Arcee
Encyclopedia
Arcee is the name of a fictional character
in the Transformers franchise. She is a female Autobot, usually pink in color. Being the most famous of the Female Transformers
, she has two primary forms. In shows like the original series
and Transformers: Animated
, appears as a pink female car, but in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
and Transformers: Prime
, she appears as a motorcycle and being either pink or blue. In Transformers: Energon
, she has the appearance of the G1 character but turns into a motorcyle. Her personality also varies, in the original series, she was friends with Daniel Witwicky and was briefly binary-bonded as a Headmaster with him, while her Prime incarnation portrays her as being a female Autobot who likes to work alone.
Arcee was absent from the U. S. Marvel Comics
(barring the adaptation of the movie), because the comics had established that in their continuity, Transformers did not possess sexes, thus Arcee's presence as a clearly female robot would have defied this.
Arcee also makes an appearance twice in the American Transformers: Headmasters #1 as a background character in Fortress Maximus
's regiment. In order to explain any Autobots introduced during the fourth (then-ongoing) and fifth production years, most of Fortress Maximus's crew on Cybertron and aboard the Steelhaven were unseen, or used generic bodies until readers were "surprised" with them later.
Arcee would appear in the U. K. Marvel comic issue #234, "Prime's Rib!" This story is set in the near future, 1995, where Optimus Prime
, Jazz
and Hot Rod
introduce the latest Autobot, Arcee, to the human feminists. She was met with displeasure by the humans, being called a token female and disliked for her pink color. They were then attacked by Shockwave
, Fangry, Horri-Bull and Squeezeplay, who thought the Autobot would be unveiling a new weapon. The Autobots fought off the Decepticons, who escaped, but nothing seemed to please the human feminists.
The U. K. comic also set a number of stories directly after the events of the movie. The Space Pirates arc saw Arcee skip guard duty at Autobot City; her dereliction of duty led directly the fall of Autobot City to the Quintessons
. She was then used as bait in a Quintesson trap to claim the Creation Matrix from Rodimus Prime. Arcee achieved some measure of redemption by aiding Rodimus Prime, now reduced in power to his Hot Rod form, in his bid to reclaim Autobot City by activating Metroplex
.
Arcee later joined Rodimus Prime's time-travelling party, helping in the fight against Galvatron
during the Time Wars. Arcee and the other future Autobots returned find to their own time-stream changed to a different, darker future, where Galvatron was alive and ruling most of Cybertron.
Arcee appeared among the Autobots under the command of Rodimus Prime in the alternate future story "Aspects of Evil 2" from Marvel U. K. Transformers #224. In this story Rodimus Prime remembered how Galvatron, Crankcase, Ruckus and Windsweeper killed Blurr and then attacked Rodimus Prime, Kup, Arcee and the Battle Patrol. Enraged, Rodimus nearly killed Galvatron, but to keep the Matrix from being contaminated by hatred he relented.
Arcee appeared in Marvel U. K. Transformers #251 "The Void!" where she was among the Autobot crew of a ship commanded by Rodimus Prime which was retreating from Cybertron.
, Arcee quickly became the most famous due to her position as a recurring cast member following her introduction in The Transformers: The Movie
. In the movie, it was implied that Arcee might have had feelings for Hot Rod, but since his transformation to Rodimus Prime
she seemed to grow closer to Springer
.
Arcee was voiced by Susan Blu
, who would go on to be involved in several more Transformers-related shows as voice director, even reprising her role as Arcee in Transformers: Animated
. Arcee was a gunner and was depicted as being an excellent marksman. In the Season 3 introduction, "Five Faces of Darkness", she accompanies Springer on a mission to track down a sleezoid ship. The mission eventually reunites them with Grimlock
and Rodimus Prime. They also go onto rescue Ultra Magnus
, Kup
and Spike Witwicky from the clutches of the Quintessons
.
Arcee would appear sporadically over the course of the season, and even kept her main character status into the fourth season dubbed "Rebirth". She was a major player in "Dark Awakening", being among the crew zombie Optimus Prime
betrayed aboard the mausoleum. And, in "Dweller in the Depths", she is seen fighting back against Springer when he is turned into an energy vampire.
In the episode "Only Human", Ultra Magnus, Springer
, Rodimus Prime
and Arcee found their minds transferred into human-mimicking "synthoid
" bodies by the human crime lord Victor Drath.
In the final three episodes of the US television series, when the Decepticons successfully stole the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber and opened the ancient device, a group of Autobots and humans included Arcee and Daniel Witwicky were blasted across the galaxy by the energy release, crash-landing on the planet Nebulos. Quickly siding with a group of rebels engaged in a war against the planet's evil rulers, the Hive, they deduced a process by which they could combine the best of their minds and bodies together, becoming Headmasters. While the other Autobot Headmasters combined with Nebulons, Daniel became Arcee's Headmaster partner.
In the Japanese television series called Transformers: The Headmasters, the events of the last three episodes of the U.S. series were ignored. Although Headmasters were introduced, they had a vastly different origin. Arcee did not become a Headmaster, but was a regular on this series, appearing in most of the episodes, from episode 1 "Four Warriors Come Out of The Sky" to episode 35 "The Final Showdown On Earth Part 2".
episode "Transmutate", Rattrap referred to Arcee as his great aunt: "What in the name of my great aunt Arcee is going on!?" The character Transmutate
was coincidentally voiced by Susan Blu, who also voiced Arcee.
, Blaster
, Hot Rod and Wheelie
. Later, after Shockwave's defeat, Arcee joined Ultra Magnus in trying to fortify one of Cybertron's moons – but her affections were the subject of a feud between Hot Rod and Springer
.
vs. The Transformers. Grimlock
, Arcee, Bumblebee and Perceptor were sent to Earth to aid G.I. Joe in removing the influence of Cybertronian technology on Earth. When Cobra attacked the base, the Autobots helped repel the Cobra Battle Android Trooper armies. However, Cobra Commander
was able to infiltrate the base and awaken the special project the government was working on - SerpentO.R
, a cyborg created using DNA from many great warleaders and parts from Megatron. SerpentO.R. promptly turned on him and escaped to Cybertron via Spacebridge. The Autobots and a team of G.I. Joes led by Hawk
pursued him. During this an attraction had been growing between Arcee and Bumblebee. This led to Bumblebee's death at the hands of SerpentO.R and Arcee and the others were captured. Freed by Snake Eyes, Arcee was part of the assault to rescue Prime and proved instrumental in SerpentO.R's (now controlled by Cobra Commander) defeat, ripping his chestpiece off and allowing Hawk to reach the Matrix, opening it and putting Cobra Commander in a coma. Arcee was seen mourning Bumblebee at the end.
. Arcee, now a Maximal
Valkyrie with a spider beast mode, joins the Wreckers
, though initially she proves unwilling. The Predacon
Fractyl speaks with her after the rest of the group leaves, but is then almost killed by the Vehicons, and Arcee saves his life by sharing her Spark
with him, converting him into a new body in the process. The two then rejoin the rest of the team and flee Cybertron in an Autobot shuttle, which unbeknownst to them has been boarded by Devcon. A confrontation with him leaves Fractyl dangerously wounded, and Arcee takes him to receive medical care. She and the other Wreckers are then betrayed by Cyclonus
, who had infiltrated the team in service to the Predacon criminal Cryotek.
According to the script for the unreleased issue #4 of Transformers: Universe - The Wreckers the Wreckers returned to Cybertron where they helped repel the an invasion by the Quintessons
.
's Spotlight issue that Arcee was a part of Jhiaxus
's experiments to introduce gender into the Cybertronian species. Arcee was his first test-subject and her creation was due to Jhiaxus altering with her C.N.A. According to Arcee she did not measure up to Jhiaxus's ideals and was abandoned.
Unlike her other versions, this Arcee, while still an Autobot by allegiance, is a violent, antisocial killer who is imprisoned by the other Autobots at Garrus 9 for her actions. Released by a reluctant Fortress Maximus
during a Decepticon attack to buy time for Jetfire's team to get rid of the Monstructor components
, her power level appears much higher than a normal Autobot, as she is seen taking on all of the Combaticons
single handed and winning, although unable to stop their kidnapping of the Monstructor components due to a teleporter based escape plan. She is classified as a "level 9" threat, the only Autobot of that power level present in the prison during the assault. Realising there is a link between her and the Monstructor Transformers, as they were all created by Jhiaxus, Maximus and Jetfire release her to track them down.
Throughout the Revelations arc, Arcee hunts for Jhiaxus to get her revenge, finally confronting him in Spotlight: Sideswipe. She is informed by Hardhead
that Jhiaxus cannot be destroyed forever as he is bound to the Dead Universe; she is pleased by this, as it means she has the chance to kill him, over and over, forever.
In Heart of Darkness
, it is revealed that she and Hardhead had remained on Garrus Prime to guard the portal to the Dead Universe and continue torturing Jhiaxus. When the D-Void called the entire population of the planet into the portal to feed on, Arcee was overwhelmed, but Hardhead, vaccinated against the call by his exposure to dead universe energy during revelations, held her back until the portal closed. Since then, they had been exploring the remains of a mysterious dead civilization uncovered by the portal closing. When Galvatron and the seekers arrived to investigate, Arcee and Hardhead engaged them, but were outmatched, and Hardhead told her to run and get help. Cyclonus blasted a bridge out from under her, and left her for dead, but she was later seen pulling herself back out of the pit.
episode "Junk in the Trunk." She gives Optimus Prime flowers before he dies of prostate cancer. Seth Green
noted on the commentary for the episode that "Nobody makes an Arcee, so we had to make one ourselves."
(leading to some debate on the Mini-Con's gender - the Dreamwave Comics would later identify Sureshock as female, but the tech specs for Transformers: Cybertron Sureshock would refer to it as male). Sureshock was even repainted in pink and white colors in Japan as X-Dimension Arcee.
, Arcee had a wide-release original mold made in homage to the original character. In the Energon storyline, the character Arcee was a female Omnicon who transformed into a motorcycle and used an energon crossbow. She was created to be a leader for the Omnicons and, as such, was the only Omnicon to have a unique name and body-type. In Japan the toy and character were named Ariel, a name used by the female transformer who was the "girlfriend" of Orion Pax in the original series' episode War Dawn; this Ariel would later become Elita One.
In the original Japanese series Superlink, it is said Ariel took the form of a woman as a symbol of care, who protects all soldiers.
Transformers: Energon comics, as one of the four Omnicons watched over by the Mini-Con
Over-Run.
Arcee would first appear in issue #19, being introduced to Optimus Prime by Over-Run as the first of the new species—the Omnicons. Subsequently assigned to Earth for training, they managed to annoy their commander Hot Shot
beyond reason but subsequently apprehended Snow Cat
. Arcee would have further adventures battling Mirage
, Sharkticon
and Slugslinger to protect Kicker, eventually defeating them with Kicker's help.
called "Force of Habit." This story explained where she was during the events of the Cybertron story. Ultra Magnus was the commander of various Autobot ships sent to other planets in search for the Cyber Planet Keys. Arcee served as captain of the Azusa which was sent to Gamma Serpentis.
According to the biography printed in the collected Reign of Starscream books, Arcee was once a member of the Autobot science team who had to adapt her skills when the war broke out.
According to the biography for the Revenge of the Fallen Chromia toy, she is a sister to Chromia and Elita One. However there is some confusion as to whether the movie portrayed Arcee and her sister units to be of a single hive mind
. According to the biography for her 2009 movie toy she commands her team. Writer Roberto Orci has stated he intended the three motorcycles to be a single mind, but Michael Bay portrayed them as individuals just like the Hasbro bios. According to Hasbro, Arcee is only about 7 feet tall but on the scale for the first film it was stated she was 9 feet tall.
Although Arcee was not in the film, the character still appeared in the comic book Transformers: Movie Prequel
where she fights as part of Bumblebee's squad. She realised that Bumblebee knew more than he was revealing, but likewise said nothing when their squad was captured and tortured by the Decepticons.
In Reign of Starscream the Decepticon Starscream
barely made it to the Nemesis on Mars before he ran out of power. His return was noted by the Autobot Cosmos
, who alerted Arcee, Cliffjumper
, Smokescreen
, Camshaft
and Air Raid
. Aided by Thundercracker
on the Nemesis Starscream recovered and sent the information Frenzy had gathered back to Cybertron just as Hardtop spotted the Autobots closing on the Nemesis. Arcee appears on the cover of issue #3. In issue #4 Arcee returned to Cybertron from Mars
by hiding in the landing gear of Starscream's ship. Once on the planet she was discovered by a Dreadwing
and Payload
drone, who she deactivated. Returning to an Autobot training facility she discovered Clocker, who took her to Crosshairs
who was planning an attack to free the Autobots at Simfur, which they attempted with the aid of Wingblade
, Skyblast, Breakaway and Strongarm
.
In Tales of the Fallen #6 Arcee is taken by Thundercracker
and given to the Decepticon medic Flatline, who experiments on her. Upon waking up she discoveres Skids
and Mudflap
are also captives of the Decepticons. After she discovers her spark has been merged with that of Chromia and Elita One, they have a mental link, and use this to lead an escape. Arcee, Chromia and Elita One wsubsequently were among the Autobots to come to Earth in response to Optimus Prime's signal inviting all of his kind to come there. She joined with the Earth based Autobots in Transformers: Alliance #4.
In California the Autobots set a trap for Starscream's minions Divebomb, Fearswoop
and Skystalker
by having Theodore Galloway pose as an arms dealer attempting to purchase Cybertronian technology. The trap is uncovered and the Autobots send in Arcee, Chromia, Elita-One, Ironhide, Mudflap and Skids. Divebomb and Skystalker are killed while Fearswoop is captured by the Autobots and taken back to the NEST base on Diego Garcia
.
Note - The appearance of Arcee is modified in some of the IDW Publishing stories, she has a Cybertronian alternate mode.
In "Twilight's Last Gleaming" part 1, Skyblast lead the Autobots Arcee, Armorhide, Elita One, Longarm and Strongarm who in resisting the Decepticons who had conquered Earth. In part 3 Starscream and Scorponok
attack the Autobots Arcee, Armorhide
, Elita One, Longarm
, Skyblast and Strongarm
on the moon. The Autobots flee to Earth, which is exactly what Starscream hoped they'd do. In part 4 Ratchet and Ironhide continued fighting Bonecrusher in Savannah, but did not stand much of a chance until they were joined by Arcee, Armoride and Longarm, arriving from the moon. In this story Arcee resembles a pink version of her scout class toy in robot mode, but assumes a Cybertronian "protoform entry mode" for her vehicle mode. Arcee appeared in issue #17 of the Titan Transformers Magazine, in a story called "Return to Cybertron Part 1". In this story she is among the Autobots that go to Cybertron. Arcee would return in issue #22 of the Titan Transformers Magazine series in a story called "The Decepticon who Haunted Himself."
, but lost track of him. They were later present when the Autobots faced off with the Decepticons in Egypt, and were sent with Ironhide
as an advance team to recover Sam. Upon finding Sam and Mikaela, several Decepticons attacked and Arcee and Elita One were shot, while Chromia was last seen taking cover.
reprises the role. She was originally a teacher before the war began, her full name being Teaching Unit RC-687040.
It should be noted that in the Japanese translation of Transformers Animated, the story has been changed to make it a prequel to the 2007 Transformers film. This makes this version of Arcee an earlier version of the film character.
It was revealed in "Transwarped" that due to a special fail-safe program after being placed in stasis, Arcee uploads the data into Ratchet, allowing him to continue her mission of activating Omega Supreme.
Long after the Great War has ended, a now-older Ratchet honors her by keeping the painful memory of her intact in his own mind. However, by the events of "This is Why I Hate Machines", when Megatron arrives to Cybertron in Omega Supreme, the exposed Shockwave begins setting up a scheme to track down Arcee and acquire the access code to Omega Supreme from her. His plans are delayed when Ratchet and Captain Fanzone arrive on Cybertron and made an attempt protect to Arcee before Shockwave escapes with her. However, it turned out her memory may not be as lost as previously believed. Though at first only her pre-war memories were available, Shockwave manages to recover her war-time ones before forcefully extracting the activation codes when she refused to give them willingly. This action resulted with Arcee relapsing until Sari's new-found ability allows Ratchet to use his EMP generator to restore Arcee's memories before she uses her codes to regain control of Omega Supreme. In the aftermath of the final battle on Earth, Arcee returns home to Cyberton with the Autobots, Omega Supreme, and the captured Megatron.
. She was among the Autobots who attacked the Arch-Ayr fuel dump. She was attacked by the laughter inducing Decepticon Dirge
as she fired on Gutcruncher.
. She transforms into a blue motorcycle, inspired by her appearance in live film series, but with a more humanoid robot form. As a motorcycle she is capable of producing a hologram driver who looks like a female human when driverless, to help disguise her identity. In the Transformers: Prime series she can form bladed weapons or blasters from her hands.
In the video game she turns into a pink car, similar to her Generation 1 form.
.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Transformers franchise. She is a female Autobot, usually pink in color. Being the most famous of the Female Transformers
Female Transformers
Female Transformers are extraterrestrial robots in the Transformers universe that possess the outward appearance of humanoid females.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
, she has two primary forms. In shows like the original series
The Transformers (TV series)
The Transformers is an animated television series depicting a war among giant robots who could transform into vehicles, other objects and animal-like forms. Written and recorded in America, the series was animated in Japan and South Korea...
and Transformers: Animated
Transformers: Animated
Transformers Animated is an American animated television series based on the Transformers toy line. The series debuted on Cartoon Network on December 26, 2007 and has been shown on NickToons in the UK since February 2008. It is produced by Cartoon Network Studios and animated by Japanese animation...
, appears as a pink female car, but in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a 2009 American science fiction-action film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. It is the sequel to the 2007 film Transformers and the second installment in the live-action Transformers series...
and Transformers: Prime
Transformers: Prime
Transformers: Prime, also known as Transformers: Prime –The Animated Series, is an American computer-animated television series based on the Transformers toy franchise by Hasbro. It airs on the The Hub in the United States...
, she appears as a motorcycle and being either pink or blue. In Transformers: Energon
Transformers: Energon
Transformers: Energon, known in Japan as , is the 2004–2005 Transformers toyline, animated series and comic book series, another co-production between Hasbro and Takara and a direct sequel to Transformers: Armada...
, she has the appearance of the G1 character but turns into a motorcyle. Her personality also varies, in the original series, she was friends with Daniel Witwicky and was briefly binary-bonded as a Headmaster with him, while her Prime incarnation portrays her as being a female Autobot who likes to work alone.
Transformers: Generation 1
Arcee is a female Autobot warrior who turns into a pink convertible.Marvel Comics
Note: All stories exclusive to Marvel U. K. are in italics.Arcee was absent from the U. S. Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
(barring the adaptation of the movie), because the comics had established that in their continuity, Transformers did not possess sexes, thus Arcee's presence as a clearly female robot would have defied this.
Arcee also makes an appearance twice in the American Transformers: Headmasters #1 as a background character in Fortress Maximus
Fortress Maximus
Fortress Maximus is the name of several fictional characters from several of the various Transformers universes. Fortress Maximus appeared in the season 4 finale of the US Transformers animated series voiced by Stephen Keener. He was one of the stars of the Japanese Transformers: Headmasters...
's regiment. In order to explain any Autobots introduced during the fourth (then-ongoing) and fifth production years, most of Fortress Maximus's crew on Cybertron and aboard the Steelhaven were unseen, or used generic bodies until readers were "surprised" with them later.
Arcee would appear in the U. K. Marvel comic issue #234, "Prime's Rib!" This story is set in the near future, 1995, where Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. The autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots called Decepticons...
, Jazz
Jazz (Transformers)
Jazz is the name of a fictional character from the various Transformers universes. He is usually portrayed as a music loving robot and talks with a slang accent. He is also a good friend of Optimus Prime's...
and Hot Rod
Rodimus
Rodimus is the name of a fictional character from the various Transformers universes. Rodimus is a young Autobot and succesor to Optimus Prime. He was formerly known as Hot Rod, but was reformatted as Rodimus Prime by the Matrix of Leadership and became the leader of the Autobots...
introduce the latest Autobot, Arcee, to the human feminists. She was met with displeasure by the humans, being called a token female and disliked for her pink color. They were then attacked by Shockwave
Shockwave (Transformers)
Shockwave is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers series. Throughout his incarnations, he is usually distinguished by a laser cannon in lieu of one of his hands and his distinctive face, which is featureless save a single robotic eye...
, Fangry, Horri-Bull and Squeezeplay, who thought the Autobot would be unveiling a new weapon. The Autobots fought off the Decepticons, who escaped, but nothing seemed to please the human feminists.
The U. K. comic also set a number of stories directly after the events of the movie. The Space Pirates arc saw Arcee skip guard duty at Autobot City; her dereliction of duty led directly the fall of Autobot City to the Quintessons
Quintessons
Quintessons are fictional aliens from the Transformers universe. Within the TV series, they are the creators of the Transformers, although in most other fictional universes featuring the Transformers, they have no such status...
. She was then used as bait in a Quintesson trap to claim the Creation Matrix from Rodimus Prime. Arcee achieved some measure of redemption by aiding Rodimus Prime, now reduced in power to his Hot Rod form, in his bid to reclaim Autobot City by activating Metroplex
Metroplex (Transformers)
Metroplex is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers series.-Transformers: Generation 1:Metroplex is capable of transforming into a battle station or a giant robot...
.
Arcee later joined Rodimus Prime's time-travelling party, helping in the fight against Galvatron
Galvatron
Galvatron is the name of several fictional Transformers, most often the recreated version of Megatron, the Decepticon leader. He was voiced by Leonard Nimoy in the 1986 Transformers movie, and then by Frank Welker in season 3 and 4 of the animated television series. Since then, other Transformers...
during the Time Wars. Arcee and the other future Autobots returned find to their own time-stream changed to a different, darker future, where Galvatron was alive and ruling most of Cybertron.
Arcee appeared among the Autobots under the command of Rodimus Prime in the alternate future story "Aspects of Evil 2" from Marvel U. K. Transformers #224. In this story Rodimus Prime remembered how Galvatron, Crankcase, Ruckus and Windsweeper killed Blurr and then attacked Rodimus Prime, Kup, Arcee and the Battle Patrol. Enraged, Rodimus nearly killed Galvatron, but to keep the Matrix from being contaminated by hatred he relented.
Arcee appeared in Marvel U. K. Transformers #251 "The Void!" where she was among the Autobot crew of a ship commanded by Rodimus Prime which was retreating from Cybertron.
Animated series
Although a group of Female Autobots had already been featured in one episode of the original cartoon seriesThe Transformers (TV series)
The Transformers is an animated television series depicting a war among giant robots who could transform into vehicles, other objects and animal-like forms. Written and recorded in America, the series was animated in Japan and South Korea...
, Arcee quickly became the most famous due to her position as a recurring cast member following her introduction in The Transformers: The Movie
The Transformers: The Movie
The Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the animated series of the same name. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986 and in the UK on December 5, 1986....
. In the movie, it was implied that Arcee might have had feelings for Hot Rod, but since his transformation to Rodimus Prime
Rodimus
Rodimus is the name of a fictional character from the various Transformers universes. Rodimus is a young Autobot and succesor to Optimus Prime. He was formerly known as Hot Rod, but was reformatted as Rodimus Prime by the Matrix of Leadership and became the leader of the Autobots...
she seemed to grow closer to Springer
Springer (Transformers)
Springer is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes. For trademark reasons, many toys of the character are named Autobot Springer.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
.
Arcee was voiced by Susan Blu
Susan Blu
Susan Maria Blu , sometimes credited as Sue Blu, is an American voice actress, voice director, and casting director in American and Canadian cinema and television...
, who would go on to be involved in several more Transformers-related shows as voice director, even reprising her role as Arcee in Transformers: Animated
Transformers: Animated
Transformers Animated is an American animated television series based on the Transformers toy line. The series debuted on Cartoon Network on December 26, 2007 and has been shown on NickToons in the UK since February 2008. It is produced by Cartoon Network Studios and animated by Japanese animation...
. Arcee was a gunner and was depicted as being an excellent marksman. In the Season 3 introduction, "Five Faces of Darkness", she accompanies Springer on a mission to track down a sleezoid ship. The mission eventually reunites them with Grimlock
Grimlock
Grimlock is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. He is usually portrayed as a tough leader who turns into a mechanical dinosaur...
and Rodimus Prime. They also go onto rescue Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers storylines.-Transformers: Generation 1:The greatest Transformer of them all. A commander could want no finer a soldier than Ultra Magnus...
, Kup
Kup
Kup is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universe. All are older Autobots who are members of the Elite Guard. Wired Magazine once nominated him as one 12 most ridiculous Transformers of all time...
and Spike Witwicky from the clutches of the Quintessons
Quintessons
Quintessons are fictional aliens from the Transformers universe. Within the TV series, they are the creators of the Transformers, although in most other fictional universes featuring the Transformers, they have no such status...
.
Arcee would appear sporadically over the course of the season, and even kept her main character status into the fourth season dubbed "Rebirth". She was a major player in "Dark Awakening", being among the crew zombie Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. The autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots called Decepticons...
betrayed aboard the mausoleum. And, in "Dweller in the Depths", she is seen fighting back against Springer when he is turned into an energy vampire.
Springer (Transformers)
Springer is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes. For trademark reasons, many toys of the character are named Autobot Springer.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
, Rodimus Prime
Rodimus
Rodimus is the name of a fictional character from the various Transformers universes. Rodimus is a young Autobot and succesor to Optimus Prime. He was formerly known as Hot Rod, but was reformatted as Rodimus Prime by the Matrix of Leadership and became the leader of the Autobots...
and Arcee found their minds transferred into human-mimicking "synthoid
Synthoid
A synthoid is a fictional type of artificial lifeform. The term originated on the television cartoon series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, produced by Sunbow in the mid-1980s. It has since been used in other media as well.-As used in G.I. Joe:...
" bodies by the human crime lord Victor Drath.
In the final three episodes of the US television series, when the Decepticons successfully stole the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber and opened the ancient device, a group of Autobots and humans included Arcee and Daniel Witwicky were blasted across the galaxy by the energy release, crash-landing on the planet Nebulos. Quickly siding with a group of rebels engaged in a war against the planet's evil rulers, the Hive, they deduced a process by which they could combine the best of their minds and bodies together, becoming Headmasters. While the other Autobot Headmasters combined with Nebulons, Daniel became Arcee's Headmaster partner.
In the Japanese television series called Transformers: The Headmasters, the events of the last three episodes of the U.S. series were ignored. Although Headmasters were introduced, they had a vastly different origin. Arcee did not become a Headmaster, but was a regular on this series, appearing in most of the episodes, from episode 1 "Four Warriors Come Out of The Sky" to episode 35 "The Final Showdown On Earth Part 2".
Books
Arcee appeared in the 1986 story and coloring book The Lost Treasure of Cybertron by Marvel Books.Beast Wars
In the Beast WarsBeast Wars
Transformers: Beast Wars is a Transformers toyline released by Hasbro between 1995 and 2000, and a Daytime Emmy Award winning full-CG animated television series spawned by it that debuted in 1996...
episode "Transmutate", Rattrap referred to Arcee as his great aunt: "What in the name of my great aunt Arcee is going on!?" The character Transmutate
Transmutate
Transmutate is the name of a fictional character from the various Transformers universes. She is a damaged, but powerful, Maximal protoform who befriends both the Maximal Silverbolt and his enemy the Predacon Rampage....
was coincidentally voiced by Susan Blu, who also voiced Arcee.
Dreamwave Productions
During the years when Shockwave united most of Cybertron, Arcee was in a resistance group to his rule along with KupKup
Kup is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universe. All are older Autobots who are members of the Elite Guard. Wired Magazine once nominated him as one 12 most ridiculous Transformers of all time...
, Blaster
Blaster (Transformers)
Blaster is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers television and comic series based on the popular toy line produced by Takara Tomy and Hasbro. Due to trademark reasons, he is sometimes called Autobot Blaster...
, Hot Rod and Wheelie
Wheelie (Transformers)
Wheelie is the name of two different fictional characters in the Transformers series.-Generation 1:The first Wheelie is a young Autobot who turns into a car. He has a distinctive style of speech, in which he rhymes his sentences while speaking in a high pitched voice, making him sound like a child....
. Later, after Shockwave's defeat, Arcee joined Ultra Magnus in trying to fortify one of Cybertron's moons – but her affections were the subject of a feud between Hot Rod and Springer
Springer (Transformers)
Springer is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes. For trademark reasons, many toys of the character are named Autobot Springer.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
.
Devil's Due Publishing
Arcee appeared in the Devil's Due third series of G.I. JoeG.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...
vs. The Transformers. Grimlock
Grimlock
Grimlock is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. He is usually portrayed as a tough leader who turns into a mechanical dinosaur...
, Arcee, Bumblebee and Perceptor were sent to Earth to aid G.I. Joe in removing the influence of Cybertronian technology on Earth. When Cobra attacked the base, the Autobots helped repel the Cobra Battle Android Trooper armies. However, Cobra Commander
Cobra Commander
Cobra Commander is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe franchise. He appears in the toyline, animated series , comic books, video games, and movie as the usual principal antagonist. He is the supreme leader of the terrorist organization Cobra, and archnemesis of the Joes...
was able to infiltrate the base and awaken the special project the government was working on - SerpentO.R
Serpentor
Serpentor is a fictional character from G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, a line of military-themed toys created by Hasbro. The character was introduced in 1986 as a toy with an air chariot and included in the animated series that same year.-Toys:...
, a cyborg created using DNA from many great warleaders and parts from Megatron. SerpentO.R. promptly turned on him and escaped to Cybertron via Spacebridge. The Autobots and a team of G.I. Joes led by Hawk
Hawk (G.I. Joe)
Hawk is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line of military-themed toys. He appears in the animated series, comic books, toyline, and movie.-Profile:...
pursued him. During this an attraction had been growing between Arcee and Bumblebee. This led to Bumblebee's death at the hands of SerpentO.R and Arcee and the others were captured. Freed by Snake Eyes, Arcee was part of the assault to rescue Prime and proved instrumental in SerpentO.R's (now controlled by Cobra Commander) defeat, ripping his chestpiece off and allowing Hawk to reach the Matrix, opening it and putting Cobra Commander in a coma. Arcee was seen mourning Bumblebee at the end.
3H Enterprises
Transformers: Universe Wreckers #1 starts with a flashback to late in the original cartoon series, where Daniel Witwicky and Wheelie are killed. This puts Daniel's friend Arcee into a sad state. The main story is set in the later episodes of Beast MachinesBeast Machines
Beast Machines is an animated television series produced by Mainframe Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. Hasbro has the full distribution rights to the show as of 2011. It was a direct sequel to Beast Wars taking place within the continuity of the original Transformers series...
. Arcee, now a Maximal
Maximal (Transformers)
Maximals are a faction in the Transformers series by Hasbro. They are generally depicted as respecting all life and following a path of peace before war. They follow the tenets of the Pax Cybertronia. The Maximals are opposed by the Predacons...
Valkyrie with a spider beast mode, joins the Wreckers
Wreckers (Transformers)
The Wreckers are a sub-team of Autobots in the fictional Transformers universe, functioning essentially as a commando unit. They are not derived from the Transformers toyline but rather are the creation of Marvel UK writer Simon Furman, who introduces the Wreckers in the story arc Target:2006...
, though initially she proves unwilling. The Predacon
Predacon
The Predacons usually refer to the name of several fictional Decepticon-like teams led by Megatron, however Transformers: Armada, Predacon is the name of a single character.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
Fractyl speaks with her after the rest of the group leaves, but is then almost killed by the Vehicons, and Arcee saves his life by sharing her Spark
Spark (Transformers)
Spark can refer to several objects in the fictional Transformers universe. A spark is usually the "soul" of a Transformer. It is also the name of several Transformers characters. An AllSpark is a term for two different objects within the Transformers media franchise. In the Beast Machines...
with him, converting him into a new body in the process. The two then rejoin the rest of the team and flee Cybertron in an Autobot shuttle, which unbeknownst to them has been boarded by Devcon. A confrontation with him leaves Fractyl dangerously wounded, and Arcee takes him to receive medical care. She and the other Wreckers are then betrayed by Cyclonus
Cyclonus
Cyclonus is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:The tech spec from the box art of the Cyclonus toy describes him as a compassionless Decepticon air warrior and saboteur...
, who had infiltrated the team in service to the Predacon criminal Cryotek.
According to the script for the unreleased issue #4 of Transformers: Universe - The Wreckers the Wreckers returned to Cybertron where they helped repel the an invasion by the Quintessons
Quintessons
Quintessons are fictional aliens from the Transformers universe. Within the TV series, they are the creators of the Transformers, although in most other fictional universes featuring the Transformers, they have no such status...
.
IDW Publishing
It is revealed in IDW PublishingIDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
's Spotlight issue that Arcee was a part of Jhiaxus
Jhiaxus
Jhiaxus is a fictional character in the Transformers universes. He is an evil Decepticon jet.-Transformers: Generation 2:Unlike most of the notable characters in the Transformers comics, Jhiaxus is not based on a toy...
's experiments to introduce gender into the Cybertronian species. Arcee was his first test-subject and her creation was due to Jhiaxus altering with her C.N.A. According to Arcee she did not measure up to Jhiaxus's ideals and was abandoned.
Unlike her other versions, this Arcee, while still an Autobot by allegiance, is a violent, antisocial killer who is imprisoned by the other Autobots at Garrus 9 for her actions. Released by a reluctant Fortress Maximus
Fortress Maximus
Fortress Maximus is the name of several fictional characters from several of the various Transformers universes. Fortress Maximus appeared in the season 4 finale of the US Transformers animated series voiced by Stephen Keener. He was one of the stars of the Japanese Transformers: Headmasters...
during a Decepticon attack to buy time for Jetfire's team to get rid of the Monstructor components
Monster Pretenders
The Monster Pretenders are a group of fictional Decepticons in the Transformers franchise. The team is the last of the traditional combiners from the Generation 1 series and is one of the few non-Micromaster combiner teams to have six members .-Transformers: Generation...
, her power level appears much higher than a normal Autobot, as she is seen taking on all of the Combaticons
Combaticons
The Combaticons are a group of Decepticon military vehicles in the assorted fictional universes of the Transformers.- Transformers: Generation 1 :...
single handed and winning, although unable to stop their kidnapping of the Monstructor components due to a teleporter based escape plan. She is classified as a "level 9" threat, the only Autobot of that power level present in the prison during the assault. Realising there is a link between her and the Monstructor Transformers, as they were all created by Jhiaxus, Maximus and Jetfire release her to track them down.
Throughout the Revelations arc, Arcee hunts for Jhiaxus to get her revenge, finally confronting him in Spotlight: Sideswipe. She is informed by Hardhead
Hardhead
The Hardhead, Aythya australis, is the only true diving duck found in Australia. Hardheads are common in the south-east of Australia, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin, but also in the wetter country near the coasts. They are moderately nomadic in normal years, but disperse widely in times...
that Jhiaxus cannot be destroyed forever as he is bound to the Dead Universe; she is pleased by this, as it means she has the chance to kill him, over and over, forever.
In Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad. Before its 1903 publication, it appeared as a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine. It was classified by the Modern Library website editors as one of the "100 best novels" and part of the Western canon.The story centres on Charles...
, it is revealed that she and Hardhead had remained on Garrus Prime to guard the portal to the Dead Universe and continue torturing Jhiaxus. When the D-Void called the entire population of the planet into the portal to feed on, Arcee was overwhelmed, but Hardhead, vaccinated against the call by his exposure to dead universe energy during revelations, held her back until the portal closed. Since then, they had been exploring the remains of a mysterious dead civilization uncovered by the portal closing. When Galvatron and the seekers arrived to investigate, Arcee and Hardhead engaged them, but were outmatched, and Hardhead told her to run and get help. Cyclonus blasted a bridge out from under her, and left her for dead, but she was later seen pulling herself back out of the pit.
Other media
Arcee makes an appearance in the Robot ChickenRobot Chicken
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
episode "Junk in the Trunk." She gives Optimus Prime flowers before he dies of prostate cancer. Seth Green
Seth Green
Seth Benjamin Green is an American actor, comedian, voice actor, and television producer. He is well known for his role as Daniel "Oz" Osbourne in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as Dr. Evil's son Scott in the Austin Powers series of comedy films, Mitch Miller in That '70s Show, and the voice of Chris...
noted on the commentary for the episode that "Nobody makes an Arcee, so we had to make one ourselves."
Toys
- Generation 1
- Like all the new characters in the movie (with the exception of Ultra Magnus), Arcee was designed for animation first, but while the other new characters inspired toys that saw final release, Arcee's design never passed early prototype stages. When she became a HeadmasterHeadmaster (Transformers)Headmasters are a sub-group of characters from the Transformers meta-series, distinguished by their ability to detach their heads when transforming into their alternate modes, with the heads then transforming themselves into a humanoid form...
, Takara dallied with the idea of repainting the Chromedome toy to represent her, but the suggestion was abandoned. A few pictures of prototypes have appeared online.- Heroes of Cybertron Arcee (2001)
- A non-transforming "Heroes of Cybertron" G1 Arcee was released in 2001. It was later repainted as "Paradron Medic".
- Beast Machines BotCon Arcee (2001)
- In 2001, Arcee finally received a toy in the form of an exclusive for the 2001 BotConBotConBotCon, briefly known as "The Official Transformers Collectors' Convention" , is an annual convention for Transformers fans and collectors. BotCon has been held annually since 1994...
convention. The toy itself was a recolored version of the previous year's Transmetals 2 Blackarachnia toy, and some packaging featured a new sound clip recorded by Susan Blu.- Binaltech BT-21 Arcee Featuring Honda S2000 Hardtop (2008)
- A redeco of Alternators Decepticharge in Honda's Pearl White color, with Arcee's traditional pink accents in robot mode. She retains Decepticharge's head sculpt and removable hardtop accessory; however, as a Japanese Binaltech release, she has the full length gun barrel seen with Overdrive, instead of Decepticharge's truncated one. This figure never saw a U.S. release, as Hasbro canceled the Alternators line years prior.
Transformers: Armada
The first reuse of the name Arcee was in Japan. In 2003, the name Arcee was given to the Mini-Con known in America as SureshockSureshock
Sureshock is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Armada:Sureshock is one of the members of the Mini-Con Street Action Team. Sureshock lives for excitement. She combines with his Street Action Team partners to form Perceptor.More than...
(leading to some debate on the Mini-Con's gender - the Dreamwave Comics would later identify Sureshock as female, but the tech specs for Transformers: Cybertron Sureshock would refer to it as male). Sureshock was even repainted in pink and white colors in Japan as X-Dimension Arcee.
Transformers: Energon
In Transformers: EnergonTransformers: Energon
Transformers: Energon, known in Japan as , is the 2004–2005 Transformers toyline, animated series and comic book series, another co-production between Hasbro and Takara and a direct sequel to Transformers: Armada...
, Arcee had a wide-release original mold made in homage to the original character. In the Energon storyline, the character Arcee was a female Omnicon who transformed into a motorcycle and used an energon crossbow. She was created to be a leader for the Omnicons and, as such, was the only Omnicon to have a unique name and body-type. In Japan the toy and character were named Ariel, a name used by the female transformer who was the "girlfriend" of Orion Pax in the original series' episode War Dawn; this Ariel would later become Elita One.
In the original Japanese series Superlink, it is said Ariel took the form of a woman as a symbol of care, who protects all soldiers.
Dreamwave Productions
Arcee also appeared in the Dreamwave ProductionsDreamwave Productions
Dreamwave Productions was a Canadian art design studio and comic book publisher founded in 1996 and is best known for their multiple Transformers comic book series...
Transformers: Energon comics, as one of the four Omnicons watched over by the Mini-Con
Mini-Con
Mini-Cons are a human-sized race and faction of power-enhancing transforming robots in the Transformers: Armada universe and its sequels, one of the assorted universes in Transformers fiction...
Over-Run.
Arcee would first appear in issue #19, being introduced to Optimus Prime by Over-Run as the first of the new species—the Omnicons. Subsequently assigned to Earth for training, they managed to annoy their commander Hot Shot
Hot Shot (Transformers)
Hot Shot is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All are young Autobot cars.-Transformers: Robots in Disguise:In Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Hot Shot is the leader of the Spy Changer team....
beyond reason but subsequently apprehended Snow Cat
Cyclonus
Cyclonus is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:The tech spec from the box art of the Cyclonus toy describes him as a compassionless Decepticon air warrior and saboteur...
. Arcee would have further adventures battling Mirage
Mirage (Transformers)
Mirage is any of several distinct fictional characters in the various Transformers series. Mirage is one of the single most re-used names in the Transformers series, and is almost entirely synonymous with characters possessing Formula One racing car alternate modes.-Transformers Generation 1:Some...
, Sharkticon
Sharkticon
-Transformers: Generation One:The ravenous Sharkticons, the most famous and deadly of the Quintessons' slaves, are rotund robots capable of transforming into ferocious, amphibious creatures...
and Slugslinger to protect Kicker, eventually defeating them with Kicker's help.
Fun Publications
Arcee appeared in the text story from Fun PublicationsFun Publications
Fun Publications is a publishing company that runs the Transformers Collectors Club and G.I. Joe Collectors Club under licensefrom Hasbro. Besides releasing comics, Fun Publications releases exclusive toys and runs conventions for their clubs....
called "Force of Habit." This story explained where she was during the events of the Cybertron story. Ultra Magnus was the commander of various Autobot ships sent to other planets in search for the Cyber Planet Keys. Arcee served as captain of the Azusa which was sent to Gamma Serpentis.
Toys
- Energon
- In 2005, Energon Arcee was repackaged for the Transformers: UniverseTransformers: UniverseTransformers: Universe is a line of toys that consists of re-painted and re-released toys from various Transformers lines of toys. For the comic book series see Transformers Universe .- Toy line :...
toy line, although the character has not appeared in the Universe storyline. This toy was identical to the Energon release, but in Universe packaging. - The Arcee/Ariel toy (Arcee's main color was salmon-pinkSalmon (color)Salmon a range of pale pinkish-orange to light pink colors, named after the color of salmon flesh.The web color salmon is displayed at right.The first recorded use of salmon as a color name in English was in 1776...
, while Ariel's was Japanese pink) was later repainted greenGreenGreen is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
and aquaAqua (color)Aqua is a tone of the color cyan which is identical to the color electric cyan, one of the three secondary colors of the HSV color wheel, along with magenta and yellow. It is precisely halfway between green and blue on the color wheel...
as the Aerial Paradron Type in Japan, in the colors of Generation 1 Paradron Medic. She was again repainted (blackBlackBlack is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
) as Transformers: Timelines Flamewar and her head remolded as Transformers: Timelines Chromia and FlareupFlareup (Transformers)Flareup is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. The name Flareup was adopted by Hasbro's legal department when they were unable to okay the use of Firestar.-Transformers: Timelines:...
.
Transformers
Arcee was initially set to be in the 2007 Transformers film, but due to negative fan reaction and to the fact that there was not enough time in the movie to explain the presence of a "female" in a robotic race, she was dropped from the script and replaced with Ironhide. Before she was dropped, her alternate mode was slated to be a Buell Firebolt motorcycle; concept art by Ben Procter can be seen on his website. Even though Arcee was not in the movie, a motorcycle was used by Captain William Lennox to attack Blackout (although the bike was an Aprilia RSV 1000 R rather than a Buell). Arcee was also initially set to battle Blackout in the movie. According to the Hasbro 2007 movie toy's tech spec for Arcee, she received combat training from Ironhide.According to the biography printed in the collected Reign of Starscream books, Arcee was once a member of the Autobot science team who had to adapt her skills when the war broke out.
According to the biography for the Revenge of the Fallen Chromia toy, she is a sister to Chromia and Elita One. However there is some confusion as to whether the movie portrayed Arcee and her sister units to be of a single hive mind
Swarm intelligence
Swarm intelligence is the collective behaviour of decentralized, self-organized systems, natural or artificial. The concept is employed in work on artificial intelligence...
. According to the biography for her 2009 movie toy she commands her team. Writer Roberto Orci has stated he intended the three motorcycles to be a single mind, but Michael Bay portrayed them as individuals just like the Hasbro bios. According to Hasbro, Arcee is only about 7 feet tall but on the scale for the first film it was stated she was 9 feet tall.
IDW Publishing
In Transformers: Defiance #1, back on ancient Cybertron Arcee was among Optimus's crew at an excavation site near the temple at Simfur where an artifact was uncovered. In issue #2 Arcee helped in the recovery effort after the attack on Cybertron. She later sided with Optimus Prime against Megatron's orders to counter-attack their invaders. In issue #4 Arcee, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Jazz and Smokescreen ambushed Ironhide, who they believed worked for Megatron, but Ironhide instead joined Optimus Prime's Autobots. Arcee and Bumblebee later spied on the building of the Decepticon starship Nemesis.Although Arcee was not in the film, the character still appeared in the comic book Transformers: Movie Prequel
Transformers: Movie Prequel
Transformers: Movie Prequel, published by IDW Publishing, is a 2007 comic book limited series that serves as a prequel to the 2007 film Transformers. It is written by Simon Furman and IDW editor-in-chief Chris Ryall, who was allowed to read the film's script, and penciled by artist Don Figueroa...
where she fights as part of Bumblebee's squad. She realised that Bumblebee knew more than he was revealing, but likewise said nothing when their squad was captured and tortured by the Decepticons.
In Reign of Starscream the Decepticon Starscream
Starscream (Transformers)
Starscream is a fictional character in the Transformers franchise. He is one of the most prolific characters in the Transformers fictional work, appearing in almost all incarnations of the story. Starscream is usually portrayed with the same characterization...
barely made it to the Nemesis on Mars before he ran out of power. His return was noted by the Autobot Cosmos
Cosmos (Transformers)
Cosmos is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. He is sometimes referred to as "Autobot Cosmos" for trademark purposes.Wired Magazine once nominated him as one of the 12 most ridiculous Transformers of all time....
, who alerted Arcee, Cliffjumper
Cliffjumper
Cliffjumper is the name of several characters from the Transformers line of toys. His name is usually associated with an Autobot whose toys are often red repaints of Bumblebee toys.- Transformers: Generation 1 :...
, Smokescreen
Smokescreen (Transformers)
Smokescreen is the name of several different fictional characters in the Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:Smokescreen is one of the second year Autobot Cars in the Transformers series. His toy was remolded from Prowl and Bluestreak, itself originating from an earlier Japanese line...
, Camshaft
Camshaft (Transformers)
Camshaft is the name of a fictional character in the Transformers universe. He is sometimes referred to as "Autobot Camshaft" for trademark purposes. Hasbro registered the name Camshaft for U.S. Trademark in October 2003.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
and Air Raid
Air Raid (Transformers)
Air Raid was the name of fictional characters in the Transformers universes. Hasbro has registered the name Air Raid for Trademark in the U.S.-Transformers: Generation 1:Air Raid is the most fearless of the Aerialbots and likes having fun...
. Aided by Thundercracker
Thundercracker
Thundercracker is the name given to multiple fictional characters in the Transformers universes. Thundercracker is almost always depicted as a blue color Decepticon who turns into a jet fighter.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
on the Nemesis Starscream recovered and sent the information Frenzy had gathered back to Cybertron just as Hardtop spotted the Autobots closing on the Nemesis. Arcee appears on the cover of issue #3. In issue #4 Arcee returned to Cybertron from Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
by hiding in the landing gear of Starscream's ship. Once on the planet she was discovered by a Dreadwing
Dreadwing
Dreadwing is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:“Dreadwing” is the name of the combined form of the two Decepticon Powermasters, Dreadwind and Darkwing, released separately in 1988.The two Decepticons had very distinct...
and Payload
Payload (Transformers)
Payload is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Armada:Payload is the muscle of the Space Mini-Con Team, but people often forget that he's considerably smarter than most other robots out there. He doesn't really let this get to him, however...
drone, who she deactivated. Returning to an Autobot training facility she discovered Clocker, who took her to Crosshairs
Crosshairs (Transformers)
Crosshairs is the name of several fictional characters of the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:Crosshairs is an Autobot and transforms into a futuristic, possibly Cybertronian ATV....
who was planning an attack to free the Autobots at Simfur, which they attempted with the aid of Wingblade
Wingblade
-Transformers:Wingblade is an Autobot who turns into an A-10 jet. According to Hasbro toy designers his colors are inspired by the A-10 jets which appeared in the beginning of the film.-IDW Publishing:...
, Skyblast, Breakaway and Strongarm
Strongarm (Transformers)
Strongarm is the name of four fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All four are Autobots.-Transformers: Energon:Strongarm is the name of one of the Autobot Omnicons...
.
In Tales of the Fallen #6 Arcee is taken by Thundercracker
Thundercracker
Thundercracker is the name given to multiple fictional characters in the Transformers universes. Thundercracker is almost always depicted as a blue color Decepticon who turns into a jet fighter.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
and given to the Decepticon medic Flatline, who experiments on her. Upon waking up she discoveres Skids
Skids (Transformers)
Skids is the name used for four characters in the Transformers Universes. Due to trademark reasons, the name was modified to "Skid-Z" for it to be used on new characters and an "Autobot" prefix was added when the original Skids toy was reissued and when he became an Alternator.-Transformers:...
and Mudflap
Mudflap (Transformers)
-Transformers: Cybertron:Mudflap transforms into a construction crane. In the Japanese version of the series; Transformers: Galaxy Force, the character is called Demolishor....
are also captives of the Decepticons. After she discovers her spark has been merged with that of Chromia and Elita One, they have a mental link, and use this to lead an escape. Arcee, Chromia and Elita One wsubsequently were among the Autobots to come to Earth in response to Optimus Prime's signal inviting all of his kind to come there. She joined with the Earth based Autobots in Transformers: Alliance #4.
In California the Autobots set a trap for Starscream's minions Divebomb, Fearswoop
Fearswoop
Fearswoop is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:Fearswoop is cunning and completely evil.-Toys:* Generation 1 Trakkon Fearswoop...
and Skystalker
Skystalker
Skystalker is the name of several fictional characters in various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:Skystalker is the highest ranking Micromaster Decepticon. He is obsessed with power and leading the Decepticons.-Animated series:...
by having Theodore Galloway pose as an arms dealer attempting to purchase Cybertronian technology. The trap is uncovered and the Autobots send in Arcee, Chromia, Elita-One, Ironhide, Mudflap and Skids. Divebomb and Skystalker are killed while Fearswoop is captured by the Autobots and taken back to the NEST base on Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is a tropical, footprint-shaped coral atoll located south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean at 7 degrees, 26 minutes south latitude. It is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory [BIOT] and is positioned at 72°23' east longitude....
.
Note - The appearance of Arcee is modified in some of the IDW Publishing stories, she has a Cybertronian alternate mode.
Titan Magazines
Note: Information in italics occure in the alternate storyline where Megatron won the battle for the Allspark.In "Twilight's Last Gleaming" part 1, Skyblast lead the Autobots Arcee, Armorhide, Elita One, Longarm and Strongarm who in resisting the Decepticons who had conquered Earth. In part 3 Starscream and Scorponok
Scorponok
Scorponok is the name shared by several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All are Decepticons that turn into Scorpoins.- Transformers: Generation 1:...
attack the Autobots Arcee, Armorhide
Armorhide
Armorhide is the name of several fictional characters from various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Robots in Disguise:Dangar is sometimes also spelled 'Danger'. Armorhide's animated appearance in the TV series is based on the Takara version...
, Elita One, Longarm
Longarm (Transformers)
Longarm is the name to four different fictional characters from the Transformers universes.-Transformers: Cybertron:The name Longarm was reused for a member of the Giant Planet Mini-Con Team allies with the Decepticons. This Longarm also turned into a crane...
, Skyblast and Strongarm
Strongarm (Transformers)
Strongarm is the name of four fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All four are Autobots.-Transformers: Energon:Strongarm is the name of one of the Autobot Omnicons...
on the moon. The Autobots flee to Earth, which is exactly what Starscream hoped they'd do. In part 4 Ratchet and Ironhide continued fighting Bonecrusher in Savannah, but did not stand much of a chance until they were joined by Arcee, Armoride and Longarm, arriving from the moon. In this story Arcee resembles a pink version of her scout class toy in robot mode, but assumes a Cybertronian "protoform entry mode" for her vehicle mode. Arcee appeared in issue #17 of the Titan Transformers Magazine, in a story called "Return to Cybertron Part 1". In this story she is among the Autobots that go to Cybertron. Arcee would return in issue #22 of the Titan Transformers Magazine series in a story called "The Decepticon who Haunted Himself."
Target Robo-Vision
According to her extended biography from the Target store exclusive Robo-Vision web site, Arcee was only on Earth for a short time before her stealth skills were needed elsewhere. Optimus Prime sent her to another planet to stop Decepticon research on a star breaking weapon.Movie plot
In Revenge of the Fallen Arcee was accompanied by two similar Transformers, Chromia and Elita One, sharing similar robot and vehicle forms, as well as the same holographic driver. They chased the Decepticon Sideways in an alley in ShanghaiShanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, but lost track of him. They were later present when the Autobots faced off with the Decepticons in Egypt, and were sent with Ironhide
Ironhide
Ironhide is the name of several different fictional characters in the Transformers universes. According to the original creator of the Transformers names, Bob Budiansky, Ironhide was named after the television series Ironside.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
as an advance team to recover Sam. Upon finding Sam and Mikaela, several Decepticons attacked and Arcee and Elita One were shot, while Chromia was last seen taking cover.
Toys
- Transformers Scout Arcee (2007)
- A TargetTarget CorporationTarget Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
-exclusive toy of Arcee as a repaint of the Energon mold has been released. The recolor is blue and silver with extremely dark brown Energon parts. - The box even recycles the text from the Energon Arcee figure, stating that you can combine her "red" plastic pieces to form an ultimate energon weapon, despite that fact that they are no longer red in this version of the figure and are now more of a brown.
- This toy was later redecoed as Movie Elita-One.
- Transformers
- Unlike the Target exclusive, this figure is fuchsiaFuchsia (color)Fuchsia is a vivid reddish or pinkish purple color named after the flower of the fuchsia plant, itself named after the German scientist Leonhart Fuchs...
in color, with a design inspired by concept art/CGI models of the character revealed at BotCon 2007. The deluxe Arcee has a similar bow weapon. An actual Buell Firebolt is 194 centimeters long. With the toy measuring 14 centimeters long it has a scale of about 1/14. Her robot mode would stand about 6 feet 11 inches, however the Hasbro representative at BotCon 2007 said that she would stand at about 9 feet tall. Her MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
license plate reads, "TF 70407", which is the film's original release date of July 4, 2007.- Transformers Deluxe Battle Damaged Arcee (2008)
- A special bonus package contains Voyager class Starscream together with battle damaged editions of Voyager class Optimus Prime and Deluxe class Arcee.
- Transformers Deluxe Black Arcee (2008)
- A black repaint of Arcee exclusive to Takara TomyTakara Tomyis a Japanese toy, children's merchandise and entertainment company created from the March 2006 merger of two companies: Tomy and long-time rival, Takara...
in Japan, matching the motorcycle used by Capt. Lennox in the film. Advertising for this figure used the scene in the film where Lennox rode the motorcycle while his team fought off Blackout.- Transformers Deluxe Generation 1 Redeco Arcee (2008)
- A pink and white Movie deluxe Arcee was revealed at BotCon, said to be released in Japan.
- Revenge of the Fallen Legends Arcee (2010)
- An all-new Legends Class figure of Arcee.
- Revenge of the Fallen Fast Action Battlers Cyber Pursuit Arcee (2009)
- A Deluxe-sized figure of Arcee with easy transformation for younger children.
- Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe Arcee (2009)
- A Pink motorcycle with a knife on the right hand. Comes with a sidecar that doubles as a missile rack or display stand for the figure's robot mode. Pictures of her were mistaken for Chromia, but when the toys were released, this was proven wrong.
- Revenge of the Fallen Human Alliance Autobot Skids with Arcee and Mikaela Banes (2009)
- A smaller, transformable figure of Arcee comes with Human Alliance Autobot Skids. The figure in motorcycle mode can accommodate the Mikaela BanesMikaela BanesMikaela Banes is a fictional character from the Transformers universe. She is differentiated from "typical" women in her age group, having inherited mechanical skills from her father, Cal, a grease monkey and paroled car thief...
figure.- Transformers Rotorwash Rumble Deluxe Arcee (2010)
- A TargetTarget CorporationTarget Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
exclusive pink/gold redeco of the 2009 figure. Bundled with Tail Whip (a redeco of Blaze Master, done as a Chinese police helicopter).- Transformers Sideways Sneak Attack Legends Arcee (2011)
- A store exclusive gift set featuring Legends Arcee, Chromia and Elita-1 (the latter two being redecos of Arcee) vs. Deluxe Sideways (silver/black redeco with battle damage).
- Dark of the Moon Deluxe Arcee (2011)
- A TargetTarget CorporationTarget Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
exclusive red redeco of the 2009 Deluxe figure.- Dark of the Moon Deluxe Arcee (Takara Tomy) (2011)
- Unlike the Target exclusive release, the Japanese version is a blue/silver redeco of Deluxe Chromia from the Revenge of the Fallen toy line, based on the color scheme of the Transformers: Prime character.
Transformers Animated
Arcee is a female Autobot who seems to be inspired by her Generation 1 counterpart and Susan BluSusan Blu
Susan Maria Blu , sometimes credited as Sue Blu, is an American voice actress, voice director, and casting director in American and Canadian cinema and television...
reprises the role. She was originally a teacher before the war began, her full name being Teaching Unit RC-687040.
It should be noted that in the Japanese translation of Transformers Animated, the story has been changed to make it a prequel to the 2007 Transformers film. This makes this version of Arcee an earlier version of the film character.
Animated series
Arcee makes an appearance in the "Transformers Animated" episode "Thrill of the Hunt". During several flashback sequences, Ratchet recalls his first encounter with the rogue bounty hunter Lockdown during the Great War thousands of years earlier. Still a young field medic at that time, Ratchet comes across Arcee, who has been injured in the fighting. He knocks her out to repair her left leg, but then they are both ambushed by Lockdown. After being taken to his hideout, Lockdown divulges that Arcee is carrying vital information Megatron would be interested in, intent to extract it for his employer. After Lockdown forcibly removes Ratchet's medical-use electro-magnetic pulse generator from his left arm as a personal trophy, Arcee manages to sneak it back to Ratchet. She then bravely tells Ratchet to use the EMP device on her to erase her data core so that Lockdown will not be able to retrieve the data from her. After protesting that doing so would also completely erase her entire life and memory, Ratchet is suddenly forced to do so in order to protect them both from Lockdown. After escaping, Arcee's memory has, as expected, been completely erased, including all knowledge of herself.It was revealed in "Transwarped" that due to a special fail-safe program after being placed in stasis, Arcee uploads the data into Ratchet, allowing him to continue her mission of activating Omega Supreme.
Long after the Great War has ended, a now-older Ratchet honors her by keeping the painful memory of her intact in his own mind. However, by the events of "This is Why I Hate Machines", when Megatron arrives to Cybertron in Omega Supreme, the exposed Shockwave begins setting up a scheme to track down Arcee and acquire the access code to Omega Supreme from her. His plans are delayed when Ratchet and Captain Fanzone arrive on Cybertron and made an attempt protect to Arcee before Shockwave escapes with her. However, it turned out her memory may not be as lost as previously believed. Though at first only her pre-war memories were available, Shockwave manages to recover her war-time ones before forcefully extracting the activation codes when she refused to give them willingly. This action resulted with Arcee relapsing until Sari's new-found ability allows Ratchet to use his EMP generator to restore Arcee's memories before she uses her codes to regain control of Omega Supreme. In the aftermath of the final battle on Earth, Arcee returns home to Cyberton with the Autobots, Omega Supreme, and the captured Megatron.
Toys
- Animated Deluxe Arcee (2010)
- A Deluxe sized figure that transforms from Cybertronian car to robot. Originally, Hasbro announced at the 2008 San Diego Comic Convention that they refused to confirm an Animated Arcee toy would be made. It was revealed in November 2009, however, that this figure is a Toys "R" Us store exclusive.
- The mold for this figure is also used for the BotConBotConBotCon, briefly known as "The Official Transformers Collectors' Convention" , is an annual convention for Transformers fans and collectors. BotCon has been held annually since 1994...
2011 exclusive Drag Strip and Minerva figures.- Animated TA12 Deluxe Arcee (Takara Tomy) (2010)
- The Japan release version of this figure by Takara TomyTakara Tomyis a Japanese toy, children's merchandise and entertainment company created from the March 2006 merger of two companies: Tomy and long-time rival, Takara...
sports a metallic paint finish, as opposed to the matte finish of the Hasbro version.
Transformers: Timelines
An mirror-universe version of Arcee appeared in the Transformers: Timelines fiction. She is one of the evil Autobots. She is described as barely sane. She wields a neutronic crossbow with deadly accuracy.Fun Publications
This version of Arcee first appeared in the fiction Dungeons & Dinobots, a text based story from Fun PublicationsFun Publications
Fun Publications is a publishing company that runs the Transformers Collectors Club and G.I. Joe Collectors Club under licensefrom Hasbro. Besides releasing comics, Fun Publications releases exclusive toys and runs conventions for their clubs....
. She was among the Autobots who attacked the Arch-Ayr fuel dump. She was attacked by the laughter inducing Decepticon Dirge
Dirge (Transformers)
Dirge is the name of several different fictional characters from the Transformers series. He was first introduced in 1985 as a villain in the Transformers series, appearing in the comic book by Marvel Comics and voiced by Bud Davis in the animated television series. Since then the name Dirge was...
as she fired on Gutcruncher.
Toys
The Elita One toy for the 2007 Transformers movie is the inspiration for this version of Arcee.Transformers: Prime
Arcee is one of the main group of Autobots in the 2010 computer animated series Transformers: PrimeTransformers: Prime
Transformers: Prime, also known as Transformers: Prime –The Animated Series, is an American computer-animated television series based on the Transformers toy franchise by Hasbro. It airs on the The Hub in the United States...
. She transforms into a blue motorcycle, inspired by her appearance in live film series, but with a more humanoid robot form. As a motorcycle she is capable of producing a hologram driver who looks like a female human when driverless, to help disguise her identity. In the Transformers: Prime series she can form bladed weapons or blasters from her hands.
In the video game she turns into a pink car, similar to her Generation 1 form.
Video games
Arcee appears as an unlockable character in the 2010 video game Transformers: War for CybertronTransformers: War for Cybertron
Transformers: War for Cybertron is a third-person shooter video game developed by High Moon Studios and published by Activision. It was released in North America on June 22, 2010 and in PAL regions on June 25, 2010 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Two portable versions were released for the...
.
Animated series
Arcee was one of six Autobots who based their operations out of an abandoned military base near Jasper, Nevada. She was a close friend of Cliffjumper and was the last Autobot to be in contact with him before he was destroyed. She also lost Tailgate, her previous partner, to Airachnid. She was also responsible for Jack, Raf, and Miko finding out about the Autobots; which resulted in them needing guardians. She was assigned to be Jack Darby's partner and while she was initially upset, she soon became close friends with him. She is a small and swift warrior with a good knowledge of martial arts. She seems to get easily annoyed with Bulkhead, and is a stickler for going by the book.Toys
- Prime Deluxe Arcee (not yet released)
- An all-new mold of Arcee from the Prime animated series. This new figure appears to borrow some design cues from the 2007 Transformers film Deluxe Arcee figure. The figure features attachable blade accessories.
- Prime First Edition Deluxe Bumblebee and Arcee with Raf Esquivel and Jack Darby (2011)
- A New York Comic Con 2011 exclusive gift set, Deluxe Arcee in a pink and white redeco reminiscent of the G1 character. Also packaged are Deluxe Bumblebee in a New York taxicabTaxicabs of New York CityThe taxicabs of New York City, with their distinctive yellow paint, are a widely recognized icon of the city. Taxicabs are operated by private companies and licensed by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. The Commission is a New York City government agency that is best known for its...
redeco and figurines of Raf Esquivel and Jack Darby.- Prime Cyberverse Arcee (not yet released)
- A new mold, set for release in 2012.