Air Raid

ALLEGIANCE: AUTOBOT
SUB-GROUP(S): AERIALBOT
FUNCTION: WARRIOR
“If you look first, you may not leap.”

First Appearance: Transformers 63
Significant Appearances: Transformers 63, 89-92, 208, 268, 332

Air Raid just wants to have fun. It is this fact, above all else, that fuels his adventurous nature. His favourite tactic is to nosedive Decepticons from an altitude of several thousand feet, and he doesn't care whether they're airborne or not. Air Raid's daredevil personality is a boost to the morale of his fellow Autobots and his excitement for battle thrills his comrades as he regales them with enthusiastic tales of his aerial adventures. His tactics, though, are considered foolish and rash by his commanding officers. Air Raid, however, doesn't give criticism a second thought.

Abilities: In his alternate "F-15 Eagle" jet aircraft mode, Air Raid can reach speeds of 2,700 km/h at altitude and has a range of over 2,500 km. He is armed with underwing-mount air-to-air heat-seeking missiles. In robot mode, Air Raid is armed with a torque rifle which emits a beam that applies up to 550 megapascals of rotational force on any object. All but the strongest materials are prone to warping and breaking under such pressures. Air Raid can interlink with his fellow Aerialbots to form the giant robot, Superion.

Weaknesses: Air Raid's overconfidence can lead him into extreme danger and, if with depleted weaponry, he often exposes himself to greater odds than he can handle.

Air Raid made his first appearance in the Transformers comic in a dream sequence. And even as a Matrix-induced construct of the joint consciousness of Optimus Prime and Buster Witwicky, he was still quick to embarrass his team leader, Silverbolt. By loudly pointing out what his leader had failed to spot (that is, the Combaticon Blast Off in space shuttle mode), he instantly became one of the few Special Teams characters with a personality trait.

Air Raid’s first real-world appearance was in Transformers 89. Following instructions laid out by the Creation Matrix, Wheeljack had built the Aerialbots, and Optimus Prime gave them life using the Matrix. But Optimus Prime had yet to fully program their personalities.

During his first mission (to thwart the Decepticons’ attack on Hoover Dam), Air Raid showed off his youthful, gung-ho approach to aerial warfare by diving straight into the Decepticon Strike Plane’s formation and then taking out Ramjet with a blast from his torque rifle (one of Wheeljack’s more, uh, twisted inventions). But Optimus Prime unwisely deemed the Aerialbots’ first mission a failure. Actually Optimus Prime always seemed to act unwisely when written by Bob Budiansky.

In Transformers 91, Air Raid and the rest of the Aerialbots had their minds erased by Wheeljack. The process seemed to be so thorough in fact that Optimus Prime had to re-Matrix them. Which begs the question: Did Optimus Prime have them killed and then brought back to life just because he didn’t like their performance? Optimus openly reminded himself to complete their programming before sending them on any further missions. (Which it seems he forgot anyway, as he despatched them on a mission almost straight away.)

Air Raid’s second mission ended in disaster and the entire Aerialbot team were captured by RAAT and cruelly dissected by Circuit Breaker. We can only assume the Aerialbots escaped later. Though we notice that they must have jetted off straight to base and left Skids and the “Cybertron 7” to make their own way back.

Sadly Air Raid was relegated to background character status. He appeared in the background during several big battles, with his only highlight being shot by Apeface during an Autobot/Decepticon dogfight in the Arctic. Later, Air Raid was deactivated by Starscream during the Underbase Saga.

It wasn’t until the Earthforce stories that Air Raid showed up again. During this time, he found himself battling Wheeljack’s defences-gone-wrong, then late one night he came across fellow Aerialbot Skydive and Wheeljack fooling around in the dark. Interestingly, it seemed that the only Autobot (other than an Aerialbot) who Air Raid spent any time with was Wheeljack.

Air Raid’s last appearance was in a battered heap on the planet Klo after a battle with Bludgeon’s Decepticons. But we presume here that he was restored by the Last Autobot along with the rest of the Autobots.

I wonder if Optimus Prime did ever get around to finishing his programming?

Air Raid and his fellow Aerialbots were seen briefly, cameo-like, during a training session. They were outmanoeuvred by Hot Rod. How embarrassing.