Arcee (Movie)

The name or term "Arcee" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Arcee (disambiguation).

Arcee is an Autobot from the live-action film continuity family.

She's got legs, she knows how to use them. Temporarily, anyway.

Though small compared to many of her peers and adversaries, Arcee compensates with speed and aggressive maneuvers, making her one of the most dangerous Autobots around. Moreover, Arcee is a born hunter. She honed her speed hunting turbofoxes with other speedsters, challenging herself to get as close as possible before tagging them with her bow. She's a crack shot with said crossbow weapon, and Ironhide has trained her to use her speed to her advantage in battle, striking suddenly and swiftly and then vanishing away again as fast as she appeared.

The events at Tyger Pax created a nagging doubt in Arcee about her abilities. She carries some guilt about Bumblebee's injuries, and part of what drives her is the desire to prove herself, not only in the optics of her friends and comrades, but most importantly in her own. She also carries a standing feud with Lockdown for unknown reasons.

Fiction

IDW Transformers movie comics

"I transform into a vacuum cleaner!"

Many, many years in the past, Arcee was a member of Optimus's Science Division, in charge of excavation site LT34 near the temple of Simfur. While Optimus was showing Protector Megatron around, her team discovered a mysterious relic with a strange symbol etched into it. She led her superiors to the ancient relic and watched as Megatron and Optimus began to argue when the former demanded the relic be relocated to his private quarters, Optimus relenting due to a sudden alien attack. Arcee assisted with its evacuation from the dig site. Defiance #1

After the attack, Arcee tried to save the life of one of the aliens, but was unsuccessful. She and Clocker moved the bodies to Ratchet's lab, where they discovered that the beings were similar in structure to the Cybertronians, only lacking the ability to transform. Before they could speculate further about the common ancestry of the two races, Signal Flare arrived with orders from Optimus to assemble at the Simfur excavation site for a meeting. There, Arcee and the other scientists learned of Protector Megatron's demand for war and Optimus' thoughts on the issue. After most of the scientists agreed to follow Optimus, they travelled to Trypticon to watch Megatron deliver his saber-rattling war rally. Defiance #2

Ratchet, Arcee and Elita-One returned to the lab to analyze the other relic fragments recovered from the Simfur excavation, while Optimus, Jazz and Prowl broke into Megatron's quarters to examine the intact relic. Before Optimus could explain to Ratchet the strange condition of the artifact, Arcee reported a finding—a symbol that appeared in the same place on all the different fragments: the same symbol that was on Optimus' head. Ratchet theorised that the legend of the Dynasty of Primes was true, and that Optimus was somehow connected to all of this. Later, at the dig site near Burthov, Arcee, Ratchet and Optimus were arrested by Prowl's security forces on orders from Megatron for treason. What they didn't know was they were all being led into a trap, and the assassins Megatron sent would only take Optimus alive. After Brawl's initial attack, Optimus ordered the group to escape to Burthov while he took care of Starscream and his soldiers. Defiance #3

Arcee was part of the team who captured the disenchanted soldier Ironhide and brought him before Optimus Prime. Ironhide pledged allegiance to Prime and brought news of the Nemesis, a massive starship that Megatron was building. While observing its construction and taking images of the ship, Arcee remarked that she had never seen its like before. During the subsequent civil war, Arcee defended civilians who were being targeted by Megatron's Decepticons for refusing to join in the war against Optimus Prime's Autobots. She was under the command of Bumblebee and desperately fought against Megatron's vast army at Tyger Pax. Defiance #4

"Can I say something?"
"Whatever it is now is not the right time!"

However, Arcee and the rest of those under Bumblebee's command didn't know the true purpose of their battle, for they were a diversion to keep Megatron busy while other Autobots readied the AllSpark for launch from Cybertron. She was captured and interrogated by the Decepticons but survived the ordeal. She recounted to their Autobot rescuers Bumblebee's heroics in delaying Megatron, preventing Megatron from intercepting the wormhole-bound AllSpark. Movie Prequel #1

Many years later, following the death of Megatron and the destruction of the AllSpark on Earth, Arcee was in command of an Autobot assault team on Mars and led Cliffjumper and others in an attack on Starscream's ship. The Reign of Starscream Issue Number Two

She's so happy to be home, she doesn't even care that Payload's looking up her dress.

While her team made short work of the Swindle, Dreadwing, and Payload drones the Decepticons sent against them, Arcee killed the Decepticon sniper Hardtop before he could snipe Smokescreen. Her teammates were unprepared for the arrival of Thundercracker, however, and he quickly slew Camshaft and wounded Cliffjumper. Remembering her failure at Tyger Pax, Arcee leapt into action, and soon she and Cliffjumper had Thundercracker at their mercy. The arrival of Starscream changed that, as he killed Smokescreen and Air Raid and badly damaged Cliffjumper. As she attempted to pull the last surviving member of her team to safety, Arcee was kicked aside by Starscream. The Reign of Starscream #3

However, Arcee recovered an instant later. The Decepticon starship was already taking off, but she jumped and grabbed onto a piece of landing gear, holding on tight... through the space bridge. Wow. Later, she made her way back to an Autobot facility, where she unexpectedly met Clocker and Crosshairs. Along with a large force of Autobots, the three moved in on the Simfur temple, where Starscream was using captured Autobots for a strange project of his. The Reign of Starscream #4

She split her troops into two forces: One would attack the city of Trypticon as a diversion, while the other moved in on Simfur. Arcee and her team could only watch helplessly as Starscream drained the life out of the Autobot prisoners strapped onto the replica AllSpark, despite her friend Elita-One's pleas for mercy. An opportunity to cause havoc presented itself when Dreadwing's forces attempted a coup. Arcee lined up her sights on the generator holding the life energy of the deceased prisoners, dedicated the shot to Elita, and destroyed it, annihilating the Cube and sending the Decepticons into disarray. Arcee's team fought their way through the disorganised Decepticons, linked up with Wingblade's team, and rolled out just as the crippled starship came crashing down on the city. With the destruction of the capitol and the defeat of a significant portion of the Decepticon drone army, Arcee considered this to be the turning point of the war, but as long as Starscream was alive, he was a threat that she had to track down. The Reign of Starscream #5

Target Robovision bio

Arcee was on Earth for a short time at the beginning of the conflict there, presumably arriving shortly after Bumblebee. When the situation on Earth began to ramp up into out-and-out combat, she was reassigned elsewhere, where her stealth skills would be of more use.

Now she fights in the Charii system against a Decepticon splinter cell working on a star-breaking weapon. If she has her way, the only things breaking will be their heads.

Titan Magazines Transformers movie comics

Arcee's appearance in IDW's Movie Prequel is in continuity with the following appearance in Titan's comics, but the Titan comics are not in continuity with IDW's comics. Confused? You should be.

Originally, Arcee didn't serve either faction, working alone to solve injustices in her own way. Megatron personally decided to make an example of her, and only an Autobot extraction team led by Kup saved her life. This debt saw her join the Autobots. She's chimerical in nature and is constantly changing her altmode in an effort to go as fast as possible (maybe that's why her robot mode always looks different!). She previously had a hover-car form, but on Earth takes a modified bike mode. Once you earn her trust, she's never going to let you down. Arcee bio

The following events occur in a splinter timeline where Megatron won the battle of Mission City.

She's pissed off that she hasn't got her cool live-action design.

Arcee was one of the six Autobot reinforcements hiding on the Moon. Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 1 When Starscream attacked them, the quick-thinking Arcee was the one who took command and rallied the troops. When this still failed to work, she ordered them to Earth (following Strongarm's initiative) and their prearranged targets. Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 3 Alongside Armorhide, she guarded Ratchet while he destroyed the captive AllSpark and thus saved Earth from being cyberformed. When the other Autobots had believed they'd lost, Arcee was the only one who outright refused to accept defeat. Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 5

And, of course, they didn't lose. However, Arcee was left bewildered by the idea that Humanity would not trust and love the Autobots, and Optimus explained to her that, from a human point of view, all the Transformers are alien horrors fighting on their planet. Following this, she guarded the Savannah, Georgia shelter and was caught in Starscream's ambush. Aftermath Part 1 Aftermath Part 2

Among other engagements to protect the American infrastructure, she served with Bumblebee in protecting an Alaskan pipeline. Dark Spark

That's better!

She was later part of Ironhide's team in retrieving Nucleon from Cybertron, which ran afoul of Stockade. Return to Cybertron: Part 1 She acted as Bumblebee's distraction, drawing Storm Surge and Fracture away, Return to Cybertron: Part 2 and doubled back to regroup with Ironhide (and pull him out of rubble) when Unicron arrived. Return to Cybertron: Part 3 Later, she got Optimus Prime up to speed on the situation. Return to Cybertron: Part 4

Following the Decepticon re-conquest of Savannah, Arcee was part of the raid to rescue Mikaela Banes. She got off one bit of bravado about how hitting things was her kind of shindig before Blackout hit her. The Decepticon Who Haunted Himself

When the Autobots launched their final strike, Arcee was part of the spearhead team hittting the Decepticon Heartland. She started off the 'tagging' of Decepticons to teleport them away from Earth, getting Incinerator in the back and looking very happy about it. Revolution Part Three

The following takes place in the Star Screams letter column continuity.

Arcee runs a lonely-hearts ad column called Arcee's Soulmates in her spare time.

No, really.

IDW Revenge of the Fallen comics

The best part of waking up is ... still being in your own body.

A ship carrying Arcee and her crew was shot down over a planet, and when Arcee managed to escape the wreckage, she saw that the culprit was her old nemesis, Thundercracker. She blacked out, and an indeterminate amount of time later, she awoke on an operating table—or rather, next to her old body on an operating table. Her spark had been transplanted into a new body by the Decepticon mad scientist Flatline, and her new form was flanked by two other protoforms that had recently rejected their experimentation.

WASSSS A MAAANNN (now three man)

Locked into her current position, Arcee looked down to see two other prisoners, Skids and Mudflap. Flatline returned to her, and he explained that they were all part of his twisted experiments. He had tried reprogramming Skids and Mudflap, but it left them warped instead. And he stole the spark from Arcee's old body to power what he hoped would be a new Decepticon warrior. Flatline had not considered Arcee's strong will, however, and her original programming persisted. She broke the Twins free and escaped, but was surprised to learn she was in control of the other two discarded bodies as well. Arcee's bodies defeated Flatline, and with the Twins, headed for the exit, but Thundercracker and some Decepticon drones blocked them. Thundercracker laughed, since Arcee hadn't fared too well the last time they tangled, but... that was then.

Thundercracker escaped, and Flatline's headquarters detonated by remote. Arcee wondered whether her weird new existence was a mistake, or if she was merely destined for greater things. Regardless, she refused to become bent on revenge against Thundercracker for the deaths of her crew, so she and the Twins made plans to join the rest of the Autobots. Tales of the Fallen #6

A short time later, she, Sideswipe, and the Twins joined Optimus Prime's NEST-aligned forces on Earth. After some training, the new recruits were soon called upon to it into use: the Decepticon Demolishor had been sighted in Shanghai, China. Alliance #4

Titan Magazines Revenge of the Fallen comics

I'm such good friends that I all dress alike!

Arcee had been on Earth for some time before Skids and Mudflap arrived. When using all three of her bodies, she refers to her collective self as "we". Back then, she was keeping her pink paint job!

She went on to assist Optimus Prime in a NEST mission in Australia, and so was in a perfect position to capture the Decepticon Sideways. Pursuing him in bike(s) mode, she found it near impossible to blow out his tyres and kept getting sideswiped by him during the pursuit. When a stunned Optimus ordered her to stay on the Decepticon's tail, she responded that the Decepticon's alt mode was far better suited for the terrain... inspiring Optimus to blow up that terrain.

With Sideways stunned and taking robot form, Arcee sent one bike in to take him down but almost got hit before human military helicopters arrived to back her up. The mission over, she and Optimus took their prisoner back to Diego Garcia, with Arcee escorting him to a cell. But surprise, Scorponok was waiting to free him! She was quickly stunned and unable to stop the Decepticons escaping. Reversal of Fortune

She later decided it'd be fun to switch back to her older, single-form body! Her old body got a good workout when she was part of the strike team on the Decepticon's Phobos base. After a brief but violent battle, the drone hordes surrendered to her and Ratchet. Back-to-Back

Revenge of the Fallen film

Voice actor: Grey DeLisle (English), Masako Katsuki (Japanese), Martina Treger (German), Chiara Colizzi (Italian), Gabriela Bicalho (Brazil)

Holographic rider: Erin Naas

"Why couldn't she be the other kind of motormaid, with the motorcycle part on top and motormaid part on the bottom?"

Arcee answered the call from Optimus Prime to join his Autobots on Earth. Her consciousness was split between three motorcycles, all which could transform into individual robots, yet all three together were considered simply "Arcee." Her components also have the ability to recombine into a single robot mode. Under Optimus Prime's command, she was part of the Autobot/human military alliance known as NEST, whose job was to hunt the remaindered Decepticons hiding across the globe.

You shoot like a girl!

Arcee and the rest of NEST were able to trace two Decepticons hidden in Shanghai, China. When one of them, Sideways, revealed himself, the three components of Arcee were released from a NEST truck trailer. Though Arcee was able to surround Sideways with herself and cover him in firepower, the Decepticon was able to elude her by jumping through a building. Unfortunately for Sideways, Arcee was also accompanied by Sideswipe, who quickly put the Decepticon down.

The blue one likes to sit next to Ironhide for some reason.

While not on missions, Arcee was parked with the other Autobots in their hanger at Diego Garcia. It was here that the Autobots received word from the President of the United States, via Director Galloway, that the White House was concerned that the Autobots' living on Earth was the reason for the Decepticon activity, and that if need be, they would ask the Autobots to leave. Later, after Optimus Prime died in battle and The Fallen issued an ultimatum to Earth, the US government decided that the Autobots would be shipped back to Diego Garcia.

Michael Bay displays his usual attitude towards women.

NEST had a different idea, and instead shipped Arcee and the other Autobots to Egypt on the advice of Sam Witwicky, who had the means to resurrect Optimus Prime. During the climactic battle between NEST and The Fallen's Decepticons, Sam and Mikaela attempted to make their way through the bombed-out Egyptian town that had become the battlefield. Arcee arrived with Ironhide to escort them through the warzone, but unfortunately, her purple and pink components were disabled in battle, and only the blue component remained operational when she was last seen. (perhaps for combination purposes) The bodies of the pink and purple Autobot motorcycles were probably destroyed when the US army bombed the area. Revenge of the Fallen

According to Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, all three Arcee components were killed during Operation: Firestorm. You may thank/"thank" director Michael Bay for that one.

Revenge of the Fallen comic adaptation

Remember what Marvel did with Sky Lynx and the Duocons?

Arcee participated in the Shanghai battle. When The Twins botched their chase of Sideways, the Arcee motorcycles gave chase before Sideswipe finished the job. Revenge of the Fallen #1 When the Autobots were on the move to the US East Coast investigating on multiple detected Decepticon contacts, at least one of the Arcee bikes was seen alongside Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Later, while Optimus was fighting Megatron, Starscream and Grindor in the forest, at least two Arcee bikes were approaching the battle site alongside Ironhide, Skids and Mudflap. An Arcee robot was also seen with Ratchet and Ironhide when the latter was firing at Starscream and Megatron who were fleeing from the site. The Arcee robot was the first one to notice Optimus Prime's severe damage before Ratchet pronounced him "nearly gone". Revenge of the Fallen #2 All three Arcee robots were with the other Autobots when they were facing the Constructicons in the desert of Egypt. Revenge of the Fallen #3 They were not seen again after that.

Toys

Transformers (2007)

Scout Class toys

File:Arceemoviescout.jpg

Not Chrom- Well, maybe I am!

• Arcee (Target exclusive Scout Class, 2007)
  • Accessories: Launcher, missile, scope, 2 tailpipes, "energon" star

Arcee is a redeco of Energon Arcee, replacing her pinks and most of her whites and blacks with blue, and her translucent red with smoky brown plastic. She transforms into a "superbike"-type racing motorcycle. Unusually for a Transformer, she does not hold her weapon in her hands as most figures do. Instead, her Energon Bow mounts on a peg on either arm, with her hands being positioned to give the appearance of her using the bow. The bow itself is spring-loaded, firing a grey "arrow" missile.

Arcee (and the rest of the Scout wave) were exclusive to Target stores, where they were all part of a Robo-Vision promotion. Arcee came with a Robo-Vision Decoder which allows you to see the Robo-Vision Code ("BULLSEYE") printed on her cardback. Starting June 2, 2007, Target's website allowed users to input those codes to access exclusive content, a concept similar to the online Cyber Planet Key info from the Cybertron toyline.

This mold also was used to make Superlink Ariel Paradron Type, as well as the BotCon 2005 Descent into Evil set's Chromia, Flamewar, Flareup, and the fellow Target-exclusive movieverse Elita-One.

Deluxe Class toys

Pretty in...purple?

• Arcee (Deluxe Class, 2007)
  • Japanese ID number: MA-11
  • Accessories: Launcher, missile

Deluxe Arcee transforms into a purple 2006 Buell Firebolt XB12R motorcycle, genericised to get around licensing issues. Arcee has references tampographed on her vehicle mode, such as her motorcycle's model name, "RC 1100", and her Massachusetts license plate marked TF7407, the original release date of the movie.

Arcee's Automorphing feature is located in her crossbow weapon (formed out of the seat/storage area of the bike), activated when the projectile (the bike's tailpipe) is inserted, which pushes out the recurved lath parts on the sides of the weapon. The rectangular peg which is supposed to be used to attach her weapon to her forearm in robot mode is sometimes a poor fit, and the weapon may pop off. As an alternative, the round peg by which the weapon is attached in vehicle mode can also be used in robot mode, with a little rearranging of parts.

Undocumented in the instructions, the two shoulder-mounted half-wheels contain a small niche on the edge of the tires. By folding the wheels down with the hubcaps pointing towards the chest and turning the tires towards the shoulders, one can feel the wheels gently click into place via the tire niches and hidden tabs in the shoulders, allowing the wheels to remain in place and more closely resemble the figure as pictured on its packaging.

As with most larger Transformers toys that become motorcycles, Arcee has a kickstand on the left side of the bike; unfortunately, it's mounted so low that she will fall in the opposite direction if it is fully extended.

She's a dirty girl.

• Battle damage three-pack (Sam's Club exclusive three-pack, 2007)
  • Accessories: Launcher, missile

A three-pack, exclusive to Sam's Club stores, consisting of redecos of Voyager Class Optimus Prime and Deluxe Class Arcee, both with battle damage deco, and an unchanged Voyager Class Starscream.

This version of Arcee later was sold at Asia online retailers and in European retail stores in the same packaging as the first release of Arcee. The packaging did not indicate any of the changes made to the figure, apart from a sticker on the bubble exclaiming "Exclusive! Battle-damage!".

I shall go back...

• Black Arcee (Deluxe, 2008)
  • Japanese ID number: MA-20
  • Accessories: Launcher, missile, AllSpark cube

This Japan-only redeco of Deluxe Class Arcee is cast in black in an attempt to match the look of the motorcycle Captain Lennox rides near the end of the film. Surprisingly, it is not evil.

Like all Japanese "AllSpark Power" toys, black Arcee comes with a small AllSpark cube accessory.

...and here I am!

• Arcee Limited Special Color Version (Deluxe-sized toy, 2008)
  • Accessories: Launcher, missile

This Arcee is decoed in pink and white, in homage to Generation 1 Arcee, and was exclusive to the Wonder Festival 2008 Winter in Tokyo, Japan.

Revenge of the Fallen

Legends class toys

If you want Legends Class figures of the other two, you need to buy Arcee again. And Sideways. Geez, thanks!

• Arcee (Legends, 2010)

Legends Arcee is a pink and black motorcycle that transforms into a pink and black robot. Black chunks are strategically placed on her two wheels so she can stand up in robot mode. There's an odd jointed piece behind her rear wheel that has a Powerlinx-like hardpoint that serves no advertised purpose (maybe a combined form like the deluxes).

Deluxe class toys

Hey, I'm Arcee too, sometimes! Well, actually most times.

• Chromia (2009)
  • Japanese ID number: RA-11
  • Accessories: Missile, display stand

Chromia converts from a Suzuki B-King to... a unicycle. Her vehicle mode weapon can attach as a display stand for either mode, ironically making a unicyclebot one of the most stable robot-modes. In robot mode, there is a spring-loaded missile between the tailpipes on Chromia's left hand in addition to the aforementioned non-firing blaster-stand. There is also a piece on the bottom of the vehicle mode (or back of the robot mode) that folds out, but there is no indication in the instructions as to what this piece is for. However, the piece can slide into a similar piece in the later Arcee toy, starting the supposed combined mode.

While the instructions depict the motorcycle seat remaining flat so that it ends up covering the bottom wheel, the robot mode more closely resembles the movie design if the seat is folded in and locked into a slot on the motorcycle's bottom, as shown on the back of the packaging. The packaging photo also shows Chromia's front wheel resting behind the robot's shoulders, while the instructions leave it above her head. Furthermore, while it is not mentioned either in the instructions or shown on the box, the stand can be attached backwards and rotated with the guns facing up so that it acts as a prop for the toy, allowing the wheel to actually touch the ground, and letting the toy look from the front like it is unsupported. In addition, the stand can also be attached to right arm as an inordinately large handgun by sliding the two pegs inside the gun into two slots on the inside of the arm.

The stand has sculpted tank threads on the botom, most likely to make it look that she's still mobile while using it.

Though the instructions do not explain it, the back of the blister card mentions she has a Mech Alive gimmick in her left arm. While it isn't quite the "spinning gears" the card refers to, swinging her left forearm towards and away from her body makes a blue piston slide back and forth inside the large gun.

Help! I have scoliosis, and I can't stand on my own.

• Arcee (2009)
  • Japanese ID number: RA-23
  • Accessories: Side-car/display stand

Deluxe class Revenge of the Fallen Arcee converts from a Ducati 848 to a robot mode that can look quite awkward if not properly aligned. The figure has a side-car which can become a Dual Sniper Pistol or a display stand. In robot mode, she is equipped with a small cannon on her right wrist that can deploy a spring-loaded energy blade. Small Cyberglyphics inscriptions are molded onto the surface of the blade.

Her Mech Alive feature is located not in her elbow, as the packaging would suggest, but instead in her chest; tilting her neck up and down causes a pair of exposed gears to turn.

Fast Action Battlers

• Cyber Pursuit Arcee (Fast Action Battler, 2010)
  • Accessories: Exhaust/Missile

A simplified version of ROTF Arcee targeted at the 5 and under demographic. The general paint application is similar to the deluxe version. Besides a working kickstand and free spinning wheels, her gimmicks include the ability to fire her dual exhaust as a single missile both in figure and vehicle mode and a fully working suspension in robot mode. Ironically, due to the transformation locking both wheels in place, the working suspension is not available in vehicle mode. This version does away with the sidecar/stand in favor of a built-in, fully retractable stand. Articulation is limited but better than most figures in the FAB class.

Due to the design of the shoulder joints and the nature of the transformation, going from robot to vehicle mode can be frustrating.

Human Alliance

I'm the red bike, but I transform into the blue bike's robot, but with the red bike's colors - look, women are complicated, okay?

• Autobot Skids / Arcee / Mikaela Banes (Human Alliance, 2009)
  • Japanese ID number: RA-25

This figure, which is somewhere in between Legends and Scout Class size, has a motorcycle mode that is slightly similar to Arcee's Ducati 848, with some elements resembling the Aprilia 125 Mikaela is riding at one point in the movie, and some elements entirely made up. The robot mode, meanwhile, is clearly that of the blue motorcycle, Chromia. Hasbro explained in their monthly Q&A that it is meant to resemble Mikaela's bike, and they called it "Arcee" so kids wouldn't be confused by two separate red/pink bikes.

Despite being larger than a Legends Class figure, Arcee features less articulation than most of them. While her right elbow features a swivel joint, the left arm is sculpted in one piece, and the elbow fixed in a permanent position.

The face, which is mostly unpainted save for a few small details, doesn't resemble ROTF Arcee's movie design at all. In fact, the head design bears some resemblance to Nightbird.

Red repaint in 3... 2... 1...

• Mudflap / Chromia / Seymour Simmons (Human Alliance, 2010)
  • Japanese ID number: RA-31

Aside from the colour scheme, this "Chromia" is clearly meant to be Arcee as it has the main component's robot mode, and its vehicle mode is closer to Arcee's than either the motorcycle included with Human Alliance Skids or the Deluxe Chromia. Its higher level of movie-accuracy includes a much better head sculpt, and although its left arm is also cast in one piece, the extra articulation in the shoulders, waist and hips makes the figure more posable than the other HA motorcycle.

The transformation is surprisingly complex and fiddly for a figure this size, not far removed from a scaled-down Deluxe Arcee, although this one has a piece than the wheels can stand on to support them or be rotated behind to prop the figure up with some care. The kickstand is too short to hold the bike upright in vehicle mode, although this is easily fixed by gluing a small piece of black plastic to its base to lengthen it.

Transformers (2010)

Legends Class

• Sideways Sneak Attack (Target exclusive multi-pack, 2010)

This Target exclusive multi-pack contains redecos of the Revenge of the Fallen Legends class Arcee mold as Chromia and Elita-1, plus an Arcee who may or may not be different from the single ROTF release. The set furthermore includes a redeco of Deluxe class Sideways, whose painted battle damage evokes the scene in the film where he's been cut in half. Ouchies.

Deluxe Class

• Elita-1 (Deluxe, 2010)
  • Accessories: Missile, display stand

Hasbro's version of Elita-1 is a redeco of Chromia.

• Elita-1 (Deluxe, 2010)
  • Japanese ID number: AA-08
  • Accessories: Missile, display stand

TakaraTomy's version of Deluxe class Elita-1 is also a redeco of Chromia, but uses a more screen-accurate deco that uses more purple paint.

TakaraTomy seemingly mistakenly used a Hasbro Arcee redeco from the "Rotorwash Rumble" pack for solicitation photos of this figure.

• Rotorwash Rumble (Target exclusive multi-pack, 2010)

A pink redeco of the ROTF Arcee. She is packaged with the Decepticon Blazemaster redeco Tailwhip.

As noted above, TakaraTomy mistakenly used this figure for solicitation images for Elita-1.

Merchandise

Revenge of the Fallen

And now she's using Elita-1's robot mode. WTF?

• Chromia vs Megatron (2009)

Part of the third wave of Robot Heroes two-packs for Revenge of the Fallen, Chromia comes packaged versus Megatron. Her robot mode design is actually Elita-1's, since Hasbro can't tell their bike chicks apart.

• Launchin' Arcee free Burger King toy (2009)

Notes

In the time before time...

• As part of BotCon 2007's Hasbro tour, fans viewed "Robot Scale Chart v03", dated 11.22.05, which showed Arcee's height as 9' (2.7m). However, all of the designs on this chart were very early and later heavily revised (though Jazz was revised far less than the others).

• Arcee was originally going to be a member of the live-action movie's Autobot cast, but was later replaced by Ironhide. According to screenwriter Roberto Orci, they would have needed to explain the point behind female robots, which there wasn't any time for in the movie. Oddly enough, there was no attempt to do so in ROTF.

• In another interview, Alex Kurtzman cited "scale issues" as an additional reason for dropping Arcee; allegedly, Michael Bay simply considered her too small as compared to the rest of the Autobots.

• It's commonly assumed that Arcee's big part in the movie would have been the scene in which William Lennox starts his solo assault on Blackout using an abandoned motorcycle. However, the screenwriters rejected that notion, stating that this scene wasn't written until after Arcee had already been dropped from the script—but if she had remained in the movie, that scene would have probably featured her as the motorcycle.

• Arcee came this close to being killed off in The Reign of Starscream, as the trade states that two revisions of the plot had her dying.

So apparently Chromia and Elita-1 were green and silver at some point? Okay.

• It's not especially clear whether Revenge of the Fallen Arcee is one consciousness controlling three bodies, or three separate individuals. Writer Roberto Orci explained that she was written as a singular entity, but that Michael Bay "kept them as individuals", but if this was Bay's intention, it does not particularly come across in the movie (as the character(s) do(es) not really do anything), beyond perhaps Arcee referring to her components in the plural form in one instance. The novelization of the film adheres to the script's intent, describing Arcee as a "tripartite Cybertronian", while the Revenge of the Fallen toyline chose instead to identify Arcee as only one of the bikes (the pink/red one), and characterize the other two as the separate characters Chromia and Elita-1. IDW Publishing's Tales of the Fallen Arcee issue seemed to marry the two concepts, depicting Arcee as a trio of robots animated by one spark, but still possessing some degree of autonomy from one another. Titan's comics just went with Arcee as having three bodies... then, in the letter's page, had Ironhide himself tell us the girls were seperate robots who aren't related and Arcee's just the only one namechecked. Then, just to annoy us further, in #16's letters page Barricade basically admitted nobody knows when he said that Arcee's situation is different depending "on who you ask". "Confusing, eh?" It sure is, Barricade.

• The bio for Revenge of the Fallen's other motorbike Autobot Knock Out seems to refer to Arcee's change in form between the first and second movie toylines, claiming that he wants to undergo the new "combiner retrofit" he's been hearing about, strongly implying that Arcee underwent the same process. The absence of Arcee's combined mode from the film and IDW's own later explanation for her change in form kinda screwed this, though.

SIX! SIX BIKE GIRLS! ah ha ha ha *sob*

• It was originally intended that the three individual "Arcees" would combine into a singular, larger robot in the film, but Michael Bay chose to drop the idea for fear of the confusion it would cause given how much else was already going on in the film. . The idea evidently remained until comparatively late in production; both an unknown designer (see above right) and Steve Jung created a model for the combined robot, and it appears in the film's novelization, and the animatic for the Shangai battle scene included on the Revenge of the Fallen DVD.

• The animatics of the Shanghai battle scene included on the ROTF DVD serve to make Arcee more confusing. The "Lamborghini Jump" animatic depicts a trio of three female motorcycle Transformers (two red, one either silver or black) chasing Sideways, similar to the scene with Arcee and her compatriots as it appears in the final film. However, as the animatic continues, at least two of the bike-girls jump on Sideways in mid-pursuit, who he manages to throw off and into a building by swerving. Sideways is then confronted by another trio of bikes (pink, yellow and blue), who merge into a single robot and flip towards him, only to inexplicably disappear immediately afterwards. What the hell?

• For some reason, Arcee's Revenge of the Fallen body is flipped horizontally between the toy and her actual appearance in the film, with her gun and motorcycle-mode fairing appearing on opposite sides in each representation.

External links

• Arcee at TFU.info