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Starscream is a Decepticon (or sometimes Predacon) in the various fictional Transformers universes. He appeared in several incarnations in the related comics, animated television series, and movies. Most incarnations of the Starscream character are extremely ambitious and treacherous, though how strong and successful he is varies. Often, Starscream is the leader of a group of Decepticon jets referred to as the Seekers, and in many incarnations he is also second-in-command of the Decepticons.

Contents 1 Transformers: Generation 1 1.1 Animated series 1.2 Marvel Comics 1.2.1 Generation 2 1.3 Audio books 1.4 Beast Wars 1.5 Dreamwave Productions 1.5.1 Transformers/G.I. Joe 1.6 Devil's Due Publishing 1.7 Transformers: Robot Masters 1.8 IDW Publishing 1.8.1 Evolutions: Hearts of Steel 1.9 Kiss Players 1.10 Toys 2 Beast Wars II 2.1 Animated series 2.2 Toys 3 Unicron Trilogy 4 Live-action Transformers film (2007) 4.1 Toys 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Transformers: Generation 1

Transformers character
Starscream
Affiliation	Decepticon
Sub-Group	Seekers Pretenders Action Masters Deluxe Vehicles
Rank	5, but should have been 9
Function	Air Commander
Motto	"Conquest is made of the ashes of one's enemies."
Alternate Modes	Cybertronian Jet F-15 Eagle Cobra Night Raven F-22 Raptor
Series	Transformers: Generation 1 Transformers: Generation 2 Machine Wars Transtech Robot Masters Transformers: Titanium Transformers Classics
Voiced by	Chris Latta (English/Deceased in June 1994) Doug Parker (Beast Wars) Hirotaka Suzuoki (Japanese/Deceased in August 2006)

Starscream (Starscream in France, Ego/Starscream in Canada, Astrum in Italy, Hvězdolam in Czech Republic, Gwiazdowrzask in Poland, Скандалист (= Skandalist) in Russia, Estrela-Estridente in Portugal) makes no secret of his ambition to overthrow Megatron as Decepticon leader. He is more intelligent than the average Decepticon, ruthless and cruel in his actions, but also a coward — he is unlikely to take direct action on his ambition to overthrow Megatron without his fellow Decepticons to support him. He considers himself superior to the other Decepticons, and looks down at Megatron for being antiquated in his military strategy. Starscream believes the Decepticons should rely more on guile and speed rather than brute destructive force to defeat the Autobots, although even when Starscream is given the chance to strike out on his own, he is rarely more successful than Megatron, and often considerably less. Megatron overlooks the potential threat Starscream represents as he believes Starscream is very good at his job; however, Starscream often pushes him over the edge, and violent, if brief, conflicts are not uncommon between the two. Usually they result in Megatron backhanding Starscream in a humiliating and dismissively flagrant way.

Starscream transforms into an F-15 Eagle and serves as the Decepticon Air Commander, leading the other Decepticon Seeker jets, many of whom share his physical design. According to his technical specifications, he can reach speeds up to Mach 2.8, and can climb up to sub-orbital altitudes of 52 miles and nose-dive down to ground level in minutes (the real aircraft has a top speed of Mach 2.5 with an altitude ceiling of 65,000 feet, or 12.3 miles). His arm is mounted with launchers (mounted under his wings in jet mode), which can launch two types of weaponry — cluster bombs, each of which can level an area 10,000 feet square, and his primary weapon, the null ray, which can disrupt the flow of electricity in any circuitry it hits for brief periods, effectively rendering any electronic device or machine (including Transformers) temporarily inoperable.

[edit] Animated series

Starscream was formerly a scientist and explorer, working with the Autobot Skyfire, during the Golden Age of Cybertron, shortly before the Autobot/Decepticon war re-erupted. Following the disappearance of Skyfire when the two were exploring a prehistoric Earth, Starscream returned to Cybertron and soon abandoned his scientific pursuits, becoming a warrior in Megatron's Decepticon army as the civil war exploded, considering it "far more exciting".

Acting as second-in-command of the elite troops Megatron took with him aboard the Nemesis, Starscream was among the Transformers trapped in stasis on Earth for four million years after the Decepticons attacked the Autobot craft, Ark, causing it to crash on the planet. When the ship's computer, Teletraan I was reactivated by a volcanic explosion in 1984, the Decepticons were the first to be reactivated and were restored with new Earthly alternate modes. Before departing, Starscream shot at the Ark as a petty parting gesture, causing a small tremor that knocked Optimus Prime into the path of the reconstruction beam, allowing the Autobots to be restored, and the war to continue on Earth.

During the cataclysmic events that ensued when Megatron transported Cybertron into Earth's orbit, Starscream attempted to use the Decepticons' human ally, Doctor Arkeville, for his own purposes. Starscream forced him to take him to his secret lab, where he destabilized Arkeville's exponential generator, which, when it reached critical mass, would destroy the Earth. Starscream then fled with Arkeville to Cybertron, where Starscream intended to collect the energy released in Earth's destruction. When Optimus Prime and Megatron were forced to work together to stop Starscream's plan, Starscream returned to Earth to investigate why the generator had not exploded. Meanwhile, to remove the threat of the generator, Prime loaded it into Megatron's gun barrel and fired it into space — blasting Starscream out of the air in the process, causing him to fall to Earth and into a vengeful Megatron's clutches.

Starscream was a prominent figure in most of Megatron's schemes over the next year, but also made several further plays for power — teaming up with the Triple Changers Blitzwing and Astrotrain to betray Megatron, only to be double-crossed himself; duping the paranoiac Autobot, Red Alert into allowing him to acquire the Autobots' Negavator weapon; destroying Megatron's Nightbird robot to maintain his own position of power; getting drunk on energon, and more. Ironically, given his invariably treacherous nature, he was the first to sniff out Nurgill's treachery when the Decepticons united with the underwater residents of Sub-Atlantica to take over the world. Generally speaking, almost every time Megatron received even the slightest damage in a battle, Starscream was quick to claim that Megatron had "fallen", and would urge the Decepticons to follow himself as the new leader.

Starscream would make use of his old scientist profession in the future, particularly when he and several other Decepticons were temporarily displaced in time to medieval England. When the weapons of the time-displaced transformers ceased functioning, Starscream knew how to use available materials to create gunpowder as a substitute for himself and the other Decepticons. He was also able create an electric dynamo to replenish their depleted energy.^[1]

In 1985, Starscream was responsible for the creation of the Combaticons by liberating their imprisoned personality components from a detention center on Cybertron and installing them into five World War II vehicles left over from the Battle of Guadalcanal. He changed them into more modern vehicular forms (for example, he made Vortex the helicopter out of a crashed World War II fixed-wing aircraft). He intended them to be his own private army after he was exiled from the Decepticons for attempting to betray Megatron one too many times. Ironically, the Combaticons ended up betraying Starscream, took control of Cybertron, then tried to destroy Earth by crashing it into the Sun. This forced another uneasy alliance between the Autobots and Decepticons, who fought Bruticus and ultimately defeated him thanks to a weak spot revealed by Starscream in exchange for Megatron not killing him on the spot.

In 2005, (during the events of The Transformers: The Movie), Starscream finally got his big chance to depose of Megatron — who was severely damaged following a battle with Optimus Prime — by throwing him out of Astrotrain and into the void of space. Starscream's reign didn't last long however — when Starscream was crowning himself as leader of the Decepticons, Megatron returned, reformatted by Unicron as Galvatron, deriding Starscream's coronation as "bad comedy." Just as Starscream realized who he was, Galvatron obliterated him, literally turning his body to ashes with a single blast of his cannon mode.

Starscream's spark (the core of each Cybertronian that contains their consciousness — referred to as a "laser core" in the original animated series) survived, however, apparently confined to the Decepticon crypt on Cybertron, and he continued to exist in a disembodied ghost-like form. When the Decepticon turncoat, Octane, sought refuge from his pursuers in the crypt, Starscream's ghost seized control of Cyclonus's body, and worked with Octane to turn Galvatron over to the Autobots and take leadership of the Decepticons for themselves. Galvatron evaded capture, and returned to blast Starscream out of Cyclonus, only for the ghostly Decepticon to quietly take up residence in a Sweep. A short time later, he possessed Scourge and entered into a bargain with Unicron, performing three labors for the planet-eater in exchange for getting his body back. Acquiring the eyes of Metroplex and the Transforming Cog of Trypticon, Starscream's body was restored so that he could make the final connection between Unicron's head and Cybertron, allowing the planet to become the chaos-bringer's new body. However now that he had what he wanted, Starscream refused. At that point, an explosion instigated by the Autobots hurled Starscream and Unicron's head off into space. Starscream was last seen tumbling out of control through space, as Galvatron opened fire on him.

The precise reason for Starscream's ability to survive after death was never revealed in the original animated series, but would later be covered in Beast Wars. (see below)

[edit] Marvel Comics

Again serving as one of Megatron's elite troops in the attack on the Ark, the Marvel Comics incarnation of Starscream possessed the desire to take leadership of the Decepticons, but in the early days of the war on Earth, he limited his actions to making snide remarks about Megatron's capabilities, and did not accomplish any notable acts apart from nearly getting scrapped by Megatron after one snide comment too many. When he participated in an attack on the Ark with several of his fellow Decepticons, Starscream was deactivated by Omega Supreme, and sealed in a stasis pod in the Ark for a prolonged period of time.

Meanwhile, however, on the other side of the Atlantic, the UK offices of Marvel Comics were producing their own storylines which were interspliced throughout the U.S. material. Here, Starscream came into his own under writer Simon Furman, who portrayed the character's scheming and ambition with more subtlety than the animated series, making Starscream more intelligent and cunning than clownish. As one of the more interesting Decepticon characters, he was often the focus of his own stories, including a notable Christmas special based around Starscream's misery at being stranded on Earth. In this story and in many others penned by Furman, Starscream had a noticeably British sense of humor, often coming across as wry and sarcastic. He was one of the most formidable warriors in the Decepticon army and adversaries were often shown to be visibly intimidated by him before he had even begun to fight. At different points in the series, he has been shown to best fellow high ranking Decepticons Ravage and Soundwave in combat, as well as the Autobot Brawn.

In these UK tales, Starscream was briefly revived from his stasis prison to participate in the events of the Target: 2006 mega-serial, where he teamed up with future Decepticon leader Galvatron. Galvatron tolerated his service with amusement, aware of the irony in the situation — Starscream thought that working with Galvatron would ensure his future, but thanks to Galvatron, Starscream had no future, since he was destined to die at his hands in 2006 (in the comic's alternate-future rendition of The Transformers: The Movie). When Autobots from the future duped Galvatron into turning against Starscream, a repainted Skywarp stood in for Starscream, who Galvatron then blasted. Believing that he had altered his timeline by killing "Starscream", Galvatron returned to his future, while the future Autobots returned the true Starscream to stasis.

Some time later, back in the U.S stories, Starscream was liberated from his imprisonment by the new Decepticon leader, Ratbat, who appointed him second-in-command of his operations — a foolish move, as Starscream would immediately return to form, learning of Ratbat's plan to acquire the power of the Underbase, and orchestrating a massive battle between the Autobot and Decepticon forces that allowed him to seize the colossal information bank's energy. Now imbued with the Power Cosmic, Starscream immediately turned his attention to Earth, and deactivated scores of Transformers who attempted to stand against him. As he steadily mutated into a gigantic being, Starscream was stopped by Optimus Prime, who tricked him into absorbing more of the Underbase's energy — more than his body could handle, destroying him.

At this point, Simon Furman began penning the U.S comic book as well as its UK counterpart, and quickly returned Starscream to the fold. In the UK comics, Megatron had Dreadwind and Darkwing locate Starscream's shattered body, only to find that it still possessed some of the Underbase's power, and drained it away by their Powermaster partners, leaving the body lifeless. Megatron then had Autobot surgeon Ratchet reconstruct Starscream as a Pretender, and had him attack Optimus Prime and Scorponok's forces on Earth. Ratchet disobeyed Megatron's request to reprogram his mind, however, and Starscream's original cowardly personality soon re-emerged.

The UK comics then began a breakaway storyline that diverged the continuities, centering around the exploits of the Earthforce, the Earth-based Autobot sub-team. Through a team-up with Soundwave, Starscream succeeded in deposing Megatron and Shockwave briefly, before they returned seeking vengeance. Starscream, however, had some unlikely protectors — the Autobots needed him alive so that his compatible systems could boost those of the Dinobot Snarl, who was dying from the rusting disease, Corrodia Gravis.

In the U.S. comics, Starscream went on from his rebirth as a Pretender to join up with Shockwave in instigating the Decepticon Civil War, and was transported to Cybertron along with all the other Transformers in preparation for the battle against Unicron. Following the Transformers' victory, Starscream and Shockwave fled the planet in a restored Ark. On the way the two discovered some unlikely company — Megatron and Ratchet, both restored by Nucleon. Starscream found Ratchet and prepared to kill him. However, in a fit of rage at Starscream's casual attitude to murder, Ratchet defeated the Decepticon. In order to prevent Megatron and Galvatron escaping to threaten the universe once more, Ratchet crashed the Ark on Earth.

[edit] Generation 2

Starscream had been deactivated in the crash of the Ark, but Megatron, who had also been on board, was the only survivor and over the next few years restored the Ark, entering into a deal with the human terrorist organization, Cobra, which helped him obtain a new body and weapons. Desperate for troops and in spite of his own misgivings about doing so, Megatron then reactivated Starscream. Starscream served Megatron with at least a semblance of loyalty, ferrying him to his showdown with Bludgeon. But when he realized Megatron was going to eliminate him after his new Matrix-created army was up and running, he (predictably) betrayed him by alerting the forces of the Cybertronian general Jhiaxus to the location of the joint Autobot/Decepticon base.

"Why? That's what they all asked me. Why him — why Starscream? Why, of all Decepticons, did I decide to revitalize the one whose record of deceit and betrayal is legendary? Because I'm an idiot, that's why!" — Megatron

Starscream was subsequently able to acquire the Creation Matrix (previously stolen from Optimus Prime by Megatron), and used it merge himself with the Decepticon craft, the Warworld, turning himself into a living weapon. However, Starscream found his mind affected by the innate goodness of the Matrix, and rejected it in order to preserve his own personality.

Starscream appeared in his Generation 2 form in the short lived UK Generation 2 comic series. This series also printed a bio for Starscream where he had the new motto "I have a code of conduct — victory at all costs!"

[edit] Audio books

Starscream was featured in the 1985 Transformers audio book Autobots' Lightning Strike. In this story, the Autobots are amazed by the power of a thunderstorm and Optimus Prime orders Huffer to build a collector to store the energy given off by the next storm. The Decepticon Laserbeak discovers the lightning rod and informs the Decepticons, but Soundwave mistakes it for giant transmission antenna. Although Starscream and Rumble attempt to destroy the object, Megatron stops them and leads the Decepticons to the object in hopes of learning what message the Autobots are sending, and who they are contacting. Once inside the base the Decepticons are caught in the energy of a storm and are forced to retreat. The Autobot plan to use the energy to help them repair their ship and eventually return to Cybertron, leaving humanity with the technology to collect energy from lightning.

In the 1986 audio adventure Laserbeak's Fury Megatron had Soundwave send Laserbeak to learn more about the humans, despite Starscream's protests that humans were weak and insignificant. Observing a windmill, Laserbeak came into contact with power lines, became trapped in cassette form and was found by some humans. Both the Decepticons and Autobots monitored Laserbeak's radio report. Hound and Spike were sent to investigate. When they discovered the Decepticons observing the windmill, they called for backup. Optimus Prime assembled a battle unite of Ironhide, Sunstreaker, Windcharger and Cliffjumper, leaving Ratchet in charge of their headquarters. Meanwhile, Laserbeak was taken to a disco, where playing him re-energized his circuits and he flew off to rejoin the Decepticons. Sparkplug explained to the Autobots the windmill's technology, as Megatron was interested in a mechanical device that didn't generate a magnetic field. A battle broke out over the windmill, in which Starscream panicked when he learned the windmill was immune to his null rays. Rumble destroyed the windmill during the battle and the Decepticons retreated, with no new technology to take. Optimus Prime expressed his regrets over the destruction that occurred.

[edit] Beast Wars

Although the 1990s Transformers series, Beast Wars, officially occurred in a universe/continuity that contained aspects of both of the Generation 1 animated series and Marvel comic, the show most commonly displayed its lineage with references to the animated series. To that end, Starscream's ghost made a brief but memorable appearance in the first season episode, "Possession". His spark wandered to prehistoric Earth (probably through the same transwarp gate the Maximals and Predacons traveled through, although the exact details remain unknown) and ended up in the Darkside's computer console. Taking control of Waspinator's body with Terrorsaur watching, Starscream went about his standard backstabbing ways, acquiring the trust of Predacon leader Megatron, telling him that he was defending Galvatron against Unicron and was destroyed, with his spark enduring. In reality, he was planning to overthrow Megatron. When his true intent was discovered by Blackarachnia, who knew he was really scrapped by Galvatron, Starscream took her under his wing to teach her the ways of treachery — inevitably (and somewhat ironically) resulting in her betrayal. Caught in an energon explosion engineered by Optimus Primal, Starscream's spark was forced out of Waspinator's body and set adrift in space once more, vowing vengeance on both sides. In the episode, Starscream was voiced by Doug Parker.

At the time "Possession" was written, the idea that Beast Wars took place in the past had not been cemented, hence it was not precisely explained how Starscream's spark was able to travel back in time, aside from a qualifier in the form of Starscream's indistinct claim that his spark was "...beyond the reach of time itself". Although no specifics were intended by the writer, fans generally speculate that his spark hails from a point in time that post-dates his final appearance in the Generation 1 animated series, since he was last seen tumbling through space — a predicament he is also in, sans his body, at the beginning of "Possession".

In the second season of Beast Wars, the reason for Starscream's ability to survive beyond death was revealed — a mutation in his spark had rendered it indestructible. Maximal experiments to replicate this effect resulted in the creation of the insane monster Protoform X, later called Rampage.

Starscream's original body was seen, lying in stasis lock, in the last episode of season two when Megatron entered the Ark.

[edit] Dreamwave Productions

In the 21st century reimagining of the Generation One universe by the comics company Dreamwave Productions, Starscream remained his treacherous, power-hungry self. In the early days of the war on Cybertron, he devastated Iacon with a terraforming process, and went on to form his own faction called the Predacons when Megatron vanished in a spacebridge experiment. When the other splinter factions attempted to reconcile their differences, Starscream's Predacons attacked the ceremony, although their bombing occurred concurrently with the return of Megatron, who immediately subjected Starscream to physical torture for stealing his glory.

Winding up in stasis aboard the Autobot spacecraft, the Ark, along with the other Decepticons when it crashed on prehistoric Earth, Starscream was reactivated in 1984 with the other Transformers. When the Autobots succeeded in defeating the Decepticons in 1999 and they all attempted to return to Cybertron aboard the Ark II, the ship exploded as it exited Earth's atmosphere, and the Transformers were believed destroyed. In actuality, many of their bodies were appropriated by the terrorist, Lazarus, including Starscream's. Bumblebee, Frenzy, Grimlock, Laserbeak, Prowl, Ravage, Soundwave and Starscream were forced to attack the Smitco oil refinery in the Arctic to display their power for sale to the highest bidder (Transformers: Generation One #2).

When Megatron liberated himself from Lazarus's control in 2002, the other Decepticons were soon freed, and Starscream and the other Decepticon jets passed some time by dismembering the Autobot Mini-Bots before joining in an attack on San Francisco, during which they attacked Superion, forcing him to separate.

The following year, Starscream was offered the opportunity to return to type when Shockwave — who had unified Cybertron in their absence — arrived on Earth to arrest Prime and Megatron as war criminals. Seizing an opportunity to remove his main obstacle to power, Starscream blasted open the cargo hold of the ship taking them back to Cybertron, setting Megatron's damaged body adrift in space.

With the aid of Soundwave, he subsequently liberated the Combaticons from imprisonment, and returned with them to Earth, where they attacked the Ark in an attempt to acquire parts to make the Decepticons' space cruiser flight-worthy. With Bruticus defeated by the arrival of Starscream's Shockwave-spawned, super-powered clone, Sunstorm, Starscream fled and brought online Jetfire, who the Decepticons had previously uncovered frozen in ice. Operating together, they deduced Sunstorm's clone nature, and fashioned a power siphon to drain his energy; but Starscream turned the tables on everyone by freeing Sunstorm, who then took him to a mysterious Cybertronian seal beneath the ocean's surface. Sunstorm claimed that only Starscream could open the seal, which he proceeded to do, unlocking an underground reservoir of a powerful, energy-rich liquid, which Sunstorm planned to use to empower his "brother," so that they could achieve his goals together. Starscream turned on Sunstorm, who fell into the liquid, which reacted with his own powers and destroyed both him and Jetfire.

Starscream escaped the conflagration and returned to the Decepticon base, only to discover that Megatron and Shockwave had returned in his absence, and to receive the beating he had earned from his former leader. Starscream hinted that he had discovered some of the secrets in the Transformers' history that Megatron and Shockwave had learned in the past, but unfortunately, Dreamwave went bankrupt and closed its doors before resolution to this storyline could be offered.

[edit] Transformers/G.I. Joe

Starscream also appeared in Dreamwave's Transformers/G.I. Joe miniseries, set during World War II, plotting with Destro to overthrow Megatron and Cobra Commander using a fusion of Cobra and Decepticon technology called Bruticus. However, he was himself betrayed and destroyed by Destro and the Baroness. In this series, Starscream and the other seekers had alternate modes based on P-51 Mustangs. He reappeared in a second G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover set in continuity with the first, but over 40 years later. Here, he had his familiar alternate mode of an F-15 Eagle. His ultimate purpose was left unknown, as Dreamwave's closure meant the series was left unfinished after just one issue.

[edit] Devil's Due Publishing

In this crossover from Devil's Due Publishing, the Ark was discovered by the terrorist Cobra Organization, and all the Transformers inside were reformatted into Cobra vehicles remotely controlled by the Televipers. In this storyline, Starscream turned into a Cobra Nightraven and was used as Cobra Commander's personal transport. Predictably attempting to betray Megatron when the Transformers broke free of Cobra's control, an animosity developed between Starscream and G.I. Joe member Snake-Eyes. Starscream (controlled by Cobra Commander) was responsible for Snake-Eyes disfigurement in the initial Cobra attack. Snake-Eyes got his revenge when he confronted Starscream in the final issue, cut out Starscream's eye with his sword and shoved a hand-grenade in the empty socket. When the first series ended Starscream ended up making a deal with Cobra Commander to remove the grenade (which hadn't exploded) from in return for transport to safety.

The second series from Devil's Due involved a plot by Starscream and Cobra Commander to get technology from Cybertron by breaking into their space bridge system. However, the intervention of both Ultra Magnus' Autobots and Shockwave's Decepticons complicated this plan, forcing Cobra and G.I. Joe (inadvertently teleported with them) to make a hasty truce to defeat the machinations of Shockwave and recover time-displaced Autobots and Decepticons, including Optimus Prime and the Dinobots. As Starscream tried to weasel his way out of being destroyed by Shockwave, he was instead eliminated when Cobra Commander activated his parting gift: 45 pounds of plastic explosives he had secretly placed in Starscream's housing during repairs.

[edit] Transformers: Robot Masters

Starscream also appeared in the Japanese exclusive Transformers: Robot Masters series. When Megatron disappeared, Starscream quickly seized command, only to be forcibly dethroned by a time-lost newcomer — the Megatron of the Beast era. Plotting all the while behind his new leader's back, Starscream nonetheless served him against the Autobots, battling another time-lost Transformer, Star Saber, and losing, before destroying a large chunk of New York City to uncover solitarium. He was shot down by the mysterious Reverse Convoy — who quickly revealed himself as Megatron in a new body.

[edit] IDW Publishing

After Dreamwave's closure, the rights to the Transformers comics were taken up by IDW Publishing. Their version of the Generation One universe begins with a miniseries called The Transformers: Infiltration. In Infiltration, Starscream is in command of a small group of Decepticons on Earth, including Skywarp, Thundercracker, Astrotrain, Blitzwing and the Battlechargers Runabout and Runamuck. Starscream had discovered an ore of energon on Earth that was the Transformer equivalent of steroids, making him bold enough to advance their infiltration phase ahead of schedule. However, it seems that humans have somehow obtained evidence of the Transformers' existence, which would derail Starscream's plans. Learning of this though, Megatron came to Earth and dueled with Starscream, battling physically and verbally. Even Starscream's supercharged power wasn't enough, and Megatron ended the duel with the statement, "You're going to take your punishment like a Decepticon", before blowing a hole clean through Starscream's torso with a blast of his arm cannon at point blank range. Despite the immense damage he took, Megatron's commands to Runabout and Runamuck indicate that Starscream may yet survive; indeed a human named Dante appears to be talking with a silhouette of Starscream on life support in The Transformers: Escalation. It is interesting to note that Starscream's alternate mode here is that of an F-22 Raptor rather than the familiar G1 F-15 Eagle mode, foreshadowing the upcoming movie. It has been hinted he may return in The Transformers: Devastation [3].

Starscream will also be appearing in the upcoming The Transformers: Megatron: Origin series, which will detail Megatron's origin and the rise of the Decepticons. [4]

[edit] Evolutions: Hearts of Steel

Starscream is also a major player in the mini-series Evolutions: Hearts of Steel, which takes place in an out-of-continuity 19th Century. Starscream and the other Seekers are reconfigured as Wright Brothers-esque early aircraft and Starscream plans the familiar concepts of taking over Earth and destroying Megatron. This version of Starscream is less impetuous and has thought his plans through, even using humans to help. Unfortunately his plan was still thwarted by John Henry and Bumblebee, who were able to redirect the railway so that the Decepticon train convoy was dropped into a chasm ^[2].

[edit] Kiss Players

The Japanese-exclusive Transformers: Kiss Players toy line features the somewhat unusual concept of Transformers who attain power-ups through being kissed by young women, in a universe that branches off from the original animated series. Set in 2006 (one year after Starscream's death in The Transformers: The Movie, but four years before the third season of the show, which in Japan occurred in 2010), the Kiss Players radio drama sees Starscream's ghost possess Earth Defense Command (EDC) operative Atari Hitotonari, and forced her to seek out his old ally, Doctor Arkeville. Arkeville constructed a new body for Starscream (meant to represent his Masterpiece toy) out of a stolen fighter jet, and Atari transferred his spark into it with a kiss. Transforming into his new robot mode, Starscream was only able to enjoy it for a few minutes before EDC Autotrooper robots blew it up and sent his spark flying back into space.

[edit] Toys

• Generation 1 (1984)

The original Starscream toy was originally part of the Japanese Diaclone toy line and was imported to become part of the Transformers toy line by Hasbro in 1984. In jet mode, the toy is 21cm long (a scale of 1:93, suggesting that Starscream's 14cm robot mode would be about 13m tall). In what is considered to be a major drawback to the toy, the majority of its parts have to be removed for transformation, and it is rare to find a totally complete one, since neither mode can hold all the parts. The toy was later re-issued in Japan in 2001, with black-and-gold and translucent "ghost" variants, and again in 2003, redecoed into a more TV series-accurate color scheme. He was also reissued in the west in 2003, with extended missiles to comply with safety regulations.

The Starscream mold was redecoed to create Thundercracker and Skywarp and released concurrently alongside them, but a production errors saw the tech spec numbers for Starscream and Skywarp swapped, incorrectly suggesting that Skywarp was higher in rank and intelligence than Starscream (the Japanese version of the toy always included the higher rank, but featured a lower skill). Some packages had an attempt at a correction where Starscream instead had Thundercracker's tech spec numbers which also incorrectly indicated the rank and intelligence of the character. On the profiles of most subsequent releases of Starscream figures it is these inaccurate numbers which are used due to the manufacturers simply copying the old profile without realizing there was an error. The mold was later modified to create the 1985 jets, Ramjet, Dirge and Thrust, and much later, recolored into the 2002 eHobby exclusive Sunstorm.

• Pretender Classic (1989)

Starscream was shrunken and redesigned for his rebirth as a Pretender, with twin guns that became his tailfins in jet mode. His tech spec numbers remained much the same, but with slightly decreased speed.

• Legends (1989)

The Pretender figure was released without his shell at Kmart retailers in the U.S. as Legends Starscream and in Japan as part of a subline called "Legends".

• Action Master (1990)

Starscream's non-transforming Action Master figure was nominally supposed to bring the toy closer in appearance to the animation incarnation, but was actually based on his Pretender figure, yielding a rather inaccurate color scheme, lacking the defining shoulder-wings. His toy included a "Turbo Jet", which transformed into a battle station. In keeping with tradition, the Action Master Starscream figure was later redecoed into the European-exclusive Action Master Thundercracker in 1991.

• Generation 2 (1993)

For the Transformers: Generation 2 toy line, Starscream's original 1984 toy was re-released, now redecoed in grey and salmon pink, with the addition of spring-loaded missile launchers and an electronic sound pack that mounted on the figure's back. As before, the toy was also remolded into Ramjet. Oddly, the new Generation 2 character Windrazor, leader of the Sky Scorchers, was a new jet that sported Starscream's original colors.

• ATB Megatron and Starscream (unreleased)

Starscream was originally intended to receive one further Generation 2 toy, in the form of a repaint of the Advanced Tactical Bomber Decepticon, Dreadwing — the Dreadwing toy itself would have been Megatron, while the partner figure, Smokescreen would have become Starscream. The figure was not released, but later became the new characters BB and Starscream for the Japanese series Beast Wars II in 1997.

• Machine Wars (1997)

A redecoed version of the European figure Skyquake in grays and blacks, Machine Wars Starscream was, like the rest of the toy line, available only through KB Toys in 1997. Armed with vast amounts of launching missiles, the figure was later recolored into 'King Atlas for Transformers: Universe in 2004. This version of Starscream has not appeared in any official fiction, however Transformers comic artist Guido Guidi has rendered art of G1 Starscream's ghost possessing the body of a fallen Decepticon and becoming Machine Wars Starscream.

• Transtech (unreleased)

Starscream was subsequently absent from toy lines through the Beast Wars/Beast Machines era, although he was almost able to return in the aborted 2001 toy line, Transtech. The Transtech concept was a line intended to take Transformers to their most futuristic, and although Toronto-based design studio Draxhall Jump created several designs, the idea was eventually aborted in favor of Transformers: Armada (with Transformers: Robots in Disguise serving as a filler line between years). Several figures made it to the prototype stage before the project was canceled, including Starscream.

• Smallest Transformers (2003)

The first figure of the original G1 Starscream in years, the "Smallest Transformer" incarnation of the character is simply a shrunken version of his original 1984 toy, and was remolded to create Smallest Thrust.

• Transformers: Robot Masters (2004)

Starscream's original body finally received an upgrade with modern toy-design technology to create a more poseable figure with less removable parts for the Japanese-exclusive Transformers: Robot Masters toy line. Armed with clip-on, non-functional, chest-mounted missile launchers, tradition saw the figure redecoed as Skywarp and Thundercracker, released in a two-pack together.

• Transformers: Titanium 3-inch Starscream (2006)

Starscream received two different toys in the Transformers: Titanium line. The first was a three inch tall non-transforming representation of him in robot mode from Generation 1.

• Transformers Classics (2006)

Starscream's original body received another re-imagining with modern technology in the first wave of the Transformers Classics toy line. His appearance is loyal to the original figure, but his transformation is similar to the Robot Masters version, without the need to remove as many parts as his Generation 1 counterpart. This toy was initially sold by itself, and later in a value pack with Classic Rodimus.

Although close to the original Starscream's animated shape, the details were slightly different, leading to fan made sticker sets being created to make this the most show accurate Starscream toy made to date. This toy was later repainted as Classics Skywarp. ^[3]

• Atari-Scream (2006)

A slight redeco of the PVC figure of Atari Hitotonari from the Transformers: Kiss Players line, this figure has a black uniform and a Decepticon symbol on its armband. Exclusive to Dengeki Hobby magazine, it represents Starscream possessing Atari.

• Masterpiece Starscream (MP-3) (2006)

This Japanese exclusive product by Takara Japan and designed by Shoji Kawamori, part of the same line as the Masterpiece Optimus Prime (MP-1), is a highly-detailed, intricately designed version of the character which represent his new body from the Kiss Players radio drama. By date it is the closest to the real world F-15 Eagle. It transforms into his classic jet and robot modes, with a new, flatter color scheme to more accurately represent the F-15 Eagle. It includes a stand that can support the figure in mid-air, with additional spots to clip any unused accessories. Although fairly close in appearance to the classic Starscream, the toy was even more like the character in its earlier design stages, until it was later modified in ways that created differences, such as the mounting of the jet-mode tailfins on the robot mode hips.

• Transformers: Titanium 6-inch Starscream (2007)

Starscream received two different toys in the Transformers: Titanium line. The second was a transforming 6'inch tall representation of him in his Transformers: The War Within Cybertronian mode, and was repaint of the 6-inch War Within Thundercracker toy.

[edit] Beast Wars II

Transformers character
Starscream
Affiliation	Predacon
Function	Air Commander, later General Chief of Staff
Partner	BB
Motto	"Power leads to victory and power is what I shall obtain."
Alternate Modes	Jet Fighter
Series	Beast Wars Second
Voiced by	Hiroki Takahashi (Japanese)

In the Japanese-exclusive animated series, Beast Wars II, a character named Starscream (misspelled as "Starscrem" on toy packaging) was one of Galvatron's most loyal minions (neither character, however, was meant to be the same as his Generation 1 namesake, as was the case in the original Beast Wars series; preexisting names were reused for entirely different characters). He was the only sophisticated member of the bunch, but used his hulking sidekick, BB, to back him up.

[edit] Animated series

Like the Decepticon air commander who came before him, Starscream is both ambitious and deadly. He makes up for his lack of size with unmatched speed and maneuverability. Starscream desires power and lots of it. He hopes to one day dethrone Galvatron as the Predacon emperor of destruction and rule the universe himself. He is also slightly effeminate, often laughing and gesturing in a shaky way. Nevertheless, he is not a warrior to be taken lightly. He often psyches himself up for a battle by listening to music from the Earth composer Wagner. Along with his subordinate, BB, he is a Predacon one should never underestimate.

When transformed Starscream becomes a stealth fighter capable of soaring at speeds few can imagine. In fighter mode he can use the "Formation Scream" and combine with his partner BB to become a powerful air fighter. In robot mode his attack of choice are his "Screamwinder Missiles" which are strong enough to vaporize most opponents.

Starscream is often a little too ambitious for his own good. His attempts to gain power are not always subtle and occasionally backfire.

In episode #31 of the series, Starscream was unwillingly plunged into a lava crater riddled with Angolmois energy by Gigastorm. This evolved him into Hellscream, a cybernetic flying shark. Even more cruel and ruthless than before, Hellscream retained his hateful personality but with newfound abilities. He still has his Screamwinder missiles but has gained a new power, the "Terrorstorm". With this, he unleashes a hellish torrent of fire and missiles reducing any Maximal to ashes.

Though stronger, Starscream's lust for power still keeps him under the watchful eyes of his superior officers.

[edit] Toys

• BB and Starscream (1997)

A purple, black and yellow redeco of the Generation 2 Dreadwing and Smokescreen jet, originally intended to be a G2 version of the original Megatron and Starscream, with different decals. Starscream has twin missile launchers mounted on his sides in jet mode, which can be wielded in the hands of his and BB's robot modes. Starscream and BB packaged together, and also in a pack with the Maximal Big Horn.

• Hellscream (1998)

A remold of the 1997 Beast Wars Cybershark toy, Hellscream was altered to look more cybernetic, appearing as a cross between a shark and a submarine with a threatening-looking blade for a head, a cockpit for a dorsal fin and a turbine for a tail. He was remolded into the Maximal Sharp Edge. He was later redoeced ever-so-slightly to become Overbite for Transformers: Universe in 2006.

[edit] Unicron Trilogy

For the Starscream of Transformers: Armada, Transformers: Energon and Transformers: Cybertron, see: Starscream (Unicron Trilogy)

[edit] Live-action Transformers film (2007)

In the upcoming live-action movie, screenwriter Alex Kurtzman has made clear that Starscream will not stray from his treacherous roots as he seeks to overthrow Megatron, and engages in bickering arguments with him. As ever, Starscream transforms into a jet — in this case, an F-22 Raptor — but is bulkier than most incarnations due to the lack of mass displacement and the size of the Raptor jet. He maintains a simian body shape with large shoulders and arms and small bird-like feet, although his chest is still formed by the jet's nose. His arms can become large cannons. Although in keeping with the aesthetic of the movie designs seen this far, the protoform body is more reminiscent of the classic Starscream design, with a chest-cockpit, pectoral intake fans, tailfins on his ankles and triangular shoulder projections and more human-like proportions.

In the prequel novel Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday Starscream is leader of the Decepticons following Megatron's disappearance during his search for the Allspark. He and Megatron loyalist Blackout fight, with Starscream the victor. Starscream also attempts to lure the human crew of the Ghost 1 to his side.^[4]

[edit] Toys

• Movie Preview Starscream (2007)

A deluxe sized figure which represents protoform Starscream in the 2007 movie.

• Movie Starsceam - various

There have been a few images of a movie Starscream toy test shot, one being the deluxe version of the character and the other, presumably, the "Fast-Action Battler" version. Considering that all information on the toy is based on images of test shots and prototypes a view of the final product is not possible. However Seibertron.com currently has an expansive gallery of the deluxe Starscream test shot with a melted face.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• ToyBin G1 Starscream toy Gallery
• Starscream reborn in Beast Wars
• Transformers Episode: The Traitor (part 1) Only complete Transformers Episode on YouTube.
• Transformers Episode: The Traitor (part 2)

Reprolabels' Starscream show-accurate stickers

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