Transformers: Generation 1
| Darkwing/Darkwind/Blackwing | |
|---|---|
| Transformers character | |
 Darkwing box art | |
| Information | |
| Affiliation | Decepticon |
| Sub-group | Powermasters, Ultra Vehicles |
| Function | Aerial Assault |
| Rank | 5 |
| Partner | Throttle |
| Motto | "Things are never as bad as they seem -- usually they're worse." |
| Alternate modes | Panavia Tornado, XB-70 Valkyrie |
Initially called Darkwing, the name was changed to Darkwind - possibly for trademark purposes. All his fictional appearances use his original Darkwing name, although the latest toy is officially called Blackwing.
Darkwing never has anything nice to say, but says it anyway. He believes life is pain, and it's his goal to make sure others suffer it more than he does. Darkwing combines with Dreadwind to form the super jet Dreadwing.
Reception
Darkwing and Dreadwind are considered highly collectible. [1]
Marvel Comics
The peaceful planet of Nebulos had earlier been visited by the Autobots and Decepticons in Marvel Comics’ Transformers series, and when they departed, only ruin was left in their wake. To prevent such horrors from occurring again, Nebulan scientist Hi-Q detonated a bomb in the planet’s atmosphere which “poisoned” the planet's various fuel supplies and resources – although harmless to Nebulans, the “poison” was toxic to Transformers. This was the fate which befell Dreadwind and Darkwing when they came to the planet looking for the departed Scorponok, and refueled from Nebulan resources, causing their bodies to cease functioning. Their rotting, immobile hulks soon became tourist attractions. Meanwhile, Hi-Q's jealous partner, Hi-Test, had vowed to outdo his contemporary, and hired criminal Throttle to steal Hi-Q's latest fuel conversion theories, which he had dubbed the “Powermaster Process.” Using this data, Hi-Test bio-engineered his and Throttle's bodies, and offered partnership to Dreadwind and Darkwing, who accepted; the two Nebulans transformed into engines and connected to them, supplying them with untainted energy direct from their own bodies. The Powermasters ran roughshod over the planet, but were eventually defeated by a new team of Powermasters, including Hi-Q himself, bonded with Optimus Prime, and exiled from Nebulos.
Marvel Comics is the brand name and primary imprint of Marvel Worldwide Inc., formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, a publisher of American comic books and related media. In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Worldwide's parent company.
Scorponok is the name shared by several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. Characters with this name are usually Decepticons or Predacons that turn into robotic scorpions or have scorpion-shaped robot modes. Some versions of the character are also known as Megazarak or Black Zarak in Japan.
Optimus Prime, known in Japan as Convoy, is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. He is a Cybertronian, an extraterrestrial species of sentient self-configuring modular robotic lifeforms, a synergistic blend of biological evolution and technological engineering. In almost every version of the mythos, Optimus is the leader of the Autobots, a faction of Transformers who are rivals of the Decepticons, another faction. He is defined by his strong moral character and is almost always portrayed as the primary hero of the story, opposing the evil Decepticon leader Megatron.
Dreadwind and Darkwing soon entered into a partnership with the robot-eating Mecannibals, hiding their own robot nature by dealing through Hi-Test and Throttle, whose job it was to find other robots for the Mecannibals to feast upon. Setting their sights upon Autobot Pretenders Landmine and Cloudburst, the Decepticons lured them into the Mecannibals clutches, but in a strange twist of fate, the Pretenders were sent to gather spices to improve their flavour. Dreadwind and Darkwing pursued them to make things difficult, but when the fact that they were robots was revealed to the Mecannibals, Landmine and Cloudburst departed while Dreadwing and Darkwind fled.
Pretenders is a subline within the Transformers toy line, introduced in 1988. The concept behind the toy was that the Transformers were capable of disguising their robotic forms through the use of synthetic organic outer shells.
A cloudburst is an extreme amount of precipitation in a short period of time, sometimes accompanied by hail and thunder, which is capable of creating flood conditions. A cloudburst can suddenly dump large amounts of water e.g. 25 mm of precipitation corresponds to 25,000 metric tons/km2. However, cloudbursts are infrequent as they occur only via orographic lift or occasionally when a warm air parcel mixes with cooler air, resulting in sudden condensation. At times, a large amount of runoff from higher elevations is mistakenly conflated with a cloudburst. The term "cloudburst" arose from the notion that clouds were akin to water balloons and could burst, resulting in rapid precipitation. Though this idea has since been disproven, the term remains in use.
The Mecannibals pursued the two Powermasters to Cybertron, where they took an assignment from Megatron to acquire the body of the deceased Decepticon, Starscream, hoping it would allow them to shake off their pursuers. Heading to Earth, they discovered that the energies of the Underbase that had destroyed Starscream continued to animate his corpse, but when Throttle and Hi-Test drained them away, they took the body back to Megatron for revival as a Pretender. Megatron's subsequent apparent death put the duo out of work, however, and they drowned their sorrows at Maccadam's Old Oil House, where they remained drunkenly unaware of some Mecannibals that had picked up their trail being dispatched by the Autobot Quickswitch.
Cybertron is a fictional planet, the homeworld of the Transformers in the various fictional incarnations of the metaseries and toyline by Hasbro. In the Japanese series, the planet is referred to as "Cybertron" pronounced as Sabertron セイバートロン Seibātoron. Cybertron is populated by mechanical self-configuring modular lifeforms of variable size who can transform into all kinds of machinery. These are called Cybertronians, or Transformers.
Dreadwind and Darkwing participated in the attack on Unicron when the chaos-bringer assaulted Cybertron, and survived to serve under Bludgeon’s leadership.
Darkwing appeared in issue #77 "Exodus!" where he was among the Decepticons who backed Bludgeon's plan to conquer an inhabited world for the Decepticons once they abandoned Cybertron, rather than go with the Autobot plan to start from nothing on an uninhabited world.
He aided in the raid on planet Klo, where they seemingly killed the Autobot Getaway.
Darkwing started as one of Bludgeon's troops in the Generation 2 comics. He attempted to sneak up on the newly enhanced Megatron, but was shot out of the sky in issue #5, "The Power and the Glory".
In issue #6 Frenzy and Rumble worked to rebuild Darkwing.
In issue #7 Darkwing sent to steal Rheanimum, a potent substance Megatron intended to use in his quest for power, from the planet Tykos. Darkwing's rebuilt body based on the Generation 2 Dreadwing toy.
Animated series
The U.S. animated series was canceled before Darkwing was produced, so he did not appear in the series, however, the redeco of Darkwing, known as Hydra, appeared as a regular in the Masterforce series in Japan. Darkwing's only true appearance in animated form was in the commercials for Powermaster toys. [2]
Books
Darkwing was among the Decepticons featured in the 1988 book and audio adventure Autobot Hostage by Ladybird books. [3]
Dreamwave Productions
Although Darking and Throttle did not appear in any fiction by Dreamwave Productions they did get a full bio in their More Than Meets The Eye series.
IDW Publishing
Darkwing made his first IDW Publishing appearance in The Transformers: Stormbringer , where he led an infiltration cell on the planet Nebulos. When Thunderwing arrived, Darkwing and the other Decepticons did their best to stop him, but when Ruckus, Crankcase and Roadgrabber were destroyed by the monster, Dreadwind and Darkwing both fled.
Fun Publications
Darkwing (still called his original name, despite being described as his new Darkwind toy) was among the troops of Bludgeon in the Fun Publications story At War's End .
Toys
- Generation 1 Powermaster Darkwing (1988)
- A Powermaster toy that came with Powermaster partner Throttle. He was later recolored into the Decepticon Godmaster Hydra. [4] [5]
- Darkwing is a Panavia Tornado jet which is 16.72 meters long. The toy is 20 centimeters long, making it 1:84 scale. Toy robot mode is 17 centimeters tall, so the real life robot would stand 14.2 meters (46.6 feet) tall.
- Generation 2 Dreadwing (1988)
- In the Marvel comics the toy of Generation 2 Dreadwing was the model for Darkwing's upgraded form.
- Universe Generation 1 Series Ultra Darkwind (2009)
- A Toys "R" Us exclusive black/purple redeco of Universe Ultra Silverbolt, which turns into a 1/222 scale XB-70 Valkyrie jet. With this scale his robot mode would stand 178 feet 5 inches tall. [6]
