Seeker (body-type)
| This article is about the group of Decepticon jets. For the Mini-Con, see Seeker (Energon). |
This article is a featured article, and considered to be one of the most informative on this wiki.
The term Seeker refers to Decepticon jet troopers who all share the same body style. That is, the Decepticons in Generation 1 that looked like Starscream but in different colors or with minor variations in wing and head shapes, and also the Decepticons in later franchises such as Armada where similar "families" of jets appear.
The word "Seeker" is in a strange grey area between official and fan-coined terms. It seems to have originated in extremely obscure official or semi-official writing, but somehow became widely used among fans. In 2002 the term appeared in dialogue from the first issue of The War Within from Dreamwave, making it technically "official". It has subsequently appeared here and there in other official materials (including the Armada storybook, "The Awakening"), although its frequency of official use is still rather low.
G1 Seekers
In G1, there were six Seekers given names and characterization: Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Thrust, Dirge, and Ramjet. The last three are usualy designated as Conehead Seekers by fans for their distinctive transformation that leaves the jet nosecone pointing up. The animation models for the Conehead Seekers were designed by Floro Dery, whereas the season one Seekers were done primarily by an unknown designer in Japan.
In the G1 cartoon, there were large numbers of "generic", unnamed Seekers in addition to the named characters. They came in a wide variety of colors, and seem to have formed the bulk of the Decepticon forces on Cybertron, as well as among Megatron's initial troops on Earth. They gradually became less common, perhaps as a result of casualties, or as a result of the cartoon's production team getting more careful, or just plain having more "actual" Decepticons to work with as the line expanded.
There is a seventh official Seeker who has been retroactively inserted into G1: Sunstorm, an orange Seeker who started his existence as an E-Hobby exclusive toy, inspired by one of the nameless generic Seekers from the cartoon.
Alternate terms
The most obvious alternate name for these Transformers is Decepticon jets. While usually clear enough from context, this term has the weakness that there are many Decepticon jets who are not "Seekers".
The same Transformers are also sometimes referred to as tetrajets. This makes reference to their Cybertronian forms as seen in the cartoon episode "More Than Meets the Eye" and a handful of other episodes set on Cybertron. In these forms, their vehiclular modes are shaped somewhat like tetrahedra, or "triangular pyramids" (that is, a pyramid with a triangular base).
For a time, the term Skyraider saw increasing popularity. It comes from European Generation 2 marketing. When Starscream and Ramjet were released in this line, their packaging referred to them as skyraiders. The UK G2 comic also featured some character profiles (much like the old Transformers Universe comics), and those profiles for SS and RJ used the word as well. It is a relatively small leap to extend usage to all similarly-built Decepticons. The push to use "Skyraider" was largely founded on the idea of using an official term instead of one that was, seemingly, coined and used only by fans. When Simon Furman made use of "Seeker" in The War Within, however, this primary motivation was lost.
A final, joking alternate name is non-blunderscrounge. Used infrequently and only for the sake of silliness, this term originated in a post to alt.toys.transformers by the fan, Sky Shadow. In a discussion of the term "seeker", Shy Shadow suggested that all Decepticon jets who do not share the body design of Starscream be called "blunderscrounges", making Starscream himself a "non-blunderscrounge".
History of term "Seeker"
Although the most well-known name for these Decepticons, the wide use of the term "Seeker" is still somewhat mysterious.
The only known, documented use of the term is from the 1984 JCPenney holiday catalog (sometimes called a "wishbook"). On the page which shows the Christmas season's available TFs, the following entry is found: "Decepticon Silver Plane. Airplane with sensational F-15 styling scours the countryside searching for Autobots. When they're found, the Seekers set out to destroy them. Transforms to an exciting robot with hi-tech weapons and Decepticon logo." A photo of Starscream and Thundercracker is displayed.
It has been rumored, but not demonstrated, that the term "Seeker" was used in some other early promotional materials. If so, then the term must have been handed down by Hasbro at some point. It hardly seems possible that the term could have been invented by a lowly copy writer at JCPenney who also just happend to decide to capitalize it. Still, though, if this catalog is the only primary source in which the term appears, it seems strange that it could have inspired the entire fandom to use the term. "Seeker" was in wide use among internet Transfans even in the early 1990s, when the fandom was just getting off its feet. Did somebody in the days of the Transformers email list have a memory of the word from when they saw this catalog at age 10 and start the trend? It is probably impossible to know at this point.
Apocryphal origins
It is sometimes claimed that "Seeker" is derived from a line of dialogue in the first episode of the G1 cartoon, in which these jets are referred to as "hunter-seekers". This line does not exist.
The term "hunter-seekers" is used in issue 17 of the US comic, The Smelting Pool. However, the Decepticons it is applied to are shown only in their flight modes, which look nothing like the "Seekers" we are familiar with. In fact, the Conehead Seekers make their first appearance in this same issue, and their Cybertronian flight modes appear very similar to their Earth jet forms (if not completely identical), and completely different from the craft which are referred to as hunter-seekers. The only real connection between the hunter-seekers we were shown and the "Seekers" is that there's more than one of them and they fly.
