- Downshift is a Mini-Con from the Armada portion of the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.
One of the few Transformers to have a competitive streak as long as Dragstrip's...
Japanese name: Spin
Fiction[]
Cartoon continuity[]
Armada cartoon[]
Downshift was a rare occasion among the Mini-Cons on Earth, as he activated himself and scanned a vehicle mode all without imprinting on a BulkTransformer first. Whereas most missions were little more than a scavenger hunt by both sides to find an inert panel, Downshift had to be actively chased down by both sides. The Decepticons and the arrogant Autobot officer Blurr were willing to shoot the fleeing Mini-Con into submission; only Hot Shot fought to protect Downshift and offer him a choice to work with the Autobots. Despite Hot Shot's efforts on Downshift's behalf, however, the Mini-Con was snatched from his grasp by Cyclonus, who teleported back to the Decepticon base on the moon. There, Downshift reunited with Mirage and Dirt Boss to form the Skyboom Shield for the first time in untold centuries. Reinforcement
In the next battle, Megatron assembled both the Air Defense Team and the Race Team into the two most powerful weapons in the universe. Armed with both the Star Saber and the Skyboom Shield, he toyed with Optimus Prime until his overconfidence caused him to lose his grip on the Shield. Prime's Mini-Con partner Sparkplug then "locked on" to the Skyboom Shield and brought it under Prime's control, thwarting Megatron's killing strike with the Saber and balancing the powers between the two sides. Decisive Battle
Because the Skyboom Shield was in such demand by the Autobots to protect them from the Star Saber (and later the Requiem Blaster), Downshift and the Race Team appeared quite infrequently as individuals. One day, they went for a walk with the kids to catch some fresh air. Unfortunately, their little stroll happened just as Billy and Fred reported that Thrust had met with Starscream. Squidhead had asked for the Skyboom Shield Mini-Cons as collateral for letting Starscream back into the Decepticons, so their sudden disappearance from the base didn't look too good for the former Decepticon. The Autobots' distrust for Starscream in part led to his decision to take Thrust up on his offer, and so even after Hot Shotuncovered the kids and the Race Team and cleared his name, Starscream stole the Skyboom Shield for Megatron and returned to the Decepticons. Crack
Downshift and the Race Team had little time to act as individuals after that, remaining powerlinxed as the Skyboom Shield while the Decepticons used the shield as one-third of the Hydra Cannon, before it was stolen by Thrust and used to provide power to the heart of Unicron. Mirage, Dirt Boss and Downshift reawakened as individuals with the help of High Wire and the Street Action Mini-Con Team, who had journeyed to Unicron's core with Optimus Prime, Galvatron and the Earth children to grant the super-weapon Mini-Cons their freedom. Origin Downshift fled Unicron aboard the Autobot Jetfire just before the Chaos-Bringer was finally destroyed. Mortal Combat
Dreamwave comics continuity[]
Armada[]
Downshift and the other Race Team members were captured early on in the Decepticons' Mini-Con kidnapping spree. Armada #1 Alongside many other Mini-Cons, they escaped captivity and made it to Earth's moon, where they lived in peace for some time. Eventually, the Decepticons found them and attacked their home, and Downshift and the others were forced to flee to Earth. Armada #11 The Race Team subsequently allied themselves with the Autobots, and traveled to Alaska to assist the Adventure Team, who were up against Thrust and Cyclonus. Upon arrival, they found Thrust unconscious, while Cyclonus was stronger and crazier than ever. Downshift and his team failed to harm him, but luckily Optimus Prime was around. Armada #13
Later, the Race Team joined the rest of the Earthbound Mini-Cons in traveling back to Cybertron, which was under attack by Unicron. They were presumably part of the Mini-Con Matrix ceremony at the Loop, which caused Unicron some major damage. The End
Cybertron toy bios[]
Meanwhile, an alternate-universe version of Downshift fell through a rip in space-time and landed on Velocitron. He was found by the criminal Dirt Boss, who enslaved the Mini-Con and used his power-boost to terrorize Velocitron's equatorial cities.
Man. Downshifts just can't catch a break.
Toys[]
Armada[]
- Race Mini-Con Team (Basic, 2002/2003)
- Japanese ID number: MM-05
- Downshift transforms into an open-topped LeMans-style race car. He also forms the rear portion of the Skyboom shield with his teammates Dirt Boss and Mirage. He was normally only available as part of the complete Race Mini-Con Team set. The complete Team was also included as bonus add-ons with the Max-Cons Scavenger and Predacon (though what retail chain offered these is unknown at this time).
- This mold was also used to make Tailslide.
- Grap & Lift with Race Micron (Multi-pack, 2003)
- Japanese ID number: MS-02
- The Race Team was available in Japan both as an individual team, and in a multi-pack with Smokescreen.
- Race Micron X-Dimension (Basic, 2003)
- Japanese ID number: MM-10
- A limited-edition (but still regular-retail) redeco of the Race Team was made available in Japan. The entire Team was given a deco in varying shades of blue.
- Spin (Micron Booster, 2003)
- Booster ID number: 6
- Part of the first Micron Booster set, this version of Downshift is almost totally identical to the retail version, only this uses a slightly-sparkly plastic and paint. Whoopee.
- Spin (Change Micron, 2003)
- Another nigh-identical Japanese release, this version came as a "candy toy" produced by Kabaya as part of the Change Micron assortment. This toy is actually a new molding, though based on the original mold.
- Road Assault Mini-Con Team (Basic, 2003)
- A late-series redeco of the Race Team --under a new Team name-- was released alongside the Road Wrecker Team. In Japan, individually-bagged members of this Team were given away randomly with the purchase of Armada Jetfire or Tidal Wave at Ito Yokaido stores in August.
Universe[]
- Downshift (Tiny Tin, 2004)
- The entire Race Team was made available as individual Tiny Tins releases under the Universe banner. The toys in this release ars identical to the original Armada ones.
Energon[]
- Race Mini-Con Team & Space Mini-Con Team (Multi-Pack, 2004)
- An unaltered version of the Road Assault Mini-Con Team (yet named the Race Team again) was released as part of an Energon-series "Mini-Con 6-pack" with the Space Mini-Con Team.
Cybertron[]
- Dirt Boss w/ Downshift (Bonus pack, 2006)
- Thundercracker w/ Downshift (Bonus pack, 2006)
- A new redeco of Downshift with a Tiny Tin carrying mini-case was packed in special Wal-Mart exclusive sets. Downshift was packaged with both Thundercracker and Dirt Boss.
Notes[]
- Hasbro copy writer Forest Lee confirms that the Cybertron Tiny Tins exclusives were originally planned with two different Race Team decos in mind, hence the backstory involving one version of the Team being from an alternate universe and the Tins' decos showing the Mini-Cons in silhouette rather than the normal full-color images. He could not confirm what the then-chosen decos were, however.
- The Race Team are the only one of the three "legendary Mini-Con weapons" Teams to be released in all three chapters of the Unicron Trilogy.
External links[]
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