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 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 was 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 rescue 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, Nightshade 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 that male/female pronouns didn't fit them. While infiltrating Mandroid's base with Jawbreaker and Hashtag by posing as Decepticons who captured Optimus, Nightshade's horror at Mandroid's experiments he was performing on the captured Megatron. Their ruse quickly exposed, a battle erupted that saw Mandroid's base turn into a walking Mech that required the combined efforts of Malto family and their allies to take down. Following the battle, Nightshade was formally introduced to Dot and welcomed into her family. Age of Evolution, Part 2
Now a formal member of the Malto household, Nightshade found the cramped living quarters of the family barn unsuitable as a living space for their Terran siblings and set out to construct a new one. They covertly ended up recruiting Thrash to aide them in this, who was looking to try and bond with his new younger sibling. When Hashtag and Twitch returned with Bumblebee from a mishap with G.H.OS.T., Nightshade used the family gathering to introduce everyone to the new base they had constructed beneath the farmstead. Hashtag: Oops.
Toys
EarthSpark
- Nightshade (Deluxe, 2023)
- Accessories: Mandroid pieces (exact part unknown currently)
- 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.
