Starscream

Status: Released

Release Date: June 2008 (June 2008)

Wave: Animated Voyager Wave 1

MSRP: $19.99

Size Class: Voyager

Suggested Age: 5+

Assortment Number: 83463

Product Number: 83469

UPC/Barcode Number: 653569293699

DPCI Number: 087-06-0087

Recolors/Reuses: Animated Skywarp , Animated Target Exclusive Sunstorm , Animated Voyager Thundercracker

Voice Actor: Tom Kenny

Cartoon Overview
While most of the DECEPTICONS viewed MEGATRON’s defeat and seemingly extinguished spark as a blow to their cause, STARSCREAM viewed it as an opportunity for his own cause. STARSCREAM has always lived in MEGATRON’s shadow, and it burns him constantly. He feels he’s done as much if not more than MEGATRON in the name of the DECEPTICON cause, but he simply lacks MEGATRON’s charisma to inspire others to follow him. STARSCREAM makes up for this failing with lies, deceit, manipulation and when all else fails…MORE lies, deceit and manipulation. STARSCREAM would love nothing more than to obtain the ALLSPARK himself, win the devotion of the DECEPTICONS and usurp MEGATRON’s rule. He’s driven by jealousy, pure and simple. A Machiavellian manipulator who never met an ally he wasn’t willing to stab in the back to get what he wants.

Starscream was the one who double crossed Megatron, planting a bomb on his back that critically wounded the mighty Decepticon. In his rush to celebrate his victory, though, Starscream remained on the Decepticon ship, even as it drifted into a star. Not one to give up, Starscream remained along aboard the ship for fifty Solar Cycles (1 Solar Cycle = 1 year, give or take), until he found a trace of the Allspark on Earth. Arriving, he went all out in his attempt to get the Allspark, taking hostages including the mayor of New Detroit, Bumblebee, Captain Fanzone and Isaac Sumdac. After an epic battle with the five Autobots, Starscream vanished when the Allspark was opened.
Starscream reappeared following Blitzwing and Lugnut's battle with the Autobots at Lake Erie (Lost and Found). On this occasion he offered the two damaged Decepticons repairs, in exchange for their loyalty.
Once the Decepticons were repaired, Starscream tried to assert his command over the Decepticons, with limited success. When Megatron secretly contacted Lugnut, Starscream at first thought he was talking to him, until Lugnut mentioned Megatron, which caused Starscream to freak out (and almost blurt out "but I killed him!"). Regaining his composure, Starscream scanned Lugnut and found that someone was communicating with Lugnut, and tracked the communication back to the source. He found that Megatron was indeed alive, and started a long-winded half-gloating speech with the Decepticon Leader's head. Unfortunately, his speech was interupted by Bumblebee, which gave Megatron a chance to manipulate the machinery of Sumdac Tower to remove Starscream from the lab where his head was stored. Starscream proceeded to fight Bumblebee, although Megatron kept providing distractions as well, keeping Starscream off balance long enough for Megatron to revive himself. Starscream was as horrified as any Autobot at the sight of the reborn Megatron. With good reason, too - right after he got done with the Autobots Prowl, Bulkhead and Optimus Prime, Megatron used the Allspark Key to deliver an Allspark powered punch to Starscream, which rendered Starscream inoperative.

Starscream, though, true to his past incarnations did not stay offline for long. Thanks to a piece of the Allspark within his head, he is now near immortal! While he can be killed, he will revive soon after and pick up where he left off! Starscream, with a new lease on life, spent much time trying to assassinate Megatron during Mission Accomplished, but Megatron proved too smart for him, and knocked Starscream offline at every turn. Eventually, Starscream changed tactics and set a trap for Megatron, but Megatron saw through it and let the Autobots spring the trap instead. Starscream battled against both Optimus Prime's team and the Elite Guard, holding them all to a standstill, until Optimus Prime managed to slip some stasis cuffs onto Starscream's arms. Defeated, Starscream was taken back to Cybertron by the Elite Guard.

Starscream, like any good Decepticon, did not stay defeated for long. He escaped his prison aboard the Elite Guard ship and blasted his way free before making his way back to Earth. On learning of his escape, Megatron put a bounty on Starscream's head. Starscream countered the plan by creating a pair of clones of himself - one a silver-tongued schemer and the other a total coward. The coward was easily captured by Lockdown and taken to Megatron, while the schemer was intended to convince the Autobots to join him and go after Megatron "for the greater good", although in the end Prowl blasted him then went after the other clone. The end result was the same, though - when Bulkhead brought the other clone to Megatron's location, the two clones both revealed powerful bombs in their chests. Megatron fled, escaping the trap, while the Autobots saved the city by launching the clones high into the air.

When Starscream learned that Megatron had survived, he was angry - however, a new plan was already forming in his mind, and he still had plenty more clones where the other two came from. In A Bridge too Close, Starscream made his move. With a small army of clones he attacked Megatron's base after the Autobots had disabled Lugnut and Blitzwing, and proceeded to have his clones fight Megatron, the Constructicons, and the remaining Autobots to a standstill.
Unfortunately for Starscream, he fell victim to a Headmaster unit piloted by Isaac Sumdac. With his head removed from his body, Starscream must have thought things could not get any worse. But sure enough, they got worse. First, Isaac Sumdac's noble effort was defeated, leaving Starscream's headless body to fall on his now bodyless head. Then, Starscream's head and its Allspark fragment was used to power the Spacebridge - except it was too much for the Spacebridge, and the whole system overloaded. Starscream's severed head was sucked through the Spacebridge, and it was last seen exchanging insults with Megatron as they both drifted through the vastness of space.

Drifting in space, Starscream's head revealed a new ability that even Starscream himself knew nothing about - a sonic scream. With this, he blasted the Stasis Cuffs clean off of Megatron.

Much later, Starscream seized control of Omega Supreme and was able to control the giant far more effectively than Megatron. Indeed, had Megatron not suggested conquering Cybertron, then the Autobots may not have been able to defeat Omega Starscream.

Starscream's head was last seen within Omega Supreme as he transwarped uncontrollably across the cosmos. Starscream's body, meanwhile, crashed into a river after Headmaster used it in an attempt at getting revenge on the Autobots.

Starscream's head was next seen at the end of Decepticon Air. After Omega Supreme warped in near to Lugnut's location, Starscream commented "what, are we picking up hitchhikers now?". Megatron merely backhand slapped Starscream.

Starscream is about as helpful once Megatron brings Omega Supreme to Cybertron in "This is Why I Hate Machines", contributing the occasional snarky remark at his leader's expense, but doing little else to actually help out. Granted, he was still a head!

In "Endgame" after raising tensions between Lugnut and Shockwave to the point where the two became involved in a fistfight, Starscream rolled off to the chamber containing his clone army (from "A Fistful of Energon"). There he built a new body for himself, using one of the Protoforms stolen from Yoketron by Lockdown. Megatron arrived and destroyed all the other clone bodies, leaving Starscream with the body he was in only. After Megatron revealed his plan to clone Omega Supreme, Starscream assisted in the cloning process, but made a move for power when Shockwave extracted the Omega Supreme Activation Code from Arcee. Starscream tried to take the codes for himself, but was shoved out of the way by Lugnut. Megatron promptly blew Starscream to pieces, telling Starscream that he had now served his purpose. The remains of Starscream's torso were left lying on the surface of the moon. However, this was not the end of Starscream! Thanks to his Allspark-induced immortality, Starscream was able to put himself back together, and flew off to Earth to witness first hand the death of Megatron at the hands of the booby traps he planted on the Omega Supreme clones. This proved to be Starscream's undoing, as the Allspark fragment within him reacted to Prowl and Jazz's Processor Over Matter gathering of Allspark fragments. With the Allspark fragment within his head torn free by the Cyber Ninja technique, Starscream's body crashed down onto the highway below Sumdac Tower and turned gray, indicating that Starscream was finally dead and not coming back.

A version of Starscream was also seen in Soundwave's virtual reality in "Human Error". Starscream took great pleasure in attacking New Detroit and terrorizing the humans, until eventually he was defeated by Prowl, who had gained some nifty Matrix-esque powers upon realizing that they were in a virtual reality.

Powers and Abilities

Starscream is one of the more powerful Decepticons, possessing twin energy cannons mounted on his arms. He is also incredibly fast and maneuverable in jet mode. That said, Starscream is not very durable compared to Megatron or Lugnut and can be knocked out of action - if you can hit him.

As of Mission Accomplished, Starscream possesses another ability - near immortality. If Starscream is taken offline, he will revive soon after. Although slightly disoriented each time, Starscream is now basically unkillable! Perhaps the only way to stop him now would be to destroy his body, but would that finish him off - or would he just come back as a ghost instead?

In A Fistful of Energon, Starscream demonstrated an ability to divide his Allspark fragment to create clones of himself, each characterised by one of Starscream's key characteristics, although this ability would not be fully explored until A Bridge Too Close.

In "Transwarped", Starscream's head demonstrated another new ability - a sonic scream (although this was talked about in the original press release for the series, it was never seen until Transwarped Part 1).

Vehicle Mode Appearance: Harrier Jet.

IDW Overview Starscream's inability to fly starships comes to the fore in The Arrival #1. After dismissing Blackarachnia's suggestion of an alliance to search for the Allspark (and shoving Blackarachnia out of an airlock) Starscream was warned of an imminent planetary collision - and promptly crashed straight into the moon. After Starscream was defeated at the end of Transform and Roll Out, he was found by Professor Princess, Transformers Animated: The Arrival Issue 2 reveals. Professor Princess was willing to help Starscream, provided he asked nicely and said please, and in return, she prettied him up (wig, lipstick, eyeliner, and a nice rainbow mural on his wings). When Starscream came back online, he threatened to kill Professor Princess for this humiliating makeover, but Professor Princess had the last laugh - she'd set up a system whereby the image of the "prettier" Starscream would be broadcast around the world if anything happened to her or Powdered Sugar. Starscream reluctantly let her live. Of course, given how Bulkhead destroyed Powdered Sugar soon after, the question is, was the image broadcast as threatened?

IDW Appearances Animated The Arrival Part 1 Animated The Arrival Part 2

Notes

Bio posted on Hasbro's official Transformers Animated page

STARSCREAM has always lived in MEGATRON'S shadows and it burns him constantly. He feels that he has done much more in the name of DECEPTICONS than MEGATRON, but he simply lacks the charisma to inspire others. STARSCREAM makes up for this shortcoming with lies, deceit, manipulation, and when that fails, MORE lies, deceit, and manipulation. STARSCREAM would love nothing more than to obtain the ALLSPARK for himself, win the devotion of fellow DECEPTICONS, and usurp MEGATRON'S rule. He is driven by jealousy, pure and simple.

ROBOT MODE POWER: "Nullray Cannons"
STARSCREAM'S main weapons are his arm cannons. He has incredible speed, maneuverability, and hovering capabilities. He flies rings around the AUTOBOTS. In addition, as his name indicates he creates a sonic scream that make powerful sonic blasts of sound that can send enemies spinning through the atmosphere.

* Fastest vehicle mode of any DECEPTICON.
* Aerial assault and tactical blitz expert.
* Sonic shock blasters shatter metal and disrupt electronics.



Official Cartoon Network Press Release Bio:

While most of the DECEPTICONS viewed MEGATRON’s defeat and seemingly extinguished spark as a blow to their cause, STARSCREAM viewed it as an opportunity for his own cause. STARSCREAM has always lived in MEGATRON’s shadow, and it burns him constantly. He feels he’s done as much if not more than MEGATRON in the name of the DECEPTICON cause, but he simply lacks MEGATRON’s charisma to inspire others to follow him. STARSCREAM makes up for this failing with lies, deceit, manipulation and when all else fails…MORE lies, deceit and manipulation. STARSCREAM would love nothing more than to obtain the ALLSPARK himself, win the devotion of the DECEPTICONS and usurp MEGATRON’s rule. He’s driven by jealousy, pure and simple. A Machiavellian manipulator who never met an ally he wasn’t willing to stab in the back to get what he wants.

Robot Mode Power: STARSCREAM has incredible speed, maneuverability, and hovering capabilities. He can fly rings round the AUTOBOTS. In addition, he can affect a sonic scream and produce powerful blasts of sound that can send enemies spinning through the atmosphere.



Other Comic Information

Titan UK

Starscream - with his clone army - attacked and took over the Autobot base in Transformers #17. Starscream explained that Megatron was forever shutting down his hideouts wherever he made them, so he'd hide in base of Megatron's enemies, the last place he'd ever look. However, even though Starscream managed to defeat and capture all five Autobots, he overlooked Sari, which proved to be his downfall when Sari came back with the Dinobots to help retake the Autobot base and drive off Starscream and the clones.

(This story seems to contradict the idea that the Decepticons do not know where the Autobot base is. Then again, it also features a talking Swoop and Snarl so it is not considered in continuity with the rest of the series. Starscream's clones in this story are all exact copies of the original, with the same colors and similar personalities)

Starscream made a brief appearance in Titan UK's Transformers Animated #3. He was assisting the human, Roland Cross - aka Crossroad - in his bid to bring New Detroit to its knees by providing Cross with a piece of Megatron to power up Cross' gauntlets. Starscream's goal appeared to be bringing the Autobots to their knees - however, if he had any deeper goal, it was not explored in the comic due to its cancellation following the publication of this story.

Appearances

Titan UK Transformers #17
Titan UK Transformers Animated Comic #3 - Crossroads

Jetfire & Jetstorm Pack-In Comic

During his time in captivity with the Elite Guard between Mission Accomplished and A Fistful of Energon, Ultra Magnus was able to download a sample of the Decepticon flight protocol (which he explains is unique to Decepticons). Because of the tampering with Starscream's code, Starscream is able to escape from the stasis cuffs (explaining how he was able to escape from Elite Guard captivity in the early moments of A Fistful of Energon).

However, the Elite Guard got the necessary data to create two flying Autobots - Jetfire and Jetstorm. However the powerful new Autobots soon got very cocky in their training, so Ultra Magnus decided to give them a taste of real combat. Perceptor suggested putting them into a combat simulator using Starscream's code to give them a taste of a real fight against a Decepticon. However, Starscream's code proved as tricky as the real thing and quickly overrode the simulation, placing Jetfire and Jetstorm in real trouble, because as long as VR Starscream held the upper hand, the Elite Guard could do nothing to disengage the twins from the simulator. Fortunately, the stress of the battle revealed some new abilities in the twins, not least their ability to fuse into a combined super robot, Safeguard. Shortly after Perceptor was able to regain control over the simulation and abort it, before the twins were seriously hurt.

Appearances

Transformers Animated: Rise of Safeguard

Contributors: Tony_Bacala, Sol Fury, Tim Formas, GogDog

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