Slipstream (TFA)


 * Slipstream is a nagging harpy Decepticon from the Animated continuity family.



The Starscream clone that raises the most questions, the purple and pale teal female Starscream named Slipstream possesses considerable strategic thinking, a biting sense of humor, and a short temper. Like all of the clones, she represents an aspect of the original Starscream's personality... though which aspect that is, he's better off not asking (or so she says).

Practically everything she ever says to the original Starscream is an insult of some form and not above attacking him for no reason at all. Really makes you wonder about Starscream, doesn't it?

"Any leader has to be an improvement over you!"

- The Female offers an opinion on her template

Animated cartoon

 * Voice actor: Tara Strong (English), Silvia Mißbach (German)



When the clones were brought online, Starscream was confronted with various personality issues. Slipstream revealed that each one represented an aspect of his personality: megalomania, cowardice, bootlicking, and deception. When Starscream asked (a little suggestively) where she came from, Female Starscream warned him not to ask. Once they were ready to depart, Egomaniac pushed Starscream aside, and the original realized that he really was a pain in the gearshaft. Slipstream bitingly noted that he'd finally "arrived at the party", then childishly claimed that she wasn't starting anything.

Slipstream proved to be a capable fighter, managing to get a pair of stasis cuffs on the massive Bulkhead. After the original Starscream was decapitated by Isaac Sumdac piloting a Headmaster unit, she promptly declared that she was better off being led by Megatron. When Omega Supreme joined the battle, she and the other Decepticons were blasted away.

Out of the Clones, only Slipstream went into hiding and remained on Earth. She only briefly resurfaced to attack Optimus under the assumption that he was Starscream due to the jetpack he was using. Once realizing she attacked the wrong robot, she flies off as fast as she came in.

Trivia



 * Where Slipstream got her colors from was hotly debated by the fandom, with the most frequent guess being Generation 2 Ramjet. However, when contacted about it, Derrick Wyatt revealed that her color scheme was actually "loosely inspired" by the Japanese Godmaster Overlord Very loosely, as Overlord (in robot mode) is mostly white, dark blue and turquise...


 * While the Transformers fandom has long mused upon the possibility of female "Seekers" (and produced countless self-insertion characters that are variants on the theme), this is the first canonical female character to share a body template with Starscream. This is either great or horrible, depending on your perspective.


 * Slipstream could also be some sort of reference to the unusually large (and occasionally somewhat disturbing) number of female fans that the various Starscream characters have attracted over the years, or their habits of drawing Starscream with a near female figure.


 * This may well be the "female without a tragic past" hinted at by the production team at BotCon 2008, although maybe they meant Slo-Mo. Although it's debatable how tragic she would consider being Starscream's clone is.


 * In the Ending Credits of A Bridge Too Close, Part II, Slipstream was mentioned to be just the Female Starscream, it is possible that the creators had no idea who to call her until the series ended.


 * She also seems to be the smart one, as shown when she told the other clones to aim at Omega Supreme's legs in "A Bridge Too Close, Part II." Or maybe we're confusing that with good old Starscream cunning. Wait, that didn't sound right.


 * A Q&A session with Hasbro reps at BotCon 2009 finally revealed her real name, almost a year after her introduction.