Silverbolt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Silverbolt is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. Silverbolt is always depicted as a flying heroic character.
Contents |
[edit] Transformers: Generation 1 (1986)
| Transformers character | |
 The Aerialbot Silverbolt |
|
| Silverbolt | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Autobot  |
| Sub-Group | Aerialbots |
| Function | Aeriabot Commander |
| Motto | "Don’t look down, look straight ahead!" |
| Alternate Modes | Concorde supersonic transport, Launch Ramp |
| Series | Transformers: Generation 1 Transformers: Generation 2 |
| Voiced by | Charlie Adler (English) |
Silverbolt is the largest of the five Autobot-allied Aerialbots.
A brave and grimly determined warrior. Selected by Optimus Prime to command the Aerialbots, a task that keeps Silverbolt worrying more about his teammates than about his acrophobia. When transforming into a jet he can reach speed of Mach 1.9 with range of 4500 miles. Carries electrostatic discharger rifle and expertly uses it to blast Decepticons. Forms Superion with fellow Aerialbots.
[edit] Animated series
Silverbolt was recreated from a "low-flying transport" (even though the real Concorde was actually designed for high-altitude travel), which is believed to be the cause of his fear of heights. He was given life by Vector Sigma and Alpha Trion with the other Aerialbots to combat their Decepticon counterparts, the Stunticons. However, after defeating Menasor, Megatron, escaped with the Decepticons' latest superweapon, forcing Silverbolt to confront his fear of heights to chase him down. He is a very level-headed robot that uses common sense and compassion to make his decisions, which later led Optimus Prime to name him the Aerialbots' leader.
[edit] Marvel Comics
Silverbolt and the other Aerialbots were created on Earth by Wheeljack and given life by Optimus Prime using the Matrix. After their initial mission was deemed a failure due to only Silverbolt's personality being stabilized (with Superion nearly killing a human), Optimus Prime had their minds wiped clean and all five Aerialbots given life once again. Unbeknownst to Prime, the Insecticon Bombshell piggy-backed aboard Silverbolt, and attempted to inject a cerebro-shell into an open wound Prime incurred earlier. The shell allowed Bombshell to transmit Prime's thoughts -- and the Matrix's creation process -- to Megatron and Soundwave, allowing them to bring life to the Stunticons. (Transformers #21-22.)
The Aerialbots were subsequently captured by Circuit Breaker and her Rapid Anti-Robot Attack Team, She then took them to her laboratory and dismantled them for study. However, to combat the threat of the rampaging Decepticon Battlechargers Runabout and Runamuck a deal was struck - if they cooperated in stopping the Decepticons she would let them go. Circuit Breaker then created a massive robot out of their parts, piloted by herself. After defeating the Decepticons, Circuit Breaker released the Autobots.
When Starscream returned to Earth after absorbing the powers of the Underbase, Silverbolt and his Aerialbots were amongst those in New York first to attack... and also amongst the first to fall in battle. Later when Optimus Prime was deciding which one Autobot to restore life to, he considered Silverbolt but imagined that after a while, he would resent being chosen over others.
Silverbolt was finally restored to take part in the battle against Unicron thanks to Grimlock's supply of Nucleon. Fortunately, Silverbolt managed to purge his system of the Nucleon before it froze up his power to transform. He subsequently appeared in the Generation 2 comic as the Aerialbots were attacked from all sides by Jhiaxus' fliers - until Thundercracker and Skywarp unexpectedly bailed them out, leading a Decepticon armada into the fray.
[edit] Dreamwave Productions
Unlike previous interpretations of the original Silverbolt, Dreamwave comics had all the Aerialbots being made on Cybertron before the Autobots came to Earth. They were one of several teams that used the combiner technology first used to create Devastator to make their own combined form.
The Aerialbots came to be among the Autobots on Earth in the 1980's and gained the forms of Earth-style jets. Upon the awakening of Optimus Prime in Dreamwave's first mini-series of the original cartoon universe, the Aerialbots were among the Autobots summoned by Optimus to rescue the remaining Autobots, who had been turned into mind-controlled weapons of mass destruction by a human arms dealer. During a subsequent battle with the Decepticons in San Francisco, the Aerialbots, merged into Superion, sacrificed themselves to stop an incoming nuclear missile, launched by rogue elements in the U.S. military to eradicate both factions of Cybertronians in one fell swoop.
Later, it was revealed that parts of Superion, including his head, were recovered by the faction of the U.S. government that also recovered Scourge, hinting that they were possibly trying to rebuild him.
[edit] Transformers: Generation 2 (1994)
Released in the last year of the series, the Aerialbots made their second appearance in the Transformers series. As before, each were individually sold but this time Silverbolt was sold on a card rather than being boxed. Silverbolt was recolored blue.
Although Silverbolt did make a short background appearance in the Transformers: Generation 2 comic, he was portrayed in his old colors rather than his new colors.
[edit] Beast Wars (1997)
| Transformers character | |
 Beast Wars II Skywarp |
|
| Silverbolt | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Maximal  |
| Sub-Group | Magnaboss Team |
| Partner | Prowl & Ironhide |
| Alternate Modes | Bald Eagle |
| Series | Beast Wars |
The first use of the name Silverbolt in the Beast Wars line was a member of the Magnaboss combiner team. Although this Silverbolt never appeared in the animated Beast Wars series, his Japanese repaint Skywarp was a regular character in the Beast Wars II Japanese series.
This Silverbolt was a Maximal who transformed into a bald eagle and along with Prowl and Ironhide, one of the three characters who combined to form the giant robot, Magnaboss.
As none of the Magnaboss trio came with any individual tech-specs, little is known about him. Some fans theorize he could be the original Silverbolt reformatted into a Maximal, but he could be a new character. Fans in favor of the Autobot theory often refer to his toy as "Superion" Silverbolt or just as Superion to distinguish him from the Fuzor Silverbolt released later that appeared in the Beast Wars TV Show. "Superion" was the name of the giant robot the Aerialbots (an Autobot Team which the original Silverbolt was the leader of) combined into.
[edit] 3H Enterprises
The first Beast Wars Silverbolt made appearance in Transformers: Universe #3 as part of Magnaboss. In this comic Optimus Primal pleads with Magnaboss and the Maximal High council (which oddly includes Bantor, Air Hammer, Corahda, Torca and Battle Unicorn) to take the threat of Unicron seriously, but they doubt his claims. Optimus Primal is detained, but Snarl breaks him out of the detention center.
[edit] IDW Publishing
According to the message board as IDW Publishing, the writers of their Beast Wars comics plan to make a profile of this Silverbolt in their comics which will give the character a background. This background will include that he is not the same character as Beast Wars II Skywarp.
[edit] Beast Wars (1998)
| Transformers character | |
 The Maximal Silverbolt |
|
| Silverbolt | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Maximal, Autobot |
| Sub-Group | Deluxe Fuzor |
| Rank | 7 |
| Function | Aerial Tracker |
| Motto | "After the darkness I take wing again!" "Even in the face of the darkest nights, justice will ultimately prevail." |
| Alternate Modes | Grey Timber Wolf/Eagle Fuzor, Technorganic Condor |
| Series | Beast Wars Beast Machines Transformers: Universe |
| Voiced by | Scott McNeil (English) Mitsuo Iwata (Japanese) |
The second toy named Silverbolt (Grifo in some European countries) did appear in the U.S. television series. Silverbolt was painted in more show-accurate colors for his release in Japan. Silverbolt was also repainted into the BotCon exclusive character Windrazor. This Silverbolt was not the original Autobot Silverbolt but a completely new Maximal character.
Among the Maximals, he was sort of a contrast to Dinobot (who embodied Predacon honor, similar to the Samurai code of bushido); Silverbolt embodied the Maximal version of honor which was like the chivalry of the medieval knights, which sometimes left his team mates feeling befuddled, annoyed, or amused at just how seriously he took his ideals. Often, a cheesy horn theme would play whenever Silverbolt said or did something heroic, sounding somewhat like an English fanfare for the Knights of old. Like Tigatron, Silverbolt was slow to anger but wouldn't back down from a fight. Rattrap often called him "Bird Dog" and, at one point, called him "Sir Drools-a-Lot". Waspinator often referred to Silverbolt as "Doggy-Bot", and Blackarachnia often called him "Bowser" and/or "Rover" in a tone that was often both mocking and affectionate at the same time. Silverbolt himself didn't seem to mind and generally let whatever criticisms people made of him roll off his back as if he were oblivious to it. Silverbolt fell in love with Blackarachnia, and had charmed her into grudgingly falling in love with him at the end of Season Two; when Rattrap made a derogative remark about Blackarachnia, Silverbolt threatened to harm him brutally. Unlike Tigatron and Airazor, Silverbolt did not seem to feel that the Earth was his home or place of birth. His fellow fuzor, Quickstrike, once vowed that they would have an all out brawl some day, but it never came to pass. Some of his early episodes portrayed Silverbolt as an extremely cheerful, almost happy go lucky Maximal who was always eager to undertake assignments.
[edit] Season Two
Appearing after the apparent death of Optimus Primal, Silverbolt's scanner was damaged by the energy wave that created the transmetals. Scanning a wolf and eagle, it combined them to create his beast mode: a timber wolf with the wings and claws of an eagle. Megatron immediately tried to recruit him but despite his damaged memory banks Silverbolt quickly realized he didn't belong with the Predacons. When he saw what kindness the Maximals offered to him, sparing him after a battle - something Megatron had refused to do for the Maximals - he realized his place was with them. Repaired just in time to see Optimus Primal reborn as a transmetals, Silverbolt changed sides and even saved Primal from a blow from Megatron.
In the episode Bad Spark, Optimus spoke of the "dark secret of Axalon's voyage", which was to dump the stasis pod containing Protoform X (aka Rampage) on a barren world so that he could cause no more destruction. When it was revealed that Rampage did survive when his stasis pod crashed, Optimus, Cheetor, Silverbolt and the Predacon Blackarachnia tried to subdue the rampaging Transformer, only to have him captured and forced to join the Predacons by Megatron. It was here that Silverbolt's relationship with the Predacon Blackarachnia began. Initially refusing to attack her on the grounds she was female, Silverbolt later saved her on several more occasions, prompting the female Predacon to keep him alive, actually saving him from plummeting down a chasm after he had saved her from a saber-toothed tiger.
Silverbolt's unerring compassion would be demonstrated when a new stasis pod fell to Earth. When the pod was revealed to contain the transmetal mutant Transmutate, Optimus Primal deemed that the slow witted but powerful mutant should be forcibly put back in stasis, Silverbolt furiously protested and tried to befriend the mutant robot. This was complicated by the fact that Rampage, seeing a fellow tortured and rejected soul, was trying to do the same (against Megatron's orders to destroy her). The two fought each other to keep her free and join their sides. Unable to see her friends fighting over her she terminated herself, much to the sorrow of both combatants.
Later Silverbolt's tentative relationship with Blackarachnia flowered into a cross-faction affair. Silverbolt would ferry her things she needed to build a hover ship in a series of clandestine meetings, although at this point Blackarachnia was using him more than anything. After failing to stop her escaping during a battle, Optimus Primal confined him to quarters. Silverbolt escaped and joined with Blackarachnia. As Silverbolt doggedly tried to convince her to become a Maximal (being rewarded with a bolt in the leg for his troubles) Blackarachnia revealed her true intent: to uncover The Ark. The two were then jumped by Megatron, who forced Blackarachnia to cooperate by threatening Siverbolt's life. Megatron then shot the stasis-locked body of Optimus Prime in the head, causing a time storm that threatened to destabilize all of history.
[edit] Season Three
Silverbolt was instrumental in Blackarachnia changing sides to the Maximals in Optimal Situation when, impressed by his unflagging courage and devotion to protecting her, she switched sides. Their relationship was not always smooth (she ended up shooting him at one point to save him from Dinobot's clone) but for the most part the two seemed to have a genuine affection for each other. The other Maximals often questioned and, in Rattrap's case, often mocked, his affection for Blackarchnia, which Silverbolt usually ignored; however at least once or twice he became violently angry with Rattrap when it came to Blackarachnia (once for her honor, later for her well being).
Silverbolt's role in season three was rather minor, as he acted mainly as a guard for the entrance to the Maximal base. Most of the time, he ended up getting damaged and taken out of action early on in episodes; this led to a running gag in which Waspinator would regularly take cheap shots at Silverbolt and gloat before being taken out himself (such as when Optimal Optimus smashed him with his bare hands in Master Blaster). The third season featured a minor antagonism between Silverbolt and Cheetor over Blackarachnia, as they both had feelings for her. Outside of this, Silverbolt took part in the Maximals' failed attempt to recover the Sentinel guard unit from the Axalon, where he had a brief argument with Depth Charge over Depth Charge's loyalty, and battled the transmetal clone of Dinobot. It also showed Silverbolt at his most brutal during the Beast Wars, for in the episode Crossing the Rubicon, when Blackarachnia is temporarily killed, due to the meddling of Tarantulas, an enraged Silverbolt responds by attempting to murder Tarantulas, almost succeeding but for the intervention of Rampage. Happily, his love was soon resurrected as a transmetal II (with her Predacon programming purged) - just in time to save an ambushed Silverbolt from Rampage. With the eventual defeat of Megatron, Silverbolt returned to Cybertron with the other Maximals.
[edit] Beast Machines
At the start of Beast Machines, Silverbolt was captured by Megatron and his spark extracted, later to be used in the Vehicon General Jetstorm. The other escaped Maximals would remain unaware of Silverbolt's true identity until Blackarachnia began to suspect that his Spark lay inside one of Megatron's generals. After mistakenly assuming it was inside Thrust (who turned out to be Waspinator instead), she discovered it to be inside Jetstorm, whose sheer murderous impulses were the total opposite of Silverbolt's nobility. She briefly managed to awaken Siverbolt's true personality, but the Jetstorm program quickly reestablished itself.
In a contrast to Silverbolt trying to sway her from the side of evil in Beast Wars, Blackarachnia now tried to reawaken the good in Silverbolt. She had many setbacks, including when Jetstorm managed to extract her Spark and present it to Megatron, only being foiled by the timely intervention of Nightscream. Eventually Rattrap invented a device which combined a spark extractor with a DNA scanner he planned to use to restore transformers into their bodies. Blackarachnia stole this device and together with the organic core of Cybertron and a nearby fossil reformatted Jetstorm into Silverbolt, now a technorganic condor.
Unfortunately, Silverbolt's mind had been fully aware and conscious whilst Jetstorm was active, and the fact that he'd been able not only to commit such atrocities but also enjoy them had left him with a darker personality, no longer as close to his beloved as he had originally been out of mixed-guilt. Furious, Silverbolt would attempt to kill Megatron after the megalomaniacal dictator tried to sway him back to his side, with the Blackarachnia having to knock him out to get him away. After this Silverbolt was willing to do whatever was necessary to defeat Megatron, clashing with the rest of the team on several occasions, particularly the impetuous Nightscream. After Megatron's final defeat, Silverbolt's old, chivalrous personality seemed to reassert itself.
Already a controversial series, the change in Silverbolt's character angered a number of fans, who felt that his personality had been changed into a copy of Dinobot and Depth Charge, losing much of his previous charm. However, in the series finale he seemed to regain his old personality. In the audio commentary on the Beast Machines DVD, this change was said to have been inspired by the evolution of Batman's persona. The campy Batman's change into his current dark portrayal was used as a template for the evolution of Silverbolt. The creators stated that part of this reason was due to how much the Beast Wars Silverbolt reminded them of Adam West’s Batman. Scott McNeil, the actor who voiced Silverbolt, was quoted in interviews saying that he did not like the change in Silverbolt's personality. Strangely enough, when Silverbolt's persona first re-emerged while inside Jetstorm's body, he appeared to be the same chivalrous, knight in shining armor type character he had been in Beast Wars, poetically addressing Blackarachnia as "dark poison of my heart" and seemingly unaware of his deeds as Jetstorm or even aware of his Jetstorm identity. Perhaps it was after this event that Silverbolt become aware of what he was doing as Jetstorm.
Like most Beast Machines toys, the colors of the toy and show character of Silverbolt did not match. In the show, he was purple with yellow highlights, but as a toy he was red and blue with rainbow feathers. The Japanese release of this toy was colored more closely to the television series. Both versions suffer from being improperly scaled. They are far too small in comparison to most other figures in the line.
He was voiced by Scott McNeil (as Silverbolt), Brian Drummond (as Jetstorm), and Mitsuo Iwata (Japanese).
The appearance of Beast Machines Silverbolt is based on concept art provided to Hasbro by Draxhall Jump.
[edit] Transtech
After the Beast Machines line ended, Hasbro planned a follow-up series called Transtech. The Transtech concept was a line intended to take Transformers to their most futuristic. Hasbro commissioned sets of designs from Draxhall Jump. The series was supposedly to bring back some of the characters who died in Beast Wars along with some characters from the original cartoon show, all in new, techno-organic bodies, though with vehicle alternate modes instead of the animals used in Beast Machines. Many concept sketches and even a few toy prototypes were made, but Hasbro scrapped the idea in favor of bringing Car Robots to their markets as Transformers: Robots in Disguise.
Concept sketches or prototype toys have been seen for Blackarachnia, Cheetor, Depth Charge, Megatron, Nightscream, Optimus Prime, Scavenger, Shockwave, Silverbolt, Soundwave, Starscream and a new character called Immorticon.
[edit] Transformers: Universe
Sadly, Silverbolt's happiness would not last long. In the BotCon exclusive storyline Transformers: Universe, Silverbolt and several other heroes of the Beast Machines era welcomed the Autobot heroes of The Great War back to Cybertron. However, all of them were trasnsported away by Unicron. Reformatted into a new body (a purple and yellow version of his Beast Wars Fuzor body). Forced to fight for Unicron's amusement (and unbeknownst to all, so that the Spark energy from fallen combatants could revitalize his own shattered frame), Silverbolt would team up with the Autobot Trailbreaker, swapping Sparks (and bodies) to free themselves from their cells. All were subsequently freed by the resurrected Optimus Primal, but with a price - Blackarachnia had been corrupted by Unicron's power and now willingly served the Chaos-Bringer. As she had once done for him, Silverbolt vowed to bring her back to the side of good.
Silverbolt also appeared in the 2004 BotCon voice actor play. When Rhinox's attempts to stop Unicron pulling victims from alternate realities resulted in two groups of dimensionally-displaced Autobots being marooned on frozen planetoids, Silverbolt was sent alongside Waspinator and Rattrap to help. They ended up battling Unicron's minions alongside a crew of timelost Autobots (Bumblebee, Cosmos and Tracks) and the two groups of Autobots they had been sent to help (both from the RiD universe), and, with Rhinox's help, sent them back to their own times and realities.
Although Universe ended at issue #3, the flashback of Optimus Prime would reveal what happened. In the final battle between the forces of Optimus Primal and Unicron, the Chaos-Bringer had disappeared (due to the events of Transformers: Energon), with Primal's forces barely making it out. Silverbolt was seen carrying away Blackarachnia. Whether this means there was a happy ending for Silverbolt is unknown.
[edit] Transformers: Energon (2005)
No toy named Silverbolt appeared in the Transformers: Energon line, but a group of Aerialbots was released in this line. The one named Storm Jet (Afterburner in Japan) seemed to be a nod more than a homage to the original Autobot Silverbolt, since the other four Aerialbots in the line were all painted in similar fashion to their original series counterparts and the Japanese names were similar to their names.
[edit] Transformers: Universe
A second Silverbolt later appeared in the Universe toyline in 2006, this time a Micromaster - a repaint of the Sixwing component, Falcon originally released during 1992 in Japan. Although widely believed to be a new form of the Autobot character, it may have been completely new character. With no profile from Hasbro to determine his identity, it is open to speculation and interpretation.
Note: Micromaster Silverbolt was released in Cybertron packaging in European countries, as they didn't have the Transformers: Universe line.
[edit] Other Appearances
- A Beast Wars Silverbolt action figure makes multiple appearances in the Sabrina Online comic series.
