Starscream (G1)
| The name or term "Starscream" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Starscream (disambiguation). |
- Starscream is a Decepticon from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Starscream is the treacherous Decepticon Air Commander and the deadliest of the Seekers. The self-reported pride of the Cybertron War Academy, he's famous not only for his incredible skill, but also for his limitless (and troublesome) ambition. Starscream believes that he is more suited for command than Decepticon leader Megatron. Thankfully for Megatron, Starscream's mutinous, power-grabbing plots are almost always transparent, and he can never muster up enough patience to complete a grandiose power play. Even on the few times he has taken control of the Decepticons, he quickly loses control of a situation, but is too arrogant to realize when he's in over his head. He never learns from his mistakes, but then again, Megatron doesn't either, seeing as how he's never turned Starscream into slag. Despite his constant failures, Starscream believes it is only a matter of time before he prevails—his destiny is inevitable.
Starscream's never give up attitude extends even to the afterlife: unlike most Transformers, he has a mutant, indestructible Spark. His life-force cannot be destroyed and can persist even without a body to contain it. However, there is no indication that Starscream (or anybody else) was aware of this fact prior to his destruction.
| “ | Why? That's what they all asked me. Why him... why Starscream? Why, of all the Decepticons, did I decide to revitalize the one whose record of deceit and betrayal is legend? Because I'm an idiot, that's why! | ” |
—Megatron on Starscream, "Total War!" | ||
- Preliminary name: Ulchtar[1]
- French-Canadian name: Égo
- Czech name: Hvězdolam ("Starbreak")
- Euskera (Basque) name: Izaroihu
- Hungarian name: Üstökös ("Comet")
- Italian name: Astrum
- Italian name (Beast Wars): Scintillor
- Polish name ("Cosmic Rust"): Gwiazdowrzask
- Polish name (Beast Wars): Gwiezdny Krzyk ("Stellar Cry")
- Portuguese name (Brazil comics): Cometa ("Comet")
- Portuguese name (Portugal comics): Estrela-Estridente ("Shrill Star")
- Russian TV dub name: Scandalist (Скандалист, "Troublemaker")
- Spanish name: Grito de Estrella ("Star Cry")
- Chinese name (Taiwan): Hǒu Hsīng (吼星, "Roaring Star")
- Chinese name (China): Hong Zhizhu (紅蜘蛛, "Red spider")
- Cantonese name: Seng Seng Giu (星星叫, "Star Shouting")
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Generation 1
Millions of years ago, on the troubled planet Cybertron, Starscream acted as the figurehead leader for the controlling dictators of the city-state of Vos. Following a botched attempt at igniting war between Iacon and Tarn, Vos itself went to war with Tarn, and both cities were destroyed by an exchange of photon missiles. The survivors of both cities—presumably including Starscream—were gathered together by the ex-gladiator Megatron, who used their bitterness towards Iacon to unite them under his control as the Decepticons. State Games
Four million years ago, Starscream was part of Megatron's attack raid on the Ark. After its crashlanding on Earth, Starscream was revived and rebuilt into an Earthern form in 1984, along with the other survivors. After a Decepticon roll-call, they fled the Ark. When the Autobots were spotted near a native settlement, aka a drive-thru movie theater, Starscream and the other Decepticons were commanded to attack. While Starscream extolled the use of guile and stealth, Cliffjumper saturated him with his glass gas gun, which coated Starscream, making his metal brittle and breakable as glass. As his chassis shattered, Starscream ordered his fellow jets to flee. The Transformers
Megatron led his Decepticons to a perch above the half-constructed Harrison Nuclear Power Plant, with intent to take it with brute force. Starscream suggested that Buzzsaw scout the area first. Megatron reluctantly agreed with Starscream, choosing Ravage to scout in Buzzsaw's stead. It wasn't until Ravage's report that Megatron realized it was the humans who created the machines in their midst, and thus they must have the technology to convert their fuel to a form they could use. Starscream quietly acknowledged Megatron's shrewdness, and felt that he must never let his eagerness to take over the Decepticons blind him to Megatron's cunning. The Decepticons attacked, and when they had achieved victory, Starscream and the others each hauled off chunks of the plant's machinery to construct their own base of operations atop a harsh cliffside. Starscream and the other Decepticons next attacked the auto repair shop of Sparkplug Witwicky, a friend of the Autobots whom the Decepticons suspected could convert fuel for them. Once Starscream abducted Sparkplug, the Decepticons retreated. Power Play!
Starscream and the others returned to their cliffside headquarters with Sparkplug Witwicky, as Starscream found humor in the role reversal of this planet's human domination over machines. He continued to boast of his successful kidnapping in front of Megatron and the others, a ploy that did not go unnoticed by Megatron. Their captive, Sparkplug, needed materials to aid him in converting Earth fuel to Transformer fuel, so Starscream and Rumble were dispatched to bring back a tanker truck full of fuel for Sparkplug to work on. The Decepticons' actions did not go unnoticed, and the human media and military crowded around their headquarters. But it wasn't until the Autobots arrived that Starscream and the other two jets were unleashed upon the crowd. Prisoner of War! Though the human escaped, it was not before he had successfully done their work for them. Regardless, Starscream berated Megatron for allowing the human to be rescued, to which Megatron responded to with a blast from his fusion cannon. The Last Stand
Starscream was one of a group of Decepticons who were sent to the United Kingdom to investigate tales of the Man of Iron, who was in reality an Autobot sent from Cybertron to Earth to look for the missing Ark. Starscream destroyed him. Man of Iron! Meanwhile, Megatron had begun to grow weary of Starscream's constant attempts to undermine his authority, and he sent Ravage to follow Starscream, hoping he would uncover enough damning evidence to permit Megatron to destroy Starscream once and for all. But when Starscream failed to rally the Decepticons behind him by staging a conflict with the Autobots, he tried to kill Ravage to keep this secret. When caught, he demanded a trial-by-combat and was pitted against Brawn, a fight which he won, until Starscream was shot down and deactivated by Ravage. The Enemy Within!
When it was discovered that Sparkplug had failed to convert fuel for the Autobots, Megatron ordered an attack on the Ark to destroy them once and for all, showing them what lay in wait for those who dared to defy him. Starscream meekly agreed. Despite the Autobots' dangerously low fuel levels, Starscream was amazed at Optimus Prime's commanding power. But just as victory was about to be handed to the Decepticons, Starscream and the others doubled over in pain. Sparkplug Witwicky had poisoned their converted fuel. If not for the sudden appearance and intervention by the long-lost Shockwave, the Decepticons surely would have been defeated. The Last Stand Shockwave, having defeated the entire Autobot army, save the Autobots' medic Ratchet, set up a base of operations inside the Ark and began rehabilitating Starscream and the others. The New Order When Megatron awoke and rebelled against Shockwave, the former Decepticon leader was humiliated in his still-weakened state, and paraded in front of Starscream and the others as a warning to those who would cross Shockwave. The Decepticons hailed Shockwave as their new leader. The Worse of Two Evils!
When Megatron went missing, leaving control of the Ark back in the hands of the Autobots, Starscream disparaged Megatron's failure in front of Shockwave. The Decepticons had in the meantime taken control of one of Blackrock Industries' aerospace plants, and G.B. Blackrock had constructed a superweapon to retaliate. Starscream convinced Shockwave to let him and Frenzy destroy the weapon to boost morale (or maybe allow him to steal the superweapon and use it to destroy Shockwave and take command). There, Starscream and Frenzy not only encountered the Autobots Jazz and Wheeljack but also a super-powered human who was determined to destroy all robots, Circuit Breaker. Starscream suffered few injuries, but had to drag Frenzy's body from the conflict. DIS-Integrated Circuits!
Shockwave went missing as well, and with both him and Megatron gone, Soundwave assumed command. Soundwave wasted no time in telling Starscream why he would never lead the Decepticons -- he's just "a missile with a mouth". Soundwave orchestrated Bumblebee's capture, and challenged Optimus Prime to fight his way through the Decepticons to rescue him. Although Starscream loudly boasted of being a "leader killer", once he faced Optimus Prime alone, he stammered and hesitated, and was quickly defeated. Crisis of Command!
Shockwave returned, and none too soon! Starscream and the other jets had been standing watch over their captured Blackrock Industries oil rig for weeks. Shockwave unveiled the power siphon he had built during his absence, which Starscream and the others would soon use to convert sound energy from a Brick Springstern concert into Energon cubes. Their plot was stopped abruptly when they were defeated by Bumblebee and a group of new Autobot recruits. Rock and Roll-Out! Starscream soon agreed with Shockwave that Bumblebee would be a perfect candidate for them to add to their own ranks. They waited until Bumblebee was alone, and then hunted him relentlessly. It wasn't until human authorities and the Autobots arrived to rescue Bumblebee did the Decepticons abandon their hunt. Plight of the Bumblebee!
Starscream, among others, escorted Megatron to the Space Bridge, where they were expecting reinforcements from Cybertron. Though only a team of Autobots had made it through the Space Bridge to Earth, their disappointment was brief. The Autobots had in the meantime launched a full-scale attack on the Decepticons' base, which Megatron reckoned meant that the Ark was unguarded. Indeed, the sole obstacle in their way to the entrance was a tank and a rocket. However, these elements soon combined into the impressive super robot Omega Supreme. One by one, Megatron's troops fell before the titan, including Starscream. Only Megatron and Laserbeak survived. Command Performances!
The Autobots gathered up Starscream and the other deactivated Decepticons and placed them in life support capsules within the Ark, holding them imprisoned in stasis. Not long afterward, the Autobots were plunged into a state of disarray by the violent arrival of the enigmatic time-travelling Decepticon, Galvatron, and Grapple was in such a rush to depart the medical bay and attend a mission briefing that he failed to notice an alert signifying the malfunction of Starscream's capsule. Starscream awoke and punched his way out of the capsule, and proceeded to steal out of the medical area and listen in on the Autobots' briefing. He was shocked to overhear that the Autobots had teamed up with Megatron to defeat Galvatron, and Starscream immediately decided to sneak off to join forces with this powerhouse from the future. Galvatron went along with Starscream's toadying, as the irony amused him; Galvatron was, in fact, a recreated future incarnation of Megatron, and would go on to kill Starscream twenty years in the future! When Galvatron and his men faced Megatron once again, Starscream shot Megatron in the back, but had to be stopped short of killing him by Galvatron himself, who knocked Starscream unconscious in order to secure his own future existence. Starscream's body was placed back into its stasis capsule by the future Autobots Hot Rod, Kup and Blurr, who then proceeded to trick Galvatron into returning to the future through a complicated plan that involved painting Skywarp to look like Starscream, and then duping Galvatron into destroying him. After killing "Starscream", Galvatron rationalized that he must have travelled back to a parallel timeline, since Starscream was not supposed to die until 2006, and returned to the future with his men. Target: 2006
Rather than do the smart thing and return Starscream the Ark, the future Autobots rather unwisely left his capsule lying in the middle of a field. As happenstance would have it, Starscream lay there, undisturbed, until he awoke at Christmas the following year. Desolate, he wished he could go home again, and was in mid-mope when he was chanced upon by a a human who sought to inform him of the meaning of Christmas. Urged to help a busload of elderly humans who had become stuck in a snowdrift, Starscream wanted to know what would be in it for him. As Starscream debated this good deed, he was suddenly attacked by Streetwise, who suspected him to be up to his usual do-baddery. After a brief battle, the human intervened to chastise Streetwise, and Starscream proceeded to show up the Protectobot by saving the bus, purely out of spite. Stargazing
Starscream quickly ingratiated himself with Ratbat and helped run Club Con, a human island resort that covered their attempt to uncover subterranean information on the legendary Underbase. Club Con! When a pair of Autobot audio and video tapes recording the loss of the Underbase were found, Starscream convinced Ratbat to let him watch the tapes with him. In the "Realvision" playback, he witnessed a young Optimus Prime thwart Megatron's early attempts to possess the Underbase by shooting the legendary database into space. The Flames of Boltax! Starscream then set about a chain of systematic betrayals in order to gain access to that power. He set loose Buster Witwicky, whom the Decepticons had been holding prisoner, with equipment that would lure the Autobots to the Decepticon's Antarctic base. The ensuing battle served to distract his fellow Decepticons as he then stole a ship from Scorponok to look for the Underbase. Cold War!
Upon finding the ancient database, Starscream began absorbing its power but was unable to finish the task as he was blasted by Ratbat's ship, piloted by a temporary Autobot/Decepticon alliance. However, while the light of the Underbase had only shone on Starscream for a moment, that moment had been enough to fill him with its awesome power, and the now-cosmically-powered Air Commander survived the attack. Growing to monumental proportions, Starscream hurled his ship at Ratbat's craft, and promptly headed for Earth with the intention of proving his power by destroying New York, Tokyo and Buenos Aires. The Autobots and Decepticons traveled to those locations to try and stop Starscream, but they ultimately failed, as a massive amount of the Transformers active on Earth were badly damaged and incapacitated by Starscream's Underbase-powered rampage. Starscream only stopped after intercepting a radio transmission between Fortress Maximus and Optimus Prime, and realized that the great Autobot leader was elsewhere, plotting against him. Starscream fled back out into space to find Prime, and rediscovered the Underbase. Starscream attempted to finish absorbing its power, only to have the absolute knowledge overwhelm him, which resulted in his destruction. Dark Star
Starscream's corpse crashed in South America, but the Decepticon still clung to some semblance of life, as his shattered husk was reanimated by the residual energy of the Underbase that still saturated it, and driven by Starscream's own muderderous impulses into an insane rampage. After nearly killing Susan Hoffman and her Assistants, the zombie-like Starscream was confronted by Dreadwind and Darkwing, who had been sent by Megatron to recover Starscream's body, and the Autobot Triggerbots. Triggerbot Backstreet was able to appeal to the fraction of the Underbase that was still within Starscream and convinced it to try and regain control of itself, but as soon as it did, Dreadwind and Darkwing had their Powermaster partners Hi-Test and Throttle siphoned all the Underbase's remaining power from the walking cadaver. Starscream's corpse returned to being an inanimate pile of scrap, which the pair quickly collected. Race with the Devil
Starscream's remains were delivered to Megatron on Cybertron, who kidnapped Ratchet and forced him to rebuild Starscream with a powerful Pretender shell. Ratchet was shown three different shell prototypes, and a final design meant for Starscream. The Resurrection Gambit! As Ratchet worked on repairing Starscream, he feigned a friendly attitude towards Megatron, but this was a facade to cover Ratchet's true motives. Though Megatron had some tweaks in mind for Starscream's personality, Ratchet had something else in mind. After the Pretender shell had finished healing the body inside, Megatron sent Starscream to Earth, where Scorponok and Optimus Prime had clashed over a misunderstanding. As they were about to peacefully discuss the machinations that had gathered them there, Starscream's shell appeared! The Transformers and Nebulans below gaped in horror as the shell opened up to reveal the treacherous Starscream! All the Familiar Faces!
Starscream's new form was powerful, but what gave him his true edge was how much he spooked his victims. He was believed to be a ghost, an invincible force of revenge, and most of Scorponok's troops quickly fled the battlefield. It wasn't until Hot Rod manned up and shot their attacker did they realize that this was no ghost at all, but rather a physical being that could feel pain and be destroyed. This was further sold by Starscream's sudden display of cowardice. Ratchet had arranged for Starscream's true personality to eventually surface, and Hot Rod's blast had knocked it free. Completely outmatched, he surrendered and begged Scorponok for forgiveness. Skin Deep
Briefly after becoming a Pretender, Starscream began to wallow in self-pity, believing that all the other Decepticons considered him a joke for his many failed takeover attempts and defeats. His self-esteem crumbled every time the other Decepticons refused to speak to him or spoke about him behind his back. In reality, the other Decepticons were terribly frightened of Starscream (thanks to that whole Underbase thing) and were avoiding him so they wouldn't be killed. Starscream sulked about it for a while until he defeated and captured a few Autobots and his confidence began to return. Fallen Star!
Starscream was a source of dissention among the Decepticons, who were angry with Scorponok for letting him back in Primal Scream—and it was pretty dumb, as Starscream tried to capture the mutant Dynamo and use him as a Powermaster so he could challenge Scorponok. He failed, but was then met by Shockwave, then believed to be dead. The Human Factor! Starscream joined his gang in a Decepticon Civil War against Scorponok, and pressganged Triggerhappy and Mindwipe into the group. Eye of the Storm! Thanks to the Autobots and Neo-Knights, it was a bust. Out of Time!
Starscream was transported to Cybertron to take part in the fight against Unicron. "Take part" as in "ran away". Along with Shockwave, he hijacked and repaired the Ark so they could escape the dying planet. Shockwave and Starscream found Megatron and Ratchet awakening from the Nucleon on board the ship, both very confused and addled due to their mind-link. Starscream tried to kill Ratchet and got totally beaten up, before the medic directed one of Starscream's null-rays into the Nucleon storage tanks, causing enough of a chain reaction to send the Ark into a crash-landing on Earth, once again resulting in Starscream's deactivation. A Savage Circle
Earthforce
In an alternate series of events, Starscream and Shockwave's army grew much larger, and their main competition was not Scorponok, but a revived Megatron and his group of Decepticons. As Shockwave's second-in-command, Starscream had few responsibilities, and even less power. The final indignity came when he was assigned to mere monitor duty at their undersea base. Still, even that ignoble assignment presented an opportunity, as Starscream caught Megatron's spies, the Insecticons, trying to tune in to Shockwave's war room. After incapacitating the bugs, Starscream surprised them by offering to let them go free, if they would report back to Megatron that Shockwave would be alone at a certain spot the next day, ensuring that Megatron would go out to battle him alone. Bugged! With the trap baited, Starscream contacted his opposite number, Megatron's second-in-command Soundwave, and proposed an alliance. Soundwave had already been playing both sides by feeding information to him, and so the two of them conspired to join the Decepticon factions under their joint rule. Sure enough, after Megatron and Shockwave's private battle came under Autobot fire (Autobots who had been anonymously tipped off by Starscream), they radioed their respective bases only to hear that the Decepticons no longer considered the two of them leaders. Internal Affairs!
Starscream's first major action as Decepticon leader was the ol' "bait and switch" -- sending Soundwave and a Decepticon strike force to keep the Autobots busy at their Earthbase, while he personally attended to stealing a supply of oil from a tanker in the Gulf of Mexico. It seemed, however, that Starscream's plan hadn't accounted for Earthforce's newest recruits: the Survivors. A quick 1-2-3 by Carnivac, Skids and Inferno took the fight out of Starscream, and so he retreated, radioing his troops to do the same. Divide and Conquer!
Sometime later, returning to the Decepticon base in the Louisiana bayous, Starscream suddenly found himself fighting for his life against several mismatched bounty hunters and mercenaries. Believing his co-commander Soundwave must have been responsible for the contract, Starscream stormed back to their headquarters to confront him. Assassins He wasted no words in confronting his "treacherous" partner, but fortunately Soundwave had had the foresight to prerecord an explanation. While trading blows and dodging laser fire in person, Soundwave's recording outlined how the situation was clearly a set-up to make them fight each other. Fortunately, Starscream believed him. Unfortunately, Bludgeon and the Mayhem Attack Squad stormed in at that moment, having been paid by the true contractors, Megatron and Shockwave, to eliminate anyone left standing. External Forces! The two Decepticons would have been overwhelmed if they hadn't received aid from an unlikely source: Earthforce. It seemed the Dinobot Snarl was dying of Corrodia Gravis, a wasting disease which required an energy transfer from a compatible Transformer, and Starscream fit the bill. After driving off Megatron, Shockwave and the Mayhems, Starscream made a deal with Earthforce to help Snarl in exchange for their aid against any future uprising by the former Decepticon leaders. The Lesser Evil
Soon afterwards, Starscream and Soundwave engaged in Project: Smear, a campaign to ruin the Autobots' good name among the humans, and ensure they received no additional aid in the war. A straight-forward attempt to brainwash Superion into wrecking a human settlement didn't pan out, Inside Story! so a more subtle plan was engineered. Starscream had Bombshell use his cerebro-shells to subvert the will of a human reporter, Irwin Spoon, and compel him to write a story bashing the Autobots and portraying them as kidnappers, or worse. End of the Road!
Generation 2
Starscream had been damaged to the point of stasis lock when the Ark crashed on Earth for a second time. Megatron, apparently the only one to recover from the crash more or less unscathed, decided to revive Starscream. All or Nothing! He would later question his own judgement in doing so, but in his defense, the only other Decepticons involved in the crash had been Shockwave and Galvatron (and Galvatron had walked away from the crash anyway), so his options for loyalty were slim.
Predictably, though, Starscream would indeed betray Megatron and the Decepticons once again, this time by giving Jhiaxus and his troops information that allowed them to take control of the Decepticon flagship Warworld. Total War! Starscream then doublecrossed Jhiaxus, stole the Creation Matrix (which Megatron had stolen from Prime earlier) and used its powers to merge himself with the Warworld, becoming an unstoppable force of destruction. As Optimus Prime and Megatron entered the possessed ship to try and stop him, Starscream exhibited a startling control over the physical nature of the vessel, turning the Warworld into an ever-shifting maze of horrors to torment the two leaders. Dark Shadows! But when they confronted him face-to-face, he found that the Matrix was having a disagreeable effect on his own mind. He found himself wanting to be, in his own words, "good". He desperately gave the Matrix back to Prime in the hopes that the effect would be temporary. This reverted Starscream to his ordinary form, presumably severing his connection with the ship. A Rage in Heaven!
Classics
Starscream reappears alongside several other Decepticons restored by Megatron fifteen years after the Ark crash-landed. He still appears to enjoy making snide remarks at Megatron's expense.
Generation 1 cartoon
- Voice actor: Chris Latta (English), Hirotaka Suzuoki (Japanese), Jean-Louis Millette (Canadian French), Jacques Ferrière (French), José Sant'anna (Portuguese), Bernd Simon (German), Michael Chernyak (Russian), Leo Valeriano (Italian, 1st season and part of 2nd season)
Shortly before the outbreak of the Autobot-Decepticon war nine million years ago, Starscream was not a warrior, but rather a scientist. He and his colleague and friend Skyfire were exploring an unnamed planet—the ancient Earth—when severe atmospheric conditions separated the two friends. Starscream circled the globe looking for Skyfire, but never found him. Upon his return to Cybertron, Starscream mostly abandoned his scientific pursuits, deciding that a career as a warrior would be much more exciting, Fire in the Sky and instead enrolled in the Cybertron War Academy, of which he would later profess to be the pride. A Prime Problem
Starscream rose through the ranks of Megatron's Decepticons until he reached the position of second in command, but even this was not enough: Starscream saw Megatron as old and soft, and after five million years of war drained Cybertron of all its energy, Starscream came to believe that the Decepticons would have won the conflict eons beforehand if he had been in charge. Starscream was never afraid to let Megatron know this, but Megatron was always ready with a disparaging comeback, and the constant belief that while Starscream had the ambition, he did not have the ability to lead.
Starscream was among Megatron's forces aboard the space cruiser that pursued the Autobots' ship when it departed Cybertron to search for new energy sources on other planets. The Decepticons boarded the Autobot craft, and it subsequently crashed on Earth, entombing its occupants in stasis for four million years. When a volcanic eruption reawakened the ship's computer, Teletraan I, in 1984, it indiscriminately brought the Decepticons back online, rebuilding their bodies to transform into contemporary Earth machines. Now outfitted with an F-15 alternate mode, Starscream's first act on Earth was one of spitefulness, as he delivered a parting laser blast to the buried Autobot ship. The blast caused a tremor that inadvertently knocked Optimus Prime into the path of Teltraan I's restoration beam, and before long, all the Autobots were operational once more and ready to continue the war on Earth. Four million years of sleep hadn't improved Starscream's disposition any, as his thoughts immediately turned to leadership once more, and he discussed them with Rumble when he and Soundwave accompanied him on a mission to find materials to construct a temporary base. More than Meets the Eye, Part 1
The Decepticons quickly began gathering energy to build and fuel a new space cruiser that could return them to Cybertron. The work proceeded apace with the Autobots unable to do much to stop the villains, but Starscream wound up costing them time when he decided to test a clutch of energon cubes by powering a laser turret with them, thereby using them up and necessitating another energy raid. More than Meets the Eye, Part 2 A little later, when Megtaron subjected Starscream to another bout of berating, the Air Commander decided he had had enough, and tried to shoot Megatron in the back. At Soundwave's warning, Megatron blocked the beam and returned fire with his fusion cannon, bringing Starscream to his knees, quite literally begging for mercy. Luckily for him, he got it, but he didn't learn his lesson, since the first thing he did once the space cruiser was completed and airborne was to try for another coup. As it turned out, he only wound up distracting all the other Decepticons, allowing Autobot stowaway Mirage to cripple the cruiser and send it crashing back to Earth. More than Meets the Eye, Part 3
Now stranded on Earth and using the crashed hulk of their spaceship as a base, the Decepticons created a space bridge to transport energy back to Cybertron. When Megatron was apparently lost in an early test of the device, Transport to Oblivion Starscream leapt at the chance to take leadership, and led Thundercracker and Soundwave in an attack on a munitions plant. Unfortunately for Starscream, it soon transpired that Megatron had survived the space bridge journey, when he contacted Starscream from Cybertron and re-established his leadership. Roll for It Starscream was demoted to grunt work for his next mission, shipping energon cubes over the space bridge, but his merciless selection of a hapless warrior to pilot the craft on the dangerous journey proved to be a good one. Divide and Conquer
When the Decepticons began drilling in the North Pole in order to tap the energy of the Earth's core, the excavation wound up unearthing the frozen body of Starscream's old friend, Skyfire. Starscream talked his friend into joining the Decepticons, but Skyfire could not put aside his peaceful scientific ways aside like Starscream had, and their friendship ended when he defected to the Autobots. Fire in the Sky After a battle with the Autobots newest warriors, the Dinobots, including yet another failed attempt and taking leadership when Megatron fell (fell down, that is), S.O.S. Dinobots Starscream met up with Skyfire again when the Autobot returned to stop a Decepticon plot in Peru. In the process, Starscream found himself on the other side of treachery, when he overheard Thundercracker contemplating letting Skyfire destroy the Decepticons' new weapon, in the hope that Megatron would blame Starscream himself. Starscream tried to shoot Thundercracker but missed and took out Skyfire, then blackmailed Thundercracker into obeying his every command with the threat of revealing his treachery to Megatron. Unsuprisingly, the whole scheme didn't really work. Fire on the Mountain
Not long after that Starscream proved he did still have some scientific leanings, as he was the only Decepticon who urged caution when Megatron pillaged energy from an unstable meteor. Starscream was ultimately correct about the volatile nature of the energy, and the resulting explosion nearly killed a number of Transformers, including Optimus Prime and Grimlock. War of the Dinobots
After the Decepticons used a colossal space bridge to pull Cybertron into Earth's orbit in order to generate vast amounts of energy, The Ultimate Doom, Part 1 Starscream took every opportunity he could to try and make it seem like the plan wasn't working. The Ultimate Doom, Part 2 When the Decepticons' human ally Doctor Arkeville was abandoned by Megatron, Starscream abducted the scientist and made the rather outlandish attempt to create energon cubes by drawing on his mental energy. When Megatron caught him in the act, Starscream fled with Arkeville The Ultimate Doom, Part 3 back to the human's secret laboratory. There, Starscream discovered an Exponential Generator and destabilized with the intent of creating an explosion powerful enough to destroy the Earth. Starscream withdrew to Cybertron to watch the cosmic fireworks, but unbeknownst to him, Megatron and Optimus Prime had joined forces to launch the exponential generator into space. When the Earth failed to explode on schedule, Starscream headed back to the planet to investigate, but was knocked out of the sky by the passage of the exponential generator and crashed, right at the feet of a vengeful Megatron. Autobot Jazz wagered the Autobots had seen the last of Starscream for a while, Countdown to Extinction and he was right: Starscream was indeed nowhere to be seen during the Decepticons' next villainous escapade. A Plague of Insecticons
Whatever revenge Megatron may have reaped on Starscream, the air commander survived the experience, and was seen again when he and the other Decepticons bestowed their power chip rectifiers upon Megatron. This process gave Megatron access to all the Decepticons' special powers, including Starscream's null rays and cluster bombs, so he could easily defeat Optimus Prime in a one-on-one battle. Starscream pointed out the sheer illegality of this scheme, but Megatron was above caring. As it turned out, Starscream was right again: although Megatron defeated Prime, when the Autobots discovered his breach of the rules, their revenge was swift. Heavy Metal War
Starscream eagerly took to action in the Decepticons' next battle, Autobot Spike but was somewhat more reserved in regards to Megatron' new Solar Needle weapon, fearing that it would destabilize the Earth. Told by Megatron not to concern himself with matters he did not understand, he instead passed the time threatening and bossing around the captive Gears. Changing Gears Later, when Megatron had the Decepticons transform New York into a new Cybertron, Starscream had to admit that he was impressed by the scheme despite himself. City of Steel
Starscream helped Megatron implant a personality destabilizer in the Autobots' recharging chambers by using invisibility spray, Attack of the Autobots and then joined in the theft of electro-cells from a human laboratory, only to wind up embarrassing himself by rushing to use them to create energon cubes, which exploded due to the cells' instability. Traitor Starscream was later part of the Decepticon team that stole the Autobots' Immobilizer weapon, and briefly tried to seize leadership when Megatron was felled by Optimus Prime during the Autobots' attempt to reclaim the device. The Immobilizer
After serving as Megatron's unwilling guinea pig in the first test of the transformation-freezing Transfixatron, The Autobot Run Starscream's cautious side came to the fore again when the Decepticons allied themselves with the fish-people of Sub-Atlantica. Starscream did not trust the sub-aquatic kingdom's boastful leader Nergill, and his suspicions were proven correct when Nergill shot him with an anti-Transformer disruptor ray. Starscream recovered in time to save Megatron from a blast of the ray, but Megatron did not believe Starscream's accusation of treachery until the fish-king went off the deep end and tried to destroy the Transformers, Sub-Atlantica and himself by detonating the city's energy stockpile. Atlantis, Arise!
Starscream was less than impressed with Megatron's decision to steal the Earth-made robot ninja Nightbird, but when Megatron threatened to replace the Air Commaner with the femme-bot, Starscream helped the Autobots take her down with a blast of his null ray. Enter the Nightbird Soon after, when Megatron sought to dupe the Autobots with a clone of Optimus Prime, his plan necessitated the creation of a Starscream clone, that the Prime copy could convince the Autobots that it was the genuine article by destroying it. A Prime Problem
The scientist in Starscream saw danger in Megatron's plan to drill to the Earth's core, but Megatron placated him by revealing an emergency space bridge that could whisk them off to Cybertron if things went wrong. They never got the chance, though, as the Autobots destroyed the bridge, forcing the Decepticons to work with them to halt the drill and save the planet. The Core
Following a brief stint as mind-controlled minion of Bombshell, The Insecticon Syndrome Starscream accompanied the Decepticons to the mysterious Dinobot Island, where the strange waves of chronal energy surrounding the prehistoric paradise gave him cause for concern. Dinobot Island, Part 1 Starscream theorized that draining the delicate energies of the island could disrupt the fabric of time, and he was right: time warps began appearing all across the world, and the Autobots sprang into action to stop the Decepticons' scheme. Dinobot Island, Part 2
After shooting down Powerglide and accusing the Constructicons of treachery, The Master Builders Starscream proved just how much of a case of the pot calling the kettle black that was when he tricked the mentally-addled Autobot Red Alert into giving him access of the Autobots' new Negavator tank. Starscream planned to use the weapon to take control of the Decepticons, but when Megatron rumbled his scheme, he claimed that he had only been stealing the weapon for his leader. Realizing that Starscream meant to take the Negavator from him, Red Alert turned on him, and Starscream shot him with his null rays, which wound up stabilizing his logic circuits. Auto Berserk
Starscream had a nasty encounter with a snake in the jungles of South America when the Decepticons were searching for their lost original space cruiser and its power core, the Heart of Cybertron, but his spirits were put right by a good bout of over-energizing with the other Decepticons that evening. Microbots
Later, Starscream donned an Optimus Prime costume as part of a plan to frame the Autobots for energy theft, which successfully resulted in the heroic robots being forced off Earth by humankind. Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1 In the Autobots' absence, the Decepticons conquered Central City, and Starscream led the Decepticon jets in easily fending off attempted human military intervention, before the Autobots returned to clear their names and put things right. Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2
Seeking to sabotage the creation of Professor Greene's ultra plane, Starscream suggested blasting the new device out of the sky. Megatron advocated discretion, and instead had Starscream perform a fly-over and surreptitiously drop a small explosive on the Ultraplane. Starscream, Megatron and Soundwave then attempted to steal the plans for the ultra plane, but Starscream and Soundwave were tricked into retreating when Mirage projected a hologram of Megatron fleeing. Soon after, cybertonium degradation began to impair the Decepticons functionality, and before he succumbed to it, Starscream took another grab for leadership when Megatron's vocal circuits were scrambled by the condition. Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1 After the Decepticons recovered, Starscream helped steal the Voltronic Galaxer. Blaster Blues
While on a mission in Great Britain, Starscream found himself low on energy, and with Autobots on all sides. Retreating into a cave with Rumble, Ravage and Ramjet at his side, Starscream discovered that the cave was, in fact, a mystical time travel device, which thrust them back through the ages to 543 AD, with Autobots Hoist and Warpath hot on their heels. Seeing a primitive world that he could easily conquer laid out before him, Starscream allied himself with local ne'er-do-well Sir Wigend du Blackthorne, but soon double-crossed him and took control of his castle and army. Starscream dismissed the chivalry of the age and abducted Nimue, daughter of neighboring ruler Sir Aetheling the Red, demanding that he surrender his kingdom in return for his progeny's safety. All the Transformers were low on energy, so Starscream put his scientific skills to use creating gunpowder and primitive electric dynamo, giving the Decepticons the ability to fight back against the Autobots and Sir Aetheling's armies when they marshalled against him. With aid from the wizard Beorht, Hoist and Warpath overpowered Starscream and hauled him back to the present, where Starscream gleefully greeted Megatron by pouncing on top of him, ruining the shot he had lined up. A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court
Starscream was the first Decepticon to test out a mysterious golden lagoon of electrum discovered on Earth, and was made invulnerable by the powerful alloy. The Decepticons were easily able to defeat the Autobots in battle thanks to their new invincible coating, but Megatron was not impressed when Starscream had captives Seaspray and Beachcomber fight gladiator-style. As punishment, he had Starscream lead an attack on the giant Autobot Omega Supreme—a task Starscream was terrified at the prospect of, even with his newfound invulnerability. The attack succeeded, but when Starscream was left in charge of the prisoners, they escaped, and in the battle that resulted, the electrum effect wore off the Decepticons, and they were defeated. The Golden Lagoon
When Starscream, Thrust and Astrotrain pursued Cosmos to Saturn's moon of Titan, Starscream was less than impressed when the natives began worshipping Astrotrain as their supreme god. The God Gambit Starscream later encountered Cosmos again, along with Powerglide, in New York, inadvertently revealing the location of the Decepticons new base in the New Jersey Pine Barrens to the Autobots. Make Tracks
Starscream was among a small group of Autobots and Decepticons who were transported to an alien world of giants by a malfunctioning space bridge. Starscream was nearly dissected for study by the authorities of this planet, and when Autobot scientist Perceptor cobbled together a makeshift space bridge to send them home, he and the Decepticons were only too happy to make the trip back to Earth. Child's Play After returning, Starscream was caught up in the menace of the morphobots, Quest for Survival then helped operate the Decepticons' new "energy magnet". Kremzeek!
Conspiring with Astrotrain and Blitzwing to overthrow Megatron by freezing him in a subterranean chamber full of absolute zero degree molecules, Starscream found himself betrayed by the two Triple Changers and frozen in the chamber along with Megatron. Blitzwing and Astrotrain's subsequent rampage caused a tidal wave (among many other things) that freed the two frozen Decepticons, and Starscream pleaded ignorance of the betrayal. Triple Takeover Later, when eccentric big game hunter Lord Chumley began targeting the Autobots, Starscream smirkingly pointed out that he had achieved more in two days that Megatron had in two years. Prime Target
Using the Dancitron dance club, Starscream and Soundwave used hypnotic music signals to brainwash human beings into helping them build a new Decepticon headquarters in the heart of New York, but they were stopped by Tracks, Blaster and the Bop Crew. Auto-Bop Later, he returned to Cybertron to aid Shockwave in the capture of Autobot resistance leader Elita One, holding her to ransom to lure Optimus Prime into Decepticon clutches. The plan the succeeded, but when Starscream attempted to melt Optimus Prime down, Elita used her time-freezing powers to save the Autobot leader. When time unfroze, Starscream believed that Prime had been destroyed, so when the Autobot leader return to aid his troops in battle, Starscream was badly thrown and called retreat right away. The Search for Alpha Trion
When Dirge crashed in a movie studio back lot while returning to the Decepticon base with a secret cargo, Starscream was charged with recovering footage of the secret cargo that the filmmakers on-site had captured. Unfortunately for Starscream, Megatron was not in a forgiving mood that day, so when he neglected to steal the negatives as well, the Decepticon leader seized him, held him above his head, slammed him off a wall and tore a handful of wires out of his chest, knocking Starscream offline. Hoist Goes Hollywood
When Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker's aerial skills wowed the impressionable new Autobots, the Aerialbots, Starscream used their naivety to lure them into a trap set by a Megatron that temporarily sent them nine million years back in time. War Dawn Later, Starscream accompanied Megatron, Astrotrain and Rumble on a mission to the planet Antilla, during which Megatron was struck by a small asteroid that lodged itself in his armor. Starscream yanked the asteroid out of Megatron's shoulder, but too late: the Decepticon leader was already infected by Cosmic Rust, necessitating the capture of Perceptor to find a cure. Cosmic Rust
Starscream's next attempt at a coup was the last straw for Megatron. After Starscream attempted to shoot him in the back yet again, Megatron downed the Air Commander with a blast of his fusion cannon and banished him from the Decepticons, instructing Laserbeak to drop him on the island of Guadalcanal. Discovering the ruined hulks of several World War II vehicles on the island, Starscream was struck with the idea to create troops for himself. Overpowering Thundercracker and Skywarp, he hijacked the space bridge and liberated the personality components of a group of dissident "Renegade Decepticons" from the detention center on Cybertron, which he placed into the war vehicles, creating the Combaticons. Starscream ensured the loyalty of the Combaticons by neglecting to install energy absorbers in their new bodies, meaning that they had to help him capture several Transformers so they could take theirs for their own. In a showdown with the Decepticon forces, Starscream's Combaticons combined into Bruticus to overpower Devastator, and the giant robot then seized Megatron, as Starscream forced him to hand leadership over to him. Suddenly, Bruticus was ambushed by Menasor and defeated, leaving Starscream without troops and at Megatron's mercy. Megatron had Astrotrain dump Starscream and the Combaticons on an asteroid, declaring them exiled from Earth forever. Starscream's Brigade
Unable to stand his imprisonment, Starscream eventually transformed to jet mode and flew off into space, despite not having enough power to make it back to Earth. The Combaticons, meanwhile, towed the asteroid to Cybertron, where they promptly overthrew Shockwave and took control of the planet. Shockwave was sent tumbling off into space and collided with Starscream, tipping the Seeker off to the fact that he was close to Cybertron. The pair returned to Cybertron, where they attempted to fool the Combaticons were holograms, but were ultimately captured and imprisoned. It took the team-up of Megatron and Optimus Prime's forces to save them and stop Bruticus. Starscream used the hologram projector to deceive the Autobots into thinking that Megatron had destroyed Bruticus, but in reality, the combiner survived and was reprogrammed by Megatron to serve him. For supplying him with this mighty new soldier, Megatron welcomed Starscream back into the Decepticon ranks. The Revenge of Bruticus
In his last recorded adventures in the 1980s, Starscream was his old snarky self, pouring doubt and scorn on Megatron's plans to have the Stunticons steal the components to create a powerful laser weapon, Masquerade and to use a gravity-alerting device to blast the moon out of orbit. B.O.T.
Over the next twenty years, the Decepticons focused their efforts on conquering Cybertron entirely, driving the Autobots off the planet. In 2005, learning that the Autobots were readying for a major strike to take back the planet, Starscream accompanied Megatron and the Decepticons on a raid on Autobot City on Earth (although Starscream himself advocated hitting the Autobots' bases on Cybertron's moons first). During the battle, Starscream narrowly avoided being crushed by the transforming city, and was the one to call retreat when Optimus Prime grievously wounded Megatron in a one-on-one duel. On the return flight to Cybertron, the Decepticons found it to reduce their mass so that Astrotrain could successfully make it back to the planet, and they chose to jettison the damaged passengers. Starscream, of course, wasted no time in setting Megatron adrift, grinning victoriously as his former leader screamed his name as he was swept off on the solar winds.
Fighting immediately broke out amongst the Decepticons over who would become leader now, but Starscream eventually won out. Upon reaching Cybertron, he quickly arranged for a prodigious coronation ceremony complete with trumpeters and a crown. Starscream could not have known, of course, that Megatron would be found and reshaped by the godlike planet Transformer Unicron, who recreated him as Galvatron. The reborn Megatron arrived on Cybertron in the midst of Starscream's coronation, declaring the whole affair "bad comedy". Starscream had barely a moment to realize that the being in front of him was Megatron before Galvatron transformed to cannon mode and killed him with a single, terrible blast. Frozen for a moment as his body crackled, blackened and fractured, Starscream crumbled to ash, and was seemingly no more. The Transformers: The Movie
In truth, however, this was not the end for Starscream. When the turncoat Decepticon Octane was pursued by the revenge-seeking Cyclonus, Scourge and the Sweeps, he took refuge in the Decepticon Crypt in the lower levels of Cybertron, where he was confronted by the spectral form of Starscream, who had transcended death as a shimmering, ethereal "ghost". Starscream's ghost possessed Cyclonus, and he and Octane conspired to hand Galvatron over to Autobot leader Rodimus Prime. Galvatron was able to escape the trap, and returned to the Decepticon base on Chaar in a state of unadulterated fury. He shot his second-in-command, not realizing Cyclonus had not been himself, but Starscream silently leapt into the body of a nearby Sweep, and began planning for the future. Starscream's Ghost
Seeking to reactivate Unicron in the hope that the omnipotent being could restore his body, Starscream possessed Scourge and had him open fire on Galvatron, so that he would be branded a traitor and would have no option but to help him. Scourge was successfully able to bring Unicron's disembodied head back online, and the chaos-bringer gave Starscream three tasks he would have to complete in order to obtain his desire. Starscream stole the eyes of Metroplex and the transformation cog of Trypticon, and was then directed to connect Unicron's head to Cybertron itself so the planet could become his new body. Left without any hosts to possess, Starscream demanded that Unicron give him back his body so that he could complete the necessary connections... but as soon as the dark god complied, Starscream double-crossed him and tossed the cables to the ground, telling Unicron to do it himself! Just then, a payload of explosives planted by the Autobots went off, hurling both Starscream and Unicron's head off into space. Starscream was last seen soaring off through the cosmic void, out of control, as Galvatron fired upon him, and Cyclonus wondered how a ghost could tumble through space like that.Ghost in the Machine
Japanese cartoon continuity
Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers comic
In the late 1980s, Megatron began focusing the Decepticons' attacks on Japan, rather than America. Starscream led the Decepticon jets' first attack on the country, although he wasn't happy about the fact that Megatron was commanding from afar while they did all the actual work. When the Autobots arrived to confront them, Starscream summoned up the Stunticons, who combined into Menasor. With the aid of a local boy named Kenji, the Autobots were able to use a broken freeway ramp to launch themselves into the air and take the Decepticon down. Smokescreen scored the hit that brought down Starscream. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #1
Starscream later joined in an attack on Autobot Headquarters, Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #2 then teamed up with Megatron and Blitzwing to terrorize Tokyo, only to be defeated by a "Prime-Magnus Double Cross Kick" from Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #4
Starscream was among the Decepticons who witnessed the test launch of Trypticon on a peaceful island. When the Autobots arrived and defeated Trypticon with a Metroplex hologram, Starscream was first to retreat, suggesting the other Decepticons follow his lead. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #6
When Megatron instructed the Combaticons to hunt down a seemingly harmless dog, Starscream inquired why the animal was so important. Megatron explained that the dog had been experimented on, and it's body how held enough energy to destroy Tokyo. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #8
Scramble City cartoon
When the Decepticons succeeded in locating the construction site of the Autobots' Scramble City project, Starscream stepped forward to lead Thundercracker, Skywarp and the Constructicons in an attack on the hidden facility. They were met by an Autobot contingent led by Optimus Prime and a firefight ensued, at which point Starscream instructed the Constructicons to combine. The Aerialbots soon arrived to back up Prime's team, and a barrage of fire from them sent Starscream tumbling from his perch atop a cliff. Although Starscream tried to continue the fight, the Decepticons were badly outnumbered, and he eventually called retreat. Scramble City
Full Throttle Scramble Power!
To counter Megatron's latest evil scheme, a giant death-ray called the Omega Whip, the Autobots dispatched Hound, Toru and Jenny to search for the Decepticons' hidden base. They found it, but were immediately captured by Starscream. Trapped within an energy cage, they were forced to watch as Megatron prepared to send his Decepticons out to plunder Earth's energy...some more.
Jenny hatched a clever plan and disassembled her communicator. This caught Starscream's attention and he plucked her out of the cage, violently threatening her. Turning on her feminine charms, Jenny begged for Starscream's mercy, giving him a big snuggly hug. As Starscream gleefully buried his face in her bosom, Jenny slyly slapped a device she had fashioned from her communicator onto Starscream's back. Content with a good hug, Starscream returned Jenny to her cage.
Jenny immediately activated the device, an override machine which she used to control Starscream's motor functions. Unloading Starscream's chest missiles, Jenny destroyed the Omega Whip and most of the Decepticon base. Starscream quickly recovered, unaware of what he'd just done, and was yelled at by Megatron. Almost immediately afterward, Starscream and all the other Decepticons fled when Metroplex arrived alongside the entire Autobot army. Full Throttle Scramble Power!
The Stargate Battles
In the late 1990s, Starscream was among the Decepticons who attacked the human-built interstellar teleport system known as "The Trigger". The sole survivor of their attack on the space station, Makoto, was able to activate the teleport system and send the Decepticons hurtling towards the portal, but Megatron blasted the portal and knocked it offline just as Starscream was about to fly through it. The Autobots soon arrived to stop the Decepticons, First Contact but Megatron still had his sights set on the Trigger, and was content to wait until it was repaired so that he could make another play for it. Starscream advocated destroying the Trigger completely to stop the Autobots from using it, but Megatron dismissed the idea, mockingly suggesting that Starscream's passage through the Trigger had devolved him to its primitive level. Starscream stalked away, infuriated, and stared angrily at his own reflection… but while Megatron's assessment may not have been accurate, something clearly had happened, since Starscream's reflection was talking to him… Divided Views
Soon after, Starscream concocted a plan of his own to gather more energy, establishing a protection-racket style scam with the Prime Minister of Japan, promising no attacks against his country in return for free reign to gather energy. Of course, Starscream had a double-cross in play, as Rumble and Frenzy were secretly creating earthquakes in Japan that the Decepticon could tap for energy, while the Japanese government was left to believe they were simply natural disasters. The Autobots soon got wise to the villain's schemes and headed for Japan to stop the Decepticons, but when a team of flying Autobots pursued the fleeing Starscream out over the ocean, none of them could have suspected that the Trigger's warp gate would suddenly burst out of the sea below them, accompanied by a mysterious second Starscream! Activation
This second Starscream spirited the original, along with the energy he had gathered from Japan, back to the Trigger out in space, where the original Starscream demanded to know the identity of the strange, phantasmal doppelganger. The second Starscream revealed that he was, in fact, the ghost of Starscream's own future self, who had inadvertently been transported back in time by the Trigger after he was destroyed in the future. Both the Decepticons and Autobots soon tracked down the Starscreams to the Trigger, but before they could act, Starscream's ghost, determined to alter history and ensure his own survival, used the purloined energy to fuse both present and future Starscreams together with the Trigger. The space station transformed into a monstrous, misshapen robot of mammoth proportions, which tore through the Autobot and Decepticon ranks, until the Trigger's human staff—including Makoto—activated a system purge, disconnecting most of the armored hull from Starscream's new Trigger-body. Megatron exploited this vulnerability to cripple Starscream with a point-blank cannon blast, but Starscream had one last trick up his sleeve, twisting the remains of his body into a giant warp gate and threatening to suck all the Transformers into a black hole in the depths of space. It took the combination of Optimus Prime and Megatron's power to finally destroy Starscream. The Trigger was obliterated, and the fate of Starscream's ghost was unrevealed, but the present-day Starscream survived. The Stargate Battles
Robot Masters
After Megatron disappeared through unexplained circumstances in 2004, Starscream no doubt had the intention of seizing leadership of the Decepticons. Before he had the chance, however, another Transformer named Megatron travelled through time via a dimensional fissure known the Blasty Zone. This "Beast Megatron" took control of the Decepticons, and led them against the Autobots for control of a new element discovered on Earth named solitarium.
Online comic
When Starscream dared to challenge Beast Megatron's leadership, he was promptly blasted through a wall for his disobedience. Robot Masters online comic #2 Seeking a means to dethrone this new leader, Starscream turned his attention to manipulating solitarium, and forged four weapons from the new mineral, which could be combined to create the "Arsenal Force" super-weapon. Starscream combined the weapons and unleashed the power of the Arsenal Force on Megatron... which, despite some impressive pyrotechnics, completely failed to injure him. Starscream had his right arm blown off in retribution. Robot Masters online comic #4
During a later battle, when Victory Leo was attempting to go to the aid of Star Saber, Starscream appeared with Air Hunter and Wing Stun to block his way. Fortunately, Optimus Primal and Bound Rogue leapt into the fray to keep the Decepticons busy while Leo carried on with his mission. Robot Masters online comic #6 Starscream, Wing Stun and new recruit X-Gunner later approached Optimus Primal, R-Blade and Delta Seeker while they were on patrol, and challenged them to a test of air-speed. The Decepticons took the lead, but R-Blade soon got ahead and blinded them with a smokescreen, allowing Delta Seeker to knock Starscream and the others out of the sky. Over the Ocean: The World's Fastest Race
The original Megatron returned soon after, in the guise of "Reverse Convoy", Strategic Meeting: The Mysterious New Warrior and joined back up with the Decepticons. Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker and the two Megatron then engaged Optimus Prime, Optimus Primal, Victory Saber and Lio Convoy in a mighty battle, but the heroes ultimately prevailed.
Cartoon
- Voice actor: Kunihiro Kawamoto (Japanese)
Starscream attacked Star Saber when the Autobot ventured out on a solo mission to investigate a mysterious explosion, striking him with a sneak attack from behind and easily avoiding his return fire. Even when Star Saber summoned Victory Leo and the pair combined into Victory Saber, Starscream reigned supreme in the fight, until Optimus Prime arrived and blasted him out of the sky. As Starscream plummeted towards the ground, he was snatched out of the air by Megatron, who arrived riding atop Gigant Bomb. Megatron dismissed Starscream as useless, and tossed him away before turning his attention to Prime. Fight! The Group of the Strongest Commanders!
Later, Beast Megatron discovered a large deposit of solitarium beneath New York City and ordered the Decepticons to tear the city apart. Starscream, Smokesniper, Gigant Bomb and Wing Stun did just that, blowing up buildings and razing a good portion of the Big Apple. Starscream was then shot out of the sky by another time-displaced Autobot, Reverse Convoy. Reverse Convoy quickly gained the trust of the other Autobots after being seen blasting Starscream, only to reveal that he was, in fact, the original Megatron in disguise. The Lio Convoy Typhoon Enters
15 Go! Go!
Dispatched on a mission through time and space to discover the identity of a mysterious saboteur who damaged Teletraan I, the humanoid robot Teletraan 15 was possessed by Starscream's ghost when the spectral Decepticon invaded her Transwarp cruiser in 2006. Starscream crashed the cruiser into the artificial satellite Nana, where 15's superiors Teletraan 10 and Black Panther Man were stationed, and emerged from the wreckage to seize 10 about the throat. He introduced himself as the Decepticon Air Commander, prompting a shocked Black Panther Man to realize the true identity of the force possessing Teletraan 15. 15 Go! Go! Chapter 15 Teletraan 10 tried fighting back in true slapstick anime style, but Starscream just blasted her with eyebeams. As it happened, Starscream didn't hang around for long; learning of the super-powered Kiss Players that were currently operating on Earth, Starscream left Teletraan 15's body, and departed for Earth Defense Command Headquarters on Earth. 15 Go! Go! Chapter 16
The first Kiss Player Starscream discovered in the EDC headquarters was the young Atari Hitotonari, who was using the ladies' room at the time. Starscream promptly possessed the girl, turning her EDC uniform black, but he couldn't understand why the giggling Kiss Players wouldn't take "Atari-scream"'s demands and threats seriously, even after he pulled a gun on them and fired into the air. The reason soon became apparent: unfortunately for the Air Commander, he had neglected to pull Atari's underwear back up when leaving the bathroom. 15 Go! Go! Chapter 17
Seriously.
Kiss Players radio drama
Still possessing Atari, Starscream found himself unable to possess other Transformers that possessed sparks, and forced her to seek out his old ally, the cybernetic scientist Doctor Arkeville. Arkeville built a new body for Starscream converted from a stolen fighter jet, into which Atari transferred his spirit with a kiss. Starscream was reborn… for a couple of minutes, until a squad of Autroopers arrived to blow up his new body and send his ghost flying back into space. Kiss Players radio drama #27
The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers
In 2010, Starscream's ghost teamed up with the Quintessons, who built him a powerful new body. This new body, equipped with attacks such as "Right Arm Decepticon Gun" and the "Revolver Laser", was created using a combination of Optimus Prime's and Megatron's designs. The result was Guiltaur.
Guiltaur joined the Decepticons and quickly became Galvatron's right-hand man (literally—in, like, 5 seconds). Galvatron tricked Rodimus Prime into engaging him in a one-on-one battle in which Guiltaur faked defeat. When Rodimus least suspected it, Guiltaur attacked and laid the smack down. Galvatron complimented Guiltaur on his power and loyalty, and instinctively, Guiltaur beat the crap out of Galvatron and declared his ambition to take over the Decepticons. Rodimus Prime and Galvatron called a truce and joined forces to defeat Guiltaur. They wrecked him something fierce, destroying his body and forcing out Starscream's ghost. They then ended the truce and went about their business. The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #4
Big Looker storybooks continuity
Starscream and his fellow Seekers performed a threatening flyby over the Autobots' headquarters in order to distract the heroic robots while the other Decepticons stole a tanker of oil that would give them the power to rule the world. Thanks to Shooting Star, the Autobots got wise to the Decepticons' tactics and Swoop blew up the villains by dropping missiles on them. Starscream arrived on the scene to spitefully blow up the oil tanker so that no one could have it, then he and his fellow airborne Decepticons carried off the remains of their fallen comrades. Decepticon Hijack
Starscream was part of the battle that resulted when the Autobots came to rescue the mind-controlled Grapple from the Decepticons' clutches. When Grapple was freed from the effects of the cerebro-shell controlling him, he kicked Megatron over on top of Starscream and Skywarp, winning the day. Insecticon Attack!
At some point in the future, when Galvatron had taken leadership of the Decepticons, Starscream suggested to his leader that he create a city of his own to gather energy, as the Autobots did with their Autobot City. Galvatron decided to go about it in the most circular way possible, by stealing a robot car on display at a car show that night and duplicating its circuitry to create an army of drones to build said city. While investigating the Decepticons' presence at the show, Kup was captured by Starscream. When the Autobots arrived in response, Starscream threatened Kup's life to stay their hands, but luckily, Hot Rod soon saved Kup, and the Decepticons were defeated. Car Show Blow Up
Ladybird Books continuity
A brash and aggressive character, Starscream is constantly running up against the older, smarter Megatron. He once convinced Rumble to help him attack and destroy an Autobot tower (believed to be for communications) against Megatron's orders. In the process, he caused Megatron and the other Decepticons to come get him back. (They arrived just as he was slagging off Megatron.) Since that tower was actually used for channeling lightning storms into power, the entire Decepticon team was viciously injured by an electric surge due to his disobedience. Autobots' Lightning Strike
Starscream later tried to overthrow Megatron when the commander was off on a mission and requested the other Decepticons rendezvous with him. Starscream's act of rebellion was to blow up the building he thought Megatron was in and declare himself leader. Megatron turned out to be standing behind him, and he gave Starscream a valuable lesson on leadership (i.e., told him how dumb that was whilst punching him). Megatron's Fight for Power
When Galvatron time-travelled to the 20th Century and took command, Starscream served under him. He'd learnt his lesson since the early days, not trying to overthrow his commander once. Galvatron's Air Attack
Transformers PD Type
As various Decepticons from across the timestream joined forces to track down the all-powerful Blackballs, Starscream proved most effective at the hunt. Discovering a Blackball, he immediately carried it over to Megatron for some praise. Unfortunately, the "Blackball" turned out to be a cartoon bomb, which promptly exploded in their faces. From a distance, Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime were astounded that their plan actually worked. Inside the smoking crater, a badly singed Megatron strangled Starscream, frustrated at his consistent failures. Don't Cry! Megatron!!
Later, Starscream uncovered another Blackball. For a moment he considered giving it to Megatron, but then decided that if he kept it for himself, he could use the power to seize command of the Decepticons. He then immediately became suspicious that the Blackball might be another bomb, but dismissed the suspicion just as quickly. Then it exploded. Good Luck! Starscream!!
Beast Wars cartoon
- Voice actor: Doug Parker (English), Kazuki Yao (Japanese)
Little was known about Starscream among the Maximals, as the Maximal Elders had classified most of his information. However, Dinobot, a student of military history, was familiar with Starscream's record of deceit and betrayal. It is possible that Megatron was also aware of his history, as he ordered Scorponok to keep an eye on Starscream.
Starscream's ghost traveled through time and space to the prehistoric earth of the Beast Wars, where he possessed Waspinator's body during an electrical storm. He ingratiated himself with Megatron, claiming that he had been destroyed by Unicron while protecting Galvatron. After leading a successful raid on the Axalon, he was left in command of the captured Maximal ship, along with Blackarachnia and Scorponok, the former of whom he took as his "protégé". When the defeated Maximals surrendered to him, he took Dinobot and Optimus Primal hostage and ordered the remaining Maximals to attack the Darksyde. Scorponok objected, but he was very forcefully overruled. Shortly after the attack began, the two captive Maximals broke out and drove the Predacons out of the Axalon. Starscream fled, pursued by Primal, and abandoned Blackarachnia to her fate. After a spirited chase, Primal cornered Starscream at an energon deposit, paralyzing him. As he tried to bargain his way out of his predicament, his vengeful ex-partner Blackarachnia detonated the energon, blowing Waspinator to scrap and forcing Starscream's spark out of his body. Waspinator is restored back to normal by Megatron, and Blackarachnia explains her betrayal as an attempt to find Starscream's true motives, and at that point, Megatron pardons her.
Adrift in space once more, Starscream's ghost screamed vengeance into the void. Possession
Beast Wars: Transmetals
Starscream returned to the Beast Wars following the quantum surge, with a strange but powerful new Transmetal body. Fearing that the Beast Wars would alter history against his liking, Starscream set out to destroy any Maximal or Predacon that opposed him. After vanquishing his foes, Starscream entered the Ark and infused himself with the power of his old body, just as Megatron and Optimus Primal had increased their power. This fusion of old and new allowed Starscream to finally achieve his eons long goal of restoring his original body. Finally whole, Starscream undertook the long journey through transwarp back to Cybertron. Transformers Beast Wars: Transmetals
Dreamwave comics continuity
Starscream was a competitor in Cybertron's underground gladiatorial matches, the breeding ground for what would eventually become the Decepticons. He enjoyed baiting his fellow combatant, Grimlock; in fact, he was a master at it. Once war broke out, he kept taunting his old friend, which eventually backfired when he told Grimlock exactly where the Seekers were going to attack, giving Grimlock time to set a massive bomb. Starscream's life was saved only by the fast action of Skywarp.
In typical fashion, Starscream tried to seize power. While Megatron was deep within the bowels of Cybertron, Starscream instructed Scrapper to initiate the planet's long-hidden transformation sequence, hoping Megatron would be crushed in the process. Some people never learn.
A few millennia later, after the apparent death of Megatron, Starscream created a splinter group of Decepticons called Predacons. However, when your smartest subordinates are Motormaster, Astrotrain and Octane, you can't expect much of your forces.
Starscream was among the Decepticon boarding party that attacked the Autobot flagship Ark, causing its crash-landing on Earth and putting all Autobots and Decepticons alike in emergency stasis. In 1984 a volcanic eruption awakened the Ark's computer, Teletraan-I, and it repaired all on board. Starscream's actions over the next fifteen years are largely unrecorded, but he probably did what he did best: strafe the Autobots and fleshlings and attempt to betray Megatron, smirking all the while. In 1998, the combined forces of the Autobots and Earth defeated and captured the Decepticons. Starscream was secured on board the Ark II along with the other Decepticons when the ship exploded, killing the human crew and scattering the Transformers across the ocean. Arms dealer Adam Rook (aka. Lazarus) recovered several of the Autobots and Decepticons and used them as a reprogrammed weapons for hire for terrorists and despots. Prime Directive #1 As part of a demonstration to prospective buyers, Rook had Starscream join an assault against the Smitco Oil Refinery alongside half a dozen Transformers. When Megatron eventually broke free of Rook's control, he freed the other Decepticons. Prime Directive #2
The reactivated Starscream, along with his Seeker brothers Thundercracker and Skywarp, took a particular pleasure in dismantling the Autobot Minicars. When Megatron complained that he didn't rewire them so they could sit around and do nothing, Starscream playfully said they were only having some fun with their new "toys". Megatron ordered the three Decepticons to follow him, and when Skywarp asked Starscream what their leader's plan was this time, the air commander casually tossed Bumblebee's head over his shoulder and said that he didn't care, as it was going to be evil, and evil is always fun. Soon afterwards, the Autobots arrived and attacked. As Starscream attempted to choke Wheeljack, Sideswipe paid him back with a nice throat punch. All the combatants were then bombed by rogue members of the U.S. military. Prime Directive #3
The Decepticons escaped and attacked San Francisco. When Superion appeared to stop Devastator, Starscream led the other Seekers in bombing the Autobot giant, forcing the Aerialbots into their component team member forms and putting them at the mercy of Devastator. Prime Directive #5 Starscream and the other Decepticons secured the Autobots after Optimus Prime defeated Devastator. The Autobot leader managed to free his comrades after humans distracted the Decepticons, and the battle was rejoined. Fellow F-15 Air Raid punched Starscream in the face, repaying him for the earlier defeat. After the Aerialbots, as Superion, sacrificed their lives to save San Francisco from General Hallo's unauthorized nuclear strike, Starscream and the other Decepticons escaped. Prime Directive #6
Starscream led the Decepticons in joining Shockwave's Cybertronians after Megatron was defeated and was the first to recognize the mind-altering techniques being employed. Starscream escaped the CR chambers long enough almost to succeed in assassinating Megatron. Punishment didn't deter him, and Starscream was almost immediately creating a small sect of separatist Decepticons on Cybertron. He used the cover of Menasor's release to steal the incapacitated Combaticons to form his own army. If only he hadn't tried to hijack Sky Lynx. Yet another rebellion defeated by bad planning. Some people never learn. War and Peace
After returning to Earth, Starscream unleashed the Decepticons on the Autobots under the leadership of Jazz. Unfortunately, most of the Decepticons were incapacitated. Worse, Starscream's clone Sunstorm arrived on some bizarre mission. Starscream was forced to ally with the Autobots in exchange for getting his forces freed. After the misadventure, Starscream took the Combaticons for some practice against Sky Lynx. This also ended in disaster, for Predaking soon arrived, and Starscream discovered that Soundwave, his cassettes, and the other Seekers had allied with Predaking's master... Megatron! Starscream was again forced into a subservient position, with Megatron preparing to lead the Decepticons in the conquest of Earth... Generation One (ongoing)
G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers
When the nascent terrorist organization known as Cobra uncovered the buried hulk of the Ark, they removed the bodies of numerous Transformers with the intention of using them as weapons of war to threaten America. Cobra scientist Doctor Mindbender hacked the brain functions of the captive Transformers, reducing them to the level of remote-controlled drones, and dubbed them "Battle Android Troopers". Starscream was reconfigured to transform into a jet plane known as a "Night Raven", and was selected for use by the Cobra Commander as his personal aircraft.
Starscream was among the Transformers deployed during Cobra's opening attack on world freedom, when they targeted the United Nations Headquarters. Starscream transformed to robot mode and was punching his way through the building when a U.S. Military soldier code-named Snake-Eyes opened fire on him with a machine gun. Although unharmed by the attack, Starscream returned fire with his lasers, blowing up the missile tank upon which the soldier was perched and horribly scarring his face. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 1 Returning to Cobra's island base, Cobra Commander began his meeting with Destro by having Starscream dramatically fly by overhead and transform, for no reason other than to impress the arms dealer. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 2
Meanwhile, Autobot scientist Wheeljack had been able to avoid capture by Cobra, and had allied himself with America's newly-formed special mission force G.I. Joe. Hacking into Cobra's system, he was able to shut off the terrotists' control of the Transformers, liberating their minds and bodies. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 3 Naturally, the first thing Starscream did once he was free was to interrupt a battle between Optimus Prime and Megatron by shooting Megatron in the chest in a bid for leadership. Megatron returned the sentiment, blasting him with his fusion cannon, and Starscream slunk away as Megatron returned to more important matters. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 4
Lurking in the island's jungle, Starscream crossed paths with Snake-Eyes, who took revenge for his disfigurement by shattering the unsuspecting Starscream's eye with his sword and shoving a grenade into the socket. Clawing at his face, Starscream tumbled over a cliff and was badly damaged in the fall. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 5 His still-operational body was soon happened across by Cobra Commander, who was attempting to flee the escalating battle between the Autobots, Decepticons, Joes and Cobras that was engulfing the island, and Starscream made the human proposition: help him remove the grenade, and he would get him off the island. Naturally, the commander agreed. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 6
Starscream and Cobra Commander resurfaced two years later, when Cobra Commander learned that human scientists had created an interstellar wormhole to Cybertron. With Starscream forced to do his bidding (via unspecified means), he used the portal to travel to Cybertron with the intention of gaining control of the wormhole technology by stealing the super-computer Teletran 3. However, a G.I. Joe ambush that struck just as they were carrying out their plan caused a catastrophic malfunction in Teletran 3, scattering numerous Transformers through the wormhole network across space and time. Starscream was not among those scattered, but he was promptly bound with energy ropes by Perceptor and Ultra Magnus while they assessed the severity of the situation. It transpired that the chronal disruption caused by the time-lost Transformers would dsestroy the Earth, and teams of Joes and Cobras were soon dispatched through the timestream to retrieve the robots and save the planet. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 1
While the Joes and Cobras were off on their time-tossed mission, the forcefield protecting Magnus, Perceptor and Teletran 3 collapsed, at which point Decepticon commander Shockwave struck. Shockwave freed Starscream and reprogrammed Teletran 3 to prevent Transformers from being able to return to their proper times, so that Earth would be destroyed and he could invade it, as he had always planned to—it was Shockwave who had leaked the wormhole technology to humans in the first place. {{storylink| G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 3 When a small team of Joes and Cobras that remained on Cybertron tried to undo his programming, Starscream spotted Lady Jaye modifying Teletran 3 and shouted a warning, but it came too late. The Transformers were returned, and Starscream escaped in the midst of the chaotic battle that resulted.
In the aftermath of the battle, Shockwave accused Starscream of deliberately trying to foil his scheme by trying to steal Teletran 3. Starscream denied any treacherousness on his part, and Shockwave was just starting to come around when a recording Cobra Commander had programmed into Starscream began to play, informing the Decepticon leader of Starscream's general uselessness. At that point, Starscream promptly exploded, taking out the Decepticon headquarters in the process, courtesy of forty-five pounds of plastic explosives that Cobra Commander had lined his housing with, in case the Decepticon had ever escaped his clutches. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 4
Transformers/G.I. Joe
When the foundling terrorist organization known as Cobra discovered the Ark buried in the Fera Islands in 1938, they inadvertently awoke the Decepticons from their stasis. The evil robots entered into an alliance with the organization's leader, Cobra Commander, to conquer the world and strip it of its energy, but Megatron's true goal was to take the Matrix of Leadership—stolen from the body of Optimus Prime—from around Cobra Commander's neck. Starscream adopted the alternate form of a P-51 Mustang aeroplane.
One year later, in 1939, the American military formed a special mission force to counter the Cobra-Decepticon alliance named "G.I. Joe". Laserbeak spied upon the first meeting of this team and reported the information to Cobra; Starscream stood nearby as Cobra Commander vowed to kill the Joes, and opined that heroes were born to die. G.I. Joe's first attack came soon after, and Starscream distracted their aircraft in his jet mode while Megatron attacked them from above and downed them. The Line As it happened, the Joes bailed out and landed near to the buried Ark, where they wound up awakening the Autobots within the craft. Starscream watched as the ship sent out a repair drone to scan for alternate modes, aware of what it meant and seeing it as a threat to Megatron's leadership that he could exploit. Megatron happened upon Starscream as he was monologuing about taking the power of the Matrix for himself, and witnessed the drone going about its business. Knowing he would need the scheming Starscream for the coming battle, he ordered the Air Commander to help him move their stockpiled energon cubes to safer location. Transformed
Megatron proceeded to mass the Decepticons for a major battle with the Autobots, save for Starscream, who was left to languish within their base. Unfortunately for Megatron, this merely left Starscream with an opportunity to conspire with Cobra Commander's own traitorous second, Destro, and together the pair prepared to unleash the newly-constructed giant robot, Bruticus, upon everyone. Wolves
Even this conspiracy proved to be a deception on Destro's part, however, when he had his lover, the Baroness, shoot Starscream in his weak spot: an inch below his right ear, just behind his jaw hinge. Starscream's head flared with electricity and he collapsed, while Destro loosed Bruticus upon all his assembled enemies. G.I. Joe member Snake-Eyes ended the threat when he plucked the Matrix from Cobra Commander's clutches, and at Optimus Prime's direction, hurled it at Bruticus. The resultant explosion of creation energy destroyed Bruticus, but apparently killed all the Transformers in the process. The Iron Fist
Forty-six years later, in 1985, Starscream was revealed to have survived his injuries and the destruction of the Matrix through unexplained means. Discarding his archaic alternate mode for the form of an F-15, Starscream was performing a flyby over Cobra Island, seeking a means to return to Cybertron, when he intercepted a communication about an alien starship (actually a Cybertronian craft containing Blaster and Perceptor) crashing in Oregon. Starscream saw the craft as his ticket home, and while he was too low on energon to claim the ship for himself, he was content to let Cobra take it and then steal it from them later. Targets of Opportunity
IDW comics continuity
Starscream and his comrades, Skywarp and Thundercracker, were recruited by Soundwave when Megatron requested fliers. They believed they had been called to join Megatron's gladiatorial team, but accepted the offer to join the Decepticons. Starscream immediately proclaimed his allegiance and declared how much of an honor fighting alongside Megatron would be. After going through some upgrades to boost their firepower, the Seekers' first duty was to capture a senator, who would be executed at Megatron's recruitment rally. He was also informed by Megatron of confidential plans in which he would play a key role. When the security forces intervened, Starscream was captured, and—surprise, surprise—offered to reveal Megatron's plans to save his own neck. Megatron Origin #3 However, this turned out to have been Megatron's plan—Starscream, together with Soundwave, executed the council questioning him, then freed every prisoner in the building, solidifying his loyalty to Megatron... until such time as Starscream felt like betraying his leader. Megatron Origin #4
Starscream ended up as Megatron's bodyguard, a position largely for show, and developed a mutual hatred with Sixshot. Devastation #5 He would also appear to settle with Megatron instead of carrying on being an attempted traitor. Megatron viewed this as them moving on from such things but it was actually because Starscream feared him—a fear he initially thought was respect. Infiltration #6
Another one of his duties appears to have been recruitment, as he made a very pointed effort to convince Blurr to join the team Spotlight: Blurr
| “ | Thanks to Ore-13, Megatron, I have evolved... beyond you! I am the future! | ” |
—Starscream, Infiltration issue 6 | ||
Millions of years later, Starscream was the leader of a Decepticon insurgent cell that had operated covertly on Earth for at least four years, working to destabilize Earth's governing organizations and create global anarchy. However, since the discovery of the mysterious, Energon-like substance known as Ore-13, Starscream had stepped outside standard procedure, establishing a second command bunker in Oregon above a richer seam of the ore than the one in Nebraska. Unfortunately, the abandoned Nebraska bunker had been infiltrated by a human named Stoker, who had managed to obtain data on Starscream's operations, forcing Starscream to have the human eliminated, though he didn't count on another human obtaining Stoker's SM-40 computer and an Autobot counter-insurgency agent bringing the evidence to the Autobots. Infiltration #1 Meanwhile, Starscream had ordered Blitzwing and Skywarp to cover his tracks by destroying all evidence of Stoker's travels and what remained of the Nebraska bunker. Infiltration #5 Starscream intended to use Ore-13 to challenge Megatron for leadership of the Decepticons, but when the moment of truth finally arrived, the energy source proved insufficient to destroy the Decepticon leader, and Megatron blasted Starscream with his fusion cannon at point-blank range, virtually obliterating him. Megatron told the other Decepticons, "See to the remains. If he lives, then I'll decide what to do with him." Infiltration #6
As it turns out, Starscream survived and was placed in a CR chamber for extensive repairs. The other Decepticons were worried that Megatron was jumping the gun by calling in Sixshot early, and Astrotrain realized Starscream might be the only one of them willing to tell Megatron this. Devastation #1 During an attack on Decepticon headquarters by the Reapers, Starscream completed his recovery and was confident that he would prevail in the upcoming battle. Devastation #4
When Sixshot arrived, he initially attacked the Reapers, but they insisted he join them or die. Starscream then emerged from base calling out Sixshot—his hatred of Starscream caused the living weapon to decide to switch sides after all, at which point Starscream promptly activated Sixshot's shutdown command, sending him crashing to the ground. Screamer then proceeded to bomb the Reapers, causing Megatron to agree to take the fight to the Reapers. (Based on the timing of his emergence and his co-plotter Astrotrain immediately going "look at brave Starscream, Megatron!", it seems having an excuse to take out Sixshot and thus force Megatron to go against the Reapers was all planned by Starscream) Devastation #5 Starscream once again accepted Megatron as his liege, and together they teamed up to destroy the alien invaders. Devastation #6
A year later, and Starscream (now an F-15 for some reasons) was back in a subordinate position under Megatron and getting increasingly annoyed with it. He joined in Megatron's attack on New York City, quite enjoying that whole "killing humans who can't fight back" thing. All Hail Megatron #1
Starscream personally shot down the fleeing Air Force One in Washington, D.C., after which he returned to join Megatron in New York City. Upon his arrival, Megatron mused that it was fitting to have Starscream beside him, as a Decepticon who had been with the cause since the start. Starscream, believing Megatron to be sarcastic, retorted that he'd been there before even Megatron. A somewhat weary Megatron clarified, congratulating him and complimenting his skills. He further explained that Starscream was very nearly the living embodiment of the Decepticon ideal, but a step short of realizing it. All Hail Megatron #3
With the conquest completed, Starscream stood at Megatron's side as he addressed the gathered Decepticons. All Hail Megatron #4 However, he soon reverted to type when he noticed Megatron didn't have a proper plan now that he'd won and the fun on Earth was a distraction for the troops. He taunted Megatron with the knowledge that he knew this and told him other Decepticons would start getting restless, so Megatron's position would soon be challenged by hordes of bored sociopaths whom Megatron had indoctrinated to be violent and take things. All Hail Megatron #6
At the war's end, Starscream and a small team of Decepticons accompanied the mercenary Mirage to the Pegasus Star Cluster. He led the Decepticons into the Autobot bunker after Mirage destroyed the Autobot security system, but stood back during the ensuing fight. After Megatron ordered the Autobot prisoners executed, Starscream held Ratchet back as Mirage prepared to kill Hound. Spotlight: Mirage
Hearts of Steel
Starscream is the nominal leader of the Decepticons on 19th-century Earth, while Megatron sleeps in stasis lock. He decides to conquer the Earth in this time, and use that power to overthrow Megatron when he should wake up. Posing as a benefactor to humanity, he enlists the help of inventor Tobias Muldoon to design new altmodes for the Decepticons. Hearts of Steel #2 In particular, Starscream builds (or reformats) Astrotrain for an assault on New York City, and the new electrical generators there. Hearts of Steel #3 It all ends badly. Hearts of Steel #4
Starscream has three bodies through the course of these events. His initial "Ice Age Wars" body appears to be a prehistoric flying reptile. He then takes on two different biplane bodies, one with one engine per wing and bat-wing-shaped propellers (as seen at left), and one with two engines per wing and straight-bladed propellers[2]. No reason is given for him changing from one biplane body to the next. (The fact that planes are an anachronism in the 19th Century is lightly glossed over.)
Henkei! Henkei! pack-in mini-comics
Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun manga
Commercial appearances
Starscream's commercial appearances include:
- An appearance in the first Transformers animation, a commercial for Issue #1 of Marvel's The Transformers comic book. Alongside Thundercracker and Skywarp, Starscream attacks an Earth power plant, then defends himself against an Autobot counterattack.
- Starscream and Thundercracker are seen strafing three Autobots, then getting shot down, in the Jetfire/Shockwave commercial.
- A 1985 commercial for Omega Supreme. Starscream leads Thrust over the desert to attack the Autobots' new defense base, brushing off Thrust's concerns about the whereabouts of the Autobots themselves. He is caught off-guard when the base transforms into Omega Supreme. Good goin' there, Screamer. This is the only ad in which Starscream has a speaking part; he's given his usual cartoon voice.
- He makes a short appearance in the 1986 commercial for Hot Rod/Kup/Blurr.
- He is seen in jet mode leading an attack on the Autobots' power station in a commercial for Ultra Magnus.
- He can be glimpsed flying into battle alongside Galvatron - yes, Galvatron! - in the Galvatron/Magnus commercial.
- He and the other two standard Seekers are seen battling the Dinobots on the ground in a commercial for the Predacons.
- Starscream briefly features in the Pretender Classics commercial. He's shown lurking in the dark of an Earth city as Optimus Prime is reunited with Jazz and Bumblebee. Narration from Victor Caroli leads the viewer to believe that his lurking is quite evil and also provides Starscream's voice.
- Still in his Pretender Classics body, Starscream is seen dunking Wildfly and company into colorful vats to create the Pretender Monsters in their commercial.
- He features alongside Prowl and Over-Run in a commercial for Action Master vehicles; he's shown battling Prowl aboard his Turbo Jet on Cybertron.
- His jet form is shown in an early Generation 2 commercial, rendered in CGI and flying over a rocky landscape alongside Ramjet.
Games
Sector Seven Alternate Reality Game
Disguised as an F-15 Eagle fighter jet, Starscream was active on Earth in early 1982, with documented sightings of jets sporting his unique colors on several continents before he was caught on camera transforming to robot mode in California. This sighting (and its subsequent leak) was the direct impetus for Hungry Dragon 1.
Later, during late April/early May of 2007, Sector Seven intercepted two sound clips through Agent Cod3x and another source (currently unknown). Apparently, Starscream wanted to make his presence known and left a message announcing that he would have the All Spark, and that Agent Powers would be the one to hand it over. These messages were somewhat garbled, as they were apparently received over a SETI@home system. So far, only these two "blips" have been analyzed (the second still needing work), but more may come in the near future. Sector Seven
Revenge of the Fallen: The Game
- Voice actor:
Toys
Notes
- An early Universe-style character profile published in The Transformers Comics Magazine gave Starscream the smirk-worthy nickname of "The Silver Snake".
- A second "alternate name" for Starscream shows up in Bob Budiansky's hand-written write-up of his bio, which is briefly visible in one of Shout! Factory's DVD featurettes. In addition to "The Silver Snake", the hand-written bio gives Starscream the alternate name of "Pretty Poison". Oookay then...
- For the first half of the Marvel Comics, Starscream's chest was colored dark blue, versus the red seen on the toy and in the cartoon. The apparent reason for this discrepancy is hinted at in animated segments in early commercial footage (see right), where Starscream's chest and forearms are black. Lack of color depth in comic books at the time required black to be represented by dark blue. Starscream's "true" colors began appearing in the Marvel Comics starting with issue 47, "Club Con!"
- In the French dub of The Transformers: The Movie, Starscream (along with Shrapnel) inexplicably became a female. This change, however, was only for the movie, as it used a different dubbing team from the cartoon. Most likely, the movie's French dubbing team mistook Starscream's rather high-pitched voice for a woman's voice.
- The Generation 1 executive script consultant, Flint Dille, has claimed in personal interviews that Chris Latta frequently had to be bailed out of jail by members of the production staff. This apparently caused so much annoyance that it was a major factor in phasing Starscream out of the series.
- According to the line art of Starscream by Studio OX, each side of his chest has a turbine mounted on it. This concept has influenced his Action Master, Masterpiece, and Classics toys and the art of the Robot Master version.[3]
- In Genesis: The Art of Transformers is a picture by Matt Kuphaldt of Machine Wars Starscream wearing a purple cape and brandishing Galvatron's torn-off arm cannon. To date, this remains the only canonical appearance of Starscream in this body—so far as the canonicity of art books can be placed.
Footnotes
- ↑ According to Bob Budiansky, in Jim Shooter and Denny O'Neil's original Transformers treatment, Starscream was named "Ulchtar." [1]
- ↑ Hearts of Steel sketch at IDW Publishing
- ↑ Transformers Visualworks
External links
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