Cliffjumper (Energon)

Cliffjumper is an Autobot from the Energon portion of the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

His '80s homage is in the form of his giant, giant shoulderpads.

An impressively-skilled high-risk thrill-seeker, Cliffjumper is a rookie who relishes challenges and stunts that put him in danger. Unfortunately, these stunts often put his teammates at risk as well during combat, which has earned him many reprimands.

Although difficult to talk down, Cliffjumper respects and adheres strictly to his instructor, Autobot veteran Bulkhead’s rules. He also often gets mixed up with fellow rookie and trainee Downshift.

Fiction

Energon cartoon

Voice actor: Doron Bell, Jr. (English), Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese), Christian Jernbro (Swedish), Jari Viitanen (Finnish), Carmen Podio (Castilian Spanish)

Cliffjumper was one of the rookie soldiers who were sent into the rift to locate Optimus Prime's unit, alongside his partner Downshift. They, um...got lost immediately. Still, the duo eventually made their way through to the other side of the rift. Protection They searched fruitlessly for some time over several planets and asteroids. Imprisoned Inferno Eventually, Cliffjumper's sensors detect trace readings of the Autobots' last battle on Iron Planet. After being joined by their commanding officer, Bulkhead, Cliffjumper and Downshift follow the trail to Jungle Planet, just in time to engage the Decepticons. Cliffjumper was apparently outfitted with a Spark of Combination by Optimus Prime sometime in the past, as he immediately Powerlinxed with Jetfire. Jungle Planet

Cliffjumper's team joined Hot Shot and Rodimus in flying back to Cybertron to gain the energon towers necessary to protect Alpha Q's new planets. Showing off his piloting skills, Cliffjumper navigated Bulkhead's shuttle on the route back to Cybertron. When the Terrorcons attacked, he remained behind on the shuttle with Rodimus and Bulkhead to distract the Divebomb drones while Hot Shot and Downshift went through the rift. Bulkhead As more energon towers were flown in from Cybertron, Cliffjumper went to Rock Planet with Kicker and Ironhide to secure their tower for the overall energon grid. They successfuly held their ground against Scorponok and the Terrorcons until the tower was operational. Farewell Inferno When Alpha Q accelerated the energon development of a planet outside the Autobots' protective energon grid, Cliffjumper and the team flew out to protect it from the Decepticons. Cliffjumper and Ironhide sped ahead of the others to the site of the Terrorcons' energon gathering. Ironhide asked Cliffjumper to stand aside while he settled a score with Scorponok. Great—so all Cliffjumper had to do was fight alone against Snow Cat, Mirage, Demolishor and the Terrorcons. Noooooo problem. Return! Our Scorponok

Naturally, Cliffjumper participated in the Autobot Grand Prix, since he considered himself a "high-performance machine". He took the lead from Hot Shot going into the final shot, being better-suited to the unexpected 'off-road' condition of the track. However, his nerve failed him as he approached a steep ramp, and because he hesitated he didn't have enough speed to successfully jump this... cliff. Crash Course

When Megatron finally got Unicron up and running, Cliffjumper joined the Autobots for an all-out assault on the Planet-Eater. Omega Supreme As the battle continued, Cliffjumper and the Autobots fought and failed to prevent Unicron from reclaiming Alpha Q's energon orb as his head, and the dark creature was made whole once more. A Heroic Battle Eventually the fighting became too severe, and the Autobots were forced to retreat to a safe distance while Optimus Prime and Omega Supreme prepared to battle Unicron personally. The Power of Unicron

Unicron demonstrated his awesome power by consuming Blizzard Planet entirely. The Autobots were forced to struggle against the energy vortex he created, as entire chunks of the planet flew at them through space. Half the team was taken out of action, but Cliffjumper survived to continue the war against Unicron. Even with the power of Omega Supreme at their side, though, the fight was virtually fruitlessly. Cliffjumper and the other Autobots were left short-circuiting in space after a massive counter-attack by Unicron. When Primus sent energy to empower Optimus Supreme, the ambient backwash was enough to revive Cliffjumper and his comrades, giving them new Powerlinx color schemes in the process. Optimus Supreme Their new armor enabled them to provide some minor aid in the battle, which ended with Optimus Supreme triumphant. Unicron Perishes

After Megatron and Unicron were apparently destroyed, Cliffjumper was looking forward to some R&R on Ocean Planet. Once the Decepticons resurface on Cybertron, however, he joined Rodimus and the others in returning to defend their home world. Ambition When Cybertron was cut off to the Autobots by a cloud of energon gas, Cliffjumper demonstrated his piloting ability again by keeping the Miranda II safely in orbit around the planet. Wishes As the other Autobots abandoned ship after Six Shot shot down the vessel, Cliffjumper and Optimus Prime stayed on board to successfully allow Kicker and the Omnicons to disembark safely for an infiltration mission beneath the energon cloud. As the crippled ship went down, they were rescued by Omega Supreme and Superion Maximus. Galvatron!

As Optimus led a team through the opening in the energon gas created by Kicker's infiltrators, Cliffjumper remained in space under Rodimus's command as part of a backup team. Break Through

Meanwhile, in a virtual combat simulator, Cliffjumper and Landmine were pitted against Optimus Prime and Wing Saber. Two rank n'file Autobots who can't combine against a legendary hero and his combination partner. Ooooo... no chance. Optimus and Wing Saber barely needed to make an effort to bump Cliffjumper and Landmine out of the tournament. Distribution

As Galvatron used the Super Energon to transform Cybertron into a mobile dreadnought, the Autobots tried desperately to stop his forward progress. Rodimus had Cliffjumper and the others assemble some space debris in Cybertron's path, hoping to slow it down on its way towards the rift. The Omega Train As Galvatron and Six Shot blasted through the meager defenses, Cliffjumper remained on guard while Rodimus and Landmine took the injured Jetfire back to Ocean Planet for repairs. Decepticon Army The Autobots on the surface eventually succeeded in dispersing the energon gas cloud, allowing Cliffjumper and Rodimus to make their way down to the planet and rejoin the battle. Ironhide Team Reunited with their crazy ol' commander, Cliffjumper and Downshift joined Bulkhead in a daring rush on the Decepticon position. Later, when Six Shot set off an eruption in the energon gas pipeline, they were pulled to safety by Superion Maximus. Although damaged, Cliffjumper and the others resolutely continued to fight, assaulting the energon towers to prevent Cybertron from destroying the planets it was passing by through space. Formidable

”I look like… Beachcomber.”

The Autobots had just reclaimed the control center for Cybertron when Galvatron bathed fully in the Super Energon pool, rapidly growing to Unicron size. Cliffjumper went out with Hot Shot and Downshift to provide what little aid he could in the battle against the gigantic Galvatron. As the enormous Galvatron began towing Cybertron out into space, Cliffjumper and the other Autobots continued to war with the Decepticons, fluttering around Galvatron like skirmishing insects. Destructive Power As Optimus Prime mainlined the power of Unicron himself in order to confront Galvatron, they crashed down on Jungle Planet. Cliffjumper got overexcited about the match-up and started taking bets as if it were a prize-fight. Spark

Prime could not overcome Unicron on his own, however, and needed the Combination Sparks of all his fellow Autobots to face the final conflict. Cliffjumper willingly stepped forward to give up his individuality for the greater good of the team. His body was converted into pure energy as he became one with his spark, so that it could in turn become one with all the other Combination Sparks, revitalizing Optimus. Filled with the strength of all his men, Optimus united with Omega Supreme in the ultimate Powerlinx, grappling with Galvatron until the Decepticon leader shrugged off Unicron's influence and plunged into the sun. Cliffjumper and the other Autobots then separated, and were restored to their individual forms. The Sun

Energon comic

Cliffjumper came with Ironhide to check out a smelting plant on Cybertron, but on the way there, they were attacked by Tidal Wave, Ironhide's war-time tormentor. The Decepticon knocked Cliffjumper out and threatened to kill him if Ironhide didn't come with him, forcing the young Autobot to give in to his demands. Cliffjumper was eventually found unconscious by Jetfire, who called for a rescue team to retrieve him. Aftershock

Some time later, Cliffjumper was part of the Cybertron force sent to Earth to combat the Terrorcon hordes sent by Alpha Quintesson. He was assigned to Los Angeles, California, under the command of Jetfire to battle the infestation of Insecticon clones. Multiplicity, Pt. 2 Cliffjumper fought alongside Perceptor, but soon found that the thousands of Insecticons wouldn't be exterminated that easily. Multiplicity, Pt. 3 Jetfire's team began to run low on energy, but were saved from getting overrun by the Terrorcons when Rad White appeared and powered them up with Energon gas. With some unexpected help from Megatron, Cliffjumper and the others then drove the Insecticons away and saved Los Angeles. Multiplicity, Pt. 4

Cliffjumper joined Rad and his AlterEnergy team in their efforts to rescue Kicker from Demolishor. Armageddon Part 4

Toys

Energon

Hi, I'm Downshift. I think. (Hasbro version pictured)

• Cliffjumper (Mega Class, 2004)

• Takara name: Overdrive
• Takara ID number: SC-18
• Accessories: Left & right launchers, 2 missiles
• Known designers: Takashi Kunihiro (TakaraTomy), Marcelo Matere (packaging artist)

Part of the third wave of Energon Mega Class toys, Cliffjumper transforms into a large Baja-style buggy with electronic sounds, and hood-mounted twin spring-loaded missile launchers. These launchers become hand-held weapons in robot mode. He can also transform into the top half or bottom half of a larger robot, able to combine with most other Combat Class and Mega Class Autobots (though, the former looks silly). When forming a torso, he becomes Powerlinx Cliffjumper.

The joints that hold the armatures for the vehicle bumper halves/robot feet to the legs are very thin on the top-side. Due to the heavy-duty molded detents on the ends of the armatures that form the joints themselves, the thin plastic parts have to flex to make room for the pseudo-ratcheted "teeth" to pass through, resulting in a loud, audible snap, and a forming of a large split in the thin plastic, when simply moving it with little-to-no force. Since this is a design flaw, this also carries over to the other uses of the mold.

The Takara Super Link Overdrive release has a similar, but more desaturated and lower-contrast coloration overall. Additionally, the shoulder pads have their entire front face done up in gold paint. As with most of the larger Japanese releases of Energon/Superlink toys, his electronics were removed.

This mold was also used to make Energon Beachcomber, which also doubles as an upgraded form for Cliffjumper (see below).

• More information on Cliffjumper at TFU.info

Wait, no, not Downshift anymore.

• Beachcomber (Mega Class, 2005)

• Accessories: Left & right launcher rifles, 2 missiles

A late-series redeco of Energon Cliffjumper, Beachcomber transforms into a large Baja-style buggy with electronic sounds and hood-mounted twin spring-loaded missile launchers, which become hand-held weapons for robot mode. He can also transform into the top half or bottom half of a larger robot, able to combine with most other Combat Class and Mega Class Autobots (though, the former looks silly). When forming a torso, he becomes Powerlinx Beachcomber (or just another version of Powerlinx Cliffjumper in the cartoon). Much like above, the same design flaw surrounding the vehicle mode bumper halves/robot feet armatures is also present in this use of the mold.

Despite being utilized as Cliffjumper's upgraded form in the cartoon, an "Overdrive" toy in Beachcomber's color scheme was never released in Japan. Shipping in only one case assortment, Beachcomber is also arguably one of the rarest toys in the Energon line, with not many showing up on the aftermarket. Any sealed specimens that show up, generally have excessively high asking prices in the thousands. Yikes.

• More info on Beachcomber at TFU.info

Notes

• The Energon cartoon switched Cliffjumper and Downshift's dialogue recordings around from their first appearance in "Imprisoned Inferno" onwards, leading to several moments where the characters would refer to themselves with the wrong names. Additionally, other characters would refer to them with the wrong name, due to the unintentional swapping of recordings.
• In Super Link, Cliffjumper often randomly said certain phrases in English, most notably "Check it out, yo". There was also a running bit where he would comment on how his voice sounded a lot like Optimus Prime's. This was because they were both voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi. Of course, both these gags were lost in the English dub.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Overdrive (オーバードライブ Ōbādoraibu)
• Hungarian: Sziklamászó ("Cliffclimber")^[1]

References