Starscream
Starscream
First Appearance: "Darkness Rising: Part 1" (Transformers: Prime), "Pretzel Logic" (Transformers: Robots in Disguise; voice only), "Mighty Big Trouble" (Transformers: Robots in Disguise; onscreen)
"Oh, please. There will be time for bowing and scraping later."
- Arc Villain: Of the six-part miniseries between season 2 and Combiner Force. His plan to capture the Weaponizer Mini-Cons and harness their power is what drives the plot.
- Arm Cannon: Like the original Starscream, he now has a pair of cannons on his forearms (though the G1 Starscream's weapons were shoulder-mounted). This replaces the missiles he had back in Transformers: Prime.
- Art Shift: During his flashback to the past series, the art style shifts back to the style of TF-Prime's visuals, though tweaked slightly. It's notable that he's drawn in his Prime body like Soundwave, whilst Bumblebee and Optimus's flashback selves use their RID bodies instead.
- Beard of Evil: His new model gives him the appearance of having a sharp goatee.
- The Bus Came Back: When last seen, he was at the mercy of the Predacons and thought dead. Lampshaded by Bumblebee.
- Cool Sword: After taking possession of the Dark Star Saber.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Once he obtains the Dark Star Saber, he quickly deals this to the Scavengers.
- The Dreaded: Has apparently earned this reputation. The Minicons are revealed to be fleeing from him, Clawtrap is downright terrified when he realizes he'd been inadvertently sheltering the Minicons from him, and the Bee Team are doubtful of their chances to stand up to him after Bumblebee is taken away.
- Eviler than Thou: Upon his arrival, he claims the Dark Star Saber and uses it to easily defeat Clawtrap and his team.
- Hostage Situation: He creates one after his minions capture Fixit, Jetstorm, and Slipstream, threatening their safety in order to convince Bumblebee to surrender to him.
- Interim Villain: He's completely independent, has no connection to Steeljaw or the High Council, and is the main antagonist of a miniseries between seasons 2 and 3. Once he's dealt with, the show returns to the main plot involving the High Council.
- It's Personal:
- Like Soundwave before him, Starscream is eager to pay Bumblebee back for all the trouble he and his comrades on Team Prime caused the Decepticons in the previous series.
- In addition, his ultimate goal is to destroy Megatron for all the abuse he's inflicted on him over the years.
- Mad Scientist Laboratory: A flashback reveals that he stumbled across one within Darkmount in the previous series during his escape from Predacons Darksteel and Sky Lynx, which housed the inactive Weaponizer Mini-Cons, in which Megatron had experimented.
- Mythology Gag: Starscream's new look is a shoutout to his G1 counterpart, specifically during his coronation in the Movie. This is especially noticable with his shoulders, which resemble the pads G1 Starscream wore during the coronation scene. His vehicle mode, meanwhile, resembles the Animated and Cybertron versions of Starscream.
- Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: In Prime, his threat level varied, sometimes coming off as a Hero Killer and at other times coming off as a complete joke villain. Also in the first series, Starscream was surrounded by some of the most dangerous and powerful Decepticons and Predacons in existence like Megatron, Soundwave, Shockwave, Dreadwing, and Predaking, pretty much making him the low man on the totem pole among the bad guys in the first show. In Robots in Disguise, however, very few Decepticons are of the same caliber as the Nemesis crew, thus making Starscream come off as more dangerous and competent as a side effect in a show where most Decepticons fill the role of Monster of the Week characters who get captured by the episode's end.
- Not Quite Dead: When Bumblebee recognises him, he states he (and likely the other Autobots from Team Prime), thought he was dead.
- One-Winged Angel: He takes on a more heavily armored and powerful form after absorbing all of the Weaponizer Minicons.
- The Remnant: His dialogue with Shadelock suggests Starscream hasn't given up on the idea of a Decepticon Empire.
- Revenge: Apart from wanting to conquer the galaxy, he desires this against Megatron for disbanding the Decepticons and leaving him at the mercy of the Predacons at the end of the previous series, as well as the physical abuse he's endured over the years. Problem is, though, no one knows where Megatron went.
- Self-Serving Memory: Starscream explains the Autobots that he escaped his fate with the Predacons the previous series by luring them into the deeper realms of Darkmount to utilise it's high power weapons on them. The visual flashback implies he ran like hell and conveniently stumbled his foot on the right button within the lab to attack them.
- The Starscream: Subverted. With the Decepticon power structure disbanded, his usual motives for killing Megatron no longer apply. He still wants Megatron dead, but out of revenge rather than ambition.
- Took a Level in Badass: Compared to his Butt-Monkey status back in Prime, Starscream is now much more physically imposing, and his very presence frightens several characters.
- Weapon Stomp: He does this to the Dark Star Saber when Clawtrap attempts to raise the blade against him.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: While initially furious that his minions captured Fixit, Jetstorm, and Slipstream instead of the Weaponizer Minicons he was hunting, he quickly realizes that they could be used to force Bumblebee's compliance and does so accordingly.
Shadelock
Shadelock
Voiced by: Kirk Thornton
First Appearance: "Pretzel Logic"
- Authority Equals Asskicking: Shadelock is the most skilled fighter of the bounty hunters, while Razorhorn relies on brute force and RoughEdge is more handy with a gun.
- The Dragon: He reports directly to Starscream, and appears to have some form of authority over the other bounty hunters.
- Hired Guns: He's pretty clearly only working for Starscream for the money.
- Hostage Situation: He attempts one by threatening to kill the Weaponizer Minicons, ostensibly on Starscream's orders. Bumblebee calls his bluff, as those Minicons are an integral part of Starscream's scheme.
- Only in It for the Money: The main reason he works for Starscream at all.
- Palette Swap: Shadelock's character model seems to be a modified version of the Vehicons from Transformers Prime.
- Pragmatic Villainy: When Starscream recovers the Dark Star Saber, Shadelock suggests giving up the hunt for the Minicons and simply using the power granted by the Dark Star Saber to begin his conquest. Starscream declines, noting that "There's no such thing as too much power."
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Once Starscream starts fighting Optimus, he, along with the rest of the crew, attempt to cut and run, only to be apprehended by Bumblebee's team.
- Shock and Awe: Like Fracture, his right arm has a built-in taser, which he uses to down Bumblebee.
RoughEdge
RoughEdge
First Appearance: "Mighty Big Trouble"
- Face–Heel Turn: Apparently, as he is an Autobot who works for Starscream and fought against Bumblebee's team.
- Hired Guns: Like his fellow bounty hunters, he's only working for Starscream for the money
- Palette Swap: Has a modified version of the Museum Guard body-type from the first episode.
- Smash the Symbol: He has Autobot symbols, though they are scratched through, not unlike the Decepticon symbols found on Steeljaw and members of his pack.
Word of God is that these are simply battle scars from the war, but his vocal processor is too damaged to relay this information. - Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Along with the rest of the crew, he flees when Starscream starts fighting Optimus, only to be captured by the Bee Team.
- The Stoic: Is completely silent in his first appearance, and acknowledges Starscream's orders with nothing more than a silent nod.
- Swiss-Army Weapon: His gun, which has the functions of a flamethrower, grenade launcher, and plasma cannon.
- Token Minority: He is the only Autobot in Starscream's crew.
Razorhorn
Razorhorn
First Appearance: "Mighty Big Trouble"
- Bare-Handed Blade Block: He parries Sideswipe's sword strikes in this manner and manages to disarm the Autobot on top of that.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: As an Insecticon, he naturally fits this trope.
- The Brute: Barring Starscream, he's the largest of the bounty hunters and is their heavy hitter.
- Hired Guns: Like his fellow bounty hunters, he's only working for Starscream for the money.
- No Name Given: He was never named in the series; his name was only revealed on Adam Beechen's blog.
- Roar Before Beating: He has a tendency to do this in combat.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Flees along with his teammates when Starscream starts dueling Optimus. He is soon apprehended by the Bee Team.
- Unskilled, but Strong: As an Insecticon, he's a hulking brute who relies more on ferocious instinct than skill. To his credit, however, he's smart enough to handle a gun.
- The Voiceless: He is never heard speaking.
