Starscream
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Starscream |
| Occupation: | Decepticon second-in-command |
| Relationships: | varies by series |
| Fandom: | Transformers |
| Other: | |
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Starscream is a major character from the Transformers franchise. He is usually the Decepticon aerial commander and Megatron's second-in-command.
Canon Background
Starscream is a Decepticon in most continuities; the only exception is Beast Wars II, where he is a Predacon. He always turns into some kind of jet, usually resembling a fighter jet of some kind. He is usually a coward who spends most of his time trying to overthrow Megatron, although when he succeeds and takes command of the Decepticons he's generally actually fairly good at it; Prime and Animated are examples of this.
Fandom
Megatron/Starscream is overwhelmingly the most popular pairing involving Starscream, with more than twice as many fics on AO3 as the second most popular pairing, Skyfire/Starscream, or the third most popular pairing, Optimus Prime/Starscream (the latter two are nearly equal). Megatron/Starscream is a controversial pairing in some corners of fandom for their canonical relationship's perceived resemblance to domestic abuse. [1] Some fans, however, view their relationship in various other ways, such as consensual BDSM.
Another popular pairing, less controversial, is Skyfire/Starscream. Skyfire, also known as Jetfire (due to Hasbro copyright issues) has a major role in only a few episodes of the original series , although he appears with the name Jetfire in Prime's expanded universe and in the Bay movies, as well as the War for Cybertron videogame. Their relationship in Skyfire's introductory episode, where they are portrayed as old friends and scientific colleagues from before the war, apparently managed to capture the audience's imagination enough that thirty years later, it is one of the most popular pairings in the fandom.
Optimus Prime/Starscream is almost as popular as Skyfire/Starscream, and is also popular mostly in the original cartoon fandom. This pairing often involves memory loss on the part of Starscream, or paints him as a domestic abuse survivor who escaped Megatron, needing Optimus Prime's comfort.
Notable Starscream-Centric Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
- Into the Void by fierceawakening/stainless. G1, PG-13. What really happened during the moments in The Transformers: the Movie when Starscream abandons Megatron.
Gallery
Fallen Seeker by Saturn-155 – Based on The Fallen Angel by Alexandre Cabanel.
References
- ^ This essay about their relationship in Prime, which is one of the most popular canons to ship them (in in addition to G1) explains this point of view.