Sparkstalker

Sparkstalker is a Decepticon Firecon from the Generation 1 continuity family.

First Decepticon casualty of the Battle of Klo. Killed by his own subordinate. How embarrassing.

Sparkstalker is an example of bad allotment of resources. He is a brilliant cryptologist, a criminal mastermind capable of hacking Autobot datatracs and disabling the firewalls around their secure files or coded transmissions with incredible skill and secrecy, uncovering entire battle-plans without Autobot high command even knowing they've been uncovered. Decepticon military intelligence would raise several levels of efficiency if they employed him full-time. Instead, Sparkstalker has been made a Firecon, teamed with pyromaniacs and military dropouts like Cindersaur and Flamefeather, who require constant supervision so that they don't burn down the Decepticons' own fortifications. Sparkstalker spends most of his time physically grabbing his partners by the head and aiming their fire breath towards the Autobots, or at least away from their fellow Decepticons. It's a gruelling job, and one he's hardly suited for.

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

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

He's got a future in hentai.

Sparkstalker and his fellow Firecons were based on Cybertron for "homeland detail" for most of the war prior to Unicron's arrival. They were given their first mission to Earth when the Cybertronian Decepticons were interested in forming an alliance with Galvatron, the lone super-powerful Decepticon from the future. Although the Firecons approached Galvatron in the Florida Keys with the proposal, he rejected the idea out of hand. Enemy Action! Later on, the Firecons worked together with an alien named Zabra to run an illegal gladiatorial arena in Tyrest out of the old Jekka Amphitheatre. Their chances at profit came to a close, however, when the operation was discovered by Ultra Magnus and the Sparkler Mini-Bots. Deadly Games!

Sparkstalker is the not-dumb one on the right.

The Firecons worked at a detention facility, where their old nemeses the Sparkabots were being held as prisoners. Reluctantly, Sparkstalker and his pals agreed to set free Fizzle, Sizzle and their Triggerbot friend Backstreet as part of a test run for Scorponok's new Roadjammers project. That didn't mean they didn't take the chance to rough up the Autobots a little bit before letting them go, though. Ca$h and Car-nage!

Decepticon High Command decreed that the Transformers Annual 1989 was anti-Decepticon propaganda and sent the Firecons to Earth to incinerate every copy not protected by the Autobots. Transformers Annual 1989

When a trio of Decepticons were sucked dry of energon, the remaining 'Cons naturally blamed the Autobots. Sparkstalker and Cindersaur went looking for trouble alongside Ruckus and Windsweeper, and found the Pretenders Jazz, Bumblebee and Grimlock. The fight quickly ended, however, when the real culprits showed up... giant mechanical demons from deep within Cybertron's core! Demons! The Autobots and Decepticons joined forces against the creatures until Emirate Xaaron arrived and blasted the demons with pure energon, returning the demons to the stuff of legend. Dawn of Darkness

After the defeat of the Planet-Eater, the Firecons came under Bludgeon's command, and left Cybertron to bring devastation to the planet Klo. Unfortunately for Sparkstalker, his luck finally ran out and he was incinerated by his crazed partner Cindersaur during a mission of destruction on that planet. The Last Autobot?

Fleetway Generation 2 comic

Sparkstalker re-appeared along with Flamefeather under the command of Bludgeon. First attacking a human city to draw out Optimus Prime, the two Firecons took the amusing target of a movie theatre playing Jurassic Park. War Without End Later, they attacked Megatron when he entered the fray to wrest command from Bludgeon. Sparkstalker then got promptly roasted after attacking the Dinobot Slag—"If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen!" War Zone

Regeneration One

Twenty-one years after being incinerated on Klo, Sparkstalker was sufficiently recovered to be present when Soundwave was recruiting for the "Neo-Decepticon" insurgency at Fort Scyk. He later participated in the attack on the Kalis Baird Beaming Transmitter, burning a way into the facility for the other Decepticons to follow, that led to the destruction of the Last Autobot. Counterpoint He was still with the Neo-Decepticons when the resurrected Scorponok commandeered them to create a giant version of the Gene Key in the Sonic Canyons. Natural Selection, Part Five

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Wings Universe

Wings Universe is based on the Generation 1 cartoon, but deviates from it in cosmetic ways and continuity points.

Sparkstalker and the Firecons were among the first generation Decepticons sent back to Earth by Galvatron to join up with Clench's second-generation Decepticon Syndicate. The Syndicate captured the Large Hadron Collider facility, where Clench and Sky-Byte manipulated forestonite into a substance capable of upgrading Transformers and giving them special abilities. The Firecons were exposed to the forestone, causing Sparkstalker to turn bright red and purple and probably become stronger, but the Decepticons were eventually defeated and driven off by the Autobots anyway. Generation 2: Redux

Clench presented the three Firecons to Jhiaxus as a "bonus incentive". A Flash Forward, Part 2 When some captive Autobots freed themselves, the trio attacked them, only to be blasted by a tornado from Windbreaker. A Flash Forward, Part 5 A Flash Forward, Part 6

IDW Generation 1 continuity

Sparkstalker became a Decepticon out of a desire to destroy the social hierarchy. The Possible Light

During the war, the Firecons torched an outpost on Varas Extrinsecus, attracting the Dinobots and the Wreckers who followed them to Varas Centralus. The Killing Jar During the great battle that followed, the Firecons burned the planet's atmosphere while other Decepticons reverse-engineered their abilities to create nasty infernus bullets. Quest for Fire Forever Is a Long Time Coming

Once the war was over, the Firecons came to live in a Decepticon ghetto on Cybertron, where they took offense to the presence of Optimus Prime and joined an angry lynch mob that attacked him. City of Steel When Gutcruncher's bar was burned down shortly afterwards, Sparkstalker suspected—and feared—an act of Autobot reprisal for their actions. Their hideout was then attacked by Sandstorm and the Dinobots, suspecting their involvement in recent murders making use of infernus bullets, and in spite of Sparkstalker's pleas that there'd been a misunderstanding, Sandstorm blasted his legs off and prepared to execute him. The vengeful Autobot was talked down by Optimus Prime, Quest for Fire after which the Firecons were taken into custody and proven innocent—after all, they didn't need infernus bullets to kill people with fire. The Killing Jar

When Cybertron had a disastrous first contact with the lost colony of Caminus, Starkstalker was one of the former Decepticons who went over to help. On camera, he grumped that after all his efforts Cybertron had just ended up with a new social hierarchy, one powered up with a spacebridge and a combiner. His cynicism was interrupted when he found the Camiens being nice to him and glad he'd shown up. The Possible Light He helped Lightbright clear rubble to rescue people (while dissing her for trying to lift on her own).

It all ended in tears when Devastator, Prowl's pet combiner, demanded every Cybertronian must leave Camius or be destroyed. Sparkstalker shot first rather than allow an Autobot to push him around again. The resulting battle went poorly but battle damage caused by Superion allowed Starkstalker, as part of Chromia's squad, to have a second go by shooting into his wounds. Mistakes and Mayhem

Toys

Generation 1

Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are!

• Sparkstalker (Firecon, 1988)

Sparkstalker transforms from a robot to a bipedal insectoid monster thing, much resembling a chibi Gigan from Godzilla. In this mode, his rear limbs can be swung up, allowing him to be rolled forward on the rubber gear-wheel on his belly. This activates the Firecon team's gimmick, shooting "cold" sparks from their beast mode mouths.

This mold was also used to make Javil.

• More information on Sparkstalker at TFU.info
• Instructions for Sparkstalker at Botchthecrab.com

Generation 2

Stop da music! Ha-cha-cha-cha!

• Sparkstalker (Sparkabot, 1994)

Sparkstaker was redecoed for the European market Generation 2 toyline along with his fellow Firecon Flamefeather, though now both were branded as "Sparkabots". He retained his cold-sparking gimmick. As with all the G2 Sparkabots, the translucent plastic is particularly prone to breaking.

• More information on Generation 2 Sparkstalker at TFU.info

Notes

• All of the Sparkabot/Firecon molds have indentations on their beast mode legs seemingly meant for a rubsign. But both Hasbro and Takara stopped using rubsigns after 1987, so the spaces are "filled" with normal faction sigil decals.