Firestormer
From Transformers Wiki
- The Firestormers are an irritation from the Generation 2 portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
Ain't it annoying? You go through all the trouble of conquering star systems, wiping out their inhabitants, and cyberforming their planets, but then these friggin' Firestormers show up outta nowhere and ruin everything. It's such a pain.
If that ain't bad enough, sometimes they go by the excessively long name Autobot Alphastrike Counterforce. Sheesh, what a mouthful.
The Firestormers are:
| Marvel Generation 2 comic | Timelines | War for Cybertron Trilogy |
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Contents |
Fiction
Marvel Generation 2 comic
If you don't like Firestormers, then you don't want to be in the Outpost B-67 exo-structuring party on Nexus Seven. Though if you were, you're probably too dead to read this article. War Without End! Jhiaxus didn't like them either, but he liked them even less when they weren't around. Because if they weren't attacking his troops, he couldn't tell what they were up to. The Power and the Glory
Timelines
In Primax 096.0 Beta, General Optimus Prime, Sergeant Hound, Air Raid, Strafe, Jetfire, and Jazz fought as the newly-reconstituted Firestormer Squadron during the final battle of the Third Cybertronian War, which concluded in an Autobot victory, though Optimus and Hound were blown into Nexus 208.0 Epsilon by a massive explosion. General Optimus Prime's profile card Sgt. Hound's profile card
Beast Wars: Uprising
In post-Great War Iacon, the Firestormers were one of many criminal organizations which purchased the services of Hotwire. The MCSF knew them to be led by Ptero. Trigger Warnings Their e-paint tags covered a number of dingy bars in Iacon. Identity Politics
Of Masters and Mayhem
Project: Firestormer was a program to create a new Combiner after Optimus Prime went missing. Ratchet, Hoist, Sideswipe, and Inferno wanted Bluestreak to join them in the initiative, but Bluestreak did not like the idea of becoming part of a Combiner. Ultimately, Project: Firestormer was never completed, presumably due to Thunder Mayhem's rampage. Lively Pursuit
War for Cybertron Trilogy marketing material
At some point during the war for Cybertron, Sideswipe was used as a template for a clone to be built for covert operations. Covert Clone Sideswipe was made a member of the Autobot Alphastrike Counterforce, alongside Slamdance and Trenchfoot. Final Strike Figure Series marketing material[1]
After Hound scouted out the Sea of Rust for a place to set up a possible safe zone, the Autobot Alphastrike Counterforce made themselves at home inside an underground base on the outer edge of the Sea of Rust that shielded them from the toxic atmosphere. Siege Teletraan-1 Data Files While there, Alphastrike analyzed the Decepticon Phantomstrike Squadron's attack patterns to anticipate their next strike on key Autobot positions. Final Strike Figure Series marketing material[1]
While the Phantomstrike Squadron was positioned at Darkmount, south-east of Alphastrike's position,[2] Greenlight—who had been tracking the Phantomstrike Squadron from her drop point in a nearby deserted Decepticon zone—attempted to transmit the all-clear for the attack to commence, but her transmission was discovered by the Phantomstrike Squadron who corrupted its signal. Teletraan-1 attempted to retrieve the full transmission from the Decepticons to gather the location data needed to assess the threat. Following this, a battle ensued between both strike teams. Siege Teletraan-1 Data Files
Toys
War for Cybertron: Siege
- Autobot Alphastrike Counterforce (multi-pack, 2019)
- ID number: WFC-S26
- Hidden message code: GRANDRAIN
- The Siege "Autobot Alphastrike Counterforce" pack includes a redecoed version of Siege Sideswipe in his his Generation 2 color scheme called "Covert Clone Sideswipe", a head-retool of Siege Skytread as Slamdance, and Trenchfoot, a Battle Master redecoed from Caliburst. This set is paired up with the "Decepticon Phantomstrike Squadron".
- A preliminary name for this pack was "Firestormer Battle Pack", which showed up in several online listings, and also on Hasbro shipping cases for the set. The set was an Amazon exclusive in North America, which also label the set as "Final Strike Figure Series: Part 1." In Europe, it was supposed to be an Amazon exclusive as well, but was unfortunately never stocked.
- The package art forms a complete mural with that of the Decepticon Phantomstrike Squadron.
- This multipack was rereleased in early 2025 alongside the Decepticon Phantomstrike Squadron. This rerelease was exclusive to several online retail sites and Gamestop in the United States.
Notes
- Within the narrative of the Generation 2 comic, it's unsure what exactly a "Firestormer" is. Only Jhiaxus and Rook use the term, and it might just be their catch-all terminology for folks who show up in their conquered land, shoot up all their guys and mess up all their hard work. Jhiaxus also once mentioned "Blitzgangs" in the same breath as the Firestormers, but they're never mentioned again.
- Since Rook only notes four Firestormers, it's uncertain whether the Dinobots count amongst the Firestormers' ranks: maybe they don't, or maybe he's just telling the story sequentially and hasn't gotten around to mentioning the subsequent five additional Firestormers.
- All of the guys on the team are known sociopaths or seasoned warriors, except Hound. What the heck is he doing there? (Answer: Being the obligatory member to tell everyone that they're being too brutal.)
- General Optimus Prime's profile card says that he leads the Firestormer Squadron, but his profile in the Diamond Edition of "Cybertron's Most Wanted" calls it the Autobot Firestorm Squadron.
- The characters involved in Project: Firestormer all use Combiner Wars designs. Ratchet and Bluestreak were produced by Fun Publications at the time, while Hoist and Inferno were sly references to pretooled heads for Trailbreaker and Hot Spot (the latter eventually released in Power of the Primes) respectively. Finally, Sideswipe was a proposed - but not pursued - "virtual redeco" of Breakdown.
