Skyscorcher

Not quite finals, but you get the point.

TheSkyscorchers,also known as the "DecepticonSkirmish Patrol ",^[1]are a team of jets whose radar assemblies become powerful hand-held weaponry. They are the opposite numbers to theAxeleratorson the Autobot side.

They're really evil.

The Skyscorchers are:

• WindrazortheF-16 Fighting Falconand team leader
• Afterburnerthe F-104G Starfighter
• Eagle Eyethe Eurofighter Typhoon
• Terradivethe A-7E Corsair II

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

MarvelGeneration 2comic

The Skyscorchers aidedMegatronandStarscreamagainstOptimus Primeand theDinobotsin a battle on an unidentified rocky planet.War Without End!

FleetwayGeneration 2comic

The Skyscorchers (or at least Tornado, Hawk, and Terradive — Snipe was nowhere to be seen) were part ofBludgeon's troops who sackedLondonin a successful attempt to lure outOptimus Prime.War Without EndWhenMegatronattempted to take back leadership of the Decepticons from Bludgeon, the loyal Skyscorchers gathered to attack him. Unfortunately, Hawk and Terradive were shot down and taken captive by the Autobots.War Zone

Regeneration One

Yeah, we're really important, there's no way the writer will kill us off.

The Skyscorchers tried to steal some cobalt-60 warhead-bearingWarbirdmissiles from thePax Cybertronia Decommissioning DepotinKalis,but were caught because of Terradive's clumsiness. Windrazor stomped on the bickering and came up with a plan: surrender to the Autobots, hand over the warheads outside, blow a detonator cap to create lots of light and noise, and then leg it. It would've worked ifSoundwavehadn't decided to create Decepticon martyrs of them and sent threeInsecticonsin to ensure they were seen to die setting the warheads off.Loose Ends, Part 1

Wings Universe

As a "second generation" of Transformers was created inEarth'sCyberfactories,the Skyscorchers were among the many Transformers "born" as official citizens of Earth. Despite being created with no faction in mind, they and many other Earth-born Cybertronians chose to become a new faction of Decepticons—theDecepticon Syndicate,commanded byClench.Generation 2: Redux

Toys

The Transformers

Tornado / Windrazor

• Hawk(Skyscorchers, 1993)
• Snipe(Skyscorchers, 1993)
• Terradive(Skyscorchers, 1993)
• Tornado(Skyscorchers, 1993)

• Known designers:Takio Ejima(TakaraTomy),Masakatsu Saito(concept artist)

Released in the ninth and final year of the originalEuropean/Australasian marketTransformerstoyline(two years after the line ended in the US), the Skyscorchers transform into various fighter jets with undercarriage radars that become non-firing handheld blasters in robot mode. They were first sold in the European market in 1993 (under different names) as part of the "transitional" line that used theGeneration 2insignias,but lacked the new subline name.

Tornado and Snipe weregang-moldedtogether, as were Hawk and Terradive.

Generation 2

• Afterburner / Snipe(Jets, 1993 / Skyscorchers, 1994)
• Eagle Eye / Hawk(Jets, 1993 / Skyscorchers, 1994)
• Terradive / Terradive(Jets, 1993 / Skyscorchers, 1994)
• Windrazor / Tornado(Jets, 1993 / Skyscorchers, 1994)

Shortly after their European release, the Skyscorchers were made available in the United States as part of the properGeneration 2line, with the subgroup simply identified as "Jet": Also, everyone except for Terradive was given a different name. Whereas their Autobot counterparts received minor deco changes for U.S. release, the Decepticons were identical on both sides of the Atlantic.

In 1994, they were re-released in Europe inGeneration 2packaging, though these versions were called "Skyscorchers" again, and all four figures retained their previous European names.

The Skyscorcher molds were supposed to be used for the ultimately-canceled TakaraBlock Townline, as the AutobotsSky Tornado,Snipe,andTerradive,though noBlock TownHawking has never been revealed.

Notes

• The name "Skyscorchers" originates with the European 1993 release of the figures. When they were released as part of theGeneration 2line in the US, the assortment was simply identified as "Jet" (they're sometimes referred to as the "Small Decepticon Jets" to distinguish them from the larger Decepticon "Jets"StarscreamandRamjet), but their European-marketGeneration 2re-release retained the name "Skyscorchers".
• Judging by the "TM" under each, the Skyscorcher members apparently took the time to trademark each of their distinctive G2 Decepticon insignias (thunderbolt for Windrazor, flying Vs for Afterburner, dragon for Eagle Eye, and slashed bar for Terradive). Huh.
• Though the Skyscorchers were never released in Japan, each did gain a Japanese name via aBotCon Japan 1997exclusiveposter, which featured bios for all of the newGeneration 2characters released in the U.S. who weren't part of the Japanese line: theAxelerators,the Skyscorchers,Rotor Force,four of theGo-Bots,and theColor Changers.

Foreign names

• Japanese:Skyscorcher(スカイスコーチャーSukaisukōchā)
• Italian:Colorflashes

References