Drift (SG)

Drift is an evil Autobot from the Shattered Glass continuity family.

Wait, does this mean normal Drift is Deathstroke the Terminator?

The irreverent Drift is a Dimensional Fragment Eliminator, which means he's always taunting and combating those invaders who dare poke through the walls of his universe. The "Bot of Banter" is considered one of the most vile Autobots ever, and the chatty mercenary loves to dream up more creative ways to slay his targets. Optimus Prime has given Drift no boundaries, creating an immoral, money-driven monster.

The relentless and cruel Drift has only one real weakness: an irrational fear of petro-rabbits.

Fiction

Fun Publications Shattered Glass continuity

Drift was an especially brutal Autobot serving as a bounty hunter and mercenary. Optimus Prime liked his style, allowing Drift to carry out his hunts however he saw fit. His irreverent attitude and impudent mouth may one day test the Prime's patience, though. 2012 Drift profile card After Drift tracked down Optimus Prime in his private sanctuary, Optimus confided in Drift about his reasons for starting the Autobots. He had new concerns and a new job for Drift as well. Coalescence

Drift was partnered up with Stepper to hunt intruders from other universal streams. BotCon 2015 Stepper profile card

During their time on Earth, Drift became a student of the mysterious Gigatron. Residing in Kita Kyushu, Drift trained vigorously to became a Samurai Gunman and underwent a dramatic change in temperament as he adopted his master's teachings. He was now an honorable, if egotistical, assassin.

When Stepper was captured by the Autobots and then vanishing following an encounter with interdimensional GoBots, Drift hunted them down to balance the scales. He shot their transport out of the sky and held them at gunpoint after they crashed to Earth. To demonstrate his prowess, Drift fired off a warning shot in the air, then a blind second shot to destroy Buggyman's R-Navi drone. He accepted security officer Treds as his opponent when Treds took responsibility for Stepper's loss. Fortunately for Treds, his ally Solarbot used his energies to catch Drift's first shot and guide it back down to Earth. As a result, the Samurai Gunman technically ended up shooting himself and the GoBots managed to escape. Last Sunset

Drift was part of the Autobot assault on Decepticon City on their universe's native Earth. When Galvatron arrived in the Annex to fight back, Drift initially engaged him. Rodimus called him and the other Autobots off, though, to let Optimus Prime fight the Decepticon leader. Memory's Splinter

After Galvatron defeated Prime, Drift and the others fled aboard Sky Lynx back to Cybertron. Restoration When their ride announced they'd have to lighten their load, Rodimus promptly dumped Optimus Prime out the nearest hatch. Drift had no objections to Rodimus declaring himself the new leader. Familiar Reflections

When Optimus Prime returned as Nova Prime, Drift fought against his Knights of Unicron until Rodimus was overthrown. Out of the One, Many He was taken into custody by the Autotroopers in the aftermath of the battle, but apparently took advantage of the dark Primus's manifestation to flee Cybertron aboard the ships. The Future Buried...

IDW Shattered Glass continuity

I'm soaking wet right now...

Drift was a member of Autobot warlord Ultra Magnus's special tactics group and private military force, the Wreckers. At some point, he also acquired a Great Sword.

Drift, Jazz, and Rodimus became hostile and protective when Optimus Prime ordered Ultra Magnus to enter the throne room with only a single Wrecker at his side. Later, tensions between the two splinter cells boiled over, and Drift partook in storming the gates of Pax and its inner sanctum, where Ultra Magnus promptly stomped Optimus Prime's chest in and claimed the city for himself. Shattered Glass II #1

After the Wreckers captured Autobot traitor Jetfire, Slicer ordered them to keep him alive, so Drift incapacitated him with a shot to the back. Shattered Glass II #3 When the time came for Magnus to swap bodies with Optimus, Rodimus and Drift dragged the Prime to the operating theater. Shattered Glass II #4

When Soundwave breached the interior of Metroplex, the Titan stumbling allowed the Decepticon to break the Wreckers' lines. Soundwave's first act was to throw Tailgate into Drift. Though the swordsman quickly recovered, he was shot point-blank by Soundwave's sonic cannon, the Decepticon then using Drift's dropped sword to kill Rodimus. Shattered Glass II #5

Toys

Timelines

Now if they want to get really meta, Fun Publications should also redeco this guy as Green Lantern.

• Shattered Glass Drift (Deluxe, 2012)

• Accessories: Two "dual swords", one large sword, left & right pistols

Timelines Drift is a redeco of Generations Drift, in red with white highlights. In addition to the three swords that came with the original Drift toy, he comes with the two small guns that came with Generations Blurr; however, because these were not intended to come with this version of the mold, factory carelessness resulted in a large number of units coming with two of the same gun, when they should feature tabs on opposite sides. As the tabs on the guns only serve to attach them to the large rifle included with Generations Blurr, and as the doors of the Drift version of the mold cannot be used to holster the small guns, the effect this has on the figure is, at best, negligible, although this has not prevented the usual reaction. The hood of his vehicle mode sports the character 定 ("decided").

Drift is one of two 2012 Transformers Collectors' Club exclusive figures (the other being Timelines Over-Run).

This mold was retooled into Generations Blurr.

Drift sold out within 48 hours of being available (taking into account problems with the store's ordering process).

• More information on Drift at TFU.info

Merchandise

Flame Toys

Kuro Kara Kuri

The merc mech with the merch.

• Shattered Glass Drift (March 2019)
  • Number: 01-A

Part of Flame Toys' Kuro Kara Kuri line of high-end non-transforming poseable figures, Shattered Glass Drift is a redeco of the Drift figure. Like his normal counterpart, Shattered Glass Drift features die-cast parts and LEDs in his head.

Shattered Glass Drift lacks the fabric cloak included with the G1 version, but instead includes two pistols, accompanying holsters (that can be swapped out for the sword sheaths at his waist), and accompanying hands meant to hold said pistols.

Customers who preordered Shattered Glass Drift on D4Toys also received a special extra "Helmet Armor" that could be swapped out with Shattered Glass Drift's normal front helmet piece. This extra piece partly covers his face similar to a samurai helmet.

Furai Model

• Shattered Glass Drift (May 2021)
  • Number: 19

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Notes

• Drift's deco was firstly pitched in orange, blue & white in homage to Naruto. ^[1]

• Later on, he was redone in red & white, as inspired by Knock Out (since no toy of him was released at this stage)^[2], ultimately he was reworked further until the choice of taking inspiration from Marvel Comics character, Deadpool.

• This got carried into his characterization, first described by Fun Publications as the "Mech with a Mouth", a play on the sobriquet "Merc with a Mouth" attributed to Deadpool. With Generation 1 Drift being a silent, sullen, moody, dark anti-hero ninja, it may be fitting that his Shattered Glass opposite is a manic, fourth-wall breaking anti-villain with a thing for Bea Arthur.
• Fun Publications explained that they wanted the character on Drift's hood to mean "a doom" because Drift "brings A DOOM to any enemy he meets". They were limited to only one character, however, and could not find a singular kanji that embodied what they wanted to convey. This resulted in the use of the character 定 ("decided", as in "your fate is decided"?), which is "a stretch".^[3]
• In his appearance in "Last Sunset", Drift's personality was changed from that of Deadpool to a stereotypical samurai warrior. This was done as a reversal on the evolution of Drift in the 2005 IDW Continuity, from a moody and serious samurai under Shane McCarthy to an upbeat, spiritual crewmate in More than Meets the Eye, as written by James Roberts.
• Regular Shattered Glass writers Greg Sepelak and Trent Troop had an entirely different personality in mind for Drift, who never appeared in their stories; they wanted to characterise him as an unpleasantly-patriotic Autobot, who'd call Optimus Prime "Mister President", inspired by Yu-Gi-Oh The Abridged Series' characterisation of Bandit Keith.^[4]

References

External links

• SG Drift's page @ TransformersClub.com