TRANSFORMERS: Revisiting the Characters of Generation 1 - STARSCREAM

 TRANSFORMERS:  Revisiting the Characters of Generation 1

    "Conquest is made of the ashes of one's enemies!" - Starscream, 1984.


DECEPTICON
Name - STARSCREAM
Function - Air Commander
Series Debut - 1984 / Wave 1
Sub-Group - None (1984), Pretender (1989), Action Master (1990)



BACKGROUND...

    Starscream was the Air Commander for the Decepticon forces.  Although this position put several air warriors under his authority, it was not enough.  He wanted complete control!  Starscream often took any opportunity to take command from his leader - Megatron, but never fully succeeded.

    He was part of Megatron's crew as they left Cybertron and followed the Autobots into space.  After a brief battle, both factions were aboard the Autobot spacecraft when it lost control and subsequently crash-landed on Earth.  Reactivated in 1984 by the Autobot computer, Teletran 1, Starscream was given the form of an Earth-style F-15 jet.  Stuck on Earth, the Decepticons planned to steal the energy from the planet to re-power Cybertron.

    Starscream was a great Decepticon warrior, but a treacherous one.  After too many attempts to push Megatron aside, he was eventually banished from the Decepticons.  Inspired now more than ever to take command, Starscream returned to Cybertron.  Once there he stole the personality components of 5 Renegade Decepticons.  Returning to Earth, he built them new bodies and renamed them - the Combaticons.  He made a valiant attempt to bully Megatron aside with his new army and was almost successful, but ultimately the plan failed.

    By 2005, Starscream was residing on the re-conquered Cybertron with the other Decepticons.  He joined Megatron in an attack to critically strike the Autobots by destroying Autobot City on Earth.  As the Decepticons invaded an Autobot shuttle, Starscream took the first shot with Megatron in gun mode, taking down the Autobot - Brawn.  During the battle on Earth, Starscream took a lot of damage, including blasting his own foot to avoid getting crushed by the transforming city.  Despite his injuries, Starscream was in better shape than most and took part in evicting several of their wounded to make room for survivors as they made their escape.  The opportunity was too great to not take advantage of... and Starscream tossed Megatron out the door to die in space with the others.  


    Finally the command of the Decepticons was his!  The victory did not last for long though.  As a crowning ceremony began, a trio of mysterious Decepticons stormed in.  Galvatron, a reformatted Megatron, vaporized Starscream in one shot and took over command of the Decepticons for himself. 

    Death was not the end for Starscream as he returned to haunt the Autobots and Decepticons as a ghost.  He eventually struck a deal with the head of Unicron and Starscream was given a new body.  Only to be blasted out into space shortly after.

    Later, he somehow returned as a "Pretender".  He was now outfitted with a human-looking shell that would hide his robot body inside.  Once he exited the shell, he could control it and battle as two.  The shell could fly thanks to it's jetpack and it carried a thermal carbine weapon that could either freeze or melt metal.

    Eventually, Starscream would be exposed to the chemical Nucleon and turned into a "Action Master".   Now he had enhanced power, but it took away his ability to transform.  Without his jet mode, Starscream flew a vehicle called the Turbo Jet which could convert to an flying air chariot.

    Though he has many failures under his belt, Starscream is a dangerous enemy - to everyone!  His only known weakness is his arrogance!


MY THOUGHTS...

    Starscream was my first Transformer EVER!  I don't know if it was his colorful personality, or the cool look of his jet mode in the package, but he was the first one I bought.  This figure was great and had a cool transform.  I liked that his color scheme was bright, compared to the other Decepticon jets.  As their leader, someone like Starscream needs to stand out!

    Starscream was a key component to keeping the Transformer franchise interesting!  To have this conniving, treacherous, mouthy, back-stabber constantly trying to undermine anyone standing next to him, always had you wondering what he would try next.  You couldn't turn your back on him, even if you were on the same side!  In the rare occasions that he was "playing well with others", you still couldn't trust a word he said.  You never knew what he was up to and that was a spark that would keep you watching or reading.  Once he was removed from the main cast following his "death", that contrast in the Decepticon army was sorely missed!

    My friends and I, back in those days were always picking "our" Dreadnok, or Constructicon, or whatever.  We also picked "our" Decepticon Jet.  My buddy Knightmare, that has contributed to this blog on "One Word Reviews", chose Starscream.

    Starscream's stand-ins for this write-up include 2 different figures from the Heroes Of Cybertron PVC line and 1 from the Kingdom: War For Cybertron series!

Starscream and the troops under his command, from the 1985 Transformers Hasbro catalog!!

    (Information on the character's lore was taken from the Sunbow Transformers cartoon series, including the Movie and the figure's original Tech-Spec.)

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