JaAm
From Transformers Wiki
| This article is about the unusual substance. For the Japanese supergroup, seeJAM Project. |
Hot Shotis obsessed withJaAm.No one's really sure what it is, though Hot Shot's Autobot peers have suggested it may be some mysterious fuel source. Regardless, it's important enough to Hot Shot that he had a vanity license plate made to proclaim his love for it!
What is "JaAm"??
Just before theArmadatoyline's launch in 2002, scans of thefirstpack-inmini-comicwere released online, and quickly became the subject of ire. The original comic was trilingual, forcing thewriterto fit three languages' worth of dialogue into tiny speech bubbles, resulting in unintentionally goofy-sounding stilted prose. To poke fun at the comic, British fanYartekrewrote the entire thing with ridiculous and crude dialogue, with Hot Shot specifically speaking in nonsense in randomly-mixed-caseComic Sans.The most famous quote from the comic, "jaAm", comes from Hot Shot's description of the large green energy-draining device, which he mistakes for a container ofjam.Hot Shot's obsession with the foodstuff was apparently inspired by the "Bunny Cuddles" stories from the British magazinePlayhour,featuring an anthropomorphic rabbit whose favorite food was jam.
The rewritten mini-comic immediately took on a life of its own within the fandom, surviving as a meme long beyondArmada.For instance, whenBen Yeeoverhauled his toy review system, he commissioned Hot Shot fanDavid Willisto create a series of images based on the mini-comic. Our own coverage of the meme seems to have played a part in perpetuating it: the specific capitalization of "JaAm" used when Hasbro themselves made reference to it is sourced not from the comic, but apparently from this very page.
The first official reference to JaAm came with Hot Shot'snew figureas part of the 2008Universeline, which referred to it both on his vanitylicense plateand in his on-package bio. Years later, JaAm was again referenced in theRescue Bots Academyepisode "Rescue Promo":whenthat show's versionof Hot Shot was dropped into a vat during a rescue mission at an out of controlGriffin Rockcake factory, he emerged covered in a blue substance which he declared to be "jaaaam!"
All this said... it is a joke that hasnotaged wellat all,and looks worse as time goes on, even as its origins are increasingly obscured by time as often happens with memes. For many, the source joke is—at best—ableist and in poor taste. However, TFWiki.net has elected to retain the link to the original comic below purely for contextual purposes.
External links
- "Armada - The REAL Story", by Yartekon FortMax's Instructions Archive
