Sky-Byte (RID)
- Sky-Byte is a Predacon from the Robots in Disguise continuity family.
Deep within Sky-Byte beats the spark of a poet, a scholar, a brilliant and cultured military general who can command armies capable of conquering worlds. But without aptitude and patience that means jack squat, and Sky-Byte lacks both. Still he soldiers on, for he is driven... by a desperate need for approval. He needs the blessings of his commander Megatron quite possibly more than he needs energon. And Megatron, being Megatron, doesn't dole out praise much, so Sky-Byte tries harder and harder, getting more and more desperate.
This drive is the root of all his problems. He's actually quite intelligent and physically powerful, but he pushes himself to extremes to impress his leader. When he's in control of a situation, he's a deadly effective foe. But as soon as the situation begins to slip even the smallest bit, he starts to panic, and usually ends up doing something to mess things up and lose the upper hand, which makes him panic more, so he overreacts, and gets in more trouble, etc. etc. etc. It doesn't help that while he's ruthless towards Autobots, humans seem quite safe from his ire... maybe he sees a little something of himself in these underdogs. After all, they developed his new favorite form of expression, the haiku. And they do seem rather impressed by him...
Sky-Byte is in charge of the Predacon lackeys Dark Scream, Gas Skunk and Slapper, not that they give him any modicum of respect. In fact, they're more likely to try and shuffle the blame for their failures onto the shark, a gambit that's actually moderately successful, since Sky-Byte is so very good at making things worse for himself. He has a hate-hate relationship with the new Decepticons, especially Scourge, who he sees (rightly) as being a huge threat to his position as Megatron's second-in-command.
- Poor frustrated shark.
- Megatron is a dumbass.
- Why do you bother?
- Megatron is a dumbass.
- Japanese name: Gelshark
Fiction
Robots in Disguise
- Voice actor: Peter Spellos (English), Konta (Japanese)
As Megatron is dressing-down the Predacon trio for their latest failure, Sky-Byte suddenly appears—demonstrating a skill for either invisibility or teleportation that he will never display again.An Explosive Situation He later shows the power and skill to go one-on-one with Optimus Prime and almost win, as well as a newfound love for poetry. The Hunt for Black Pyramid
Sky-Byte soon finds himself going from feared warrior and commander of dangerous missions to... commander of missions that are flawed from the jump, with Megatron openly getting annoyed with his failures. Tow-Line Goes Haywire Despite these indignities, he's still viewed as "sneaky, clever and dangerous" by the Autobots Hope for the Future.
And then Scourge and the Decepticons turn up. Serious, militaristic and {mostly) competent villains, they replace the Predacons in Megatron's eyes. Sky-Byte becomes desperate to get his old status back, attempting to ruin Decepticon plans and usurp them for himself Commandos and even try to bump off Scourge in battle Volcano. The Decepticons, for their part, mock him. Soon, Megatron stopped telling Sky-Byte about his plans. The Test
Sky-Byte's self-esteem is soon non-existent (especially after an Online Fish Personality test tells him he's a jellyfish) and he becomes desperate to gain Megatron's approval - but every attempt he makes to discredit Scourge ends disastrously and his attempt to carry out his own evil plot serves just to ruin one of Megatron's plans The Fish Test.
Eventually, to get attention, Sky-Byte leads the Predacons in the attempted destruction of a new tower. This plan would've worked except the Autobots, thinking the humans in the tower were the Predacon's hostages, asked what demands he wanted met for their safey. Wanting to seem like he knew what he was doing, Sky-Byte made up a random demand on the spot that by sheer chance was interpreted as a demand for O-Parts. He'd achieved accidental success - only to accidentally take out the tower's last support and be forced to stop it collapsing so he'd still have his hostages. This single-minded desire to keep the tower up was interpreted by the hostages and TV news crews as the Predacons trying to save them for altruistic reasons, and when the hostages started to cheer him on, Sky-Byte gave his all to keep them safe out of an increasingly genuine desire to save them ("my hostages need me!"). It was only hours after the tower was saved and the Predacons were nursing their damaged backs that they remembered about getting the O-Parts... Sky-Byte Saves the Day
These accidental heroism, plus his generally comic persona during events Koji and his friends witness, lead the children to become very fond of Sky-Byte, following him and pestering him for autographs. A proud Predacon, Sky-Byte is bewildered by this attention. He briefly thinks of using it as a way to get his haikus published... Ultra Magnus (episode)
Sky-Byte took Dr. Onishi out of the Predacon base to help him search for Fortress Maximus, in an attempted to be the first to find it. In the process, he ran into Koji who appealed to him to help him rescue his father or at least to pass on a birthday present - the Predacon actually felt bad for him and was reduced to a blubbering wreck by Koji's appeal, but was mortified to find the boy didn't believe he was a threatening villain anymore. Sky-Byte later became so preoccupied with battle that he tosses Dr. Onishi to Koji, leading the youth to believe Sky-Byte deliberately rescued his father out of the goodness of his heart. The Autobots believe this too and apologize to Sky-Byte for fighting him (after they've already blown the tar out of him). Koji Gets His Wish
To make matters worse, Sky-Byte's cunning plans to beat both Autobot & Decepticon to the O-Parts only caused the Autobots to gain them all A Friendly Contest, and he later saved Koji's life and was horrified at the idea Galvatron would find out. The Human Element Later on, while talking to himself he would admit to having a friendship with Koji, though it was nothing to getting into Galvatron's good books and he still attempted to kidnap the boy to help control Fortress Maximus. (Being Sky-Byte, he grabbed the wrong person) Mistaken Identity
Eventually Sky-Byte's loyalty paid off - when Scourge's treachery was revealed, Galvatron remarked the Predacons had always been trustworthy and gave Sky-Byte command of the Decepticons. He even managed to locate the Autobot base by following Koji, but in the process led everyone into an Autobot trap. The array of Autobot firepower caused him to cower behind rocks crying for his "blankie". Surprise Attack
During the final battle, Sky-Byte was almost killed when he led the Predacons into the Global Space Bridge after the Decepticons - not realising Megatron intended to kill them. Sky-Byte was left on his own, Galvatron's Revenge and escaped certain death just in time to be ordered to hold off the entire Autobot army. This did not go well for him, oh no. Following Autobot victory, every Decepticon and Predacon was rounded up to be incarcerated, but the Autobots hadn't captured Sky-Byte (if they'd forgotten about him or he was hiding well is unknown). He was left to spend the rest of his life on Earth, a fate the other Predacons seem to view as worse than death, though his own attitude as he swims off into the sunset singing suggests he feels quite differently... The Final Battle
Dreamwave Summer Special comic
Sky-Byte and Scourge were sent on a joint mission, although they did nothing but bicker until Optimus and Ultra Magnus showed up. While Scourge battled them, Sky-Byte took advantage and made off with the goods, leaving Scourge with a haiku to keep him thinking.
Fun Publications comic
Sky-Byte somehow ends up at Axiom Nexus and is "processed". Transcendent: Part 1
Toys
Robots in Disguise
- Sky-Byte (Mega, 2000/2001)
- Japanese ID Number: D-005
- Accessories: Launcher, 2 missiles
- An extensive redeco of the Transmetal 2 Maximal Cybershark, Sky-Byte transforms into a large monstrous bio-mechanical great white shark. His tail has a gear-system that spins the fins like a propeller when a wheel in his side is turned (this system becomes his right arm, forming a spinning claw weapon). He also has a double spring-loaded missile launcher concealed in his shark mouth that doubles as a hand weapon.
- First available as part of the Car Robots line in Japan, there are no noteworthy differences between the Takara and Hasbro versions.
