Blitzwing

Blitzwing

Decepticon
Information
Sub-group	Triple Changer
Function	Ground and Air Commando
Rank	7
Motto	"Destroy first, think later."
Alternate modes	MiG-25/Type 74 Main Battle Tank Cybertronian Tank/Jet Fighter
Series	Transformers: Generation 1
English voice actor	Ed Gilbert (Television series) David Boat (Transformers: Devastation)
Japanese voice actor	Keiichi Nanba (Television series) Kenyū Horiuchi ("Triple Takeover" only) Yū Shimaka ("Cosmic Rust" & "Prime Target" only) Masashi Ebara (Movie, Transformers: 2010)

Blitzwing is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers series. He is always depicted as a Decepticon with two alternate forms, that of a jet and that of a tank.

Transformers: Generation 1

Blitzwing is a Decepticon triple changer, capable of transforming into a Type 74 main battle tank and a MiG-25 jet fighter.^[1] His fellow Decepticon triple changers are Astrotrain and Octane. He was named among the top selling toys in 1985 by Playthings magazine.^[2]

A battle-loving Decepticon warrior, Blitzwing frequently uses his jet mode to strafe land-bound Autobots, then quickly transforms to tank mode to finish them off with his powerful energy mortar. In robot mode, he prefers to use his electron scimitar to fight foes one on one.^[3]

Marvel Comics

Blitzwing would first appear in the Transformers comics in the Target 2006 arc of the U.K. comics. Along with the other Triple Changers, Macabre, the three Insecticons, and the seekers Dirge, Thrust and Ramjet, they are the Decepticons' most feared killers and have to be taken out before a major Autobot uprising can take place. Megatron inadvertently scuppered the plan by summoning the Insecticons to Earth.

Blitzwing's first appearance in the U.S. comics would be in issue 29, sent to Earth along with Astrotrain and Octane to retrieve a crashed shuttle which was carrying fuel for one of Ratbat's operations. However, the shuttle was infected with Scraplets, a plague of sentient micro-robots that ate metal and the dying pilot then accidentally infected them. After battling with Blaster and Goldbug, they became infected as well. Goldbug eventually found the cure — water, but Blaster refused to let Goldbug spray them, reluctant to save the Decepticons. The Scraplets took matters out of his hands, however, and formed into one huge creature. Options spent, Goldbug cured all four Transformers and let the heavily armed Decepticons deal with it. The three Triple Changers then escaped with the cargo. It should be noted that Blitzwing is portrayed as being mindlessly cruel.

With the influx of new toys, like Headmasters, Targetmasters and Pretenders, older Decepticons like Blitzwing appeared less. He was part of Ratbat's forces, launching a major raid on the Autobots to recover various captured Decepticons before being cleaved in half by Grimlock.

Presumably repaired, he was next seen battling Scorponok's Decepticons and then the Autobots. He was then deactivated by the Underbase-powered Starscream and did not appear again in the U.S. comics.

He has appeared sporadically in the U.K. comics; at one point recovering the clone of Megatron from the Thames with Dirge, Thrust and Ramjet for Shockwave to battle Galvatron. He also appeared in the Earthforce stories as part of the Decepticons of Megatron and Shockwave's forces, in one notable instance leaving Octane to be blasted by the U.S. army after it was revealed he had simply been chasing a car out of sheer spite — unaware that the car was actually Jazz. In the alternate movie-themed future of the U.K. comics he is indicated to be the leader of the Triple Changers.

Blitzwing made an appearance in the Decepticon forces under the command of Megatron in issue #7 of the Marvel Generation 2 comic series, in a story called "New Dawn." Megatron lead his Decepticons against Jhiaxus's second generation Cybertronians near the moon of Tykos. The Decepticons were defeated and Megatron left injured, presumed dead, but swearing revenge.^[4]

Animated series

Blitzwing was a minor character who appeared in the second and third seasons of the animated series; very rarely did he stand out other than as a fierce warrior known more for his strength and abilities than his intelligence. His debut came in the episode "Dinobot Island." On one episode "Triple Takeover" he and Astrotrain managed to take command of the Decepticons by freezing Megatron and Starscream — but when they were defeated by Megatron, Megatron forcibly resumed command at gunpoint.^[5]

After this Blitzwing was seemingly let back into the Decepticons, being sent alongside Astrotrain in "Prime Target" to forge an alliance with the big-game hunter Lord Cholmondeley, although Cholmondeley had no interest in the Decepticons, merely wishing to hunt the ultimate prey, Optimus Prime.

In The Transformers: The Movie, Blitzwing was present at the Battle of Autobot City, targeting Hot Rod and Daniel Witwicky. He was taken out by Kup, who engineered a collision between him and Shrapnel, with the two of Decepticons falling off a mountain. During the actual attack on the city, Blitzwing narrowly escaped from being hit by an oncoming Optimus, who was running down Decepticons in his trailer truck mode. Blitzwing was later seen fighting with the Decepticons on who would be Megatron's successor.

Blitzwing had a somewhat significant part to play in the 5-part episode "Five Faces of Darkness". When the defeated Decepticons were convinced by the Quintessons to launch a full frontal assault on Cybertron, Blitzwing stayed behind, awaiting the return of Galvatron. Later, when Galvatron and the Quintessons joined forces to defeat the Autobots, Galvatron sent Blitzwing to report back to the Quintessons. Blitzwing subsequently discovered the Quintessons' treachery and their plan to paralyze all the Transformers and take Cybertron for themselves. However, when he tried to warn Galvatron, the Decepticon leader, who had been driven insane after the destruction of Unicron, did not believe him and knocked him down, telling him to "tell it to the Autobots". Blitzwing resorted to telling Rodimus Prime about the Quintessons' plan, and stopped a group of Sharkticons sent to trigger the shut down mechanism. Galvatron followed them, thinking Blitzwing a traitor, and triggered the shut down himself, causing all the Transformers to freeze. The Quintessons came down to claim Cybertron for themselves, but Spike Witwicky destroyed the fail safe device, unfreezing the Transformers. Galvatron, now realizing their treachery, chases after the Quintessons, who barely escape. Galvatron was about to restart the fighting between the Decepticons and the Autobots, but Blitzwing stood in the way, threatening him. Backing down, Galvatron left with the other Decepticons, telling Blitzwing that he was no longer welcome in their ranks, and would suffer for his betrayal. The Triple Changer refused Rodimums Prime's offer to become an Autobot but stated that he respected the Autobots.

Blitzwing would briefly appear twice more as a part of the Decepticon forces in later episodes, but it is unclear if these were animation errors or not. The episode "Starscreams Ghost" was originally written for Blitzwing, but was hastily rewritten to star Octane (who was a new toy at the time).

Transformers: Headmasters

He is clearly shown fighting alongside his fellow Decepticon Triple Changers again in the Japanese anime, The Headmasters. Maybe he was reintegrated on Decepticon's ranks with the parole of Scorponok

Books

Blitzwing was featured in the 1985 Find Your Fate Junior book called Battle Drive by Barbara Siegel and Scott Siegel.^[6]

Blitzwing appeared in the 1986 story book Galvatron's Air Attack by Ladybird Books.^[7]

Dreamwave Productions

The Triple Changers would appear again in Dreamwave's reinterpretation of the Generation One Universe — this time with a greatly expanded origin. First appearing during Shockwave's attack on Iacon city along with Astrotrain, Bludgeon, Brawl, Chopshop, Dirge, Frenzy, Octane, Onslaught, Ramjet, Tantrum, Venom and Vortex.

Blitzwing would appear again as one of the four Transformers needed by the Fallen for the unbinding.

During the civil war on Cybertron, Shockwave envisioned a Transformer with multiple alternate modes, studying Astrotrain and Blitzwing. However, the Great Shutdown meant his plans could go no further — until Unicron's servant Scourge located Cybertron and reactivated him for study. When Shockwave was attacked by Sharkticons Scourge saved him, only to be shot in the back by Shockwave. Shockwave then proceeded to examine and study him, using the secrets gleaned to create first the Duocons and then the Triple Changers — Astrotrain, Blitzwing, Octane and the Autobots Sandstorm and Broadside (interestingly, in the Micromasters mini-series by Dreamwave, Blitzwing and Astrotrain are suffering from severe physical changes. As this is before the Great Shutdown, this might imply that the change was a natural one rather than a result of experiments).

The Triple Changers then served as Shockwave's bodyguards, accompanying him to Earth to capture Optimus Prime and Megatron's troops, with Blitzwing taking down Megatron, leaving him vulnerable for a follow-up attack by Shockwave. Blitzwing was himself taken down by Grimlock. They were unable to prevent him from being stopped by Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus back on Cybertron, but Astrotrain and Blitzwing accompanied Shockwave on his exile in the wastes of Cybertron, where his experiments resulted in Sixshot.

However, the arrival of Megatron and the Predacons resulted in Shockwave having his arm severed by Megatron. The rest of Shockwave's troops surrendered, but Blitzwing was seemingly killed by Razorclaw. In a later issue a shadowy figure (presumably Sixshot) discovers his severed head.

Blitzwing is the subject of two continuity errors in the Dreamwave universe. In a flashback to the building of the Ark 2 in the Generation One comics, Blitzwing is seen among the captured and deactivated Decepticons, despite being seen to arrive with Shockwave's troops in the second series. Also, in the War Within series, during Shockwave's attack on Iacon City Blitzwing is seen to transform between two alternate modes, despite the rest of the series establishing he did not become a Triple Changer until much later.

Devil's Due Publishing

Blitzwing appeared in the second Devil's Due series reformatted into a small passenger airplane by Teletran 3.

In the third crossover between G.I. Joe and the Transformers from Devil's Due Publishing, Blitzwing appeared as part of the Decepticon air attack on the Autobot Capital City, led by Sixshot, but was driven off by Omega Supreme.

IDW Publishing

After Dreamwave's closure, the rights to the Transformers comics were taken up by IDW Publishing. They have begun to publish their own new material, including a miniseries called Infiltration featuring some of the Generation One Transformers. In Infiltration, Starscream is in command of a small group of Decepticons on Earth consisting of Skywarp, Thundercracker, Astrotrain, Blitzwing, and the Battlechargers Runabout and Runamuck.

Starscream had discovered an energon ore 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. Blitzwing appeared as part of Starscream's elimination squad along with Skywarp, disposing of any evidence of their operation on Earth. While bombing an abandoned base, Blitzwing battled Ratchet, who shot him down. However, Ratchet's inexperience in battling Triple Changers allowed Blitzwing to change to his tank mode and blast Ratchet.

Completing their bombing runs, Blitzwing and Skywarp were confronted by a far more dangerous threat — the Decepticon leader Megatron, who had come to Earth to find out why Starscream's unit had broken cover. Megatron, reacting to the treacherous Decepticons, shot Skywarp out of the sky while the surprised and afraid Blitzwing futilely engaged his leader in tank mode, only to be grabbed by the barrel and repeatedly slammed into the ground, seriously damaging him. However, Blitzwing did survive, as Megatron put his crippled subordinates in CR tanks after dealing with Starscream.

In The Transformers: Escalation #1, he is seen to have been repaired since his battle with Megatron, and he quickly accepted the Decepticon leader's ultimatum of no second chances. Accompanying Megatron to the disputed Soviet border state of Brasnya, Blitzwing used his Soviet tank mode to make it appear as if the Russians were attacking. However, Blitzwing then got an unexpected bonus — Optimus Prime himself, utterly unaware of his presence — or so it seemed. As Blitzwing prepared to fire he was taken out by Prime's Roller drone.

In The Transformers: Devastation he is seen to have recovered & fully functional from his injuries that he received from Optimus Prime's Roller Drone in the battle at Brasnya, while in there Siege Bunker at Oregon, he & the rest of the Decepticons monitor Sixshot, while he is on his mission to destroy the Autobots, believing Megatron to have "lost it" he and Astrotrain proceed to a sealed chamber in the Bunker to release Starscream, as he was locked away after recovering from his Near-Fatal Confrontation with Megatron. The Reapers then arrive on Earth & attack the Decepticon Bunker, Megatron orders all Decepticons to engage, Blitzwing survives the battle against the Reapers & avoids his "Dismemberment" from Megatron, as Starscream steps in and convinces Megatron, that he needs all his Decepticons as they have been discovered by the Humans

In All Hail Megatron #1 he is seen only in his Fighter Mode with Starscream, Thundercraker, Skywarp, & Laserbeak engaging against the U.S. Airforce over the skies of Manhatthan New York, in All Hail Megatron #2 he is again, only seen in his Fighter Mode, this time with Starscream, & Thundercracker Bombing the bridges leading in and out of Manhatthan, he has yet to make another appearance as the story is ongoing.

Blitzwing also appeared as one of the troops under Starscream's command in the Evolutions tale "Hearts of Steel". He was seen guarding the Decepticon manufacturing facility. He was presumably destroyed when John Henry and Bumblebee diverted the Decepticon train convoy into a chasm.

Toys

• Generation 1 Triple Changer Blitzwing (1985)

The toy that became Blitzwing was originally part of the Diaclone line in a green color, sporting a spring-loaded missiles, a sword, a tank turret and a rifle.^[8]

Blitzwing's function was confused by the toy's profile (found on the back of his box) classifying as a "Ground & Air Commander", whereas Marvel's comic and the cartoon series (also written by Marvel) lists Blitzwing as a "Ground and Air Commando". Considering nothing other than his abilities make him stand out as officer material alongside Starscream and Shockwave, "commando" seems more appropriate.^[9]

This toy was later released in its original Diaclone colors as the new character Overcharge, a Japanese e-hobby exclusive.

Knockoffs of Blitzwing are common, sometimes made in the original Diaclone colors. There have even been remolds where his tank mode is changed to become an earth-mover by removing the turret and adding a shovel.

• Generation 1 Kabaya Gum Blitzwing (1985)

Part of the original gum toy series by Kabaya. Each package comes with a stick of chewing gum and an easy-to-assemble kit. The completed robot transforms almost the same as the original Takara version, but sports completely different colors - orange for jet and robot mode, and gray for tank mode.^[10]

• Transformers 3D Battle-Card Game Blitzwing (2007)

Produced by Wizards of the Coast, wave 2 of their Transformers 3D Battle-Card Game included a Blitzwing card, who was a redeco of Decepticon Brawl from wave 1. Oddly this card more closely resembles the Decepticon tank Quake than Blitzwing.

• Generations Voyager Blitzwing (2013)

An all-new Voyager Class mold of Blitzwing that stays true to the original G1 toy's triple-changer format and colors, but also pays homage to the character in Animated by giving him a face changing feature.^[11]

The mold for this figure is also used for Generations Decepticon Doubledealer.^[12]

Transformers Animated

Blitzwing appears as a loyal Decepticon in the Transformers Animated series, speaking in a German accent. Referred by Megatron as being unstable, Blitzwing has a "face-swapping" feature a la the Masters of the Universe's Man-E-Faces. Each of his three faces has a personality of its own; the first is Icy Blitzwing (who is cold-natured and intelligent), the second is Hothead Blitzwing (hot-headed and bad-tempered, along with a Arnold Schwarzenegger look and gapped teeth), and the third is Random Blitzwing (who is just crazy and insane). The first two personas manifest more in the respective jet and tank modes, whereas the third can use either mode. The Random personality is responsible for Blitzwing being a Triple Changer - the Icy and Hothead personalities argued over whether to scan a fighter jet or a tank, but Random came to a compromise by scanning both. It also seems he has trouble flying in a straight line.

Blitzwing's jet mode fires explosive ice missiles and ice lasers from his cannons, which are also the weapons employed by his cold/calm personality. His tank mode has a twin laser turret and fires laser bolt barrages, which is also his hot-tempered personality's weapon of choice. His insane/crazy face specializes in exploding laser pellets. Blitzwing occasionally crashes in mid air while transforming from jet to tank, usually as a result of losing his temper and switching to his fiery personality. Prowl notices this in the Season One finale and, along with Ratchet and Bumblebee, use it as a weakness to defeat him. His hot-tempered persona can sometimes utilize his jet form, firing salvos of high-explosive missiles instead;also, there are times when he can use all three attacks simultaneously, this is rare, however.

The Hothead Blitzwing, resembling the G1 version, is somewhat a parody of Arnold Schwarzenegger while the Icy Blitzwing seems to parody stereotypical German Nazi officers with a monocle-style left eye, such as Colonel Klink. The face of Random Blitzwing mostly resembles a black and red version of a Jack-o-lantern carving.

Animated series

Among the Nemesis crew, Blitzwing abandoned ship to evade an explosion that took out most of the Nemesis. Soon after, he posted a bounty on the Autobots, whom he believed killed Megatron, to the bounty hunter Lockdown, who contacted him after he captured Optimus Prime, negotiating his payment, revealed outside the series to be Lugnut's fist technology, before the Autobots saved their leader. Blitzwing would later come to Earth in person with Lugnut, unaware of his comrade's com link to Megatron and thinking of it as merely delusions. While finding a suitable guise to escape the authorities, Blitzwing became caught in a momentary argument with himself over two vehicles until he decides to take both. After being defeated by the Autobots in an attempt to get Sari's Allspark Key, Blitzwing and Lugnut ended up in pieces in Lake Erie until Starscream found them, and offered to repair them on one condition: that they pledge their undying loyalty to him.

Deciding to serve Starscream, under threat rather than by choice, Blitzwing aids Lugnut in taking the Allspark Key from Ratchet, and give it to the being who has been sending Lugnut messages. Upon arriving at Sumdac Tower, he realized that Lugnut was not crazy after seeing Megatron's disembodied head before he helps his master complete his restoration. He aided in the subsequent attack on the Autobots, though Bumblebee managed to use Blitzwing's personality/mode flaw against him, tricking Bltizwing into changing to tank mode in mid-air and crashing into Lake Erie. Later on, Blitzwing appeared with Lugnut and Megatron in one of Isaac Sumdac's mining tunnels. Megatron kept Isaac Sumdac captive, and was using him to try to rewire a Space Bridge design to take control of Cybertron. Megatron sends him and Lugnut to steal the tachyon transmitter from the Elite Guard ship in order for them to contact the Decepticons in other parts of the universe, unintentionally showing Starscream where they were based as a result. Blitzwing later goes on a mission assigned to him by Megatron to an Allspark fragment, he eventually does but Bumblebee and Sari got it first which led to a high speed pursuit until Sari learned that she could use the All Spark powered remote control to momentarily control him. When Blitzwing finally received the chance to destroy Bumblebee, he was tackled by Blurr, allowing Sari to use the remote to send the Decepticon off into the sky.

Later, Blitzwing and Lugnut began stealing construction supplies for the Space Bridge they are making, avoiding the Autobots one time and meeting Mixmaster and Scrapper in another. After a misunderstanding, Blitzwing decides to have the Constructicons haul the supplies for him and Lugnut before disposing of them. However, Megatron intervenes out of seeing Mixmaster and Scrapper as of use to help build his personal space bridge. When the two Constructions later wander aimlessly after losing their memories, Blitzwing retrieves them with oil to recommission their assistance in the space bridge construction. As the bridge is completed, Blitzwing once again pairs with Lugnut to stop the Autobots only to be cuffed by Blurr until later freed and attempted to attack Omega Supreme head-on, only to headbutted into the horizon. Blitzwing survived and is "captured" by Sentinel Prime in "Five Servos of Doom". (In reality he is captured by Lockdown and traded to Sentinel.) However, Blitzwing is later freed by Swindle as he participates in taking over the Cybertron Elite Ship. However, the mutiny is stopped by Optimus Prime, who manages to freeze Blitwing, the Liar and Sycophant Starscream clone. Blitzwing and his fellow prisoners are then brought to Cybertron, where they are imprisoned.

Toys

• Animated Voyager Blitzwing (2008)

Transforms from robot to fighter jet and tank. Also features three different faces.

• Animated TA-13 Voyager Blitzwing (Takara Tomy) (2010)

The 2010 Japan release version by Takara Tomy sports a metallic purple finish in contrast to the matte finish of the Hasbro version.

Also bundled with TA-05 Deluxe Prowl.

Shattered Glass

This Blitzwing is a mirror universe counterpart to the Generation 1 character.

Fun Publications

In Do Over the Nemesis launches after the Ark. After a brief battle the Nemesis is shot down and crashes on Earth, with the crew escaping in stasis pods. Although not directly depicted, Blitzwing is a member of the crew of the Nemesis.^[14]

In Blitzwing Bop Heatwave and Blitzwing discover the Autobots are building a Stellar Spanner to return to Cybertron. Blitzwing is unable to stop the Autobots from sending Heatwave to Cybertron as a test subject, but he does shut down the machine. Sadly an accident downloading information from the machine jams his music player on constantly on the emergency communications frequency of the Autobots. Seeing an opportunity to stop the Autobots with non-lethal force Starscream sends Blitzwing out to distract the Autobots as the Decepticon oppose their various schemes. Sideswipe, Bombshell and Blitzwing stop a scheme by Elita One and Brawn to make attack drones from human cars by implanting control devices in the cars in a Roll-N-Wash car wash. The Autobot Blaster is sent to recover Blitzwing, planning to send the Decepticon to Cybertron on the Stellar Spanner with an amplifier which will destroy everyone on the planet, including Blitzwing! Blitzwing is saved Soundwave and Thunderwing.

Toys

No toy for this version of Blitzwing exists. He looks like the Generation 1 Blitzwing toy with the colors from Generation 1 Warpath.

References

• Furman, Simon (2004). Transformers: The Ultimate Guide. DK Publishing Inc. p. 49. ISBN 1-4053-0461-8.