Autobot jazz

Jazz (Transformers)

Jazz is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes. For trademark reasons, Jazz is sometimes referred to as Autobot Jazz or Meister, his Japanese name.

Transformers: Generation 1

Jazz is the "very cool, very stylish, very competent" member of the Autobots in the Transformers television and comic series based on the popular toy line produced by Takara and Hasbro. His original vehicle mode is a Martini Porsche 935 Turbo racing car. Self-possessed, calm, and utterly collected, Jazz is head of Special Operations, with his own dedicated roster of agents. He often gives the most dangerous assignments to himself. It's not a matter of ego—he just really is the coolest head for the toughest missions. Jazz's ease extends to whatever environment he finds himself in, no matter how weird or wonderful. He effortlessly tunes in to the local culture, assimilating and improvising, and making creative command decisions, making him an indispensable right-hand bot to Optimus Prime.

Jazz remains one of the more popular and well-remembered characters from the original series. Because of problems with trademarking the name Jazz, some later releases of Jazz are called Autobot Jazz.

Animated series

Jazz was among the Autobots who followed Optimus Prime on his mission aboard the Ark. They were attacked by Megatron's ship, the Nemesis, and crash landed on Earth, where all on board were preserved in emergency stasis. Four million years later, in 1984, a volcanic eruption awakened the Ark's computer, Teletran-I, and it repaired all on board. It reformatted Jazz in the form of an Earth race car. Jazz then became a regular character throughout the show's first two seasons acting like Optimus Prime's second in command (Ironhide and Prowl seemed to share this role with him though).

In the episode "Attack of the Autobots", he and Bumblebee were the only Autobots to avoid being brainwashed. But thanks to his new sound system and Sparkplug's attitude exchanger, the Autobots were able to be cured and the Decepticon's plans were foiled.

In the episode "The God Gambit", Cosmos collected data in space on a potential new power source, but was attacked by Astrotrain, Thrust and Starscream. Crashing on the Saturn's moon Titan, the local priests worshiped the Decepticons as "Sky Gods", but rebels were able to reactivate Cosmos and call for aid from the Autobots. Optimus Prime sent Omega Supreme along with Perceptor and Jazz. Astrotrain set himself up as the chief god of the moon and forced the natives to gather energy crystals. The trip to Titan drained Omega of most of his energy, but Perceptor and Jazz were able to gather enough crystals to reactivate Omega and defeat the three Decepticons. Vowing to not let the Autobots gain the crystals, Astrotrain set up a chain reaction destroying them. The Autobots aided the natives to escape the explosion and helped them settle in another area of the moon.

In the episode "Prime Target", the big game hunter Lord Cholmondeley captured a secret Soviet jet, leading to panic of possibly war. Cholmondeley then set his sights on the ultimate trophy, the head of Optimus Prime. In order to lure Optimus, in Cholmondeley captured the Autobots Tracks, Bumblebee, Jazz, Beachcomber, Grapple, Blaster and Inferno. Windcharger and Huffer were able to avoid being trapped. When Cosmos learned of the location Cholmondeley was keeping the captured Autobots, Optimus Prime accepted Cholmondeley's challenge to meet him alone. Although interrupted by Astrotrain and Blitzwing's attempt to ally the Decepticons with Cholmondeley, Optimus defeated the big game hunter and freed the Autobots. Cholmondeley and the stolen jet were given over to the Soviets by the Autobots as punishment for his actions.

When Starscream was exiled from the Decepticons 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.

Towards the end of 1985, Jazz was among the team of five Autobots who disguised themselves as the Stunticons in "Masquerade". (Jazz, a Porsche 935, was made to resemble Dead End, the Stunticon Porsche 928.) Penetrating the Decepticons' camp, the Autobots ran into trouble when the real Stunticons arrived, trying to prove their identities by forming Menasor. With a combination of Windcharger's magnetic powers and Mirage's illusion-creating ability, the Autobots were able to appear as Menasor too. Though the deception was soon revealed, they were still able to thwart the Decepticons' plans.

In The Transformers: The Movie, set in the year 2005, Jazz was assigned to Moonbase One along with Cliffjumper. Jazz was responsible for monitoring Decepticon activity on Cybertron using the base as a secret staging ground for planning the liberation of Cybertron. After the Autobot City invasion of Earth, Moonbase One came under attack by the planet eater, Unicron. Jazz radioed to Earth for assistance and his faint signal was received by the Autobot Blaster who relayed the distress signal to Ultra Magnus. Jazz and Cliffjumper attempted to escape, however the shuttle could not achieve escape velocity and was swallowed by Unicron. During the assault on Unicron lead by Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus, Daniel Witwicky encountered a smelting pit inside Unicron, where other Transformer-like beings were being sent to be melted into a liquid substance. Jazz, Cliffjumper, Bumblebee and Spike were about to be cast into the pit but Daniel managed to rescue them in the nick of time. Jazz and the others escaped Unicron before the planet-sized Transformer exploded from the effects of the Autobot Matrix.

During the time between the movie's release and the start of Season 3 of the TV show, Jazz's voice actor, Scatman Crothers died. The movie release was the last time that Jazz spoke. However, Jazz made minor cameos throughout the season in the episodes "Five Faces of Darkness" where he competed in a race and fought alongside Perceptor and Rodimus Prime.

In the episode "Dark Awakening", he briefly stood beside the re-incarnated Optimus Prime. In the episode "Forever is a Long Time Coming" he appeared in another race and in the episode "Call of the Primitives", he was seen for the final time. It is assumed that Jazz was left to patrol Cybertron and was around to witness its new golden age.

After the animated series ended in the U.S., Jazz appeared in animated form in the commercials for the Classic Pretenders and Action Masters.

Transformers: Headmasters

In the Japanese series, Headmasters (official the fourth season of the Transformers in the Far East), Jazz reappeared with a certain regularity in the first episodes, acting as right hand of Optimus Prime until the latter's death. In episode 4 he was operating inside Metroplex alongside Ultra Magnus, and after Trypticon and Mad Machine defeated Metroplex, he received the task to repair the computer of the Autobot mobile base. Jazz was voiced by Masato Hirano.

Marvel Comics

In the early Marvel Comics, Jazz was portrayed easily and productively making contact with humans. Marvel U.K.'s Man of Iron saw him befriending (as well as abducting) a young boy in rural England, helping the Autobots locate a lost ship under Stansham Castle; Jazz personally destroyed it to stop the Decepticons retrieving it. He was also responsible for the long-standing relationship between the Autobots and G. B. Blackrock, pledging that the Autobots would defend his property from the Decepticons in return for fuel, and battled Circuit Breaker.

Jazz passionately opposed Prowl's idea to use the Creation Matrix to create dedicated war machines to crush the Decepticons; he labelled such creations abominations. This ethically questionable move was staved off and Jazz continued to serve the Autobots well on Earth. Following the arrival of Galvatron in Target: 2006, he was captured and his mind viciously reprogrammed to make him a zombie servant. This left him incapacitated for a long while. He was eventually repaired, but soon met deactivation once more against the Underbase-powered Starscream.

Jazz's body was seen among the deactivated Autobots Ratchet was doing his best to revive in Transformers #56, "Back from the Dead".

To stop Megatron, Autobot medic Ratchet later restored Jazz as a Classic Pretender, along with Grimlock and Bumblebee. They remained on Cybertron and were an inspiration to the Autobot rebels, leading multiple raids on the Decepticons and also fighting several of the demons that lived beneath Cybertron. When a return trip to Earth was interrupted, the Classic Pretenders found themselves in front of the sleeping Primus and, after battling the Mayhem Attack Squad, witnessed him awaken. Jazz would go on a last mission as a Classic Pretender in the "Matrix Quest", heading to the moon of Vsqz to retrieve the lost Matrix, though Thunderwing got to it first. He was later among the united Autobot and Decepticon forces who opposed Unicron's assault on the planet Cybertron in 1991 (Transformers #75). Immediately prior to this, Jazz was seen as one of the few surviving Autobots in the alternate 2009 seen in the story "Rhythms of Darkness". Here he fought Galvatron to give Spike time to attach the American flag to the Deception stronghold in New York and persuade the European Coalition to call off their nuclear attack. Jazz was saved from death by the arrival of Hook, Line and Sinker, who forcibly transported Galvatron back to the "present" of the regular timeline. He briefly reappeared during the battle on the planet Ethos in the Generation 2 comic.

Jazz was also one of the main Autobots in the Earthforce unit of Marvel U.K.'s Earthforce stories. The annual story "The Magnificent Six" revealed that four million years ago, Jazz was teamed with Inferno, Ironhide, Wheeljack and Sunstreaker and had been tortured by the sadistic Decepticon Megadeath in the Stanix region. He and the others faced Megadeath once again in the present and defeated him.

Jazz would appear in the U.K. Marvel comic issue #234, "Prime's Rib!" This story is set in the near future, 1995, where Optimus Prime, Jazz and Hot Rod introduce the latest Autobot, Arcee, to the human feminists. She was met with displeasure by the humans, being called a token female and disliked for her pink color. They were then attacked by Shockwave, Fangry, Horri-Bull and Squeezeplay, who thought the Autobot would be unvieling a new weapon. The Autobots fought off the Decepticons, who escaped, but nothing seemed to please the human feminists.

Audio books

Jazz was featured in the 1985 Transformers audio books Autobots' Lightning Strike and Autobots Fight Back.

Dreamwave Productions

In 2002, Jazz returned along with his fellow Autobots when Dreamwave Productions acquired the Transformers comic license and launched a brand new continuity.

When civil war broke out on the planet Cybertron between the Autobots and Decepticon factions, Jazz joined the Autobot cause. After Decepticon leader Megatron killed the Autobot leader Sentinel Prime, a new Autobot leader was chosen by the Council of the Ancients. Jazz was present when Optronix was given the Matrix and reformatted into Optimus Prime. Three Decepticon assassins attempted to kill Optimus, but were unsuccessful. Optimus then ordered a planet-wide evacuation of Cybertron (Transformers: The War Within #1). When Shockwave led a force of Decepticons against the Autobot capitol of Iacon, Jazz was among the Autobots who defended the capitol (War Within #3).

When Megatron and Optimus Prime disappeared in an accident with a space bridge, the Autobot and Decepticon forces splintered into smaller factions. Jazz stayed with the Autobots under the leadership of Prowl. Learning that the Decepticons were testing a new mobile command base at the Praetorus Wharf, Prowl lead Cliffjumper, Gears, Jazz, Skids and Sideswipe to investigate. What they discovered was Trypticon (Transformers: The War Within - The Dark Ages #3). Only Shockwave calling the giant away to combat the Fallen saved them. When the Fallen attacked the Autobot base in order to capture Blitzwing, Jazz was among the Autobots who futilely tried to stop him.

Jazz was among the Autobots who followed Optimus Prime on his mission on board the Ark. They were attacked by Megatron's ship, the Nemesis and crash landed on Earth, where all on board were preserved in emergency stasis. In 1984, a volcanic eruption awakened the Ark's computer, Teletran-1, and it repaired all on board. It reformatted Jazz in the form of an Earth car.

Eventually, the combined forces of the Autobots on Earth and their human allies were able to capture the Decepticons. A ship called the Ark II was built to take the Cybertronians back to Cybertron, along with some human companions, but the ship exploded shortly after takeoff. The human allies were killed, but the Cybertronians were lost in the ocean, again in statis lock.

In the frozen Arctic, a man named Lazarus began resurrecting the lost Transformers and planned to control these giant metal warriors and sell their services in war to the highest bidder. The American government had recovered Optimus Prime and used him to rescue several Autobots from their Arctic prison, including Jazz. After they had recovered their friends from Lazarus, Jazz led a group of Autobots to stop the spread of Megatron's deadly virus in the Canadian Northwest territories.

As the Autobot and Decepticon war continued on Earth, an escape pod beacon drew their conflict to the Arctic. The pod contained the rogue Decepticon Scourge. The battle between the Autobots and Decepticons ceased long enough to find the new Cybertronian commander, Shockwave, had arrived in pursuit of Scourge and to arrest Optimus Prime and Megatron. Jazz was ordered by Prime to remain on Earth with a small Autobot task force.

When Ultra Magnus came to Earth claiming that the Earth-based Autobots were Cybertronian criminals, Optimus Prime surrendered and with the majority of Autobots returned to Cybertron. Jazz was left in charge of the Ark, with Brawn, Ratchet, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Wheeljack and Windcharger assigned to him.

Returning to Earth with the Combaticons, Starscream reformatted them into Earth-style vehicles and attacked the Autobots remaining on Earth. Forming Bruticus, the Combaticons defeated Jazz, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Wheeljack and Windcharger. Only Ratchet and Brawn escaped capture, but as they made their way back to the Ark, they discovered its defenses on automatic, and had to fight their way inside. Bruticus followed them and Ratchet had to destroy the Ark in failed attempt to destroy Bruticus. Starscream eventually captured Ratchet and Brawn, right as an Autobot shuttle and Sunstorm arrived on Earth (Transformers: Generation One vol. III #1).

Jazz, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were repaired by the Earth Defense Command. In return, Jazz commanded Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Bumper in investigating the Insecticons for the Earth Defense Command. Eventually they rejoined Windcharger and Wheeljack,and all rejoined Ratchet on board the Autobot ship Orion (Transformers: Generation One vol. III #9).

Landing in Alaska, Jazz and the other Autobots met Prowl's team back from Cybertron. They were shown the site of construction for the new Autobot City (Transformers: Generation One vol. III #10). Brawn, Grapple, Hoist, Jazz, Omega Supreme, Prowl, Red Alert, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were among the Autobots who continued work on Autobot City (Transformers: Generation One vol. III #13).

Devil's Due Publishing

In this reimagining of the Generation One story, the Ark was discovered by the terrorist Cobra Organization, and all the Transformers inside were reformatted into Cobra vehicles remotely controlled by the Televipers. In this storyline Jazz turned into a Cobra S.T.U.N.. In the sequel, he ended up being warped to the 1970s, where he was automatically reformatted into a pimpmobile.

IDW Publishing

Jazz appeared in issue #2 of Megatron Origin. In this story, set on ancient Cybertron he was a member of an Autobot security force in the city of Kaon. His squad was hunting the operators of gladiatorial contests in the degenerate slums, particularly Megatron.

In IDW Publishing's The Transformers: Infiltration mini-series, Jazz is part of an infiltration unit consisting of Ratchet, Ironhide, Wheeljack, Bumblebee and Sunstreaker, led by Prowl. He has not played a major role thus far, other than to accompany the other Autobots to the Decepticon base to watch the duel between Megatron and a super-powered Starscream, saving Bumblebee from Runabout at one point.

In the follow-up series, The Transformers: Escalation, after the supposed demise of Sunstreaker, Jazz and Wheeljack tracked down his body — only to be temporarily disabled by the advanced weaponry of the Machination (although Jazz' pride took more of a dent). Since then he has accompanied Optimus Prime to Brasnya to track down Megatron and his human facsimile — only to wind up in battle with Skywarp and Astrotrain. He and Wheeljack managed to put Skywarp to flight, but he promised to return with reinforcements. They then confronted Megatron (who had nearly killed Optimus Prime). On Prime's orders, they focused fire on Megatron long enough for Prime to recover and drive off the Decepticon leader, although they were prevented from dealing a killing blow by the appearance of Skywarp and Thundercracker.

New Avengers/Transformers

Bumblebee, Jazz, Optimus Prime, Prowl and Ratchet are in the new miniseries New Avengers/Transformers crossover by Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing in 2007.

Other Media

Jazz appears in the Robot Chicken episode "Junk in the Trunk" voiced by Seth Green. In the final part of the segment, he adds in on Optimus' moral to get regular prostate exams before it's too late.

Toys

Generation 1 Jazz (1984)

The toy that was to become the Autobot Jazz was originally released as part of the Japanese Diaclone series in 1983. He was later released in 1984 by Hasbro in the U.S. under the Transformers brand.

According to original tech spec notes written by Bob Budiansky found at Iacon One in 2006, the original name for Jazz was Jazzz. Original script scans from the DVD box sets show that the writing staff also used the name Jazzz. The name Jazzz also appears in early Transformers coloring books.

A special variant of Jazz was given away as a promotional item from Cookie Crisp cereal in 1985. This version of Jazz is nearly the same as the one sold in stores, except it came in a brown cardboard box and the stickers had the words Martini (misspelled as Martinii to avoid paying out royalties) and Porsche removed from them.

The 1984 version of Jazz was re-issued in Europe in the early 1990s and Japan in 2001. A special "Electrum" version, covered in gold chrome-plating, was also released in 2001, commemorating the cartoon episode "The Golden Lagoon" (in which the Transformers coat themselves with a metallic gold substance and become temporarily impervious to their various weapons).

In 1987, Takara released two Targetmaster exclusives to the Japanese market. (movie characters Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, Scourge, and Cyclonus never became Targetmasters in Japanese stories.) Of the two, Stepper was a repainted version of Jazz with a color scheme that inverted his white and black parts, and used gold in place of silver. He was partnered with Nebulon, an identical version of Cyclonus's Targetmaster partner, Nightstick. In 2004, Stepper was re-issued both in America and Japan, with Hasbro giving him the American name Ricochet. Nightstick retains his American name.

Generation 1 Classic Pretender Jazz (1989)

Jazz was released as a Classic Pretender in 1989. (As an interesting sidenote, in Dreamwave's More Than Meets the Eye, an in-universe encylcopedia of all of the characters, Bumblebee notes that Spike would have thought that Jazz's Pretender shell would have looked "different".)

Legends Jazz (1989)

A K Mart store exclusive of Jazz, essentially his Pretender car without the shell and its accessories.

Generation 1 Action Master Jazz (1990)

Jazz was released as an Action Master in 1990.

Generation 2 Jazz (1993)

Jazz was one of the Autobot cars to be released on Generation 2, with a slight repaint and weapons change. Jazz appeared in his Generation 2 form in the short lived UK Generation 2 comic series. This series also printed a bio for Jazz where he had the new motto "Decepticons keep bad company — each other!"

Generation 2 Laser Cycle Jazz (unreleased)

Jazz was also to be released as a Laser Cycle, repainted from Road Rocket, but the figure was never released.

A few prototypes of the toy in package were made, and have sold for over $1300 in auction.

Smallest Transformers Meister

A miniature version of Meister/Jazz were also released in Japan. Instead of saying Martini on the car it says Meister.

Universe Spy Changer Jazz (2004)

Transformers: Universe Spy Changer in 2004 — a repaint of Robots in Disguise Spy Changer Side Burn painted to resemble Generation 1 Jazz. Initially sold exclusively at KB Toys, then repackaged for discount chains. Two packaging versions of this toy existed — a KB version which did not attribute the toy to Universe and was packaged in vehicle form, and a version for discount stores which did and was packaged in robot mode.

His function is Special Operations Expert. Clever, cool, and adaptable, Autobot Jazz takes on the riskiest missions with trademark flair, dazzling enemies with spectacular sound and light displays. His vast knowledge of Earth culture makes his especially valuable in Earth operations. Equipped with photon rifle, flame-thrower, full-spectrum beacon and 180db stereo speakers.

Binaltech/Alternators Jazz/Meister (2004 & 2008)

Jazz (Meister in Japan) was released as a Binaltech/Alternators toy in 2004, with the new alternative form of a Mazda RX-8. He was released in both white and red colors, with fans referring to the red version as Zoom-Zoom (A reference to the jingle used in Mazda commercials). Binaltech Meister was released again in 2008 with a Transformers 2007 movie Jazz silver paint color and slight mold tweaks that were found on the Binaltech BT-13 Laserwave. This new release is called Argent Meister

Initially released in small numbers in 2004, Jazz was re-released in 2006 in new packaging. Due to trademarking, Jazz toys are generally prefixed with the word "Autobot", to reinforce Hasbro's rights to the name in the "Toys and Sporting Goods" trademark category. However, Aaron Archer has stated that since Hasbro had already used the "Autobot" prefix for the two previous Alternators figures, "Autobot Hound" and "Autobot Tracks", they instead elected to use the Japanese name rather than repeat the same pattern with "Autobot Jazz". Additionally, there was still some optimism that Porsche might change their mind and grant them the license to do an actual "Jazz" as a Porsche. As an inside joke, when Hasbro was describing their new Meister toy on their web site they stated "Incredible detail and 1:24 scale jazzes up the action!"

CybCon Jazz (2005)

An exclusive toy available at CybCon 2005 was Jazz. This original molded toy was supposed to represent Jazz's Cybertronian form before coming to Earth.

Titanium Jazz (2006)

In 2006, a 3-inch non-transforming Jazz figure was released in the Transformers: Titanium line. This version of Jazz resembled the Alternators Jazz in shape, but was painted more like the Generation 1 toy. (White versions of 2004's Alternators and Binaltech Jazz were popularly customized this way by collectors and fans of the Generation 1 Jazz.)

Autobot Jazz fell in love with Earth the first time he heard the music. His huge data bank on Earth culture has made him the right-hand bot to Optimus Prime, as well as the ideal choice for many of the most dangerous undercover assignments. A courageous, cool, and capable warrior and spy, he is always the first to volunteer for any mission.

Universe Classic Series Legends Jazz (2008)

A small figure based on the animated series appearance of Generation 1 Jazz.

Transformers Encore Reissue Jazz (2008)

Released by Takara Tomy in Japan in 2008, the original G1 Jazz was released with a new face mold. Also, some of the original stickers were applied by the factory to give the figure a clean look where fans sometimes applied the stickers off center

2007 Transformers movie

Jazz appears in the 2007 Transformers live-action film directed by Michael Bay. When the movie producers unveiled the final list of Transformers characters appearing in the movie, Jazz was described as having a love of style, with a hip-hop personality. Using a fluid capoeira inspired style and can be seen transforming using a windmill type dance move in his first scene. Jazz's look also pays homage to G1, retaining his trademark "visor" as well as front-chassis chest and wheel wells in his feet. Also, his transformation to vehicle mode. Jazz's alternate mode is a silver/gray customized hardtop Pontiac Solstice GXP, similar to the weekend racer concept car. Jazz's weapons include a shield and a shield-mounted machine gun. He also possesses a type of electro-magnet in his right arm, which he uses to disarm humans of their guns without causing them injury, curiously leaving jewelry and electronics unaffected. One weapon considered for Jazz was a plasma cannon that combined with his shield, shown in concept art by Hasbro at BotCon 2007.

Jazz is the smallest of the Autobots. Michael Bay stated in an early interview that Jazz stands 13 feet tall , however the scale of his Deluxe toy suggests he would stand closer to 15 feet tall. This is confirmed by his profile in the second issue of the Transformers U.K. Magazine, where it is stated he stands 15 feet 7 inches tall, weighs 1.8 tons and has a maximum speed of 400 miles per hour. The official guide to the Transformers video game also says he's 15 feet tall. Jazz died near the end af the movie. Megatron picked him up, and Jazz said " You wanna piece of me?" Megatron then replied with "No, I want two." Megatron then ripped Jazz in half.

The vehicles used for Bumblebee, Ironhide, Jazz and Ratchet were put on display by General Motors at the 2007 Detroit River Walk Festival a little over a week before the U.S. release of the film.

Titan Books

The Titan Transformers U.K. magazine would reveal Jazz's role in the departure of the Allspark from Cybertron. When it was jettisoned into space he, Ironhide and Ratchet hit the pursuing Megatron with a tractor beam, dragging him back to Cybertron. They were no match for his firepower, but the Decepticon leader, realizing they were just stalling him, called in Devastator. He proved impervious to their firepower, and seemingly eliminated them all with a foldspace warhead, with Megatron commenting they were "lost in space".

Jazz appeared in issue #6 of the Titan Transformers magazine. Clocker and Jazz were being pursued by Bonecrusher, with Jazz half-dead due to not protecting his Spark Core properly - he would've been fully dead if Clocker hadn't saved him. Clocker ordered him to flee while he fought the enemy - the condition Jazz was in, "you're more hindrance than help to me". Clocker's shots barely affected Bonecrusher and by the time reinforcements arrived, he had been killed.

Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday

Jazz appeared in the prequel novel Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday. His character was close to his G1 incarnation's, being continually wisecracking and easygoing. He was part of Prime's Autobot team searching for the Allspark. With Prime and Bumblebee on the surface, Ironhide and Jazz battled the Decepticons, but Jazz was badly damaged by Bonecrusher, only being saved by Ratchet's volley of fire from the Ark. In the final battle, Jazz fought Frenzy, knocking him out before helping Ironhide against Bonecrusher, but was unable to stop Starscream from destroying the human vessel Ghost-1.

Movie plot

Arriving on Earth at the same time as Optimus Prime, Ironhide and Ratchet, Jazz's protoform lands in Dodger Stadium then re-appears near the Casa De Cadillac car dealership (Sherman Oaks, CA). Jazz jumps off the roof of the car shop and quickly scans a modified Pontiac Solstice before meeting up with the other Autobots at Bumblebee's location.

The Autobots then return to Sam's house and retrieve the glasses whilst attempting to hide from Sam's parents, which results in his mother's and father's prized gardens being destroyed by Prime's massive feet and Ratchet (Jazz in the comic adaptation) cutting off the neighborhood's power after accidentally colliding with an electric transformer (which they blame on an earthquake). Unfortunately, that same evening a secret government organization, Sector 7, arrests Sam Witwicky, Mikaela Banes, and captures Bumblebee. As the four remaining Autobots debated their next move after Bumblebee's capture the previous night, Jazz showed the most concern for Bumblebee.

Jazz plays a large role in the final battle: when Bumblebee is unable to fight, he provides cover despite being outnumbered three to one. He fights against Brawl in the final battle along with Ironhide and Ratchet. He then fights against the Decepticon leader, Megatron, in the final battle. He orders Ironhide and Ratchet to fall back, however he decides to stand his ground in order to protect the humans running away. Despite his efforts on trying to injure Megatron, he is carried atop a tall building and viciously torn in half by the Decepticon leader after mocking him (making the mistake of saying "You want a piece of me!?"). Despite Ironhide and Ratchet's best efforts, Jazz does not survive. After Megatron's death by Sam, Prime and the remaining Autobots mourn for Jazz. The film does not make it known what Optimus does with the remains of Jazz that he held in his arms. The screenwriters chose Jazz to die as they felt he was the most likeable character after Optimus and Bumblebee, but they felt a tight budget meant not enough screentime was spent on making his death emotionally effective.

Darius McCrary, Jazz's voice actor, also hinted at the film's L.A. premiere that Jazz might return. However, director Michael Bay later stated on his forum that Jazz will stay dead (although he himself has stated that he will intentionally leak false information about the sequel). A silver Pontiac Solstice GXP has been spotted on the set of Transformers 2, possibly hinting that Jazz will return, Roberto Orci has reported that jazz his not returning In the mobile phone version of Transformers: The Game, Jazz was brought back by Ratchet using the last piece of the Allspark. In the console versions of Transformers: The Game, Jazz is killed by Devastator and not by Megatron in the Autobot storyline. In the Decepticon storyline, he is killed by Barricade.

Movie toys

Movie Legends Autobot Jazz (2007)

Released as part of the first wave of movie legends toys, this 3 inch long Pontiac Solstice is 1/52 scale to the real vehicle.

Movie Cyber Slammers Autobot Jazz (2008)

A Scout Class toy designed for younger children, with a very simple transformation and a pull back motor. The upper portion of the vehicle pops up into robot mode when it hits an object.

Movie Fast Action Battlers Ion Blast Autobot Jazz (2007)

A Deluxe-sized toy with simplified transformation for younger children.

Also released in a redeco as Smokescreen.

Movie Deluxe Class Autobot Jazz (2007)

A detailed Deluxe-sized toy. This toy is 14 centimeters long in vehicle mode. Features Automorph technology and comes with a telescoping sword (officially, though the "blade" visually resembles a rifle barrel). With a real Solstice measuring 399 centimeters long, this toy is about 1/28 scale. With a robot mode height of 16 centimeters, Jazz would stand 15 feet tall. Deluxe Class Autobot Jazz was heavily criticized by some fans for poor arm detail and articulation in robot mode.

This toy was sold individually in general retail, and in a special 3-pack at Sam's Club which included Movie Deluxe Bonecrusher, Brawl and Jazz.

Movie Deluxe Class Final Battle Jazz (2007)

A redeco and slight remold of the Deluxe Jazz toy, designed with blue and black battle damage to resemble his final moments in the film when he fights (and is killed by) Megatron. Unlike the other Deluxe Class toys in the series, Final Battle Jazz is packaged in robot mode and with a movie accurate weapon.

Movie Deluxe Class Autobot Jazz Redeco (2007)

A Target exclusive, repainted in Generation 1-style white with racing stripes and decals. The bio on the toy states that Jazz was rebuilt by Ratchet after the fight against Megatron with a new, more eye-catching paint job. It is unknown if this toy will be tied in to a movie sequel. This package description hints at Jazz's possible resurrection.

Movie Deluxe Class Autobot Jazz Repaint (2008)

A Target exclusive, packaged in robot mode and inside a clear, cylindrical package. Features light blue highlights on parts of the robot's body to simulate the Allspark's effects.

Movie Premium Deluxe Class Autobot Jazz (2008)

A redeco of the Deluxe Jazz with metallic paint.

Movie Legends Jazz redeco (2008)

A redeco of Legends class Jazz, with blue windows. Comes in a 2-pack with Legends Bonecrusher.

Movie Legends Battle Jazz (2008)

A redeco of Legends Jazz with blue windows and black to repersent battle damage. Comes in a 2-pack with Ice Megatron.

Non-transforming merchandise

Movie Robot Replicas Autobot Jazz (2007)

A poseable, non-transforming action figure equipped with a Crescent Cannon that can be attached on either arm. Compared to other toy variants, this figure is arguably the closest in resembling Jazz's film counterpart in robot mode.

Transformers: Animated

In December 2007 drawings were leaked on the internet of Jazz's robot appearance in the Transformers: Animated television series. Jazz is a trained ninja, and wields a pair of Nunchaku in battle.

Animated series

Jazz is the second-in-command of the Cybertron Elite Guard. He came to Earth alongside Ultra Magnus and Sentinel Prime. He was the first of them to find out that humans aren't as contagious as he thought when he encountered Sari Sumdac. He also uses Cybertronian Ninja moves in battle. He is more advanced than Prowl, though he is still impressed by Prowl's competency. His overall personality reflects that of his G1 incarnation and he's quite open-minded when it concerns humans and their culture. In his own words, "Any species that can come up with a sweet ride like this, can't be all bad."

Toys

Animated Deluxe Autobot Jazz (2008)

The basic to-scale transforming figure. Though lacking an Auto-conversion transformation feature, he has light-piping through his light-blue visor, and carries two gray nunchaku.

Was first announced at the UK Toyfair in 2008.

Animated Bumper Battler Jazz (2008/not released yet)

A simple childrens toy of Jazz that pulls back and pops up.

Animated Bumper Battler Stealth Ninja Jazz (2008/not released yet)

First mentioned on a Walmart computer listing in July of 2008.

Transformers: Timelines

This Jazz is an evil version of the Generation 1 character.

According to his tech specs, Jazz and his brother Ricochet serve as Optimus Prime's powerful and merciless bodyguards.

Jazz's speech mannerisms are based upon those of Mr. T.

Fun Publications

Jazz appeared in the 2008 April Fool's comic by Fun Publications.

Jazz appeared as a member of Optimus Prime's forces in the "Shattered Glass" story.

Toys

Timelines Jazz (2008)

A remold of Cybertron Crosswise and Smokescreen with a new head. The toy of Jazz is 13 centimeters long in vehicle mode, whereas a real Bugatti Veyron is 447 centimeters long, so the toy is at a scale of about 1:34. The toy stands about 14 centimeters tall in robot mode, which means Jazz would stand about 481 centimeters (15 feet 10 inches) tall.