Sunstreaker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sunstreaker (Solo in France, Lince in Italy) is a fictional character from The Transformers.
| Transformers character | |
 Sunstreaker Box Art |
|
| Sunstreaker | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Autobot  |
| Sub-Group | Autobot Cars |
| Function | Warrior |
| Partner | Junko Shiragami |
| Motto | "They can't beat the best." |
| Alternate Modes | Cybertronian Car Lamborghini Countach Lamborghini Diablo Dodge Viper Cobra Stinger |
| Series | Transformers: Generation 1 Transformers: Universe Transformers: Alternators |
| Voiced by | Corey Burton (English) |
Contents |
[edit] Transformers: Generation 1 (1984)
Sunstreaker was one of the first generation of Autobots in the original Transformers television series. He was the twin brother of Sideswipe, another Autobot, and like him also turned into a Lamborghini Countach. His alternate mode however, was yellow and had a modification in the form of an engine that sticks out the back. He was described as the ultimate egotist, being notoriously difficult to work with and pair up with anyone else besides Sideswipe, and described himself as the most beautiful thing ever. He was also a cold, ruthless and effective fighter who would do anything to win.
He is one of the few original Autobots to have appearantly survived the attack on Autobot City. He unlike his twin Sideswipe had a brief appearance in the movie as the pilot of the shuttle carrying the detachment of Autobot reinforcements to earth. This was his last appearance in the series.
The complete egotist, Sunstreaker thinks he is the most beautiful thing on Earth. Loves his sleek styling, contemptuous of other Autobot race cars (particularly his twin Sideswipe). Fires laser-guided ground-to-air rockets and high energy electron pulses at 300 bursts/sec. Tough polymer-steel skin resists artillery. Not a team player. Can be baited into dangerous situations, but is a very calm, competent, and ruthless war machine.
Oddly, Sunstreaker's Tech Specs and Transformers Universe profile mentions Sideswipe's rear mounted engine, which is a feature on the Sunstreaker toy. The missile launcher and gun in Sunstreaker's profile are found on the Sideswipe toy. The mix-up may have been due to the Diaclone toy decos. The toy used for Sideswipe had three Diaclone versions: red, yellow, and police, while the Sunstreaker mold was released only in red and police decos. This might also explain the red stickers behind Sunstreaker's rear wheels.
According to original tech spec notes written by Bob Budiansky found at Iacon One in 2006 the original name for Sunstreaker was Spinout. Also according to these notes the numbers for Sunstreaker and Sideswipe's tech specs were not switched, just their bios.
[edit] Animated Series
Sunstreaker was one of several Autobots who glommed onto Hoist's job as a Hollywood extra in the hopes of becoming a movie star. This mainly resulted in him wearing a ridiculous alien mask and spouting out stilted, wooden dialogue.
Sunstreaker appeared in two places at once in the Transformers movie. Before the Decepticon attack on Autobot City, Sunstreaker was helping Kup move a roadblock. He was knocked over when Hot Rod and Daniel Witwicky drove through it. Meanwhile, he was also on Moon Base One and helped pilot the shuttle that flew Optimus Prime and the Dinobots to Autobot City.
[edit] Marvel Comics
Sunstreaker is the complete egotist. He feels he is simply the most beautiful thing on Earth. He is constantly discussing his sleek lines, his aerodynamic styling and he is loudly and continually grateful to the Ark for giving him such a magnificent body. Sunstreaker is faintly contemptuous of the other sportscar Autobots, particularly his fraternal twin Sideswipe, whose design, he says, is spoiled by the rearmounted engine in his automobile mode. When he is in his robot mode, Sunstreaker is the most dangerous, most ruthless of the group; a calm, competent war machine. His biggest fault is his tendency to stop so that people can admire him when he ought to be tending to business.
In Autobot mode, Sunstreaker wears a right shoulder-mounted, laser-guided, ground-to-air missile launcher. Each missile is the equivalent of 450 lbs. of TNT and can down a Decepticon jet fighter at a maximum distance of 37.5 miles. He also carries an electron-pulse gun capable of emitting at 300 bursts per second a beam of highly energized electrons (the high rate of emission makes it effectively a continuous stream of electrons). A sustained burst of 1.5 seconds will burn a 3 inch hole in a .5 inch-thick plate of titanium-alloy steel. His upper torso construction incorporates a tough polymer-steel skin, making him particularly resistant to artillery fire.
A potent arsenal and tough hide like Sunstreaker's would be sufficient to preclude any serious weaknesses, if it weren't for his ego and sociopathic tendencies. His inability to be a team player and overriding lust for battle often diminish his overall value to the Autobots, and the ease with which he can be baited by anyone, including adversaries, often puts his well-being in serious jeopardy.
In the US Marvel Comics, Sunstreaker made his debut in Issue 1 as one of the Autobots who travelled on the Ark to destroy the asteroid field that threatened Cybertron and subsequently crash landed on Earth. After being revived, Sunstreaker was given his sports car form. He was involved in some of the early skirmishes with the Decepticons, but was rendered inactive when the Autobots ran out of fuel. When Shockwave captured the Ark he damaged the inert Sunstreaker so badly that Ratchet was unable to repair him with the other Autobots. He remained inactive for several years.
Eventually he was mended, and made a rare appearance when Grimlock and Blaster battled for leadership on the Moon. It may be assumed that he was rendered inactive again when the Decepticons launched a surprise attack in the same issue.
Sunstreaker did not appear again until Grimlock revived him along with a number of other Autobots using the healing substance nucleon. He then travelled with Grimlock to Cybertron where he was involved in the battle against Unicron. His status and whereabouts after this battle are unknown.
[edit] Marvel UK Comics
An injured Sunstreaker, along with several other Autobots, was awakened not by Nucleon, but by Galvatron's Dream-Inducing Bug. Galvatron had studied their dreams in the aim of finding dissenting members of the Autobots that he hoped to put into his own employ, but after a short skirmish, Galvatron's device was placed on himself.
Later, Sunstreaker was sent on a new mission to the Stanix region of Cybertron with Silverbolt, Ironhide, Wheeljack, Jazz, and Inferno by Optimus Prime. While there, he overcame the ghosts of the past and helped defeat the mad Decepticon Megadeath.
[edit] Dreamwave Comics
Sunstreaker is the twin brother of Sideswipe. Before the civil war between the Autobots and the Decepticons, Sunstreaker was an artist. After the war broke out he joined the Autobots, but some who knew his violent dispositon joked that he didn't join the Decepticons simply because their purple logo clashed with his paint job.
When Decepticon leader Megatron and Autobot leader Optimus Prime disappeared in an accident with a space bridge, the Autobot and Decepticon forces splintered into smaller factions. Sunstreaker stayed with the Autobots under the leadership of Prowl.
When the Fallen attacked the Autobot base in order to capture Blitzwing, Sunstreaker was among the Autobots who tried to stop him.
Sunstreaker was among the Autobots who followed Optimus Prime on his mission on board the Ark and crash landed on Earth.
In 1984, when the Ark's computer re-activated, it reformatted Sunstreaker in the form of an Earth car.
Eventually the combined forces of the Autobots on Earth, and their human allies were able to capture the Decepticons. A ship called the Ark II was built to take the Cybertronians back to Cybertron, along with some human companions, but the ship exploded shortly after takeoff. The human allies were killed, but the Cybertronians were lost in the ocean, again in statis lock.
After Spike Witwicky used a piece of the Matrix to revive Optimus Prime, Optimus traveled to the remote shoreline where he was recovered and used the Matrix to revive Jazz, Mirage, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Superion, Trailbreaker and Wheeljack (Transformers: Generation One #2).
When Ultra Magnus came to Earth claiming that the Earth-based Autobots were Cybertronian criminals Optimus Prime surrendered and with the majority of Autobots returned to Cybertron. Jazz was left in charge of the Ark, with Brawn, Ratchet, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Wheeljack and Windcharger assigned to him.
Returning to Earth with the Combaticons, Starscream reformatted them into Earth-style vehicles and attacked the Autobots remaining on Earth. Forming Bruticus, the Combaticons defeated Jazz, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Wheeljack and Windcharger. Only Ratchet and Brawn escaped capture, but as they made their way back to the Ark, they discovered it's defenses on automatic, and had to fight their way inside. Bruticus followed them and Ratchet had to destroy the Ark in failed attempt to destroy Bruticus. Starscream eventually captured Ratchet and Brawn, right as an Autobot shuttle and Sunstorm arrived on Earth (Transformers: Generation One III #1).
Jazz, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were repaired by the Earth Defense Command.
Jazz commanded Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Bumper in investigating the Insecticons for the Earth Defense Command.
Jazz, Warpath, Bumper, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker rejoined Windcharger and Wheeljack, who were also repaired by the Earth Defense Command. They all rejoined Ratchet on board the Autobot ship Orion (Transformers: Generation One III #9).
Brawn, Grapple, Hoist, Jazz, Omega Supreme, Prowl, Red Alert, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were among the Autobots who continued work on Autobot City (Transformers: Generation One III #13).
[edit] Devil's Due Comics
In this reimagining of the Generation One story, 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 Sideswipe and Sunstreaker both turned into a Cobra Stingers.
[edit] IDW Publishing
In IDW Publishing's new The Transformers: Infiltration mini-series, Sunstreaker is part of an infiltration unit consisting of Ratchet, Ironhide, Wheeljack, Bumblebee and Jazz, led by Prowl. He has not played a major role thus far, other than to accompany the other Autobots to the Decepticon base to watch the duel between Megatron and a super-powered Starscream, saving Bumblebee from Runabout at one point.
[edit] Transformers: Universe (2003)
Recently Hasbro and Takara had produced new toys of Sunstreaker. The first being Hasbro's Official Transformers Collectors' Convention 2003 exclusive toy, which was a repaint of RiD Prowl. Collectors who stayed at the Hyatt Regency hotel where the convention was held, were entitled to purchase this exclusive.
Sunstreaker would appear again as a Botcon Transformers Convention exclusive toy, a remold and of Robots in Disguise Prowl painted in his yellow color scheme.
In the comic story found in issue 8 of the Transformers Collectors Club magazine Cybertron/Robots in Disguise Optimus Prime told the story of the last battle he was in, set in the Transformers: Universe storyline. Alongside 10th Anniversary Optimus Primal they attacked the last of Unicron's forces when Unicron suddenly disappeared, and they barely escaped. Among the Autobot forces were Universe Fireflight, King Atlas, Universe Night Slash Cheetor, Universe Longhorn, Universe Prowl, Universe Repugnus, Rhinox, Universe Side Burn, Sideswipe, Universe Silverbolt, Sunstreaker, Tap-Out, Trailbreaker, Cybertron/Robots in Disguise Ultra Magnus and Universe Whirl. Among the Decepticons were Universe Blackaracknia, Nemesis Strika, Universe Obsidian, Universe Razorclaw, Reptilion and Universe Skywarp.
[edit] Binaltech/Alternators (2005)
In 2004, prototypes of a remolded Binaltech/Alternator Sideswipe toy were leaked, and it beared a great resemblance to Sunstreaker. However when it was released, Takara & Hasbro surprised fans by releasing him as the Decepticon Dead End, in different colour scheme and faction to reflect the former Stunticon.
About 2 years after the release of Dead End, and with much prodding from the fandom, Takara launched a new sub-line called 'Binaltech Asterisk' (BT*), with one of the first releases being Sunstreaker himself. Sunstreaker is partnered with - for unknown reasons - the human "race queen" model Junko Shiragami, and acts as her car. Once, Sunstreaker got in a race with a human-driven sports car, much to Junko's dismay. He used his transformation ability to take a particularly sharp curve, destroying a road sign in the process, for which Junko chewed him out.
It is said that Sunstreaker drives faster when he smells Junko's marigold-scented hair.
During December of 2005, Hasbro released Sunstreaker as Alternators #18
[edit] External links
- Champions RPG character sheet for Sunstreaker.
- http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4725770 - Walmart Sunstreaker page.
- http://www.bwtf.com/binaltech/sunstreaker/ - Review of Sunstreaker and Junko
