History TheStarscream / Transformers

* In the episode "Secret Science", Shockwave muses that if Megatron continues to fail, he will be forced to supplant him as leader of the Decepticons. While he ultimately doesn't act upon it [[spoiler:since he ends up giving his own life to fulfill Megatron's Allspark corruption plan]], the fact he even considers it for moment highlights the paradoxical nature of making Shockwave closer to the original Bob Budiansky's interpretation, namely that a logic-driven Shockwave would never overthrow Megatron unless his leader was incompetent. And since Megatron has been consistently depicted as a capable leader in spite of many defeats, Shockwave still remains a loyal follower to Megatron as he did in the original 80s cartoon.

* In ''Regeneration One'', Starscream was lobotomized by Megatron to prevent any further betrayals. It ''still'' didn't work, thanks to [[spoiler:Shockwave]]'s intervention. (Apparently Megatron either forgot to, or ''couldn't'', lobotomize ''him''.) Later, Starscream was able to backstab [[spoiler:Galvatron]], which itself was risky considering [[spoiler:the time-traveler was already restraining himself from killing Starscream yet again]].

* In the first two parts of the Unicron Trilogy, Starscream is 1) desperately in need of Megatron's approval, and when he doesn't get it he defects (following a little prompting from Sideways), and, later, 2) a zombie. In the third part, however, ''Anime/TransformersCybertron'', he's both a truly scheming The Starscream, and surprisingly successful. It comes to a head in "Showdown", where Galvatron is stunned, bordering on horrified, at the prospect that he might actually ''lose'' to Starscream. Basically take the original Starscream, remove all 80s cartoon villain stupidity, and add [[TookALevelInBadass three levels in Badass]] ([[SincerityMode Only three?]]).
* In ''Anime/TransformersArmada'', if Starscream isn't living up to his name, the role is usually being filled by [[spoiler:Thrust]].
** While the aforementioned 'bot was more like G1 Starscream, the local version was a NobleDemon and starts out loyal, truly believing in him at first. Whenever he gets a particularly strong power-up and starts to act more high-and-mighty you start to think "ah, ''now'' is when he'll decide "I can overthrow Megatron!"" but it doesn't happen. However, Megatron's BadBoss tendencies push him towards MistreatmentInducedBetrayal. Megatron ditching him on the battlefield and leaving him to his fate is what finally makes Starscream decide Megatron has got to go.

* Thunderblast of ''Anime/TransformersCybertron'' ironically betrayed ''Starscream'' to defect to Megatron, finding him hunkier. Due to her self preserving streak, she repeatedly considers defecting back and forth whenever either starts gaining the upper hand. As for Starscream himself, this may be the one who comes closest to success, ''siphoning off the power of Primus himself'' to temporarily reach god-level power.
-->--Galvatron: "How... can this be? Am ''I'' to be defeated... ''by Starscream?!''"

* Though Optimus Prime is well-beloved by his comrades to not suffer this trope as frequently as Megatron, that doesn't mean he is exempted from the trope. Grimlock, a robotic ''[[TerrifyingTyrannosaur Tyrannosaurus rex]]'' who prefers to use brawn over brains, arrogantly believes himself to be a better leader than the "weak" Optimus Prime and often rebels against Prime's orders. However, he doesn't attempt to stage a coup against Optimus Prime until "War of the Dinobots", where Megatron manipulates Grimlock into acting upon his feelings. And with the help of his two Dinobots, Grimlock nearly succeeded, but when Optimus risks his life to save Grimlock from an unstable meteorite, Grimlock realizes that Megatron tricked him and has reaffirms his loyalty to Optimus and the Autobots.

* The toy bio of [[TheSpock Shockwave]] (released the following year) stated that he too seeks to overthrow Megatron because logic dictates that he would make a better leader. Both characters would have their spotlight as Megatron's usurper in two different medias: Starscream for the Sunbow cartoon, and Shockwave for the comic books published by Creator/MarvelComics.

* Though Optimus Prime is well-beloved by his comrades to not suffer this trope as frequently as Megatron, that doesn't mean he is exempted from the trope. Grimlock, a robotic ''[[TerrifyingTyrannosaur Tyrannosaurus rex]]'' who prefers to use brawn over brains, arrogantly believes himself to be a better leader to the "weak" Optimus Prime and often rebels against Prime's orders. However, he doesn't attempt to stage a coup against Optimus Prime until "War of the Dinobots", where Megatron manipulates Grimlock into acting upon his feelings. And with the help of his two Dinobots, Grimlock nearly succeeded, but when Optimus risks his life to save Grimlock from an unstable meteorite, Grimlock realizes that Megatron tricked him and has reaffirms his loyalty to Optimus and the Autobots.

** In "Triple Takeover", Blizwing and Astrotrain have Starscream lead Megatron into a trap so supposedly all three can take command of the Decepticons. However, [[OutGambit the two Triple Changers opt to get rid of them both by betraying Starscream as well]]. They then start their own dominion with various degrees of success. [[StatusQuoIsGod Of course Megatron escapes from the trap]] and is none too happy with the three, reasserting his command by kicking their collective asses and coming out as the last bot standing in a huge Decepticon [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership brawl for dominance]].

* Leozack of ''Anime/TransformersVictory'' also qualifies as a member of the Starscream club. [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Deathsaurus/Dezaras]] eventually wised up and threatened to kill him if he continued his treacherous ways. Then there's Hellbat, whom the [[Website/TFWikiDotNet Transformers Wiki]] even describes as "a member of the Ambitious Screwups club". Thing about Hellbat is, his ambition lies in overthrowing Leozack as the leader of the Beastforce--making him the Starscream ''to the Starscream''.

* Sky Shadow's toy bio states that while he serves as one of Megatron's most trusted lieutenats, in actuality he despises everyone and seeks only to rule the Predacons for himself so that he can "win the war with his own more imaginative techniques."

* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMonstrosity'' has Scorponok take this role. Of course [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim instead of killing Megatron]] he [[BondVillainStupidity exiles him]] to [[DeathWorld Junkion]] in an attempt to make himself seem more fearsome. [[SavedByCanon Of course Megatron survives]] and feeds Scroponok to the Terrorcons for it. When Scorponok was next seen chronologically, he'd quit the Decepticons altogether and was off conning other species to build new weapons for him, at which point he'd promptly destroy them.

* Credit should also go to Megatron for doing a [[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind Cortical Psychic Patch]] on Starsream ''before'' allowing him to rejoin the Decepticons.

* Eventually after barely surviving alone several times, Starscream decides he needs a faction to belong to and would make a compromise to have a supreme commander above him if it means he has a comfortable high position and at the same time avoid dealing with [[TheChainsOfCommanding things out of his depth]]. He gathers some invaluable relics and uses them to buy his way back to the Decepticons. While he initially appears content to just be back, no quetions asked, he later makes clear he would settle for nothing less than second-in-command. Fortunately for him, Megatron has weighed the advantages and disadvantages of having Starscream or Dreadwing as his second-in-command (Starscream is cowardly and [[WildCard unpredictable]] [[CorneredRattlesnake when pressed]], but ruthless and opportunistic, so he'll stick by Megatron's side as long as he receives enough privileges, whereas Dreadwing is a loyal and competent soldier, but his [[NobleDemon sense of honor]] would inevitably cause him to betray Megatron) and ruled out in Starscream's favor once Starscream shows he's smartened up not to try to usurp Megatron because he'd bite off more than he can chew. He appears loyal, which didn't prevent fans from suspecting it all of being a ruse. In "Deadlock", his rage upon seeing [[spoiler: Bumblebee kill Megatron indicates that his new loyalty was genuine after all]].

* Terrorsaur was an {{Expy}} of Starscream with the exact same M.O. However, the series does a bit of a better job handling it.

** In "Triple Takeover", Blizwing and Astrotrain have Starscream lead Megatron into a trap so supposedly all three can take command of the Decepticons. However, [[OutGambit the two Triple Changers opt to get rid of them both by betraying Starscream as well]]. They then start their own dominion with various degrees of success. [[StatusQuoIsGod Of course Megatron escapes from the trap]] and is none too happy with the three, reasserting his command by kicking their collective asses and coming out as the last bot standing in a huge Decepticon [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority brawl for dominance]].

* [[spoiler:In Chapter Two, after being demoted because of not helping Megatron in battle and reminiscing the various insults he had from him, Starscream backstabs Megs after he falls because of his injured knee. But later, Megatron gives him a ''brutal'' NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on him, killing him, and then disposing his body on the Moon. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Screamer is accidentally ressurected by Cheetor not long later]], follows him through the portal and succesfully steals the Allspark. His EvilPlan was [[OminicidalManiac to unite everyone with the Allspark]]. He then succesfully merges with it, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness deposing his remaining loyal Seekers of their sparks]] and has a NearVillainVictory in his plan, if Optimus Prime didn't use the Matrix of Leadership in time to blast the Allspark out of him.]]
* [[spoiler:Surprisingly, Shockwave shows signs of this as well in the episode "Secret Science", claiming that if Megatron will continue to fail, he will be forced to supplant him.]]

* Early drafts of ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' would of had [[spoiler: Megatron]] do this to the title character after Optimus reveals The Fallen couldn't make him a Prime (the entire reason he chose to work for him.). It was abandoned in the final film but the tie-in comics and video games kept this plot point.[[note]] Barring The above-mentioned DS game of course [[/note]]

* Trying to catalogue all the Starscreams (trope examples that is, not actual characters by that name) in the ''Transformers'' multiverse might take all day. The best collection of them in one place is probably the [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Air_Strike_Patrol Air Strike Patrol]], a Decepticon Micromaster faction which consists of one dangerously competent leader (Whisper) with three subordinates, every single one of which wanting to usurp his position. Of the three, one (Nightflight)'s a DirtyCoward schemer who hopes to gain the position by impressing people further up on the chain of command, another (Storm Cloud) is an impulsive and unsubtle moron [[WhatAnIdiot who announces his takeover plans in front of his target]], while the third's a taciturn [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] (Tailwind) who might actually succeed in his goal because he actually has patience and a willingness to accept short-term losses in the name of long-term gain, but his [[SmugSnake smugness]] and lack of initiative may be his undoing.

* Ironically, [[AdaptationPersonalityChange Shockwave's characterization]] was dramatically changed during the production of the show, in which he became [[UndyingLoyalty Megatron's loyal guardian of Cybertron]] rather than a rival to Megatron's authority. This, combined with the cartoon's widespread recognition, is why the trope wasn't called ''The Shockwave''.[[note]]Also, Shockwave in the comics is actually willing to defer command back to Megatron if the latter can prove he's a better leader than him and actually does that. On the other hand, Starscream would never humor the idea of giving the control back to Megatron at all no matter how much he digs himself deeper and deeper for each failure.[[/note]]

* Ironically, [[AdaptationPersonalityChange Shockwave's characterization]] was dramatically changed during the production of the show, in which he became [[UndyingLoyalty Megatron's loyal guardian of Cybertron]] rather than a rival to Megatron's authority. This, combined with the cartoon's widespread recognition, is why the trope wasn't called ''The Shockwave''.[[note]]Also, Shockwave in the comics is actually willing to defer command back to Megatron if the latter can prove he's a better leader than him and actually does that. On the other hand, Starscream would never humor the idea of giving the control back to Megatron at all no matter how dire the situation for himself.[[/note]]

* Ironically, [[AdaptationPersonalityChange Shockwave's characterization]] was dramatically changed during the production of the show, in which he became [[UndyingLoyalty Megatron's loyal guardian of Cybertron]] rather than a rival to Megatron's authority. This, combined with the cartoon's widespread recognition, is why the trope wasn't called ''The Shockwave''.[[note]]Also, Shockwave in the comics is actually willing to defer command back to Megatron if the latter can prove he's a better leader than him and actually does that. On the other hand, Starscream would never humor the idea of giving the control back to Megatron at all no matter how dire the situation.[[/note]]

** On two occasions Terrorsaur ''did'' succeed in usurping control, but it didn't last due to his incompetence. One such occasion had him defeat Megatron after supercharging himself on unstable energon, but the power boost was temporary and he had to go back to the site recharge, and once other transformers found out and the site was destroyed, Terrorsaur was put in his place by a repaired Megatron. On the other occasion, Terrorsaur used Rattrap to capture Megatron (ItMakesSenseInContext), but then the Maximals attack the base and Terrorsaur proves what a DirtyCoward he truly is when he initially panics and then hastily orders a counterattack with no real plan. Megatron, watching this unfold and even acquiesing to his orders, mocks him for his ineptitude afterward. Both of these episodes were very early in Season 1, which suffered some EarlyInstallmentWeirdness on its premise and characters; it's plausible he just realized the whole treachery thing wasn't going to work out and gave up on it. He made another attempt by trying to form a partnership with a brainwashed Rhinox, but was quickly subjugated and turned into a disposable pawn for Predacon!Rhinox's ambitions.
** While Terrorsaur regularly got his ass kicked by Megatron for his treachery, he, like Starscream himself, never suffered serious or permanent consequences. However, this could be excusable for FridgeBrilliance -- unlike the Generation 1 show, there is a set number of characters on either side and the addition of a new comrade via recovering a protoform in a stasis pod is very rare. Before Terrorsaur was KilledOffForReal, besides him and Megatron there were, at max count, five other Predacons -- it's reasonable to give Megatron the benefit of the doubt, that he considered Terrorsaur's treachery not worth giving rid of him for against losing a soldier he can't replace.

** TheMovie also indicates most of the other Decepticons are NotSoAboveItAll as everyone engages in a big brawl for leadership the moment Megatron and the other wounded Decepticons are thrown out into space. Even Soundwave of all bots, the poster boy for UndyingLoyalty and the person who dragged his former leader onto Astrotrain engages in this. [[note]] WordOfGod would fix this years later explaining his first act as leader would been telling Astrotrain to turn around and pick up Megatron. [[/note]]
* In the post-movie season, Starscream comes back and then proceeds to backstab Unicron. While a ghost. Oddly enough, backstabbing a Transformer PhysicalGod works out better for him than when he was only up against Megatron--he gets a new body out of the deal, and Unicron gets nothing except a mismatched new pair of eyes that may or may not have been destroyed at the end of the episode. He then somehow ends up a disembodied spark who wandered for eons and, possibly due to running out of Megatrons and Galvatrons to backstab in his current time-frame, probably decided to [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars follow one through a space-time fissure]] to keep up his old hobby. Truly the bot has ChronicBackstabbingDisorder.

* Ironically, [[AdaptationPersonalityChange Shockwave's characterization]] was dramatically changed during the production of the show, in which he became [[UndyingLoyalty Megatron's loyal guardian of Cybertron]] rather than a rival to Megatron's authority. This, combined with the cartoon's widespread recognition, is why the trope wasn't called ''The Shockwave''.[[note]]Also, Shockwave in the comics is actually willing to defer the command back to Megatron if the later can prove he's a better leader than him and actually does that. On the other hand, Starscream would never humor the idea of giving the control back to Megatron at all even if the situation gets dire to him.[[/note]]

* Leozack of ''Anime/TransformersVictory'' also qualifies as a member of the Starscream club. [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Deathsaurus/Dezaras]] eventually wised up and threatened to kill him if he continued his treacherous ways. Then there's Hellbat, whom the [[Wiki/TFWikiDotNet Transformers Wiki]] even describes as "a member of the Ambitious Screwups club". Thing about Hellbat is, his ambition lies in overthrowing Leozack as the leader of the Beastforce--making him the Starscream ''to the Starscream''.

* Ironically, [[AdaptationPersonalityChange Shockwave's characterization]] was dramatically changed during the production of the show, in which he became [[UndyingLoyalty Megatron's loyal guardian of Cybertron]] rather than a rival to Megatron's authority. This, combined with the cartoon's widespread recognition, is why the trope wasn't called ''The Shockwave''.

* ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformers The Transformers (Marvel Comics)]]'': Shockwave usurped command of the Decepticons (stepping in by taking advantage of the opportunity that arose when Megatron and the Decepticons had been defeated by the Autobots and human sabotage) and was an effective leader during one arc; taking over not because he was greedy or power-hungry, but because Megatron failed and Shockwave honestly felt "logic dictated" that he, as Decepticon Military Operations Commander, could lead the Decepticon faction more effectively. Notably, when Megatron eventually recovers his full power and returns, he and Shockwave agree to share leadership, at least for a short period.

* And, in the Generation 2 comics, we [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Image:Megatrong2idiot.jpg finally get an explanation for why Megatron keeps Starscream around.]]

** What's different is not only is this Starscream a pretty ''good'' leader, but the reason he's a Decepticon (you can change sides if you want) is because he's trying to keep the [[PsychoForHire Psychos For Hire]] in check and wants to kill Megatron ''for the good of all Cybertronians.'' (For the uninitiated, this Megatron is about as sane as [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Galvatron]]. And [[AxCrazy Galvatron]] is not even remotely sane.)

* The Decepticon version of the game adaptation for ''Revenge of the Fallen'' (The DS version of that version, more specifically) has an interesting twist to the usual Starscream methods: After defeating Optimus Prime (the final boss), The Fallen will essentially relieve Megatron from command, and Starscream then informs the player (after snubbing Megatron) that he'll constantly attempt to attack him when he least expects it, strongly implying that his methods are actually his way to ensure whether the De Jure head of the Decepticons remains fit for command.
* In the DS game of the first movie, Starscream is surprisingly successful; he takes the player in as a protege to defeat Megatron and is more of a threat to the rest of the Decepticons than the Autobots. Although he failed in preventing Megatron's revival, he did manage to kill Bumblebee, Barricade, Blackout(and presumably Brawl) and take control of the Allspark. Megatron finally took him out in the final boss battle..Which also made him the last surviving Transformer, as he killed the player afterwards.
* Early drafts of ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' would of had [[spoiler: Megatron]] do this to the title character after Optimus reveals The Fallen couldn't make him a Prime (the entire reason he chose to work for him.). It was abandoned in the final film but the tie-in comics and video games kept this plot point.[[note]] Barring The above mentioned DS game of course [[/note]]

** Starscream made his first play for power in the first episode (showing potential signs of it in ''the first five minutes''), and succeeded when Megatron was injured in the [[WesternAnimation/TransformersTheMovie 1986 animated movie]]. Before that, StatusQuoIsGod, so he'd failed [[OncePerEpisode Every. Single. Episode.]] If Megatron so much as ''sneezes'', he'll start shouting "Megatron has fallen!"[[note]]Not even an exaggeration - he once claimed command of the Decepticons on the grounds that Megatron had [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la4kqBPFYFQ lost his voice - temporarily!]] [[/note]] [[KarmaHoudini And Megatron would never punish him much for it.]] (Except in the movie, when he did.) [[http://www.cracked.com/article_16954_5-reasons-megatron-should-have-fired-starscream-years-ago.html Cracked's "5 Reasons Megatron Should have Fired Starscream Years Ago"]] list provides five examples of Starscream's ambitious behavior as well as ineptitude in a single episode (the first ever episode no less!).

* AllThereInTheManual states that Megatron '''himself''' was this to his former boss, Cryotek. Considering examples above and below, the only fully loyal Predacons were Scorponok, Inferno, and the Rubber Ducky. (Best summed up in [[http://www.lilformers.com/blog/2008/12/29/12292008/ this]] ''Webcomic/LilFormers'' strip: "I managed to keep at least two of my troops from betraying me! Two!") It appears that Megatron actually [[ThePlan encourages treachery in some of his more competent troops]]. He's studied them so well that he's able to guess their schemes and incorporate them his own while [[MagnificentBastard letting]] the traitor [[MagnificentBastard think they're still in control]]. Megs only seems to really get pissed when a betrayer executes their plan poorly. Best shown in "Master Blaster", when Tarantulas and Quickstrike betray him as he [[spoiler: takes the spark of G1 Megatron into himself,]] is tossed into a lava pit, emerges with his new dragon beast mode, and proceeds to punish Tarantulas. Then he tells the scheming spider "I can suffer your treachery, Lieutenant, ''but not your INCOMPETENCE!''", and tosses Tarantulas into the lava, remarking "Treachery requires no mistakes".
*** Amusingly in the 2021 comic, when Dinobot betrays the Predacons and takes advantage of a security override to trap the entire team inside the Darksyde while he makes his escape with Nyx, Megatron, though angered with the turn of events, actually commends Dinobot’s act of treachery noting how the execution was flawless.

* AllThereInTheManual states that Megatron '''himself''' was this to his former boss, Cryotek. Considering examples above and below, the only fully loyal Predacons were Scorponok, Inferno, and the Rubber Ducky (best summed up in [[http://www.lilformers.com/blog/2008/12/29/12292008/ this]] ''Webcomic/LilFormers'' strip: "I managed to keep at least two of my troops from betraying me! Two!") It appears that Megatron actually [[ThePlan encourages treachery in some of his more competent troops]]. He's studied them so well that he's able to guess their schemes and incorporate them his own while [[MagnificentBastard letting]] the traitor [[MagnificentBastard think they're still in control]]. Megs only seems to really get pissed when a betrayer executes their plan poorly. Best shown in "Master Blaster", when Tarantulas and Quickstrike betray him as he [[spoiler: takes the spark of G1 Megatron into himself,]] is tossed into a lava pit, emerges with his new dragon beast mode, and proceeds to punish Tarantulas. Then he tells the scheming spider "I can suffer your treachery, Lieutenant, ''but not your INCOMPETENCE!''", and tosses Tarantulas into the lava, remarking "Treachery requires no mistakes".

* Tarantulas took over this role after Terrorsaur's death at the beginning of season 2, but the character is ''very'' mysterious and much more sinister and ambitious, with his plans and origins being infamously ShroudedInMyth on a meta-level. Megatron kept him around because Tartantulas was an extremely intelligent MadScientist who often provided invaluable aid, and while he was treacherous and deceitful, Tarantulas never attempted to kill Megatron or usurp control of the Predacons from him -- he just tended to go off and do his own thing not caring if Megatron was upset with him. Appropriately, the one time he ''does'' try to kill Megatron and take over the Predacons, near the end of the series, all it does is make Megatron [[CameBackStrong Come Back Strong]] and set Tarantulas on fire with [[OurDragonsAreDifferent his new Beast Mode]].