Jazz (Transformers)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Transformers Character | |
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| Jazz (Meister) | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Autobot (Cybertron) |
| Sub-Group | Autobot Cars Classics Classic Pretenders Action Masters Laser Cycles Spy Changers |
| Rank | 8 |
| Function | Special Operations, Saboteur |
| Motto | "Do it with style or don't bother doing it." |
| Alternate mode(s) | Porsche 935 Turbo Cobra Ferret Pimp Mobile Mazda RX-8 |
| Series | Transformers: Generation 1 Transformers: Generation 2 Transformers: Universe Transformers: Alternators Transformers: Titanium |
| Voiced by | Scatman Crothers (English) Kôki Kataoka (Japanese) Masato Hirano (Japanese) |
Jazz is an Autobot Transformers character who has appeared in multiple stories. For trademark reasons, Jazz is sometimes referred to as Autobot Jazz or Meister, his Japanese name.
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[edit] Transformers: Generation 1 (1984)
Jazz (Saxo in Canada, Tigre in Italy) is the "very cool, very stylish, very competent" member of the Autobots in the Transformers television and comic series based on the popular toy line produced by Takara and Hasbro. His vehicle mode is a Martini Porsche 935 Turbo racing car. Self-possessed, calm, and utterly collected, Jazz is Head of Special Operations, with his own dedicated roster of agents. Yet he often gives the most dangerous assignments to himself. It's not a matter of ego--he just really is the coolest head for the toughest missions. Jazz's ease extends to whatever environment he finds himself in, no matter how weird or wonderful. He effortlessly tunes in to the local culture, assimilating and improvising, and making creative command decisions, making him an indispensable right-hand man to Optimus Prime.
Jazz remains one of the more popular and well remembered characters from the original series. Because of problems with trade-marking the name Jazz, some later releases of Jazz are called "Autobot Jazz".
[edit] Animated series
Jazz was among the Autobots who followed Optimus Prime on his mission on board the Ark. They were attacked by Megatron's ship, the Nemesis. After being boarded the Ark crash landed on Earth, where all on board were preserved in emergency stasis.
Four million years later, in 1984, a volcanic eruption awakened the Ark's computer, Teletran-I, and it repaired all on board. It reformatted Jazz in the form of an Earth racing car.
In the episode The God Gambit Cosmos collected data in space on a potential new power source, but was attacked by Astrotrain, Thrust and Starscream. Crashing on the moon Titan, the local priests worshiped the Decepticons as "Sky Gods", but rebels were able to reactivate Cosmos and call for aid from the Autobots. Optimus Prime sent Omega Supreme with Perceptor and Jazz. Astrotrain set himself up as the chief god of the moon and forced the natives to gather energy crystals. The trip to Titan drained Omega of most of his energy, but Perceptor and Jazz were able to gather enough crystals to reactivate Omega and defeat the three Decepticons. Vowing to not let the Autobots gain the crystals, Astrotrain set up a chain reaction destroying them. The Autobots aided the natives to escape the explosion and helped them settle in another area of the moon.
In the episode Prime Target the big game hunter Lord Chumley captured a secret Soviet jet, leading to panic of possibly war. Chumley then set his sights on the ultimate trophey, the head of Optimus Prime. In order to lure Optimus in Chumley captured the Autobots Tracks, Bumblebee, Jazz, Beachcomber, Blaster and Inferno. Windcharger and Huffer were able to avoid being trapped. When Cosmos learned of the location Chumley was keeping the captured Autobots Optimus Prime accepted Chumley's challenge to meet him alone. Although interrupted by the Decepticons Astrotrain and Blitzwing's attempt to ally the Decepticons with Chumley, Optimus defeated the big game hunter and freed the Autobots. Chumley and the stolen jet were given over the the Soviets by the Autobots as punishment for his actions.
When Starscream broke off from Megatron and created the Combaticons in Starscream's Brigade, his first act was to capture the Autobots Cliffjumper and Jazz during the unveiling of a statue of Optimus Prime.
Towards the end of 1985, Jazz was among the team of five Autobots who disguised themselves as the Stunticons. (Jazz, a Porsche 935, was made to resemble Dead End, the Stunticon Porsche 928.) Penetrating the Decepticons' camp, the Autobots ran into trouble when the real Stunticons arrived, trying to prove their identities by forming Menasor. With a combination of Windcharger's magnetic powers and Mirage's illusion-creating ability, the Autobots were able to appear as Menasor too, but the deception was soon revealed, though they were still able to thwart the Decepticons' plans.
In Transformers: The Movie, set in the year 2005, Jazz was assigned to Moonbase One along with the Autobot Cliffjumper. Jazz was responsible for monitoring Decepticon activity on Cybertron using the base as a secret staging ground for planning the liberation of Cybertron. After the Autobot City invasion of Earth, Moonbase One came under attack by the planet eater, Unicron. Jazz radioed to Earth for assistance and his faint signal was received by the Autobot Blaster who relayed the distress signal to Ultra Magnus. Jazz and Cliffjumper attempted to escape, however the shuttle could not achieve escape velocity and was swallowed by Unicron.
During the assault on Unicron lead by Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus, Daniel, Spike's son, encountered a smelting pit inside Unicron where other Transformer-like beings were being sent to be melted into a liquid substance. Jazz, Cliffjumper, Bumblebee and Spike were about to be cast into the pit. Daniel managed to rescue them before they were dropped into the deadly liquid. Jazz and the others escaped Unicron before the planet-sized Transformer exploded from the effects of the Autobot Matrix.
In the time between the movie's release and the start of season three of the TV show, Scatman Crothers died, and so Jazz made minor cameos throughout season three in episodes like the Five Faces of Darkness where he appeared in a race and later fighting along side Perceptor and Rodimus Prime. In the episode 'Dark Awarkening' where he briefly stood beside the re-incarnated Optimus Prime. In the episode 'Forever is a long time coming' where he appeared in another race and in the episode Call of the Primitives which was his last appearance in the series. It is assumed that Jazz was left to patrol Cybertron and was around to witness its new golden age.
[edit] Marvel Comics
In the early comics, Jazz was twice shown as easily and productively making contact with humans. Marvel UK's Man Of Iron story saw him befriending (as well as abducting) a young boy in rural England, helping the Autobots locate a lost Autobot ship under Stansham Castle; Jazz personally destroyed it to stop the Decepticons retrieving it. He was also responsible for the long-standing relationship between the Autobots and G. B. Blackrock, pledging that the Autobots would defend his property from the Decepticons in return for fuel, and battled Circuit Breaker. He served the Autobots well on Earth until the arrival of Galvatron in Target: 2006, where he was captured and his mind viciously reprogrammed to make him a zombie servant. This left him incapacitated for a long while. He was eventually repaired, but soon met deactivation once more against the Underbase-powered Starscream.
To stop Megatron, Autobot medic Ratchet laterhad Jazz restored up as a Classic Pretender, along with Grimlock and Bumblebee. They remained on Cybertron and were an inspiration to the Autobot rebels, leading multiple raids on the Decepticons and also fighting several of the Demons that lived under Cybertron. When a trip back to Earth was interfered with, the Classic Pretenders found themselves in front of the sleeping Primus and, after battling the Mayhem Attack Squad, witnessed him awaken. Jazz would go on a last mission as a Classic Pretender in the Matrix Quest, heading to the moon of Vsqz to retrieve the lost Matrix; instead, Thunderwing got to it first. He was later among the united Autobot and Decepticon forces who opposed Unicron's assault on the planet Cybertron in 1991 (Transformers #75). He briefly reappeared during the battle on the planet Ethos in the Generation 2 comic.
Jazz was also one of the main Autobots in the Earthforce unit of Marvel UK's Eartforce stories. The annual story The Magnificent Six revealed that 4 millions year ago he'd been teamed with Inferno, Ironhide, Wheeljack and Sunstreaker and had been tortured by the sadistic Decepticon Megadeath in the Stanix region. He and the others faced Megadeath once again in the present and defeated him.
[edit] Dreamwave Productions
In 2002, Jazz returned along with his fellow Autobots when Dreamwave Productions acquired the Transformers comic license and launched a brand new continuity.
When civil war broke out on the planet Cybertron between the Autobots and Decepticon factions, Jazz joined the Autobot cause. After Decepticon leader Megatron killed the Autobot leader Sentinel Prime, a new Autobot leader was chosen by the Council of the Ancients. Jazz was present when Optronix was given the Matrix and reformatted into Optimus Prime. Three Decepticon assassins attempted to kill Optimus, but were unsuccessful. Optimus then ordered a planet-wide evacuation of Cybertron (Transformers: The War Within #1). When Shockwave led a force of Decepticons against the Autobot capitol of Iacon, Jazz was among the Autobots who defended the capitol (Transformers: War Within #3).
When Megatron and Optimus Prime disappeared in an accident with a space bridge, the Autobot and Decepticon forces splintered into smaller factions. Jazz stayed with the Autobots under the leadership of Prowl. Learning that the Decepticons were testing a new mobile command base at the Praetorus Wharf, Prowl lead Cliffjumper, Gears, Jazz, Skids and Sideswipe to investigate. What they discovered was Trypticon (Transformers: The War Within - The Dark Ages #3). Only Shockwave calling the giant away to combat the Fallen saved them. When the Fallen attacked the Autobot base in order to capture Blitzwing, Jazz was among the Autobots who tried to stop him.
Jazz was among the Autobots who followed Optimus Prime on his mission on board the Ark. They were attacked by Megatron's ship, the Nemesis. After being boarded the Ark crash landed on Earth, where all on board were preserved in emergency stasis. In 1984 a volcanic eruption awakened the Ark's computer, Teletran-1, and it repaired all on board. It reformatted Jazz in the form of an Earth car.
Eventually the combined forces of the Autobots on Earth, and their human allies were able to capture the Decepticons. A ship called the Ark II was built to take the Cybertronians back to Cybertron, along with some human companions, but the ship exploded shortly after takeoff. The human allies were killed, but the Cybertronians were lost in the ocean, again in statis lock.
In the frozen Arctic, a man named Lazarus began resurrecting the lost Transformers after their shuttle was destroyed in what is referenced as the Ark II tragedy. Lazarus planned to control these giant metal warriors and sell their services in war to the highest bidder. The American government had recovered Optimus Prime and used him to rescue several Autobots from their arctic prison, including Jazz. After they had recovered their friends from Lazarus, Jazz lead a group of Autobots to stop the spread of Megatron’s deadly virus in the Canadian Northwest territories.
As the Autobot and Decepticon war continued on earth, an escape pod beacon drew their conflict to the Arctic. The pod contained the rogue Decepticon Scourge. The Battle between the Autobots and Decepticons ceased long enough to find the new Cybertronian commander, Shockwave, had arrived in pursuit of Scourge and to arrest Optimus Prime and Megatron. Jazz was ordered by Prime to remain on Earth with a small Autobot task force.
When Ultra Magnus came to Earth claiming that the Earth-based Autobots were Cybertronian criminals Optimus Prime surrendered and with the majority of Autobots returned to Cybertron. Jazz was left in charge of the Ark, with Brawn, Ratchet, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Wheeljack and Wheelcharger assigned to him.
Returning to Earth with the Combaticons, Starscream reformatted them into Earth-style vehicles and attacked the Autobots remaining on Earth. Forming Bruticus, the Combaticons defeated Jazz, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Wheeljack and Windcharger. Only Ratchet and Brawn escaped capture, but as they made their way back to the Ark, they discovered it's defenses on automatic, and had to fight their way inside. Bruticus followed them and Ratchet had to destroy the Ark in failed attempt to destroy Bruticus. Starscream eventually captured Ratchet and Brawn, right as an Autobot shuttle and Sunstorm arrived on Earth (Transformers: Generation One III #1).
Jazz, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were repaired by the Earth Defense Command. In return, Jazz commanded Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Bumper in investigating the Insecticons for the Earth Defense Command. Eventually they rejoined Windcharger and Wheeljack, who were repaired by the Earth Defense Command. They all rejoined Ratchet on board the Autobot ship Orion (Transformers: Generation One III #9).
Landing in Alaska, Jazz and the other Autobots met Prowl's team back from Cybertron. They were shown the site of construction for the new Autobot City (Transformers: Generation One III #10). Brawn, Grapple, Hoist, Jazz, Omega Supreme, Prowl, Red Alert, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were among the Autobots who continued work on Autobot City (Transformers: Generation One III #13).
[edit] Devil's Due Publishing
In this reimagining of the Generation One story, the Ark was discovered by the terrorist Cobra organization, and all the Transformers inside were reformatted into Cobra vehicles remotely controlled by the Televipers. In this storyline Jazz turned into a Cobra S.T.U.N.. In the sequel, he ended up being warped to the 1970's, where he was automatically reformatted into a pimpmobile.
[edit] IDW Publishing
In IDW Publishing's The Transformers: Infiltration mini-series, Jazz is part of an infiltration unit consisting of Ratchet, Ironhide, Wheeljack, Bumblebee and Sunstreaker, led by Prowl. He has not played a major role thus far, other than to accompany the other Autobots to the Decepticon base to watch the duel between Megatron and a super-powered Starscream, saving Bumblebee from Runabout at one point.
In the follow-up series, The Transformers: Escalation, after the supposed demise of Sunstreaker, Jazz and Wheeljack tracked down his body - only to be temporarily disabled by the advanced weaponry of the Machination (although Jazz' pride took more of a dent). Since then he has accompanied Optimus Prime to Brasnya to track down Megatron and his human facsimile - only to wind up in battle with Skywarp and Astrotrain. He and Wheeljack managed to put Skywarp to flight, but he promised to return with reinforcements. The story is ongoing.
[edit] Toys
- Generation 1 Jazz (1984)
- The toy that was to become the Autobot Jazz was originally released as part of the Japanese Diaclone series. He was later released in 1984 by Hasbro in the US. He was released as a Pretender in 1989 and later as an Action Master in 1990. The 1984 version of Jazz was re-issued in Europe in the early 1990s and Japan in 2001. A special "Electrum" version, covered in gold chrome-plating, was also released in 2001, commemorating the cartoon episode The Golden Lagoon (in which the Transformers coat themselves with a metallic gold substance and become temporarily impervious to their various weapons). Two miniature versions of Jazz were also released in Japan.
- A special variant of Jazz was given away as a promotional item from Cookie Crisp cereal in 1985. This version of Jazz is nearly the same as the one sold in stores, except it came in a brown cardboard box and the stickers had the words Martini (misspelled as Martinii to avoid paying out royalties) and Porsche removed from them.
- In 1987, Takara released two Targetmasters exclusive to the Japanese market. (The movie characters Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, Scourge, and Cyclonus never became Targetmasters in Japanese stories.) Of the two, Stepper was a repainted version of Jazz with a color scheme that inverted his white and black parts, and used gold in place of silver. He was partnered with Nebulon, an identical version of Cyclonus's weapon/partner, Nightstick. In 2004, Stepper was re-issued both in America and Japan, with Hasbro giving him the American name Ricochet. Nightstick retains his American name, despite no explanation as to why he's partnered with both the Autobot and the Unicronian Decepticon.
- Generation 2 Jazz (1993)
- Jazz was one of the Autobot cars to be released on Generation 2, with a slight repaint and weapons change. Jazz appeared in his Generation 2 form in the short lived U.K. Generation 2 comic series. This series also printed a bio for Jazz where he had the new motto "Decepticons keep bad company - each other!"
- Generation 2 Laser Cycle Jazz
- Jazz was also to be released as a Laser Cycle, repainted from Road Rocket, but the figure was never released. [1] A few prototypes of the toy in package were made, and have sold for over $1300 in auction.
- Transformers: Universe Jazz (2004)
- Transformers Universe Spy Changer in 2004 - a repaint of Robots in Disguise Spy Changer Side Burn painted to resemble Generation 1 Jazz. Initially sold exclusively at Kaybee toy stores, then repackaged for discount chains. Two packaging versions of this toy existed - a Kaybee version which did not attribute the toy to Universe and was packaged in vehicle form, and a version for discount stores which did and was packaged in robot mode.
- His function is Special Operations Expert. Clever, cool, and adaptable, Autobot Jazz takes on the riskiest missions with trademark flair, dazzling enemies with spectacular sound and light displays. His vast knowledge of Earth culture makes his especially valuable in Earth operations. Equipped with photon rifle, flame-thrower, full-spectrum beacon and 180db stereo speakers.
- Binaltech/Alternators Jazz/Meister (2004)
- Jazz (Meister in Japan) was released as a Binaltech/Alternators toy in 2004, with the new alternative form of a Mazda RX-8. He was released in both white and red colors, with fans referring to the red version as Zoom-Zoom (A reference to a song used in many Mazda commercials).
- Initially released in small numbers in 2004, Jazz was re-released in 2006 in new packaging. Due to Honda marketing a car model called 'Jazz', he was actually called Meister in the U.S. as well. (In Europe, the Honda Jazz is the Japanese Honda City, the model of fellow Autobot Skids. Currently, the Honda Jazz name re-badges the City's current successor, the Honda Fit.) As an inside joke, when Hasbro was describing their new Meister toy on their web site they stated "Incredible detail and 1:24 scale jazzes up the action!"
- CybCon Jazz (2005)
- An exclusive toy available at CybCon 2005 was Jazz. This original molded toy was supposed to represent Jazz's Cybertronian form before coming to Earth. [1]
- Transformers: Titanium Jazz (2006)
- In 2006 a 3 inch tall non-transforming Jazz figure was released in the Transformers: Titanium line. This version of Jazz resembled the Alternators Jazz in shape, but painted more like the Generation 1 toy. (White versions of 2004's Alternators and Binaltech Jazz were popularly customized this way by collectors and fans of the Generation 1 Jazz.)
- Autobot Jazz fell in love with Earth the first time he heard the music. His huge databank on Earth culture has made him the right hand man to Optimus Prime, as well as the ideal choice for many of the most dangerous undercover assignments. A courageous, cool, and capable warrior and spy, he is always the first to volunteer for any mission.
[edit] Trivia
- According to original tech spec notes written by Bob Budiansky found at Iacon One in 2006, the original name for Jazz was Jazzz. Original Script scans from the DVD box sets show that the writing staff also used the name Jazzz. The name Jazzz also appears in early Transformers coloring books.
[edit] Transformers (film)
Jazz is set to appear in the upcoming live action film directed by Michael Bay. When the movie producers unveiled the final rosters for all the Transformers appearing in the movie, Jazz was described as having a love of style, with a rock-'n-roll type of personality--not unlike his G1 persona. According to Jalopnik, Jazz alternate mode will be a silver/grey customized hardtop Pontiac Solstice This has been confirmed by several leaked photos.
