Jetfire
Jetfire is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers franchise. He is almost always depicted as an Autobot with flight capabilities and a jet or Space Shuttle as an alternate mode. In some continuities, he is a former Decepticon.
Transformers: Generation 1
In the many stories of Jetfire, told through the numerous Generation 1 continuities, there is one constant aspect—an early affiliation with the Decepticons, which has served only to convince him to side with the Autobots. Jetfire's dedication to the Autobot cause is matched only by his devotion to scientific and technological advancement. He believes this is the only way victory over the Decepticons can be achieved. It is this overriding belief that tempers his bravado in battle. Nevertheless, he is often one of the most eager Autobots to plunge into combat, and his position as one of the fastest usually means he is the first to do so. Jetfire is created from the same mold as the VF-1S Super Valkyrie from the Macross series, including the VF-1S's gun pod which is described as a laser on Jetfire's technical specifications. He uses a photon missile launcher in robot mode.Animated series
On Cybertron before the war between the Autobots and Decepticons, Skyfire was a scientist and explorer working with Starscream. Together, they investigated an uncharted planet, actually a prehistoric Earth, where they failed to find any signs of intelligent life. Skyfire wished to scrutinize the planet further, and moving in close enough to the planet, a polar wind storm swept him up and buried him beneath the Arctic ice. Starscream searched for his friend, but was unable to locate him and returned to Cybertron alone.Millions of years later, in 1984, the Decepticons discovered the frozen Skyfire, while draining heat energy from the Earth's core and reactivated him. Reunited with his old friend, Starscream, Skyfire joined the Decepticon ranks. When the Autobots arrived, Skyfire engaged them in battle, and then rescued Sparkplug and Spike Witwicky when they became stranded on an ice floe. Unknowingly, he took the two to Megatron under the impression that he and the other Decepticons valued human life, but when Megatron took them as prisoners, Skyfire started to question his allegiance. When Starscream ordered him to destroy the captured Autobot search party, he refused, and Starscream turned his weapons on him, leaving him heavily damaged. Repaired by Ratchet, he joined the Autobots and engaged in a dogfight with Starscream which ended when he sacrificed himself to stop the core drain, burying himself in ice once again in the process.
A short time later, however, Skyfire was recovered by Wheeljack and Sideswipe, and immediately participated in an attack on the Decepticons in Peru, where the evil robots were once again attempting to use the Earth's core energy for their own means. Skyfire was almost permitted to destroy the villains' new weapon by Thundercracker, but was then blasted by Starscream and repaired with some difficulty by Spike.
Skyfire would go on to make semi-regular appearances in the immediate future, helping the Autobots evacuate their base when the volcano it was embedded in became active, and flying a squad of troops to battle the Insecticons, Skyfire appeared in a few more episodes, but slowly disappeared from the cartoon, due to legal issues.
Skyfire's animation model made infrequent appearances in the third season, making its final appearance in "Dark Awakening" after being shot down by Quintessons in a space battle.
Books
Skyfire was featured in the 1985 audio and book adventure Satellite of Doom. His appearance matched his animated form, not the toy. During the story, Skyfire is killed.Skyfire appeared in the audio and book adventure When Continents Collide.
Comics
Devil's Due Publishing
Jetfire would also appear in the third G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover from Devil's Due Publishing. He was present with the other Autobots at the Capital City peace celebrations, battling Reflector, but was ordered off by Optimus Prime. He was later seen as part of the combined Autobot/G.I. Joe force attempting to rescue Optimus Prime.Dreamwave Productions
In Dreamwave's 21st-century re-imagining of the Generation 1 universe, Jetfire was once again presented as Starscream's friend before the Great War started. As the war broke out, Jetfire was slow to choose an allegiance, eventually siding with the Autobots. Despite the fact that he even remained with the Autobots when Optimus Prime and Megatron vanished in an early space bridge experiment and the factions splintered into smaller sub-groups, his original hesitance caused his Autobot allies to regard him with a certain degree of mistrust. Grimlock in particular bore a fierce grudge against him for an unspecified incident involving a mind-controlling cerebro-shell and was perfectly ready to believe that he had betrayed the Autobots when he arranged a meeting with current Decepticon leader Shockwave. Jetfire was among the Transformers kidnapped by the ancient Cybertronian called the Fallen, who planned to use the genetic potential in his spark to awaken Primus, but he was freed by Grimlock, putting the grudge to rest.Prime and Megatron subsequently returned to Cybertron, but when they and their elite crews were lost aboard the Ark, Jetfire was part of a mission to find them, along with Omega Supreme and the Micromasters Countdown and Groundshaker. When a lead emerged in the form of a beacon from the Sol system, Jetfire and Omega split off from the team and headed off after the signal. The duo entered stasis for the lengthy trip, with Jetfire eventually awakening millions of years later as their craft approached Earth. Before Jetfire could bring Omega back online, however, their ship was attacked by Scourge and crashed in the Arctic, where shrapnel from it killed a pod of whales. Jetfire ejected from the ship before impact and managed to seal Scourge in a booby-trapped stasis pod, but an avalanche buried both of them in ice.
At an ill-defined point in time, the Decepticons discovered Jetfire and brought the slab of ice containing him back to their underwater base. Upon returning from a trip to Cybertron with fresh plans of conquest, Starscream thawed Jetfire out to aid in repelling the maniacal Sunstorm, a clone of himself that Shockwave had created, but which had gone insane. Deducing Sunstorm's clone nature, Jetfire jury-rigged a power siphon to de-energise him, and then reactivated Omega Supreme to battle him. To save his own skin from Autobot retribution, however, Starscream had a change of heart and saved Sunstorm, who led him to a mysterious underground energy reservoir that Sunstorm intended to use to give Starscream powers like his own. Yet another double-cross by Starscream saw Sunstorm immersed in the liquid as well, and it began to destroy him from within as Jetfire engaged him in battle, leading him out into space where he exploded, apparently taking Jetfire with him.
Fun Publications
Classicverse
In the Fun Publications Classicverse stories Optimus Prime has returned to Earth commanding Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Grimlock, Jetfire, Mirage and Rodimus.In the story Crossing Over, Jetfire was among the Autobot troops of Optimus Prime who responded to the sighting of Megatron and arrived in time to save the dimensional traveling Autobot Skyfall from Megatron's wraith.
In At Fight's End, Dirge, Ramjet, and Thrust are under the orders of Megatron. The city was defended by Ironhide, Jetfire, Optimus Prime and Sunstreaker.
IDW Publishing
Jetfire was presented as a technician and computer expert, who ran field ops during the battle of Thunderhead Pass trying to find a weakness in Thunderwing that could allow the Autobot-Decepticon army to defeat him. Many years later, he and the Technobots served as a scientific surveillance team orbiting a devastated Cybertron, monitoring it for any signs of life. The discovery of an energy spike caused Jetfire to lead the team down to the planet, where they were assaulted and captured by a team of Decepticon cultists who worshipped Thunderwing. Once freed by Optimus Prime and the Wreckers, his skills at decrypting Bludgeon's computer files uncovered an exploitable weakness in Thunderwing's new power source, allowing Prime to eventually defeat him, and uncovered Shockwave's Energon-seeding plan Regenesis. His appearance is based on the recent redesign of the character seen in the Transformers Classics toy line. He was also mentioned in Transformers: Escalation during a communication between Optimus Prime and him.Marvel Comics
Jetfire was constructed by Shockwave on Earth to be one of his new Decepticon troops, given life through the powers of the Creation Matrix, tapped from the captive Autobot leader, Optimus Prime. However, before Shockwave could accomplish this, Prime transferred the Matrix into the mind of the Autobots' human ally, Buster Witwicky. Shockwave programmed Jetfire's lifeless shell to recover Buster, but Buster was able to use the Matrix to disassemble Jetfire before he could accomplish his goal. Buster then reconstructed Jetfire and used him to rescue Optimus Prime, who infused Jetfire with true life.Immediately after this—in the UK's sister Transformers comic series, which interspliced its own original material between reprints of the US Marvel title—Jetfire participated in the "Dinobot Hunt", helping to track down the rogue Dinobots, who were running wild across America. Still bearing the Decepticon insignia Shockwave had stamped him with, Jetfire was not trusted by Ironhide until he saved him from the deranged Slag, proving his Autobot loyalty.
Subsequently, in the US title, he underwent the Rite of Autobrand and was branded with the Autobot insignia at last.
Jetfire went on to perform few significant actions in the future, but was clearly thoroughly accepted into the Autobots, as he was one of the small number of voices heard when a new Autobot leader had to be chosen, and Dinobot leader Grimlock was elected.
A story called The Gift in issue 93 of the Marvel UK comics explored Jetfire's problems fitting in with the other Autobots. Wheeljack informed Optimus Prime of a newscast where they learned the Decepticons had taken over a NASA space monitoring facility near the Ark. Prowl and Trailbreaker, with Jetfire as backup engaged the Decepticons Soundwave, Kickback and Dirge as the Decepticons attempted to contact Cybertron with the facility's deep space radio equipment. Although Prowl ordered Jetfire to stop Soundwave from sending his message, Jetfire ignored the order to help save Prowl from Kickback's attack. With the transmission sent the Decepticons retreated victorious. Jetfire then accompanied Jazz to a Blackrock fuel plant to oversee the creation of more fuel for the Autobots. The plant was attacked by Decepticons Thrust and Bombshell. Although Jetfire was able to put out a fire at the plant before it exploded, he blamed himself for being slow to react. Jetfire then visited Buster Witwicky on Christmas Eve and told him of his troubles of not fitting in with the Cybertronian-made Autobots. Buster encouraged the young Autobot by telling him he's the first of a new generation of Earth-made Autobots and he should be proud of what he is.
In issue #27, "King of the Hill!", Perceptor summoned his fellow Autobots Blaster, Hot Spot, Jetfire, Omega Supreme, Ratchet and Silverbolt in order to decide who should take leadership of the Autobots. After an attack by the giant Decepticon Trypticon the leader was chosen—Grimlock.
Sometime later, Jetfire was among the Transformers who attempted to defend New York City from the cosmically-powered Starscream, only to be deactivated alongside everyone else. Unlike most of Starscream's victims, there was no indication that he was revived through the power of nucleon.