Disassembled: Heroes and Villains

Why Jetfire Proves We Can Change For The Better - Transformers Deep Dive

• Tom Bedford of Handsome Comics • Season 1 • Episode 11

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He wasn’t built for war.

He was built to explore.

A scientist. A seeker of truth.

But when truth became a weapon, Jetfire made the choice that would define his legacy—he walked away. From the Decepticons. From Starscream. From everything he once knew. Not because he was weak, but because conscience cost more than conquest.

In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains, we uncover the story of Jetfire—the defector, the believer, the warrior who proved change is always possible. From his G1 origins to IDW’s conflicted idealist, to his sacrificial final stand, Jetfire’s story isn’t just about war—it’s about principle, sacrifice, and redemption.

We explore:

– His transformation from Decepticon scientist to Autobot ally

– The rivalry and tragedy of his bond with Starscream

– Why redemption isn’t about applause, but persistence

– And how walking away from power can take more courage than wielding it

Because Jetfire shows us something rare in Transformers:

That even in war, we can still choose who we become.

🔥 New episodes of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains every Thursday


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🎙 Written and hosted by Tom Bedford | Handsome Comics

SOME DECEPTICONS FALL IN BATTLE, OTHERS FALL FROM GRACE, BUT JETFIRE, HE DIDN'T FALL, HE WALKED AWAY. NOT IN SHAME, NOT IN FEAR, BUT IN DEFIANCE. ONCE, HE WAS A SCIENTIST, A BUILDER, A MIND SHAPED FOR EXPLORATION, NOT CONQUEST. BUT WAR DOESN'T ASK YOU WHAT YOU WERE MEANT TO BE, IT DECIDES FOR YOU. JETFIRE JOINED THE DECEPTICONS OUT OF BELIEF. HE LEFT BECAUSE HE COULD NO LONGER BELIEVE. AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES HIM DANGEROUS. NOT HIS STRENGTH, NOT HIS FIREPOWER, BUT HIS CHOICE. BECAUSE SOME WARRIORS KILL FOR THEIR CAUSE, JETFIRE TURNED HIS BACK ON IT, AND PUT HIS LIFE ON THE LINE FOR WHAT WAS RIGHT INSTEAD. ACROSS THE MULTIVERSE, HE CHANGES. AN EXPLORER IN ONE WORLD, A GENERAL IN ANOTHER. BUT IN EVERY TELLING, HE FINDS CLARITY IN THE FIRE. NO ORDER, NO LOYALTY, NO LIES. JUST THE TRUTH, AND THE COURAGE TO FOLLOW IT. THIS IS DISASSEMBLED, HEROES AND VILLAINS. AND TODAY, WE TRACE THE ARC OF A WARRIOR WHO CHOSE PRINCIPLE OVER POWER. FROM A FROZEN BATTLEFIELD, TO A FINAL STAND IN THE HEART OF THE WAR. TO UNDERSTAND THE LINE HE DREW IN THE SKY, AND THE COURAGE HE TOOK TO CROSS IT. WITH THE STORY OF JETFIRE OF THE TRANSFORMERS. EVERY LEGEND STARTS SOMEWHERE. BEFORE THE BATTLEFIELD, BEFORE THE BETRAYAL. JETFIRE WAS SOMETHING FAR SIMPLER. A MIND BUILT FOR SCIENCE, NOT WAR. LONG BEFORE HE DREW A LINE IN THE SKY, HE WAS BURIED BENEATH THE ICE. FORGOTTEN. UNTIL WAR FOUND HIM. WHERE JETFIRE, OR SKYFIRE AS HE WAS FIRST KNOWN, AWAKENS NOT JUST INTO A WORLD HE DOESN'T RECOGNIZE, BUT INTO A CONFLICT HE NEVER WANTED, AND THE CHOICE HE MAKES NEXT WILL DEFINE HIM FOREVER. SOME TRANSFORMERS WERE FORGED IN FIRE. JETFIRE WAS BURIED IN ICE. IN THE G1 CARTOON, JETFIRE, KNOWN INITIALLY AS SKYFIRE, WASN'T BORN INTO WAR. HE WAS A SCIENTIST, AN EXPLORER, A SEEKER OF TRUTH IN THE PUREST SENSE, BEFORE THE NAME WAS CORRUPTED BY DECEPTICONS. HE AND STARSCREAM ONCE FLEW A CROSS TO UNCHARTED GALAXIES, PARTNERS IN RESEARCH, NOT CONQUEST. BACK THEN, STARSCREAM WAS A FELLOW SCIENTIST, NOT YET THE TREACHEROUS OPPORTUNIST HE WOULD BECOME. THEIR BOND WAS ONE OF CURIOSITY AND AMBITION, TWO MINDS RACING AHEAD OF THEIR TIME. BUT FATE HAS A WAY OF PUNISHING THOSE WHO DREAM TOO FAR FROM HOME. A SUDDEN STORM OVER A BARREN ALIEN WORLD SENT JETFIRE CRASHING INTO THE FROZEN WASTELAND, WHERE HE WOULD LIE ENTOMBED FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS. HE MISSED THE WAR'S BEGINNING, BUT THE WAR DIDN'T MISS HIM. WHEN STARSCREAM DISCOVERS JETFIRE BURIED IN ICE, THE REUNION ISN'T ONE OF FRIENDSHIP. IT'S A STRATEGIC ALLIANCE. THE DECEPTICONS REVIVE JETFIRE, HOPING TO TWIST HIS BRILLIANCE TO THEIR CAUSE. AT FIRST, HE OBLIGES, NOT OUT OF MALICE, BUT CONFUSION, LOYALTY, AND MAYBE EVEN GUILT. BUT JETFIRE SEES QUICKLY WHAT THE DECEPTICONS HAVE BECOME, WHAT STARSCREAM HAS BECOME. THE CAUSE HE'S BEEN ASKED TO SERVE NO LONGER RESEMBLES ANYTHING NOBLE. AND SO, HE MAKES HIS CHOICE. JETFIRE DEFECTS TO THE AUTOBOTS, NOT BECAUSE HE'S ORDERED TO, BUT BECAUSE IT'S RIGHT. AND THAT'S THE HEART OF HIS GROWTH ACROSS THE SERIES. HE'S NOT AN AUTOBOT BY DESIGN. HE CHOOSES TO BE ONE. IN A WORLD RULED BY PROGRAMMING AND FACTION SYMBOLS, JETFIRE'S AUTONOMY SETS HIM APART. HE REPRESENTS SOMETHING RARE AMONG TRANSFORMERS. A TRUE MORAL CONSCIENCE AND THAT CONSCIENCE IS BORN NOT FROM VIOLENCE BUT FROM SCIENCE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EASY TO WRITE JETFIRE AS JUST ANOTHER SOLDIER A MASSIVE AIR GUARDIAN WITH FIREPOWER TO RIVAL THE SEEKERS BUT THE WRITERS GAVE HIM A DIFFERENT BURDEN THE WEIGHT OF KNOWLEDGE THE CURSE OF CLARITY BECAUSE ONCE HE SEES THE TRUTH OF THE DECEPTICON ONCE HE SEES STARSCREAM'S CRUELTY MEGATRON'S TYRANNY AND THE COUNTLESS INNOCENTS CAUGHT IN THEIR WAR HE CAN'T UNSEE IT IT'S A SURPRISINGLY REFRESHING TAKE IN A SHOW BETTER KNOWN FOR ENERGY BLASTS ONE-LINERS AND TOY COMMERCIALS JETFIRE TURNS HIS BACK ON HIS OLDEST FRIEND BECAUSE PRINCIPLE MATTERS MORE THAN PERSONAL HISTORY BUT THE G1 CARTOON ONLY SCRATCHES THE SURFACE FOR A DARKER MORE TRAGIC LOOK AT JET FIRE'S ORIGIN WE NEED TO TURN THE PAGE TO THE MARVEL COMICS CONTINUITY HERE JETFIRE'S UNAWAKENED GENTLY HE'S BUILT CREATED BY THE DECEPTICONS FROM HUMAN DESIGNS INFUSED WITH CYBERTRONIAN SCIENCE AND ROBBED OF HIS FREE WILL SHOCKWAVE DOESN'T RESURRECT JETFIRE HE MANUFACTURES HIM A MACHINE MEANT TO SERVE DECEPTICON LOGIC AND EFFICIENCY A VESSEL OF RAW POTENTIAL CONTROLLED DOWN TO THE LAST CIRCUIT BUT INSIDE SOMETHING STIRS WHEN JETFIRE FIRST COMES ONLINE HE ISN'T SURE WHAT HE IS HE'S NEVER KNOWN FREEDOM HE'S A SHELL AN AUTOMATON BUT AS HE OBSERVES LIFE HUMAN AND CYBERTRONIAN ALIKE HE BEGINS THE QUESTION AND THAT QUESTION BECOMES REBELLION GRIMLOCK EVEN TAKES NOTE WATCHING HIS JETFIRE TURNS AGAINST HIS PROGRAMMING TO PROTECT THE AUTOBOTS IT'S A PIVOTAL MOMENT ONE OF THE FEW TIMES GRIMLOCK EVER THE CYNIC CALLS A WARRIOR NOBLE JETFIRE EARNS HIS PLACE ON THE AUTOBOT ROSTER NOT THROUGH BATTLE PROWESS BUT THROUGH SELF-DETERMINATION AND THAT'S THE COMMON THREAD WHERE HE'S FOUND IN ICE OR FORGED IN A LAB JETFIRE'S STORY ALWAYS BENDS TOWARD A SINGULAR MOMENT THE REJECTION OF POWER IN FAVOR OF PRINCIPLE IN THE CARTOON HE WALKS AWAY FROM THE DECEPTICONS IN THE COMICS HE DEFIES HIS VERY CREATOR AND IN BOTH HIS TRUE FIRST ACT OF AUTONOMY IS TO SAY NO NO TO TYRANNY NO TO PROGRAMMING NO TO THE EASY PATH THAT REFUSAL BECOMES JETFIRE'S DEFINING TRAIT NOT HIS WEAPONS NOT HIS SPEED NOT HIS INTELLECT BUT HIS WILL HE IS ONE OF THE FEW TRANSFORMERS WHO EMBODIES THE IDEA THAT KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT ACTION IS HOLLOW THAT SCIENCE CANNOT BE NEUTRAL IN THE FACE OF INJUSTICE THAT TRUTH WHEN DISCOVERED DEMANDS SOMETHING FROM YOU AND IN THAT WAY JETFIRE BECOMES MORE THAN A BACKGROUND CHARACTER OR A TOY CONVERSION HE BECOMES A MIRROR FOR US HOW OFTEN DO WE INHERIT OUR CAUSES OUR BELIEFS OUR LOYALTIES WITHOUT EVER QUESTIONING THEM HOW OFTEN DO WE LET MOMENTUM DO THE THINKING FOR US JETFIRE DIDN'T HE STOPPED HE ASKED AND THEN HE CHOSE EVEN WHEN THE CHOICE MEANT TURNING ON A FRIEND EVEN WHEN IT MEANT GOING TO WAR AGAINST HIS OWN KIND EVEN WHEN IT MEANT STARTING OVER AGAIN AND AGAIN ACROSS THE MULTIVERSE HE WASN'T BUILT TO BE A WARRIOR BUT SOMETIMES THE MOST DANGEROUS WARRIORS ARE THE ONES WHO CHOOSE TO FIGHT ANYWAY BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN KNOWLEDGE DOESN'T FREE YOU BUT DAMNS YOU JETFIRE'S STORY DOESN'T END WITH ONE RIGHTEOUS CHOICE IN THE SNOW IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE ONE FAR COLDER FAR MORE COMPLEX HIS AWAKENING DOESN'T COME WITH FIREPOWER OR FANFARE IT COMES IN A LABORATORY IN SILENCE AND GUILT THIS JETFIRE ISN'T RESCUED FROM THE ICE OR BUILT IN A LAB HE'S A SCHOLAR OF CYBERTRON A STUDENT OF LOGIC A SCIENTIST WHO BELIEVED PROGRESS WAS THE HIGHEST VIRTUE UNTIL HE SAW WHAT IT COST AND WHEN HE DID HE DIDN'T JUST WALK AWAY FROM THE DECEPTICON HE WALKED INTO SOMETHING MUCH WORSE THE PARALYZING WEIGHT OF KNOWING TOO MUCH AND DOING NOTHING JETFIRE NEVER LED A CHARGE HE DIDN'T MAKE SPEECHES OR CARVE HIS NAME INTO THE ANNALS OF CYBERTRONIAN WARFARE HE DIDN'T HAVE TO BECAUSE SOME WARRIORS SHAPE HISTORY NOT THROUGH CONQUEST BUT THROUGH CONSCIENCE AND THE IDW CONTINUITY JETFIRE'S STORY IS NOT ONE OF BATTLEFIELD GLORY IT'S A QUIETER STRUGGLE A LIFELONG ATTEMPT TO MAKE SENSE OF A BROKEN WORLD AND TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE KNOWLEDGE THAT ONCE HELPED BREAK IT HE BEGAN HIS CAREER AS A DECEPTICON NOT A FRONTLINER NOT A FANATIC BUT A SEEKER OF TRUTH DRAWN IN BY THE DECEPTICON CAUSE AT HIS PHILOSOPHICAL ROOTS HE BELIEVED IN EQUALITY IN DISMANTLING THE CORRUPTION OF THE SENATE AND BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE THROUGH PROGRESS BUT IDEALS CAN BE TWISTED AND JETFIRE WAS WATCHING TOO CLOSELY NOT TO NOTICE HE LEFT THE DECEPTICONS LONG BEFORE MEGATRON'S FACTION DEVOLVED INTO TYRANNY AND RATHER THAN JOIN THE AUTOBOTS IMMEDIATELY HE CHOSE NEUTRALITY WORKING AS A RESEARCHER AND LATER CHOOSING INSTEAD TO SERVE AS A NEUTRAL INVESTIGATOR STUDYING BATTLEFIELDS AND CATTLE LOGGING THE SCIENCE BEHIND CYBERTRON'S UNRAVELING IT WAS A MIDDLE PATH HE THOUGHT HE COULD WALK UNTIL THUNDERWING WHEN THUNDERWING RETURNED IN STORMBRINGER IT WASN'T BRUTE STRENGTH THAT HELPED DEFEAT HIM IT WAS JETFIRE'S INSIGHT HIS ANALYSIS OF THUNDERWING'S CONDITION HELPED PRIME'S FORCES UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY WERE DEALING WITH WITHOUT JETFIRE'S WORK THUNDERWING'S RAMPAGE MIGHT HAVE NEVER ENDED BUT THE LESSONS CUT DEEPER THAN THAT JETFIRE HAD ONCE BELIEVED SCIENCE COULD REMAIN NEUTRAL THAT IF HE JUST DID HIS JOB WELL ENOUGH HE COULD STAY ABOVE THE WAR BUT THE WAR TAUGHT HIM OTHERWISE AND ACTION WASN'T NEUTRALITY IT WAS SURRENDER AND JETFIRE WOULD NEVER SURRENDER AGAIN SO WHEN BUMBLEBEE ROSE TO LEAD THE AUTOBOTS DURING THE DARKEST DAYS OF THE WAR JETFIRE STOOD BY HIS SIDE HE DISMANTLED DECEPTICON PROPAGANDA RESCUED CIVILIANS DURING THEIR OCCUPATION OF EARTH HE EVEN HELPED CONSTRUCT THE NEW IACON SPACE BRIDGE NETWORK QUIETLY BUILDING PATHS TO HEALING WHILE OTHERS STILL WAGED WAR HE WASN'T LOOKING FOR GLORY HE DIDN'T WANT MEDALS HE WANTED MEANING BECAUSE JETFIRE DIDN'T CARRY GUILT HE CARRIED RESPONSIBILITY HE KNEW THE NAMES OF EVERY EXPERIMENT THAT WENT TOO FAR EVERY PIECE OF EVIDENCE BURIED BY CYBERTRON'S ELITE EVERY SYSTEM THAT FAILED BEFORE THE FIRST SHOT WAS FIRED AND EVEN WHEN DECEPTICONS BEGAN TO FRACTURE EVEN WHEN STARSTREAM TOOK CONTROL OF CYBERTRON JETFIRE REMAINED A MORAL COMPASS A VOICE OF REASON A SCIENTIST WHO HAD SEEN WHAT HAPPENS WHEN KNOWLEDGE IS CORRUPTED AND VOWED NOT TO LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN HE NEVER STOPPED QUESTIONING NEVER STOPPED WEIGHING THE COST OF EVERY ACTION BECAUSE FOR JETFIRE KNOWLEDGE WASN'T POWER IT WAS A BURDEN AND ONCE YOU CARRY THAT BURDEN SILENCE WAS NO LONGER AN OPTION BUT CLARITY DOESN'T JUST DEMAND RESPONSIBILITY IT DEMANDS CHOICE BECAUSE KNOWING THE TRUTH TRULY KNOWING IT MEANS YOU CAN'T KEEP STANDING STILL IT DEMANDS YOU ACT EVEN WHEN IT COSTS YOU EVERYTHING JETFIRE'S LIFE ACROSS CONTINUITIES IS DEFINED NOT BY VIOLENCE BUT BY THESE MOMENTS OF IRREVERSIBLE DECISIONS MOMENTS WHEN LOYALTY FRACTURED WHEN FRIENDSHIP COLLAPSED UNDER THE WEIGHT OF IDEOLOGY AND WHEN THE LINE BETWEEN SILENCE AND COMPLICITY BECAME IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE IN EACH UNIVERSE WHETHER DIGITAL OR ANIMAL ANIMATED CLASSIC OR REIMAGINED JETFIRE FACES THE SAME QUESTION WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THE PEOPLE YOU TRUST CHOOSE CRUELTY OVER CONSCIENCE THIS IS THE STORY OF A SCIENTIST WHO BECAME A SOLDIER NOT OUT OF AMBITION BUT NECESSITY OF A FRIEND WHO BECAME A TRAITOR BECAUSE TRUTH DEMANDED IT AND OF A TRAITOR WHO DIED A HERO BECAUSE SOMETIMES THAT'S THE ONLY WAY TO BE FREE NOW LET'S TURN TO THE MOMENTS THAT REDEFINED HIM TO THE TURNING POINTS TO THE PRICE OF CHOOSING TRUTH BEFORE WE FOLLOW A TRANSFORMER WHO WALKED AWAY FROM THE WAR MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW OR SUBSCRIBE TO DISASSEMBLED HEROES AND VILLAINS ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST APP AND NEXT WEEK WE FACE THE MASTER OF MAGNETISM HIMSELF A HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR A MUTANT REVOLUTIONARY A MAN WHO'S BEEN RIGHT FAR TOO OFTEN NEXT WEEK WE ENTER THE MIND OF MAGNETO NOW BACK TO JETFIRE IN THE STORY OF A DECEPTICON WHO CHANGED JETFIRE'S STORY HAS NEVER BEEN ABOUT ALLEGIANCE IT'S ABOUT AWAKENING IN EVERY UNIVERSE HE BEGINS IN THE SAME PLACE BRILLIANT AND RESPECTED BUT OVER TIME SOMETHING BREAKS NOT IN HIM BUT AROUND HIM AND JETFIRE DOES WHAT FEW EVER DARE TO DO HE WALKS AWAY IN WAR FOR CYBERTRON JETFIRE BEGINS NOT AS A HERO BUT AS THE RUTHLESS LEADER OF THE SEEKERS COLD CALCULATING LOYAL TO MEGATRON BUT ONLY TO A POINT FROM THE START CRACKS APPEAR WHEN STARSCREAM TRIES TO EXECUTE BUMBLEBEE AND WHEELJACK AGAINST ORDERS JETFIRE SLICES HIS ARM WITHOUT HESITATION NOT TO PROTECT AUTOBOTS BUT BECAUSE EVEN WAR MUST HAVE RULES HE SEES MEGATRON'S SHIFTING DOCTRINE WITH UNEASE SHOCKWAVES PLAN TO REFORMAT AUTOBOTS AND DECEPTICONS A VICTORY WITHOUT HONOR AND WHEN MEGATRON BEGINS TO TREAT HIS SOLDIERS AS DISPOSABLE TOOLS JETFIRE BEGINS TO QUESTION WHAT HE'S FIGHTING FOR THE BREAKING POINT COMES IN BLOOD AND BETRAYAL AFTER MEGATRON MURDERS ULTRA MAGNUS JETFIRE IS ORDERED TO DELIVER HIS CORPSE TO SHOCKWAVE BUT STARSCREAM CONFRONTS HIM ACCUSING HIM OF KILLING SKYWARP JETFIRE DOESN'T LIE HE ADMITS IT HE IS BRANDED A TRAITOR HUNTED BY HIS OWN SOLDIERS SHOT DOWN MID-AIR BUT TRUST IS NEVER FREELY GIVEN IT MUST BE EARNED WHEN THE AUTOBOTS NEEDED TO CROSS THE SEA OF RUST JETFIRE DIDN'T JUST OFFER KNOWLEDGE HE OFFERED HIS LIFE TO PROVE HIS LOYALTY HE AGREED TO INSTALL A CORE OVERRIDE IN HIS BRAIN MODULE A KILL SWITCH THE AUTOBOTS COULD TRIGGER IF HE BETRAYED THEM NOT AS A SOLDIER NOT AS A HOSTAGE BUT AS PENANCE BECAUSE FOR JETFIRE REDEMPTION WASN'T ABOUT FORGIVENESS IT WAS ABOUT RESPONSIBILITY HE KNEW THAT WORDS MEANT NOTHING IN THE FACE OF WAR THAT ONLY ACTION SACRIFICE COULD TIP THE BALANCE OF TRUST HE DIDN'T ASK FOR MERCY HE GAVE THEM CONTROL OF HIS LIFE KNOWING THEY MIGHT USE IT BECAUSE WHEN HONOR IS BROKEN THE ONLY WAY FORWARD IS TO PUT EVERYTHING ON THE LINE TO REBUILD IT AND AS HE LED THEM THROUGH ELECTRICAL STORMS SAFE PROWL FROM THE DEPTHS AND FOUGHT BESIDE THOSE HE ONCE HUNTED THE KILL SWITCH WAS NEVER NEEDED BECAUSE JETFIRE NEVER LOOKED BACK LATER WHEN ELITA 1'S AUTOBOTS RETURNED TO LIBERATE DECEPTICON PRISONERS JETFIRE WAS THERE NOT FOR REVENGE BUT TO STOP THE CYCLE HE GAVE HIS LIFE IN THAT FINAL MISSION TAKING A STAND NOT FOR AUTOBOT COMMAND BUT FOR WHAT WAS RIGHT YET DURING THE EVENTS OF CYBERVERSE JETFIRE IS NO DEFECTOR HE'S AN AUTOBOT THROUGH AND THROUGH LOYAL NOT TO THE WAR BUT TO JUSTICE HIS LEGACY BEGINS WITH VENGEANCE A DEVASTATING RIVALRY WITH SKY BITE THEIR FEUD SCORCHED SYSTEMS AND TRIGGERED A SUPERNOVA WIPING OUT WORLDS IN ITS WAKE BOTH WARRIORS VANISHED FROM HISTORY UNTIL EARTH BROUGHT THEM BACK INTO ORBIT JETFIRE RETURNS NOT SEEKING GLORY BUT CLOSURE YET HIS FLAME BURNS HOTTER WHEN HE SEES HOW FAR HIS FORMER FRIEND'S STARSCREAM HAS FALLEN AND WHEN GIVEN THE CHANCE TO KILL SKY BITE TO FINALLY END THEIR FEUD JETFIRE HAS A HESITATES, NOT OUT OF WEAKNESS, BUT CONVICTION. BECAUSE IN THAT MOMENT, WITH MEGATRON GOADING HIM TO STRIKE, AND OPTIMUS PRIME WOUNDED BEFORE HIM, JETFIRE CHOSE MERCY. ACROSS CYBERVERSE, WE WATCH HIM EVOLVE, FROM LONE HUNTER TO TEAM LEADER, FROM DRIVEN WARRIOR TO LEADER OF PEACE. WHEN THE ALLSPARK IS AT STAKE, HE RISKS EVERYTHING TO DEFEND IT. AND WHEN PEACE FINALLY TAKES ROOT, JETFIRE STANDS AMONG THE AUTOBOTS AND DECEPTICONS AS TREATIES ARE SIGNED, LIVING PROOF THAT THE WAR MAY END, BUT IDEALS ENDURE. HIS ARC ISN'T ONE OF BETRAYAL OR REDEMPTION, IT'S ABOUT CLARITY. EVEN IN THE CHAOS OF A GALACTIC WAR, JETFIRE NEVER FORGETS WHO HE IS. BECAUSE THE TRUTH DOESN'T NEED A FACTION, IT JUST NEEDS SOMEONE BRAVE ENOUGH TO FOLLOW IT. BUT PERHAPS THE MOST ICONIC VERSION OF THIS TURNING POINT LIES IN G1. HOW DO YOU BETRAY SOMEONE WHO'S ALREADY BETRAYED THEMSELVES? THAT'S THE QUESTION JETFIRE FACES IN THE G1 CARTOON, NOT AS A SOLDIER, BUT AS A FRIEND. BECAUSE BEFORE THERE WERE DECEPTICONS AND AUTOBOTS, THERE WERE ONLY TWO SCIENTISTS, JETFIRE AND STARSCREAM, CHARTING GALAXIES IN PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE. AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES HIS CHOICE SO PAINFUL. JETFIRE DOESN'T LEAVE THE DECEPTICONS BECAUSE OF BATTLE TACTICS OR POLITICAL AGENDAS. HE LEAVES BECAUSE THE FRIEND HE ONCE KNEW IS GONE, AND THE CAUSE HE'S SERVING HAS CURDLED INTO SOMETHING CRUEL. IT'S A QUIET TRAGEDY. ONE BUILT NOT ON BETRAYAL, BUT ON REALIZATION. THAT TRUTH, WHEN FINALLY SEEN, SEVERS BONDS DEEPER THAN PROGRAMMING. JETFIRE CHOOSES THE AUTOBOTS NOT OUT OF LOYALTY, BUT BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING LEFT TO BE LOYAL TO. HIS ALLEGIANCE BECOMES A MIRROR OF HIS VALUES. PROTECT LIFE. SEEK UNDERSTANDING. AND NEVER SERVE POWER THAT FEEDS ON THE WEAK. IT'S THE KIND OF MOMENT THAT REDEFINES A LEGACY. BECAUSE LOYALTY TO A LEADER IS EASY, BUT LOYALTY TO YOUR PRINCIPLES? THAT TAKES COURAGE. AND WHEN. JETFIRE SEES THE COST OF STAYING SILENT, HE DOESN'T ARGUE. HE DOESN'T HESITATE. HE SIMPLY ACTS. A SINGLE DECISION, TO TURN AWAY FROM A FRIEND, TO STAND BESIDE STRANGERS, BECOMES THE MOMENT THAT DEFINES HIM. AND IN DOING SO, JETFIRE TEACHES US THIS, THAT SOMETIMES, THE MOST HEROIC ACT IS WALKING AWAY. NOT A CHOICE OF VICTORY, NOT A CHOICE OF ALLEGIANCE, BUT A CHOICE OF TRUTH. IN WAR FOR CYBERTRON, HE WALKS AWAY FROM THE DECEPTICONS KNOWING IT WILL COST HIM EVERYTHING. IN CYBERVERSE, HE OPENS HIS OPTICS TO THE HORROR OF WAR AND FINDS CLARITY AND COMPASSION. AND IN G1, HE TURNS HIS BACK ON HIS OLDEST FRIEND, BECAUSE PRINCIPLE MATTERED MORE THAN MEMORY. AGAIN AND AGAIN, JETFIRE'S LEGACY IS REWRITTEN. NOT BY WHAT HE BUILDS OR DESTROYS, BUT BY WHAT HE REFUSES TO ACCEPT. AND THAT'S WHAT SETS HIM APART. SO MANY TRANSFORMERS ARE PRISONERS TO THEIR FACTION. SYMBOLS ETCHED INTO THEIR FRAMES LIKE DESTINY. BUT JETFIRE IS DIFFERENT. HE TEACHES US THAT LOYALTY IS MEANINGLESS IF IT DEMANDS SILENCE. THAT TRUTH, ONCE SEEN DEMANDS ACTION, AND THAT FRIENDSHIP, WHEN BUILT ON FALSEHOOD, CAN END ONLY ONE WAY. JETFIRE NEVER SOUGHT GLORY. HE SOUGHT ANSWERS. AND WHEN THOSE ANSWERS SHATTERED EVERYTHING HE THOUGHT HE KNEW, HE DIDN'T LOOK AWAY. HE CHOSE. BUT NOT EVERY JETFIRE IS THE SAME. SOME WERE FORGED FROM LEGACY, OTHERS BORN INTO IT. BECAUSE ACROSS THE MULTIVERSE, THE NAME JETFIRE DOESN'T JUST ECHO, IT EVOLVES. IN SOME WORLDS, HE'S A WEAPON ENGINEERED FROM IDEALS. IN OTHERS, A BROTHER SHAPED BY SHARED DNA AND DIVERGENT PATHS. BUT NO MATTER THE VERSION, ONE TRUTH REMAINS. JETFIRE MUST ALWAYS CHOOSE WHO HE BECOMES. AND SOMETIMES, THAT CHOICE ISN'T JUST ABOUT RIGHT OR WRONG. SOMETIMES, IT'S ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE WILLING TO CARRY. NOT EVERY JETFIRE IS CUT FROM THE SAME ALLOY. IN TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED, JETFIRE ISN'T A LONE DEFECTOR TORN BETWEEN HONOR AND BETRAYAL. HE'S ONE HALF OF SOMETHING FAR MORE COMPLEX. A PROTOTYPE. A TWIN. A TEST SUBJECT. ONCE A HUMBLE REPAIR BOT, JETFIRE, ALONGSIDE HIS BROTHER JETSTONE, WERE NEARLY KILLED IN AN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT. RATHER THAN TREAT THEM AS VICTIMS, THE ELITE GUARD SAW AN OPPORTUNITY. WITH STARSCREAM IMPRISONED, HIS DECEPTICON CODE WAS FORCIBLY GRAFTED INTO THEIR AUTOBOT FRAMES IN HOPES OF REPLICATING THE GIFT OF FLIGHT. IT WASN'T MERCY, IT WAS EXPERIMENTATION. THEY WEREN'T EXPECTED TO SURVIVE, THEY WERE EXPECTED TO OBEY. BUT JETFIRE DID MORE THAN ADAPT. HE THRIVED. HIS FIREPOWER, PROPULSION, QUICK TEMPER, BLAZING DETERMINATION MADE HIM A FORMIDABLE WARRIOR. AND WHEN HE AND JETSTORM COMBINED TO FORM SAFEGUARD, THE RESULT IT WAS SOMETHING NO ONE ANTICIPATED. A UNION OF WILL. NOT JUST A FUSION OF CODE, BUT OF CHOICE. IT WAS MORE THAN FLIGHT, IT WAS FREEDOM. AS THE SERIES UNFOLDS, JETFIRE'S JOURNEY BECOMES ONE OF BALANCING DUTY WITH INSTINCT. ON EARTH, HE FACES SUSPICION FROM HIS OWN KIND. ATTACKED BY AUTOBOTS WHO MISTAKE HIM FOR A DECEPTICON, HE BATTLES WASP, BLITZWING, AND EVEN GRIMLOCK. ENDURES HUMILIATING MISSIONS UNDER SENTINEL PRIME, AND WATCHES THE CHAIN OF COMMAND CRUMBLE AROUND HIM. AND YET, HE ENDURES. LOYAL, COURAGEOUS, UNSHAKEN. BUT UNDERNEATH THE FIREPOWER AND BRAVADO LIES SOMETHING DEEPER. A SPARK FORGED NOT FROM REBELLION, BUT FROM RESILIENCE. JETFIRE AND. JETSTORM'S BOND IS NEVER FRACTURED BY EGO OR AMBITION. EVEN WHEN THINGS SPIRAL, BATTLING UNDER FALSE ORDERS, CHASING PHANTOM TRAITORS, WATCHING THEIR ALLIES FALL, THEY REMAIN UNITED. NOT BECAUSE OF SHARED PROGRAMMING, BUT BECAUSE OF SHARED VALUES. THEY'RE NOT COPIES OF STARSCREAM, THEY'RE HIS ANTITHESIS. WHERE STARSCREAM SOUGHT POWER AT ANY COST, JETFIRE FIGHTS FOR CONNECTION. FOR SOMETHING GREATER THAN HIMSELF. HE DOESN'T NEED TO PORTRAY HIS PAST TO FORGE A FUTURE, HE JUST NEEDS TO BELIEVE IN IT. BECAUSE ANIMATED JETFIRE ISN'T HAUNTED BY LEGACY, HE REDEFINES IT. IN DOING SO, HE PROVES THAT LEGACY DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A CURSE. IT CAN BE A CHALLENGE. ONE YOU RISE TO, ONE YOU SURPASS. JETFIRE AND JETSTORM WERE BUILT FROM BORROWED CODE, SHAPED BY WAR, FORCED TO DEFINE THEMSELVES THROUGH ACTION. BUT NOT ALL JETFIRES ARE MADE IN SOMEONE ELSE'S IMAGE. SOME CARRY LEGACY NOT AS BURDEN, BUT AS RESPONSIBILITY. IN THE UNICRON TRILOGY, JETFIRE ISN'T FORGED IN THE LAB OR RESCUED FROM CORRUPTION. HE BEGINS AS A HERO, TRUSTED, RESPECTED, ALREADY STANDING TALL BESIDE OPTIMUS PRIME, NOT IN DEFIANCE OF THE DECEPTICONS, BUT IN DEFENSE OF PEACE. AND YET, EVEN HERE, THE QUESTION LINGERS. WHEN THE COST OF LOYALTY RISES, WILL HE HOLD THE LINE? WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A WARRIOR IS BUILT NOT TO QUESTION, BUT TO LEAD? IN THE UNICRON TRILOGY, JETFIRE'S PATH IS NOT ONE OF AWAKENING, BUT OF ENDURANCE. HE BEGINS NOT IN EXILE, BUT AT OPTIMUS PRIME'S SIDE, A TRUSTED SECOND-IN-COMMAND ON CYBERTRON. BUT IF LEADERSHIP IS A VIRTUE, JETFIRE MUST LEARN IT THE HARD WAY. IN TRANSFORMERS ARMADA, HE ENTERS THE STAGE LIKE A THUNDERCLAP, RESCUING OPTIMUS FROM CERTAIN DEFEAT AND IMMEDIATELY CLASHING WITH MEGATRON'S AERIAL FORCES. YET, BENEATH THE BRAVADO LIES RECKLESSNESS. HIS FIRST MAJOR DECISION? TO ATTACK THE DECEPTICON SOLO. THE RESULT? DISASTER. IT IS ONLY THROUGH THE POWER LINKS BOND WITH OPTIMUS, MERGING INTO JET OPTIMUS, THAT JETFIRE BEGINS TO TEMPER ACTION WITH FORESIGHT. THEIR FUSION IS NOT JUST PHYSICAL, IT REFLECTS JETFIRE'S GRADUAL SHIFT FROM LONE FLYER TO COOPERATIVE LEADER. AGAIN AND AGAIN, HE SHOULDERS IMPOSSIBLE ODDS, BATTLING TIDAL WAVE, RESCUING COMRADES FROM THE MOON, DEFYING MEGATRON'S WRATH, AND LEADING THE CHARGE AGAINST UNICRON. BUT JETFIRE'S LEGACY ISN'T SEALED THROUGH FIREPOWER, IT'S THROUGH REFUSAL. WHEN HOTSHOT IS CONSUMED BY VENGEANCE, JETFIRE DENIES HIM. WHEN TRUST IN STARSCREAM FALTERS, JETFIRE DEMANDS EVIDENCE, NOT EMOTION. WHEN OPTIMUS FALLS, JETFIRE IS THE ONE WHO RALLIES THE TEAM, NOT BY COMMAND, BUT BY CONVICTION. ENERGON AND CYBERTRON SHOW A SEASONED WARRIOR, LESS IMPULSIVE, MORE MEASURED, STILL LOYAL, STILL BRAVE. BUT NOW, HIS HEROISM STEMS FROM CHOICE, NOT PROGRAMMING. WHEN FACED WITH RESURRECTED ENEMIES, HAUNTED ALLIES, AND LITERAL WORLD-ENDING THREATS, JETFIRE ENDURES. HE MENTORS IRONHIDE, HE CHALLENGES OPTIMUS, HE PROTECTS HUMAN ALLIES EVEN WHEN THE COST IS SO HIGH. SO CAN VIRTUE BE ENGINEERED? JETFIRE'S JOURNEY SAYS NO. WHAT'S BUILT INTO HIM? BRAVERY, SPEED, FIREPOWER, IS ONLY A STARTING POINT. HIS REAL STRENGTH IS EARNED, THROUGH MISTAKES, THROUGH SACRIFICE, AND THROUGH THE SLOW, PAINFUL PROCESS OF BECOMING MORE THAN WHAT HE WAS DESIGNED TO BE. HE ISN'T NOBLE BECAUSE HE WAS PROGRAMMED TO BE, HE'S NOBLE BECAUSE HE CHOOSES TO BE. BUT NOWHERE IS JETFIRE'S BURDEN OF LEGACY MORE LITERAL, OR MORE TRAGIC, THAN THE LIVE-ACTION BAYVERSE FILMS. IN REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, JETFIRE AWAKENS NOT AS A SOLDIER, BUT AS A RELIC. HE'S ANCIENT, WEARY, AND MOST HEARTBREAKINGLY, FORGOTTEN. ONCE A SEEKER IN SERVICE OF THE FALLEN, HE ABANDONED THE DECEPTICONS' LONG AGO, NOT FOR GLORY OF ALLEGIANCE, BUT OUT OF DISGUST. IT'S A DEEPLY PERSONAL CHOICE, HE TELLS US, ONE THAT ECHOES ACROSS EVERY VERSION OF HIMSELF. AS THE WAR REIGNITES AROUND HIM, HE DOESN'T FIGHT FOR FACTION OR FLAG, HE FIGHTS FOR REDEMPTION. WITH ONE FINAL ACT OF PURPOSE, JETFIRE RIPS OUT HIS OWN SPARK, OFFERING HIS BODY TO RESURRECT AND EMPOWER OPTIMUS PRIME. DEATH ISN'T A TACTIC, IT'S A TESTAMENT, A LIFE ONCE WASTED, REPURPOSED INTO SOMETHING WORTHY, A LEGACY WRITTEN IN FIRE AND FLIGHT. FROM TWIN-BORN CADETS TO SECOND-IN-COMMAND GENERALS, FROM WARRIOR DEFECTORS TO SELF-SACRIFICING TITANS, JETFIRE'S SPARK HAS TAKEN MANY FORMS, BUT ACROSS EVERY REALITY, ONE TRUTH REMAINS. LEGACY IS NOT INHERITED, IT IS FORGED. NOT BY WHO YOU FOLLOW, BUT BY WHAT YOU CHOOSE TO BECOME. BECAUSE WHEN THE DUST SETTLES AND THE HEROES ARE COUNTED, IT'S NOT JUST THE WARRIORS WHO STAND TALL, IT'S THE ONES WHO WALKED AWAY FROM WAR, WHO GAVE EVERYTHING SO OTHERS COULD RISE. AND THAT'S WHERE JETFIRE'S TRUE LEGACY BEGINS, NOT IN THE SKIES HE ONCE SOARED, BUT IN THE CHOICE HE MADE TO RISE ABOVE. HE'S NOT THE NAME CHILDREN SHOUT WHEN THEY PLAY WITH TOYS. HE'S NOT THE ICON PAINTED ON LUNCH BOXES OR ETCHED INTO STATUES. JETFIRE IS NOT OPTIMUS PRIME. AND THAT'S THE POINT. BECAUSE THE STORY ISN'T ABOUT BEING THE STRONGEST. THE MOST FAMOUS. OR EVEN THE MOST LOVED. JETFIRE'S LEGACY IS QUIETER. BUT NO LESS VITAL. HE WAS A SOLDIER WHO QUESTIONED THE MISSION. A SCIENTIST WHO SAW THROUGH THE LIES. A WARRIOR WHO CHOSE PEACE. ACROSS CONTINUITIES. G1. CYBERVERSE. WAR FOR CYBERTRON. AND THE BAYVERSE. JETFIRE WALKS A CONSISTENT PATH. HE SEES TRUTH. AND THEN HE ACTS ON IT. EVEN WHEN IT COSTS HIM EVERYTHING. IN A WORLD OF WAR. THAT MAKES HIM A RARITY. A VOICE OF CONSCIENCE. A SYMBOL OF WHAT IT MEANS TO CHOOSE INTEGRITY OVER IDENTITY. BECAUSE WALKING AWAY ISN'T WEAKNESS. IT'S STRENGTH. IN OUR OWN LIVES. WE OFTEN FACE MOMENTS. QUIET ONES. WHERE WE MUST DECIDE. DO WE STAY WHERE IT'S COMFORTABLE. OR DO WE RISE TOWARD WHAT'S RIGHT. JETFIRE SHOWS US THAT LEGACY ISN'T MEASURED IN VICTORIES OR TITLES. IT'S MEASURED IN THE COURAGE TO CHANGE. TO DEFECT FROM THE THINGS. FROM THE THINGS THAT NO LONGER SERVE US. TO QUESTION THE SYSTEMS WE ONCE BELIEVED IN. TO OFFER SOMETHING OF OURSELVES. NOT FOR REWARD. BUT FOR WHAT'S RIGHT. HE DIDN'T NEED TO BE THE LAST ONE STANDING. HE ONLY NEEDED TO STAND FOR SOMETHING. SO WHEN THE TIME COMES. WHAT WILL YOU CHOOSE? POWER. OR PRINCIPLE? SAFETY. OR TRUTH? THANK YOU FOR WALKING WITH US THROUGH THE WINDSWEPT SILENCE. THE COLD CALCULATIONS. AND THE QUIET DEFIANCE OF JETFIRE. HE WASN'T FORGED TO BE A HERO. HE WAS A SEEKER. A SOLDIER. A DECEPTICON. BUT HE CHANGED. BECAUSE HE CHOSE TO. IN A WAR WHERE LOYALTY WAS EVERYTHING. JETFIRE BROKE RANKS. NOT FOR GLORY. NOT FOR VENGEANCE. BUT FOR TRUTH. HE SAW WHAT HE HAD BECOME. AND WALKED AWAY. BECAUSE WE ARE NOT THE SUM OF OUR WORST DECISIONS. WE ARE THE CHOICES WE MAKE NEXT. HE COULD HAVE CLUNG TO HIS PAST. BUT INSTEAD. HE GAVE IT UP. PIECE BY PIECE. UNTIL ALL THAT REMAINED. WAS A SPARK WILLING TO BURN FOR SOMETHING BETTER. JETFIRE DIDN'T WIN THE WAR. BUT HE GAVE HIS SPARK SO THAT SOMEONE ELSE COULD. AND IN DOING SO. HE BECAME MORE THAN HIS PAST. HE BECAME A REMINDER THAT LEGACY ISN'T BUILT BY POWER, IT'S BUILT BY PRINCIPLE. BY THE COURAGE TO CHANGE, EVEN WHEN IT'S HARD, EVEN WHEN IT COSTS EVERYTHING. ASK YOURSELF, WHAT ARE YOU STILL CARRYING THAT NO LONGER DEFINES YOU? AND WHEN THE TIME COMES, WE'LL HAVE THE STRENGTH TO LET IT GO. BECAUSE JETFIRE TEACHES US THAT WE ARE NOT BOUND BY WHO WE WERE. WE ARE DEFINED BY WHO WE CHOOSE TO BE. SO STAY VIGILANT, STAY PRINCIPLED, AND AS ALWAYS, STAY HANDSOME. AND REMEMBER, THE PAST MAY SHAPE YOU, BUT IT NEVER HAS TO SHACKLE YOU.