Slipstream (RID)
From Transformers Wiki
| The name or term "Slipstream" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Slipstream (disambiguation). |
- Slipstream is an Autobot Mini-Con from the Robots in Disguise portion of the Aligned continuity family.
Like his partner Jetstorm, Slipstream is working with his master Drift. Of the two Mini-Cons, Slipstream is the calmer one, preferring to follow Drift's lead on and off the battlefield. He is not above celebrating with Jetstorm though, and the two seem to have good synergy with how they fight. And fight they do, with Slipstream wielding a naginata to cut the enemy down to size. You may not be surprised to learn that in all his endeavours, Slipstream takes after his master quite a bit- a little more than Jetstorm does. Sometimes, Slipstream is a Weaponizer, which should impress his master one way or another.
Contents |
Fiction
2015 Robots in Disguise cartoon
- Voice actor: Roger Craig Smith (English), Isamu Yusen (Japanese), Marco Benedetti (Italian), Petri Hanttu (Finnish, from episode 17), Frédéric Meaux (French, first voice), Yvan Reekmans (French, second voice), Peppino Capotondi (French, One of Our Mini-Cons Is Missing), Patrick Keller (German), Julian Mau (German, 3 episodes), Tommy Rojas (Latin-American Spanish), Glauco Marques (Brazilian Portuguese)
Slipstream and Jetstorm were once students of the Decepticon Shadow Raker, who was primarily interested in teaching them to steal. When fellow student Deadlock left, the pair accompanied him. Out of the Shadows
Slipstream and Jetstorm accompanied Deadlock, now calling himself Drift, to Earth when he went to collect the bounty on Bumblebee and immediately found themselves tangling with Fracture and his Mini-Cons. Slipstream tackled Divebomb until Sideswipe stepped in. The Decepticons retreated and the Autobots returned to their scrapyard base, where the two Mini-Cons were kept entertained by Russell and Fixit. They reattached themselves to Drift when Fixit detected a Cybertronian life signal, and later when Fracture attacked, Drift ordered the pair to protect Bumblebee. Despite their orders, the two Mini-Cons were drawn to protect Russell and Fixit from the Decepticon Mini-Cons, and during a distraction the pair hijacked Fracture's ship, freeing the captured Autobots and using it to threaten Fracture. Unfortunately they crashed the ship, but they did get some rare praise from Drift before they left the planet. Hunting Season
After Jetstorm went missing, Drift and Slipstream followed his trail to Earth, where they found their companion insisting he wanted to be Russell's student. The trio aided Bumblebee's team during a run in with Quillfire and Springload who had commandeered a giant tank, and afterwards Drift decided he and his wards would stay with Bumblebee's team to learn cooperation. One of Our Mini-Cons Is Missing The two Mini-Cons and their master accompanied Bumblebee's team to a derelict ship at the bottom of the sea off the coast where they attempted to capture Octopunch. While moving through the ship's corridors, they became trapped with Sideswipe and attempted to spend their time in captivity meditating, until they were eventually able to escape. Deep Trouble
During a hunt for Fixit, the two Mini-Cons had to deal with a bear and Slipstream managed to get it to run into a fallen tree. They were the first to be blasted when Fixit reverted to his original guard programming, and along with their master, were trapped in containment fields. The Trouble with Fixit After the Autobots were trapped outside their own base using subsonics, Slipstream and Jetstorm were literally catapulted inside and kept Fracture's Mini-Cons busy until the base could be retaken. Lockout The pair joined their master on the hunt for Scowl, though their shenanigans at a resort spa resulted in Drift being clobbered by their Dinobot quarry, Similarly Different and took part in the capture of Zizza by turning off the power to the hangar the Decepticon was hiding out in. The Buzz on Windblade
A visit to the ghost town of Edmondville resulted in the Mini-Cons being frightened of the place at first, but witnessing Drift's attempt to be scary, they cheered up. They were instrumental in capturing Pseudo, both by being able to determine which Drift was the real thing, and when Grimlock hurled them both at the fleeing Decepticon. Ghosts and Impostors Slipstream and Jetstorm reattached themselves to Drift when the Autobots rolled out to rescue Sideswipe and Strongarm from the Decepticons. Battlegrounds, Part 1 During the battle against Megatronus, the two Mini-Cons almost faced off directly against the foe, but were interrupted by Optimus Prime, who took over while they tended to Drift. They later helped drop the arm of the colossal statue onto Megatronus. Battlegrounds, Part 2
Slipstream and Jetstorm listened to Optimus tell old war stories. When Drift was assigned to an "away team" to hunt Decepticons far from the scrapyard, the two Mini-Cons naturally went along as well — during the first mission to the Arctic, they had to help Optimus after the Autobot, weakened after the Primes took away his extra power, was left clinging to a cliff. Overloaded, Part 1 They were able to prevent Optimus from falling, but later became frozen to Drift's arms and unable to be deployed. Overloaded, Part 2
Drift unleashed the pair on Swelter and Glacius, but the evil Mini-Cons turned out to be too much for them to handle. They accompanied the Autobots to a military base, where they were trapped in a metal cocoon with their master and Sideswipe. Cover Me
Investigating possible interference with one of Windblade's caches, Optimus's team found themselves up against Stockade and his army of Mini-Cons. In a bid to act independently in the field, Jetstorm and Slipstream disregarded their master's order to link back up, indirectly resulting in Drift sustaining an injury. The guilty pair ended up trapped in an armory with Sideswipe, but realized they were able to link up with the Autobot. Using this newfound tactical advantage, the trio quickly took down the squadron surrounding them, and headed off to help the rest of their team. The Autobots' concerted efforts resulted in Stockade's defeat. Having seen them perform admirably in his absence, Drift told the two Mini-Cons that their training was complete. However the Mini-Cons insisted on remaining his students, apologizing for their earlier behavior. The stealth team then learned that the scrapyard's GroundBridge was once more operational, and returned to base to rejoin Bumblebee's forces. Graduation Exercises
Slipstream and Jetstorm were present when the Autobots ran into Ratchet, who promptly joined the team. Drift carried them as the Autobots used a ruse to infiltrate the wreck of the Alchemor, which was being used as a base by a group of Decepticons.Decepticon Island (Part 1) As Drift and Ratchet attempted to rescue a captive Windblade, the two Mini-Cons were able to deploy and avoid being trapped in a stasis pod with their master. They freed their fellow Autobots, who were able to defeat Overload, and the group escaped from the ship before a cryo-gas bomb put everyone on board in stasis. With the Decepticon threat now dealt with, several Autobots opted to return to their homeworld. Drift and his Mini-Cons decided instead to stay on Earth under Bumblebee's command to set up a permanent base of operations on the planet. Decepticon Island (Part 2) When news of the Bee Team's exploits reached Cybertron, Slipstream became one of the many Autobots blacklisted by the High Council for being a supporter of Optimus Prime. Enemy of My Enemy
During a visit to Autobot Outpost Omega One, Drift's students were deployed to assist in battling the automated defenses, and later attempted to assist in a fight against Paralon and Buzzstrike. History Lessons After a training exercise went wrong, Jetstorm and Slipstream bravely threatened the training drone's severed head. Strongarm's Big Score During a fight with Tricerashot, Slipstream and Jetstorm charged at him from either side and were knocked out when he jumped out of their way and let them run into each other. Pretzel Logic
A mishap with a high energy pulse generator provoked a wisecrack from Sideswipe at the Mini-Cons' expense, leaving Fixit, Jetstorm and Slipstream angry at him. Following a temporary invasion of the scrapyard by the Weaponizer Mini-Cons, the trio were mistakenly captured by Starscream's men, and used as leverage to force Bumblebee to turn himself over. Mighty Big Trouble Imprisoned aboard Starscream's ship, Slipstream and Fixit succeeded in getting Jetstorm out via a ceiling vent. Mini-Con Madness He returned to release his fellow Mini-Cons, and they freed Bumblebee as well. During the ensuing fight, Jetstorm and Slipstream took out Shadelock, but were only saved from being zapped by RoughEdge when Sideswipe threw himself in front of the blast. Following Starscream's eventual defeat, the pair volunteered to team up with Sideswipe for a while. Worthy
Slipstream and Jetstorm helped Russell train for his championship game. King of the Hill (Part 1) During some training, Grimlock became impressed with the moves the Mini-Con were showing off, and asked to become Drift's pupil too. Slipstream and Jetstorm later watched as Drift resignedly agreed that Grimlock had graduated. Defrosted
The two Mini-Cons successfully took down Zorillor after the Skunkticon sprayed Drift with blinding gunk. During a mission to capture Springload, the Mini-Cons were assigned the task of wrapping the Sphere of Doradus in tin foil in an attempt to block its strange energies. Unfortunately this didn't work all that well. Sphere of Influence The diminutive duo also helped save Bumblebee from a nasty fall during a fight against Drag Strip and Wildbreak. Bee Cool
When Shadow Raker turned up on Earth seeking the return of Slipstream and Jetstorm, Drift forbade the pair from fighting. They came up with a plan of their own, and when Shadow Raker captured them, Slipstream pretended to be loyal to the Con, divulging the location of a stash of Shanix which kept the Con on Earth long enough to be defeated. Out of the Shadows The two Mini-Cons ran into problems working with Grimlock after the Dinobot was mind-swapped with Drift. Unable to link with him, they had to ride on his back during a mission to defeat the Stunticons. Disordered Personalities
Drift deployed Jetstorm and Slipstream to attack Blastwave, but the pair were simply swatted aside by their opponent. Guilty As Charged While cleaning Drift's katana, Slipstream accidentally shattered it by using the wrong cleaner. Sideswipe helped him cover it up, until Drift inevitably found out during their mission to prevent the Stunticons from stealing the power source of a maglev train. Seeing Sideswipe cop the blame forced Slipstream to confess. Railroad Rage The two Mini-Cons helped pull a crashed truck to safety after the Stunticons ran it off the road. Combine and Conquer When Optimus recruited Drift for a mission, his two students naturally accompanied him. Moon Breaker
During Bee Team's mission to expose the new council, Drift deployed Slipstream and Jetstorm, and they were able to disable the Light Benders the council were using, revealing them to be a group of Decepticons. Cyclonus ordered the other Decepticons to take the two Mini-Cons prisoner, but ended up blasting the pair when they turned out to be too tricky to catch. They recovered in time to help Drift defeat Riotgear. In the aftermath of the battle, Optimus appointed Bee Team ambassadors to Earth. They returned to the scrapyard, where Drift told his students to observe Sideswipe and Strongarm as an example of how not to behave as members of a team. Freedom Fighters
2015 Robots in Disguise books
Following Filch's escape, Slipstream and Jetstorm created sparks with their swords, luring her in so that Denny could catch her with his electromagnet. Bumblebee Versus Scuzzard
After doubt was thrown on Drift's motives, Drift left the team and Bumblebee tried to interrogate Jetstorm and Slipstream to find out what they knew. The pair eventually opened up after Russell won them over and admitted they knew Drift used to be a Decepticon. A short time later the scrapyard was taken over by Foxtrot and Stilts, who held Slipstream and Denny captive until Drift returned and stealthily freed them. Drift's Samurai Showdown
During the incident with Skinkbomb, Drift and his Mini-Cons were off on a scouting mission, and Fixit didn't have any luck contacting them. The Trials of Optimus Prime
The away team headed to Mount Everest to hunt Abominus. Slipstream became separated from the rest of the team due to an avalanche and encountered Loren Fortean's film crew, secretly keeping them safe from the array of boobytraps set up by the Decepticon, and eventually managed to free the rest of the team who had been captured by Abominus himself. The team successfully captured Abominus and scared off the film crew. Autobot World Tour
Robots in Disguise shorts
Slipstream grew up on Luna 1. He led a happy childhood in Helpful City until he was attacked by Cyclones in Serenity Yard. They stole from him his first ball bearing. Emotionally wounded by the assault, he turned to a life of petty theft to fill the void left inside him. The Tragedy of Slipstream
When Slipstream and Jetstorm were getting ready to watch a movie, Sideswipe taught them about the concept of "dibs." Slipstream was quite impressed by Sideswipe's ability to have first claim to anything by uttering a single word, declaring him "most powerful." Fixit then detected that the Cyclones Backtrack and Ransack were on the loose and informed the entire Bee Team as much. Slipstream called "dibs" on recapturing the Cyclones. Though Bumblebee was concerned with letting him take on the job, Drift allowed Slipstream to take on such a heavy burden on his own. The Power of Dibs
Hearing someone following him, Slipstream turned and struck his stalker, discovering it to be Jetstorm, concerned for his friend. Slipstream explained that his need to bring the Cyclones to justice stemmed from his childhood trauma when Jetstorm insisted to go along with him. The Tragedy of Slipstream The pair soon crossed paths with their quarry, as well as the Decepticon Mini-Cons pursuing them. Though Slipstream informed them that he had already called "dibs" on the Cyclones, the Decepticons insisted on fighting over them nonetheless. Slipstream took on Airazor while Jetstorm battled Divebomb. But when Slipstream was accidentally knocked into a rock mound built by the Cyclones during the brawl, the unaligned Mini-Cons turned their firepower on the other four, forcing them to take cover together. A Level Playing Field Insisting that the Decepticons find their own place to hide, Slipstream instigated a brawl with the Decepticons again, culminating into a slap-fight. Jetstorm put an end to it, telling Slipstream that while it was true he had called "dibs" on the Cyclones, his claim was meaningless if they were all in pieces. Working together, the four aligned Mini-Cons managed to take out the two unaligned ones. Though Slipstream and Jetstorm then informed Airazor and Divebomb that they were obligated to take them in, the Decepticons invoked the ancient Earth tradition of "Not it!" allowing them to walk away.
When Slipstream and Jetstorm returned to base with the Cyclones in hand, they were met with a surprise hug from Drift. Their teacher quickly regained his composure, though he admitted that he was glad his students had made it back safely. Two Plus Two Equals More
IDW Robots in Disguise comic
The two Mini-Cons took part in a fight at Fort Tucker, attacking a flying Vehicon in the air. Robots in Disguise #5 After the Autobots located Steeljaw's hideout, the pair got the imprisoned Fixit and Russell to safety while the rest of the team tackled the Decepticons. Robots in Disguise #6
Commercial appearances
Drift launched Slipstream and Jetstorm so that they could do battle against Fracture's own Mini-Con partners. The Autobots were victorious, and Slipstream high-fived Jetstorm as Drift loomed proudly over them. Robots in Disguise Deployers toy commercial
Games
Robots in Disguise mobile game
Transformers Super Mini-Con Striker
Slipstream acted as a field player in a soccer match between him, Drift and Jetstorm; and the Decepticons Fracture, Divebomb and Airazor. Transformers Super Mini-Con Striker
Power Up for Battle
During a battle, Bumblebee dropped a stasis pod containing what's supposed to be Slipstream for Optimus Prime to use as a weapon against Starscream. The Mini-Con provided the Autobot leader with bigger and stronger blaster bolts for a short period of time. Power Up for Battle
Toys
Robots in Disguise (2015)
(Hasbro version pictured)
- Slipstream (Mini-Con, 2015)
- TakaraTomy ID number: TMC02
- TakaraTomy release date: April 29, 2016
- Accessories: Armor sprue (lion-head helmet, 2 swords, 2 shields, backpack, 2 flames)
- Part of the first wave of Robots in Disguise single-packed Mini-Cons, Slipstream transforms from a robot to a "buzzsaw" disk in a single simple step. In this mode, he is compatible with the launching mechanism on the Deployer Drift mold.
- He comes with a number of clear plastic accessories attached to an Autobot-insignia-shaped sprue, which can be attached to him using tabs and slots. While most of these pieces can remain on Slipstream when transforming him to buzzsaw mode, the swords need to be removed from his hands and re-tabbed into slots just above the shields. Some of these parts can combine with those of his wavemates Divebomb, Dragonus and Sawback to form an energy lion... like, the uh, lion head. Kinda obvious there.
- In Japan, the individual Slipstream was sold nearly a year later, in the first and only wave of TakaraTomy's Adventure: Prime of Micron single-pack Microns. This release is much more extensively painted to make him more show-accurate... even moreso than his prior Takara release as a pack-in with Drift (see below). He also has a different scan-badge, which checks him off in the Transformers Chronicle phone app's toy checklist. In-package, the badge is covered by a dummy sticker that doesn't scan.
- Drift Micronshooter Set[sic] (Mini-Con Deployer, 2015)
- TakaraTomy ID number: TAV27
- TakaraTomy release date: September 19, 2015
- Accessories: Armor sprue (lion-head helmet, 2 swords, 2 shields, backpack, 2 flames)
- Released in the seventh wave of TakaraTomy's Adventure toyline, this version of Slipstream has a bit more detail paint than the Hasbro single-pack release, to give him a more show-accurate deco (but not the most show-accurate deco, as seen above).
- He only came packed in with the larger "Micron Shooter" Drift and his fellow student Jetstorm, where the Hasbro release of this Drift toy only came with Jetstorm.
- Blizzard Strike Slipstream (Mini-Con, 2016)
- Accessories: Armor sprue (lion-head helmet, 2 swords, 2 shields, backpack, 2 flames)
- Slipstream was redecoed for the third wave of Robots in Disguise single-packed Mini-Cons, now colored in two shades of blue, to match the similarly-decoed Blizzard Strike Drift toy.
- He retains the same accessories as his original release, although his new wavemates Swelter, Hammer, and Back don't include the right armor pieces to form the energy lion, or really anything else coherent.
- Mini-Con 4-Pack (Multi-pack, 2016)
- Accessories: Armor sprue (helmet, 2 gatling cannons, 2 barrel add-ons, 2 blast effects)
- Released in the second of three Mini-Con 4-Packs, this "Weaponizer" version of Slipstream is an extensive retooling of his original toy, now transforming into a double-barreled blaster cannon that can be held via 5 mm post. This means he's no longer compatible with Deployer Drift's launching mechanism.
- He also includes a different armor sprue, featuring parts that turn him into a quadruple-barreled gun (or possibly sextuple if you think those parts that attach to his barrel-sides are also blasters), with two blast effects that plug into his large barrel muzzles. He can also equip the parts from the normal buzzsaw version, although not all at the same time as his new parts. And again, his hand-held weapons must be manually removed and repositioned when going from robot to weapon modes.
- While his buzzsaw versions feature a determined look on his face, his Weaponizer toy has an enraged or battling expression. He will ruin you.
- This Mini-Con 4-Pack also came with Anvil, Scorch Strike Undertone, and Hammer.
- Slipstream (Weaponizer Mini-Con, 2016)
- Accessories: Armor sprue (helmet, 2 gatling cannons, 2 barrel add-ons, 2 blast effects)
- Weaponizer Slipstream was also released in the the fifth wave of single-pack Mini-Cons (the first wave of Weaponizer single-packs), now in an icy blue color, once again to match the various Arctic-themed Drift toys. His armor sprue is now orange.
- Both waves of individual Weaponizer Mini-Cons ultimately went unreleased in the US, not even coming out through discounters. They did see release in various European and Asian markets.
Kre-O
- Autobot Drift (Kreon Triple Changer,
2015)- Accessories: 2 swords, Slipstream & Jetstorm Kreons
- Known designers: Evan Brooks (Hasbro)[1]
- Kreon Triple Changer Autobot Drift mooshes all the incarnations of Drift into one form! This built-up Kreon transforms from robot to sportscar to helicopter, without needing to be disassmebled. His general appearance is based on Generation 1 Drift, his altmodes come from Age of Extinction Drift, and of course his micro-Kreon Mini-Con partners Slipstream and Jetstorm hail from Robots in Disguise Drift.
- Drift (along with Blitzwing) was shown at Toy Fair 2015, but no accounts of it seeing release in any market have ever surfaced.
Proceed on your way to oblivion. |
Merchandise
Dickie Toys
- Optimus Prime Battle Truck (2016)
- Accessories: Slipstream figure, Sawback figure, 2 Slipstream discs, 2 Sawback discs
- A Non-transforming Slipstream figurine comes with the similarly non-transforming Optimus Prime truck, as well as a disc projectile with a sculpted image of Slipstream. The disc can be launched from Optimus Prime's truck front or both sides of the built-in pressure-firing launchers. The Slipstream figurine can be attached to the top of the truck or to the launchers, but does not activate any extra gimmicks.
- Bumblebee (Mini-Con Deployer, 2016)
- Sideswipe (Mini-Con Deployer, 2016)
- The Slipstream disc, along with Sawback's, is also available with either Mini-Con Deployer Bumblebee or Sideswipe, which can be launched from his vehicle front.
Plastic Robots
- Robots in Disguise 8-pack (2017)
- Robots in Disguise 11-pack (2017)
- Another non-transforming, but show-accurate Slipstream figurine is available in either of these gift sets.
Notes
- In the Japanese dub of the series, Transformers Adventure, Slipstream and Jetstorm end every sentence with de gozaru (でござる), an archaic honorific associated with the samurai. Drift uses it, too, but a bit more reasonably; the Mini-Cons use it to comedic excess as their verbal tic.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Slipstream (スリップストリーム Surippusutorīmu)
- Mandarin: Huá Liú (China, 滑流, "Slip Flow")