Wing Saber (Energon)

Wing Saber is an Autobot from the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

Wing Saber joins Robots in Disguise Ultra Magnus in the proud tradition of being a Power Mushroom for an Optimus.

Originally an Autobot security officer, Wing Dagger was charged with keeping watch over the Decepticon berserker Shockblast. When Shockblast escaped from his confinement, though, Wing Dagger was grievously wounded by his former prisoner, and thus was rebuilt by Primus into the more powerful Wing Saber.

Wing Dagger was an admirable Autobot, to be sure, but Wing Saber has all of Dagger’s positive traits and amplifies them by ten. Wing Saber is a courageous soldier, ardently concerned with bringing about justice on the behalf of those who have fallen at the hands of the Decepticons. In the past, he’s also been loyal to a fault, answering to Optimus Prime’s call whenever he was needed and finding great pride in their partnership. As time has gone on these strengths have bred arrogance, though, and Wing Saber has become increasingly smug about his abilities. He knows that he can grant Prime immense power through combination, and he’s also fairly self-assured regarding his own combat abilities, too. To this end, he’s been known to strike out on his own and break away from the Autobot fold occasionally. Although this can be undeniably frustrating to his teammates, it’s nothing that some good ‘ol fashioned teamwork can’t fix.

Wing Saber has his own personal team of Mini-Cons, the Caliber Mini-Con Team.

Fiction

Toy pack-in comics

When Optimus Prime was downed in battle and under imminent attack by several Decepticons, Wing Saber swooped to the rescue by blasting away the Decepticons and combining with Optimus Prime. With this new power, Optimus Prime was able to defeat Shockblast and Megatron. Soon after, Optimus welcomed Wing Saber to the Autobots. Energon Volume 4

Cartoon continuity

Energon cartoon

Voice actor: Colin Murdoch (English), Kōji Yusa (Japanese), Christian Jernbro (Swedish), Ari Wirta (Finnish), Rais David Báscones (Castilian Spanish), Rolman Bastidas (Latin-American Spanish)

Wing Dagger served the Autobots as a security guard on Cybertron; he was the jailer in charge of the Decepticon criminal Shockblast. During a Decepticon uprising, Shockblast escaped his prison. Alpha Q: Identity Wing Dagger and his friend Padlock pursued him, but Shockblast ended up killing Padlock. Wing Dagger grieved for his friend and swore revenge on Shockblast. Shockblast: Rampage

"I asked the producers if I could be hand-drawn. They said I'll be hand-drawn when I'm dead. I thought they were just being colorful."

During a Decepticon assault on Cybertron, Wing Dagger lassoed Shockblast with energy bands, but the powerful Decepticon simply pulled him up into the air. As they wove through the sky among the energon towers, the Decepticon blasted one of the towers, causing it to crash down upon Wing Dagger and Tidal Wave. Tidal Wave survived with damage, but Wing Dagger died. Each One Fights...

Wing Dagger's inert form was taken to Primus. Unicron Unleashed With the aid of Rad, Primus restored the warrior, imbuing him with a Spark of Combination. Open Fire! Reformatted into Wing Saber, he joined Optimus Prime's team not only to end Megatron's tyranny, but to avenge the death of his friend. He tracked down Optimus within Unicron's body, and combined with him to allow the Autobot commander to rejoin the rest of his squad, who had gone ahead of him to track down Megatron. Optimus's team then pursued Megatron into a fledgling new dimension. Ripped Up Space

Wing Saber understood and began to view himself as being Optimus Prime's personal servant. Optimus Prime reminded Wing Saber that he was not Prime's property, but Wing Saber seemed to have issues figuring out who he was. He eventually faced off with Shockblast again on Iron Planet. After making sure that his half-dozen buddies were backing him up, he gave the lone Decepticon a thorough trashing and captured him. Oh, brave Wing Saber! Shockblast was defeated at last; Padlock was avenged, and justice was served. Protection

Shockblast escaped about a day later. Wing Saber didn't seem to notice much, instead keeping focused on aiding Optimus by linking up with him. Imprisoned Inferno Wing Saber and the Autobots were investigating the rift for signs of Unicron when the Decepticons attacked Jungle Planet. Wing Saber was forced into a space battle that kept him from stopping the Terrorcons' pillaging down planet-side, despite being combined with Optimus. The fortunate arrival of Bulkhead, Downshift, and Cliffjumper allowed Optimus/Wing Saber to break away and make it into the planet's atmosphere; although they were met with a relentless bombardment from Megatron, they were able to blow him out of the sky and teach him a lesson about how the Autobots' teamwork granted them greater power. Jungle Planet

When Optimus caught word that Bulkhead's shuttle, en route to Cybertron to acquire an energon tower, was under assault, he linked up with Wing Saber to fly out and assist them. Bulkhead

Wing Saber was still combined with Optimus as he coordinated several Energon Towers' deployment to the rest of the planets in Alpha Q's universe. Ocean Planet was the only location where the Autobots failed to set up a tower. To remedy this, Inferno was sent to distract the Decepticons and buy the Autobots the time they needed to prepare their last tower. Ironhide, posted to keep watch over Inferno, sent out a flare to signal when the Decepticons had taken the bait. Thanks to the Autobots' coordinated effort, Optimus Prime/Wing Saber warped in their last tower and successfully defended it until its activation. Farewell Inferno Wing Saber stood solemnly by when Optimus dispatched Jetfire to bring Inferno's raw spark back to Primus for repairs. Later, he combined with Optimus as he led the Autobots to the newly revitalized Planet Q to stand guard over it; Alpha Q's latest effort had spawned the planet outside of the energon grid. Return! Our Scorponok

When Optimus learned that the Autobots had nearly all taken off to get some "R&R" in an Autobot Grand Prix, he brought Wing Saber along with him to view the race... and make it a little more interesting by shooting up the road! Crash Course

Afterward, Wing Saber braved the hazards of the rift in space to locate Unicron's missing body. He found Unicron was regenerating himself from energon and reported back. Wing Saber and the other Autobots battled the Decepticons to keep them from fully reactivating the body, and while that failed, they did witness the return of Omega Supreme. Omega Supreme The Autobots persisted in trying to gain entry to Unicron, but when Unicron plowed through the Energon grid, his surface was left super-heated. Optimus disengaged from his combined form with Wing Saber so the younger 'bot could take Rodimus to safety. Wing Saber hesitated, but could not disobey a direct order for his commander, and left Optimus behind. Thankfully, Optimus was rescued by Omega Supreme, and repaired via Energon infusion. A Heroic Battle Wing Saber, Bulkhead, and Jetfire kept the lesser Decepticons busy outside of Unicron while the other Autobots sought to reach Megatron's throne room and disconnect him from the Planet-Eater, while the later was still dormant. The fliers later reconvened with the Miranda II, where Misha gave them an update on Optimus Prime and Kicker's teams, then fighting a Unicron-empowered Shockblast and retrieving Alpha Q's body respectively. The Power of Unicron

Like most of the team, Wing Saber was severely damaged during the final confrontation with Unicron and was sent to the Miranda II's sick bay. Optimus Supreme He recovered quickly, however, and prepared to launch into battle once again before Kicker talked him into helping coordinate the energon towers assault instead. With the towers, the power of Primus, and the teamwork of the Optimus Supreme combination, Unicron was finally defeated, his essence scattering to the solar winds. Unicron Perishes

Everything done and fully fixed, and with Optimus in stasis to heal up, Wing Saber and friends took a break. It was a short break: as various Autobots went into regeneration, Saber had a report that Megatron and the Terrorcons were attacking Central City, Cybertron! The Autobots rushed back home Ambition and fought an underground resistance against Galvatron's invasion of the planet. Wing Saber personally assured the hiding population that Optimus was on his way.Galvatron! His team was found by a Terrorcon patrol, and were soon entrenched in combat against Scorponok. Break Through

At some point in time, the Autobots played a fighting simulation game where the Wing Saber/Optimus Prime tag-team won defeated Landmine and Cliffjumper, but lost to Rodimus and Hot Shot. Distribution

Optimus and his troops then finally met up with Wing Saber's rag-tag group of resistance fighters. After formulating a strategy to free the rest of their allies around the planet, Optimus and Wing Saber linked up once more to stand up against Galvatron. The Omega Train They took a direct hit from the planet's energon grid, however, and went down in flames. Wing Saber was left unconscious and was nearly destroyed by Galvatron until the Omnicons arrived to restore him. He and Optimus recombined, striking a devastating blow to Galvatron, prompting him to retreat. Decepticon Army The Autobots continued to struggle with the Decepticons on the surface until the efforts of Dr. Jones and the Omnicons recharged Primus at Cybertron's core. This remotely revitalized Optimus Prime's Combination Spark, and he disengaged from his combination with Wing Saber to join up with Omega Supreme instead and delivered a stunning series of attacks against his foes. Ironhide Team But Six Shot found a way to turn the situation to the Decepticons' advantage once more; by allowing the energon gas build up underground, he engineered an enormous explosion that sent Wing Saber and those fighting alongside him into space. Although damaged, the Autobots resolutely continued to fight, assaulting the energon towers to prevent Cybertron from destroying the planets it was passing by through space. Formidable

Once Cybertron's propulsion through space had been halted, Wing Saber returned to Primus's chamber. There, he learned that Sally had managed to infiltrate the Decepticons' base by herself. Wing Saber left with Jetfire to bring the girl back to safety. But Sally's position proved to be a huge boon, and thanks to her help, the Autobots were able to take control of the Decepticons' base. This, in turn, granted them access to Cybertron's warp gate system again. Galvatron Terror

Wing Saber came upon Galvatron after he had submerged himself into the super energon pool a second time, causing him to grow to enormous proportions. Galvatron then launched himself into space, dragging Cybertron behind him with a tether of super energon. While a team headed by Kicker severed the tether, Wing Saber's team continued to make war against the Decepticons around Galvatron, fluttering around the Decepticon leader like skirmishing insects. Destructive Power Wing Saber allowed Landmine to ride atop of him like a surfboard, as he continued to battle around the now space-borne Galvatron. When the battle moved beyond their ability to contribute, Wing Saber and the Autobots kept in a holding pattern around Jungle Planet as the massive Optimus and the Unicron-possessed Galvatron grappled one another. Spark

Wing Saber was among the gathered troops who joined with Optimus Prime in spark form to confront the massive Galvatron-Unicron fusion. Like the others, he was restored to his own body after the battle's conclusion. The Sun

Cybertron toy bios

Originally a timid worker robot,^[1] Wing Saber underwent a series of upgrades that garnered him a more positive attitude. Costco Wing Saber toy bio He formed a close friendship with Optimus Prime that first began in the depths of Unicron, where the two discovered that they could combine to form the mighty Sonic Wing Mode.^[2] Wing Saber toy bio Costco Optimus Prime toy bio Wing Saber went on to become a great hero of the Powerlinx Battles, but afterward, Costco Wing Saber toy bio his new attitude grew more cavalier. More willing to bend the rules than follow them, Costco Optimus Prime toy bio Wing Saber found the new strict and orderly peacetime holding him back. Costco Wing Saber toy bio Having grown more distant from Optimus in the intervening ten years, Costco Optimus Prime toy bio he ultimately left Cybertron to seek new adventures out in the galaxy. Costco Wing Saber toy bio

Cybertron cartoon

Voice actor: Peter Kelamis (English), Takayasu Usui (Japanese), Shen Dawei (Chinese), Ari Wirta (Finnish), Juan Navarro Torelló (Castilian Spanish), Jerzy Dominik (Polish)

"I'm one tubular flying machine, dudeirino bro-guy!"

After Galvatron's defeat, Wing Saber started to become one cocky jack-the-lad!

Wing Saber and Optimus Prime went on a mission to save a stranded astronaut in the Chaar asteroid belt; to navigate, they had to get through it in a back-to-back formation and started to feel a whole new combination coming on. Wing Saber span out of control and almost hit an asteroid, but was saved by Optimus. United However, after a while, he grew fed up of taking orders and split from the Autobots. He even attacked Optimus! ("Well, hey, the big guy had it comin'.") Assault

While Wing Saber was AWOL, Wing Saber and Optimus forgot all those other times they'd combined. Some Autobots even forgot who Wing Saber was! United Assault

Wing Saber returned during the search for the Cyber Planet Keys when he encountered the Omega Frequency wave after the Speed Planet Key was inserted into the Omega Lock on Earth. He approached the Earth at a breakneck speed, blazing like a meteor. Reaching the volcanic island where his comrades were doing battle with the Decepticons, he nailed Megatron with missiles before the Decepticon could fire his Death Machine Gun at Optimus Prime. Jetfire, while not entirely happy to see Wing Saber again, provided him with an Earth vehicle mode, a powerful fighter-bomber. ("Looks good to me!") Wing Saber now showed signs of a new, defiant attitude toward his former allies, even to the point of violence. He fired at Hot Shot's feet when the latter questioned him once, but cooled down, with Jetfire explaining to a worried Lori that "That's just how he is." However, Wing Saber quickly found himself part of the team again, taking to the air to dogfight with Megatron and keep him away from Starscream and the Omega Lock. Assault

Sonic Wing Mode. Basically, he's Prime's shirt and trousers.

Wing Saber continued to battle Megatron while Optimus Prime and Vector Prime pursued the Lock, and later rescued Vector Prime after Starscream's growth to skyscraper size caused an eruption. Thunderblast attempted to stop them from leaving, but was defeated by Wing Saber's Cyber Key cannon. Starscream

Several attempts to take Starscream down were made, all of which failed. After Starscream thwarted one attempt by filling the air between him and the Autobots with chunks of rock, Wing Saber was reminded of the mission in the Chaar asteroid belt. He suggested trying the same trick again and attempted to link up with Optimus. The attempt failed, but Prime agreed the method from the first attempt to clear the asteroids worked. Wing Saber and Prime flew together through the boulders to reach clear sky, which led to reviving his ability to combine with Optimus Prime to create their Sonic Wing Mode. Wing Saber took the place of Prime's Super Mode backpack,lending his leader his weapons and his powerful jet engines. This and the power of the merge allowed Optimus to deliver a powerful slashing blow to Starscream, knocking him out. United

Following this, Wing Saber followed Optimus back to Cybertron in defense of the Omega Lock but when he combined with Optimus to fight off Megatron, the villain craftily cheated and ran off with the Lock. So the two followed with through a dimension gate! In a ferocious fight, Megatron was defeated and his fiery dimension collapsed, and a stunned Wing Saber would watch his home planet transform into the body of Primus himself! Cybertron The deity explained the plot to them before Starscream and sneaky Sideways showed up, leading to Wing Saber combining into Sonic Wing Mode yet again Balance and Megatron coming back from the apparent dead after a whole half hour away and yet another combined fight, this time against Scourge, before Optimus Prime left him to bond with another guy. Darkness Then he ran for the Omega Lock again and there was more fighting! Memory Then more combining to fight! Wing Saber was having a very samey day.

Insult to injury, Optimus dissed one of his battle cries. In fairness, "This time you're taking the express train to Loserville!" is lame. Escape

When the Atlantis and Bud within it was captured by Sideways, Wing Saber scoured the depths of space looking for the ship. Family Soon after Jetfire joined him, they found a trail of Bud-signed garbage marking the way. Unfortunately, the two jets found themselves dealing with both Atlantis' guns and a large Decepticon attack force! The Atlantis warped away and Wing Saber had to retreat. Titans

The Autobot's follow-up was to make their way to the newly discovered Gigantion, and Wing Saber was ready and raring to go before it was pointed out that the car robots would need, y'know, a ship. He had honestly forgot not all Transformers flew. The Autobots duly made use of the Ogygia, warping through a bizarre space-tunnel and fending off the Atlantis before arriving at the planet. Warp Exploring the vast cities that covered Gigantion, Wing Saber showed his smarts by trying to body-slam a rock out of the way of a door. After contact was made with the local giants, the Decepticons attacked and it was combiner time for Saber again. He helped Optimus dogfight their new foe Soundwave. After Autobot victory, the locals Metroplex and Quickmix joined the mission. Giant

Megatron came back minutes later in his new Galvatron form and Wing Saber, trying to protect the human kids, was swiftly flattened. Fury Minutes after that, the Autobots finally located the Atlantis and Wing Saber was part of a diversion, fighting Starscream so others could infiltrate the ship and rescue Bud. City

In the search for the Cyber Planet Key deep beneath Gigantion, our boy was teamed up with Lori and Override; he glibly pointed out how easy it would be to ambush them down there, which the Decepticons duly did! In the ensuing fight, Thunderblast was clearly baiting Autobots to follow her into a trap... but Wing Saber went anyway, terrified of saying "no" to an enraged Lori. The trap was a vast lake, where boat-former Thunderblast had the upper hand and the jet felt he should retreat. Instead, Lori had him use trickery; he dropped her off, then was "shot down" and when Thunderblast went for the kill, she was trapped by debris Lori dropped around her. Then Wing Saber fired his guns and blew her away, Team Rocket style.

Wing Saber followed this up by saving Lori from some debris. All over, right? Nope, to finish this off, they discovered information about Planet X and its ancient war with Gigantion. Ambush Man, this is big stuff, it'd sure suck if all Wing Saber got to do next episode was show up to blow away some minor bad guys and form Sonic Wing Mode instead of tell people about what he'd seen! Challenge

After helping beat up Scourge for reasons Scourge, Wing Saber took off with Override to find the lost colony ship Lemuria. They found it resting in a great lake and managed to call it in before the Decepticons showed up; Saber once again bonded with Optimus. However, Galvatron began a campaign of psychological terror, hinting Optimus saw his men as disposable. When an enraged Wing Saber, now separate, tried and failed to stop the tyrant alone, they attempted a re-link until Galvatron said he'd simply hit only Wing Saber's parts. Optimus refused to Powerlinx and was decimated. Wing Saber ignored orders and tried to fight the villain himself again and his defeat only deepended Prime's funk. After gathering himself, Saber helped take the Lemuria and was a joyful witness to Optimus' mental recovery (and battering of Galvatron). Optimus

All the Cyber Planet Keys were in their hands but the great black hole had become vastly worse. The Autobots departed Gigantion for Cybertron, though Wing Saber and the others had to watch Vector Prime die to give them the chance. Showdown In a multi-planet operation, Wing Saber defended the weakened Primus by (you guessed!) forming Sonic Wing Mode with Optimus. He and Optimus almost died fighting Galvatron but were saved in time by massed Autobot reinforcements. Guardian Homecoming In the final battle to reclaim the Lock and Keys from Galvatron, Wing Saber yet again linked up with Prime into Sonic Wing Mode. His powerful engines and his speed helped Optimus pursue the Omega Lock into the depths of the Unicron Singularity. and snatch it back just before it reached the point of no return. End

Wing Saber helped realign one of the rockets that propelled the Jungle Planet through the space bridge back to its proper orbit, and then watched as his leader dealt Galvatron a fatal sword blow, at long last ending the war. Unfinished

While preparations for the renewed Space Bridge Project were being completed Wing Saber departed and eventually encountered (and dueled with) the mighty Starscream, who had somehow survived his duel with Galvatron on the Giant Planet. Landmine and Mudflap joined him. Beginning

Energon comic

Wing Saber was part of a three-man reinforcement team who, with Cliffjumper and Rodimus, went to help Alterenergy track down and rescue Kicker Jones. He helped hold off Demolishor long enough for Kicker to escape, gumming up Alpha Quintesson's schemes. Armageddon Part 4 After the kid zapped Demolishor, Wing Saber and chums returned to Cybertron to help battle the resurrected Unicron. Armageddon Part 5

Galaxy Force manga

When the Unicron Singularity swallowed Cybertron, Wing Saber was on the planet and considered lost to the Autobots who had fled to Earth. In actuality, Cybertron was reconstituted within the black hole and managed to transform into its true form as the Transformers' creator, Primus. The god sent Wing Saber to join the war over the Cyber Planet Keys. Once Sonic Bomber arrived on Earth in the midst of an attack from the Omega Lock-empowered Starscream and his army of "Earth Decepticons", he explained to the other Autobots what became of Cybertron and also revealed that he now carried a power gifted from Primus himself. After entreating Optimus Prime to also feel the power of Primus through the Matrix, Sonic Bomber combined with his commander to form Sonic Wing Mode. Overwhelmingly powerful in their new combined mode, Prime and Wing Saber were able to singlehandedly end the threat of Starscream and the Earth Decepticons, opening the way for new adventures in the future for the Autobots. Galaxy Force Mission.9

Ask Sideways

After hijacking Vector Prime's Axiom Nexus News column, known liar Sideways stated that he once replaced Wing Saber's motherboard with used pinball machine parts so that Wing Saber would light up every time he was smacked around. Ask Sideways, 2015/07/02

Toys

Energon

Predaking + Star Saber = Flying Brick!
(Takara version pictured)

• Wing Saber (Mega Class, 2004)

• Takara ID Number: SC-17
• Takara release date: June 24, 2004
• Accessories: 2 missiles
• Known designers: Shogo Hasui (TakaraTomy), Hirofumi Ichikawa (detailing)

Released in the foruth wave of Hasbro's Energon Mega Class toys, Wing Saber transforms into a Cybertronic "flying wing" jet, vaguely resembling a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. In both jet and robot mode he has a pair of spring-loaded missile launchers, which end up on his knees in robot mode. They can be removed from their mounting brackets to prevent permanent breakage if dropped, but lack any other method of attaching them to Wing Saber or any other figure.

He disassembles into four portions, which attach to the limbs on the Leader Class Optimus Prime toy. When Wing Saber's upper-body parts and wings are attached to Prime's arms, they are in "Flight Mode", while the lower-body-as-arms configuration brings Wing Saber's non-firing cannons to the forefront, forming "Cannon Mode" (both forms are called "Wing Convoy" in Japan). Due to the "Flight Mode" fists being the connections used to attach Wing Saber's lower legs, they are compatible with the Prime Force drones' Super Mode connections, allowing for some additional armorment. Much like the Prime Force, Wing Saber's parts can also attach to the Omega Supreme and Omega Sentinel toys.

As Wing Saber is essentially a glorified accessory for the Leader Class Optimus Prime figure; his robot mode is a total brick, with almost no articulation beyond his elbows, which don't even bend a full 90° degrees.

Wing Saber was a Takara-initiated product, with his Super Link release predating the Hasbro release by several months, as Hasbro delayed the toy due to doubts about it fitting into their firmly-set price point structure. This is presumably why the Takara version is easier to come by on the aftermarket over the Hasbro version, with the Hasbro release racking up some pretty high prices—something that is usually the other way around in most cases. The two versions are mostly identical, but Hasbro's drops a number of intricate paint applications, especially specific white detailing, such as the details just under his Autobot insignia on his shoulders. Both versions are also color matched to Super Link Grand Convoy, as opposed to Energon Optimus Prime's far less saturated, darker blues and reds.

In July, Wing Saber and Grand Convoy were part of a Takara promotional giveaway: purchasing either toy would net you the Energy Cutter Daylight Attack Edition or the Energy Blade Night Phantom Edition exclusive energon weapons. But this promotion was never advertised beforehand, and the most information anyone could get out of Takara's customer service after the fact was that they were available at "1500 select stores".

• More information on Wing Saber at TFU.info

Cybertron

His guns have guns on them which also shoot tiny guns. (Hasbro stock imagery)

FAINARU FYU- Oh wait, wrong show. (Takara stock imagery)

• Wing Saber (Ultra Class, 2006)

• Takara name: Sonic Bomber
• Mocom Toy name: Ultra Jet
• Takara ID number: GC-22
• Takara release date: July 28, 2005
• Accessories: Left & right blades, 2 blade-handles, left & right spring-loaded missile launchers, 2 missiles, Cybertron Autobot Cyber Key
• Cyber Key Code: uya7
• Known designers: Eric Siebenaler (Hasbro), Takashi Kunihiro (TakaraTomy), Hirofumi Ichikawa (detailing)

Cybertron Wing Saber transforms into a heavily armed military plane based on an A-10 Thunderbolt. Pressing the button behind his cockpit canopy causes a mini-gun sound to emit from a speaker on the bottom of the nosecone. Plugging a Cyber Key into the key slot behind his canopy splits the nosecone fuselage in half and exposes a cannon with a red LED. Pressing the button activates the same mini-gun sound effect, this time with the red LED flashing unobstructed.

Wing Saber's wing-flaps detach to form swords; for Wing Saber to use them, they need to be inserted into sword-handles that plug into 5mm holes in his forearms, as his hands are incompatible with the standard weapon-pegs. His removable spring-loaded missile launchers, mounted under his wings, can also be attached to those ports. His Key-activated cockpit gimmick can also be used in robot mode, being mounted over his head via a supporting strut, although it points at an upward angle. Wing Saber can also form a backpack for Cybertron Leader Class Optimus Prime's super mode, forming their "Sonic Wing Mode". Optimus Prime can hold Wing Saber's swords in any of his modes and the sword hilts also act as adaptors to allow Optimus to hold and use 5mm post weapons

Takara's "Sonic Bomber", released in the twelfth wave of Galaxy Force product, preceded Hasbro's Wing Saber by several months. He features a slightly different deco, with silver-chromed saber blades and a gold-chromed chest shield, while minor changes were made to the graphics on the plane, such as a red-striped nosecone as opposed to Wing Saber's entirely red nosecone, and larger Autobot insignias on the wings. Sonic Bomber figures also tend to have a misaligned "nose guard" that can obscure the eyes in some cases, which was fixed for the Hasbro Wing Saber release.

Those who purchased Galaxy Force Sonic Bomber from Toys"R"Us stores received the promotional Platinum Micron Platinum Element.

Sonic Bomber was also released by Mocom Toy as "Ultra Jet" in the Korean Galaxy Force toyline, with no discernable differences, other than the packaging.

This toy doubles as the Beast Wars: Uprising character Wing Saber, and this mold was redecoed to make the 2007 movie toyline's Wingblade.

• More information on Cybertron Wing Saber at TFU.info

• Sonic Convoy (Multi-pack, 2005)

• ID Number: EX-02
• Accessories: Left & right blades, 2 blade-handles, left & right spring-loaded missile launchers, 2 missiles, Autobot Cybertron Cyber Key

Part of a large Toys"R"Us Japan exclusive multi-pack, this release of Sonic Bomber received a number of small detailing changes; his saber blades were changed from silver chrome to gold chrome, all red paint was changed to metallic red, and the chest shield halves were now red chrome rather than gold. Benefiting from the Hasbro tweak, this version also has a properly aligned "nose guard".

He was only available in the "Sonic Convoy" set with a largely-transparent Galaxy Convoy and the Coby Sen'yō Ramble.

None of the toys in this box set were given bio cards. Aww.

• Optimus Prime / Wing Saber (Multi-pack, 2006)

• Accessories: Left & right blades, 2 blade-handles, left & right spring-loaded missile launchers, 2 missiles, Autobot Cybertron Cyber Key
• Cyber Key Code: uya7

This set, consisting of totally unmodified versions of Cybertron Optimus Prime and Wing Saber, was released as a Costco-exclusive, and also includes a DVD with the Cybertron cartoon episode "United". This set comes in a particularly huge box, and sold for $35.99, five dollars less than the MSRP for Optimus Prime by himself. Now that's a deal!

Merchandise

Super Link

• Wing Convoy Chō Real Figure (2004)

Wing Convoy Super Real Figure (ウイングコンボイ 超リアルフィギュア, Wing Convoy Chō Real Figure) is a PVC of Optimus Prime combined with Wing Saber in Flight Mode. It was sold exclusively with the August issue of Televi-kun (てれびくん) magazine, first on sale July 1, 2004.

• More information on Wing Convoy Chō Real Figure at Autobase Aichi

• Wing Convoy Original Figure (2004)

Nemesis Saber? Wing Sweep?

A redeco of the Wing Convoy Super Real Figure, Wing Convoy Original Figure (ウイングコンボイ オリジナルフィギュア) was exclusively scotch taped inside Wing Saber figures sold at JUSCO department stores starting on July 30, 2004. A sticker was placed on Wing Saber's packaging to note the promotion.

Despite being sold as Wing Convoy/Optimus Prime, the figure's color scheme bears a striking resemblance to that of Grand Scourge, whose model kit was on sale the same month.

• More information on Wing Convoy Original Figure at Autobase Aichi

Notes

Energon

• Wing Saber was a toy-concept initiated by Takara and left largely to their own design team to develop, though they had to follow various Hasbro price-point mandates. The toy was detail-designed by noted Japanese fan Hirofumi Ichikawa and incorporates elements of fan-favorites Predaking and Star Saber. Ichikawa originally envisioned Wing Saber's personal weapon to be the Energon Saber. This was nixed by the animation production staff, however, along with many other toy-team concepts.
• Wing Saber was originally named "Superion Maximus" for his western incarnation, but the name was shelved in favor of simply reusing the established Japanese name. "Superion Maximus" was reused for the combined form of the Energon Air Team shortly thereafter.
• Wing Saber's bio on Transformers.com, first appearing under the "Superion Maximus" title, was largely different from anything else, wherein "Wing Saber" was a venerable defender of high ranking Autobots and was the personal carrier of the Autobot high council.

Cybertron

Sonic Bomber has wing sabers.

• Sonic Bomber/Wing Saber's original prototype featured a different vehicle mode nosecone design than seen on the final toy. As revealed by the Japanese online retailer Amenbo.com on April 29, 2005, the original sculpt had a much greater resemblance to the A-10 Thunderbolt, with a rounded nose cone, a correctly shaped (translucent) canopy, and twin translucent gatling cannons. It's possible that the change from this more realistic sculpt to the entirely opaque one seen on the final toy occurred in order to avoid licensing issues.
• The Cybertron incarnation of Wing Saber was planned to be a new, separate character named "Knockdown", more closely following the original Japanese depiction, but this was changed late into development. Presumably, Hasbro desired have another preexisting character in the series, but this led to continuity errors as the Cybertron dub did not take Wing Saber being a known character with an established history and personality into consideration when localizing the cartoon.
• In the booklet for DVD volume 10, it is stated that the reason Sonic Bomber/Wing Saber split from the Autobots was that "I was tired of becoming a responsible veteran like Galaxy Convoy/Optimus Prime and Dreadlock/Jetfire, and of becoming an authority," but it is believed that Dreadlock/Jetfire was tired of being punished for his repeated problematic behavior.

Foreign names

Energon

• Japanese: Wing Saber (ウイングセイバー Uingu Seibā), Wing Dagger (ウイングダガー Uingu Dagā)
• Hungarian: Éleskard ("Sharp Sword"), Éleskés (Wing Dagger, "Sharp Knife")^[3]
• Mandarin: Jīyì Wǔlì (Taiwan, 機翼武力, "Wing Force"), Yì Jiàn (China, 翼剑, "Wing Sword")
• Russian: Ostrokryl (Wing Dagger, Острокрыл, "Sharp Wing"), Sablekryl (Саблекрыл, "Saber Wing")

Cybertron

• Japanese: Sonic Bomber (ソニックボンバー Sonikku Bonbā)
• Korean: Ultra Jet (울트라제트 Ulteura Jeteu)

References

1. ↑ Referring to his orignal "Wing Dagger" form from the Energon cartoon.
2. ↑ This is in reference to the events of the Energon episode "Ripped Up Space", only their combined form wasn't named "Sonic Wing Mode" in that or any Energon episode, as it had no name in the English version of that series.
3. ↑ In "Optimus Prime vs Megatron: The Ultimate Battle", Wing Dagger is called Tőrszárny, the most accurate of the translations (it means "Dagger Wing"), but not the most fancy-sounding.

External links

• An interview with Hirofumi Ichikawa on his Energon work