Cliffjumper (G1)

Hero Overview Gallery

Cliffjumper compensates for his small size by being the first to rush into any dangerous situation, desiring only to beat up "Decepti-creeps." Although this trait of his has his fellow Autobots' respect, occasionally it ensnares him into situations he cannot handle. His motto is "Let me at 'em!" 

Cliffjumper's weapon is his glass gas gun, which fires a gas that turns metal as brittle as glass for a short time. In the episode "Fire In the Sky," he mentions his gun has a "defrost cycle" to melt ice.

History

• Cartoon
• Comics

Cliffjumper was part of the original Autobot crew of the Ark. When the Autobots and Decepticons were reawakened, Cliffjumper was given the alternate mode of an Earth car. Cliffjumper and Hound were sent to scout out the location of the Decepticons. Although ordered not to engage the Decepticons, Cliffjumper took the opportunity to try to shoot Megatron, revealing their existence to the Decepticons. Because of this, Hound was blown off the road by Laserbeak - something that made Cliffjumper regret his impulsiveness. Hound, however, did not blame him, quipping that he was only sorry he missed.

Season 2

Cliffjumper's bravery was often a boon to the Autobots - as well as a problem. In Changing Gear, Cliffjumper's rash actions helped the Autobots get past a Decepticon force field and stop their Solar Needle device from destroying the sun.

Cliffjumper's most prominent appearance came in the second season episode "Traitor", where he developed the belief that Mirage had sold them out to the Decepticons after missing a Decepticon power plant while on patrol. Mirage then devised a scheme to prove he was not a traitor, setting the Decepticons and Insecticons against each other. However, Cliffjumper had followed him, and misinterpreted his actions. Reporting back to base, Cliffjumper took Prime to see for himself - only to run into an ambush, as Mirage betrayed them. The reason soon became apparent - Mirage had been implanted by one of Bombshell's cerebro shells. After the Decepticon plant's destruction, Cliffjumper apologised to Mirage.

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.

The Movie

During The Transformers the Movie, Cliffjumper is stationed on Moonbase 1, from which he, Spike Witwicky, Bumblebee, and Jazz try unsuccessfully to escape when attacked by Unicron. After their apparent consumption by the planet-eater, they are ultimately saved by Daniel Witwicky when they were about to dropped in the acid vat.

Later appearances

By season 3, Cliffjumper was reduced to a background character, a result of the late voice actor, Casey Kasem's objection to the portrayal of Arab characters as stereotypical villains and departure from the show, as well as his toy being discontinued.

His last appearance in the original U.S. cartoon was the season 4 episode "The Rebirth - Part 1".

UK exclusive stories are in italics

Marvel's the Transformers

Cliffjumper was a part of the Ark's crew during it's mission to clear an asteroid field from attacking Cybertron. After the Decepticons attacked the ship, it crashed into Earth, and Cliffjumper would remain in stasis for four million years. Upon reviving in 1984, Cliffjumper was chosen as part of the first field expedition into the world under Prowl's command. Their simple recon mission to a drive-in movie theatre quickly turned into a battle when the Decepticons arrived. Cliffjumper acquitted himself well in combat, single-handedly driving off Starscream and Thundercracker with his glass gas. 

In Prisoner of War, Cliffjumper joined Optimus Prime on the mission to rescue their human friend Sparkplug Witwicky from the Decepticons' fortress. Unfortunately, the human military got in the way, distracting Cliffjumper and Huffer long enough for Rumble's earthquakes to throw them for a loop. After this, Cliffjumper was unable to join the battle against the Decepticons during the battle in the Ark.

Facing Shockwave

After the arrival of Shockwave, Cliffjumper was strung from the ceiling of the Ark by the victorious Shockwave. However, Ratchet managed to retake the Ark, and Cliffjumper and most of the others. However, Optimus Prime's head was still missing. During an attempt to retrieve it an impostor head took control of Prime's body, firing on Cliffjumper. While this was the end of Cliffjumper's involvement in the US series, the UK comics continued his story. 

Dinobot Hunt

Presumably repaired, Cliffjumper was at the Ark when the Autobots came under attack from the Dinobot Swoop, who was under the control of the human Professor Morris. Consequently, he participated in the Dinobot Hunt, forming the "A-Team" along with Gears and Windcharger. Although they found Sludge in the swamps of Littlewood, California, all three were immediately thereafter ambushed and shot by Soundwave and the Decepticons. Held captive aboard their own booby-trapped shuttle in Doonstown while Grimlock and Sludge rampaged outside, they were ultimately rescued by Bumblebee.

In the US version l, Cliffjumper was slowly phased out of the comic, making some final cameos in Totaled.

Classics

In the "Classicverse", Cliffjumper was among those offlined by Starscream during the Underbase Saga, and was left on life support for 15 years. After the war was ended, the Autobots finally hed enough resources to revive Cliffjumper. However, he nearly flatlined after discovering the war was over, but would content himself that there were still Decepticons out there. Cliffjumper was too late to join Grimlock's crew on the Graviton, so when reports of Megatron's return reached Cybertron, Cliffjumper was the first to join Optimus Prime in returning to Earth to vanquish him.

Shattered Glass

Unicron Trilogy

See main article: Cliffjumper (Transformers Energon)

Transformers IDW

See main article: Cliffjumper (IDW Comics)

Aligned Universe

See main article: Cliffjumper (Transformers Prime)

Transformers Cinematic Universe

See main article: Cliffjumper (Transformers Cinematic Universe)