Skywarp: His Powers and Abandonment
Nov. 6th, 2023 08:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miscellaneous_sectionGoing back on track, here's the speculative character essay of mine. I don't think I can recapture the feel and inspiration I had when I wrote this, so don't expect it getting any updates anytime soon. It's more of a screenshot in time where I was still enjoying writing essay-long meta pieces about my favorite characters. I have to thank my 12th grade literary exploration teacher for allowing some creative topics about the books we've read; I had a lot of fun writing.
Here's the AO3 link, or you can read it down below.
Yes, you read the title right. We’re going there. I’m going to be discussing Skywarp’s character and powers, and how it relates to the probability of him having abandonment issues. Well, I’m just experimenting with the idea, so there is going to be some speculation thrown around. It’s only a possibility, but it wouldn’t be too bad to give it a shot though.
I love the three Seekers and it’s understandable even with their IDW’s developments so far. I want to read Thundercracker’s moments on Earth, and Starscream being a ruler of Cybertron. So, for now, I’ll stick to reading All Hail Megatron online, The Transformers (Ex-)Robots in Disguise and More Than Meets the Eye in volumes for the time being. Skywarp on the other hand, well, his only development so far is that he can’t control his form because his teleportation is malfunctioning from getting stabbed while he was re-materializing. He’s been trying to get someone to help him and with no avail. Then joins G.I. Joe because he was left on Bikini Atoll in an abandoned EDC base filled with Dire Wraiths for two days straight, and I’m pretty sure they’re going to be bitter about this. Yeah, I noticed that Skywarp is the most underdeveloped character in the Transformers universe. He’s a thug who pulls pranks and can teleport when you boil down his main bio, right? Personally, I think there is more to him then we realized. I will be using the comics as evidence for this post. But, how do I accomplish such a task without getting around to reading the later issues? Research, and lots of it.
Alright, lets get the basics out of the way. We don’t know anything about his backstory because it’s been left in the dark. About a few characters do get a backstory: Optimus used to be Orion Pax who was once an enforcer for a corrupt government, a soldier who then becomes a leader of a group that was once the embodiment of that government at the time but has gone through some changes, Megatron was once an energon miner who wanted to make a change for a better tomorrow but turned to violence when peace wasn’t as option anymore, and Soundwave was left alone on the streets with out-of-control heighten hearing that borderlines to having mind reading abilities and this is how he met Ravage, Buzzsaw, and Laserbeak for the first time. Starscream was constructed cold and was just another cog in the machine. Skywarp doesn’t seem to have one at the moment, but we can use clues and speculate his past at best. The other basic is his bio for the comics, and there’s not that much unless you combine some of the elements of his main bio. This is who he is: He’s one of the Seekers in Starscream’s and Megatron’s command. He is the only Decepticon, if not the only Cybertronian, to have the ability to teleport. But, the comics show us that he does use the fullest potential of his teleportation powers in battles. His fighting skills… Um, he’s not a good fighter once whomever is fighting him is going to figure out where he’s going to teleport next. He basically gets taken out pretty easily once that happens. So, the “useless warrior” is still in an affect in some of the comics. The prankster element is nowhere to be seen in this continuity, he’s a smart ass for the most part. I don’t mind it that much if it’s removed, but the thuggery of his is still there and it works. So why would he be worried about being abandoned? The issue with him is that he might be an Outlier and those are frowned upon in a Functionist society. To brush up, Outliers are Cybertronians that have special abilities that do not connect with their alt-modes. This also does not correlate with their spark types, so think of them as X-Men if you like. No one knows the exact reasons on how a Cybertronian would obtain powers if they can’t tell from their sparks, they just have them or a stress related mutation occurs for it to happen. This means that they are targets of persecution for their powers that no one can explain easily, and so fear is the number one response to this kind of situation. Skywarp has the power to teleport and one can assume he is an Outlier because of one question. Why would anyone have teleportation if they can fly? It feels out-of-place. That’s the key word: out-of-place. That would also mean that, much like Soundwave, Skywarp could have been cast out from society for his teleportation powers. Virtually, he was on his own in a world that no one can understand his ability, and possibly, no one saw him as an equal for his powers. This will become the crutches for him to join the Decepticons later down on the road. We’ll go further in-depth as to why he would join the Decepticons, why Thundercracker has the most affect on Skywarp because these two have given Skywarp something he never got from the society that shunned him, and what does anything have to do with his control over his powers.
In issue six of All Hail Megatron, we see Skywarp and Bombshell fighting about how insufficient humans are as worthy adversaries in Beijing, China. The fight starts to head to a different direction with Bombshell stating, “The Seekers. Makes you feel good does it, being a Seeker? Being rewarded? Cherished?”
“Yes, and with good reason.” Hm? An intriguing response coming from Bombshell.
This escalates from there until. “Look at you. Weak. Scared. Desperately wanting to feel superior, to be a part of something important. How tragic that at the end of it all you’re cast side.”
That face on the last panel. That is the look of a man who had all the right buttons pushed, and is ready to lash out on Bombshell. This was the reason why I’m writing this piece. Moving on, many would presume that Bombshell was toying with him, but I have to kindly disagree. The statement from Bombshell when it comes to the topic of his mind games: “Yes, and with good reason.” Should be raising some questions. He understands his mind games won’t work because- how? Does he know, or picked up something from Skywarp that we the readers missed? He is intelligent and can control the minds of others with his cerebro-shells, so he could easily read people like books for we all know. So unfortunately for Skywarp, he was the easiest to read for Bombshell. Skywarp is completely loyal to Megatron, the cause, and he will follow any orders that come his way. Even if many will be slaughtered, and he doesn’t care. Because, the Decepticons and their cause have given him a sense of being valued, useful, and have given him an identity. Something he never got in a Functionist Cybertron millions of years ago. There may be even the notion of Skywarp wanting to get back against the people that have wronged him in the past for tossing him aside. The thought of being abandoned again is scary and rage inducing. Basically, Skywarp wants to show the Decepticon leader he is truly worthy and valuable for their goals. This is going to be a running theme for him and why he continues to stay with the Decepticons for so long.
During the same issue, Thundercracker and Skywarp fight off the Insecticons. Skywarp brushes it off as Bombshell just starting something and would’ve been better if he and the others went to Cybertron with the defeated Autobots also. Thundercracker is left unimpressed, and Skywarp takes notice. “- That was like old times.”
He directs Thundercracker’s attention to the destruction of Beijing. “- Where’s the fun in doing this by myself?”
Skywarp leaves Thundercracker behind pointing out that with Starscream being absent all the time, and Thundercracker’s apparent moodiness. He says, “… I’m starting to feel all alone out here.”
Y’know, I always assumed that Skywarp enjoyed hanging out with Thundercracker more than Starscream. This is made more apparent with how Skywarp sees Thundercracker after his betrayal.
Yes, during the 12th issue of All Hail Megatron, the Autobots made it back to Earth and they have to stop a nuke, that world leaders agreed upon, from destroying New York City while several of the Decepticons, including a damaged Megatron, are in full retreat. Thundercracker volunteers to stop it himself. He makes the tough decision because he saw how Megatron and the others have lost their way and how to achieve their goals. He believes that a Decepticon is a warrior who is forged through combat against worthy opponents, not the mindless slaughter of the weak who can’t defend themselves. And so, he flies to the nuke, redirects it to space, and fires at it which ultimately destroys it. The Decepticons wouldn’t be happy about one of their own saving humans of all things. But the most affected is Skywarp. He teleports there himself and berates him for doing so.
Somehow Thundercracker pulls through after that, but anyway. Skywarp now sees him as a traitor to the Decepticons. Not only that, but Skywarp sees it as Thundercracker betraying him. Again, the Decepticons have given him a sense of having an identity and he’s proud of that fact. This scene did get me to think about the relationship of the two. What if Thundercracker was the only friend Skywarp ever made and had for all these millions of years? Think about it. In issue 57 of The Transformers, Soundwave opens up to Optimus about the death of a dear friend of his, Ravage. He tells him how Ravage came to him at his lowest point, and through him, Soundwave found salvation and hope. The lowest point for Soundwave was the time he was alone on the streets with heighten hearing, so much so he can hear other people’s thoughts, and he couldn’t control this power. He was on the edge of insanity trying to block them out, but they won’t stop bombarding him. Then Ravage, Laserbreak, and Buzzsaw found him. Ravage “smells” decency in Soundwave and decides to help him better control his abilities much like Ravage has done with his own heighten senses. Soundwave and the others saw each other as equals ever since. Now think of Skywarp for a moment. Alone, no one wanted to have anything to do with him. He tried his best to prove himself that he does fit his function but it wasn’t enough for anybody and his ability to teleport didn’t help him either. He doesn’t know what to do with himself anymore. But then, he meets Thundercracker for the first time. A mech that’s actually concerned about him? Someone that wants to hang out with him? A mech that, or tries to, understand his plight? A mech that genuinely wants to be friends with him because Skywarp was himself. Thundercracker saw Skywarp as his equal and did his best when it came to Skywarp’s teleporting abilities. I can see where their friendship would go deep and they would see one and the other as brothers, even becoming members of a trine together. Because Thundercracker wanted the same thing: being valued. But Thundercracker didn’t like where the Decepticons were heading, and I think he hated seeing how his friend, his brother, was becoming along with the rest of them. He just didn’t know what to do and hoped Skywarp would understand, but he didn’t.
They need a break. We all need breaks.
And so, seeing the one person who Skywarp had called a friend, a brother, for a major of his life going against a group that has given him a sense of being valued and belonging that he has been missing for all of his life would make Skywarp pissed. It would make sense for him to feel like Thundercracker back-stabbed him after everything they went through together.
This action didn’t go unpunished however. Starscream sentences Skywarp to stay behind on Earth for attacking a fellow Decepticon. Skywarp follows through the punishment, and stays behind. Which leads up to Bumblebee issues one and two, during his time on Earth instead of trying to escape it, he instead has been attacking military bases and stockpiling their weapons in secret. During the second issue, Skywarp tries sending a signal to his leader, Megatron, at night. He chooses some interesting words when he’s talking such as “Your faithful servant” and asking if Megatron still has “the fire of vengeance”. He even goes on to describe the weapons he has been gathering for some time.
Jesus, he’s been busy! He goes on to explain about a device he’s been working on that will release an EMP that can single handily strike down all the Autobots, and it’s days away to be completed. But in the fourth and final issue of Bumblebee, both Bumblebee and Skywarp get their circuits fried by the very device that Skywarp created. Amazingly, this comic does demonstrate how Skywarp can be a dangerous foe for the characters to fight. When pushed to the edge he will get relentless, start taking drastic measures, and he will try to strike harder than before. This is shown in issue three of Bumblebee, when Skywarp tracks down Bumblebee and Sanjay after he raids a ruin base for the control board, the final piece for his device, he has been looking for. Then, in issue four, he follows after them to an abandoned industrial area after failing to do so at Sanjay’s home. Even goes on to taut them about their defeat, and having them under the control Megatron until his eventual return. Holy shit! Where can I find this mini-series? But getting back on topic, there is also the element of making an impression and the feeling of importance is still lingering. How so? Well, he has proven himself to be a deadly opponent to face, he is merciless and relentless to get what he wants, and he almost successes in completing the device that can kill off his enemies in an instant. That’s pretty impressive doing all this while being stranded on Earth. I can see why he would try to make Megatron see he is an invaluable member by boasting about the weapons’ capabilities that he stole, and the EMP device he was creating. Now that I think about it, we might be witnessing the effects of leaving him behind in this mini-series. Yes, he was left there as punishment for attacking Thundercracker but hear me out. Skywarp in the speculated past may have let his insecurities of uselessness get the better of him before the Decepticons gave him the necessary cause to fight back the people who have wronged him. As you can see, the Autobots and the human armed forces that attacked them is now the very thing Skywarp needed to put his mind to. Vengeance. He put all his time and effort to try to take out the enemy in one fell swoop, and brags to Megatron about it and hoping he’ll get the signal and come back one day. He did all this for his leader to notice his actions, and hopefully at the end sees his accomplishments and get him to understand how important he is to Megatron and his cause. To show him that he is still loyal to the Decepticons after everything that has happened, and hopefully to be allowed back in. There’s even something more to him gathering the warheads and creating an EMP device, and that is he hopes to become Megatron’s right hand man for going through all the trouble. In issue four of Bumblebee, as Skywarp hunts down the control board that Bumblebee and Sanjay have as they try to outrun him in an abandoned industrial factory site. Skywarp boast, “Megatron is returning. And when he arrives, he needs to be ready to fight. To take back his rightful place- ruling the galaxy. And when he sees who has given him the weapons to do so- it will be me at his right hand, not Starscream. Not Soundwave.”
Yes, he thinks he’s going to be the right hand man because he demonstrated how loyal and useful he is to help Megatron achieve his goals. To be recognized for what he has done, and to be hopefully become more important than Starscream and Soundwave. The problem with Skywarp’s train of thought is that Starscream and Soundwave have these positions because not only their skills, but their character traits showcase why they’re in their respective positions. Starscream, while he does have a huge ego, can get people to do what they’re told and even get people to rally behind him [Transformers: (Ex-)Robots in Disguise issue 16 (Combiner Wars issue eight)], and he can actually strike back an Autobot by himself for Christ sake! In other words, Starscream can persuade others to a certain degree and he can actually hit back. Soundwave is reserved, intelligent, and focus in his work. He doesn’t let his personal biases and emotions get in the way of the mission and other tasks at hand. Soundwave does have a higher rate of success than most in his missions. Skywarp on the other hand, though. He gets angry easily, he’s vengeful, isn’t a good fighter, his strategy of teleportation becomes predictable really quick, no one really takes him seriously, he’s not smart in general, and his missions usually end in failure. That’s what makes Soundwave, Starscream, and Skywarp different in terms of joining. Soundwave joined because he wanted equality for the Cybertronians who did not have it. Starscream joined because he was constructed cold and learned of Megatron and his idea on Cybertronians where they didn’t have to follow what the Senate thought of as “mode determinism” for their citizens, and he wanted control over his choices and who he is. Skywarp joined because not only did he believe in the cause, but he wanted to have revenge against society for abandoning him. As if he thought to himself: ‘Screw you guys! We’ll see whose’s laughing after the Decepticons have won! You’ll regret everything you’ve ever done to me!’ So that’s why Megatron picked Starscream as second-in-command and Soundwave as his Communications Officer for these reasons, and why he relies on them even if he has to forgive Starscream’s constant treacherous behavior. Megatron doesn’t want someone with personal vendettas that they need to work out. But Megatron doesn’t return for a good while until Transformers: (Ex-)Robots in Disguise issue 11 (Combiner Wars issue three), and Skywarp is defeated at this point in the mini-series.
Okay, this where I’m going to do a lot speculating on discussing how he controls his powers, and how it ties together with what’s currently going on and what might the past hold.
I noticed something off about him while doing some research for this hypothesis, and I started to wonder. How does he control his teleportation exactly? We know Soundwave gained better control of his hearing through focusing. But, Skywarp, I just assumed he can just do it without thinking about it except where’s he going. Or maybe. His control over his powers are tied with his life motto: “Don’t think. Just do it”. I’ll explain. During the events of All Hail Megatron, Bumblebee, and even the G.I Joe Revolution one-shot later on, he was full of confidence and he was a smart ass to boot. Talk shit, get hit. All was right in world to him at least. But then, (Ex-)Robots in Disguise happens. Megatron was absent for a good while until issue 11, then was kidnapped by Shockwave in order to release Galvatron and Nova Prime from the Dead Universe through him, then got torn in half by Galvatron, then Megatron finally sees he has lost his way and decided to renounce his Decepticon identity for an Autobots, then after the events of the Necrotitan he was taken in for trail on Luna 2 and Optimus allows him to join the Lost Light crew for the Knights of Cybertron to determine his fate. Yeah, for most of the series he had to jump his loyalties to whomever was the current leader of the Decepticons. It goes from Megatron to Rabat to Soundwave then back to Megatron and then to Galvatron. That can shake up ones world during post-war, and I can’t blame someone feeling empty. As if to make things worse for Skywarp, he gets stabbed by Arcee in the chest in issue 15 of (Ex-)Robots in Disguise before the events of the undead Metrotitan and this is the stepping stone for his out-of-control powers. He can’t hold his solid form any longer, but this doesn’t become a huge problem for him until issue 16 of (Ex-)Robots in Disguise. At the end of the issue, Starscream somehow wins the people of Iacon over and proclaims that if the members of the Autobots and Decepticons do not renounce their factions they will be banished from society and have to stay in the wilderness. Skywarp was one of the many who were exiled, and this is where his control over his powers worsens from hearing this. It seems his powers are tied to his current mental state and how his emotions are affecting his teleportation. It could explain why his life motto is the way it is, and that’s how he controls it. Because over thinking what’s happening around him could affect his teleportation in a negative way such as where’s he going, or maybe, maintaining his solid form. Think about it. The Decepticons have lost the war, he has a chest wound, he’s in exile with everyone else opposing and allies alike, his leader is now gone, and he eavesdrops, in his now unstable state, on Galvatron when he tells Garrison Blackrock that he has no interest in repairing him because Galvatron treats his men like cannon fodder and Skywarp is no different to him.
He has no choice but to make a secret deal with Blackrock to get help, and he was hoping for that very help in return from the EDC but they got taken over by Dire Wraiths at this point. Yeah, he’s screwed while trapped in Bikini Atoll for two days straight. And so, he’s back at square one: Alone, no one is on his side, and he has nothing. The Decepticons are gone at this point for him. What he thought was right is now nonexistent, and he was merely a witness to it all crashing down around him. I can’t blame him or anyone feeling hopeless, powerless and nothing after everything that has happened. Kind of makes a person feel ghost-like to the world.
Here’s another example to demonstrate how his teleportation problems are a psychosomatic issue than a physical one. During the last issue of Transformers: Bumblebee, Lieutenant Klonowski aims a rocket launcher and fires it at Skywarp. Skywarp, while in obvious pain, still chases after Bumblebee and Sanjay while his chest is on fire and there’s smoke bellowing out of it.
Notice how Skywarp isn’t becoming incorporeal, and he isn’t having any issues with his teleporting; even his injury is in the same spot, the chest area, much like in issue 15 of Ex-RID, and yet he’s still doing fine. This drives the point home even further that it’s his mental state that’s affecting his teleportation powers, not a physical problem that can be fixed. The only thing that’s causing his current predicaments, I assume, is himself. Meaning, how he is affected by the world around him and how he reacts to it.
Maybe in the past he didn’t have the best reins over his teleportation because it was possibly tied with his mental and/or emotional state, and it was inevitable for him to be cast aside from society because of that. Ever since then, he found his own way to control it: Don’t think about it, and you’ll be fine. But now, he just wants to be able teleport again without any problems, he wants to be useful to someone once again, to be able to do something. So, he would be desperate for help but it never came. It’s almost like he knows what it’s like to be and have nothing. Until, Revolution: G.I. Joe comes in and his sense of worth is reignited. But… It’s just not the same for him anymore.
In conclusion, Skywarp is an Outlier who is very bitter about his past experiences and was seen as worthless to a Functionist Cybertron. He might even be full of spite against the people who have mistreated him for being strange in society. Thundercracker and the Decepticons have given him the things he was never given before: value, purpose, companionship and an identity. But now, it’s all gone, his control of his teleportation is slipping away with an out-of-control world, and he has to start from scratch with G.I. Joe even though he doesn’t really like the thought of it but he has no choice in the matter, currently.
On an additional note and it’s a question I read once while browsing around on Tumblr. Can Skywarp change? Personally, I don’t know. He needs some time before that happens and it shows. It doesn’t mean what he has done is invalid and should be forgotten, and it does show with characters like Megatron, Optimus, Soundwave, and Thundercracker who genuinely want to change. They admit they did terrible things in the past, and that’s what drives them to do and be better even if it is hard. So, why not?