Solon Kitakaze (G1)
| This article is about the Victory human cyborg. For the Animated racer, see Solon Kitakaze (Animated). |
- Solon Kitakaze is a human cyborg from the Victory portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
Solon Kitakaze (北風ソロン Kitakaze Soron) is the adopted son of Decepticon leader Deathsaurus. As such, he is perhaps best known for his rivalry with his opposite number, Jean Minakaze, the adopted son of the Autobot leader Star Saber.
Solon was injured and his parents were killed during a Decepticon attack on Earth, and Deathsaurus—infamous for his weakness for human children—took the boy for his own, turning him into a cyborg to save his life and raising him as a son. As a consequence, Solon considers himself vastly superior to Jean and the other humans he encounters. If that wasn't bad enough, he's one of those types who constantly raves about how brilliant and powerful the Decepticons are, even when they're retreating right in front of his eyes.
The extent of the powers and abilities of Solon's cyborg body is unknown, but he has certainly had a substantial portion of his frame replaced with robotics and covered with synthetic skin. He is able to detach his right fist and launch it on a retractable chain, and he often rides Deathsaurus's Breast Animals as steeds. He briefly controlled his own Transformer-sized mech, King Solon.
Fiction
Victory comic
The armored Solon was perched upon Deathsaurus's shoulder during the first recorded conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons on Earth, but he played no role in the battle. Magnificent! Our Friend, Star Saber!
Solon's first major role came during a later battle between Deathsaurus and Landcross in the middle of a burning forest, when he spotted Jean attempting to sneak away through the trees. Pursuing him atop Deathsaurus's Tigerbreast, Solon snagged Jean with his fist-chain and dragged him back to the battle site, where Deathsaurus had managed to best Star Saber and Road Caesar. When Deathsaurus saw Jean in Solon's clutches, however, he was shocked and infuriated at how his son was treating the boy, and brutally struck him. Solon's helmet clattered off, and Jean was stunned to see that there was a human boy beneath it, but there wasn't much time for reflection, as Star Saber used this distraction to catch Deathsaurus off-guard and body-slam him. Wounded, Deathsaurus escaped into the sky, with Solon riding his Eaglebreast alongside him. Great Turn-Around! Star Saber
A little later, Solon enrolled himself in school Deathsaurus ordered him to study the "primitive humans" and uncover their weakenesses. It was a rude shock for Jean when Solon suddenly turned up in his class, but the cyborg's first day proved an exciting one when Leozack attacked the city. Solon and Jean cheered for their respective factions as Star Saber engaged him in battle, but Star Saber was ultimately victorious, and Solon made a note of Leozack's defeat in a notepad. Leozack Rumbles Violently!
During the next Decepticon attack, Solon and Jean ran around the battlefield swapping insults until they were approached by two other humans. This pair proved to be old Autobot allies Shūta and Cab, who had come to observe Star Saber in action, thinking that their old commander, Ginrai, was much better than he was. Solon derived great amusement from Shūta and Cab's criticisms of Star Saber and proceeded to cheer for Dinoforce member Kakuryū as he engaged Star Saber in a one-on-one battle. Kakuryū wound up getting thrown over the edge of a cliff, and as Star Saber loomed over him, both Solon and Jean wound up crying (Solon thinking Kakuryū was done for, and Jean thinking that Star Saber was about to finish the job). Both boys were relieved when Star Saber extended a hand to Kakuryū and helped him back up to solid ground, but even as he exited the battlefield, Solon glanced back, unable to comprehend why they thought Star Saber was that great. Warrior of Love, Star Saber!
Jean was later kidnapped by Yokuryū and brought to the Decepticons' Thunder Arrow, where Deathsaurus attempted to bribe him into joining the Decepticons with toys, cash, and candy. Despite their rivalry, Solon encouraged Jean to switch sides and commented that he could make himself stronger by becoming a cyborg too. Watch Out, Jean! Hurry, Star Saber! Deathsaurus took a pretty severe thrashing from Star Saber at the end of this escapade, and Solon was left to take care of his wounded dad, resting a giant ice-pack on his head. The Star of Friendship, Jean and Star Saber!
The next time Jean and Solon crossed paths was in the middle of another battle, which saw Star Saber bested by the team of Deathsaurus, Dinoking and Liokaiser. Jean begged Solon to stop Deathsaurus from killing Star Saber, but with a sad look, Solon reaffirmed his allegiance to the Decepticons and told Deathsaurus to hurry up and finish the job. Thankfully, the arrival of Jean's long-lost sister, Patty, and the mighty Victory Leo saved the day, as Star Saber merged with Victory Leo into Victory Saber and defeated the Decepticons. Escaping atop Eaglebreast, Solon marvelled at the revelation that Jean had a sister, while simultaneously being amused that Jean needed a girl to save him. The Strongest Partners, the Combination of Victory!
Deathsaurus wasted no time in developing a way to combat the combined power of Victory Saber and created a Transformer-sized mech for Solon to pilot, named "King Solon". Deathsaurus and Solon plunged into battle side-by-side and revealed their new power when they combined into "King Zaras" to combat Victory Saber on the planet Guard. At this point, however, Patty cried out to Solon to stop, calling Guard a "mother planet," just like Earth. At the mention of the word "mother," Solon's concentration lapsed, and Victory Saber exploited the opening to blast King Zaras with his "Victory Boomerang" attack. The King Solon components were destroyed by the attack, and Solon's flaming body tumbled from the wreckage, his synthetic skin burning away to reveal the robotics beneath. As Patty bandaged his wounds despite Solon's protestations, Deathsaurus took off into the sky, calling Solon his son by fate, and leaving his Tigerbreast behind to carry Solon away. As Solon mounted the Breast Animal, Jean asked him to join the Victories (the armored team of Jean, Patty, Shūta and Cab), but Solon refused, claiming that he would be unable to put up with such a cheerful sister on the team. As he departed, however, he continued to think about Patty, remarking to himself that she was just like his own late mother. Mighty! Victory Saber
During the Decepticons' next attack, Solon was still recovering from his wounds, but was present all the same, riding Tigerbreast. During the battle, Blacker tackled Tigerbreast and plucked Solon off of it, intent on making him realize where he loyalities should truly lie. Solon continued to denounce his human heritage, but Blacker made him understand there was more to being human than simply having an organic body. Blacker then departed, leaving Solon a suit of Victories armor crafted in Blacker's likeness. Realizing what he had to do, Solon donned the armor and entered the battle, blasting Deathsaurus in the face with his gun to announce his arrival. Telling his "father" that he was a human, Solon announced that as a human, it was his duty to fight to protect Earth, not to destroy it. Solon and the other Victories transferred their energy into their Autobot counterparts, and Road Caesar and Victory Saber used the power boost to unleash the "Victory Caliber" attack, flattening the Decepticons with one blast and forcing them to retreat. Jean welcomed Solon to the Autobot side, but Solon announced that he would only join on one condition: Patty had to be his sister, too! The angry Jean chased after him as the other Autobots and Victories watched and laughed. Shine! The Five Stars of Victory
Solon and the other Victories were all aboard the Galaxy Shuttle during the final battle between the Autobots and Deathsaurus's planet-destroying fortress. Solon thought Deathsaurus was destroyed in the explosion that concluded the battle, but was relieved to discover that he lived when the Victories and Autobots all boarded the fortress. Deathsaurus proceeded to reveal that the fortress contained all the Decepticon civilians, and this led to the laying down of Autobot and Decepticon arms and the beginning of a new age of peace. Heroic! The Victory War
Notes
- Solon's surname means "north wind", while Jean's surname means "south wind". It's like a metaphor, or something.
- The only time Solon has ever appeared in color was in a special Ban Magami-illustrated pin-up done for the 2007 Transformers Visualworks guidebook, featuring him in his Blacker-derived Victories armor. His hair is still ridiculous.
