscream at Alfes's toy blog (part 1)
• Arms Micron Starscream at Alfes's toy blog (part 2)

So, does this mean "Synthetic Energon Starscream" will be in Thundercracker's colors?

• Starscream (Dark Energon Deluxe, 2012)
  • Accessories: 2 missile pods

A BigBadToyStore-exclusive redeco of Prime First Edition Starscream in translucent black, opaque purple, and dark blue.

Though he was packaged on an individual card, he was only sold as part of a set with the Dark Energon versions of Bumblebee, Knock Out and Wheeljack.

Generations

File:Generationstoy-WFCFOCStarscream.jpg

Oh geeze, it's going to be Seeker-Gate all over again.

• Starscream (Deluxe, 2013)
  • Japanese number: TG09
  • Accessories: Two mini-guns

Part of the first wave of 2013 Generations Deluxe Class toys, Starscream is based on his War for Cybertron design and transforms from a robot to a spaceship and back. He appears to come with two mini-guns that are geared to spin and can combine to form a larger hand-held weapon that resembles the X18 Scrapmaker from Fall of Cybertron.

Merchandise

• Starscream McDonald's Happy Meal Toy (2012)

Part of McDonald's Transformers: Prime promotion, Starscream is depicted as a non-transformable, simplified version of his jet mode, cast in light and dark gray plastic with some blue, black, and purple paint applications. Pressing the raised Decepticon symbol on the fuseage causes the cockpit to pop up on a hinge, revealing two non-firing missiles.

Notes

ooooo-ooooo/We fade to grey!

Fabulouscream.

• Starscream's model is usable in War for Cybertron multiplayer as the Energon Seeker-type chassis for Scientist-class characters. His parts are also available to Scientists in Fall of Cybertron, now classified as Arclight-type components.
• Starscream's backstory in Exodus is self-contradictory:

"Not even Starscream, who had spent much of his scientific career in the labs contained within these refracting walls..." (p. 78).

"See what?" Starscream asked. Neither Starscream nor Megatron were scientists." (p. 158).

• When asked via Twitter, Exodus's writer Alex Irvine stated "Let's say he's always been scientifically curious."

• Despite being a Neutral before joining Megatron's cause in War for Cybertron, Starscream begins the game with his glowing details already in Decepticon purple as opposed to Neutral yellow.
• Starscream's thin body and narrow, upward-swept wings in robot mode recalls Animated Starscream, but his voice, colour scheme, Igor-like posture and subservience to Megatron recalls the live-action incarnation. The game design has the movie bulk but with a Generation 1 head and colours.
• Starscream's chest design is basically his live-action incarnation's head design. Now that's a visual homage.
  • And an unintentional one at that, according to the New York Comic-Con Transformers: Prime panel.
• Prime's Starscream has a red Decepticon insignia.
• Steve Blum said he was a fan of Charlie Adler and Tom Kenny's portrayals of Starscream, and had Adler give him his blessing after he got the part. Coincidentally, Blum, Adler and Kenny are all in The Super Hero Squad Show.
• Screamer appears to have Decepticon logos on his legs. They disappeared after "Masters & Students".
• For the rest of the series after "Partners", Starscream has a scar on his right cheek from his battle with Arcee.
• Up until Partners, his eyes were empty (like Arcee's eyes) with a solid red iris and lighter red pupils, but following said episode, his eyes change color from episode to episode. On some occasions, they are solid red with lighter red dots for his pupils.
• Sometimes during the series, depending on Starscream's mood (usually when scared), the wings on his back in robot mode tend to droop down like an animal's ears when scared or saddened. It's quite adorable, really.
• Starscream's body parts are available to use in the Hub website's Vector Sigma Bot Builder online game. Normally, you cannot configure a generic 'bot using all Starscream parts, but you can see what one would look like at right through the magic of Photoshop.
• In Starscream's dedicated level in Fall Of Cybertron, a secret room on the exterior of Shockwave's tower complex contains a very G1-esque gold crown that can be picked up by the player and worn for the remainder of the level. Words cannot describe how awesome this is..
• Starscream seems to be entertained by dancing monkeys.
• His arm blasters appear to have the ability to disrupt a Transformer's systems. In "Operation Bumblebee, Part 2", one shot from them briefly disables Bumblebee. Maybe he picked the Null-ray upgrade after all.
• Starscream's Hasbro Bio takes Fowler's comment "Starscream is his own worst enemy", a little too literally as it lists his arch-enmy as himself

Arms Up Modes

In the Japanese Prime toyline, Starscream has named powered-up modes when given various Arms Microns in certain configurations:

• Full Weapon Mode (フルウェポンモード furuūeponmōdo)
  • Arms Microns: Balo, Gora, Gul, Jida, Zori

Starscream's box-back Arms Up mode has him using the Laser Gunblade on his right arm, the High-Defense Shield on the left, and Zori in "Flexible Rod Mode" (yyyyeah) on his back.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Starscream (スタースクリーム Sutāsukurīmu)
• Mandarin: Tīen-wáng-hsīng (Taiwan, 天王星, "Uranus"), Hóng Zhīzhū (China, 紅蜘蛛, "Red Spider")
• Russian: Skandalist (Скандалист, "Troublemaker") (FOC only, Prime uses the original name)