Nightscream
Encyclopedia
Nightscream is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes
.
According to a FAQ on Bob Skir's web site "Hey, I argued till I was blue in the face for our new bat to be a female (in my mind she was Newt from Aliens. Now, instead, he's John Conner from T2 !). So.... if I had my druthers, half the cast would be female!"
Hasbro registered the name Nightscream for U.S. Trademark
in October 2003.
when Megatron
returned from the Beast Wars and unleashed his cataclysmic virus. Fleeing the Vehicon
s, Nightscream fell into a cavern and escaped the fate of Cybertron's other inhabitants. Nightscream's inbuilt DNA scanner copied a bat skeleton, and reformatted him as a bat. Nightscream managed to escape the virus' debilitating effects by eating fruit from a mysterious tree located in the caverns. He first encountered the Maximal
s while spying on their transformation training (for he was unable to transform himself as well).
After befriending Optimus Primal
and his crew, he led them to the tree where everyone except Cheetor
sampled the fruit. The entirely organic fruit brought the primal sides of their beast modes to the fore, and the Maximals descended into feral anarchy. Cheetor, unaffected, destroyed the tree during an attack by the Vehicon
s, hoping to restore the others. As Nightscream wailed in despair, Primal reformatted him, giving Nightscream a new technorganic body. With his tree destroyed, Nightscream joined the Maximals.
Nightscream's childish petulance caused problems for the Maximals, as his immature mistakes often endangered his team mates. His scorn for Primal's team, seeing them as having lost the Beast Wars, often caused problems. However he was for the most part fairly levelheaded and his outsider perspective of the team helped Cheetor to realize Optimus’ descent into fanaticism. Nightscream was a formidable force with his sonic scream and vampiric ability to drain energy from his enemies. He also did have a sense of compassion; when he discovered how he had gained his beast mode, he bitterly regretted not having been able to use it to have saved more Maximals from the virus.
Nightscream developed a friendship with Savage/Noble, sensing a kindred spirit in the bestial Transformer. When Noble died defending the Maximals from Megatron, Nightscream attacked the Vehicon Leader in rage, depolarizing his spark. Afterwards, Nightscream participated in the final battle against Megatron, and his spark was extracted but was returned when Megatron fell and Cybertron was reformatted.
Nightscream was voiced by Alessandro Juliani
. In the Japanese he was given an effeminate voice by Nobutoshi Kanna.
in the later Transformers: Armada
toyline. He is partnered with Armada Airazor. Airazor and Nightscream were only released by Hasbro, not Takara, so they didn't appear in the television series, which was made in Japan. Although Airazor did appear in the Transformers: Armada comic series, Nightscream's only appearance was limited to his biography page in the More Than Meets The Eye series. He transforms intro a race car.
The bio indicated that Nightscream was a loudmouth with a problem with authority. He has little discipline and often makes life hard for the Autobots around him. This masks a deep affection for his partner Airazor. While he likes bugging her he is completely devoted to her and will protect her at all costs. After Airazor was abducted by Unicron
and reformatted as one of his Horsemen, Nightscream vowed to rescue her from her enforced servitude no matter the cost.
Nightscream is also the Japanese name for Starscream.
and Steel Wind.
The open skies might not be big enough to contain Nightscream's ego. He's convinced he's the most beautiful, graceful flier of all of Cybertron, a claim not without some merit. His swooping flight patterns defy physics, and his ability to twist and hairpin-turn in midair makes him nearly impossible to hit with anti-aircraft fire. He loves flying low, swooping through land-based obstacles. His dragon-mode head is capable of spitting flames in a variety of intensities, from broad tongues of far reaching orange fire to short range white hot focused heat that can melt through even the toughest armors with surgical precision. While he may be agile, he's not a very fast flier compared to his teammates, and his wings are fairly fragile.
After the Beast Machines
line ended, Hasbro
planned a follow-up series called Transtech
. The Transtech concept was a line intended to take Transformers to their most futuristic. Hasbro commissioned sets of designs from Draxhall Jump. The series was supposedly to bring back some of the characters who died in Beast Wars
along with some characters from the original eighties cartoon series, all in new, techno-organic bodies, though with vehicle alternate modes instead of the animals used in Beast Machines. Many concept sketches and even a few toy prototypes were made, but Hasbro scrapped the idea in favor of bringing Car Robots
to their markets as Transformers: Robots in Disguise
.
Nightscream was mentioned in the Blackarachnia biography printed in issue #25 of the Transformers Collectors Club magazine. According to the biography this Nightscream was originally a Maximal who served in an army on an alternate Cybertron where the Maximals and Predacons rebelled from their controlling Autobot and Decepticon masters. He fled Cybertron with fellow Maximal Blackarachnia and the Predacons Scavenger and Immorticon in an experimental transwarp ship and ended up on Transtech Cybertron. Feeling like a prisoner on this Cybertron he joined up with Alpha Trion's group, who had Topspin transfer their sparks into the bodies of their Transtech counterparts.
in the story "Transcendent" by Fun Publications
. He aided in the raid on Shockwave
's lab to free Breakaway. The group then escaped through a dimensional portal to Shattered Glass Cybertron.
appears in a flashback in The Coming Storm being shot by Optimus Prime.
Transformers universes
is an entertainment franchise. It began with the Hasbro Transformers toy line, centered on two factions of warring alien robots which are called the Autobots and the Decepticons...
.
Beast Machines
Nightscream is a young Maximal and a member of the cast of Beast Machines. He turns into a bat.According to a FAQ on Bob Skir's web site "Hey, I argued till I was blue in the face for our new bat to be a female (in my mind she was Newt from Aliens. Now, instead, he's John Conner from T2 !). So.... if I had my druthers, half the cast would be female!"
Hasbro registered the name Nightscream for U.S. Trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
in October 2003.
Reception
Nightscream was named to have the 7th "shittiest" Transformers disguise by Cracked magazine.Animated series
Nightscream was on CybertronCybertron
Cybertron is a fictional planet, the homeworld of the Transformers in the various fictional incarnations of the metaseries and toyline by Hasbro. In the Japanese series, the planet is referred to as "Cybertron" pronounced as セイバートロン Seibātoron...
when Megatron
Megatron (Beast Wars and Beast Machines)
The Beast Wars and Beast Machines version of Megatron is the main antagonist from the aforementioned parts of the Transformers animated series, toy lines, and multiverse...
returned from the Beast Wars and unleashed his cataclysmic virus. Fleeing the Vehicon
Vehicon
Vehicons are a faction in the fictional Transformers, appearing in the animated cartoon series Beast Machines. However, most Vehicons are non-sentient drones, controlled entirely by the will of Megatron or their respective general.-History:...
s, Nightscream fell into a cavern and escaped the fate of Cybertron's other inhabitants. Nightscream's inbuilt DNA scanner copied a bat skeleton, and reformatted him as a bat. Nightscream managed to escape the virus' debilitating effects by eating fruit from a mysterious tree located in the caverns. He first encountered the Maximal
Maximal (Transformers)
Maximals are a faction in the Transformers series by Hasbro. They are generally depicted as respecting all life and following a path of peace before war. They follow the tenets of the Pax Cybertronia. The Maximals are opposed by the Predacons...
s while spying on their transformation training (for he was unable to transform himself as well).
After befriending Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal is a fictional character from the Transformers toyline, and the leader of the Maximal forces and the main protagonist in the Beast Wars television series. He is sometimes called Optimal Optimus...
and his crew, he led them to the tree where everyone except Cheetor
Cheetor
Cheetor is several fictional characters from various Transformers universes.- Beast Wars :Cheetor's original tech spec indicated he was a seasoned and confident warrior always in search of battle with the Predacons, seemingly in contrast to his youthful and impulsive portrayal in the original show...
sampled the fruit. The entirely organic fruit brought the primal sides of their beast modes to the fore, and the Maximals descended into feral anarchy. Cheetor, unaffected, destroyed the tree during an attack by the Vehicon
Vehicon
Vehicons are a faction in the fictional Transformers, appearing in the animated cartoon series Beast Machines. However, most Vehicons are non-sentient drones, controlled entirely by the will of Megatron or their respective general.-History:...
s, hoping to restore the others. As Nightscream wailed in despair, Primal reformatted him, giving Nightscream a new technorganic body. With his tree destroyed, Nightscream joined the Maximals.
Nightscream's childish petulance caused problems for the Maximals, as his immature mistakes often endangered his team mates. His scorn for Primal's team, seeing them as having lost the Beast Wars, often caused problems. However he was for the most part fairly levelheaded and his outsider perspective of the team helped Cheetor to realize Optimus’ descent into fanaticism. Nightscream was a formidable force with his sonic scream and vampiric ability to drain energy from his enemies. He also did have a sense of compassion; when he discovered how he had gained his beast mode, he bitterly regretted not having been able to use it to have saved more Maximals from the virus.
Nightscream developed a friendship with Savage/Noble, sensing a kindred spirit in the bestial Transformer. When Noble died defending the Maximals from Megatron, Nightscream attacked the Vehicon Leader in rage, depolarizing his spark. Afterwards, Nightscream participated in the final battle against Megatron, and his spark was extracted but was returned when Megatron fell and Cybertron was reformatted.
Nightscream was voiced by Alessandro Juliani
Alessandro Juliani
Alessandro Juliani is a Canadian actor, singer, and voice actor. He is notable for playing Tactical Officer Lieutenant Felix Gaeta on the Sci Fi Channel television program Battlestar Galactica, and Emil Hamilton in Smallville...
. In the Japanese he was given an effeminate voice by Nobutoshi Kanna.
Fun Publications
Botanica, Rattrap and Nightscream appeared together in the story Wreckers: Finale Part II by the Transformers Collectors Club in 2007. During the invasion of Cybertron by the Quintessons they worked together and came across the Quintesson working with the Wreckers.Toys
- Beast Machines Nightscream
- This figure was based on drawings by HasbroHasbroHasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
designer Tim BradleyTim Bradley (toy designer)Tim Bradley is a toy designer for Hasbro. He designed a number of toys in the Transformers toy line.Tim is also the author and illustrator of children's books...
.
- Happy Meal Nightscream
- A promotional item that came with McDonalds Happy Meals.
Transformers: Armada
Nightscream is also the name of a Mini-ConMini-Con
Mini-Cons are a human-sized race and faction of power-enhancing transforming robots in the Transformers: Armada universe and its sequels, one of the assorted universes in Transformers fiction...
in the later Transformers: Armada
Transformers: Armada
Transformers: Armada, known in Japan as , is a Transformers animated series, comic series and toy line which ran from 2002–2003. It was originally scheduled for 2001, however was delayed until early-2002...
toyline. He is partnered with Armada Airazor. Airazor and Nightscream were only released by Hasbro, not Takara, so they didn't appear in the television series, which was made in Japan. Although Airazor did appear in the Transformers: Armada comic series, Nightscream's only appearance was limited to his biography page in the More Than Meets The Eye series. He transforms intro a race car.
The bio indicated that Nightscream was a loudmouth with a problem with authority. He has little discipline and often makes life hard for the Autobots around him. This masks a deep affection for his partner Airazor. While he likes bugging her he is completely devoted to her and will protect her at all costs. After Airazor was abducted by Unicron
Unicron
Unicron is a fictional character from the Transformers universe and toyline. Created by Floro Dery, he was introduced in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie as the film's main antagonist. Unicron is a prodigiously large robot whose scale reaches planetary proportions, and he is also...
and reformatted as one of his Horsemen, Nightscream vowed to rescue her from her enforced servitude no matter the cost.
Transformers: Energon
Nightscream is the name of one of the Mini-Con partners to Energon Rapid Run. Energon Nightscream has not appeared in any fiction.Nightscream is also the Japanese name for Starscream.
Fun Publications
Outwardly nebbish and unassuming, Nightscream was a costs accountant for centuries. After the Unicron Battles, he was working for the Mini-Con Council of Sages when he accidentally intercepted the spy Nightcruz, who was there to steal data on the Council's plans to make new combiner Mini-Cons… and quickly helped him take the data. Since that day, he's been working for the mercenary Rapid Run and loving it, even if he's a spy half the time and the team's accountant the other half. His nerdy outer self masks a deep well of adventure-lust and resentment, which occasionally breaks to the surface as odd berserker fits.Toys
- Energon Nightscream
- He is a repaint of Armada RookRook (Transformers)Rook is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 2:-Marvel Comics:Rook was second in command of the second-generation transformers under the command of Jhiaxus...
.
Transformers: Cybertron
Nightscream is the name of an Autobot-allied Mini-Con planned to come out in a 2-pack with the Decepticon-allied Mini-Con Skyblast. Seemingly a different character to the Armada version, he is part of the Night Rescue team, and with them has vowed to stand up to the tyranny of Skyblast and the Predator Attack Team.Fun Publications
In the biography posted on the Transformers Collectors Club web site Nightcream is described as a Mini-Con courier from the Giant Planet. He is one of the fastest transformers and has special permission to pass through closed cities while making his deliveries.Toys
- Cybertron Mini-Con Nightscream
- Nightscream was released as part of a bonus pack with Cybertron Primus, along with the Mini-Cons Knockdown, Strongarm and Offshoot. The toy of Cybertron Nightscream is identical to that later released as Classics ThunderwingThunderwingThunderwing is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers series. Introduced in 1989, he was a major villain in the Marvel Comics Transformers series. Although Thunderwing was created after the US Transformers television series ended, the character of Black Shadow did appear in...
.
Transformers: Classics
One of the new Mini-Con molds released for the Transformers: Classics line, Nightscream is an Autobot allied Mini-Con who turns into a dragon. He is a member of the Clear Skies Team along with ThunderwingThunderwing
Thunderwing is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers series. Introduced in 1989, he was a major villain in the Marvel Comics Transformers series. Although Thunderwing was created after the US Transformers television series ended, the character of Black Shadow did appear in...
and Steel Wind.
The open skies might not be big enough to contain Nightscream's ego. He's convinced he's the most beautiful, graceful flier of all of Cybertron, a claim not without some merit. His swooping flight patterns defy physics, and his ability to twist and hairpin-turn in midair makes him nearly impossible to hit with anti-aircraft fire. He loves flying low, swooping through land-based obstacles. His dragon-mode head is capable of spitting flames in a variety of intensities, from broad tongues of far reaching orange fire to short range white hot focused heat that can melt through even the toughest armors with surgical precision. While he may be agile, he's not a very fast flier compared to his teammates, and his wings are fairly fragile.
Transformers: Timelines
Nightscream was among the characters originally proposed for the Transtech line up.After the Beast Machines
Beast Machines
Beast Machines is an animated television series produced by Mainframe Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. Hasbro has the full distribution rights to the show as of 2011. It was a direct sequel to Beast Wars taking place within the continuity of the original Transformers series...
line ended, Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
planned a follow-up series called Transtech
Transtech
Transtech is an unreleased line of toys under the Transformers umbrella.-History:After the Beast Machines line ended, Hasbro planned a follow-up series called Transtech. The Transtech concept was a line intended to take Transformers to their most futuristic looking bodies and more plausible designs...
. The Transtech concept was a line intended to take Transformers to their most futuristic. Hasbro commissioned sets of designs from Draxhall Jump. The series was supposedly to bring back some of the characters who died in Beast Wars
Beast Wars
Transformers: Beast Wars is a Transformers toyline released by Hasbro between 1995 and 2000, and a Daytime Emmy Award winning full-CG animated television series spawned by it that debuted in 1996...
along with some characters from the original eighties cartoon series, all in new, techno-organic bodies, though with vehicle alternate modes instead of the animals used in Beast Machines. Many concept sketches and even a few toy prototypes were made, but Hasbro scrapped the idea in favor of bringing Car Robots
Transformers: Robots in Disguise
Transformers: Robots in Disguise, known in Japan as , is a Japanese anime television series and serves as a self-contained universe separate from any of the other existing Transformers universes...
to their markets as Transformers: Robots in Disguise
Transformers: Robots in Disguise
Transformers: Robots in Disguise, known in Japan as , is a Japanese anime television series and serves as a self-contained universe separate from any of the other existing Transformers universes...
.
Nightscream was mentioned in the Blackarachnia biography printed in issue #25 of the Transformers Collectors Club magazine. According to the biography this Nightscream was originally a Maximal who served in an army on an alternate Cybertron where the Maximals and Predacons rebelled from their controlling Autobot and Decepticon masters. He fled Cybertron with fellow Maximal Blackarachnia and the Predacons Scavenger and Immorticon in an experimental transwarp ship and ended up on Transtech Cybertron. Feeling like a prisoner on this Cybertron he joined up with Alpha Trion's group, who had Topspin transfer their sparks into the bodies of their Transtech counterparts.
Fun Publications
Transtech Nightscream appeared among the troops of Alpha TrionAlpha Trion
Alpha Trion is a fictional character in the various Transformers universes. Alpha Trion is one of the Thirteen Primes, thus all his portrayals are considered to be the same individual. He is generally depicted as an ancient mechanoid with a link to Optimus Prime...
in the story "Transcendent" by Fun Publications
Fun Publications
Fun Publications is a publishing company that runs the Transformers Collectors Club and G.I. Joe Collectors Club under licensefrom Hasbro. Besides releasing comics, Fun Publications releases exclusive toys and runs conventions for their clubs....
. He aided in the raid on Shockwave
Shockwave (Transformers)
Shockwave is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers series. Throughout his incarnations, he is usually distinguished by a laser cannon in lieu of one of his hands and his distinctive face, which is featureless save a single robotic eye...
's lab to free Breakaway. The group then escaped through a dimensional portal to Shattered Glass Cybertron.
appears in a flashback in The Coming Storm being shot by Optimus Prime.