Sky-Byte (RID)
| The name or term "Sky-Byte" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Sky-Byte (disambiguation). |
- Sky-Byte is a Predacon from the 2001 Robots in Disguise continuity family.
Deep within Sky-Byte beats the spark of a poet, a scholar, a brilliant and cultured military general who can command armies capable of conquering worlds. But without aptitude and patience, that means jack squat, and Sky-Byte lacks both. Still, he soldiers on, for he is driven...by a desperate need for approval. He needs the blessings of his commander, Megatron, quite possibly more than he needs energon. And Megatron, being Megatron, doesn't dole out praise much, so Sky-Byte tries harder and harder, getting more and more desperate.
This drive is the root of all his problems. He's actually quite intelligent and physically powerful, but he pushes himself to extremes to impress his leader. When he's in control of a situation, he's a deadly, effective foe. But as soon as the situation begins to slip even the smallest bit, he starts to panic and usually ends up doing something to mess things up and lose the upper hand, which makes him panic more, so he overreacts, and gets in more trouble, etc., etc., etc. It doesn't help that while he's ruthless towards Autobots, humans seem quite safe from his ire. Maybe he sees a little something of himself in these underdogs. After all, they developed his new favorite form of expression, the haiku. And they do seem rather impressed by him...
Sky-Byte is in charge of the Predacon lackeys Dark Scream, Gas Skunk, and Slapper, not that they give him any modicum of respect. In fact, they're more likely to try and shuffle the blame for their failures onto the shark, a gambit that's actually moderately successful, since Sky-Byte is so very good at making things worse for himself. He has a hate-hate relationship with the new Decepticons, especially Scourge, whom he sees (rightly) as being a huge threat to his position as Megatron's second-in-command.
- Poor frustrated shark.
- Megatron is a dumbass.
- Why do you bother?
Sky-Byte, that's me!
Who'll drive Scourge into the ground? And never let old Megatron down
Sky-Byte, that's me!Sky-Byte, that's him!
Fiction
Cartoon continuity
2001 Robots in Disguise cartoon
- Voice actor: Peter Spellos (English), Konta (Japanese), Vittorio Guerrieri (Italian), Hwan Jin Kim (Korean), Alejandro Villeli (Latin American Spanish)
| “ | Come back, please, little dot! Please don't go away now.... That little red dot meant so, so much to my promising career. I'm just chum. Optimus! Optimus Prime! I'll find you! I'll find you! I swear! You're mine! I'll get you! You're mine! I'm...much better now. | ” |
—Sky-Byte, "Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion!" | ||
As Megatron was dressing down the Predacon trio for their latest failure, Sky-Byte suddenly appeared—demonstrating a skill for either invisibility or teleportation that he would never display again. Scoffing at the other Predacons' energy-gathering abilities, Sky-Byte revealed his own plan — to recover a bomb hidden in a red sports car somewhere in Metro City. He quickly tracked down the sports car in question, startling its driver as he retrieved the bomb from its trunk. Before he could return to the Megastar though, the bomb was taken from him by X-Brawn. He tried his best to get the bomb back, but just as he was about to get hold of it, Optimus Prime blasted it and him into space with a Blizzard Storm. He survived the subsequent explosion, and returned to the Megastar to recuperate and research human culture. An Explosive Situation
After the other Predacons destroyed some goods trains, Sky-Byte came up with a loftier plan to destroy the Linear RFG bullet train. Though his mission succeeded in blowing up a bridge ahead of the train, Team Bullet Train saved the Linear RFG, and Sky-Byte was left trying to justify himself to Megatron. Bullet Train to the Rescue When the Spychangers intercepted the Predacon trio in the process of stealing the Plutonium Energy Generator, Sky-Byte came to their aid. When the situation seemed unsalvageable, Sky-Byte unleashed a Tsunami Blaster attack on the generator to destroy it, but hit the Spychangers instead. The Predacons took the generator back to the Megastar... only to find it had been switched for a fake. Spychangers to the Rescue
zephyrs blow cold,
While the Megastar was parked on the Black Pyramid in an attempt to extract power, Sky-Byte and Dark Scream were sent out to protect it against a civilian ship. The Autobots soon came to help the ship, and while fighting underwater, Sky-Byte was able to hold his own against Optimus Prime. Once the ship was righted, Sky-Byte found Prime a much more formidable opponent, and what's worse, the Autobot leader critiqued his poetry. The Predacons beat a hasty retreat. The Hunt for Black Pyramid Megatron and the Predacon trio distracted the Autobots while Sky-Byte went to the Payuma ruins to find information hidden by Doctor Onishi. Unfortunately he was spotted by Side Burn and Koji Onishi, who alerted Optimus to the shark's presence. Prime was unable to prevent Sky-Byte making off with a casket containing a microchip, however once out of the ruins, the Predacon was confronted by Prowl and X-Brawn, who blasted him. The Secret of the Ruins
Sky-Byte concocted another plan, to capture Side Burn and use him as bait to draw Prime into a trap. Though it was successful in ensnaring Prime, the rest of the Autobots turned up to rescue their comrades. Sky-Byte later successfully deflected the blame onto Gas Skunk and Dark Scream. Sideburn's Obsession The Predacons extracted information from a stolen disk belonging to Dr. Onishi, leading them to believe that the steam engine "Grandpa" was a weapon of extraordinary power. Megatron sent Sky-Byte and the other Predacons to capture it. Sky-Byte made an unsuccessful attempt to infiltrate the engine via the smoke stack, and the other Predacons didn't have any better luck, though they temporarily gained possession of the steam engine after it had offloaded its passengers. The mission was ultimately a failure. Secret Weapon: D-5
After Dark Scream planted a bug in Mirage, the Predacons overheard him breaking up with Ironhide. Mirage's words moved Sky-Byte to tears. He later suggested that they try and persuade Mirage to defect to their side. Although it seemed for a time that they'd succeeded, even to the point where Sky-Byte showed off the new Mega-Laser Cannon, it was a ruse. Mirage and the Spychangers destroyed the cannon. Mirage's Betrayal Sky-Byte tried a similar trick on the rogue Autobot Skid-Z with no success. When the Predacons discovered that the Autobots had entered the International Grand Prix, Sky-Byte cunningly disguised himself as a red racing car and entered as well. After being chatted up by a suspicious Side Burn, Sky-Byte was inadvertently fragged by Megatron in the early moments of the race. Then when he was able to catch up with the Autobots, he was mistakenly blasted by Megatron again. Skid Z's Choice
Still believing he could convert an Autobot into a Predacon, Sky-Byte captured new recruit Tow-Line. After suffering through the other Predacon's attempts to hypnotise the Autobot, he used a special CD to brainwash Tow-Line. Unfortunately it was only partially successful—Tow-Line started towing away the other Autobots, but he took them to the wrong place. By the time Sky-Byte worked out what was happening, the rest of the Autobots were alerted, and promptly battled him into retreat. Tow-Line Goes Haywire Investigations into reports of a transforming statue took Sky-Byte to the Cave of the Dragon in China. Luckily the Autobots were able to save the cave via an elaborate deception involving Prime and Team Bullet Train disguising themselves as a statue and dragon. The Ultimate Robot Warrior Despite these indignities, he was still viewed as "sneaky, clever and dangerous" by the Autobots. Hope for the Future
Sky-Byte led a mission to dig up some Autobot protoforms, and took them to McKinley Army Base with the other Predacons while Megatron kept the Autobots busy. There, they reformatted the protoforms into the Commandos. Sky-Byte created Movor when he fell, aiming the stasis pod's scanner at a space shuttle in orbit. The Decepticons Scourge and the Decepticons proved much more competent than the Predacons, and Sky-Byte was driven to desperate measures to try and regain his lost status in Megatron's eyes. He and the Predacon trio disguised themselves as Optimus Prime in an attempt to ruin the Decepticons' mission to destroy Sherman Dam. Though Sky-Byte attempted to gain Megatron's favor by blowing up the dam himself, he was unsuccessful. Commandos
Disappointed at the failure, Megatron assigned Sky-Byte and Scourge to guard a location on Montrose Island while the Predacon trio dug in search of an O-Part. After Prime showed up with the Spychangers, Sky-Byte took advantage of the chaos in battle to try to slag Scourge. Volcano While the Decepticons put another plan into action, they distracted Sky-Byte by getting him and the Predacon trio to mark out a rendezvous location. When the four Predacons finally tried to get in on the action, Sky-Byte barely had time to transform before Movor blasted him from orbit. Attack from Outer Space
Sky-Byte trashed an oil rig on Megatron's orders, only for Scourge to show up and attack him. After reporting to Megatron, the shark eavesdropped on Mega-Octane meeting with Prime as a prelude to defection. He continued to spy as the Decepticons attempted to prove themselves sincere to the Autobots, and eventually could stand it no more. Although his attack on the traitors was futile, he inadvertently caused Scourge to expose the entire ruse. The Test Sky-Byte's self-esteem was soon nonexistent (especially after an on-line Fish Personality Test told him he was a jellyfish), and he became desperate to gain Megatron's approval. He and the Predacon trio disguised themselves as Autobots and interfered in a Decepticon mission to raid a storage plant. Unfortunately this went disastrously wrong, resulting in him being chewed out by Megatron. His next attempt to set the real Autobots on the Decepticons went awry when he sent them to the wrong power plant. As he moped on a seaside cliff, the other Predacons talked him into attacking a power plant in an attempt to outdo the Decepticons. When this went badly as well, Sky-Byte took his frustrations out on the computer, only to get electrocuted for his troubles. The Fish Test
Determined to discredit the Decepticons, Sky-Byte came up with a new plan, having his henchmen attack a diamond mine in the Antarctic to lure the Autobot Brothers into a trap. When the Build Team turned up instead, Sky-Byte took Wedge hostage, and Heavy Load bargained for the young 'bot's return with a disk containing a map of the Autobot Global Space Bridge. Despite interference from the Decepticons, Sky-Byte and his cohorts used the map to enter the tunnel indicated on the map, only to discover that the disk only contained a map of the sewers. They were subsequently drenched by Optimus Prime's Blizzard Storm. Wedge's Short Fuse
Eventually, to get attention, Sky-Byte led the Predacons in the attempted destruction of the new CGA Tower This plan would've worked, except the Autobots, thinking the humans in the tower were the Predacon's hostages, asked what demands he wanted met for their safety. Wanting to seem like he knew what he was doing, Sky-Byte made up a random demand on the spot that by sheer chance was interpreted as a demand for O-Parts. He'd achieved accidental success, only to take out the tower's last support by mistake and be forced to stop it collapsing so he'd still have his hostages. This single-minded desire to keep the tower up was interpreted by the hostages and TV news crews as the Predacon trying to save them for altruistic reasons, and when the hostages started to cheer him on, Sky-Byte gave his all to keep them safe out of an increasingly genuine desire to save them. ("My hostages need me!") It was only hours after the tower was saved and the Predacons were nursing their damaged backs that they remembered about getting the O-Parts... Sky-Byte Saves the Day
Some time later, while spying on the Decepticons, this accidental heroism came back to haunt him, as he was pestered by a group of kids led by Koji Onishi, who wanted his autograph. A proud Predacon, Sky-Byte was bewildered by this attention, although he briefly thought of using it as a way to get his haikus published.
Despite all his failures, Sky-Byte was still regarded as extremely loyal. As a result, Megatron sent him to get the remaining O-Parts...with Sky-Byte unaware he'd been fed false info and was being used by the Decepticons to draw the Autobots into an ambush. Poor Sky-Byte spent ages digging, finding only the detritus of Humanity and war surplus Ultra Magnus, and was still digging long after Megatron thought he'd have stopped. In a stroke of luck, though, this allowed him to notice Optimus Prime was wounded and track him to where he was being repaired. He could now kill Optimus when he was weak and Megatron would reward him! Unfortunately, the Decepticons, Megatron and Ultra Magnus had all tracked him, and poor Sky-Byte was left surplus to requirements once again. Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion!
Sky-Byte made an attempt to persuade Ultra Magnus to join the Predacon cause. When the Autobot Brothers interceded, they were promptly captured by the Decepticons, and Ultra Magnus continued to feign interest in Sky-Byte's offer. After extracting the location at which the Autobot Brothers were being held, Ultra Magnus turned on him along with Team Bullet Train. The Two Faces of Ultra Magnus He and Megatron joined the Decepticons during another battle with the Autobots, though after Magnus and Prime formed Omega Prime, he quickly ran and hid. Power to Burn!
Sky-Byte joined Scourge, Megatron, and the Commandos in watching archival footage of Ultra Magnus in order to get a better understanding of their newly-arrived enemy. Mystery of the Ultra Magnus
More information extracted from Doctor Onishi led the Decepticons to venture into the subway system under Metro City. Sky-Byte followed them, but soon lost track of his quarry, and instead came upon a giant cake. Though it turned out to be stale (and actually a subway car), he caught up with the Decepticons and continued spying, only to be washed away by a torrent of water. Fortress Maximus
Sky-Byte took Dr. Onishi out of the Predacon base to help search for Fortress Maximus, in an attempt to find it before Scourge. In the process, he ran into Koji, who appealed to him to help rescue his father or at least to pass on a birthday present. The Predacon actually felt bad for Koji and was reduced to a blubbering wreck by the boy's appeal, but was mortified to find Koji didn't believe he was a threatening villain any more. Sky-Byte later became so preoccupied with battle that he tossed Dr. Onishi to Koji, leading the youth to believe Sky-Byte had deliberately rescued his father out of the goodness of his heart. The Autobots believed this too and apologized to Sky-Byte for fighting him (after they'd already blown the tar out of him). Koji Gets His Wish
When the Autobots and Decepticons set about finding the rest of the O-Parts, Sky-Byte came up with a series of cunning plans, including fake O-Parts, to ensure that he and Slapper would get to them first. Unfortunately the plans all backfired, and a last-ditch attempt to swap the fake O-Parts for the real ones left them all in Autobot hands. A Friendly Contest Despite this failure, Megatron allowed Sky-Byte to take part in a mission to the Sahara Desert to find the artifact that the Autobots were after — the Orb of Sigma. His attempts to prevent Side Burn escaping with the Orb only resulted in him being run over by both the Autobot Brothers and the Decepticons. Peril from the Past With Megatron gone, Sky-Byte and the Predacons found that Scourge was even more unpleasant to work for than their former leader. They attempted to get into Scourge's good graces by snatching Cerebros from the Autobots and greasing up to the Decepticon. In the following battle for Fortress Maximus, Sky-Byte was delighted by the arrival of his former leader, resurrected as Galvatron. Maximus Emerges
During another attempt on Scourge's part to control Fortress Maximus, Sky-Byte watched nervously, as he knew every one of the Decepticon's victories would mean Galvatron ignoring him even more. During the fight after the arrival of the Autobots, Sky-Byte accidentally saved Koji's life and was horrified at the idea Galvatron would find out. The Human Element Later on, while talking to himself, he would admit to having a friendship with Koji, though it was nothing to getting into Galvatron's good books, and he still attempted to kidnap the boy to help control Fortress Maximus (being Sky-Byte, he grabbed the wrong person). He accompanied Megatron and Scourge as they attempted to get the boy Karl to control Maximus. When Scourge finally showed his true colors, turning on Galvatron, Sky-Byte unexpectedly found himself back in Galvatron's good books. His leader tasked him with carrying Scourge's stasis-locked body back with them. Mistaken Identity
Galvatron remarked the Predacons had always been trustworthy and gave Sky-Byte command of the Decepticons. Proud to finally be where he belonged again, Sky-Byte even managed to locate the Autobot base by following Koji and led an assault on it. He and the Predacons pursued Optimus Prime into an Autobot trap. The array of Autobot firepower caused him to cower behind rocks, crying for his "blankie". Surprise Attack!
During the final battle, Sky-Byte was almost killed when he led the Predacons into the Global Space Bridge after the Decepticons—not realising Galvatron intended to kill them. Sky-Byte was left on his own Galvatron's Revenge and escaped certain death just in time to be ordered to hold off the entire Autobot army. This did not go well for him, oh no.
Following Autobot victory, every Decepticon and Predacon was rounded up to be incarcerated, but the Autobots hadn't captured Sky-Byte. (Whether they'd forgotten about him or he was hiding well is unknown.) He was left to spend the rest of his life on Earth, a fate the other Predacons seemed to view as worse than death, though his own attitude as he swam off into the sunset singing suggests he felt quite differently... The Final Battle
Ultra Magnus...to the Rescue?
Sky-Byte and Scourge were sent on a joint mission, although they did nothing but bicker until Optimus and Ultra Magnus showed up. While Scourge battled them, Sky-Byte took advantage and made off with the goods, leaving Scourge with a haiku to keep him thinking. Ultra Magnus...to the Rescue?
Hall of Fame bio
Sky-Byte devoted his time to attacking illegal fishing vessels. Go, Sky-Byte! Transformers Hall of Fame
Ask Vector Prime
Sky-Byte was grateful to Optimus Prime for allowing him to remain on Earth. Ask Vector Prime
Transformers Legends comic
In the Legends Universe, a tiny Gelshark appeared in the hands of a bathing Ai in a risqué TV show. Bonus Edition Vol. 3
Four years after being left on Earth, Gelshark reemerged in a new body and attacked the Autobot base where Jetfire and R-Blade were working with solitarium ore. When he blasted them with his Tsunami Blaster, however, the explosion of the solitarium sent him to another dimension inhabited by cartoony talking animals and where Transformers were but fictional characters. Initially assuming himself to be the #1 popular character, Gelshark was angered when the native Rattle told him his popularity couldn't compete with that of another Optimus Prime and set out to ruin the Prime's reputation by doing evil dressed as him. This scheme didn't last long: the local children were just so gosh-darn happy to see "Optimus Prime" that Gelshark quickly realized he couldn't bring himself to stomp all over their dreams. Instead he settled down in this world and began working odd jobs, including a stint as a scary shark attraction. Bonus Edition Vol. 6
Hired to act in a Transformers show at Tokyo Toy Show 2015, Gelshark ran into his not-so-good old friend, Black Convoy, who had ended up in the Legends world after escaping from prison. Though Black Convoy suggested they team up again, Gelshark was outraged to find that the Combatron was holding one of the children in the audience hostage and challenged him to a fight to save the kid. He lost, but Black Convoy was impressed by his bravado and let the hostage go, then told Gelshark he was planning to return to the prison and save Gigatron and the others. Mention of his beloved leader was enough to convince Gelshark, and he tearfully left the children he'd befriended and returned to his home dimension with Black Convoy. Bonus Edition Vol. EX
TransTech
Sky-Byte somehow ended up at Axiom Nexus and was "processed". Transcendent: Part 1
Sky-Byte was given Vector Prime's old column Shark Sonnets in the hopes a charismatic ex-baddie would recapture the popularity of Cy-Kill's run but without using it to recruit a terrorist army. Axiom Nexus News Editor
Sky-Byte was really eager to please and tended to waffle until he was encouraged to do more haikus. Among other answers, Sky-Byte told us:
- In peacetime, he lived a life of "unfilled yearning". Megatron gave him a chance to change that!
- Predacons have "too delicate a temperament" to become a combiner and have their minds hardwired together.
- He doesn't recognize the name Vector Prime (perhaps there's some relation to Optimus?).
- Arriving at Axiom Nexus left him disoriented, and it got worse when he went to a Predacon bar to recover and learned it wasn't the right Predacons, and he'd have to crouch to fit. "They served me energon, but I felt distinctly unwelcome." There aren't many true Predacons around and he feels lonely.
- Every Marxsol, Sky-Byte's down at Destron Pizza's open mic night. His dream is to perform at the Blue Deployer (Cobratron can get him an in!).
- He thinks calling Slapper, Gas Skunk and Dark Scream "stooges" is hardly a fair characterization. They have skills and Dark Scream is a great tenor!
- He's seen both Finding Nemo and Jaws (and swears he didn't cry during the former).
- He thinks of himself as a strong warrior behind his more gentle poet facade.
- He's encountered a Klud before, and thinks of them as "magestic".
- He loves a nice glass of Old Corroder.
- Even he doesn't know who's in the Predacon Council or their main agenda.
- The bad things he's done do weigh on him but "Second chances are most rare / I shall do my best"
He likes a massive list of poets, including (deep breath): Keats, Tennyson, Bashō, Shiki, the Brontes, Homer, Ovid, Dickenson, Hughes, Bai, Lord Byron, Abī Sūlmā, Shelly, Verlaine, Rimbaud, Hugo, Hölderlin, Dante, Mayakovsky, Poe, and Shakespeare.
He quit the position when his haikus were insulted by the very audience that had asked for them, commenting that he had been hired by The Blue Deployer. He left with one last sonnet after thanking the audience for their (mostly) praise. Shark Sonnets
Shell Game
In Viron 704.31 Epsilon, Sky-Byte refused to serve the megalomaniacal Megazarak, risking his life to ensure that Dark Scream, Gas Skunk, and Slapper could escape Megazarak's clutches. They later came to the aid of Defensor during the last Autobot's final confrontation with Megazarak! What a legend! Ask Vector Prime
Spy Changer continuity
In Viron 1103.12 Gamma, he accidentally poisoned all of Earth's energon in a scheme and the Autobots all had to go Spy Changer. He shamelessly pretended he'd meant to do it, only for Daytonus and X-Brawn to blow up the Predacons' only remaining energon stash; with them unable to go Spy Changer, the war ended with a whimper. What a... something else that begins with L. Ask Vector Prime
Toys
Car Robots/Robots in Disguise (2001)
- Sky-Byte (Mega, 2000/2001)
- Japanese ID Number: D-005
- Accessories: Launcher, 2 missiles
- An extensive redeco of the Transmetal 2 Maximal Cybershark, Sky-Byte transforms into a large, monstrous, bio-mechanical great white shark. His tail has a gear system that spins the fins like a propeller when a wheel in his side is turned. This system becomes his left arm, forming a spinning claw weapon. He also has a double spring-loaded missile launcher concealed in his shark mouth that also serves as a hand weapon.
- First available as part of the Car Robots line in Japan, Gelshark features transparent dark blue plastic for the upper legs and the shark wings, as well some shades of purple/red on the chest and eyes.
Generations
- Sky-Byte (Voyager, 2014)
- Series / Number: 02 / 007
- Accessories: 1 missile
- A new-mold toy released in wave 5 of the Voyager Class Thrilling 30 series of the Generations toyline, Sky-Byte once again transforms into a bio-mechanical great white shark. He lacks the mouth-based missile launcher of his previous toy, instead having a single missile firing from the center of his (still gear-activated) spinning claw weapon. His beast mode articulation consists of an opening mouth and a tail that moves up and down. There is a hexagonal peghole underneath him which is compatible with some collector display stands.
- In robot mode the missile launcher in his claw weapon still functions. Sky-Byte is much less of a shellformer than his original form, with many parts of his robot mode actually becoming parts of the shark mode, though much of it still piles up on his back. These parts can be arranged in a variety of ways to form a more show-accurate or cleaner robot mode. He also features several design elements from his IDW counterpart, most notably the small wrist-gun detail on his right arm.
Legends
- Gelshark (Voyager, 27-12-2014)
- ID number: LG06
- Accessories: 1 missile
- Legends Gelshark is TakaraTomy's version of the Generations Sky-Byte mold. This version has considerably more paint applications than its American counterpart to create an overall more show accurate color scheme. It notably includes the two-colored chest, a much darker shade of blue, and less use of white. Some of the yellow plastic on the Hasbro version has also been replaced with dark blue. Gelshark comes with volume 6 of the Transformers Legends Comic: Bonus Edition mini-comic.
Merchandise
- Ai-chan (KT Figure Collection, 2004)
- This figurine was produced by KT Figure Collection, and included in a set of four others. It is notable in that not only is this the only non-Generation 1 PVC in the entire set, but Ai-chan is portrayed bathing in a hot spring, and is thus completely nude, aside from her hat. A super deformed Super Fire Convoy is seen peeking over the side, and a miniature Gelshark bath toy is in Ai-chan's hands.
- Yes, it's creepy. And you may find her face is familiar, BECAUSE the figure is designed by Yuki Ohshima, who did the creepiest thing in the Transformers brand ever.
Notes
- During the Hasbro designers' panel at BotCon 2009, it was stated that if Sky-Byte were to get a toy in the Universe line, its bio would be written as a haiku in homage to his love of poetry. The bio on the back of his 2014 Generations toy's box has a haiku at the very end.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Gelshark (ゲルシャーク Gerushāku)
- Korean: Gelshark (게르샥 Gereusyak)
- Mandarin: Tiān Shā (China, 天鲨, "Sky Shark")
- Russian: Zubastik (Зубастик, "Toothy")
