- Silverbolt is an Autobot Aerialbot and a Maximal from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Nice lips.
Silverbolt's character is defined by his extreme fear of heights and by his refusal to bow to it. He constantly struggles to project the image of a brave, determined soldier to hide his fear from others. Optimus Prime named him leader of the Aerialbots in the hopes that worrying about them would give him something else to focus on besides his own phobia. This has proven true and, not surprisingly, the mature, responsible Silverbolt makes an excellent commander.
He can combine with his fellow Aerialbots to form the torso of Superion.
- French-Canadian name: Éclairo
- Italian name: Radiant
Fiction
Animated Continuity
- Voice actor: Charles Adler (US), ? (Japan)
"Goodbye cruel world!"
Silverbolt was constructed out of a low-flying cargo transport vessel, which was modified to resemble an Earthen jet. He was later given life by Vector Sigma, along with the other Aerialbots, then returned to Earth with the Autobots via Omega Supreme. It was soon discovered that Silverbolt had a crippling weakness: an intense fear of heights, due to his low-altitude origins. Conversely, he was the only Aerialbot who wasn't a complete jerk. Because of this, Optimus made him commander of the Aerialbots, reasoning that it would give him something to worry about other than his acrophobia. He proved worthy of this role when he persuaded his mutinous team mates to help the Autobots protect humanity, by showing them how Sparkplug was able to disregard his fatigue at will due to his concern for Omega Supreme's well-being, something robots cannot do.
As the combined forces of the Autobots and Aerialbots sent the Decepticons into retreat, Silverbolt bravely went after Megatron and destroyed the Key to Vector Sigma, despite his great fear of heights. As he fell, he was saved at the last moment by Slingshot, who was impressed by his courage. The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2
Marvel Comics
The Aerialbots were created when Bumblebee filmed Devastator's combining sequence. Using the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, Optimus Prime gave the Aerialbots life. The leader, Silverbolt's alternate mode is that of a human transport airplane. After given life and during testing, Prime ordered them to stop the Decepticon assault on the Hoover Dam.
The fight went well, but Air Raid used his super-sonic ability to bring out a Transformer's deepest fear, it warped Silverbolt's fear of heights (ironic for an Aerialbot) and forced him to land. The Aerialbots prevailed the fight, however, and as the Decepticons fled, Silverbolt combined them all to form Superion, trying to stop the drill from absorbing all of the Hoover Dam's electricity.
Superion's reflex was to strike out and kill the human who held Megatron in his Gun Form, but Silverbolt stepped in and prevented him from doing so. He forced the Aerialbots to disassemble. The human fired Megatron's gun at the drill, winning the day for the Autobots.
Nonetheless, Silverbolt's mind was wiped along with his fellow Aerialbots shortly afterwards, due to Optimus Prime's dissatisfaction with the mission.
Later, when Skids was transporting the human Donny Finkleberg home, Silverbolt and the Aerialbots were sent to do battle with the Stunticons. Both combiners fused, creating Menasor and Superion. Josie Beller, known as Circut Breaker, fired upon Superion, however, crippling him heavily and leaving Menasor the victor.
Silverbolt would appear in other later battles with his teammates, usually getting blown out of the sky, if not to pieces.
During the Unicron War, Grimlock revived Silverbolt along with other fallen Autobots to help in the battle against the Dark God, and when the Decepticons tried to strand the Autobots on a ruined Cybertron, Silverbolt was one of the pilots for Grimlock's reserve ships.
Silverbolt and the Aerialbots also resurfaced in Generation 2, but as usual, save for Skydive, they didn't really do anything noteworthy except fall for one of Hot Rod's tricks in a war game. His expression was priceless, however.
Toys
Generation 1
- Silverbolt (Aerialbot, 1986/1991)
- Japanese ID number: C-50
"Oh God, I'm in the middle of a white cloud!" *faints*
- Silverbolt transforms into a Concorde jet liner and can serve a launcher/base for the other Aerialbots. A particular weakness of Silverbolt's design is the way both his legs are connected to his hips by a long pin going through several very small (and weak) plastic hinges that are put under stress as the immediate joint underneath this assembly is a swivel used during transformation. His Japanese release has a spring powered launcher mechanism that was removed from his Hasbro releases, leaving only a piece that flopped around uselessly on his chest. He was available both alone and in a gift set with his teammates.
- In Japan, the entire Aerialbot team was offered (as individual purchases) as mail-order items during Battlestars. Silverbolt cost 2000 yen and three robot points.
Generation 2
- Silverbolt (1994)
- For the Generation 2 toy line, Silverbolt's toy was redecoed in blue and red, and his wings were retooled to hold a new pair of spring-loaded missile launchers (reused from the Generation 2 versions of Starscream and Ramjet).
Beast Wars
- Magnaboss (Ultra, 1997)
- Silverbolt transforms from an eagle into a robot, with portions of his wings turning into a pair of swords. He is able to combine with Ironhide and Prowl, his package buddies, into Magnaboss.
- This mold was used to make Skywarp.
- (Note: The toy packaging gives absolutely no indication as to who the Magnaboss components are as characters. Their being Generation 1 characters is a retcon from the IDW comic series.)
Trivia
- G1/G2 Silverbolt, due to the size of his altmode, should be one of the biggest Transformers around. This means he's one of the most out of scale Generation 1 characters, both as a toy and in all of his depictions in fiction.