Blitzwing (G1)


 * Blitzwing is a Decepticon from the Generation One continuity family.



Blitzwing is loud. He likes to think he has a sense of humor, but what he considers funny is, more often than not, offensively cruel. Obnoxious, belligerent, and nasty, he makes even his fellow Decepticons feel uneasy. His anti-social tendencies can relegate Blitzwing to an outsider status. Due to his social isolation, he's able to see the bigger picture; he can see when his teammates are being played by unseen forces. Of course, if he thinks the trap is amusing enough, he might just let it happen anyway.

"Tell me what's on your mind, or I'll splatter it on the wall and see for myself!"

- Blitzwing, "Triple Takeover"


 * French-Canadian name: Le Blitz
 * Hungarian name: Villámszárny ("Lightning Wing")
 * Italian name: Triplex Due
 * Chinese name (Taiwan): Shǎn-tìen Yì (閃電翼, "Blitz Wing" )

Animated continuity

 * Voice Actor: Ed Gilbert (US), Keiichi Nanba (Japan)

For someone as powerful as he is, Blitzwing does not have the best track record when it comes to decision-making. First, he and fellow Triple Changer Astrotrain decided to do away with both Megatron and Starscream and strike out on their own in search of fame, fortune, and energon. While this would normally be considered suicidal, the two Triple Changers somehow pulled it off and were free to finally do whatever it took to wipe out those pesky Autobots once and for all.

The way they chose to do this, however, did not do much to inspire confidence in their abilities. While his partner went off to play with some trains, Blitzwing's personal strategy for victory was to kidnap a football coach under the mistaken impression that the human was some kind of master strategist. Blitzwing brought the Constructicons in on his plan, and used them to build a maze surrounding the entry to his base/stadium. To Blitzwing's credit, a lot of the Autobots crashed into each other, but soon, the Constructicons demanded a share of the leadership, and then Astrotrain arrived. All three were beaten so quickly by Megatron that it was almost embarrassing, and Blitzwing crept carefully back to the Decepticon ranks, hoping that nobody would remember what had happened.

Blitzwing was also present during the infamous assault on Autobot City in 2005, where he was at the head of the first attack. Together with Shrapnel, he battled Hot Rod and Kup at Lookout Mountain, a fight that did not go in his favour (Kup being surprisingly nimble for an old guy). Blitzwing is also shown participating in the general carnage at Autobot City a short time later, and is one of the several Decepticons who ran afoul of Optimus Prime. Unlike his less fortunate comrades, Blitzwing was able to avoid getting run over, and even managed to shoot back a little before Prime beat him, which is more than most Decepticons expect when facing Optimus Prime. In fact, Blitzwing made it through the entire battle more or less intact, which meant he got to ride all the way to Cybertron without anyone trying to kick him out the back door when he wasn't looking.

When the Quintessons arrived on Chaar to bribe the Decepticon army with promises of energon and revenge, Blitzwing was the only one of his comrades to turn down their offers. He had met their kind before (or at least he thought they seemed familiar to him for some reason) and did not trust them, though he could not remember why. Upon the triumphant return of Galvatron, Blitzwing was the only Decepticon left to greet him. Later, during an assault on Cybertron, it was Blitzwing who discovered that the Quintessons were lying to Galvatron and plotting to destroy all Transformers (instead of just the Autobots, which Blitzwing had no problems with). He tried to report this to Galvatron, but when he could not convince the Decepticon leader, he turned to Rodimus Prime for help. Together, Blitzwing and Rodimus were able to stop the Sharkticon commando team that had infiltrated Cybertron. Galvatron, unfortunately, suspected that Blitzwing was trying to betray the Decepticons and steal the "Decepticon Matrix of Leadership" for himself and threw the Quintessons' nullifying switch, deactivating Transformers galaxy-wide until Spike Witwicky destroyed it. With the Quintessons' deception revealed, Galvatron attempted to renew hostilities with Rodimus, but Blitzwing drew his weapon and targeted Galvatron, stating that the battle was over for now. Seething, but seeing little alternative, Galvatron accepted and withdrew his forces from Cybertron, but banished Blitzwing from the Decepticon ranks forever.

Ironically, Blitzwing had gotten away with actually betraying Megatron, but then managed to get himself branded a traitor and was hurled out of the Decepticons while being perfectly loyal to Galvatron. He would appear again briefly in some crowd scenes in the animated series, likely as the result of carelessness in production.

It should also be noted that when Rodimus offered Blitzwing a place among the Autobots, Blitzwing did turn it down, but also mentioned his respect for Rodimus. This makes Blitzwing one of the few notable Decepticons (along with Octane, Thundercracker, and Carnivac) who do not seem to have any real hatred for the Autobots.

Generation 1
''Blitzwing was one of the most feared and deadly killers on Cybertron, and a specific target in Operation: Volcano. He'd have been killed in a Wreckers ambush if Megatron hadn't abruptly called most of the gang to Earth.

Blitzwing, Astrotrain and Octane were commissioned by Ratbat to investigate the loss of his priceless cargo that had arrived on Earth via a low-cost freighter, but hadn't checked in as scheduled. Upon making contact with the crashed ship, Blitzwing and his companions were infected with Scraplets, and began to slowly waste away. Lucky for them, the Autobot Blaster was also infected, and his friends managed to re-discover the strange and wondrous chemical that acted as a cure. In saving Blaster, the Triple Changers were incidentally saved as well.

Blitzwing and the Triple Changers hooked up with Ratbat and Shockwave full-time after that, operating out of the Decepticons' tropical island starship. At that time, the Ark had left Earth, allowing the other Decepticons to launch increasingly brazen raids; it was the happiest time in Blitzwing's life. He was later part of a major offensive against the Autobots on the moon, when the crews of the Ark and Steelhaven all gathered together as one big target. Blitzwing's fortunes changed, however, when he came sword-to-sword with Grimlock -- it seems the energo-sword is mightier than the electron scimitar. Blitzwing was left in two pieces on the lunar landscape, and one can only assume his fellow Decepticons collected his pieces before fleeing.

Still smarting from his last fight, Blitzwing eagerly rushed into battle with Scorponok's Decepticons when conflict broke out between the two factions. Turnabout is fair play, as this time it was Blitzwing who cut an opponent in two, slicing through Horri-Bull's mid-section. Blitzwing was later destroyed in Buenos Aires along with the other Triple Changers as they tried to fight an Underbase-empowered Starscream.

Earthforce
''Blitzwing was loyal to Shockwave during the split in the Decepticon faction, a precursor to his later career moves. At the Enclave between Megatron and Shockwave's troops, Blitzwing was seen talking to a Stunticon, and was later present during the huge melee initiated by the Autobots. Later, having received insider information from a traitor in Megatron's camp, he joined Shockwave and the other Triple Changers in stealing an energon shipment right out from under Megatron himself, tossing the other Decepticon leader off a cliff in the process. ''

''After the Decepticon factions reunited, they staged a major strike on the Autobot Earthbase. Blitzwing joined Dirge, Thrust and Octane in an airstrike on the Autobot compound, but they were eventually driven off. Later, he and Astrotrain received an SOS from their fellow Triple Changer, Octane, who had somehow driven himself into the middle of a military testing range. While fending off the live ammunition that threatened to set off their tanker truck comrade, Blitzwing demanded to know how this could have happened. Octane finally relented and told his fellow Decepticons that he had been "playing" again, attacking human vehicles for sport, when one of them led him on a merry chase right into his current predicament. Infuriated by the idiot's antics, Blitzwing and Astrotrain left him to his fate in the combat zone. ''

Marvel UK future timelines
In 2004, Blitzwing joined Astrotrain and Shockwave in an assault on Autobot City, but they were driven away when the rash and illogical Hot Rod confused Shockwave's plans.

''When Scourge and Cyclonus forced the Decepticons into an ill-advised assault on Autobase in 2008, Blitzwing was right there on the front lines, charging headlong into battle with...Grapple?!? Uh, somehow he survived that terrifying encounter, and was present at the second major Decepticon offensive of 2008, acting as one of Soundwave's sub-commanders to ready his "team" for combat. Things turned ugly, however, when the Quintesson Trident attack crafts ambushed the Decepticon on their way to Autobase. Amusingly enough, Blitzwing and his fellow Decepticons only survived because Ultra Magnus and the Autobots came to their rescue against the Quints. ''

Generation 2
Blitzwing was seen shouting Decepticon battle slogans like "Rip!" and "Tear!" just before the Cybertronian Empire ripped and tore them a new one.

Dreamwave comics continuity
Blitzwing participated in Shockwave's assault on Iacon and demonstrated triple-changing abilities. However, after the disappearance of Optimus Prime and Megatron in a space bridge explosion, Blitzwing was captured and imprisoned by the Autobots as a dangerous experiment of Shockwave's. He was freed from Autobase by the Fallen, and presumably released back to the Decepticons after the temporary truce that resulted from the Fallen's defeat. Following the departure of the Ark, Blitzwing served as Shockwave's lieutenant, and appeared to be undergoing some sort of mutation which Shockwave did not fully understand.

Somehow, Blitzwing made his way to Earth, and was among the Decepticons captured and deactivated during Operation Liberation. Despite this, he was not among the Transformers recovered and controlled by Lazarus, but instead ended up back on Cybertron, once more under Shockwave's command. Blitzwing was one of the warriors who accompanied Shockwave to Earth to capture the Earth-bound forces of Optimus Prime and Megatron, and was badly damaged by Grimlock in the battle that ensued. Some time later, Blitzwing was attacked and destroyed by the Predacons on Cybertron. His remains were then examined by an unknown Transformer.

IDW comics continuity
Blitzwing is part of a Decepticon infiltration unit that has operated covertly on Earth for at least four years, working to destabilize Earth's governing organizations and create global anarchy. In this continuity, Blitzwing appears to be a MiG-31. He is assigned along with Skywarp to destroy all traces of the Nebraska operation, including Megatron. Thus he was guarding the abandoned bunker when Bumblebee, Ratchet, and their human companions came to investigate it. Ratchet attempted to down him, but Blitzwing fired a direct shot from his tank-mode and then ran the doc right over. Unfortunately, he and Skywarp were interrupted in their bombing when Megatron, both obviously unhurt and seriously pissed, erupted from the rubble. Blitzwing, giving up on apologies, tried to actually fight "the Big Meg". This didn't end well.

Apparently, Megatron forgave Blitzwing for the attempted coup (after nearly destroying him in Nebraska), as he was seen working alongside the Decepticon leader in their Russian operation a few weeks later, his tank form playing a key role in the plot. He showed the power to cloak himself and had a chance to take out Optimus, but was blasted to bits by Optimus Prime's Roller drone.

He and the other Decepticons crapped themselves when Sixshot was called in and realised Megatron was losing it, but didn't dare tell him that - and so went with Astrotrain's plan to bring back Starscream to do it for them. When the Reapers attacked, Blitzwing gave Megatron a very lame report on what was going on and tried to cover for an absent Astrotrain, before joining the fight against the aliens. With Megatron now knowing they'd plotted behind his back, Blitzwing still optimistically tried to say "well, it all worked out, eh guys?" and might have been killed by Megatron if Starscream hadn't pointed out that Earth was now aware of them.

One year later, Blitzwing participated in the massive Decepticon attack on New York City, joining the other flying Decepticons in repelling an attack by human fighter jets.

Generation 1

 * Blitzwing (Triple Changer, 1985/2005)
 * Japanese ID number: 43, TFC-17
 * Accessories: "Gyro-Blaster Rifle", "Electron Scimitar"




 * Originally a Diaclone toy (the only Transformers Triple Changer who had a previous Diaclone release), Blitzwing can transform from robot mode to two different vehicle modes; a MIG-25 fighter jet or a Type-74 assault tank. Originally released in 1985, he was re-issued two decades later in Takara's "bookbox" Transformers Collection series, despite being included in the instruction manual, the rub face decal was no where found on this version.
 * All US versions had the spring-loaded missile launchers severely weakened. The Japanese releases, however, kept the full-strength launching mechanisms.


 * This mold was returned to its Diaclone coloration and re-released in 2005 as Overcharge, an e-Hobby exclusive.

Robot Heroes

 * Autobot Hound vs Blitzwing (2008)

Trivia



 * In the episode "Cosmic Rust" several of the Stunticons fit inside of Blitzwing in his jet mode in a similar way to how Decepticons usually go inside of Astrotrain in his shuttle mode. It would seem as though Blitzwing can mass shift to make his flying alternate mode large enough to fit other Decepticons the way that fellow Triple Changer Astrotrain often does.
 * A Cybertronian battle scene from Comic Bom Bom (reprinted in Transformers Generations) appears to depict (one of?) Blitzwing's original alt mode(s) as a double-barreled tank - a good decade and a half before he received a Cybertronian makeover in The War Within.
 * For a very large portion of his time in Dreamwave, Blitzwing was Grimlock's personal punching bag. Ouch.


 * Blitzwing's earliest Diaclone sculpt had him with a somewhat odd faceless head.