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Slingshot (Transformers)
Encyclopedia
Slingshot is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes
. Hasbro has not reused the name Slingshot since 1994 due to its seeming inability to trademark the name. The most recent Slingshot homage uses the names Sky Shadow and Airazor.
s are also aware of Slingshot's rotten personality and would prefer he removed himself from their struggle against the Decepticon
s. But, much to the surprise of almost everyone, Autobot leader Optimus Prime
turns a blind optical sensor to Slingshot's faults, and instead is very supportive of him. Optimus Prime realizes, and he may be the only one who does, that Slingshot acts this way to disguise his own lack of confidence; he's the slowest and has the least range of all the Aerialbots and feels inferior as a result. Despite everything else, Slingshot is a loyal and hardworking soldier, qualities that Optimus Prime believes merit his understanding and trust.
Slingshot is a vertical take-off-and-landing (VTOL
) aircraft, an AV-8A Harrier, which means he can shoot straight up off the ground like a rocket and needs only a launching pad, not a long runway, to take off from and land upon. Although the slowest of the Aerialbots (his maximum speed is Mach 1.6) he's the most maneuverable. He can virtually turn, in mid-air, on the proverbial dime. His range is 800 miles. He is also the best sharpshooter of the Aerialbots; his twin mortar cannons can hit a highway stop sign six miles away. In robot mode, he uses with extreme accuracy a neutron rifle, which shoots packets of neutrons at two hundred rounds per second. A short barrage can level a city block. He combines with his fellow Aerialbots to form the giant robot combiner, known as Superion
.
Slingshot's unorthodox method of flying takes its toll on his equipment; he requires 50% more maintenance than his fellow Aerialbots. Their dislike for him often results in their leaving him behind in dangerous situations to fend for himself.
.
, Cosmos
, Perceptor
, Powerglide
, Seaspray
and Warpath were part of an Autobot team on Cybertron in the Earth year 1986. They battled the Decepticons led by Straxus over the Space Bridge and the Autobots were stranded on Earth (Transformers #18).
They were then captured by Circuit Breaker
and her Rapid Anti-Robot Attack Team, taken to her lab and then dissected (Transformers #21-22).
Circuit Breaker then captured Autobots Air Raid
, Fireflight
, Silverbolt, Skids
, Skydive and Slingshot. Using the parts from all the captured Autobots she created a giant Autobot with herself in control, striking a deal with them that if they would co-operate she would let them go. Circuit Breaker then used them to oppose the Decepticon Battlechargers Runabout
and Runamuck who were attacking the Statue of Liberty
. After defeating the Decepticons with Circuit Breaker the Autobots were released (Transformers #23).
When Starscream returns to Earth after absorbing the powers of the Underbase, Silverbolt and his Aerialbots were amongst those in New York first to attack... and also amongst the first to fall in battle.
The Aerialbots came to be among the Autobots on Earth in the 1980s and gained the forms of Earth-style jets.
Upon the awakening of Optimus Prime in Dreamwave's first Generation 1 mini-series, the Aerialbots were among the Autobots summoned by Optimus to rescue the remaining Autobots, who had been turned into mind-controlled weapons of mass destruction by a human arms dealer. During a subsequent battle with the Decepticons in San Francisco, the Aerialbots, merged into Superion, sacrificed themselves to stop an incoming nuclear missile, launched by rogue elements in the U.S. military to eradicate both factions of Cybertronians in one fell swoop.
Later, it was revealed that parts of Superion, including his head, were recovered by the faction of the U.S. government that also recovered Scourge, hinting that they were possibly trying to rebuild him.
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...
. Hasbro has not reused the name Slingshot since 1994 due to its seeming inability to trademark the name. The most recent Slingshot homage uses the names Sky Shadow and Airazor.
Transformers: Generation 1
Slingshot is an incessant braggart, even when he's done absolutely nothing to brag about. He likes to take credit for the exploits of others, a thoroughly annoying habit that never fails to elicit animosity from his fellow Aerialbots. Most of the other AutobotAutobot
Autobot, a faction of sentient robots from the planet Cybertron, are usually the main protagonists in the fictional universe of the Transformers, a collection of various toys, graphic novels, paperback books, cartoons and movies first introduced in 1984. In all but one Transformer story, the...
s are also aware of Slingshot's rotten personality and would prefer he removed himself from their struggle against the Decepticon
Decepticon
The Decepticons are usually depicted as the antagonists in the fictional universes of the Transformers stoyline and related comics and cartoons, and the enemies of the Autobots and the University of California Davis Aggies...
s. But, much to the surprise of almost everyone, Autobot leader Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. The autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots called Decepticons...
turns a blind optical sensor to Slingshot's faults, and instead is very supportive of him. Optimus Prime realizes, and he may be the only one who does, that Slingshot acts this way to disguise his own lack of confidence; he's the slowest and has the least range of all the Aerialbots and feels inferior as a result. Despite everything else, Slingshot is a loyal and hardworking soldier, qualities that Optimus Prime believes merit his understanding and trust.
Slingshot is a vertical take-off-and-landing (VTOL
VTOL
A vertical take-off and landing aircraft is one that can hover, take off and land vertically. This classification includes fixed-wing aircraft as well as helicopters and other aircraft with powered rotors, such as cyclogyros/cyclocopters and tiltrotors...
) aircraft, an AV-8A Harrier, which means he can shoot straight up off the ground like a rocket and needs only a launching pad, not a long runway, to take off from and land upon. Although the slowest of the Aerialbots (his maximum speed is Mach 1.6) he's the most maneuverable. He can virtually turn, in mid-air, on the proverbial dime. His range is 800 miles. He is also the best sharpshooter of the Aerialbots; his twin mortar cannons can hit a highway stop sign six miles away. In robot mode, he uses with extreme accuracy a neutron rifle, which shoots packets of neutrons at two hundred rounds per second. A short barrage can level a city block. He combines with his fellow Aerialbots to form the giant robot combiner, known as Superion
Superion
-Transformers: Generation 1:Superion is the first Autobot special team to be created, and is the Autobots' first combiner, formed from five smaller robots who are able to transform into fighter-jets and planes.Members:* Silverbolt - Team leader.* Air Raid...
.
Slingshot's unorthodox method of flying takes its toll on his equipment; he requires 50% more maintenance than his fellow Aerialbots. Their dislike for him often results in their leaving him behind in dangerous situations to fend for himself.
Animated Series
Slingshot was created with the other Aerialbots on Cybertron to counter the Stunticons in "The Key To Vector Sigma Part 2." He was rebuilt from a speed shuttle, which accounts for his bragging about being the "hottest, fastest jet you ever saw." Slingshot thinks himself too good for Earth and the Autobots as shown when he insults a dis- assembled Omega Supreme and picks a fight with Ironhide. In the early time of the Aerialbots he acted as a leader and ,completely ignoring Silverbolt, proceeded to lead them away. Eventually he repented and with some prompting from Silverbolt, he led the Aerialbots to a battle between the Autobots and Stunticons where he saved Optimus Prime's life. He made semi- regular appearances in the series doing such things as: befriending a boy named Hassan, getting trapped in a Blast Off caused rockslide, valiantly trying to stop the Combaticons from becoming Bruticus, leading the Aerialbots into one of Megatron's traps, searching for Perceptor when he went missing, helping rescue the Autobots from Quintessa, getting stuck on the planet of Goo, and getting shot at by brainwashed Junkions and an angry and blind Metroplex. His final appearance was in the Rebirth: Part 1. When the Decepticons arrived he and the other Aerialbots attempted to stop them. He was one of the first to be shot down by Galvatron's new "one robot army" named SixshotSixshot
Sixshot is the name of two fictional characters from the various Transformers series. Introduced in 1987, Sixshot appeared in the last few episodes of the original US Transformers animated series, voiced by Neil Ross. His defining gimmick was that he had six different forms, not two like a normal...
.
Marvel Comics
Beachcomber, BlasterBlaster (Transformers)
Blaster is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers television and comic series based on the popular toy line produced by Takara Tomy and Hasbro. Due to trademark reasons, he is sometimes called Autobot Blaster...
, Cosmos
Cosmos (Transformers)
Cosmos is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. He is sometimes referred to as "Autobot Cosmos" for trademark purposes.Wired Magazine once nominated him as one of the 12 most ridiculous Transformers of all time....
, Perceptor
Perceptor
Perceptor is the name of several different fictional characters in the Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:Perceptor transforms into a microscope ....
, Powerglide
Powerglide (Transformers)
Powerglide is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers series. He first appeared in 1985, and was voiced by Michael Chain in the animated The Transformers series.- Transformers: Generation 1 :...
, Seaspray
SEASPRAY
SEASPRAY was a clandestine U.S. Army special operations unit. Its existence within the U.S. Department of Defense was held secret insofar as it testifies to the close links between the United States Army and the Central Intelligence Agency....
and Warpath were part of an Autobot team on Cybertron in the Earth year 1986. They battled the Decepticons led by Straxus over the Space Bridge and the Autobots were stranded on Earth (Transformers #18).
They were then captured by Circuit Breaker
Circuit Breaker (Transformers)
Circuit Breaker is a fictional comic book character in the 1980s Marvel Comics Transformers series.-Fictional character biography:After being severely injured in a raid for Earth oil by the Decepticon Shockwave, computer genius Josie Beller was left paralyzed in both legs and one arm...
and her Rapid Anti-Robot Attack Team, taken to her lab and then dissected (Transformers #21-22).
Circuit Breaker then captured Autobots Air Raid
Air Raid (Transformers)
Air Raid was the name of fictional characters in the Transformers universes. Hasbro has registered the name Air Raid for Trademark in the U.S.-Transformers: Generation 1:Air Raid is the most fearless of the Aerialbots and likes having fun...
, Fireflight
Fireflight
Fireflight is an American Christian rock band formed in Eustis, Florida in 1999. The band is signed by Flicker Records. They have played in Shoutfest, Revelation Generation, and have been featured on The Scars Remain tour with Disciple, Family Force 5, and Decyfer Down...
, Silverbolt, Skids
Skids (Transformers)
Skids is the name used for four characters in the Transformers Universes. Due to trademark reasons, the name was modified to "Skid-Z" for it to be used on new characters and an "Autobot" prefix was added when the original Skids toy was reissued and when he became an Alternator.-Transformers:...
, Skydive and Slingshot. Using the parts from all the captured Autobots she created a giant Autobot with herself in control, striking a deal with them that if they would co-operate she would let them go. Circuit Breaker then used them to oppose the Decepticon Battlechargers Runabout
Runabout (Transformers)
-Transformers: Generation 1:The first Runabout formed one half of the Battlecharger duo with Runamuck. Runabout is not the brains of the Battlechargers, but he is much calmer and certainly more articulate than Runamuck, and his presence helps keep the latter's cross-wired mind on task...
and Runamuck who were attacking the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
. After defeating the Decepticons with Circuit Breaker the Autobots were released (Transformers #23).
When Starscream returns to Earth after absorbing the powers of the Underbase, Silverbolt and his Aerialbots were amongst those in New York first to attack... and also amongst the first to fall in battle.
Books
The Aerialbots appeared in the 1986 story book Galvatron's Air Attack by Ladybird Books.Dreamwave Productions
Unlike previous interpretations of the Generation 1 Slingshot, Dreamwave comics had all the Aerialbots being made on Cybertron before the Autobots came to Earth. They were one of several teams that used the combiner technology first used to create Devastator to make their own combined form.The Aerialbots came to be among the Autobots on Earth in the 1980s and gained the forms of Earth-style jets.
Upon the awakening of Optimus Prime in Dreamwave's first Generation 1 mini-series, the Aerialbots were among the Autobots summoned by Optimus to rescue the remaining Autobots, who had been turned into mind-controlled weapons of mass destruction by a human arms dealer. During a subsequent battle with the Decepticons in San Francisco, the Aerialbots, merged into Superion, sacrificed themselves to stop an incoming nuclear missile, launched by rogue elements in the U.S. military to eradicate both factions of Cybertronians in one fell swoop.
Later, it was revealed that parts of Superion, including his head, were recovered by the faction of the U.S. government that also recovered Scourge, hinting that they were possibly trying to rebuild him.
Toys
- Generation 1 Slingshot (1986)
- Came with a gun accessory.
- Generation 2 Slingshot (1994)
- A gold redeco of the Generation 1 toy.
- Universe Generation 1 Series Scout Airazor (2009)
- The Universe Aerialbots are a redeco of the Energon Air Team in colors similar to the Generation 1 Aerialbots. While most of the them bear the same name as their original toys, without a trademark on the name Slingshot, his homage was renamed Airazor. This set was released in Universe packaging in some markets, while appearing in Revenge of the Fallen packaging in others.