Smokescreen (Prime)
From Transformers Wiki
| The name or term "Smokescreen" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Smokescreen (disambiguation). |
- Smokescreen is an Autobot from the Prime portion of the Aligned continuity family.
Smokescreen is an eager young Autobot recruit, all too ready to fight in the Great War, to become a great warrior, maybe even a Prime someday. While he may talk a mile a minute and be greener than Bulkhead's paintwork, Smokescreen at least has the sense to use his wits when charging into a situation, rather than heading in firing blind. He also idolizes Optimus Prime and will do anything to impress him, even at the risk of his own life.
| “ | Now, that was a plan! | ” |
| —Smokescreen, "New Recruit" | ||
Contents |
Fiction
Prime cartoon
- Voice actor: Nolan North (English), Kazuyuki Okitsu (Japanese), Jiang Ke (Chinese), Bernhard Völger (German), Moisés Ivan Mora (Latin American Spanish), Jaime Roca (Castilian Spanish), Kimmo Härmä (Finnish, season 2), Riku Korhonen (Finnish, season 3), Frédéric Meaux (French), Matteo Zanotti (Italian), Vagner Fagundes (Brazilian Portuguese)
Back on Cybertron in the latter part of the war, Smokescreen was keen to be a soldier and underwent training with the Elite Guard, although it was more of a boot camp at the time. To his disappointment, he ended up on security detail at the Iacon Hall of Records guarding Alpha Trion and the relics in the Vaults. Overtime, he grew to befriend Alpha Trion even as he continued to yearn for combat. Smokescreen thought his chance had come when the Decepticons attacked Iacon directly, but instead he was immediately knocked into stasis by an explosion. New Recruit While Smokescreen assumed that he had been knocked out by the Decepticons, he was actually knocked out by Alpha Trion himself who opened him up and stored one of the Omega Keys in his body. Inside Job Smokescreen's prone form was recovered by the Decepticons and he was thrown onto a transport ship. When he awoke, Smokescreen managed to slip past the guard and stole an escape pod. Unknowingly having chosen a long-distance pod, Smokescreen was knocked into stasis lock.
His pod's beacon picked up by the Nemesis, Smokescreen awoke as he landed on Earth. Upon landing, he joined members of Team Prime in fighting off some Decepticons who had converged on the pod. His wild, reckless fighting ignited the pod's spilled fuel, which sent the Decepticons packing, but did little to impress Team Prime. Though the others were suspicious, Optimus accepted him upon his recounting of tales only Alpha Trion and Optimus would have known. They took him to Outpost Omega One and the human Jack Darby gave him a tour during which he recognized some of the relics from the Hall of Records. Due to Smokescreen's inexperience, Optimus refused to let him go on a mission to recover Red Energon, and instead he and Jack went to find him a new alternate mode. When Prime's team got into trouble, Smokescreen had the idea of using the phase shifter to help and convinced Ratchet to let him try. On the battlefield, he succeeded in using it to separate Starscream from the Apex Armor, ultimately resulting a victory (more or less) for the Autobots. With that success, Optimus welcomed him to Team Prime. New Recruit
Bulkhead rebuffed Smokescreen's suggestion of using the Apex Armor while mending. When the Decepticons got hold of a Project Damocles satellite, Optimus led a team including Smokescreen to a military base in Colorado to protect the satellite's control codes. They ended up tangling with Decepticons, and Smokescreen was almost hit by the laser from the orbiting satellite. Smokescreen tried a solo attempt to get to Soundwave's location but was almost hit again before being called to join Bulkhead in fighting Cylas and they succeeded in driving the MECH commander off. Smokescreen told the Wrecker that he studied all of his unit's battles which gave Bulkhead more confidence in him. The Human Factor
After Smokescreen threatened a human driver and had his picture taken, he was assigned Jack to teach him the ropes. He managed to talk Jack into pulling pranks on several humans, and when Ratchet detected an Iacon homing beacon, Smokescreen volunteered to investigate and took Jack along too. When it turned out the relic in question was the Star Saber, Smokescreen charged in and was promptly captured by the Decepticons. After the rest of the Autobots saved the day, they gave Smokescreen a stern talking to. Legacy
When Optimus decoded the location of the first Omega Key, Smokescreen volunteered to go fetch it, and secretly took the phase shifter with him. After he and Arcee found the key, they were ambushed by Megatron, who struck Smokescreen with a wave of energy from the Dark Star Saber. Though the other Autobots thought Smokescreen dead, he had instead survived thanks to the phase shifter and found his way out of the ruins in time to help Optimus retrieve the Omega Key from Megatron. Ratchet later said Smokescreen could keep the phase shifter, though his joy was tempered by the loss of the Star Saber. Alpha/Omega
Smokescreen remained exuberant after his victory, getting on the other Autobot's nerves, and was disappointed when he was left at base while Arcee and Bumblebee went to get the next key. He got his chance when he and Bulkhead were sent to get Key number 3, but after an encounter with Dreadwing, Smokescreen was knocked out in the process of retrieving the key. He was upset at the loss, and after Arcee lectured him, went out for a drive, unaware that both sides were about to discover that he himself was the final relic. Unfortunately the Decepticons found him first, and he was captured by Soundwave. Hard Knocks
Smokescreen awakened on a Decepticon lab table where he discovered that the final Omega Key was inside him. The Decepticons extracted the final Omega Key from him using his own Phase shifter and also used a cortical psychic patch to learn what he knew about the relics. However, when Knock Out attempted to find out the Autobot base location, Smokescreen was able to regain his phase shifter from Knock Out and used it to steal the two keys the Decepticons possessed. After free-falling off the ship and saving himself with the shifter, Smokescreen bridged back to base with the two keys, but a short time later, Starscream managed to steal all three of the Autobots' keys. Inside Job
As the Autobots equipped themselves to go to Cybertron, Smokescreen took the spark extractor from storage. On Cybertron, he used his phase shifter to get the drop on the Decepticons and generally cause mayhem in their ranks, and dropped the extractor in their midst before phasing away. Having reclaimed the Omega Keys, the Autobots found the Omega Lock, only for the Decepticons to unveil their trump card in the form of the three kids as hostages. Regeneration Smokescreen was forced to surrender the Phase Shifter and hand over his key in exchange for Jack. After Optimus destroyed the Omega Lock to prevent Megatron destroying Earth, Smokescreen returned with the others to base, only to find that the Decepticons were attacking it. The Autobots were forced to abandon base, and Smokescreen bridged to a point somewhere in the US. Darkest Hour
Unwilling to abandon everything, Smokescreen used the phase shifter to sneak back, arriving just as the Nemesis destroyed the base. Using the phase shifter, Smokescreen managed to pull Optimus from the wreckage and take his barely-functioning leader to an underground cavern. Darkmount, NV He searched fruitlessly through the ruins of the base for medical supplies. Optimus asked after the Forge of Solus Prime, giving Smokescreen the idea to look for it in the Decepticon fortress. Scattered Using the phase shifter, Smokescreen boarded the Decepticon warship and found both Airachnid and the Forge. On his return to the cavern, Prime refused to use the Forge on himself, believing its power should be conserved to repair the Omega Lock, and that Smokescreen would succeed him as Autobot leader. Prey Smokescreen refused to let Optimus die and used the Forge to revive his leader. The pair headed for Darkmount, but Smokescreen was left behind by Optimus's new flight-capable form, and by the time he arrived, the battle was already over. The Autobots reassembled at a human military base, where Ratchet reassured Smokescreen he'd done the right thing. Rebellion
Smokescreen got a new paint job, but when he returned to base, he was scolded by Ultra Magnus, who then ordered him to stack empty energon cubes. As he did this, Smokescreen quietly complained about how he had nearly been a Prime. He, Optimus and Bumblebee headed to Texas to stop the Decepticons from retrieving Predacon remains located there, only to find themselves fighting the formidable team of Shockwave and Soundwave. Despite their best efforts, Soundwave still managed to send the piece of the Predacon remains to the Nemesis via an expertly timed GroundBridge. Project Predacon
During a mission to secure energon, Smokescreen volunteered to accompany the Wreckers into an abandoned mine to scout things out. He was teamed up with Bulkhead, but the pair failed to find anything. Evolution After Ultra Magnus was forced to have a claw for a hand, Smokescreen attempted to cheer him up by suggesting it could become his signature, like Bumblebee's damaged voice box, but this merely annoyed Bumblebee. Smokescreen was part of the team that failed to stop a Decepticon raid, but he did get to witness Optimus capturing Soundwave. He and Bulkhead were later assigned to guard the creepy Decepticon, and when Soundwave got loose, the pair found themselves knocked out by him. Minus One When they recovered, they found that Soundwave had abducted Ratchet. Fortunately it turned out a piece Smokescreen had blasted off Laserbeak would be useful in finding the Decepticon warship. Persuasion
They launched a probe carrying Laserbeak's transponder and monitored it and Optimus's progress from the base. Though the probe was destroyed, Ratchet was able to send them the coordinates to the Decepticon warship, and Smokescreen and the others geared up in preparation to assault the Nemesis. Synthesis Though assigned to accompany Arcee and Bumblebee, Smokescreen promptly struck off on his own. He retrieved the Star Saber from the warship's storeroom with the intention of returning it to Optimus, however when he reached the Omega Lock control room, Shockwave blasted him. The Autobots continued to battle until Megatron perished at the hands of Bumblebee. With the warship under their control, the Autobots were able to return to Cybertron and restore it. After a farewell to their human friends, Smokescreen and the other Autobots returned home through the space bridge. Deadlock
In the aftermath of Cybertron's rebirth, Smokescreen and Ultra Magnus went patrolling to find Starscream and Shockwave. They instead ran into two new Predacons and would have been killed had Smokescreen not saved them both with the phase shifter. Smokescreen and the other Autobots attempted to persuade Predaking to help them, but were unsuccessful. After encountering Unicron, in possession of Megatron's rebuilt form, the Autobots realized that the dark god intended to destroy their world. After foiling an attempt by Starscream to retake the warship, the Autobots attempted to defend the Well of All Sparks from Unicron's onslaught. It was only when Optimus returned that Unicron was defeated, and Smokescreen was later present when Optimus sacrificed himself to restore the AllSpark to Cybertron. Predacons Rising
Eaglemoss Prime comic
Tales of the Beast Hunters
With a number of the other Autobots injured in battle with Predacons, Smokescreen infiltrated a Decepticon laboratory and discovered Hyperevolution Chambers full of developing Predacons. Believing he had found the origin of the Predacons, Smokescreen was about to return to base when he found himself confronted by Shockwave, Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 10 who planned to destroy his own lab and frame Smokescreen for the act. Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 11 Smokescreen and Shockwave's battle caused some of the Predacons in nearby evolution vats to awaken, and Skystalker soon joined the conflict. Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 12 Though the battle damaged Smokescreen to the point where he was almost unable to return to base, he managed to escape with a number of data discs. Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 13
Titan Prime comic
2015 Robots in Disguise cartoon
After Cybertron's rebirth, Smokescreen adopted a new blue and red paint scheme, Enemy of My Enemy and had a statue of himself constructed in his honor. Pilot (Part 1) However, when a new High Council came into power, Smokescreen was blacklisted for being a supporter of Optimus Prime. Enemy of My Enemy
IDW Robots in Disguise comic
While struggling to get his team to work together, Bumblebee recalled happier times when he was part of Team Prime with Smokescreen. Robots in Disguise #1
Precursor World
A Warrior of the Seven Lights resembling a blue Smokescreen was a member of the Blue Order of the Primus Vanguard. He and his comrades followed their commander Blue Big Convoy into battle when a duel between dimension-tossed future warriors Ultra Megatron and Star Convoy threatened the Blue Planet and its people. Super Megatron comic 2
Games
Transformers Prime: Decepticon Strike
In the aftermath of a devastating Decepticon attack, the Autobots' headquarters was destroyed and Optimus Prime was left in critical condition. Smokescreen looked over his leader until Alpha Trion stepped in, healed Optimus and granted him new flight capabilities. Decepticon Strike
Toys
Prime
- Part of the eighth wave of TakaraTomy Prime toys, Smokescreen is a redeco and retool of Prime: Robots in Disguise Knock Out, with a new head and heels/vehicle rear. He transforms into a low-riding sports car, and is largely devoid of paint operations, using numerous foil stickers for details and deco.
- He features many 5mm posts and ports on his person, with his 5mm-compatible hands, two ports on his robot back, two ports on his robot legs/vehicle sides, as well as two ports and posts on his robot heels/vehicle rear. As part of the Arms Micron gimmick, he comes with an Arms Micron partner named S.S., a robotic humanoid who transforms into a crossbow. S.S. has two 5mm posts and a single peg-hole.
- According to the instructions, Smokescreen is transformed slightly differently from Knock Out, with his hood-chest panel not being folded down.
Cyberverse
- Smokescreen (Cyberverse Legion Class, 2013)
- Series / Number: 3 / 001
- Accessories: Chain Bolter
- Known designers: Joe Kyde (Hasbro)
- Part of the first wave of Prime: Beast Hunters Series 3 Cyberverse Legion Class toys, Smokescreen is an all-new, smaller-scale mold, transforming into a sports car loosely based on a McLaren MP4-12C, and coming with a "Chain Bolter" blaster with a chainsaw bayonet. His weapon features four 3mm posts and two ports, and can mount onto ports on Smokescreen's hands, robot back/vehicle roof, and onto the sides of his vehicle rear/robot feet.
- This mold was redecoed into Prime Prowl and Bluestreak as well as The Last Knight Barricade, with Prowl and Barricade having lightbars plugged into their roofs. The blaster, in various colors, was also used by Soundwave, Hun-Gurrr, and the Air Vehicon.
- Sky Claw with Smokescreen (Cyberverse Vehicle, 2013)
- Accessories: Chain Bolter
- Known designers: Joe Kyde (Hasbro)
- Part of the first wave of Prime: Beast Hunters Cyberverse Vehicle playsets, the Sky Claw vehicle includes a redeco of Legion Class Smokescreen in post-Project Predacon blue and yellow. With the color scheme and the number 7 on the doors, the deco is evocative of Binaltech Smokescreen, specifically the #7 variant that was never released in the Alternators line. He comes with the same, unchanged blaster that his individual release has.
- Smokescreen (EZ Collection, 2013-04-27)
- ID number: EG-04
- Accessories: Chain Bolter
- Part of the first wave of TakaraTomy's EZ Collection single packed figures, Smokescreen is a minimal redeco of Hasbro's Legion Class Smokescreen figure, replacing the gray main plastic color with white (the same shade also used by Prowl), changing the paint operations for the headlights from silver to gold, and adding a silver border around the tampographed Autobot insignia on the hood. The plastic color layout and the paint mask remain the same.
- Cindersaur / Smokescreen (Cyberverse Legion 2-pack, 2013)
- Accessories: Chain Bolter
- As part of the Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising subline imprint, Legion Class Smokescreen was redecoed again, this time in colors based on Generation 1 Smokescreen, and was made available in a two-pack with Cindersaur. His blaster is the same mold as before, but now has a darker color.
- This set is a Target exclusive in the United States and Canada, and a Tesco exclusive in the United Kingdom.
Beast Hunters
- Smokescreen (Deluxe Class, 2013)
- Series / Number: 2 / 008
- Accessories: Launcher, missile, & Electronet (combine to form Electronet Launcher), Shadow Quill Armor
- Known designers: Andrew Scribner (deco artist)
- Part of the second wave of Prime: Beast Hunters Deluxe Class toys, Smokescreen transforms into an unlicensed approximation of a McLaren MP4-12C sports car, and features 5mm peg-holes on his hands, roof, and on either side of his spoiler.
- Unlike his show counterpart, which has blue eyes, Smokescreen features orange light-piping for his eyes. Smokescreen has above-average articulation for a Beast Hunters Deluxe, featuring a waist swivel and two joints in the shoulders.
- For accessories, he comes with a three-piece "Electronet Launcher", a spring-loaded missile launcher that can mount via its 5mm handle, and fires a missile with a soft, removable Electronet. According to the weapon's description in the instructions, the Electronet Launcher can apparently be used as an axe as well, with the Electronet presumably being used as the blade. Additionally, the Electronet has a tab on one side and a slot on the other, meaning the net can be rolled up with some effort, while Smokescreen has a hexagonal peg on his robot back that can be used to store the net.
- He also comes with the "Shadow Quill Armor", a rubbery piece of plastic which can attach to his vehicle to form a heavily-armored front-end, or can be worn in robot mode as a spiky harness of sorts. The sides of the armor each feature clips, presumably for storing the missile.
- His packaging stock photography depicts his Electronet and armor as being cast in a mixture of blue and red plastic, but the final product has these cast only in metallic blue.
- His instructions include the tenth chapter of the Tales of the Beast Hunters series.
- This toy was retooled into Prowl, who in turn was later redecoed into 2014 Transformers Protectobot Streetsmart and Timelines Barricade.
- Smokescreen (Deluxe Class, 2014)
- Accessories: Battle Axe 1, Battle Axe 2
- Known designers: Andrew Scribner (deco artist)
- Part of the first and sole wave of 2014 Prime: Beast Hunters Deluxe Class toys, Smokescreen is functionally an upsized copy of his Beast Hunters Cyberverse toy, though with minor detail differences and extensions (to make him more plausible as a deluxe) and the replacement of ball joints with more robust universal joints. As such, his parts count, complexity and articulation are all significantly lower than in previous Deluxes.
- He also comes with two new battle axes, each of them a unique sculpt, which can also peg into the vehicle mode posts or the robot mode hands alternatively as guns too. These axes were colored silver and released with Movie Advanced Series Starscream.
- Due to being released after the Christmas season and before the launching of the Age of Extinction toy line, Smokescreen and the other figures of his wave were ultimately only available in Europe and Hong Kong, in European packaging in both instances (an unusual occurrence for Hong Kong).
Go!
- Hunter Smokescreen (Deluxe Class, 2013-07-27)
- Japanese ID number: G06
- Accessories: Launcher, missile
- Part of the third wave of TakaraTomy Go! toys, "Hunter Smokescreen" is a redeco of the Beast Hunters Deluxe Smokescreen toy, omitting the Beast Hunters version's Shadow Quill Armor and Electronet. Instead, he features a new, more show-accurate deco, featuring the show-accurate 'checkerboard' pattern on the doors, a small Autobrand on his robot chest, a more thoroughly-painted spoiler, and painted wheel rims. Sadly, his light-piping has been neutered due to the patch of gang-molded black translucent plastic on his head being painted in (show-accurate) light blue.
Notes
- The 38s Smokescreen sports on his doors are an homage to his G1 incarnation, who also wore them. His paint schemes throughout the series also homage the pre-Transformers color schemes of the Autobot "Datsun Trio", taking it to a head in a mugshot from the penultimate Robots in Disguise episode when he appears in a G1-inspired body.
- According to the Transformers: Prime Season 1 DVD/Blu-ray featurettes, Smokescreen was in the original line-up for Season 1, and would've died in the Season finale. However, the character was replaced by Cliffjumper and his death was moved to the first episode.
- Smokescreen's license plate in "Legacy" and "Hard Knocks" is "RPI·437", the same one used by June Darby and William Fowler, due to asset reuse.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Smokescreen (スモークスクリーン Sumōkusukurīn)
