Silverbolt (AU)

"Don't look down, look straight ahead."

Silverbolt is scared of heights. It is this one trait, above all else, that determines the rest of his behavior. He projects the image of a brave, grimly determined warrior, befitting his role as Aerialbot Commander. In truth, he is just that. But it is a constant struggle for him to maintain this persona, to never falter or show any sign of emotional weakness to those he leads. Helped by the sleek, aerodynamic jet form that makes him appear to be a natural-born flyer, Silverbolt knows that everything about him belies even a hint of the existence of his phobia. And, in fact, no one is aware he has this problem, except Optimus Prime. It is for that reason the Autobot Commander selected Silverbolt to lead the Aerialbots - Optimus figured if Silverbolt felt responsible for the welfare of others, he'd have less time to worry about himself. Given that Silverbolt is an excellent leader, Optimus was right.

In Concorde jet mode, Silverbolt can reach Mach 1.9 and has a range of 4500 miles. He carries on his underside an electrostatic battery, which allows him to strip electrons from air molecules as he's flying and store them. He can then direct this stored charge through his nose cone as a powerful bolt of electricity. He's capable of storing and releasing up to 150,000 volts at a time. He's especially effective in lightning storms, due to their abundance of charged particles. He carries an electrostatic discharger rifle in robot mode that has the same capability. He combines with the other Aerialbots to form the giant robot known as Superion.

As long as Silverbolt is busy leading or fighting, he's fine, but when he's simply flying, particularly by himself, his fear of heights begins to manifest itself. The effect can be devastating; he might start flying wildly, go into a tailspin or even crash.

Canonical/Pre-MUX/Theme History:
Silverbolt was constructed out of a low-flying cargo transport vessel, which was modified to resemble an Earthen Concord SST jet liner. He was later given life by Vector Sigma, along with the other Aerialbots, then returned to Earth with the Autobots via Omega Supreme. It was soon discovered that Silverbolt had a crippling weakness: an intense fear of heights, due to his low-altitude origins. Conversely, he was the only Aerialbot who wasn't a complete jerk. Because of this, Optimus made him commander of the Aerialbots, reasoning that it would give him something to worry about other than his acrophobia. He proved worthy of this role when he persuaded his mutinous teammates to help the Autobots protect humanity, by showing them how Sparkplug was able to disregard his fatigue at will due to his concern for Omega Supreme's well-being, something robots cannot do.

As the combined forces of the Autobots and Aerialbots sent the Decepticons into retreat, Silverbolt bravely went after Megatron and destroyed the original Key to Vector Sigma, despite his great fear of heights. As he fell, he was saved at the last moment by Slingshot, who was impressed by his courage.