Jetstorm (Armada)

Jetstorm is a Mini-Con from the Armada portion of the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

Not Runway, apparently.

Jetstorm is bottling up a whole lot of anger and resentment against the Decepticons. He hides it all under an air of good-naturedness, and tends to simply follow whatever plans his teammates Runway and Sonar come up with. He's afraid of his own anger, especially since he knows that evil intent can warp the power of the Air Defense Team's combined mode, the Star Saber, so he tries hard to stay calm and cool. It's better to be thought of as simple-minded than unleash an evil onto the universe for the Decepticons to control, he figures.

Fiction

Toy pack-in comics

While demolishing a Decepticon satellite dish, the Air Defense Mini-Con Team detected a Mini-Con distress signal and reported it to Optimus Prime. The Autobot leader ordered them to wait till they had backup, but the impatient Mini-Cons set out on their own, finding the distress signal to be a trap by Galvatron. Capturing the three, Galvatron forced them to combine into the Dark Saber. The weapon was of little help in battle with Optimus Prime and Jetfire, who rescued the Mini-Cons by combining and kicking Galvatron away. Released from captivity, the Mini-Cons were reprimanded by the two Autobots for their disobedience. Armada Volume 3

Armada cartoon

The animators took tips from José Delbo and AKOM in character model tracing.

Long ago, the panels containing Jetstorm, Runway, and Sonar were discovered by the people of Atlantis. With the power of the Mini-Cons, they created a mighty empire. But the rest of the world turned on them, leading to Atlantis's downfall. Jetstorm and the other Mini-Cons of the Star Saber trio were hidden away so that no one else might abuse their power. Ruin

Jetstorm's Mini-Con panel was found embedded in an Antarctic ice wall by Starscream. Before he could warp back to the moon, however, the panel was snagged by Red Alert. Back at base, the Autobots caught a brief glimpse of Jetstorm before his storage panel sent him back into a pre-programmed hibernation. Soldier

Eventually, the other two Air Defense Team panels were recovered by the Autobots and Decepticons, one apiece. Megatron then used Sonar to track down the other members of his trio and pinpoint the Autobot base. When they came into the presence of Jetstorm and Runway, Megatron and Sonar were able to activate the other two and forge the Star Saber for the first time in millennia. Before Megatron could fully powerlinx with the sword, however, it was knocked from his hand and fell into Hot Shot's grasp. Hot Shot had the Star Saber scan his image, and so he became the primary wielder of the most powerful weapon in the galaxy. Swoop

Hot Shot continued to partner with Jetstorm and his comrades, using the Star Saber at every available opportunity. He used them to battle Starscream and Scavenger out in some grassy fields. Overmatch Next, he brought the Air Defense Team to the big city, and confronted Scavenger again before finally using the Star Saber to cleave through an entire highway, setting the mercenary up for a great big fall. Gale

Jetstorm and the others soon exchanged hands, however, thanks to a carefully orchestrated plot by the turncoat, Sideways. After tricking Hot Shot into traveling to the Decepticon base on the moon, Sideways got him to relinquish control of the Star Saber long enough for Starscream to powerlinx with the trio instead, claiming the sword as his own. Credulous The Decepticons celebrated a streak of victories after claiming the Star Saber, although Megatron wasn't satisfied until he manipulated Starscream into giving over personal control of the Star Saber to him. Conspiracy Megatron used Jetstorm and his comrades in battle at every opportunity, relishing in the power he gained from the Star Saber. Even the mighty sword didn't stop Scavenger and Optimus Prime from humiliating him in one conflict, though. Trust

Megatron continued to use his new sword in every battle that followed, so much so that Jetstorm and the others were rarely seen in their separate forms. After he gained the Skyboom Shield as well, Megatron attempted to destroy Optimus Prime once and for all by wielding the Air Defense Team and Race Team in battle at once. He failed, and ended up losing the shield to the Autobots. Decisive Battle

The Star Saber remained Megatron's favorite toy in battle, but the tide had truly turned once the Autobots took possession of the Skyboom Shield. Perhaps considering that methods other than brute force were needed, Megatron summoned the tactician Thrust to Earth. Thrust acquired the Air Military Team, who supplemented Jetstorm and the Air Defense Team as a considerable air force. This marked the first occasion where Megatron allowed others to use the Defense Team since swiping them from Starscream, and utilizing them as individuals instead of just as the sword. Thrust used Sonar and the others in a trap for the Autobots at the bottom of a deep ravine, and the Decepticons only lost due to the timely arrival of Jetfire. Tactician

Thrust and the Decepticon Mini-Con Air Force struck again in another airborne struggle, where Jetfire was confronted by nearly a dozen flying Decepticon and Mini-Con opponents, cut off from his ground-based comrades. Sonar, Runway and Jetstorm kept him distracted until Megatron summoned them to form the Star Saber against the other Autobots. Linkup With Thrust's tactical scenarios in full play, Jetstorm and the Air Defense Team continued to alternate between serving in the Decepticon Air Force and as Megatron's personal Star Saber. Desperate

After Megatron set his eyes on a new prize, the Requiem Blaster, he reluctantly passed off the Star Saber to Starscream as part of a plot to steal the Blaster from the Autobots. Starscream was given the sword to call the Autobots out for combat, but was soon abandoned on the battlefield when Thrust closed the warp field behind him, leaving Starscream alone and stranded in the midst of enemies. He tried to fight Optimus Prime with the Star Saber, but Prime continually refused to strike back, saying his only concern was the protection of the Mini-Cons. This apparently penetrated the processors of Jetstorm and the others, as the Star Saber powered down in Starscream's hands, and he couldn't get the blade to work for him any more against Optimus. Sacrifice

Battered and bruised, Starscream eventually made his way back to the Decepticon moon base with Jetstorm and the Air Defense Team in tow. Megatron off-handedly brushed off the fact that they deserted Starscream, and told him to get himself cleaned up. While rejuvenating in an energon bath, Starscream generously invited Runway, Sonar and Jetstorm to join him in the chamber. After Starscream overheard Megatron and Thrust plotting to further mistreat him, he abandoned the Decepticon cause and took the Air Defense Team with him. The Star Saber Mini-Cons reunited with the Autobots when Starscream joined his former enemies in the hopes of gaining revenge against Megatron. In fact, it was the concern that Jetstorm and the others showed for Starscream that helped convince Optimus Prime to accept Starscream into their ranks. Regeneration

After Starscream failed to revenge himself upon Megatron during a moon raid, he used the Star Saber to take out his fury on some rock formations around the Autobot base. Jetstorm and the other Mini-Cons tried to calm him down, but to no avail. Starscream brought the Star Saber with him on the next mission, to Mars, but he ignored the search for the Mini-Con because of his obsession with facing Megatron. Jetstorm and his partners had to seek out Jetfire to bring Starscream back in line with the mission. Mars When Starscream decided to return to the Decepticons, he brought Jetstorm and the Air Defense Team back with him as well, uniting the three Mini-Con super-weapons under Decepticon control. Crack

Jetstorm and the Air Defense Team had little time to act as individuals after that, remaining powerlinxed as the Star Saber while the Decepticons used the sword as one-third of the Hydra Cannon, before it was stolen by Sideways and used to provide power to the heart of Unicron. Runway, Sonar and Jetstorm reawakened as individuals with the help of High Wire and the Street Action Team, who had journeyed to Unicron's core with Optimus Prime, Galvatron and the Earth children to grant the super-weapon Mini-Cons their freedom. Origin Jetstorm fled Unicron aboard the Autobot Jetfire just before the Chaos-Bringer was finally destroyed. Mortal Combat

Dreamwave Armada comic

When the Decepticons began hunting down Mini-Cons, Jetstorm lived Mini-Con Village B13 along with his teammates Runway and Sonar. The Decepticons eventually attacked B13 and captured them, but they escaped Decepticon Headquarters and took refuge in the Garbage Disposal District, where they managed to salvage an old starship. The Air Defense Team planned to break their fellow Mini-Cons out of the Decepticon base, then take to the stars in search of freedom. When they found another runaway Mini-Con, Sparkplug, Jetstorm extracted a Decepticon tracking device from his shoulder. With Sparkplug's help, they successfully then went through with their plan. Armada #2

However, their ship malfunctioned and crashed on Earth, where the Jetstorm and the others lay dormant for a million years. After awakening thanks to a reactivation signal, they hid in Rapid City whilst thinking up a new plan letting Runway think up a new plan to get them and their brothers into space again. Before long, they were found by the Decepticons, who captured them and forcibly combined them into the powerful Star Saber. Armada #6 Megatron used the sword to attack the Autobot base, but Optimus Prime took it from him and begged the Air Defense Team to fight Megatron's control and remember who they were. His pleas got through, and Jetstorm and his teammates separated and fought back against the Decepticons. They still didn't want to join the Autobots, though, and went back into hiding. Armada #7

Some time later, the Air Defense Team was summoned to a strange structure in Kansas. Mindlessly, they flew to the structure and entered it, and it turned out to be a starship designed to bring them to the Moon. Armada #8 Jetstorm and Sonar were left imprisoned on Dualor's moonbase while Runway was taken on a tour around the place. Armada #9 Shortly after Runway was reunited with them, the Decepticons attacked the moonbase. Armada #10

Following the evacuation of the moonbase, Jetstorm and his teammates disappeared for a while. They returned when a larger threat than the Decepticons showed up in the form of a Herald of Unicron. Against their better judgment, the Air Defense Team came to Megatron's aid and combined into the Star Saber, allowing him to defeat his powerful opponent. Worlds Collide, Part 3 of 4 Thankfully, Megatron didn't get to keep his hold on the Star Saber, as the Land Military Mini-Con Team distracted him and allowed the Air Defense Team to separate and escape. Worlds Collide, Part 4 of 4

The Herald of Unicron was soon followed by Unicron himself, so all the Mini-Cons on Earth gathered to join the fight against him. After returning to Cybertron, Jetstorm joined the rest of the Mini-Cons in channeling their energies through the Mini-Con Matrix and heavily damaging Unicron. The End

Panini Armada comic

Jetstorm was among the Mini-Cons who ended up near Lincoln, Nebraska when their ship crashed, but he disappeared shortly after being reactivated. Deep Trouble! He began leading his team on various heroic deeds around the country, such as diverting a falling satellite from crashing in Chicago. However, this accident turned out to be bait set by Starscream, who was out to capture the team. Jetstorm was quickly grabbed by the Decepticon and urged his teammates to save themselves. He ended being saved by a team of Autobots, and while he denied their invitation to join the Autobots, he didn't notice that Starscream had placed a tracking device on him... Devices and Desires!

The Air Defense Team's rescue of Chicago wound up being captured on camera, and images of the three Mini-Cons was broadcast on television. Blast from the Past!

In their quest to get off Earth, the Air Defense Team decided to steal a human spaceship from NASA. However, when they broke into a hangar, they found soldiers from the Extra-Terrestrial Response Division waiting for them. They incapacitated Runway, and Jetstorm only had time to warn Sonar against not hurting the humans before they two were taken down and captured. Jetstorm and the others were taken to Area 54, where he and Sonar quickly woke back up. Curious about the ERTD's apparent knowledge about Mini-Cons, Jetstorm hacked their database and found that they had previously captured the Land Military Team as well. However, his hacking triggered an alarm, and the Air Defense Team were forced to escape. 'We Are Not Alone!'

Before the team could plan a way to save the Land Military Team, Starscream followed the tracker on Jetstorm and captured them. He disengaged their personality chips and combined them into the legendary Star Saber, which he promptly used to assault the Street Action Team. However, Starscream didn't know only the will of the Air Defense Team members could keep the Star Saber's power in check, so without their personalities intact, the weapon quickly went out of control. As its power threatened to rip the Earth apart, Optimus Prime showed up and urged Jetstorm and the others to separate our of their own free will. His words reached them, and the planet was saved. The Two-Edged Blade! The Air Defense Team subsequently told the Autobots about the Mini-Cons captured by the ERDT and managed to track them down thanks to Amos Hume. They found that the humans were attempting to auction them off, so Jetstorm and the others interrupted by disabling their technology with pulse disruptor beams. He then suggested that they let the auction owner be dealt with by the human military forces converging on the area. Sale of the Century!

Toys

Let's see what you can see... This article is in need of images. Specifics: Kabaya, Booster, and "Anime" toys

Armada

• Air Defense Mini-Con Team (Mini-Con Team, 2002/2003)

• Takara name: Air Defense Micron
• Takara ID number: MM-02
• Takara release date: December 26, 2002
• Known designers: Hironori Kobayashi (TakaraTomy)

Released in the first wave of Armada toys, Jetstorm transforms into a Concorde Super Sonic Transport jet plane. He also forms the middle portion of the Star Saber sword, which can be held by any other Transformer that has 5 mm fist-holes. As a Mini-Con, he has a "Powerlinx" socket on the underside of his vehicle mode that allows him to attach to larger toys with compatible Powerlinx plugs, activating special gimmicks on the larger toys when attached to a "live" plug.

Due to being made of translucent plastic, Jetstorm's elbow housings tend to develop stress fractures over time, which can threaten to crack them into uselessness if too much pressure is applied when transforming him.

He was only available in a Mini-Con three-pack with his teammates Runway and Sonar.

• More information on Jetstorm at TFU.info

• Hot Rod & Air Defense Micron (Multi-pack, December 26, 2002)

• Sonokong name: Red Gun & Air Defense
• ID number: MS-01
• Takara release date: December 26, 2002

In Japan, the Air Defense Microns were available both in an individual set and in a multi-pack with Hot Rod and Jolt. All of the toys in the set are identical to their individual releases.

This set explains the team's clear plastic: it was intended to go with Takara Hot Rod's electronic light-up fist, a feature that was dropped from the Hasbro Hot Shot release of the toy for cost reasons. (The Takara version mostly just lights up sword-base, but not the rest of the Star Saber.)

This set was also released by Sonokong in Korea, with no changes from the Takara release, other than the packaging. This was also the only way to obtain "Red Gun" (Hot Shot) and the "Air Defense" in Korea.

• Air Defense Micron Exdimensions (Mini-Con Team, 2002)

• ID number: MM-07
• Release date: December 26, 2002

A limited-edition (yet still standard retail) "Exdimensions" redeco of the Air Defense Microns was released in Japan. For this version, the team's opaque plastics changed to orange and red, and the paint trim changed to match.

This toy also doubles as the separate character Mach.

• More information on Exdimensions Mach at TFU.info

• CD Limited Edition Air Defense Micron (CD pack-in, 2003)

• Release date: February 1, 2003

Cast entirely in blue and clear-blue plastics, this incarnation of the Air Defense Microns is supposed to represent the Star Saber as it appears in the cartoon when combined into the Star Saber, as a glowing blue "energy blade".

It was only available as a pack-in with the CD single of the Legends of the Microns cartoon's ending theme, "Never Ending Road", by Psychic Lover.

The Team's official name has bounced a bit: the name listed above is what it's called on the packaging. Magazine solicitations called it the "Air Defense Micron Clear Blue Edition", while the "Micron Museum" portion of Takara's website called it the "Air Defense Micron Anime Color (CD version)".

• More information on Anime Color Mach at TFU.info

• Mach (Change Micron, 2003)

• Change Micron ID number: 5
• Release date: April ??, 2003

Part of the first Kabaya candy toy Change Micron assortment, each of the Air Defense Microns were sold in individual boxes, packed with a small bag of sugar-pellet candy.

The most immediately-noticeable change to these toys is that their transparent plastics have been replaced with opaque white (which certainly makes them a lot more sturdy). However, these toys are also actually a completely new mold-set, with various tiny detail differences from the Hasbro/Takara releases.

• More information on Change Micron Mach at TFU.info

• Mach (Micron Booster, 2003)

• Booster ID number: 3
• Release date: August 7, 2003

Part of the first Micron Booster set, sold only in individual blind-packed boxes, this version of the Air Defense Microns is almost wholly identical to the normal retail release. The only difference is that this version is cast in slightly-sparkly plastic and uses slightly-sparkly paint. The difference is almost unnoticeable unless you look at the two versions side-by-side.

• More information on Micron Booster Mach at TFU.info

• Air Assault Mini-Con Team (Mini-Con Team, 2003)

A "tainted by evil" redeco of the team was released by Hasbro in the fourth wave of the Armada line. This version of the trio replaces the transparent plastic with opaque off-white, the other colors turning predominantly black and purple.

This coloration was altered for the Takara Air Assault Micron set, who are separate characters from the Air Defense Mini-Con Team; this specific mold became Mad.

• More information on Air Assault Jetstorm at TFU.info

Notes

• The Air Defense Team is the only one of the three "legendary Mini-Con weapons" Teams to not appear in either of Armada's sequel series.
• Runway and Jetstorm's names are reversed in the original Air Defense Team's instructions. Their names are also reversed in several licensed Armada print material, like the coloring and activity books put out by Bendon Publishing International, Inc., as well as in the DK Readers book "The Quest". This did not occur with the Dreamwave Armada comics, however.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Mach (マッハ Mahha)
• Hungarian: Gépvihar ("Planestorm")
• Korean: Mach (마하 Maha)