He'll fight for freedom and also cause trouble, Skywarp is theeeeeere!

An early flight-capable recruit to Megatron's Decepticon movement, Skywarp has spent millions of years in loyal service to the Decepticon cause, frequently putting his teleportation ability to use. When modern sociopolitical developments ended the war and altered the Autobot/Decepticon landscape, Skywarp remained a staunch Decepticon, unlike his fellow Seekers. But soon he, too, felt disillusioned, more so with his new leader than the cause, leading him to do the unthinkable: (reluctantly) join up with humans, who promised to take care of his malfunctioning powers.

Yo Joe?

First appearance: Infiltration #3

Fiction

Becoming a Seeker

"...I was told there'd be punch and pie?"

An outlier with the ability to teleport, the first usage of his powers got Skywarp sent to the Jhiaxian Academy of Advanced Technology where he met Thundercracker. Skywarp soon came to resent the Academy however, viewing that he and Thundercracker were being treated as second-class citizens due to their flight capable alternate modes. The pair were eventually approached by Starscream whose silver tongue convinced them of the glories of being a flier. Skywarp, eager for any way out of the Academy, readily followed. Starscream later had the two rebuilt into frames matching his own, ostensibly to show strength through unity, but Skywarp would later become convinced that Starscream had merely been in the market for cheap patsies to confuse the taxpayers he'd ripped off. Starscream: The Movie

The trio were early recruits for Megatron, helping sow terror across Cybertron and kidnap Senator Decimus just prior to the Great War and founding of the Decepticons. Megatron Origin #3 Skywarp was convinced however that Starscream had led them all to the Decepticons so he could more effectively disappear from his problems. Starscream: The Movie When Megatron made his big push to conquer Kaon, Skywarp and Thundercracker shot down a civilian cruiser. Megatron Origin #4 Early in the war, Skywarp was among the Seekers who led Orion Pax's hostage negotiation party to Bludgeon's base in the Rust Spot. Omega's Conundrum

At one point he was part of a squad intent on assassinating Zeta Prime, but the plan was thwarted when Blurr warned the Autobot leader (tackling Skywarp in the back on the way). Spotlight: Blurr

"Wait. Hold on. I have something for this..."

Alongside several other Decepticons, Skywarp showed up to stop Orion Pax when he was arresting Soundwave near the Kaon border. Holding Bumblebee hostage in case the Autobots tried to start any trouble, they warned Orion that he had no jurisdiction in Kaon and let him know that Megatron wanted to see him. The Hunt for Soundwave Unfortunately, Orion Pax rejected Megatron's offer to join him, saved Bumblebee and fled. Skywarp offered to shoot down the Autobots' escape vehicle, but was ordered by Megatron to let them go. Cause and Effect Megatron later led him and several other Decepticons to Nyon, where they prevented Zeta Prime from killing Orion Pax. Megatron and Orion then agreed to work together for the purpose of overthrowing Zeta. Choices During their combined attack on Zeta's Citadel, Skywarp utilized his teleportation abilities for aerial harassment. Overthrown After Orion was presumed dead, Skywarp and Thundercracker brought Hot Rod to the Decepticon-controlled Citadel for an audience with Megatron. Rise Megatron ordered Starscream and the other Seekers, including Skywarp to defend the Citadel from the assaulting Autobots and the alive and well Orion Pax who was now Optimus Prime. They were intercepted by the newly recruited Aerialbots. Broadcast

Following Megatron's defeat, Scorponok announced to Skywarp and the rest of the Decepticons that he was their new leader. Wreckage His first act as leader was to lead the Seekers on an attack on the Toraxxis mega-refinery, Faces of Darkness and later sent them to bomb Starsreach Spaceport. Massacre After Megatron took back control of the Decepticon forces, he summoned them to the ruins of Harmonex to chase the Autobots away from a fallen Trypticon. Skywarp was more interested in destroying the weakened Autobots right then and there, but was ordered to let them go. Belly of the Beast

After absorbing Trypticon into the Decepticon army, Megatron took Skywarp and his other loyalists off Cybertron on board the beast's space-faring mode. Primacy #1 Returning after gathering up those who'd defected during Scorponok's time, the Decepticons assaulted Iacon where the Seekers participated in a preemptive strike on the Autobots' new ally, Omega Supreme. Primacy #3 This didn't quite work out as planned: not only was Omega protected by a force field, but the acid rain unleashed upon the battlefield by Megatron corroded the Seekers' engines, causing them to crash. Primacy #4

In one of the war's countless battles, Skywarp witnessed a yellow Autobot get destroyed in a Decepticon-Autobot crossfire. Drift #2

Infiltration

"I told you we shouldn't have had Beachcomber's brownies!"

Following the cataclysm that rendered Cybertron uninhabitable, Skywarp wound up part of a Decepticon infiltration unit under the command of Starscream. Taking up residence on Earth, the unit began working to destabilize Earth's governing organizations and create global anarchy in accordance with the infiltration protocol the Decepticons now operated to. In 2006, after having spent about four years on the planet, the unit discovered that Earth was home to a strain of super-powerful "ultra energon"; this decision caused Starscream to break protocol and relocate their base of operations, and Skywarp and Blitzwing were assigned the task of wiping out all traces of their operation up to that point. Sporting an F-22 Raptor fighter jet alternate mode, Skywarp teleported himself and Blitzwing from location to location, destroying every trace of Decepticon activity: first Tucson, Arizona, where they destroyed the trailer home of Stoker, a human who had uncovered their plans; then to Riverside, California, where they reduced to rubble the garage of Autobot ally Jimmy Pink; and then to Phoenix, Arizona, where they blew up a coach Stoker had previously ridden. Infiltration #3 Secret Raiders

"And yet, I feel fine."

Skywarp and Blitzwing's next target was the bunker in Nebraska that the infiltration unit had previously used as their base of opertaion, but when they arrived, they were surprised to find Autobots Bumblebee and Ratchet waiting outside. A brief battle ensued, but the most damage Skywarp sustained was a slightly clipped wing courtesy of Bumblebee. Infiltration #4 The Autobots disposed of, the pair turned their attention to the bunker and began bombing it... but unfortunately for them, they had no idea that Megatron himself had arrived on Earth and was inside it at the time. Emerging from the rubble in a fury, Megatron blasted a hole right through Skywarp with his fusion cannon. Infiltration #5

Megatron was apparently not one to hold grudges, and Skywarp was soon repaired and functioning again in time for the Decepticons' deployment of the aggression-inducing Psycho-Prism in Latveria. Megatron had Thundercracker and Skywarp bomb the neighboring country of Symkaria so they would blame Latveria and start a war. Man and Machine, Part Two After the duo's return to the array the Decepticons were using to broadcast the prism's effects, the structure was besieged by Autobots and the superhero team known as the Avengers. Man and Machine, Part One Skywarp, Thundercracker, Runabout, and Runamuck powered-up using the captured Spider-Man's super powers as part of mirror response mode and engaged the heroes in battle, Man and Machine, Part Two but the two Seekers were soon blasted out of the air by Iron Man in Transformer-sized armor. Man and Machine, Part Three His disabled form was later teleported away when Megatron called for a retreat via emergency warp-out. Man and Machine, Part Four

"It followed me home, Megatron. Can I keep it?"
"Having a pet's a big responsibility, Skywarp."

Skywarp was present when Megatron held a meeting to make sure it was perfectly understood there would be no second chances when it comes to insubordination. Escalation #1 To get the infiltration protocol back on track, Megatron assigned Skywarp the task of locating some new fragile monarchies that could be their next targets; while investigating Africa, Skywarp was contacted by recent Decepticon arrival Ramjet, who proposed that he join up with him in a coup against Megatron. Skywarp thought it was a big load of crap, but said that if Ramjet could get some results in one day, they'd talk—though he reminded Ramjet of the old Cybertronian adage, "always bet on the leader." Spotlight: Ramjet Following this, Skywarp was dispatched to the Middle East on a mission to incite conflict by destroying a power plant, during which confided in Thundercracker that he believed Megatron had it in for all of them—himself in particular—though his fellow Decepticon pointed out the fact that Megatron did have Skywarp repaired. Escalation #2 Skywarp subsequently travelled to Brasnya with Megatron and Blitzwing, Escalation #3 using his teleporting powers to bring in Astrotrain to assist him in engaging the Autobots who soon arrived to thwart their schemes. Escalation #4 Things turned sour for Skywarp after Astrotrain was injured, so he teleported away to gather reinforcements Escalation #5 and returned with Thundercracker, who joined him in firing on Hot Rod until the Autobot escaped by orbital jump. The battle ended when Megatron, defeated in battle by Optimus Prime, called upon Skywarp to evacuate him, in his shrunken pistol mode. Escalation #6 The furious Megatron went on to slay the treacherous Ramjet, and Skywarp smirked at the sight of his ex-comrade's decapitated head, remarking that betting on the leader was always the best gamble. Spotlight: Ramjet

Skywarp was among the concerned Decepticons who feared that Megatron had lost all sense of reason when he deployed Sixshot on Earth. They conspired to bring Starscream back into the fold to talk some sense into their leader, Devastation #1 but an additional wrinkle soon appeared when Skywarp detected the arrival of a strange alien space ship above the Decepticons' base. Devastation #4 It's occupants, the Reapers, laid siege to the base, but it was only through Starscream's lone stand against the aliens that the Decepticons were emboldened into counter-attacking. Devastation #5 The Reapers were soon bested, with Skywarp participating in the destruction of their starship. Devastation #6

All Hail Megatron

Look, just because Bombshell claims he gets to be Cyclonus doesn't mean you get to pee null rays on him.

When the Autobots withdrew from Earth to deal with an incursion by the forces of the Dead Universe, Skywarp and the other Decepticons went into hiding in preparation for a major strike against their enemies. Withdrawing to Cybertron, Megatron ordered the creation of an Insecticon swarm, but these twisted abominations were an affront to Thundercracker, and Skywarp, though confident in Megatron's plan, could do little to calm his brother in arms. The Decepticon then returned to Earth, where they lured the Autobots into a trap and utterly crushed them, with Skywarp ripping Sideswipe's arm clean off. All Hail Megatron #7

With the Autobots exiled to the dead Cybertron, the Decepticons launched an all-out assault on Earth, beginning with New York City. Skywarp gleefully awaited Megatron's arrival of the battlefield, and his anticipation paid off: when his leader appeared, the devastation the Decepticons unleashed against the attacking human military was without par. Skywarp—his alternate mode now an F-15 fighter jet—shot down the plane belonging to a pilot named DJ, who tried and failed to collide his crashing craft with Megatron. All Hail Megatron #1 After taking out the humans' air forces, Skywarp was assigned to accompany Soundwave, Hook and Astrotrain as they took Frenzy to deal with a large ground force. The Constructicon doubted that the tiny Decepticon had a chance against such a huge number of enemies, but Skywarp, enjoying a chance for a dig at the new guy, simply told him to make sure he kept his distance. All Hail Megatron #2 With all human resistance crushed, Skywarp and the other Decepticons stood before Megatron as he delivered a speech announcing their victory. All Hail Megatron #4

SPOILER: he lived.

Granted free reign to revel in the Decepticons' triumph, Skywarp celebrated by murdering half the population of Beijing, China. When Insecticon Bombshell didn't share in his delight, the pair began arguing; Bombshell's insults against the Seekers and their standing proved too much for him to brook and a fight broke out, but with the aid of his teleporting powers, Skywarp got the drop on the other Insecticons and sent them fleeing. Thundercracker, however, growing increasingly concerned with the directionlessness that seemed to be overtaking the Decepticons, took no enjoyment in the brief clash, and Skywarp flew off in a huff, starting to wonder where the fun in smashing things and killing people was if his fellow Seekers weren't going to enjoy it with him. All Hail Megatron #6

When the Autobots eventually returned to Earth, Skywarp battled them in the ruins of New York City. All Hail Megatron #11 He grabbed Kup and took to the sky, asking the old timer why he wasn't insane anymore. Kup responded by calling Skywarp a "mouthy punk" and shooting him in the gut, causing him to drop the Autobot. The Decepticons fled when Megatron was defeated, but Skywarp came back when he noticed that Thundercracker had diverted the nuke that Megatron had arranged to be dropped on New York. Furious at his fellow Seeker's betrayal, he ignored Thundercracker's arguments and shot him point blank in the face. All Hail Megatron #12

Wile E. Coyote's supplier. Makes sense if you think about it.

Though Thundercracker would survive the attack, Starscream later remarked that Skywarp had been appropriately punished for attacking a fellow Decepticon. Woken Furies His punishment apparently was to be stranded on Earth while most of the other Decepticons left, but Skywarp made the best of his situation; rather than seek a way off the planet, he instead spent the next two years stealing and stockpiling human weapons for Megatron's eventual return. His attacks on advanced technology companies Dynomic and Allodyne Logic Systems drew the attention of Skywatch, The Hanging Sword but the technology he obtained from them went towards a weapon he was building that would be capable of crippling all the Autobots on the planet. After beaming signals into space in order to report his progress to Megatron, The Impossible Knot Skywarp attacked Skywatch's Phillips base to gain information on the final component his weapon needed: the control board to the kill-switch badges that rogue Skywatch colonel Gordon Horiuchi had recently been using to coerce the Autobots into working with him. The Gift Horse Tracking the board to the home of Skywatch researcher Sanjay Bharwaney, Skywarp moved in for the kill, but was foiled by the timely intervention of Bumblebee, who evacuated Bharwaney, his daughter Serena, and the board. Skywarp chased them into an industrial area and hunted them through the rubble, ranting about how recovering the board would make him a hero when Megatron returned. Even the intervention of Skywatch operative Daniel Klonowski helped little; the weapon he fired upon the Seeker with injured him but left him undeterred, and Skywarp soon managed to corner the Bumblebee, who threatened to activate the board, triggering an EMP that would knock both himself and Skywarp out. Skywarp offered to let Bumblebee go in exchange for the board as a "professional courtesy", but his confidence was misplaced: secure in the knowledge that, unlike Skywarp, he had friends who would repair him, Bumblebee triggered the board, frying both his and Skywarp's systems. Wings of Wax

Evading capture by Skywatch, Skywarp was able to recover and somehow rejoin the main Decepticon force, which had encamped on a barren asteroid in space. He witnessed Megatron's return in a powerful new body, and threatened to teleport his fist into Windsweeper's abdomen if he dared intervene in Megatron's punishment of Starscream for leading the Decepticons into ruin. Spotlight: Megatron Like the rest of the Decepticons, he followed Megatron back to Earth, where he was present when Optimus Prime gatecrashed their base. Enemy Mine

The Transformer equivalent of a purple nurple.

After arranging for the Autobots to return him to Cybertron, Megatron used the space bridge technology built into in his new body to summon Skywarp and the rest of the Decepticons to him. It was his intent that they would battle the Autobots, but instead, they were soon mind-controlled by the Dead Universe entity known as D-Void into combining with Galvatron's Sweep army to form a huge monster. Kings Megatron defeated this "Deceptigod", causing it to collapse back into its weakened component Decepticons, who were detained by the Autobots and kept under control through the implantation of inhibitor/deterrence chips that locked away their weapons, alternate modes and special abilities. The Autonomy Lesson.

Post-war

The means of D-Void's defeat had triggered a reformatting of Cybertron, reverting the planet to a primordial state and summoning many of its departed population home, resulting in an unstable political landscape that the I/D-chipped Decepticons were employed to police. Before long, Ratbat took control of the Decepticons and had Soundwave and Shockwave hack the chips and restore Skywarp's abilities. Using his teleportation, he secretly observered as Horri-Bull pushed his luck, forcing Bumblebee—now Autobot leader—to kill him by detonating his I/D chip. After reporting this to Ratbat, he was assigned his next mission, in which he took great enjoyment: to assassinate Bumblebee and leave the NAIL Zetca to take the blame. Starscream, seeking a new approach, leaked the plan to the Autobots and Skywarp ended up being ambushed and arrested by Prowl. The World & Everything in It

Note that this time he actually sort of is pushing someone down the stairs!

Skywarp was locked up in the Autobots' prison, where, months later, he was later surprised to see Starscream stop by to visit Megatron, who had recently returned after a prolonged absence and immediately been incarcerated. City on Fire The Decepticons subsequently rioted and stormed the prison, liberating Megatron, Skywarp, and other captives. The Verge Skywarp joined Turmoil on the front lines as the Decepticons began tearing through Iacon, Before the Dawn though their efforts were stymied by the arrival of Autobot reinforcements led by Ironhide; Skywarp tried to take cover behind Frenzy's sonic barrage, but when the little Decepticon was defeated and he was left alone, the Seeker fled the scene. Plan for Everything He returned to action as the battle neared its climax, using his teleportation skills to duke it out with Arcee, but the dangerous fembot was able to predict where he would materialize, and stabbed him in the chest mid-warp. Heavy Is the Head When the dust settled, Starscream emerged victorious as the ruler of Iacon, and banished the Autobots and Decepticons from the city; Skywarp was among the exiled, but his injuries began to affect his control over his teleportation power, causing him to have trouble keeping himself solid. Shockpoint

Skywarp couldn't get his parents to fall in love at the "Enchantment Under the Sea" Dance.

Despite his wounds, Skywarp joined the Decepticons under Soundwave's command in an attack on Bumblebee's Autobots at the feet of the gigantic Metrotitan that mysteriously appeared on Cybertron on their first night in exile. Winners & Losers In the aftermath of the Necrotitan unleashing its death plague, Skywarp observed the resulting destruction. Into the Abyss Learning that the rogue Shockwave was behind the undead "Necrotitan" and that he had captured Megatron, Skywarp participated in a joint Autobot/Decepticon attack on Shockwave's Crystal City laboratory. During the battle, Skywarp took it upon himself to free Megatron from the scientist's grasp, only for his condition to worsen and leave him in mid-phase-out, unable to interact with the world around him. He scrambled for some nearby Ore-14 to repair himself, but it was all blown away by the Necrotitan, leaving him to lament helplessly as he lost control completely and just... disappeared. Finest Hour

This has never happened before, I swear.

Skywarp was eventually able to reconstitute himself enough to teleport Metalhawk and Waspinator out of Crystal City and to Starscream, whom they warned of the next step of Shockwave's devastating plan. The Becoming Autobots, Decepticons, and NAILs alike formed an elite team to confront Shockwave at his base, relying on Skywarp to teleport them there, though the Seeker wasn't strong enough to bring all volunteers and left some behind. As soon as the group arrived at Crystal City, a sudden attack by Bludgeon upon Waspinator startled Skywarp, and he lost control of his powers and tumbled backward, phasing through a wall and disappearing again. Black Planet Megatron and Optimus Prime proceeded to defeat Shockwave, destroying the time drive fuelling his plans, which collapsed into a localized black hole. Skywarp came across Galvatron and Dreadwing scrambling to escape the singularity and teleported them and himself to safety. ...And the Damage Done

The defeat of Shockwave brought with it a most unexpected turn of events: Megatron renounced Decepticonism, and joined the Autobots. In the days that followed this upheaval of the established order, Soundwave and Galvatron forged an alliance, becoming the new leaders of the Decepticons, Skywarp among them. Full Fathom Five

Return to Earth

Wallflower.

Two months later, seeking a new path for the Decepticons, Soundwave and Galvatron brought their followers back to Earth and allied with the planet's new anti-alien Earth Defense Command. Skywarp went with them, his body now wired into a machine in their starship, the Nemesis, which kept his fluctuating physical form under control, and allowed him to employ his powers from a distance, teleporting the Decepticons around. The Mind Bomb

Four months after the Decepticons' return to Earth, the Autobots made their way to the planet, and confrontation between the two factions proved inevitable. To end the fighting, the EDC deployed their neurological "mindbomb" weapon; Captain Marissa Faireborn contacted Skywarp and ordered him to teleport the Decepticons out so they would be unaffected by the attack. The Mind Bomb Skywarp continued to serve this function throughout the Decepticons' repeated engagements with the Autobots on Earth; indeed, he could do little else, which even led Galvatron to make some cruel jokes about his plight that the Decepticon leader insisted were but good-natured ribbing. The pain caused by such jokes paled in comparison to the physical agony; Skywarp's scrambled body experienced great pain when he teleported anyone, Signals, Calls, and Marches and he was eager to be freed from the machine and repaired as soon as possible. Galvatron promised that his well-being was a "top priority," but Skywarp was unconvinced. The Obliterati

"Most everyone is mad here. You may have noticed that I'm not all there myself..."

Eventually, salvation seemed to be on the horizon for Skywarp, as the Decepticons appeared poised to obtain the technology necessary to repair him. The Nothing Man As the Decepticons mobilized to attack the Autobots' Ark-7, Skywarp tried to convince Galvatron to let him join in, but Galvatron found the notion laughable, pointing out that Skywarp would merely become intangible again once released. Aphelion Galvatron did have a role for Skywarp to play in their mission, however: while the attack on the Ark-7 was going on, he finally released Skywarp from the machines and had him teleport them both into the EDC's base so they could abduct Garrison Blackrock. Helden Realizing Galvatron had betrayed him and the EDC, Soundwave tried to negotiate with Skywarp, but the Seeker had had enough of being used as a pack-mule and instead teleported himself and Galvatron into the middle of Shanghai, China. Galvatron was furious at this apparent betrayal, but was quickly placated when Skywarp explained that the Decepticon-controlled Ark was about to land in the middle of the city. The Decepticons moved to secure the downed spaceship, but were repelled when Optimus Prime arrived via spacebridge with a horde of Autobot reinforcements, unilaterally annexing Earth into the Council of Worlds. Perihelion In the ensuing battle, Skywarp was shielded from an EDC mind-bomb by Mindwipe's powers, and subsequently used his own powers to teleport the Decepticons to safety. Once Upon a Time on Earth

Realizing that Galvatron had not paid him the slightest attention since the successful capture of Blackrock and the acquisition of his Onyx operating system, Skywarp came to realize that Galvatron had no intention of ever living up to his word and repairing him. Blackrock offered to help him out, but Skywarp was uncertain about going against his leader. The Medium and the Message Skywarp's mind was soon made up for him, however, when Galvatron master plan came to fruition, and he used the Onyx interface to harness the power of the Enigma of Combination, fusing unwilling Autobots and Decepticons together into new combiners. Skywarp was horrified, seeing it as a contradiction of everything Galvatron had ever preached about Cybertronian "purity." It's Beginning To And Back Again The Autobots were able to foil Galvatron's plans, and amid the chaos, EDC agents Faireborn and Ayana Jones arrived to rescue Blackrock. Skywarp, his loyalty to the Galvatron now well and truly at an end, teleported out with the three humans. As Above...So Below The trio arrived on the White House lawn, where Skywarp explained to the unimpressed President the nature of the Titan that Optimus Prime had raised in Monument Valley. No Fair Fights

A Real American Hero

Winning hearts and minds!

Skywarp was relocated to the Earth Defense Command's Bikini Atoll facility with Faireborn and Jones, where he reminded Faireborn that he had only agreed to work with the humans if they would repair him. White Light Indeed, the EDC were finally able to stabilize Skywarp's body, restoring his corporeality at the cost of his teleportation power. During the reconstruction process, his integrated weapons were also examined and reverse engineered to develop laser weapons of their own. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #1

Some months later, when the Bikini Atoll facility was infiltrated and taken over by Dire Wraiths, Grand Slam, the only surviving human in the base, holed up with Skywarp and fended the aliens off for two days before a G.I. Joe team arrived to investigate why the base had gone dark. Rock 'n Roll was the first to discover their hiding place and was forced to shoot the paranoid Grand Slam, leaving him paralyzed. This didn't much faze Skywarp, who introduced himself to Rock as the "valuable asset" the team had been sent to recover. D.T.A.

Skywarp was made a member of the newly international G.I. Joe, which took the place of the now-defunct EDC. The job was not one that particularly excited him, and he largely complied with orders because he hoped the humans would be able to restore his teleportation; he cared nothing for his human teammates. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #1 On one such mission in Scotland, Skywarp was called into deal with a splinter group of Dire Wraith cultists; though he was able to pin down the aliens, the Joes were unprepared for the arrival of Baron Karza's armada on Earth, who were able to overwhelm the Decepticon and force him into stasis lock. Wrath of Karza #1

After being called in as back-up to help deal with some Red Shadows ninja on a mission in Japan, he refused to even let Rock 'n Roll ride in his cockpit. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #1

Returning to the Joe's underwater base Lemuria (the commandeered and rechristened Nemesis), Skywarp demanded that Grand Slam and Doc Senior repair his teleportation systems. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #2 The procedure tested his patience, but the humans eventually believed they had achieved success. Unfortunately, it was not to be: an attempted test-teleport overloaded the equipment Skywarp was hooked up and caused it to explode. Doc dived in front of Grand Slam to protect him from the incoming shrapnel, revealing himself to be a Dire Wraith in the process, so Skywarp called Scarlett down to the lab. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #3 Skywarp wasn't pleased with the fact that his comrades weren't going to kill the extraterrestrial, but was able to let off some steam when Scarlett deployed him to Inner Mongolia to take Doc's daughter into protective custody. Intervening in a fight between the Joes and the Dreadnoks, Skywarp watched as a gigantic creature emerged from a chasm to drag their foes into its realm. His mission done, Skywarp returned to the Lemuria without giving the other Joes so much as a lift. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #4

Over the next few days, more and more of the behemoths began appearing across the world; when one such beast appeared in the Indian Ocean, Skywarp was part of the Joe detachment sent to bring in the creature alive for examination but only managed to snap off one of its horns. He, Cover Girl, Salvo, and Rock 'n Roll were deployed to Ecuador to put down another incursion and track the origin point of the creatures, but after Skywarp and Salvo managed to tag-team another monster, Skywarp was briefly buried in lava as the focused on saving a nearby village from the eruption they accidentally caused. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #5

The next effort saw the Joes deploy specially constructed "Mole Pods" to tunnel underground and track the creatures to their source; discovering that the creatures were naturally small mammals who had been mutated by Dire Wraith magic, the arcane energies inadvertently transformed Rock n' Roll into a towering monster. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #6 The only member of the team capable of taking on the newly mutated Joe, Skywarp battled his teammate to a draw before Doc Jr. used her own Dire Wraith abilities to return him to normal. Spirit discovered an altar apparently responsible for mutating the creatures; a guilt-ridden Rock n' Roll volunteered to stay behind and set off their damaged supply of charges. Skywarp seemingly volunteered to defend him as he did so, but made it clear that he would be leaving him to his fate. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #7

Thundercracker got a dog, Skywarp got a beach bum who loves thrash metal.

The pair fought their way through the beasts before successfully rigging the cavern to blow; at the last moment, Skywarp had a change of heart and stayed behind as Rock n' Roll detonated the charges, making it seem as though both had perished... G.I. Joe vol. 5 #8 Shielding Rock 'n Roll inside his cockpit, the Seeker finally made good on his teammate's repeated requests for a ride, and in the subsequent final battle against the "Fatal Fluffies" the two showed off the "Blast Beat," their new combo move. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #9

Following the capture of Garrison Kreiger, Skywarp was part of the force sent to the Onyx tower in Buenos Aires to take the villain into custody. They were unprepared for Centurion to activate the building's defenses. In the ensuing firefight Skywarp accidentally wound up strafing Mayday and Action Man, When Eagles Scream and was soon smothered by a force of Red Shadows. When Optimus Prime arrived aboard Metrotitan, Skywarp pointed him in the direction of the treacherous Joe Colton. Ghost in the Machine

Skywarp later watched Earth's joining the Council of Worlds with his teammates and, after irritably warning them to show proper respect to Metroplex, opined that if anyone was "winning" on the red carpet, it was Pyra Magna. Everyone knew Camiens were the most fashionable 'bots around. First Strike #1 Skywarp was later incorporated into a "fast response" squad to take on the new alliance between Cobra and V.E.N.O.M., still complaining about being partnered with Rock n' Roll. After being deployed in New York City to intercept their allied foes, Skywarp and Rock n' Roll once again performed the "Blast Beat" combo maneuver against Sly Rax. However, the V.E.N.O.M. team combined their vehicles into a massive "King Cobra" mech in response to the Joes' attacks. G.I. Joe: First Strike Skywarp attempted to strafe the beast, but its firepower made him back off. Skywarp blamed his decreased maneuverability on having to carry Rock n' Roll in his cockpit, but Rock just insisted they try the Blast Beat again. Shipwreck came up with a plan to take the King Cobra down, and Skywarp's part was holding it in place while Salvo and Gung-Ho breached its armor. Gung-Ho disabled the mech from within and once he broke his way out, Skywarp unceremoniously dropped the dead weight onto the street, nearly crushing his own comrades. Rock n' Roll chastised him for it, but Skywarp dismissively told him the thing was heavy. M.A.S.K.: First Strike

After the Iron Ring's invasion, Skywarp was approached by his old colleague Thundercracker who was conducting interviews for his biopic on Starscream. Skywarp bitterly recounted the first time the two had met their former commander and his belief that both they and the Decepticons had been nothing but pawns in Starscream's quest to run away from his problems much to Thundercracker's surprise. His initial meeting with Starscream was... creatively edited in the finished film where he was portrayed by a digitally recoloured Thundercracker. Starscream: The Movie

On a later mission against the newest iteration of Cobra, Skywarp was among the Joes who were miniaturized to defuse a tiny nuclear bomb planted in Mexico City by Cesspool, battling an army of genetically engineered ants on the way and forcing the grumbling Decepticon to rescue Rock 'n Roll. Back aboard the Lemuria, Skywarp eavesdropped on a conversation between Duke and Roadblock while pretending to take interest in Rock 'n Roll's story about his latest nightmare. Scarlett's Strike Force # 1

Later on Skywarp approached Spectrum and Grand Slam about the possibility of restoring his teleportation powers. Though Spectrum felt Ore-13 might be effective, Grand Slam hastily pointed out that all of the ore being mined was reserved for Cybertron. Though pretending to accept the facts, he stuck around long enough to overhear Grand Slam confess to Spectrum that while the Joes could restore Skywarp's powers, they were deliberately choosing not to do so. This proved incentive enough for Skywarp to call up Duke and offer to join him in exchange for Ore-13. Scarlett's Strike Force #2 He later broke Snake Eyes and Agent Helix out of the Lemuria's brig to accompany him to Washington, D.C. but told them to find their own ride. Only Rock 'n Roll was allowed to ride inside him. Scarlett's Strike Force #3

Aw, isn't that swe- OMIGOD, WHAT'S GOING ON WITH MARISSA'S FACE??

Once that was all sorted out, the trio returned to the Lemuria to find it beset by an army of aquatic Maximals, chasing them off and managing to rescue their trapped comrades, Last Stand returning to G.I. Joe field headquarters to brief their superiors on the approaching threat. Road's End When what remained of the Cybertronian race mounted a do or die attack on Unicron, Skywarp was tasked to transport Arcee close to the Chaos Bringer so that she and Optimus could use the Talisman to destroy him. He was unimpressed to learn that Thundercracker would be joining them and carrying the Talisman. Assembly

On approach to Unicron, Skywarp told Thundercracker to knock it off with the sonic booms, as they would be largely ineffective in space. After Thundercracker was wounded and surrounded by Maximals, Arcee forced Skywarp to go back for him to retrieve the Talisman. Skywarp teleported directly in front of his comrade, taking a Maximal's blade to the chest. Thundercracker tossed the Talisman to Starscream and soon he and Skywarp were swamped by enemies. The two eventually managed to survive and returned to Earth after Unicron's defeat. Thundercracker and Skywarp landed at Mount Rushmore where Skywarp had a laugh at the ridiculousness of Thundercracker's life on Earth but finally acknowledged that sonic booms had their uses and that his friend was a true Seeker. Ceremony

Notes

• Skywarp's appearance in "seasons 1 and 2" of Robots in Disguise (shared, of course, with Starscream, Acid Storm, and Sunstorm) is based on his Aligned counterpart's appearance in High Moon Studios' video games. Depending on the issue, the artist's interpretation may look more like the concept drawing for War for Cybertron Starscream rather than Skywarp's in-game model or even the eventual Thrilling 30 Deluxe Class toy.
• In answer to fan speculation that Skywarp, Thundercracker, and the other Seekers would have been constructed cold (like Starscream), James Roberts gave a possible explanation for their outlier abilities (ostensibly unique to Forged Cybertronians) by suggesting that they were the eventual result of the Senate's attempts to artificially induce outlier abilities (first seen in issue #36 of More than Meets the Eye).^[1] However, these fan speculations were largely born out of the belief that Thundercracker and Skywarp's bodies always resembled Starscream; later stories would show this was not the case, and that the pair had been alive prior to the Senate's attempts to create artificial outliers.
• According to Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook #3, Skywarp is 30 feet tall and weighs 10 tons.^[2]

References