Nightshade (ES)
- Nightshade is a Terran from the EarthSpark continuity family.
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)
Nightshade was first brought to life, at the same as their other siblings Jawbreaker and Hashtag, by the Malto siblings of Mo and Robby via the Emberstone in the same cave where their other Terran siblings, Twitch and Thrash were first created. The otherwise happy moment however being interrupted by a cave-in caused by a battle on the outside of the cave between Optimus Prime and Bumblebee against the Decepticon Seekers, Skywarp and Nova Storm. Age of Evolution, Part 1 Despite being only a few seconds old, Nightshade and the other new Terrans instinctually came to their new family's safety by shielding them from the collapsing cave rubble.
Emerging from the collapsed cave, they were warmly greeted by legendary Optimus who inquired about Nightshade and their siblings' names. Unlike Hashtag and Jawbreaker, Nighshade instinctually knew their name right off the bat and said what a delight it was to meet them. Sensing the pain the other Maltos and Terrans felt about learning their mother was held captive by someone called Mandroid, Nightshade volunteered to help them. While planning "Operation: Terran Horse", Nightshade, via their connection to Mo through her cyber-sleeve, informed Optimus their pronouns were "They/Them" and male/female pronouns didn't fit them. Infiltrating Mandroid's base with Jawbreaker and Hashtag posing as Decepticons who captured Optimus, Nightshade's horror at Mandroid's experiments he was performing on the captured Megatron was the first hint to Mandroid the disguised Terrans weren't genuine. Their ruse soon exposed, a battle soon erupted that saw Mandroid's base turn into a walking Mech that took the combined efforts of Malto family and their allies to takedown. Following the battle, Nightshade was formally introduced to Dot and welcomed into her family. Age of Evolution, Part 2
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.
