Runway (Armada)

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

I love it when a plan comes together.

Runway is the de facto leader of the Air Defense Mini-Con Team, and also the most talkative of the three. Though reluctant to enter battle, he's an incredibly skilled and quick-witted commander. Given a little time, he can come up with some truly bizarrely-genius ploys that look suicidal at first, but really work out. Even though he's the brains and mouth of the Team, Runway trusts his teammates implicitly, and always looks to them before acting.

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 Runway, Jetstorm, 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. Runway and the other Mini-Cons of the Star Saber trio were hidden away so that no one else might abuse their power. Ruin

Runway's Mini-Con storage panel was recovered from a volcanic island by the Autobots. His was the second of three Star Saber panels the Autobots had recovered, with Megatron having already found the third. Prehistory

Megatron used Sonar, his Air Defense Team Mini-Con, 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 Runway 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

Runway and the others soon changed 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 Runway 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 Runway 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 Runway 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 Runway 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, Runway 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 Runway 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 Runway 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 Runway 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. Runway 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. Runway 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 Runway and the Air Defense Team back with him as well, uniting the three Mini-Con super-weapons under Decepticon control. Crack

Runway 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 Runway fled Unicron aboard the Autobot Jetfire just before the Chaos-Bringer was finally destroyed. Mortal Combat

Dreamwave Armada comic

Runway and his fellow team members, Jetstorm and Sonar, used to live in Mini-Con Village B13, one of the first to be attacked by the Decepticons. After managing to escape imprisonment in Decepticon Headquarters, they took refuge in the Garbage Disposal District, salvaged an old starship and thought up a plan to free their fellow Mini-Cons and leave the planet. To this end, they recruited Sparkplug after finding him injured near Village C52. The mission was a complete success, and the Air Defense Team successfully rescued all the Mini-Cons in the Decepticon base and left for the deep reaches of space. Unfortunately, their ship started malfunctioning shortly after takeoff. Armada #2 Armada Free Comic Book Day

The ship crashed on Earth, and its occupants were left deactivated for roughly a million years. When the Air Defense Team woke up, they hid in a meat processing plant in Rapid City and began to plan for a way to get their war off this planet as well. Most of the planning was left to Runway, though, as Jetstorm and Sonar were incapable of creative thoughts. But it didn't matter in the end, as the Decepticons found them, 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 Runway 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 They arrived at a fortress base constructed there by the Mini-Cons, and Runway, Sparkplug and Leader-1 were taken on an extended tour around the base by Dualor. Armada #9 The three were returned to the other "guests" just before the Decepticons attacked the base. Armada #10

Following the evacuation of the moonbase, Runway 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, Runway 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

Runway was among the Mini-Cons who ended up near Lincoln, Nebraska when their ship crashed, but he disappeared shortly after being reactivated. Deep Trouble! Alongside his teammates, he began performing 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. Runway and Sonar's firepower failed to affect him, but thankfully, they were saved by a team of Autobots. 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!

The Air Defense Team wanted to get off Earth, and they decided that the best (if not the nicest) way to do it was to steal a human spaceship. But when they broke into a NASA facility, they found soldiers from the Extra-Terrestrial Response Division waiting for them. Before he could react, Runway was shot and incapacitated by the humans' "scramblers" and taken to Area 54 alongside his teammates. Unlike the others, he didn't wake up automatically, but had to have his auxiliary processor rebooted by Sonar. Meanwhile, Jetstorm found that the ERTD had captured another team of Mini-Cons, but the Air Defense Team was forced to flee the complex before they could do anything about it. 'We Are Not Alone!'

A while later, the Air Defense Team was again hunted down by Starscream, who had placed a tracer on Jetstorm during their last meeting. After defeating them in combat, the Decepticon 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 Runway 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. As they found the Land Military Team, Runway told his comrades to disable the humans' technology with pulse disruptor beams. Sale of the Century!

Toys

Armada

• Air Defense Mini-Con Team (Mini-Con 3-pack, 2002/2003)

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

Released in the first wave of Armada toys, Runway transforms into a Boeing Sonic Cruiser concept jet plane. He also forms the tip to 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 pair of "Powerlinx" sockets on the underside of his vehicle mode that allow him to attach to larger toys with compatible Powerlinx plugs, activating special gimmicks on the larger toys when attached to a "live" plug.

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

• More information on Runway at TFU.info

• Hot Rod & Air Defense Micron (Multi-pack, 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 3-pack, 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 Jetter.

• More information on Exdimensions Jetter 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 Jetter at TFU.info

• Jetter (Change Micron, 2003)

• Change Mircon ID number: 4
• 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 Jetter at TFU.info

• Jetter (Micron Booster, 2003)

• Booster ID number: 4
• 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 Jetter at TFU.info

• Air Assault Mini-Con Team (Mini-Con 3-pack, 2003)

A "tainted by evil" redeco of the Team released by Hasbro, 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 Mini-Con Team, who are separate characters from the Air Defense Team; this specific mold became Jack.

• More information on Air Assault Runway at TFU.info

Notes

• The Air Defense Team is the only one of the three "legendary Mini-Con weapons" Teams to 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". Finally, it also happened on several occasions in the actual Armada television show. One of the few places it didn't happen was with the Dreamwave Armada comics, but with the character's first appearance, the name was misspelled "Runaway". Fortunately, this didn't crop up again.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Jetter (ジェッター Jettā)
• Korean: Jetter (제터 Jeteo)