Jetfire/Skyfire Ranked At #10?

Discussion in 'Transformers General Discussion' started by Optimus Convoy, Dec 16, 2008.

  1. Optimus Convoy

    Optimus Convoy Well-Known Member

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    From the tech spec Jetfire/Skyfire is ranked at #10. Didn't think he was ranked that high. So I guess he's more of a 2nd in command to Optimus than Ultra Magnus was. Transformers who are ranked that high are popular characters. But I don't think Jetfire/Skyfire was that popular with the fans as Magnus was. Or was he? Based on the G1 cartoon and comic book, was Jetfire/Skyfire a great character?
     
  2. SureShot90

    SureShot90 Peace=superior firepower

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    He's ranked 10 within his area of operation that is my assumption. Jetfire/Skyfire as character I don't think was that popular, mainly because he was rarely seen in the comics/cartoon... also because of the fact that name and design didn't match the toy. However his toy counterpart is very popular.
     
  3. Caine

    Caine Rise up to the glory!!

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    Up to these days, I still refuse to acknowledge Jetfire is Cybertronian.

    He's a fail Macross reject IMO, and that'll never changes. Well, maybe except for TFA Jetfire.
     
  4. SureShot90

    SureShot90 Peace=superior firepower

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    Well I disagree, he's very cool as a TF with a nice paintjob as a VF-1S. TFA Jetfire is more "fail" than Classics Jetfire.
     
  5. Optimus Sledge

    Optimus Sledge Yar har fiddle di dee

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    Hard to tell if Sky/Jetfire was a great character, he didn't get much time in the comics from what I remember. In both comic and cartoon, he was depicted as switching sides from Decepticon to Autobot. I always liked that the character (in the cartoon) had the moral integrity to go against the only friend he had because that friend was telling him to do something he knew was wrong. Also, the incident undermined some people's "the Decepticons are noble warriors" rubbish by showing Megatron willing to lie to someone to get them on his side.
     
  6. SMOG

    SMOG Vocabchampion ArgueTitan

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    I'm split on Jetfire. In the cartoon, he was pretty ineffectual all around, operating more as an Autobot taxi than anything else.

    I did however like the idea of him being a Decepticon defector. It brings something to the character.

    The comic book/Tech Spec origin suggests that he is the first of a new generation of Autobot super warriors based on technological advances... though of course he was still originally designed to be a Decepticon.

    I usually find his role as a scientist is overplayed, and overshadows his function as "Air Guardian". I don't recall what the Dreamwave or IDW origins are, though in at least one of those versions, he was a Con turncoat as well... obviously his betrayal of the Cons in this case happened much earlier than in the Marvel or Cartoon continuity.

    I actually really like the fact that he has such a high rank. It encourages a more interesting reading of the character... how can a former Decepticon obtain such a rank? How does he function within the Bot hierarchy?

    I remember reading somewhere that for some markets, Hasbro was considering billing Jetfire as the Wave 2 commander of the G1 Autobots. Possibly his high rank is an artifact of that original plan to make him the new leader?...?

    zmog
     
  7. Backstop

    Backstop Have you seen my box art?

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    Skyfire in the show was awsome, As "Fire in the sky" was always a episode I can never forget and to this day is one of my fav's!
     
  8. misternoodle

    misternoodle Banned

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    it's frickin' g1.

    back in the 80's the writers were probably wasted on hookers and blow, that's why you get all the mix-ups.
     
  9. Voiceroy

    Voiceroy Trans-fo-mahs!

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    That's not an accurate assessment for the comic character. When Shockwave created him, he was just a drone stamped with a Decep insignia.

    It wasn't until Prime infused Jetfire with the power of the Matrix that he achieved sentience and finally had a personality. And although he had to "earn" the Autobot's trust before they officially made him an Autobot, I always found it curious that his "Decepticon origin" was such a big deal to the Autobots considering he was previously just a programmed, mindless drone.

    In other words, he didn't "switch sides" because he was never sentient as a Decepticon and never even had a choice in the matter.

    And that's my nerd rant for the day.

    I really liked Jetfire/Skyfire in both the comics and the cartoon, even though neither bothered much to reveal more about his personality. I've also always had a fondness for the toy because it was the first TF I ever owned.

    Y'know, it's funny that even in the comics they couldn't keep Jetfire's continuity straight. In a later ish after his introduction, Jetfire makes a comment to Buster about humans not being able to "bounce" very well, as opposed to the "Ballobots" back on Cybertron. When I read that, I wondered how he would be able to reminisce about a planet he'd never actually been to. I actually sent a letter in about that one, hoping to win a "no-prize" but I don't think it ever got published.
     
  10. Backstop

    Backstop Have you seen my box art?

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    ahhhhhh the good old days lol.....
     
  11. rework

    rework The Voice of Experience

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    Don't really get that one... Does that make the rest of the first couple of years worth of toys fail Diaclone and fail Microman rejects... Among others?

    It wasn't until about the movie that any of the Transformers toys were actually designed to be Transformers. They were all recycled from other toy lines. So why anyone target the single best designed one as "fail"?
     
  12. rework

    rework The Voice of Experience

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    All through the G1 toy line, there was a succession of Autobot leaders who had rank of 10: Op > Jetfire > Rodimus > Fort Max > PM/AM OP

    I believe Megatron is the only Decepticon toy who had a Tech Spec rank of 10 in G1 until the very end when Action Master Gutcruncher shared a 10 with Megs.

    (Does this mean anything? Not really... But I always imagined that although defeated in battles, Megatron survived and continued to plague generation after generation of Autobots.)
     
  13. SMOG

    SMOG Vocabchampion ArgueTitan

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    While that's certainly true, the vagueness of TF genesis in the comics leaves other interpretations.

    For example, it could be that, although a drone, Jetfire had a baseline Decepticon programming... essentially, he was designed on a Con operating system, and was just waiting for a "spark" (though they didn't use that term then). After all, without that base programming, how would Jetfire know anything once he became conscious? How would he know who he was, where he was, who his allies were, how to fight, etc...?

    So the Autobots couldn't be sure that giving him sentience would be enough to assure his loyalty... after all, what does the "gift of life" actually involve? How can you "make" someone good or evil, without the benefit of upbringing? Could Jetfire's original programming resurface? Could Shockwave have planned for such an eventuality?

    Obviously I'm thinking too deeply on this, but there are some ideas there... :) 



    Gutcruncher??? Seriously?

    I guess I really stopped paying attention to those Tech Specs by the time Action Masters came around... :) 

    zmog
     
  14. Nerroth

    Nerroth Alea iacta est.

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    In the West, at least - wouldn't the later G1 Destron leaders have had rank 10?
     
  15. rework

    rework The Voice of Experience

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    I think some were, but yes I was speaking from a Western perspective - Which is kind of appropriate for this thread, since Jetfire didn't exist in the Japanese release - It was a Bandai design and no way was Takara gonna get a license to release it!

    In addition there were some European market releases that also had rank of 10... But from a design and coloration standpoint, I consider those to be the start of G2, even though they don't actually have that moniker.
     
  16. Voiceroy

    Voiceroy Trans-fo-mahs!

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    True. That's definitely something the comics could've explored. And if they had, it definitely would've made Jetfire a more interesting character. Heck, doing *anything* with him would've made him more interesting.

    And you're right about the use and origin of the "Creation Matrix" in the comics being vague. Remember when Megatron siphoned off Prime's matrix to create the Stuntacons as Prime was simultaneously creating the Aerialbots (as the result of Bombshell's implanted cerebroshell in Prime's head, for those who haven't read the comics), that the Stuntacons automatically became Decepticons? Talk about taking liberties with the plot...

    But that's Hasbro for you: "We need these toys introduced into the comics NOW, dammit! We don't care how you work them into the plot, just do it."
     
  17. GAUGE

    GAUGE Wargod ARTS

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    did it ever occur to anybody that the toy version is "10" because he's a "GUARDIAN"

    why not refer to OMEGA SUPREME's Techspech because he too is a "GUARDIAN" or rather a "SENTINEL" for the Autobots.
     
  18. SMOG

    SMOG Vocabchampion ArgueTitan

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    Very true. The release schedule for the comics... one a month in the Americas... really put a limit on how many of the characters could squeeze in much development. Jetfire was certainly one of those that lost out... in favour of guys like Ratchet, Blaster, Ratbat, etc...

    Wow, I totally forgot about that!! The creation of new characters was really vague and dodgy. Unfortunately, at that point contact with Cybertron was more limited, so they couldn't just add new Cybertronians to the cast without raising all sorts of questions. Unfortunately a lot of characters just popped up fresh from the Matrix with ready-made personalities (Aerialbots, Stunticons, Constructicons, Protectobots), and those that didn't also had some issues... like Smokescreen, Grapple, Tracks, Hoist and Skids just being "copies" of their true selves, who Prime left back on Cybertron millions of years previously.

    Yeah, you could tell that emphasis was really hurting the storylines as the series progressed.

    My absolute favourite concise story method for introducing new sentient robots into an ongoing series has to be the origin of HyoRyu and EnRyu in GAOGAIGAR. Their entire origin was contained in a brief montage that ran before the opening credits of the episode, and yet totally convinced me. Granted, they were AI robots created by humans, but it was still very well-played. :) 

    Here's my personal "fanon" timeline for Jetfire's origin... take it or leave it. :) 

    In the early days of the divide between Bots and Cons, Jetfire was an idealistic Decepticon scientist and cohort of Starscream. Shockwave was developing an "enhancement" program to create an ultimate Decepticon warrior to symbolize their ideal of Decepticon airborne supremacy, and passed over Starscream in favour of Jetfire for the upgrade process. Jealous, Starscream backstabbed Jetfire during a test mission, causing him to be lost and left for dead. Recovered by Autobots, Jetfire defected, and during the eons of war on Cybertron (in the Ark's absence), he proved himself many times over and became trusted in the Autobot Ranks. By the time communication was re-established with the Ark crew, Jetfire was one of the most important Autobot leaders on Cybertron and commander of the fledgling Autobot Air Wing. He may also have been responsible for the development of the Aerialbot team...

    This brings together most of his established origin elements... being both a scientist and a warrior, a product of advanced technology, intended by Shockwave to be the next generation of Con warriors, being a former friend of Starscream and defector to the Bot cause... and it gives him time to develop a top position in the Autobot ranks. It also gives a reason for a certain enmity with Shockwave, as Jetfire was his "chosen" one, a torchbearer for the Decepticon cause... and Jetfire threw it away and joined the Autobots.

    zmog