Cybertron Sky Shadow

Series: Cybertron
Allegiance: Decepticon
Categories: Ultra
Year: 2006

An often-overlooked observer who prefers to remain in the background, silent and unnoticed. Few who know Sky Shadow fully appreciate how dangerous he is. Even among his Decepticon fellows, Sky Shadow doesn't quite fit in. While most other Decepticons prefer to bully, boast and plot against one another, he waits, watching, collecting information and laying his plans until he is certain of victory over his enemies. For in reality he is the Autobot second-in-command Jetfire! Tired of his passive role as commander of the Autobot earth forces, he has gone underground and taken on a new identity in an attempt to bring down the Decepticons from inside.

Robot Mode: Sky Shadow strikes an impressive figure in robot mode, the wide-swept wings on his shoulders and his stocky build giving him an air of power. His arm movements are a bit restricted by the wings. They can move with the shoulders, but the wings tend to pop off if you twist them too fast. Sky Shadow carries two guns, either in his hands or mounted on his wings. He can also use his Cyberkey to activate the big cannon on his back, though to aim it at his enemies he has to squat in a rather undignified position. The gimmick has sound effects, too. All in all the robot mode has some design problems, but the cool looks mostly make up for it.

Vehicle Mode: A military transport plane serves as Sky Shadow's alternate mode. The plane is too big to be called a jet, its big belly is clearly meant to hold troops or equipment. It's pretty long and with the wide wings it's one monster of an airplane, but still manages to look kind of sleek. It carries Sky Shadow's twin guns under the wings as armament. The Cyberkey gimmick can be used here, too, but since it involves flipping the tail end of the plane over onto its roof, it looks pretty silly, not to mention quite unaerodynamic. So to sum it up, a nice vehicle mode.

Remarks: Sky Shadow is a repaint of Cybertron Jetfire and, in fact, the character really is Jetfire, just in disguise for an undercover mission. Of course Jetfire never assumed the identity of Sky Shadow in the TV series, so this version of him only exists on the toy shelves. Still, I find myself liking Sky Shadow's colours much better than that strange green Jetfire sported. The figure has its problems, but overall it's pretty decent and worth getting if you want to add to your Decepticon ranks.

Rating: B-