Seawing (G1)

Seawing is a Decepticon Seacon from the Generation 1 continuity family.

I'm Batmant— oh wait, not that manta.

Seawing is an expert "phantom" of the deep. An ominous, fear-cloaked presence; he glides down silently behind friend or foe alike, just on the edge of vision. A true terror in the darkness, he thrills to his own ghost-like power and is always ready to strike. Seawing makes no secret of his desire for command, the only question is how high he truly means to rise. He believes his ability to inspire fear makes him uniquely suited for the role of leader and patiently prepares himself for that day. Seawing is intelligent, relentless, and takes real joy in his work. His only real weakness lies in his optics, tuned specifically to the dark sea depths... like all good spooks, specters and ghosts, Seawing hates bright lights.

Seawing can combine with his fellow Seacons and form Piranacon.

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

When Shockwave's Earthbound Decepticons established their new undersea base, Seawing and the other Seacons were summoned from Cybertron to work on the base's fortifications as they were uniquely suited for underwater activity. They got more than they bargained for when the super-Decepticon Galvatron came a'calling. In the battle, Seawing and Jawbreaker managed to momentarily stun Galvatron, but in the end even the combined might of Piranacon couldn't beat him. Enemy Action!

At some point, the Aerialbots shot down Dreadwing over the ocean while he was carrying a vital power source. Optimus Prime and the Autobot Powermasters descended to retrieve it but were ambushed by Seawing and the Seacons, who had the upper hand in their home environment. Seawing managed to land a blast on Prime's leg, paralyzing it, though the Autobot retaliated by bashing Seawing on the head with a large rock. Prime then ordered Hi-Q and the other Nebulans to take the power source and return to the surface, but with that gone the Seacons decided that rather than press their advantage against the Autobots, they couldn't afford to let Hi-Test and Throttle drown and rescued them instead. Dreadwing Down!

Seawing is the one with sea wings.

After Shockwave was deposed, the new commander Ratbat kept the Seacons on retainer for another mission. The Seacons were commissioned to hunt down a sunken shipwreck in the Caribbean near the Decepticon undersea base, a wreck which supposedly contained two Autobot cassettes with valuable information encoded on them. They successfully obtained the treasure chest containing the cassettes and, despite a brief theft by the Autobot Blaster, managed to recapture the prize and return it to their leader. Club Con!

It's really hard to find fully-colored Seacons in the US material.

Unfortunately for them, this led to a sequence of events whereby the treacherous Starscream attempted to acquire the power of the Underbase for himself, first summoning Scorponok and the Semper Tyrannis to Ratbat's base without first warning him. The Seacons formed Piranacon to confront this unexpected visitor and both sides were wary of each other after that, eventually leading to a Decepticon Civil War, just as Starscream planned. The Seacons protected their leader Ratbat from the fuel-supping fangs of Bomb-Burst during the skirmish. Cold War! The Autobots and Decepticons of Earth were ultimately forced to unite in order to stop Starscream from seizing ultimate power. Their forces were scattered to several key cities they knew Starscream planned to attack, with the Seacons being stationed in Manhattan. When their target was pushed into the waters underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, Seawing and his teammates attempted to swarm him, only to be destroyed in a single energy discharge. Dark Star

Earthforce

Sometime later, Megatron traveled back in time through a Flashback Doorway and possessed the body of Seacon leader Snaptrap during the Underbase Saga, in an attempt to save them in the past to bolster his troops in the present. He failed due to the intervention of Prowl, and the Seacons met their fate as before. Flashback!

Transformers Comic-Magazin

The characteristics of Seawing and the other "Small Targetmaster Seacons" were reviewed by Optimus Prime and Bumblebee in a simulation watched by Goldbug. Memories of Bumblebee

Classics

After the Seacons were revived following their destruction at the hands of Starscream, Snaptrap rose quickly in the ranks of the Decepticons under Bludgeon's command. As a result, Overbite was named sub-commander of the Seacons, and frequently governed the team in Snaptrap's absence. Seawing coveted the position for himself, but for the moment he was content to sit and wait for Overbite to make a mistake before acting. Seacons Timelines Profiles

When Bludgeon detected an apparent traitor in his organization, he assembled the Seacons to face the betrayer. Unfortunately, their target was Hun-Grrr, leader of the Terrorcons, and Terrorcons stick together. Literally. As Abominus formed inside the Decepticon armory, Seawing and the others took aim at the giant's weak points, but were unable to break up the combination robot. The Seacons then switched tactics, forming their own giant warrior, Piranacon. Overbite remained separate from his fellows and, after the initial bout of grappling and melee, lept into the fray in his stormsurge cannon mode, blasting Abominus in the face with a foot-wide blast of corrosive fluid.

The enraged behemoth continued fighting back, knocking Piranacon to the floor. Nautilator slipped free from the combination form and joined Overbite behind Abominus. The smaller warriors were beneath Abominus's notice until they concentrated their firepower on his lower leg, bringing him down. As Overbite and Nautilator reconnected with Piranacon, the latter shifted into weapons mode and further disabled Abominus with a blast from his torpedo cannon. One final swipe from Piranacon's coral blade, and Abominus was finished.

Believing the imminent battle with Megatron's Decepticon forces was compromised, Bludgeon summoned the Seacons to his command centre to prep for the attack. Bludgeon was so enthralled with analyzing the attack pattern of Megatron's incoming ships that he failed to notice Seawing remove his katana from his side. The real traitors, the Seacons formed Piranacon and obliterated Bludgeon using their mass compression cannon before alerting Megatron's forces that the area was secure. At Fight's End

As the universe was obliterated, Seawing was aboard the Talon which was pulled into an alternate universe. The Talon crashed on prehistoric Earth where the ambient energon radiation required the Seacons to adopt experimental energon-absorbing armor. Shattered Time When the Decepticons detected three stasis pods, Seawing and Dirge were sent to shoot down the Autobots' sky-sled, allowing Megatron to reach the pods first. The pair returned to Megatron's side, and were blasted by Ultra Magnus after the three new Decepticons failed to terminate the Autobots. Shattered Expectations

The Decepticons pursued the Autobots to a chasm, where they watched Megatron take on Ultra Magnus and be defeated. They climbed to the bottom of the chasm to retrieve their fallen leader and found a giant face hewn into the rock. It cheered Megatron up immensely once they dug him out of the rubble. Shattered Paths Seawing and the others watched Megatron utilize the equipment in the cavern they'd found. The Seacons later attempted to retrieve the "Maximal" energy purifier, and merged into God Neptune so they could fight off Magnaboss. Shattered Hope Seawing spied on the Maximals, enabling Megatron to intercept them just as they found the Origin Matrix. Shattered Balance Combining into God Neptune once more, the Seacons battled the Maximals until they were all sucked into a dimensional rift thanks to Ultra Mammoth. Shattered Destiny

G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers

In the form of Piranacon, Seawing and the Seacons battled Predaking in the Gladiator Zone before joining Serpent O.R.'s new army of Decepticons. The Art of War #2 Under Serpent O.R.'s command, Piranacon first helped the Predacons and Stunticons capture a few Autobots and Joes, then take down Omega Supreme during an attack on an Autobot peace ceremony. The Art of War #3 The combiner was defeated when Optimus Prime slammed Sixshot into his face. The Art of War #4

2005 IDW continuity

• First Appearance: Megatron Origin #2; Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #12 (modern era)

Seawing was among the crowd cheering Megatron's first pit-fight in the Forge. Megatron Origin #2

After the war concluded, Seawing was part of the Decepticon force that conquered Temptoria. They didn't have long to wait before the Lost Light crew arrived and roughed them up, liberating the planet. Before & After Imprisoned on board the Lost Light and returned to Cybertron, the group was released by Ravage to interrupt Megatron's trial. While the guards were distracted, Seawing rushed to his leader's side with a teleport pack, but Megatron had accepted his fate and refused to take the opportunity to escape, leaving a confused Seawing to be taken down by the Autobots. Predestination: A Beginner's Guide

Commercial appearances

Seawing and the Seacons attacked a M.A.R.S. Industries submarine deep underwater. They then combined into Piranacon to wreak havoc in a city, with Seawing swapping positions with Skalor from being the gestalt's right arm to his gun during the attack. Seacons commercial

Games

Transformers Legends

Seawing would have been a marine scientist if not for the war, and had to learn to hate Autobots to survive as part of the Decepticon army. Using a storm as cover, Seawing and the other Seacons attempted to steal oil from an off-shore oil platform. Upon arrival, they were confronted by Waverider and Seaspray. Once the weather subsided, the Seacons were forced to retreat as Autobot reinforcements could now come to aid defend the platform. Deadly Depths

Transformers: Battle Tactics

Seawing participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him!

He was a "Rare" character who could be recruited by collecting 160 units of Cybermetal, and 95 units of Transmetal. Transformers: Battle Tactics

Transformers Roleplaying Game

Tentakil was a member of the Seacons. Decepticon Directive

Toys

The Transformers

"Have you ever ran above rocks? Now, imagine that with my legs..."

• Seawing (Seacon, 1988)

• Team ID number: SE2
• Accessories: left & right venom lasers, tripod rifle, connector, weapon stand base

Released in the fifth year of the original Transformers toyline (fourth year in the European line), Seawing transforms into a robotic manta ray... with legs. His two "venom lasers" can be mounted on the undersides of his "wings". He also has a third "dual proton blaster" Targetmaster mode,^[1] which can be mounted on the weapon stand formed from the "tripod rifle" and other accessories.

As a "Scramble City"-style combiner, he can form an arm or leg to any compatible robot combination, or the hand-held cannon to any combiner equipped with Piranacon's unique fists (minus the whole tripod-rifle assembly, of course), though his nominal placement is as the left arm to Piranacon.

This toy was concurrently sold in Takara's Super-God Masterforce line as Kraken.

• More information on Seawing at TFU.info

• Piranacon (Gift set, 1988)

• Accessories: left & right venom lasers, tripod rifle, connector, weapon stand base

Seawing was also available in the Seacon box set, along with his teammates Snaptrap, Overbite, Skalor, and Tentakil; Naultilator was not included in the set. All of the toys were identical to their individual releases.

Beast Wars

A codpiece made of actual cod.

• God Neptune (Muilti-pack, 1998)

• ID number: D-21

Terrormander was repurposed as Seawing in Beast Wars Shattered Glass.

A redeco of the Generation 1 Seacon Seawing, Terrormander transforms into a robotic manta ray with legs. However, he lacks the rifles and stand-pieces of the original version of the mold. Since he uses the "Scramble City" style of combination, he can form the arm or leg to any combined robot of similar construction, but his nominal place is as the right leg of God Neptune.

He was available only as part of the God Neptune set, packed with his teammates Halfshell, Coelagon, Scylla, and Sea Phantom, sold under the Beast Wars II banner.

For unknown reasons, a great number of unboxed God Neptune sets—lacking all of their accessories, including combiner parts—ended up available on the secondary market. These went for considerably less than the "complete" releases, naturally.

• More information on Terrormander at TFU.info

Timelines

...what a wonderful phrase!

• Piranacon (Seacon giftset, 2008)

• Accessories: left & right blasters, long rifle, connector, weapon stand base

A redeco of the Generation 1 mold above, Timelines Seawing was available exclusively as part of a Transformers Collectors' Club set containing all six Seacons in new color schemes. His weapon mode is now a "Dual-Photo Cannon" He is once again depicted as the left arm of the combined super robot.

This toy was originally intended as a Walmart exclusive set of Energon-series Terrorcons, but was shelved due to a lack of retailer interest. The team were going to be called the "Piranhacons", with their combined form as "Piranhaking", but this other Seawing's name would have remained "Seawing".

• More information on Timelines Seawing at TFU.info

Transformers (2010)

Police they say my mother too
A fish from ocean blue
Above my head that night

• Decepticon Piranacon (Multi-pack, 2010)

• Accessories: left & right blasters, long rifle, connector, weapon stand base

All six Seacons were released as a "shared exclusive" for several online toy merchants (BigBadToyStore in particular), in... well, close to its original colors. Unlike the previous 1988 version gift set, the set now includes all the Seacons: Snaptrap, Overbite, Seawing, Skalor, Tentakil, and Nautilator.

Seawing is one of the toys in the set with the fewest/subtlest changes, with the aqua plastics now a slightly brighter shade than before. The stickers, now pre-applied, also appear to have been remastered after a fashion, as new highlights and gradients have been added to almost all stickers, as well as just being remarkably crisp and vibrant in general. Previous screwed-on connectors have been changed to riveted points.

Just like the previous use of the mold set, certain degradations of the mold are very obvious, although the 5mm holes and pegs have been readjusted somewhat from the much degraded state they were in on the Timelines release. The pegs and holes on all figures still are not exact fits in all cases, however.

The set is packaged in a way reminiscent of the Hasbro Masterpiece-style transparent display box. The toys are fully combined in Piranacon mode, holding Overbite's Targetmaster mode in his right hand and Snaptrap's newly-chromed "incendiary sword" in the left. The set also includes seven metallic-finish bio cards (the seventh being for Piranacon).

• More information on 2010 Seawing at TFU.info

Kre-O

Some call it an alternate mode, some call it falling flat on your face.

• Seawing (Kreon Micro-Changer, 2013)

• Collection: Collection 3
• Bag number: ***** 61
• Accessories: logo brick, scoped pistol, curved blade
• Known designers: Ed Masiello (Hasbro)

As part of the third wave of blindpacked Kre-O Micro-Changers, Seawing is a Kreon that can be rebuilt into a manta ray.

This Micro-Changer assortment was the last one to appear at Target, with later waves showing up only at Toys"R"Us or drug/discount stores.

• More information on Seawing at TFU.info

• Seawing (Kreon Micro-Changer, 2017)

• Collection: Collection 3
• Accessories: logo plate, scoped pistol, curved blade

In 2017, the Collection 3 Micro-Changers were re-released in a whole new production run, first appearing at Walgreens stores in the US, later showing up at Dollar General. These releases use the almost-entirely-retooled 2015 Kreon (making most parts incompatible with older Kreons), with slightly-differently-hued plastics than the originals. Seawing's got a fair few changes to his tampographs, including changing the medium-gray on his chest to black, changing the gray on his legs to metallic silver, painting the "eyes" on his legs yellow, and losing the black shoulder-paint and yellow "eyes" on the back of his helmet.

Sadly, this release has no individual-identification code on the bag, requiring you to use the feel-through-the-bag method or just buy blind and hope.

Generations Selects

Who do you think you are? You should kneel, I’m the star! You are nothing but a parody; I’ll find you a good role in a tragedy! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!

• Seacons Kraken (Deluxe, 2020)

• Release date: February 29, 2020
• Hasbro ID number: TT-GS02
• Accessories: 2 pistols, cleaver, combiner hand/gun mode handle, hand gap filler/gun, laser blaster.

A TakaraTomy-initiated addition to the Generations Selects series, "Seacons Kraken" is an extensive retooling of Power of the Primes Deluxe Class Terrorcon Cutthroat (itself an extensive retool of Deluxe Class Dinobot Swoop), transforming from a robotic manta ray-monster to a robot.

Just as with his original toy, he is able to form any limb for any Combiner Wars-style super robot, with his nominal place as the left arm to King Poseidon, plus he also retains his artillery mode, which can again be used as a hand-held cannon by compatible combiners. Like the other Generations Selects Seacons, KRaken has newly-tooled combiner hands with individually-posable fingers, which also form the base of the Targetmaster-style gun mode, with the handle being a Combiner Wars styled port that plugs in to the hand provided in this set. The hand can be plugged into the back of the tail in beast mode, or as the back of the feet in the combined mode, whilst Turtler's feet components are at the front. He also has a new weird multi-bladed scyther/cleaver thing, which combines with the other Seacons' melee weapons to form King Poseidon's oversized trident-sword.

Kraken was released as a TakaraTomy Mall exclusive in Japan, as part of the second of three mini-waves of Seacons alongside Lobclaw. The Seacons were also available via Hasbro Pulse in the U.S. and Canada.

This mold was later redecoed to make Terrormander.

Notes

• Seawing's motto for his Timelines release was changed to "I shall not jump the shark, for I will cheat the carrot", in a toe-curlingly embarrassing attempt by Fun Publications' Lanny Lathem to propagate a phrase he made up. It means you get your reward without being taken advantage of, like a race horse stealing a dangling carrot without having to run for it. It makes sense, as Seawing wants to take Overbite's position in the Seacons by waiting for the shark to trip over his own ambitions. So he's not gonna...you know, jump the shark, he'll...Yeah. It'd work a lot better if anybody but Lanny Lathem knew what the phrase meant.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Seawing (シーウイング Shīuingu)
• French: Aileron (Canada)

References