Nightshade (ES)

Nightshade is an Autobot-allied Terran from the EarthSpark continuity family.

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Nightshade defies typical classification, but that suits them fine. They'd rather show their love for the rest of the Malto family by supporting them though actions and deeds, rather than overt affection. Tinkering away on new gadgets and quiet reading of science fiction pleases them more than the more active games of their siblings. But when necessary, they can take to the shadows to dole out justice in service of other citizens who need protection.

Fiction

EarthSpark cartoon

Voice actor: Z Infante (English), Benjamin Bollen (French), Alberto Bernal (Latin-American Spanish)

They are the night.

Toys

EarthSpark

• Nightshade (Deluxe, 2023)
  • Accessories: Mandroid pieces

Released as part of the third wave of EarthSpark Deluxe Class toys, Nightshade presumably transforms into a hawk owl.

Notes

• While other nonbinary characters like Screwball had previously been introduced in other extended Transformers media, Nightshade is the first character to be openly identified as such in a Transformers cartoon. Cyberverse previously featured a sort of edge case in the form of Acid Storm, but the character was not intentionally written that way, instead falling into the realm of pseudocanon via authorial intent in response to a recurring animation error.
• Promotional material regarding Nightshade has called their alt mode a Hawk Owl,which is ironically enough one of the few dirunal owls,which clashes with their darkness motif.
  • According to Mae Catt, Nightshade's alt mode was referred to in scripts as a "Sentry Owl", a fictitious species of Owl made for the show,based on the book they were reading and the owl depicted in the statue they scanned. Since then, it has Ben described as both a "Sentry" and "Hawk" owl.