Drift (G1)

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

This article is a featured article, and considered to be one of the most informative on this wiki.

Drift is an Autobot and former Decepticon 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. 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, so long as his skills are used against the other side!

In addition to the two swords kept in his hip scabbards, Drift carries a legendary Great Sword. An ancient weapon that predates modern civilization, the Great Sword draws upon the spark energy of its bearer, and as such must only be used in the most dire of circumstances.

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 Generation 1 continuity

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.

"Eh....Inferno, tell to Death Blade that if he calling me that again, his name will become DEATH BOT!"

Drift was originally a homeless Cybertronian, living on the streets and stealing energon to survive. The hopeless 'bot was befriended by Gasket Drift #2 but otherwise had no one. During one drug trip in the Dead End, he was assaulted by Sonic and Boom, who were abducting homeless people for money. Drift was rescued by Orion Pax, who brought him to Ratchet's secret clinic in Rodion. Ratchet saved Drift's life, and told the young robot that he could achieve great things in his life if he tried— he could just tell Drift was destined for something special. Post Hoc

Drift would soon learn what that was, after Gasket was killed by Autobot law enforcement after trying to stop them from executing a thief. Drift exploded with rage, grabbed the nearest gun and killed them all. His knack for violence attracted the attention of the Cybertronian underground, who trained Drift as a killer. Amongst this group, Drift realized the level of corruption in the Senate, and a recruitment rally held by Megatron drew Drift in with his talk of equality. Megatron singled Drift out of the crowd, claiming to have heard great things of him, and asked him to join the Decepticons to fight for a better Cybertron. Drift agreed and, after being was hailed by the crowd, was renamed Deadlock by Megatron. Drift #2 Drift rose to become the second-in-command of Turmoil, garnering a reputation as a vicious and merciless fighter.

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

Much later, on the planet Dabola, Deadlock led a battalion against an Autobot squadron. The Autobots' leader called a retreat, and Deadlock's team celebrated. This was spoiled when one of the soldiers pointed out that Deadlock had been ordered to merely observe, and once again had disobeyed orders. When the soldier threatened to inform Turmoil of Deadlock's disobedience, Deadlock killed him. Claiming Turmoil was too cautious and that it was time for new leadership, he called for the other soldiers to follow him, but they summarily captured him and brought him to Turmoil. Turmoil used a stasis lock to trap him in robot mode and attempted to execute him. Deadlock managed to escape, and after initiating an emergency protocol to cover his escape, stole an escape pod and departed the ship.

Deadlock crashed on an unknown planet. After scaling some, he found a massive structure, but before he could explore, a mysterious cloaked figure appeared, named Wing. Wing offered a deal: help him free the slaves, and he would find Deadlock a ship. Deadlock, introducing himself as "Drift," agreed, but first Drift said he needed guns. Together, they jumped some guards and stole their weapons, however a stray blast stripped Wing of his cloak, revealing him to be Cybertronian. Once they jumped into the complex, Drift automatically fled for the ship, abandoning Wing. Despite this betrayal, when Drift was attacked and nearly killed by one the slavers, Wing brought Drift back with him to a new Crystal City, where he was repaired. Drift #1

"We were okay with your old legs. Rest had to go."

Wing explained that they were the Circle of Light, a group of Cybertronian scholars and scientists who abandoned the planet during the early days of the war in order to find peace and preserve Cybertron's culture. Wing and Drift were taken to a meeting with Crystal City's leader, Dai Atlas. While Drift waited outside, Wing was admonished for bringing a corrupting influence to the city. He was ordered to keep Drift with him at all times. Afterward, Wing brought Drift to an empty room, discarded his swords and asked him what the Decepticon symbol stood for. Drift replied it meant strength, power and conviction, and the belief in the survival of the strongest. Wing offered Drift a chance to earn his freedom by defeating him without guns in combat, but Drift never succeeded. Drift grumbled that he'd never learned to fight without projectile weaponry.

Weeks later, Wing was still dominating Drift. Over time, Drift admitted that Crystal City held everything Drift had ever wanted, while the Decepticons had lost sight of this goal some time ago. Their sparring was interrupted by a summons from Dai Atlas. When they arrived in the control room, he informed them that they had received a coded signal and he thought Drift might be able to translate. Though Drift claimed he could not understand it, that night he snuck out of the city and drove far into the desert. There he met with the slavers, who had used a Decepticon code to offer Drift a deal. The code had been obtained from Lockdown, a Decepticon sent by Megatron. The deal was simple: hand over the location of the Circle of Light or die. Drift #2

Man, I bet those dumb G2 guys wish they had this kind of endurance.

Lockdown reminded "Deadlock" of his high-standing in the Decepticon army. Megatron held Deadlock in high esteem, and by guarding these Transformers Drift stood to lose that. Meanwhile, the head slaver, Braid, required Cybertronian bodies to experiment on, and were willing to take captives from the neutral camp in lieu of Deadlock, in payment for the property he'd damaged earlier. After agreeing to lead the neutral Transformers into an ambush, Drift stumbled back to Crystal City, where he informed the Circle of Light about the pact he'd made with Lockdown and the slavers. Drift argued that they should fight their attackers to preserve their freedom and their way of life, but Dai Atlas sharply disagreed. He would have no fighting at all, even to preserve his own life, and blamed Drift for ruining their civilization. The others did not agree, and supported Drift. A small number of them offered to help fight the slavers while keeping the true number of their population unknown. As they reached the surface with a hastily constructed craft to make it appear as if the Circle of Light had recently crashed there, Drift revealed himself to have been rebuilt head-to-toe to match his new colleagues. With a sword mounted on each hip, Drift announced he was ready. Drift #3

Soon, Lockdown and the slavers were upon them. After slaying a few of the slavers, Drift realized that he was past the point of no return. Lockdown realized this as well, and asked the former Decepticon why he'd given it all away so easily. "What I've always wanted... the promise of a better Cybertron." But their sparring was interrupted by the death of Wing. Enraged, Drift jumped Braid, Wing's murderer, but he did not accomplish much. He was not as agile a fighter as his late friend, and Braid easily defeated him.

Before the killing blow could be delivered, Crystal City in its entirety rose from the ground, as Wing's death had spurred Dai Atlas into action. With the entirety of the population now fighting the slavers, the tide was quickly turned. Despite his injuries, Drift slew Braid with his Great Sword, while Lockdown, startled at Drift's transformation, cut his losses and left. Though the Circle of Light asked Drift to stay with them, Drift reminded them that he'd promised Wing to return the freed slaves to their homes. Drift was given Wing's Great Sword and given their blessing. Drift #4

He's your horrible fancharacter.

Some time after leaving Crystal City and returning the slaves, Drift set off to make a difference in the Autobot/Decepticon Civil War. First, he attempted 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

He thinks he's turning Japanese, he thinks he's turning Japanese, he really thinks so.

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

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

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

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

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

"Another of your ill-timed jokes, Drift??"
"... You and I are enemies now."

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 was 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

At some point Drift traveled to Japan and did some drift racing all by himself. Drift #4

Drift was among the Autobots who confronted Galvatron and his troops when they crashed their ship in Las Vegas, bringing with them a zombie invasion. Infestation #1 The Autobots and Decepticons worked together to banish the zombies to the Dead Universe, though Drift himself really just stood silently in the background the whole time. Infestation #2

Drift listened to Wheelie tell tales of, presumably, his time in space and accompanied Optimus Prime and many others to Cybertron aboard Omega Supreme's rocket form. Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix Along the way, he and many others tried to listen in on a conversation between Optimus Prime and a captive Megatron. Chaos Theory Part 1 Later, Drift accompanied Optimus, Hot Rod, Ironhide, Sunstreaker, and Cliffjumper to Cybertron to confront Galvatron and his army. After a brief skirmish with Galvatron's forces, the landing party returned to the Autobot landing zone. As Drift pointed out that maybe Galvatron was telling the truth and he had been assembling his army for a reason, the Autobots were bathed in a red light... Chaos Part One: Lamentations

We drove him to this...

-Which turned out to be a blast from the orbiting space station Kimia, recently commandeered by Galvatron's forces. Optimus Prime handed out orders to combat this new threat, telling Drift and Sunstreaker to establish a base of operations. After the threat of Kimia had ended, Omega Supreme's rocket landed at this base-camp and Rodimus and Drift set out after Optimus Prime and Ironhide, who had left to locate Galvatron. Chaos Part Two: Numbers

At the crater that Kimia's main weapon had blown into the surface of the planet, Drift accompanied Optimus and the others underground. The Autobots finally intercepted Galvatron and Jhiaxus and Optimus Prime demanded their surrender. Galvatron claimed that the core of Cybertron had to be destroyed to save the universe, revealing the glowing Heart of Darkness within his chest. At this, Drift began spouting gibberish and attacking his comrades in a maddened state, allowing for Galvatron and Jhiaxus to escape. The others attempted to restrain him, but Drift summoned what free will he had left and impaled himself on one of his own blades, much to Ironhide's horror. While Drift survived this, Ironhide told Prime that they'd have to evacuate him immediately for medical attention. Chaos Part Three: Kings

There's no 'Cons in Cyberutopia, and the streets are made of Pocky.

After recovering, Drift's near-death experience had reawakened his spiritual side. Hangers On Optimus Prime's return to Autobot camp three weeks later brought the discovery of a map inscribed inside the Matrix of Leadership. Drift was consumed with the idea that the map gave directions to Cyberutopia, the home of the Knights of Cybertron. Despite Prowl's insistence that the Knights of Cybertron never existed, Drift maintained that he had heard all about the Knights of Cybertron from Dai Atlas, and that the stories were true. Drift's passion for this discovery inspired Rodimus to assemble a team to leave the planet and find the Knights of Cybertron. The Death of Optimus Prime

At some point, Drift shed his Earth mode and took a more sleek, Cybertronian form for himself. Rodimus tasked himself with recruiting as many Autobots as he could to take off-planet and find the Knights of Cybertron. He was very good at working a crowd, though admittedly Drift wrote all of his speeches. The guy became the nominal third-in-command because, or so Ratchet said, he told Rodimus what he wanted to hear. Ratchet, older and grumpier than the pre-war days, was on the same ship as Drift and really had it in for him for everything the 'bot he'd saved had done with the life he'd given him. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It Hangers On

Unbeknownst to Rodimus, Drift was part of a clandestine plan devised by Prowl to help the Autobots create their own Phase Sixers. The captive and near-comatose Overlord would secretly be brought along on the journey, a fact known only to Drift, Brainstorm, and the Duobots. Remembrance Day

After boarding their new craft, the Lost Light, Drift had counted 208 total Autobots on board. (He also complimented Rodimus's latest speech.) Drift asked why Ultra Magnus appeared displeased (more than usual) with the crew, and Ultra Magnus revealed that he felt most of them were practically criminals. (Drift himself was under high suspicion, though Ultra Magnus didn't say this out loud.) As launch was underway, Drift continued to act as Rodimus's right-hand man, and moments before takeoff, Drift brought to his attention the "weapon of mass destruction" Ratchet had apparently brought on board. Something went wrong during takeoff, and the ship quantum jumped before it was ready, placing the ship somewhere random in space, just over a planet. A tear in the hull was expelling Autobots into space, and as the ship stabilized, Drift named off the Autobots they'd lost. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It

"Before I begin, I should clarify that I am not actually Japa-nese! I am from Daytona Beachiryu!"

As recovery efforts were undertaken, Drift radioed Ratchet a status update and also to tell the medical officer to make sure the medibay was "buzzing with positive energy" so those injured were "guaranteed a speedy recovery!". After he had signed off, Ratchet and Swerve shared their annoyance with Drift's new attitude and...interesting theories about the Knights of Cybertron. Later, when Rodimus was deciding how to address the crew about their current situation, Drift cheerfully suggested he focus on the positive. Hangers On

After a Sparkeater had thought to have been let loose aboard the Lost Light, Drift accompanied Rodimus' hand-picked team to investigate. As they examined the creature's first victim, Chromedome confirmed that it was indeed a Sparkeater and Drift opined that this was a dark omen and that they were being "punished" for the horrific things that must have happened on the ship before it came into their possession, much to Ratchet's skepticism.

While the others searched for the creature, Rodimus and Drift tried to figure out how the previous owners of the Lost Light kept the Sparkeater contained. They figured out that the Sparkeater had been trapped in the engine rooms and fed turbofoxes to keep it docile. After the Sparkeater made its way back to the engine rooms, chasing Rung, Drift helped Rodimus put his plan to kill the creature into action. Utilizing a second quantum jump, Rodimus managed to stuff the Sparkeater into the ship's engine block, where it died after being fused into the mechanism. Drift was awed by Rodimus' quick-thinking and ingenuity. The Chaos of Warm Things

The purpose of Drift is to flip out and kill sick people.

Drift accompanied Ratchet and Pipes on an investigation of the remote medical facility Delphi. Drift was subjected to repeated verbal barbs from Ratchet along the way, despite his efforts to get along with the medic. Once they had finally reached Delphi, Pipes impulsively rammed through a door that had the universal "plague" symbol on it. They found themselves in a morgue full of Transformers that had died from a mysterious "Red Rust" virus. When Drift noticed a shambling, disease-ridden Transformer approaching Pipes from behind, he sprung into action and dismembered the poor soul, much to Ratchet's outrage.

First Aid showed up and explained the situation to them, how five days ago, a mysterious explosion had heralded the outbreak of this rust plague. Ambulon brought them to Pharma, who had been accidentally locked in a quarantine room when the explosion went off. Suddenly, Pipes began showcasing the symptoms of the virus and staggered toward them, disoriented and terrified. Pipes began vomiting and leaking from his optics, cornering Drift. Ratchet freed Pharma from the quarantine while telling Drift to non-fatally disable Pipes. Drift managed to slip behind his diseased comrade and knock him out with a blow to the head. Ratchet brought Pipes to the emergency ward, seeking to tend to him. By that time, Drift began to exhibit the symptoms as well, assuming he'd been infected by Pipes. Life After the Big Bang

While being tended to by Ratchet, Drift recalled the time in Rodion before the war when the Autobot medic had also been trying to save his life. Drift asked Ratchet to put him out of his misery in the event that the Decepticon Justice Division showed up, despite having earlier claimed that he wasn't afraid of them. When Pharma was revealed as a traitor, Ratchet had a confrontation with his former friend on Delphi's roof. The stricken Drift made his way up there and managed to save Ratchet from being shot in the back by chopping off Pharma's hands. With Ratchet having obtained a vaccine for the Red Rust virus from Pharma, Drift and the other victims were soon cured. Drift returned to the Lost Light along with the survivors. How Ratchet Got His Hands Back Drift reported to Rodimus and Ultra Magnus that Fortress Maximus had locked himself in Rung's office. He was the first to notice both when Rung stared at the camera, and when he tapped on his model of the Ark. After the hostage situation had been resolved, Drift complimented Rodimus on the eulogy he gave for the gravely-injured Rung, even though he hadn't written that particular speech. Interiors

A fabulous secret Metrotitan was revealed to Drift the day he held aloft his magic sword and said...

En route to Theophany, Drift helped Rodimus prepare for Tailgate's Act of Affiliation ceremony, and politely pointed out his overuse of the phrase "'Til all are one". When Ultra Magnus interrupted and expressed concern over a lack of radio contact with the Circle Of Light, Drift argued that they knew how to take care of themselves. Later at the ceremony, Rodimus inscribed a message in Old Cybertronian on Tailgate's chest instead of branding him with the Autobot sigil. Drift supposed that it was caused by some sort of possession, which was quickly dismissed by Ratchet as "complete and utter guff".

The ceremony was further interrupted by the arrival of the Galactic Council's ship, The Benign Intervention. Its captain informed them that Theophany was deserted, much to Drift's disbelief. After some red-tape wrangling from Ultra Magnus, Drift and a group of others were allowed to teleport to the planet's surface, where they found Crystal City ruined and abandoned. Confused and agitated, a despairing Drift snapped at Rewind and decked Whirl after the latter mocked him. He attempted to call out to any of the denizens of Crystal City, but when there was no response, Drift drove one of his swords into the ground in frustration. The ground gave way and sent the Autobots plunging underground, where they found a slumbering Metrotitan. This discovery led Cyclonus to share his myth of creation, which triggered a theological debate between Drift and Ratchet, culminating in Drift pulling his sword on Ratchet. Rodimus took Drift for a walk to cool him down, where Drift reaffirmed his faith in Rodimus.

After Chromedome's mnemosurgery reawakened the Metrotitan and made it fire its eye-beams at the Benign Intervention, Drift was among those dispatched to fight off the Galactic Council's troops. The Metrotitan eventually teleported Drift and the others back onto the Lost Light, which then quantum-jumped to safety. Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations

A few days later, Drift and other crew members aided Rewind in helping heal Rung's dormant mind by telling his part in a story of past events. Drift elaborated on the time in Rodion when he was rescued by Orion Pax and treated by Ratchet, being sure to antagonize Ratchet by claiming he had uttered religious praises during that time. All the while, he was being pestered by calls from Rodimus, who finally ordered Drift to meet him in the oil reservoir. Drift arrived there just in time to see Grapple recover Red Alert's headless body from the reservoir. Post Hoc

Of course Drift wants to get at the oni-looking guy...

After the suspected assailant Cyclonus was sent to their makeshift interrogation room, Drift conducted a very hostile interrogation, pointing his sword at Cyclonus in a threatening manner. (Ultra Magnus later suggested Drift's overly enthusiastic interrogation was an unfortunate attempt to impress Rodimus.) The attempt didn't work, as Cyclonus quickly swatted the sword away and smashed Drift into a table. Rodimus and Ultra Magnus were forced to intervene and break the two of them up.Patternism First Aid soon discerned that Red Alert's "accident" was actually a suicide attempt, and Ultra Magnus suggested that the troubled security chief should be left in stasis until they could revive him in a less stressful environment. Rodimus railed against this, but when Drift agreed with Magnus, he sadly acquiesced. An Intimate Beheading

The crew of the Lost Light intervened on Temptoria, where a group of Decepticons had invaded and subjugated the local populace. A fierce battle erupted on the planet's surface, in which Drift cut down Tailwind and Tentakil. He also interrupted Rodimus' battle with Snap Trap, shoving a sword through the Seacon's face. Rodimus chided him for butting in, but Drift protested that "the ones with swords" were his to fight. Before & After In the aftermath of the fight, Drift and Brainstorm revealed to Chromedome that Overlord was aboard, hidden in a specially-constructed room beneath the ship, and the mnemosurgeon agreed to interface with the dormant Phase-Sixer to learn the secret of his power. Remembrance Day

Drift was teaching Rodimus how to use a sword, forging a deeper friendship with his captain, when a possible security situation interrupted. However, it merely turned out to be Cyclonus singing loudly to Tailgate. Swerve asked Drift if he wanted to be his roommate but Drift, claiming to prefer solitude, declined. Cybertronian Homesick Blues

This can only end well!

During a mnemosurgery session, Chromedome was outsmarted by Overlord, who obtained from the Autobot's memory the security codes to his cell that Drift provided. Drift was one of the first Autobots to fight the escaped Overlord outside of the medibay, urging Ratchet to lock himself in. But Ratchet chose to stand with his "friend" and sealed them outside the room. By the time reinforcements arrived, Overlord had severed both of Drift's legs and badly beaten Ratchet. Drift radioed the ship's brig to release Fortress Maximus, but not before his Great Sword was used by Overlord to mortally-wound Ultra Magnus. Under Cold Blue Stars

After Overlord had been jettisoned from the Lost Light, Drift protected the identities of fellow conspirators Brainstorm and Chromedome and claimed that the entire Overlord incident was his own fault alone. A furious Rodimus stripped him of his Autobot symbol and exiled him from the ship. As he walked towards the shuttle prepared for him, Drift was knocked down by a piece of debris hurled by an angry crew member. Ratchet helped him up, and Drift departed the Lost Light. The Gloaming

Eighteen months from the Lost Light's launch, the Necrobot had listed Drift as deceased... Who's Afraid of the DJD?

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

United

A nano-virus infected the population of Autobot City bar the Targetmasters and Headmasters. The former Decepticon Drift was able to force off, or at least hold off, the effects of the nano-virus, so he was charged with guarding the city unaided while the other immune Autobots left to retrieve a cure from Nebulos. When Ricochet returned with the anti-virus, Drift was in attendance when Optimus Prime praised the Targetmaster. The Fierce Fighting on Planet Nebulos

Toys

Generations

Comes with a gun that shoots swords.

• Autobot Drift (Deluxe, 2010)
  • Accessories: Left & right "dual swords", greatsword

Generations 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. Left unmentioned in the instructions is that the clip that holds his large sword is on a small concealed arm that allows the sword to move away from his back and out of the way of his legs and shoulders. Drift's swords are made from a kid-friendly flexible material, and therefore care must be taken to avoid warping. His hand holes are slightly larger than 5mm, but taper toward the bottom.

While Drift's Earth mode designs showed him sporting the katakana ドリフト (Dorifuto) 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. It can also mean "armed under providence").

Drift's mold was retooled into Generations Blurr and was redecoed, with Blurr's pistols also being included, into Shattered Glass Drift.

• More information on Autobot Drift at TFU.info

United

I am the white void, I am the cold steel, I am the just sword, with blade in hand I shall reap the sins of this world and cleanse it in the fires of destruction! I am Drift, the end has come!

• Autobot Drift (Deluxe, 12-25-2010)
  • Japanese ID number: UN-08
  • Accessories: Left & right "dual swords", greatsword

Part of the first wave of Transformers United toys, the TakaraTomy release of "Autobot Drift" is cast in a brighter white plastic, a cooler gray, and features more paint applications in vehicle mode, and on his head, arms and chest to make him more accurate to his comic book appearances. The light red of the Hasbro version is now more crimson in color and the sword's gray is slightly altered from the Hasbro release.

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. Drift's Japanese overtones are meant to be a tip of the hat "to the country that gave birth to [Transformers]."
• 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.
• Discarded body designs and head designs for Drift can be found on Guido Guidi's DeviantArt page.
• 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.
• As you might have guessed from some of the captions on this page, Drift is a fairly unpopular character among certain parts of the fandom. Basically, he's frequently viewed as generic stereotypical fan-created character with Japanese samurai/ninja stereotypes added in for maximum awesomeness. The main reason given by fans for their criticism, however, is the initial hype the character was given by its creator and IDW, which fans believe created a massive hype backlash for the reasons listed above. Many fans think that while Drift's actual fictional appearances aren't nearly as bad as the most vocal critics make him out to be, he certainly fails to live up to the hype. In fact, a lot of former critics feel that the later interpretation of the character by author James Roberts is actually quite decent, redeeming the once stereotypical character - so much so, in fact, that the character's become a bit of an Ensemble Darkhorse at this point.