Seekers (Transformers)
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Image:Skywarp-screencap.jpg Seekers is a fan-created term in the Transformers universe for the Decepticon warriors with jet transformations. Also referred to Sky Raiders (in Marvel Comics), Jetron (in Japan), and simply the "Decepticon Jets" - none of which are as popular or widespread in their use as "Seekers" - they are led by Starscream. On Cybertron, the Seekers transformed into an approximately pyramidal shaped aircraft/spacecraft. Judging from both the cartoon and the movie, the Seekers were a large force and were basically the Transformer equivalent of an airforce. However, originally only six were named and brought to Earth; on Earth, they transformed into various jet aircraft, most notably an F-15. The term 'Seekers' essentially refers to these six members.
The original Seekers from G1 were Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Thrust, Ramjet and Dirge. The latter three were given the affectionate name of 'Coneheads' by fans because they used a character model with a slightly mistransformed head, so that the jet fighter nose cone pointed straight up instead of back.
Image:Sunstorm.jpg In recent years, a Japanese store named E-hobby released a new Seeker toy called Sunstorm, in reference to a scene in the cartoon which featured an orange jet. Sunstorm also featured in the Transformers comic series by Dreamwave Productions.
Origin of the term
Exactly how the term came to be so widely accepted is unknown - it was never used in the cartoon or the comics, and yet even when the fandom was young it was the term of choice to describe the Decepticons jets. One piece of evidence for its use during the time of the original series was a JC Penney catalogue, which referred to a jet as a "Seeker". The suggestion that this one term used offhanded in one catalogue could have spread to become the preferred method of referring to the jets seems bizarre, though. In the original Marvel Comics run of the Transformers comic book, however, a reference is made in issue 17 to a group of Decepticon jets on Cybertron as "Hunter-Seekers", but it is worth mentioning that these Cybertronian jets bore little resemblance to the pre-Earth alternate forms of the Decepticons jets in the Sunbow television show and that they were never officially referred to by this designation in the original run of the comic or its immediate successor, Generation 2.
The term "Seekers" was not used in any official publications until the first issue of the Dreamwave comic, The War Within.