Drift (RID)

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

Drift is an Autobot and former Decepticon from the Robots in Disguise portion of the Aligned continuity family.

Now use head for something other than target.

While some bounty hunters may be unscrupulous thugs for hire, Drift is a rarity: he's a bounty hunter with a conscience. Dedicated to hunting down wrongdoers and crooks across the galaxy, Drift aims to bring his targets in fairly and honorably, with the goal of rehabilitating them into contributing members of Cybertronian society. This rigid moral code may be an attempt to distance himself from his past as the Decepticon soldier Deadlock and his time with the decidedly amoral Ronin.

Not that he's all sunshine and roses, however. As a result of his training with the Circle of Light, Drift is an exacting perfectionist in everything he does. He adheres to an unbending code of honor he follows to the letter, a level of strictness even Strongarm finds excessive. He is blunt and dismissive, rarely giving even slight praise, which often leaves his two Mini-Con students, Slipstream and Jetstorm, feeling unappreciated. They stick with him because he helped lift them out of the gutter, but....

Drift is an expert in blade combat, eschewing blasters for the up-close approach, leaving his Mini-Cons to handle outside distractions while he focuses on his target. Turns out he needs the backup, as he's quite unpopular with other bounty hunters... particularly Fracture, who's itching to turn Drift into so many metal shavings.

“	Solutions to the most troubling problems come to the calmed mind.	”
—Drift, Deep Trouble

Fiction

2015 Robots in Disguise cartoon

Voice actor: Eric Bauza (English), Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese), Raffaele Farina (Italian)

We make sacred pact. I promise teach karate to you, you promise learn. I say, you do, no questions.

In the past, Drift rehabilitated a pair of Mini-Con criminals named Slipstream and Jetstorm, who chose to train under him in return.

Drift and his Mini-Cons headed to Earth to collect on the bounty on Bumblebee's head, however arriving at the same time was Fracture. Drift tangled with the Decepticon at a deserted ranch, however Fracture got the better of him, and it was only through Bumblebee's help that Fracture was sent into a retreat. Drift saw this as a life debt and insisted on protecting Bee, though his following Bumblebee everywhere wore thin fast. After Denny, Strongarm, Sideswipe and Grimlock were captured by Fracture to use as a trade, Drift remained resolute in sticking with Bumblebee who pointed out that there was more to honor. When Fracture was defeated, mostly thanks to Slipstream and Jetstorm hijacking the Decepticon's ship, Drift was released from his life debt, though admitted that as Bumblebee had proven himself to be honorable, he would not pursue the bounty, instead leaving in his ship. Hunting Season

They wouldn't let Denny within a 5-mile radius of this thing during filming.

Drift later returned to Earth in search of Jetstorm, who had abandoned his master after polishing his sword incorrectly. Drift and Slipstream met up with Bumblebee's team again and encountered Jetstorm, who had decided to adopt Russell Clay as his new master. Before they could argue the matter any further, Bumblebee recruited all three of them to help re-capture Quillfire and Springload, who had escaped captivity. The Autobots headed out in pursuit of the two Decepticons, and eventually discovered that they had commandeered a human tank. Drift took a blast from the tank, knocking him unconscious, and his two students rushed to his aid instead of contributing to the fight. As soon as he came round, Drift reprimanded his Mini-Cons for disobeying him... until Russell gave him a piece of his mind. Humbled, Drift reluctantly went along with Jetstorm's plan to disable the tank, which turned out to be successful. In the aftermath, Drift welcomed Jetstorm back into the fold, and announced to Bumblebee that he planned to remain on Earth for the time being so that he could learn more about teamwork. One of Our Mini-Cons Is Missing

"Hey, Drift, in An Officer and a Gentleman, did you really do all those sit-ups?"
"I wish! I did one, and they just showed it a thousand times."

Drift and his Mini-Cons participated in a training exercise. They later GroundBridged underwater with the rest of the Autobots, who were in pursuit of Octopunch. After the Decepticon broke into an Cybertronian spaceship, Drift pursued him inside, but wound up trapped in a room with Sideswipe. Undeterred, Drift instructed his two students to meditate, and Sideswipe reluctantly went along with it. Deep Trouble

Drift helped Fixit zero in on a pair of Decepticon signals. They turned out to belong to Groundpounder and Headlock, and the Autobots, sans Grimlock, tried to GroundBridge into Crown City. The bridge malfunctioned and wound up stranding the team in the Arctic. A second GroundBridge had them materialize outside the city limits, and the team were held up by traffic while Grimlock and Fixit fought the two Decepticons. The Champ

When Fixit reverted to his sentry programming and armed the scrapyard's security systems, Drift suggested that Fixit might have to be destroyed. He and his two students were trapped by containment fields, but he managed to escape and pursued Chop Shop's components when they managed to escape from stasis. The Trouble with Fixit Drift and the other Autobots found themselves trapped outside their own base after Steeljaw's team moved in and set up a subsonic field to keep them out. While the others created a diversion, Drift and Bumblebee rigged up a catapult which they used to get Drift's Mini-Cons into the scrapyard, disabling the subsonic field so Drift and the others could retake the base. Lockout

After Grimlock tried to befriend Scowl, Drift joined in the hunt for the villainous Dinobot and did his best to redirect a runaway train. When Scowl attacked a nearby spa, Drift and his two students searched for their quarry in the showers; Scowl managed to get the drop on all three of them and took the trio down. Similarly Different Drift joined up with newcomer Windblade when the team tried to bring in Zizza. The Buzz on Windblade

"George Takei?"
"That's right. And I would never have gotten away with it, regardless of you meddling kids."

After some of the Autobots began feeling homesick for Cybertron, Bumblebee decided to take them on a vacation. The team GroundBridged to abandoned Edmondville after an erupting volcano proved unpopular. The team had fun scaring off a group of human tourists, although Drift didn't get the chance to show off his ghost costume. Drift later had to deal with an imposter, who escaped into the town's abandoned mineshaft. With the help of Drift's Minicons, the team managed to flush Pseudo out and incapacitate him. Ghosts and Impostors

When Sideswipe and Strongarm were kidnapped by Decepticons, Drift and the other Autobots set off to rescue their comrades from the Decepticon's base of operations. They discovered that the Decepticons were using the Crown City Colossus to summon Megatronus from another dimension. Battlegrounds, Part 1 With their forces bolstered by the return of Optimus Prime, Drift freed his allies and fought against the Decepticons while Optimus took on Megatronus. After Steeljaw's forces were routed, Drift and Sideswipe hacked off part of the Colossus's arm and pinned Megatronus beneath its weight, allowing Bumblebee, Strongarm, and Sideswipe to power up using their Decepticon Hunters and finish off Megatronus. Afterwards, Drift returned to their base with the others. Like the other Autobots, he chose to remain on Earth under Bumblebee's command. Battlegrounds, Part 2

A warrior is a master of himself and his environment.

As Decepticons were being detected far from the scrapyard, Drift was assigned to be part of an "away team" to hunt them. He and the rest of the team were sent on a mission to the Arctic under Optimus Prime's command, however as they tracked the Decepticon, they found themselves having to deal with Optimus's weakened state as a result of the Primes taking back the power they had bestowed on the Autobot leader. Overloaded, Part 1 After rescuing Optimus from a cliff and then becoming the victims of an avalanche, the Autobots managed to sneak up on Polarclaw by scanning some arctic camouflage. Drift took part in the mountain chase, which saw Polarclaw driven into an ice floe and incapacitated. Overloaded, Part 2

Dull brown surprise!

Travelling south, the away team switched paintjobs again, this time adopting desert camouflage from an offroad jeep. During the hunt for another Decepticon, Drift had to suffer Sideswipe's ceaseless chattering. When the team was ran across Swelter and Glacius, Drift deployed his students to test their skills, though he had to intervene after they were defeated. Searching for Razorpaw, the Autobots ended up at a military base where Drift and Sideswipe were ambushed by the two Mini-Cons again. Though the pair were trapped in a metal cocoon by their foes, Drift was at least grateful for the fact that it had silenced Sideswipe. Cover Me

Investigating possible interference with one of Windblade's caches, Optimus's team found themselves up against Stockade and his army of Mini-Cons. During the ensuing firefight, Slipstream and Jetstorm pretended no to hear their master's orders in a bid to act independently in the field. Drift was injured as a result, and sealed himself in the cache. While the other Autobots dealt with spererate squadrons of Stockade's troops, Drift successfully used the cache's force field and the weapons it contained to hold off the Decepticons. After witnessing his students acquit themselves against the foes, he informed them that their education was complete, and they were free to act as they themselves saw fit. However, they insisted on remaining his students. Drift accepted to continue teaching the Mini-Cons, though he warned he would no longer tolerate disobedience in the line of fire. The stealth team then learned that the scrapyard's GroundBridge had been repaired, and Drift was carried back to base by Grimlock through a portal. Graduation Exercises

After a chance encounter resulted in Ratchet joining the team, the Autobots got a lead to the location of the remaining Decepticons on Earth; Toolbox, a recent escapee from "Decepticon Island." They used a ruse to infiltrate the crashed Alchemor which the Decepticons were using as a base by posing as captives. Though they made good headway in their infiltration at first, an argument between Bumblebee and Optimus caused them to pause, allowing the Decepticons higher ups to catch wind of their presence. In due course, the Autobots found themselves completely surrounded by the enemy. Decepticon Island (Part 1) Thanks to an impromptu distraction created by Windblade, the rest of the Autobots were able to make a break for it and escape from Steeljaw's troops. They then split up into smaller teams, with Drift and Ratchet sent to free the captured Windblade. They found Overload putting her in a stasis pod and fought with the Decepticon. Drift became trapped in a pod himself and missed Overload's defeat, but he and the others were able to escape the ship before the cryo-gas bomb went off, freezing all on board. In the aftermath, several Autobots decided to return to Cybertron, as the Decepticon threat had been eliminated. Drift opted to remain on Earth under Bumblebee's command so they could work on building a permanent base of operations, and better meet any future threats that came to the planet. Decepticon Island (Part 2)

Robots in Disguise shorts

Drift watched Grimlock and Fixit perform in a talent show. Fixit Jam

Drift allowed Jetstorm and Slipstream to watch a "training simulation" when Sideswipe came along and explained to them the concept of "dibs". Then, Fixit detected that the two Cyclones Backtrack and Ransack were on the loose and informed the Bee Team as such. Slipstream called "dibs" on recapturing the rogue Mini-Cons, which Drift allowed, despite Bumblebee's concern. The Power of Dibs When Slipstream and Jetstorm returned to base with the Cyclones in hand, Drift met them with an uncharacteristic "welcome back" hug. Though he quickly regained his composure, Drift confided to his students that he was glad they were unharmed. Two Plus Two Equals More

2015 Robots in Disguise books

Drift was once a homeless bot, forced to steal Energon. He came to Megatron's attention and joined the Decepticon army as Deadlock, however when he was nearly destroyed during a battle, he was found and repaired by the Circle of Light. They taught him the ways of the Samurai until the war eventually reached them. Deadlock eventually joined up with a group of bounty hunters known as the Ronin. When they tracked a target to a moon of Athena and Foxtrot's solution was to destroy the moon, Deadlock rebelled against the plan. He destroyed the ship and fled. Drift's Samurai Showdown

Drift was out searching for energon when the rest of Bumblebee's team hunted down Scuzzard and Filch, but arrived back in time to help prevent Filch from escaping captivity a second time. Bumblebee Versus Scuzzard Drift's reluctance to work with the rest of Bumblebee's team did not endear him to 'Bee. When the team caught the Ronin Forager, who recognized Drift as Deadlock, Bumblebee began to doubt Drift's motives, leading Drift to opt to leave the team. When Foxtrot and Stilts later captured Team Bee, Drift posed as his old self, which allowed him to get back into the scrapyard and surreptitiously free the Autobots so that they could defeat the Ronin. Drift's Samurai Showdown

During the incident with Skinkbomb, Drift and his Mini-Cons were off on a scouting mission, and Fixit didn't have any luck contacting them. The Trials of Optimus Prime

Birth! Black Knight Bumblebee

A disgruntled Drift tried to prepare Bumblebee to battle the Decepticon spy Phantomjaw, but the training was going poorly until one of Drift's blows left Bumblebee floundering in mud. With his new, darker color, Drift had a hard time seeing him, and observed that it gave Bumblebee an advantage. Suddenly, Phantomjaw himself interrupted the lesson, much to the dismay of an indignant Drift. Bee was losing his fight until Drift, seized with inspiration, told him to scan a black car, mimicking the stealthy coloration of his earlier mudbath. Phantomjaw lost track of the new "Black Knight" Bumblebee and was sent flying by the Autobot's fist as a result. Birth! Black Knight Bumblebee

IDW Robots in Disguise comic

When Team Bee was lured to Fort Tucker to fight a pair of Vehicons, Drift was forced to aid Grimlock after the Dinobot was felled while protecting some humans. It later turned out to be a distraction while Steeljaw and Steve abducted Fixit and Russell from the scrapyard. Robots in Disguise #5

Returning to base, the team found empty stasis pods and the computer trashed, and were forced to resort to their own wits to work out where Steeljaw was. After Grimlock reasoned that he was somewhere in the Sierra Vistas, Drift spotted some energon left on Bumblebee by the Vehicons. The team was able to track the source of the energon to the cave in question, rescuing Fixit and Russell before engaging Steeljaw's crew. Drift found himself double-teamed by Fracture and Clampdown, until the three Vehicons realized that Steeljaw was not part of Megatron's command. In the aftermath Team Bee was left with the majority of Steeljaw's team as prisoners. Robots in Disguise #6

Commercial appearances

Drift faced off against Fracture in the middle of some woods, launching his two Mini-Con partners as the Decepticon did the same. Slipstream and Jetstorm were victorious in their fight, and Drift loomed over them proudly as the two smaller robots high-fived. Robots in Disguise Deployers toy commercial

Games

Robots in Disguise mobile game

• unlock Starter — 500 Energon Cubes or 10 Ultra Sparks
• unlock 1-Step — 2000 Energon Cubes or 40 Ultra Sparks
• unlock Warrior — 4000 Energon Cubes or 80 Ultra Sparks
• unlock Deployer — 6000 Energon Cubes or 120 Ultra Sparks

When Crown City was overrun by Decepticons as a result of a stasis pod modified to clone an army, the Autobots were forced to battle them throughout the city and surrounding landscape. They eventually found that Steeljaw and another Decepticon had constructed a space bridge and defeated the pair. Robots in Disguise

Transformers Super Mini-Con Striker

Drift acted as a goalkeeper in a soccer match between him, Slipstream, and Jetstorm; and the Decepticons Fracture, Divebomb, and Airazor. Transformers Super Mini-Con Striker

Toys

Virtually every toy in this list has a scannable insignia sticker on it. For Hasbro releases, it temporarily unlocks that toy as a playable character in the Robots in Disguise mobile game, and can only be scanned once per day. TakaraTomy releases simply check that off on their mobile app's collection list. It's honestly quicker and less redundant to say which toys don't have this feature.

Robots in Disguise (2015)

Warrior Class

You have no honor! (Hasbro Version Pictured)

Your pitiful American version lacks honor.(TakaraTomy Version Pictured)

• Autobot Drift (Warrior Class, 2015)
  • Japanese release date: 2015-06-27
  • Japanese ID Number: TAV18
  • Accessories: Longsword, short sword

Part of the second wave of Robots in Disguise Warrior-class figures, Drift transforms from a samurai robot into a futuristic orange car that appears to be a cross between AOE Drift's Bugatti Veyron alt-mode and a Gumpert Apollo. In robot mode, his two swords can be stored on his left hip. In car mode, they store on his underside by using the tabs on his legs with the slots in the sword handles.

His scannable insignia is dead-center on his chest, easily scanned even in-package.

The Adventure version of Drift features a yellow-y orange plastic, and features extra paint applications on his feet, shoulder and arm panels, chest, & his mustache. Like his Hasbro counterpart, he features a different scannable badge. In-package, this is covered up by a "dummy sticker" to prevent scanning without purchase. Scanning the real sticker unlocks Drift in the Transformers Chronicle checklist app.

• More information on Drift at Transformers-Universe.com
• More information on Drift at TFU.info

Remember when you all hated me?

• Drift Origin & Jazz Battle Mode (Warrior Class 2-pack, 2015-11-14)
  • Japanese ID Number: TAVVS05
  • Accessories: Longsword, short sword

Packaged with Jazz, this Drift is a redeco/retool of the first Warrior Class Drift, featuring a new head which evokes his IDW Generation 1 counterpart.

After the G1 deco, you knew they were bound to do this one.

• Blizzard Strike Autobot Drift (Warrior Class, 2016)
  • Accessories: Longsword, short sword

Part of the sixth wave of Warrior class figures, Blizzard Strike Drift is a redeco of the original Warrior Class Drift, featuring a light-blue coloration inspired from Generation 1 Blurr's. Drift also features clear plastic on his wheels, and his car roof kibble.

Like his original toy, his scannable insignia is dead-center on his chest, easily scanned even in-package. Strangely, his stock photography depicting him having a Decepticon sticker-badge rather than his Autobot badge, which also unlocks the same character if scanned.

One-Step Changers

No one is truly disabled as long as he has honor! (Hasbro version pictured)

(TakaraTomy version pictured)

• Autobot Drift (One-Step Changer, 2015)
  • Japanese ID Number: TED13

Part of the third wave of Robots in Disguise One-Step figures, Drift transforms from a stumpy samurai robot into a futuristic orange car in just one step, sharing the same transformation scheme with One Step Changer Bumblebee. Drift features articulation on his pair of shoulders, and includes 3mm compatible hands. Like Bumblebee, Drift cannot ride on Stomp & Chomp Grimlock due to how the legs are molded.

His scannable insignia is on his robot mode chest/vehicle mode front, easily scanned even in-package.

Mini-Con Deployers

Transforms from brick to brick and back again! Hasbro Version Pictured)

No, you can't put my Mini-Cons on my arms.Buy me.(TakaraTomy version pictured)

• Autobot Drift & Jetstorm (Mini-Con Deployer, 2015)
  • Japanese release date: 2015-09-19
  • Japanese ID Number: TAV27
  • Accessories: Jetstorm Mini-Con (Hasbro only), Slipstream & Jetstorm Microns (TakaraTomy only), armor sprues (1 for the Hasbro release, 2 for the Takara release)

Packaged with Jetstorm, this new Warrior-sized mold of Drift transforms from a Cybertronian Car to a robot with very limited articulation. He also features a deployer gimmick, which works with any saw blade-type Mini-Con. His mustache is still not painted. He also features 3mm compatible holes on his arms, and a 5mm compatible left hand.

Although his stock render shows that his scannable insignia is placed on the left side of his vehicle mode, the final product features his badge on his robot mode chest, easily scanned even in-package.

The Adventure release of Deployers Drift, titled Micron Shooter Drift Set, features additional paint applications, and both of his original Mini-cons Slipstream and Jetstorm.

• Blizzard Strike Autobot Drift & Jetstorm (Mini-Con Deployer, 2016)
  • Accessories: Jetstorm Mini-Con, armor sprues

A redeco of Deployers toy, the set features blizzard-themed colors of Drift & Jetstorm.

Legion Class

Pocket-sized honor!

• Autobot Drift (Legion Class, 2016)

Part of the new wave of the Robots in Disguise Legion Class lineup, Drift transforms from a robot into a futuristic car in several steps.

• Autobots vs Clampdown (EZ Collection 4-pack, 2016-05-31)
  • Japanese ID Number: TAV49

A redeco of the Legion Class Autobot Drift figure, the toy features some paint applications on his parts for show-accuracy.

Drift was released along with Optimus Prime, Ratchet, and Clampdown.

Hyperchange Heroes/3-Step Changers

• Blizzard Strike Autobot Drift (Hyperchange Heroes/3-Step Changer, 2015)

Coming soon: Activision attack Drift!

Three-Step Changer Autobot Drift is an entirely new mold, and shares a transformation with Three-step Bumblebee and Sideswipe. Strangely, the toy features a Blizzard-themed deco before he was released in his original colors, and he features a masked faceplate. Blizzard Strike Drift also features 5mm compatible hands, which can be used to wield any Mini-Cons from the Mini-Con Weaponizers subline.

His scannable insignia is on his robot mode chest/vehicle mode front, easily scanned even in-package.

• Big Drift (Hyperchange Heroes/3-Step Changer, 2016-02-27)
  • Japanese ID Number: TED18

Part of the 8th wave of the Easy Dynamic Series line, Big Drift is for some reason, a redeco of Blizzard Strike Autobot Drift in his original colors, instead of the other way around. The toy also features a maskless faceplate.

His scannable insignia is on his robot mode chest/vehicle mode front, compatible to TakaraTomy's Transformers: Chronicle app. This was restricted by a dummy sticker in-package.

• Autobot Drift (Hyperchange Heroes/3-Step Changer, 2016)

Part of the 8th wave of Three-Step Changers, and the first of the Mini-Con Weaponizers subline, this Drift is a redeco of his Easy Dynamic Series release of the mold, but features limited paint operations & differences compared to the Japanese release of the toy.

His scannable insignia is on his robot mode chest/vehicle mode front, easily scanned even in-package.

Merchandise

• Drift (Tiny Titans, 2015)
  • Number: 1/12

Part of the third assortment of Tiny Titans, this version of Drift is a soft-plastic, minimally-painted figurine swinging his swords. He comes with a trading card sold in a blind-packed bag (though there is a tiny window to peek into on the back, plus the bag is thin enough to make out the name printed on the card).

Scanning the insiginia on his card gives the player a random number of energon cube "currency" and a random power-up item.

Notes

• In the Japanese dub of the series, Transformers Adventure, Drift speaks in an archaic dialect associated with the samurai, often ending sentences with "de gozaru" (an honorific that eventually evolved into "desu"). This was also the verbal tic previously used for Tigatron (who was played as a samurai, too), though Drift doesn't ramble it in nearly as much excess (he leaves that goofiness to Slipstream and Jetstorm).
• Drift's color scheme is seemingly based on an early design for Age of Extinction Drift.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Drift (ドリフト Dorifuto)
• Mandarin: Piāoyí (漂移, "Drift")