title: David Barnea

text: David "Dadi" Barnea (; born 29 March 1965) is the current Director of the Mossad, having taken over from Yossi Cohen in June 2021.


title: David Barnea

text: Barnea was born in Ashkelon and grew up in Rishon Lezion. His father, Joseph Brunner (Barnea), fled with his family from Nazi Germany and immigrated to Israel at the age of three. Joseph was a graduate of the Hapoel HaMizrachi Yeshiva in Bnei Brak and joined the Palmach at the age of 16. He fought with the Third Battalion of the organization in Nabi Yusha and Safed and then served as an officer with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Israeli Air Force. He was also a manager at Tadiran. His mother, Naomi, was born on board the SS "Patria" and worked as a teacher and school principal.


title: David Barnea

text: Barnea studied at the Military Boarding School for Command in Tel Aviv,  and enlisted in the IDF in 1983. He did his military service with the General Staff Reconnaissance Regiment (Sayeret Matkal). He later studied in the United States, obtaining a Bachelor's degree from the New York Institute of Technology and an MBA from Pace University. He then worked as a business manager at an investment bank in Israel.


title: David Barnea

text: In 1996, he joined the Mossad. He took a course in collection officers and served in the Tzomet Division, commanding operational units in Israel and abroad. For two and a half years, he served as deputy head of the Keshet Division. In 2013, he was appointed head of the Tzomet Division,  where four awards on Israel national security were presented to the division he headed. In 2019, he was appointed deputy head of the Mossad. In 2021, it was decided that he would be appointed head of the Mossad.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream is a fictional character in the "Transformers" media franchise. He is one of the most frequently occurring characters in the franchise, appearing in almost all of its different continuities. Starscream in generally depicted as the sadistic second-in-command of the Decepticon leader Megatron who transforms into a jet fighter and leads the Seekers, a group of Decepticons who share his body type. Across most continuities, Starscream's defining trait is his desire to overthrow Megatron and assume command of the Decepticons. This is usually out of greed and selfishness, though in some continuities, Starscream has been shown to genuinely care about the Decepticon cause and wish to bring it back on the right path, perceiving Megatron as a corrupt leader who led the Decepticons astray. Alternatively, other incarnations of Starscream have been portrayed as unquestionably loyal to Megatron or as an antihero who has tried (and sometimes even succeeded) to make peace with the Decepticons' arch-enemies, the Autobots.


title: Starscream

text: Authors have created many characters in the franchise based on the appeal of Starscream's treachery and cunning; most of these share his desire to lead the Decepticons. Starscream has the ambition to overthrow Megatron as the Decepticons' leader. He has controlled the Decepticons at times, but he usually suffers defeat. Starscream is ruthless, cruel, bloodthirsty and more intelligent than the average Decepticon, but also, unlikely to act directly on these aspirations without first securing conditions favorable to his ascension. He considers himself vastly superior to other Decepticons and finds Megatron contemptible for his antiquated military strategies and tactics.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream believes the Decepticons should employ guile and speed more readily than brute force to defeat the Autobots. However, given the chance to lead, he is often less successful in this than Megatron. While Megatron frequently overlooks him as a threat, authors suggest such reasons for Megatron's tolerance of Starscream's presence as grudging respect for his scheming nature and precautionary observation. Others suggest that Starscream's treacherous nature is welcomed; that without a threat to his command, Megatron believes he would become soft and overconfident, or that he even found his transgressions amusing. Even so, Starscream often quickly exhausts Megatron's patience; violent-yet-brief verbal and/or physical conflicts between the two are not uncommon. As such, there have been times when Megatron has been close to killing Starscream.


title: Starscream

text: In his original appearance, Starscream transforms into a McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. As Decepticon Air Commander, he leads the other Decepticon Seeker jets, many of whom share his physical design. His technical specifications indicate top speed as Mach 2.8 and altitude ceiling as . Launchers mounted on his arm (under his wings in jet mode) can deliver cluster bombs capable of leveling a area and fire his signature null ray, which for brief periods disrupts the flow of electricity in any circuitry it contacts. This action temporarily renders inoperable any electronic device or machine, including Transformers.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream was formerly a scientist and explorer, working with the future Autobot Skyfire, during the Golden Age of Cybertron, shortly before the Autobot/Decepticon war re-erupted. Following the disappearance of Skyfire when the two were exploring a prehistoric Earth, Starscream returned to Cybertron and soon abandoned his scientific pursuits, becoming a warrior in Megatron's Decepticon army as the civil war exploded. Starscream attended the Cybertron War Academy, mentioned in the episode "A Prime Problem".


title: Starscream

text: Starscream makes use of his old scientist profession in a few episodes. For example, in "A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court", when he and several other Decepticons were temporarily displaced in time to medieval England, the weapons of the Transformers ceased functioning; Starscream knew how to use available materials to create gunpowder as a substitute for himself and the other Decepticons.


title: Starscream

text: In "Starscream's Brigade", he attempts—in what was then only his latest in a series of attempts—to overthrow Megatron as the leader of Decepticons. After being defeated and exiled in Guadalcanal, Starscream finds the remains of some World War II military vehicles, which inspire him to create an army of his own. He travels to Cybertron using the Space Bridge, forcing the guards and eluding Shockwave to do so. He breaks into the Decepticon Detention Center and steals the five personality components of Renegade Decepticons, then installs them into five wrecked military vehicles and they become the Combaticons. The Combaticons (who combine to form Bruticus) and Starscream then capture four Transformers. When Megatron rallies his troops (except the Stunticons) against Starscream and the Combaticons, he deploys Devastator to fight Bruticus, but Devastator is defeated. Megatron attempts to retreat, however Starscream orders Bruticus to capture Megatron and hold him while he gloats and humiliates him. While this is going on, the Stunticons arrive, combine into Menasor and defeat Bruticus. Megatron then orders Astrotrain to exile Starscream and the Combaticons to a distant asteroid. In the next episode, "The Revenge of Bruticus", the Combaticons blame Starscream for their punishment. They imprison him on Cybertron after he abandons them, and plan a devastating revenge on Megatron by pulling the Earth towards the Sun using Cybertron's controls. After proving his worth in helping Megatron and Optimus Prime (who teamed up to prevent the Earth from destruction) stop the deranged Bruticus, Starscream gets restored to Decepticon ranks.


title: Starscream

text: In "", Starscream and many other Decepticons participate in the battle of Autobot City, leaving several Autobots killed. After the Decepticons' defeat, they retreat in Astrotrain. In order to reduce Astrotrain's mass, the Decepticons were left with no choice but to jettison the heavily damaged Skywarp, Thundercracker and Insecticons into space, and Starscream tosses a mortally wounded Megatron out of Astrotrain. After that he nominates himself as the new leader of Decepticons. However, during a grandiose coronation ceremony, Megatron, who has been reborn as Galvatron alongside Cyclonus, Scourge and the Sweeps, arrives and declares the coronation a "bad comedy". Starscream realizes that Galvatron was once Megatron, and Galvatron transforms into laser cannon mode, obliterating Starscream with a single shot.


title: Starscream

text: However, while Starscream's body has been disintegrated, his "spark" remains as a ghost and returns later. In "Starscream's Ghost", he encounters his old friend Octane in the Decepticon Crypt and conspires with him to hand Galvatron over to Rodimus Prime, the new leader of the Autobots. Starscream possesses Cyclonus's body and tricks Galvatron into being captured by the Autobots. Galvatron escapes and later shoots Cyclonus, when he realizes that Starscream's ghost is possessing his second-in-command. The vengeful ghost easily escapes and re-appears in an additional episode, "Ghost in the Machine". In the episode, he first appears possessing Scourge and reactivates the head of Unicron. Starscream then makes a deal with Unicron to restore the latter's sight and body by stealing the eyes of Metroplex and transformation cog of Trypticon, and wiring Unicron's head to Cybertron. Starscream successfully accomplishes most of this, however, when he can no longer possess Scourge, he demands that Unicron restore his own, original body so that he can complete the connections. Unicron complies and again demands that Starscream complete the connections, only to have Starscream double-cross him and tell him to "do it himself". At this point, the Autobots set off an explosion that blows Unicron's head and Starscream out into space. As Starscream tumbles out of control, he encounters the Decepticons who unleash all of their firepower on him, damaging him and pushing him farther into space. Starscream is not encountered again in G1.


title: Starscream

text: A G1 incarnation of Starscream returns in "", voiced by Doug Parker. In the episode "Possession", He takes control of Waspinator's body while a lightning storm occurs. The Predacons recognize him as Air Commander Starscream of the Decepticons. Starscream claims that he had been killed in battle defending Galvatron from Unicron, and pledges his allegiance to the Predacon leader Megatron. In reality, he was destroyed by Galvatron, and plots to usurp Megatron and take control of the Predacons. He captures the Maximal base, and later holds Optimus Primal and Dinobot hostage, ordering the Maximals to attack the Predacon base in exchange for their safety. He is defeated by the combined efforts of Optimus Primal and Blackarachnia, freeing Waspinator's body, and sending Starcream's ghost hurtling back into the depths of space. In "The Agenda", Starscream makes a cameo appearance aboard the Ark, frozen in stasis lock.


title: Starscream

text: In the Japanese-exclusive animated series, "Beast Wars II", a character named Starscream was one of Galvatron's most loyal minions. Like the Decepticon air commander who came before him, Starscream is both ambitious and deadly. He makes up for his lack of size with unmatched speed and maneuverability. He hopes to one day dethrone Galvatron as the Predacon emperor of destruction and rule the universe himself. He is also slightly effeminate, often laughing and gesturing in a shaky way. When transformed Starscream becomes a stealth fighter capable of soaring at very high speed. In fighter mode he can use the "Formation Scream" and combine with his loyal partner to become a powerful air fighter, in which Starscream forms the rear of the combination. In robot mode his attack of choice are his "Screamwinder Missiles" which are strong enough to vaporize most opponents. Starscream tries to undermine his equally treacherous rival Megastorm. Starscream, during an assassination attempt, accidentally turned Megastorm into Gigastorm. Gigastorm paid Starscream and BB back in kind, but exposure to Angalmosis energy turned them into Hellscream and Max B. As Hellscream, he has the beast mode of a cyborg shark, whilst Max B transforms into a cyborg wolf. Hellscream is last seen escaping the exploding Nemesis with Max B and Gigastorm. They do not reappear in "Beast Wars Neo", leaving Hellscream, Max B, and Gigastorm's fates and activities unknown.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream appears in "Transformers: Armada" as a young arrogant warrior who desperately wished to gain the approval and respect of his leader Megatron (in contrast of his G1 counterpart), but started to become confused as he began to hate both himself and his commander for the abuse heaped upon him as well as being disgusted with his leader's lack of honor and respect over his troops. He originally came to Earth as part of Megatron's expedition to gain the power of the Mini-Cons alongside Demolishor and Cyclonus. However, Starscream's frustration over having been made the last of the Decepticons to gain his partner Mini-Con led him to be manipulated by Sideways into battling with Megatron, which he lost. His hatred for Megatron eventually led to him siding with the Autobots so he could bring his former leader down once and for all. During his time with the Autobots, he formed a surprisingly close friendship with the human Alexis. However, Thrust eventually manipulated Starscream into rejoining the Decepticons, though Starscream still vowed to destroy Megatron.


title: Starscream

text: During the Unicron Battles, Starscream was one of the five Cybertronians who received a power boost from the Mini-Cons, giving him a new blue color scheme that makes him look like Thundercracker. Despite having the original G1 Thundercracker color scheme, Starscream was never renamed into the fellow seeker, but had stated "I look like Thundercracker" when he gained the new body colors. When Thrust was ousted as a servant of Unicron, Starscream reunited with Alexis and gave chase, though he ultimately failed to catch him. When Megatron, now calling himself "Galvatron", refused to acknowledge the existence of Unicron and the potential threat he carried, Starscream challenged his leader to a duel and allowed him to stab him in the chest with the Star Saber. After a final sendoff with Galvatron, the seeker pulled the Star Saber out of his chest, exposing his spark, and fired on Unicron directly, only for the Chaos Bringer to fire a bolt of lightning that completely disintegrated Starscream, killing him. Starscream's death ultimately convinced Galvatron of Unicron's existence and he allied the Decepticons with the Autobots to end the threat.


title: Starscream

text: In "Energon", set ten years later, Alpha Q revives Starscream and wipes all memories of his old life to use him as his personal assassin. However, Megatron eventually gets a hold of Starscream, using his newfound connection with Unicron to brainwash him into his loyal second-in-command. Later in the series, he is exposed to a pool of super energon, making his armor impervious to laser fire as well as recoloring it, making him resemble his original G1 colors. In the final episode, Starscream, along with Mirage, follows Galvatron into an energon sun, Galvatron having done so to break Unicron's hold over him.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream returned again in "Cybertron" as a darker, more ruthless character. While he appears to be loyal to Megatron like he was in "Energon", he secretly prepares a coup against him to become leader of the Decepticons. This results in a fracturing of the group, with Starscream discovering a group of ancient Decepticons, including two named Thunderblast and Lugnutz; he also recruits neutral Transformers Sideways and Soundwave. After several encounters, Starscream and Galvatron have one final battle which ends with Starscream, Soundwave, and Sideways being transported into another dimension. He is later located by Wing Saber, who teams up with Landmine and Mudflap to go after him.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream appears in the , voiced by Tom Kenny. He transforms into a futuristic harrier jet (sporting a notable similarity to the Variable Fighters of "Macross" fame in his transformation sequence) and resembles his "Generation 1" counterpart in both design, personality, and ambitions. He flies at high speeds in both modes, and wields his trademark null-rays, though these function simply as powerful lasers. He's unintentionally comical in this incarnation displaying occasional incompetence. However, this incarnation displays a resolute tenacity towards his objective, shown by his flying around in a brutally damaged "Nemesis" to track down the Allspark's energy signature for 50 years by himself. Although slightly cowardly, Starscream is an excellent warrior, since he almost single-handedly took down "all" of the Autobots in a battle over the Allspark. He is also more narcissistic than most incarnations of the character, frequently congratulating and praising himself, his plans and his looks, with absolute glee.


title: Starscream

text: In Season 1, Starscream betrays and tries to kill Megatron in the first episode. Megatron learns about this soon after and kills Starscream in the season finale. In Season 2, a battle between Autobots and Decepticons destroys the Allspark, but Starscream is resurrected by a shard of the Allspark that had been embedded on his forehead. Throughout the season, Starscream continues to try and eliminate Megatron, but his plans fail every time. One attempt includes Starscream's creation of a squadron of clones of himself, each one of which embodies a side of his personality. Unfortunately for Starscream, these clones (except Thundercracker and Skywarp, who are sucked into space) eventually betray him and join Megatron. In the season finale, Starscream's body is destroyed, reducing him to nothing more than his head. In Season 3, Starscream "teams up" with Megatron to conquer Cybertron and destroy the Autobots, only to betray him again after regaining his body in the season finale. However, he is stopped by Lugnut and dies after the Allspark fragment keeping him alive is removed from his forehead.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream is part of the main group of Decepticons in the 2010 computer animated series "". This version is depicted as a much darker character, constantly plotting his rise to becoming the Decepticon leader and mercilessly killing Autobots, as evidenced when he terminates Cliffjumper in the series premiere. He displays a contempt for Decepticons who do not choose a flying alternate mode, such as Knock Out. Although he may look weak, he possesses lethal weapons such as his missiles and sharp claws, and has been shown to be a master manipulator.


title: Starscream

text: Throughout the first half of season one, Starscream serves as the Decepticons' leader after Megatron is critically injured and placed on life support (aided in his injuries by Starscream's attempt to assassinate him). However, once Megatron revives, Starscream is beaten and punished, returning to his position as second-in-command. Following Megatron's attempt to destroy Starscream, as well as his further humiliation at the hands of the Decepticon Airachnid, Starscream attempts to defect to the Autobots, only to be almost killed by Arcee after she discovers he is the one who murdered Cliffjumper, her former partner. He subsequently decides to go independent, seeking revenge against both the Autobots and Megatron.


title: Starscream

text: In season two, Starscream makes several attempts to get back at the Autobots and Megatron, such as siding with the human terrorist organization M.E.C.H. and creating several clones of himself, but these all end in failure (and even result in him losing his ability to transform for most of the season), and he becomes more comedic in his ineptitude. He eventually gains a powerful Iacon relic known as the Apex Armor, and also manages to obtain speed-enhancing red energon, though he loses the former to the Autobot Smokescreen. After learning of the Omega Keys, powerful Cybertronian relics that can be used to revive Cybertron, Starscream decides to steal them from the Autobots and give them to Megatron as a peace offering, wishing to rejoin the Decepticons. He succeeds, and soon regains his old position as Megatron's first lieutenant after his current second-in-command, Dreadwing, is killed. Starscream is later instrumental in the kidnapping of the Autobots' human allies, the creation of the Decepticon fortress Darkmount on Earth, and the destruction of the Autobot base.


title: Starscream

text: In season three, Starscream is forced to share his high-ranking position with Shockwave, and tries to earn Megatron's respect by finding the Autobots before his rival, which results in an outbreak of energon vampires when he foolishly combines Dark Energon with unstable Synthetic Energon, resulting in the loss of over half of the Decepticon forces and the Insecticons Hive. Starscream is also distrustful of Predaking, the Predacon cloned by Shockwave to hunt down the Autobots, a feeling which is proven correct when Predaking shows he is sentient and capable of transforming. It is also he who suggests terminating the Predacon soldiers they have been creating, including Predaking, and blame it on the Autobots, later causing Predaking to turn against them after he learns the truth. In the season finale, "Deadlock", Starscream helps the other Decepticons fight the Autobots when they board the "Nemesis", and later witnesses Bumblebee slay Megatron with the Star Saber, before escaping with Shockwave to go into hiding.


title: Starscream

text: In the TV movie "Predacons Rising", which functions as the finale to "Transformers: Prime", Starscream and Shockwave are the only remaining Decepticons on Cybertron, as the others have either been taken prisoners or joined the Autobots, forcing the pair to constantly move labs to avoid detection. Starscream helps Shockwave clone two Predacons, Skylynx and Darksteel, as part of their plan to rebuild the Decepticon army, and is later witness with Shockwave to the arrival of Unicron (possessing Megatron's upgraded and resurrected body), who plans to destroy his brother Primus, who forms Cybertron's core. Believing Unicron cannot be stopped, Starscream frees the captive Decepticons, including Knock Out, and attempts to take command of the "Nemesis" and flee Cybertron, but is stopped after Knock Out betrays him and sides with the Autobots. Starscream is then imprisoned along with the other Decepticons, though he eventually escapes and returns to Megatron after the latter is freed from Unicron's control. Starscream is eager to rejoin him, but Megatron rebuffs, saying that he has lost his taste for inflicting oppression, and that the Decepticons are no more. Starscream then eagerly attempts to reinstate himself as leader of the Decepticons, but is confronted by Predaking, Skylynx and Darksteel, who are intent on revenge for their cruel treatment at his hands. Starscream is last seen fleeing terrified from Skylynx and Darksteel.


title: Starscream

text: In the sequels series "", it is revealed that Starscream survived his encounter with the Predacons, having inadvertently killed Skylynx and Darksteel by setting off a room full of weapons. After reformatting his body, he hid until he could regain his full power, tracking seven Minicons Megatron had been experimenting on to give himself greater power than even a Prime. This led the Autobots to believe he was dead and allowed him to operate incognito. Eventually, Starscream was able to find the Minicons on Earth, and hired an Insecticon and two mercenaries named Roughedge and Shadelock to retrieve them for him. He also came into possession of Megatron's Dark Star Saber and promptly took control of it, though the sword rejected him and he could not access its full power. Nevertheless, he still desired the Minicons' power as part of his plans for revenge and galactic conquest.


title: Starscream

text: After the Autobots Fixit, Jetstorm and Slipstream are captured during the hunt for the Minicons, Starscream has them brought to him. Upon learning that his old enemy, Bumblebee, is also on Earth, he threatens to terminate the Minicons unless Bumblebee surrenders to him. Bumblebee promptly does so in order to secure their release, and Starscream merges with six of the seven Minicons. Unfortunately for Starscream, Optimus Prime arrives and merges with the seventh Minicon before defeating Starscream with the help of Bumblebee's team. After being separated from the Minicons, Starscream falls comatose and is loaded onto Optimus's ship for transport back to Cybertron where he will face justice for his crimes.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream appears in the novel "", and its sequels; "" and "". Here he and the Seekers were the bodyguards of Sentinel Prime, but captured him and pledged their allegiance to Megatron when the war between Autobots and Decepticons broke out. Starscream proved to be a treacherous subordinate as usual, looking for every opportunity to play both sides to his advantage so that his circumstances would be favorable regardless of the outcome. In an attempt to see Megatron destroyed, he released Sentinel Prime so that the deposed leader could eliminate the leader of the Decepticons, only to see Sentinel Prime fall. Starscream attacked Megatron himself, but proved unable to defeat the Decepticon leader and was forced to submit to his authority again. He would join the crew of the "Nemesis", and continue to seek Megatron's overthrow through a bargain with the Quintessons.


title: Starscream

text: Serving as one of Megatron's elite troops in the attack on the Ark, the Marvel Comics incarnation of Starscream possessed the desire to take leadership of the Decepticons, but in the early days of the war on Earth, he did not accomplish any notable acts apart from nearly getting scrapped by Megatron after one snide comment. When he participated in an attack on the Ark with several of his fellow Decepticons, Starscream was deactivated by Omega Supreme, and sealed in a stasis pod in the "Ark" for a prolonged period of time.


title: Starscream

text: At the same time, the U. K. offices of Marvel Comics were producing their own story-lines which were interspersed throughout the U.S. material. Simon Furman portrayed the character's scheming and ambition with more subtlety than the animated series, making Starscream more intelligent and cunning. He was often the focus of his own stories, including a Christmas special based around Starscream's misery at being stranded on Earth. In this story and in many others written by Furman, Starscream often came across as wry and sarcastic. He was one of the most formidable warriors in the Decepticon army and adversaries were often shown to be visibly intimidated by him.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream made an appearance in the Decepticon forces under the command of Megatron in issue #7 of the Marvel "Generation 2" comic series; in a story called "New Dawn" Megatron led his Decepticons against Jhiaxus' second generation Cybertronians near the moon of Tykos. The Decepticons were defeated and Megatron left injured, presumed dead, but swearing revenge.


title: Starscream

text: Based on the Transformers Classics toy line, the Timelines 2007 story is set 15 years after the end of the Marvel Comics story (ignoring all events of the Marvel U.K. and Generation 2 comics). Megatron survived the crash of the Ark on Earth. He is joined by Starscream, who realized he needed a leader. In Transformers: Timelines volume 2 #2, "Games of Deception" Megatron detects the arrival of Bugbite's ship on Earth and sends Starscream, Skywarp and Ramjet to investigate. The three Seekers are then taken over by Bugbite's cerebro shells (with Starscream swearing to painfully dismember Bugbite for it). When the Autobots eventually jam the shells to facilitate their own rescue of Mirage, Starscream is freed and battles Bugbite's faction. Whether he survived the battle is unknown. He seems to retain his usual second-in-command status in this story. Starscream reported to Deathsaurus on the success of the Combaticons' attack on the Autobot Elite Guard.


title: Starscream

text: This Starscream is a morally good version of the "Generation 1" character from the BotCon exclusive ""Shattered Glass"" comic, in which the Decepticons are on the side of good and the Autobots on the side of evil. This version is loyal to Megatron, as opposed to his normally treacherous portrayal. He longs to return to his life as a scientist. Also, Megatron treats Starscream with far more respect and considers him a genius.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream appears in the 2008 April Fool's comic "Shattered Expectations" by Fun Publications. He and Razorclaw confront his world's Goldbug, Grimlock and Jazz. When the Autobots refuse to surrender the Decepticons call in the Mayhem Suppression Squad.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream then appears in the BotCon 2008 Timelines comic "Transformers: Timelines" story "Shattered Glass" as one of the troops of the heroic Decepticon Megatron. Starscream, Divebomb and Whisper drop "glass gas" bombs on the Autobot's Ark launch platform to make it vulnerable to attack.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream appears in the fiction "Dungeons & Dinobots", a text based story from Fun Publications. He defends the Arch-Ayr fuel dump from an Autobot attack.


title: Starscream

text: The toy for the heroic Starscream is redeco of the "Cybertron" Voyager Starscream, and was available only at the 2008 BotCon. His color scheme is an homage to the "Generation 1" Autobot Jetfire.


title: Starscream

text: Another incarnation of Starscream works in civil intelligence on Transtech Cybertron. This Starscream appeared in the Fun Publications story "Transcendent", where he reported his findings on Skyfall and Landquake to Optimus Prime. Prowl and Starscream had a biographies printed by Fun Publications.


title: Starscream

text: In the 21st century re-imagining of the Generation One universe by the comics company Dreamwave Productions, Starscream remained his treacherous, power-hungry self. In the early days of the war on Cybertron, he devastated Iacon with a terraforming process, and went on to form his own faction called the Predacons when Megatron vanished in a space-bridge experiment.


title: Starscream

text: Dreamwave Productions produced a companion comic for the G1 toyline just as Marvel Comics produced, it was different from the animated continuity. In these comics, the "Armada" incarnation of Starscream had a much smaller role, but was written in a fashion much closer to the original treacherous G1 character - a trait that would ultimately lead to his seeming demise when the "Energon" comic book began. He still possessed elements of the animated Armada Starscream, such as an unwillingness to shy away from battle.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream would appear in many of Megatron's subsequent schemes, including capturing Swindle, attempting to capture Mini-Cons for his own use and launching an attack on the Mini-Con base on the Moon. His next appearance would be 10 years after Unicron's defeat. When Starscream gatecrashed a meeting of the Terrorcons – renegade Decepticons who were unhappy with the peace between Autobot and Decepticon that had emerged in the wake of Unicron's defeat – at an energon plant, his mistake soon became apparent when he discovered that they had struck a deal with Unicron and gained new "Hyper Mode" powers. When their leader, Scorponok, arrived, Starscream was unable to talk himself out of trouble and was blasted into the plant's machinery by Scorponok, seemingly dying. But Starscream survived. The raw energon in the plant reacted in some mysterious way, giving him a ghostly body of pure energon (like the cartoon "Energon" version, this was also a homage to the ghost form of the original Starscream). In this form he ended up attacking Demolishor and draining him of his energy. Due to the collapse of Dreamwave, the series was stopped.


title: Starscream

text: In this crossover from Devil's Due Publishing, the Ark was discovered by the terrorist Cobra Organization, and all the Transformers inside were reformatted into Cobra vehicles remotely controlled by the Televipers.


title: Starscream

text: After Dreamwave's closure, the rights to the Transformers comics were taken up by IDW Publishing. Their version of the Generation One universe begins with a miniseries called "". His alternate mode here is that of an F-22 Raptor, foreshadowing the events of the 2007 live action movie.


title: Starscream

text: "Beast Wars Second" Starscream had a biography printed in the "Beast Wars Sourcebook" by IDW Publishing. IDW also published a one-shot "Transformers" story as part of their "Deviations" series that heavily featured Starscream: "'Til All Are One."


title: Starscream

text: In this story, an alternate version of events from "The Transformers: The Movie", Starscream took over leadership of the Decepticons after Megatron was killed by Optimus Prime. Thus, it was Starscream who first encountered Unicron and allied the Decepticons to him, after being upgraded by Unicron's power into the mighty Megascream. He briefly hunted the Autobots in an effort to destroy the Matrix of Leadership, but later turned against his benefactor when Unicron devoured one of Cybertron's moons, which Starscream saw as his own. When Unicron attacked Cybertron itself and Optimus Prime arrived to try and stop him, Megascream demanded that he hand over the Matrix, and combined with Astrotrain, Soundwave, Ramjet, and Dirge into a massive new form. However, Hot Rod soon arrived to rescue Optimus, and unleashed the power of the Matrix, resulting in Unicron's demise as well as that of Megascream and himself.


title: Starscream

text: In conjunction with the Combiner Wars (Unite Warriors in Japan) line, Takara Tomy released a comic detailing how the Galvatronus combiner came to be. Following his defeat at the conclusion of "The Headmasters", Galvatron's icy tomb was discovered by Cyclonus, whose body Galvatron modified to accommodate his own head in the chest compartment. Seeking a more fitting form, Galvatron directed Cyclonus to approach the disembodied head of Unicron, who was convinced to help Galvatron attain a combiner form with Cyclonus as its core. To accomplish this, Unicron used his power to open dimensional rifts in order to bring Curse Armada Thrust, Zombie War Breakdown, and Wandering Roller into their world. To Cyclonus' surprise, Starscream then made an appearance, expressing interest in joining this new alliance. Unicron promptly granted Starscream a new physical form, though half-alive-half-dead to ensure loyalty, and Galvatron's head took control of his new minions to take on his new form of Galvatronus.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream appears as a playable character in Hasbro's Net Jet fighting game "Transformers Battle Universe". Although other playable Transformers have several incarnations featured, the only playable incarnation of Starscream is the Generation 1 version. He is also featured a boss in the 2004 "Transformers" video game for the PlayStation 2.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream appears in Activision's "", based on the 2007 live-action film. He is voiced by Daniel Ross. In the Autobot campaign, Starscream appears as a boss in the second mission of the fourth chapter, where he is defeated by Jazz. In the Decepticon campaign, Starscream acts as Decepticon leader until Megatron's resurrection, and is playable in the third chapter. A color scheme for Starscream inspired by the Generation 1 version of the character can be unlocked by completing the Decepticon campaign. In the Nintendo DS version of the game, "Transformers: Autobots", Starscream serves as a boss at the end of the Arctic levels, trying and failing to kill Ironhide. In "Transformers: Decepticons", Starscream initially serves as leader of the Decepticon forces on Earth and Create-A-Bot's mentor, but secretly plots to seize the AllSpark for himself. After killing Bumblebee, Starscream takes the AllSpark, kills Megatron loyalist Blackout and Barricade, and battles Megatron and his disillusioned apprentice. He is eventually defeated by Create-A-Bot and then executed by Megatron for his treason. The G1 Starscream colour scheme also appears as an unlockable bonus form for Create-A-Bot.


title: Starscream

text: In the sequel "", itself based on the film's sequel, Starscream acts as leader of the Decepticons following Megatron's death, though he returns to his old position as second-in-command once Megatron is resurrected. He is playable in several levels of the Decepticon campaign, and appears as a boss, alongside Megatron, in one of the final levels of the Autobot campaign. In "", which acts as a prequel to the film of the same name, Starscream (voiced by Steven Blum) is playable in the fifth level, where he intercepts and destroys a weapons transport mid-flight, battling the Aerialbots in the process. He also appears in the Nintendo 3DS and Wii versions of the game, though he is reduced a minor supporting role.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream appears in "". He serves as a boss in the third and eleventh levels of the single-player campaign, fighting Bulkhead on both occasions, and is playable in the multiplayer mode.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream appears in the 2010 video game "", voiced by Sam Riegel. He appears as an enemy in the level "Dark Energon", as a playable character in the level "Starscream's Brigade", and as a boss in the level "Defend Iacon". He is also playable in the game's escalation mode, and his body type is available to use for the player's multiplayer custom Decepticon scientist. Starscream also appears as a level boss in the Nintendo DS version of the game, "".


title: Starscream

text: Starscream is initially depicted in as an Autobot Sky Commander who, following a demotion by the Autobot leader Zeta Prime, was appointed guardian of an ancient space station dedicated to creating Dark Energon. When Megatron and his Decepticons attack the station, hoping to use Dark Energon to gain an advantage over the Autobots, Starscream tries to stop them but fails. Megatron then tempts Starscream with power and, after proving capable of wielding Dark Energon, convinces him to join the Decepticons. Starscream and his fellow Seekers, Thundercracker and Skywarp, are then ordered by Megatron to reactivate an old Energon Bridge to allow the manufacture of more Dark Energon. The trio succeeds, and Starscream is later shown leading the Decepticons' aerial squadrons during Megatron's invasion of Iacon City, the Autobots' capital. When Megatron orders the deployment of Dark Energon bombers, Starscream refuses, feeling they would be wasted, but Megatron overrides his refusal. Later, when Megatron is presumed dead while fighting Omega Supreme, Starscream wastes no time to declare himself Decepticon leader, only for Megatron to quickly confirm he is still alive and order Starscream to attack Omega Supreme as a distraction tactic. Shortly after, when the battle seems lost, Starscream is ready to sound a retreat, which Megatron overrides by threatening to execute any retreating Decepticon. In the Autobot Campaign, which directly follows the Decepticon Campaign, Starscream battles his former allies Jetfire and Silverbolt, and attacks Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Ratchet in the Decagon Plaza. However, he is forced to retreat after being injured by Optimus's axe.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream returns in the 2012 sequel "", where, after Megatron is killed by Metroplex, he assumes command of the Decepticons. However, Starscream proves to be a poor leader, using most of the Decepticons' energy supplies to further his own ego, resulting in many Decepticons becoming distrustful of him. After the Autobots harvest the Energon from a destroyed Space Bridge, Starscream plans to ambush the Autobot transport carrying it and steal it for himself, but rebuffs Onslaught' warnings about the transport's anti-aircraft cannons, resulting in most of the Decepticon aerial squadron being destroyed. Starscream orders a retreat, but the rebellious Combaticons disobey him and manage to capture the transport, albeit losing half of the Energon supply. Starscream promptly has them arrested for treachery, along with all those who defied his reign. Later, as Starscream decides to have a coronation to celebrate him becoming leader of the Decepticons (in an homage to the ), he is confronted by a revived Megatron. Megatron assumes leadership once again while Starscream is forced to flee, becoming a wanted fugitive. Starscream is playable in the level "Starscream's Betrayal", where he infiltrates Shockwave's lab to sabotage his experiments as part of his revenge plan against Megatron, and encounters a captured Grimlock. He offers the Autobot freedom in exchange for his fealty, but Grimlock instead grabs Starscream and throws him into a control panel, freeing himself and leaving Starscream unconscious.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream also appears in the 2014 game "", set between the events of "War for Cybertron" and "Fall of Cybertron". He, Shockwave, and Soundwave are ordered by Megatron to search the abandoned Crystal City for a powerful artifact called the Dark Spark, which could secure the Decepticons' victory in the war. Although they manage to find it, and even secure the loyalty of a swarm of Insecticons along the way, the Dark Spark is grabbed by the Autobots first, who escape with it. Starscream follows them, trying to recover the Dark Spark, but is attacked by the Insecticons and is unable to prevent the Autobots from boarding a train. Fortunately for the Decepticons, Shockwave rigged the train with explosives, and he and Sharpshot are able to recover the Dark Spark from the Autobots.


title: Starscream

text: During production of the live-action film, writer Alex Kurtzman stated that Starscream would not stray from his treacherous roots as he seeks to overthrow Megatron, and frequently engages in arguments with him. In the first film, he is seen vehemently pledging his allegiance to Megatron when the latter breaks free from the Hoover Dam, but unlike the other Decepticons, he is not killed in the final battle and leaves Earth at the end of the movie. Starscream transforms into a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. Starscream is armed with a rotary cannon, missile launchers and a saw. When in jet mode, he can simulate the presence of a human pilot, the same holographic model (referred to as "Mustache Man" on-set and in the credits) that "pilots" Blackout and "drives" Barricade. The actor is Air Force Major Brian Reece, a helicopter pilot instructor at Kirtland Air Force Base.


title: Starscream

text: In the first film, Starscream rallies the other Decepticons to battle once Frenzy alerts them to the AllSpark's location. Starscream disguises as an F-22 Raptor providing cover for humans in Mission City and severely injures Bumblebee. After flying through the city, Starscream attempts to take the AllSpark from Sam, but is later attacked by both Ironhide and Ratchet. Ironhide takes the most damage, while Ratchet was able to hold his ground against Starscream's attacks. He transforms back into jet mode and flies away, leaving Ironhide and Ratchet damaged. He then assists Megatron in going after the AllSpark by shooting down the helicopter that was going to extract the Cube from Sam. Later, he attacks several F-22 Raptors flying through Mission City. Due to him transforming into a Raptor himself, Starscream was able to escape the jets as they were firing back at him. After Megatron was killed by Sam, Starscream retreats into deep space.


title: Starscream

text: In the second film, Starscream is first seen aboard the "Nemesis" shipwreck and is confronted by a returning Megatron, angry that Starscream left him to die. Starscream explains that he and the Fallen engineered a new army of Decepticons, but reveals to Megatron that without sufficient energon levels to feed them, the hatchlings destined to become the new army will keep dying. Later in a factory near Sam's college, Starscream watches as Megatron plans to cut out Sam's brain and later Optimus Prime and Bumblebee arrive. Starscream joins Megatron and Grindor in a battle against Optimus Prime in the forest, which resulted in Optimus cutting off Starscream's right arm and ripping Grindor's head in half, however Megatron managed to kill Optimus by stabbing him in the back and shooting his spark out. Megatron and Starscream retreat as the Autobots arrive to save Sam. Megatron berates Starscream again after failing to capture the human. During the battle in Egypt, Starscream informs Megatron about the NEST soldiers and the Autobots planning to resurrect Optimus with the Matrix of Leadership. Starscream then leads the Decepticons on the hunt for Sam and Mikaela, sends Rampage after them, and leads the assault against the Autobots and NEST. After the Fallen was killed by super-mode Optimus Prime and Megatron was badly damaged, Starscream advises his leader to escape.


title: Starscream

text: In the third film, Starscream first appears alongside Megatron, Soundwave, and Laserbeak in Africa. He gloats about Megatron's weakened state, which angers his master. In Washington DC, after Sentinel Prime betrayed the Autobots, Megatron and Starscream both witness Sentinel Prime bring an army of Decepticons to Earth from the Moon. He later shoots down the Autobot spaceship, the Xantium, after they have been exiled by the U.S. government. After the Autobots are thought to be dead, Megatron, Starscream, and Sentinel witness as the city of Chicago is being invaded and attacked by a massive Decepticon army. During the battle in Chicago, he meets Sam again and mocked him. Sam uses a grappling glove that was given to him by Que/Wheeljack to take out Starscream's right eye. Starscream then panics and sends Sam flying through the air then through a window of a nearby building. NEST soldiers led by Lennox arrive and they attack Starscream. Sam finally kills him using a boomstick given by Que/Wheeljack and stabs him in the other eye, blinding him and eventually blowing his head up.


title: Starscream

text: In "", Starscream's rebuilt head is brought by Daytrader to Cade Yeager with Daytrader puppeting Starscream's mouth. Unamused, Cade knocks Starscream's head aside. It is later found by Megatron who briefly laments to it before abandoning the head in Cade's junkyard.


title: Starscream

text: In "Bumblebee", Starscream appears during the battle on Cybertron in a non-speaking cameo and is commanded by Soundwave to attack the Autobots. Due to the film being a reboot and ignoring the events of the previous films, Starscream was redesigned based on his G1 incarnation and does not share any traits with the previous live action character.


title: Starscream

text: In the prequel novel "", it is revealed that Starscream is the leader of the Decepticons following Megatron's disappearance during his search for the Allspark. He and a crew of Decepticons travel aboard the "Nemesis" to search for the Allspark and Megatron, although Starscream is more focused on finding the cube then his lost master. Blackout opposes him at every turn (rightly not trusting Starscream and thinking that he would prefer that they never find Megatron), while Barricade tolerates it only as a means of finding Megatron. Encountering "Ghost-1", a human craft of Cybertronian design, Starscream manipulates them into revealing that Megatron and the Allspark are on Earth, then betrays them. After winning a fierce duel with Blackout for leadership, he launches a full-scale assault on the Autobots. Just as he and Bonecrusher almost kill Optimus Prime, Starscream is severely injured by "Ghost-1". In retaliation, he destroys the human craft before retreating.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream returns in "Transformers: The Veiled Threat". With Megatron dead, Starscream eventually returns to Earth around Zambia, where he gains control over local rebel groups by using his internal synthesizers to create gold coins.


title: Starscream

text: The back story of the Transformers on ancient Cybertron is told in "Transformers: Defiance". In this story, Starscream returns to Cybertron after encountering an enemy scout ship in the Eshems Nebula. After being repaired for minor damage by Ratchet, Starscream and Ironhide report to Optimus Prime and Megatron. Later, the planet is invaded by aliens from the Eshems Nebula and Starscream is among the defenders in the city of Metrotitan, near the temple at Simfur. In issue #2, he sides with Megatron in his decision to counterattack Cybertron's invaders and is among the fleet that attacks their ships.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream also appears at the end of issue #3 of "", where he, Blackout and Barricade destroy the Mars "Beagle" probe. In issue 4, he travels to Earth, gaining his F-22 alternate mode by scanning an experimental Raptor before shooting it down.


title: Starscream

text: In "Transformers: Rising Storm", it is shown that Starscream has broken away from Megatron's rule, and formed his own army - Club Starscream - with Barricade and some others under his command. However, after blasting his way past Ruination and Deadlift, Shockwave tells Starscream that Megatron requires his services. Shockwave then sends Starscream to recover the drone called Brains.


title: Starscream

text: In "Twilight's Last Greaming" part 3, Starscream and Scorponok attack the Autobots Arcee, , Elita One, Longarm, Skyblast and on the moon. Starscream would return in issue #22 of the Titan Transformers Magazine series in a story called "The Decepticon who Haunted Himself".


title: Starscream

text: In the Nintendo DS "Transformers: Decepticons" game voiced by Daniel Ross, Starscream would kill Barricade and Blackout (and perhaps Brawl, who disappears after killing Ironhide), steal the Allspark, and betray Megatron. Starscream is fought by Megatron as the final boss after he is heavily damaged and loses the AllSpark to Create-A-Con. After being defeated, Megatron kills Starscream for being a traitor, as well as Create-A-Con for being weak. In Transformers Autobots, he is a simple boss who ambushes Ironhide and the Autobot Create-A-Bot in the Arctic but retreats after a long battle and does not reappear or heard of again.


title: Starscream

text: In the Nintendo DS game, "", Starscream was the temporary leader of the Decepticons until The Fallen forces him to revive Megatron.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream appears in the 2011 "Dark of the Moon" video game. As a Hunter, he can be played on Xbox Campaigne and multiplayer


title: Starscream

text: The original Starscream toy was originally part of the Japanese Diaclone toy line and was designed by Kohjin Ohno in the early eighties. It was imported to become part of the "Transformers" toy line by Hasbro in 1984. The toy was later re-issued in Japan in 2001, with black-and-gold and translucent "ghost" variants, and again in 2003, redecorated into a more cartoon-accurate color scheme. He was also reissued in the west in 2003, with extended missiles to comply with safety regulations. Japan re-released Starscream once again in 2007 for their "Encore Series". A highly prized collectable, the original Starscream toy has sold over $2000 on eBay. The original Starscream toy was altered somewhat and an electronic sound maker was added for the "Generation 2" toy line.


title: Starscream

text: "Beast Wars Second" Starscream had two toys produced exclusively in Japan. In 1997 he was released as a black redeco of "Generation 2" Smokescreen. This same toy was recolored into "Robot Masters" Smokesniper. In 1998 he was released as "Hellscream", a remold of "Beast Wars" Cybershark. This second toy was eventually released with a slight color change in the US as "Universe" Overbite. Hellscream was voted the ninth strangest Transformers Beast Wars figure by Topless Robots.


title: Starscream

text: The "Armada" toy was the first new-mould Starscream figure since 1990, and it clung to tradition with a jet alternate mode and a robot form featuring many callbacks to the original Starscream figure, such as shoulder-wings, air intakes on the shoulders, a cockpit in the chest, and a head-sculpt designed to look like the original animated character. When the Mini-Con port on his backpack is pulled back and held, an electronic jet-take off noise is made. Attaching his Mini-Con partner Swindle to this port, however, unlocks his shoulder-mounted null laser cannons, and changes the sound to a repeating laser blast. Swindle can also mount under the jet-mode nosecone – by pressing the cockpit, Swindle is dropped to the ground with an accompanying electronic noise, while a press without Swindle attached yields more noises. In robot mode, Starscream's left wing can detach and unfold into a sword for him to wield.


title: Starscream

text: Starscream for the 2007 and 2009 movie had numerous toys released. He was one of two promotional figures released long before the 2007 movie as a "protoform". During the 2007 film release he was sold in various size classes as a licensed F-22 Raptor replica. These toys were recolored and released as fellow Decepticons Ramjet, Skywarp and Thundercracker. During the 2009 film he was released as both redecos of the 2007 film toys as well as new molds. All toys of this character are officially licensed from Lockheed Martin.


title: Starscream

text: "Animated" Starscream also received numerous toys in many size classes during the run of the "Animated" toy line. Many of the Starscream toys were recolored as his clones Skywarp, Thundercracker, Ramjet, Dirge and Sunstorm. In 2008 a McDonald's Happy Meal was produced with a simple transforming Starscream toy inside to promote the series. This Starscream was also released in the "Universe" toy as a small Legends figure, shipping with a whole wave of tiny "Animated" characters. In Japan the Starscream figures were released in metallic finish by Takara.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: The mortuary temple of Hatshepsut (Egyptian: "Ḏsr-ḏsrw" meaning "Holy of Holies") is a mortuary temple built during the reign of Pharaoh Hatshepsut of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Located opposite the city of Luxor, it is considered to be a masterpiece of ancient architecture. Its three massive terraces rise above the desert floor and into the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari. Her tomb, KV20, lies inside the same massif capped by El Qurn, a pyramid for her mortuary complex. At the edge of the desert, east, connected to the complex by a causeway lies the accompanying valley temple. Across the river Nile, the whole structure points towards the monumental Eighth Pylon, Hatshepsut's most recognizable addition to the Temple of Karnak and the site from which the procession of the Beautiful Festival of the Valley departed. The temple's twin functions are identified by its axes: its main east-west axis served to receive the barque of Amun-Re at the climax of the festival, while its north-south axis represented the life cycle of the pharaoh from coronation to rebirth.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: Construction of the terraced temple took place between Hatshepsut's seventh and twentieth regnal year, during which building plans were repeatedly modified. In its design it was heavily influenced by the Temple of Mentuhotep II of the Eleventh Dynasty built six centuries earlier. In the arrangement of its chambers and sanctuaries, though, the temple is wholly unique. The main axis, normally reserved for the mortuary complex, is occupied instead by the sanctuary of the barque of Amun-Re, with the mortuary cult being displaced south to form the auxiliary axis with the solar cult complex to the north. Separated from the main sanctuary are shrines to Hathor and Anubis which lie on the middle terrace. The porticoes that front the terrace here host the most notable reliefs of the temple. Those of the expedition to the Land of Punt and of the divine birth of Hatshepsut, the backbone of her case to rightfully occupy the throne as a member of the royal family and as godly progeny. Below, the lowest terrace leads to the causeway and out to the valley temple.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: The state of the temple has suffered over time. Two decades after Hatshepsut's death, under the direction of Thutmose III, references to her rule were erased, usurped or obliterated. The campaign was intense but brief, quelled after two years when Amenhotep II was enthroned. The reasons behind the proscription remain a mystery. A personal grudge appears unlikely as Thutmose III had waited twenty years to act. Perhaps the concept of a female king was anathema to ancient Egyptian society or a dynastic dispute between the Ahmosid and Thutmosid lineages needed resolving. In the Amarna Period the temple was incurred upon again when Akhenaten ordered the images of Egyptian gods, particularly those of Amun, to be erased. These damages were repaired subsequently under Tutankhamun, Horemheb and Ramesses II. An earthquake in the Third Intermediate Period caused further harm. During the Ptolemaic period the sanctuary of Amun was restructured and a new portico built at its entrance. A Coptic monastery of Saint Phoibammon was built between the 6th and 8th centuries AD and images of Christ were painted over original reliefs. The latest graffito left is dated to c. 1223.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: The temple resurfaces in the records of the modern era in 1737 with Richard Pococke, a British traveller, who visited the site. Several visitations followed, though serious excavation was not conducted until the 1850s and 60s under Auguste Mariette. The temple was fully excavated between 1893 and 1906 during an expedition of the Egypt Exploration Fund (EEF) directed by Édouard Naville. Further efforts were carried out by Herbert E. Winlock and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA) from 1911 to 1936, and by Émile Baraize and the Egyptian Antiquities Service (now the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA)) from 1925 to 1952. Since 1961, the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology (PCMA) has carried out extensive consolidation and restoration works throughout the temple.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: From her accession to the throne, Hatshepsut renewed the act of monument building. The focal point of her attention was the city of Thebes and the god Amun, by whom she legitimized her reign. The preeminent residence of Amun was the Temple of Karnak to which Hatshepsut had contributed the Eighth Pylon, two tall obelisks, offering chapels, a shrine with two further obelisks, and statues of herself. Facing Karnak from across the river Nile, she built a mortuary temple against the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari. The pinnacle of her architectural contributions, it is considered to be among the great architectural wonders of the ancient world.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: At its far eastern end, lay a valley temple followed by a long, wide causeway, which also hosted a barque station at its midpoint, that led to the entrance gate of the mortuary temple. Here, three massive terraces rose above the desert floor and led into the Djeser-Djeseru or "Holy of Holies". Nearly the whole temple was built of limestone, with some red granite and sandstone. A single architrave was built of violet sandstone, purportedly sourced from Mentuhotep II's temple. This temple, built centuries earlier and found immediately south of Hatshepsut's, served as the inspiration for her design. On its main axis and at the end of temple, lay the temple's main cult site, a shrine to Amun-Re, which received his barque each year during the Beautiful Festival of the Valley in May. In the south were the offering halls of Thutmose I and Hatshepsut and to the north was the solar cult court. Outside, two further shrines were built for Hathor and Anubis, respectively. In total, the temple comprised five cult sites.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: The identity of the architect behind the project remains unclear. It is possible that Senenmut, the Overseer of Works, or Hapuseneb, the High Priest, were responsible. It is also likely that Hatshepsut provided input to the project. Over the course of its construction, between the seventh and twentieth year of Hatshepsut's reign, the temple plan underwent several revisions. A clear example of these modifications is in the Hathor shrine, whose expansions included, among other things, a conversion from a single to dual hypostyle halls. Its design was directly inspired by Mentuhotep II's adjoining temple immediately south, although its manner of arrangement is entirely unique. For example, whilst the central shrine of Mentuhotep II's temple was dedicated to his mortuary cult, Hatshepsut instead elevated the shrine of Amun to greater prominence. However, her mortuary cult was otherwise afforded the most voluminous chamber in the temple, harkening back to the offering halls of the pyramid age. There are parallels between the temple's architectural style and contemporaneous Minoan architecture, which has raised the possibility of an international style spreading across the Mediterranean in this period. Hatshepsut may also be of partly Cretan descent. Overall, the temple is representative of New Kingdom funerary architecture which served to laud the pharaoh and to honour gods relevant to the afterlife.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: The opening feature of the temple is the three terraces fronted by a portico leading up to the temple proper, and arrived at by a long causeway that led from the valley temple. Each elevated terrace was accessed by a ramp which bifurcated the porticoes.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: The lower terrace measures deep by wide and was enclosed by a wall with a single wide entrance gate at the centre of its east side. This terrace featured two Persea ("Mimusops schimperi") trees, two T-shaped basins which held papyri and flowers, and two recumbent lion statues on the ramp balustrade. The wide porticoes of the lower terrace contain 22 columns each, arranged in two rows, and feature relief scenes on their walls. The south portico's reliefs depict the transportation of two obelisks from Elephantine to the Temple of Karnak in Thebes, where Hatshepsut is presenting the obelisks and the temple to the god Amun-Re. They also depict Dedwen, Lord of Nubia and the 'Foundation Ritual'. The north portico's reliefs depict Hatshepsut as a sphinx crushing her enemies, along with images of fishing and hunting, and offerings to the gods. The outer ends of the porticoes hosted tall Osiride statues.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: The middle terrace measures deep by wide fronted by porticoes on the west and partially on the north sides. The west porticoes contain 22 columns arranged in two rows while the north portico contains 15 columns in a single row. The reliefs of the west porticoes of this terrace are the most notable from the mortuary temple. The south-west portico depicts the expedition to the Land of Punt and the transportation of exotic goods to Thebes. The north-west portico reliefs narrate the divine birth of Hatshepsut to Thutmose I, represented as Amun-Re, and Ahmose. Thus legitimizing her rule both by royal lineage and godly progeny. This is the oldest known scene of its type. Construction of the north portico and its four or five chapels was abandoned prior to completion and consequently it was left blank. The terrace also likely featured sphinxes set up along the path to the next ramp, whose balustrade was adorned by falcons resting upon coiled cobras. In the south-west and north-west corner of the terrace are the shrines to Hathor and Ra, respectively.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: The upper terrace opens to 26 columns each fronted by a tall Osiride statue of Hatshepsut. They are split in the centre by a granite gate through which the festival courtyard was entered. This division is represented geographically, too, as the southern colossi carry the Hedjet of Upper Egypt, while the northern colossi bear the Pschent of Lower Egypt. The portico here completes the narrative of the preceding porticoes with the coronation of Hatshepsut as king of Upper and Lower Egypt. The courtyard is surrounded by pillars, two rows deep on the north, east and south sides, and three rows deep on the west side. Eight smaller and ten larger niches were cut into the west wall, these are presumed to have contained kneeling and standing statues of Pharaoh Hatshepsut. The remaining walls are carved with reliefs. The Beautiful Festival of the Valley on the north, the Festival of Opet on the east, and the coronation rituals on the south. Three cult sites branch off from the courtyard. The sanctuary of Amun lies west on the main axis, to the north was the solar cult court, and to the south was chapel dedicated to the mortuary cults of Hatshepsut and Thutmose I.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: At the south end of the middle terrace is a shrine dedicated to the goddess Hathor. The shrine is separated from the temple and is accessed by a ramp from the lower terrace, although an alternative entrance existed at the upper terrace. The ramp opens up to a portico adorned with four columns carrying Hathor capitals. The walls of the entrance contain scenes of Hathor being fed by Hatshepsut. Inside are two hypostyle halls, the first containing 12 columns and the second containing 16. Beyond this are a vestibule containing two columns and a double sanctuary. Reliefs on the walls of the shrine depict Hathor with Hatshepsut, the goddess Weret-hekhau presenting the pharaoh with a "Menat" necklace, and Senenmut. Hathor holds special significance in Thebes, representing the hills of Deir el-Bahari, and also to Hatshepsut who presented herself as a reincarnation of the goddess. Hathor is also associated with Punt, which is the subject of reliefs in the proximate portico.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: At the north end of the middle terrace is a shrine dedicated to the god Anubis. This shrine is smaller than its counterpart to Hathor in the south. It comprises a hypostyle hall adorned with 12 columns arranged into three rows of four, followed by a sequence of two rooms terminating at a small niche. Images presented on the walls are of offerings and cult activity, with a relief showing Anubis escorting Hatshepsut to the shrine. The name of Anubis was used to designate the heir to the throne, which the Egyptologist Ann Macy Roth associates to the reliefs depicting Hatshepsut's divine birth.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: Situated at the back of the temple, on its main axis, is the climactic point of the temple, the sanctuary of Amun, to whom Hatshepsut had dedicated the temple as 'a garden for my father Amun'. Inside, the first chamber was a chapel which hosted the barque of Amun and a skylight that allowed light to flood onto the statue of Amun. The lintel of the red granite entrance depicts two Amuns seated upon a throne with backs together and kings kneeling in submission before them, a symbol of his supreme status in the sanctuary. Inside the hall are scenes of offerings presented by Hatshepsut and Thutmose I, accompanied by Ahmose and Princesses Neferure and Nefrubity, four Osiride statues of Hatshepsut in the corners, and six statues of Amun occupying the niches of the hall. In the tympanum, cartouches containing Hatshepsut's name are flanked and apotropaically guarded by those of Amun-Re. This chamber was the end point of the annual Beautiful Festival of the Valley.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: The second chamber contained a cult image of Amun, and was flanked either side by a chapel. The north chapel was carved with reliefs depicting the gods of the Heliopolitan Ennead and the south chapel with the corresponding Theban Ennead. The enthroned gods each carried a "was-sceptre" and an "ankh". Presiding over the delegations, Atum and Montu occupied the end walls. The third chamber contained a statue around which the 'Daily Ritual' was also performed. It was originally believed to have been constructed a millennium after the original temple, under Ptolemy VIII Euergetes, giving it the name 'the Ptolemaic Sanctuary'. The discovery of reliefs depicting Hatshepsut evidence the construction to her reign instead. The Egyptologist Dieter Arnold speculates that it might have hosted a granite false door.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: The solar cult is accessed from the courtyard through a vestibule occupied by three columns in the north side of the upper terrace courtyard. The doorjamb of the entrance is embellished with the figures of Hatshepsut, Ra-Horakhty (Horus) and Amun. The reliefs in the vestibule contain images of Thutmose I and Thutmose III. The vestibule opens up to the main court which hosts a grand altar open to the sky and accessed from a staircase in the court's west. There are two niches present in the court in the south and west wall, the former shows Ra-Horakhty presenting an "ankh" to Hatshepsut and the latter contains a relief of Hatshepsut as a priest of her own cult. Attached to the court was a chapel which contained representations of Hatshepsut's family. In these, Thutmose I and his mother, Seniseneb, are depicted giving offerings to Anubis, while Hatshepsut and Ahmose are depicted giving offerings to Amun-Re.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: Situated in the south of the courtyard was the mortuary cult complex. Accessed through a vestibule adorned with three columns are two offering halls oriented on an east–west axis. The northern hall is dedicated to Thutmose I; the southern hall is dedicated to Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut's offering-hall emulated those found in the mortuary temples of the Old and Middle Kingdom pyramid complexes. It measured deep by wide and had an vaulted ceiling high. Consequently, it was the largest chamber in the whole temple. Thutmose I's offering-hall was decided smaller, measuring deep by wide. Both halls contained red granite false doors, scenes of animal-sacrifice, offerings and offering-bearers, priests performing rituals, and the owner of the chapel seated before a table receiving those offerings. Scenes from the offering-hall are direct copies of those present in the Pyramid of Pepi II, from the end of the Sixth Dynasty.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: Prior to its construction, the 'stretching of the cord' otherwise known as the 'foundation ritual' was performed. The ritual is depicted in detail on the south portico of the lower terrace. The ceremony opens before the goddess Seshat, it follows Hatshepsut and her ka scattering "besen" grains before she offers her temple to Amun-Re. The next scene has been lost, it preceded the closing scene of the 'Great Offering' to Amun-Re-Kamutef. During the ceremony, the consecration of foundation deposits would take place, a practice that started as early as the Third Dynasty of Egypt at the Pyramid of Djoser. There are sixteen known foundation deposits at Hatshepsut's temple, that generally outline its perimeter, and a further three at the valley temple. Broadly, pottery, votives, food and ritual offerings, tools, scarabs and seal amulets were deposited into the prepared holes. The titles of Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, and Neferure are incised into some of these items, as are images and names of gods.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: It has been suggested that Hatshepsut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, KV20, was meant to be an element of the mortuary complex at Deir el-Bahari. The arrangement of the temple and tomb bear a spatial resemblance to the pyramid complexes of the Old Kingdom, which comprised five central elements: valley temple, causeway, mortuary temple, main pyramid, and cult pyramid. Hatshepsut's temple complex included the valley temple, causeway, and mortuary temple. Her tomb was built into the massif of the same cliffs as the temple, beneath the dominating peak of El Qurn ( AMSL) that caps her tomb, in a sense, like the pyramid capped the tomb of an Old Kingdom pharaoh. Further, her tomb lies in-line with the offering hall of the mortuary cult complex. There is another analogous relationship, that between the mortuary temple and Karnak and that of the pyramids and Heliopolis. Though KV20 is recognized as the tomb of Hatshepsut, there is dispute over who commissioned its initial construction. Two competing hypotheses suggest that the tomb was built originally during the reign of either Thutmose I or Thutmose II and that Hatshepsut had the tomb altered later with an additional chamber for her own burial.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: The principal function of the temple was to serve the royal mortuary cults of Hatshepsut and Thutmose I. To fulfill this purpose, a mortuary cult complex was built where offerings could be made for the kꜣ, or spirit, of the king. In the Egyptian conception, the deceased continued to rely on the same sustenance as the living. In life, the aspects of the soul, the "kꜣ", "bꜣ" and "ꜣḫ", were contained in the vessel of the living body. On death, the body was rendered immobile and the soul was able to leave it. In her temple, the offering of food and drink was performed before the granite false doors of the offering chapels. The mortuary ritual, lists of offerings, and the recipient of the rites were depicted on the east wall of both chapels.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: The sanctuary of Amun was the end point of the Beautiful Festival of the Valley, conducted annually, starting at the Temple of Karnak. This celebration dated back to the Middle Kingdom, when it concluded at the temple built by Mentuhotep II. The procession began at the Eighth Pylon at Karnak led by Hatshepsut and Thutmosis III, followed by noblemen and priests bearing Amun's barque, accompanied by musicians, dancers, courtiers and more priests, and guarded by soldiers. A further flotilla of small boats and the great ship "Userhat", which carried the barque, were towed. In Hatshepsut's time, the barque of Amun was a miniaturized copy of a transport barge equipped with three long carrying-poles borne by six priests each. The figure of a ram's head, sacred to Amun, adorned its prow and stern. In the centre of its hull a lavishly ornamented "naos" was installed and the statue of Amun, presently bejewelled, cloistered within. The barque likely measured in length. The procession crossed the Nile, visited the cemeteries in remembrance, before landing at the valley temple to proceed along the long causeway to the temple proper. Halfway up was the barque station, beyond which the path was flanked by more than 100 sandstone sphinxes up to the terraces. This is the oldest attested sphinx avenue, though the practice is thought to date to the Old Kingdom. The valley temple and barque station were points at which offerings were made and purification rituals conducted. The procession carried on through the entrance-gate, up the temple's great ramps, and into the sanctuary where the barque and Amun were kept for a night before being returned home to Karnak. On this day, bounteous offerings of food, meat, drink and flowers were presented on tables to Amun, with smaller quantities reserved for the king. On all other days, priests performed the 'Daily Ritual' upon the statues of Amun and Hatshepsut.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: Before dawn each morning, a pair of priests visited the temple's well to collect water for transfer to libation vessels. Other priests busied themselves preparing food and drink as offerings to the gods while the head priest, "ḥm-nṯr", visited the "pr–dwꜣt" to be purified and clothed in preparation for the ceremony. The "naos" containing the cult image of Amun-Re was first purified with incense. At first light, the head priest opened the shrine and prostrated himself before the god declaring that he had been sent on behalf of the king, while other priests performed recitations. The shrine was purified with water and incense and a statuette of "Maat" was presented to the cult image which was then removed. The statuette was de-clothed, cleared of oil, and placed on a pile of clean sand, a representation of "benben". Fresh paint was applied to its eyes, it was anointed with various oils, dressed in new garments of cloth, and provided with accessories. Lastly, its face was anointed and sand scattered around the chapel before the image was returned to its resting place. By now, the god's breakfast offering was presented to him. A final set of purifications were conducted and the doors to shrine closed with the head priest sweeping away his footsteps behind him. The food was taken away as well – they were not physically consumed, the god only partook of their essence – to be re-presented at the chapels of other deities. Each god received essentially the same service. The food was eventually consumed by the priests in the 'reversion of offerings', "wḏb ḫt". More purifying libations were poured and incense burned at the shrines at noon and in the evening. At other times, hymns were sung, apotropaic rituals performed to protect Amun-Re's barque as it voyaged across the sky, and wax or clay images of enemies destroyed.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: Two decades after her death, during Thutmose III's forty-second regnal year, he decided that all evidence of her reign as king of Egypt should be erased. His reasons for proscribing her reign remain unclear. This assault against her reign was, however, short-lived. Two years after it started, when Amenhotep II ascended to the throne, the proscription was abandoned and much of the erasure left half-finished.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: There are three hypotheses regarding Thutmose III's motivation. The oldest and most dubious is personal revenge. This hypothesis holds that Hatshepsut usurped the throne as sole ruler, relegating Thutmose III, and consequently he sought to erase her memory. This explanation is unconvincing as the proscription was delayed by two decades and targeted only against her reign as king. The second argument is that it was a repudiation of the concept of female kingship. The role of a king was closed to women, and her assumption of the role may have presented ideological problems that were resolved via erasure. This may explain the decision to leave images of her as queen intact. The third case assesses the possibility of a dynastic dispute between the Ahmosid and Thutmosid lineages. By expunging her rule from the record, Thutmose III may have ensured that his son, Amenhotep II, would ascend the throne. There is, however, no known Ahmosid pretender.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: Several methods of erasure were employed at her temple by Thutmose III in his campaign. The least damaging were the scratching out of feminine pronouns and suffixes, which otherwise left the text intact. These were commonly used in the Hathor shrine and in the upper terrace. More thorough removal methods included chiselling away, roughening, smoothing, patching or covering over of her image and titles. In other places her image was replaced with that of an offering table. Occasionally, her image was repurposed for a member of the Thutmosid family. This was most often Thutmose II, although infrequently instead her cartouche was replaced with that of Thutmose I or III. The final method, and the most destructive, was the obliteration of her statuary in the temple. Workmen dragged the statues from her temple to one of two designated sites, a quarry – a burrow from which fill material was obtained – and the Hatshepsut Hole. Here, sledgehammers and stone blocks were used to break up the statues which were then dumped into the chosen repositories.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: The temple continued to serve as a site of worship following Thutmose III's death. During the Amarna Period, further erasure of the reliefs was inflicted by order of Akhenaten, albeit the target of this persecution were images of the gods, particularly Amun. Early in his reign, Aten, a solar deity, was elevated to the status of supreme god. The persecution of other gods did not begin immediately, instead reform proceeded gradually for several years before culminating in prohibition around his ninth regnal year. The proscription coincides with the ostracization of Horus. These images were restored during the reigns of Tutankhamun, Horemheb, and Ramesses II. The temple was damaged further by an earthquake in the ninth century BC, during the Third Intermediate Period. During this time, between the Twenty-First and Twenty-Fifth Dynasties, the temple was used as a burial ground for priests of the cults of Amun and Montu, as well as for members of the royal family.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: During the reign of Ptolemy III Euergetes, a stone chapel was built on the middle terrace for Asklepios, a god of the Greek pantheon. Later under Ptolemy VIII Euergetes, the sanctuary of Amun was significantly altered. The cult statue chamber was converted into a chapel for Amenhotep, son of Hapu, the Eighteenth Dynasty architect of Amenhotep III, Imhotep, the Third Dynasty vizier of Djoser, and Hygieia, the Greek goddess of hygiene. In the barque hall, the two centre niches were filled and the skylight blocked. The sanctuary entrance was outfitted with a portico carried by six columns.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: After the Ptolemaic kingdom, the temple was used as a site of local worship. Between the 6th and 8th centuries AD, a Coptic monastery of Saint Phoibammon was constructed on the temple grounds. Figures of Christ and other saints were painted over the original relief work with the temple. A pilgrim left the latest dated graffito in c. 1223.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: The earliest modern visitor to the temple was Richard Pococke, an English traveller, in 1737. He was followed by François Jollois and Renée Edouard Devilliers, two members of Napoleon Bonaparte's expedition, in 1798. The earliest archaeological findings were made around 1817 by Giovanni Battista Belzoni and Henry William Beechey, who scavenged the site for artefacts to present to Henry Salt, the British consul. Another visitor to the site, in 1823–1825, Henry Westcar is credited with the earliest printed reference to the name Deir el-Bahari. In the following decades John Gardner Wilkinson, Jean-François Champollion and Karl Richard Lepsius each visited the site. The earliest significant excavations took place in the 1850s and 60s under Auguste Mariette. Under his supervision the remains of the monastery Saint Phoibammon were destroyed and the shrines to Hathor and Anubis as well as the south colonnade of the middle terrace were revealed. During the Egypt Exploration Fund's (EEF) expedition, under Édouard Naville and his assistant Howard Carter, from 1893–1906, the entire temple was excavated. The seven volumes of Naville's work form a fundamental source for the temple. In 1911–1936, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA) funded excavation works under the direction of Herbert E. Winlock. In 1925–1952, a team led by Émile Baraize for the Egyptian Antiquities Service reconstructed significant portions of the temple. Since 1961, the Polish Center of Mediterranean Archeology (PCMA) of Warsaw University in Cairo has been engaged in restoration and consolidation efforts at the site.


title: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

text: The Polish-Egyptian Archaeological and Conservation Expedition was established by Kazimierz Michałowski, after he was approached by the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). The project was originally constrained to reconstructing the third terrace, but, since 1967, the mission has encapsulated the entire temple. The project is presently directed by Patryk Chudzik. The site is being gradually opened to tourism. Since 2000, the festival courtyard, upper terrace, and the coronation portico have been open to visitors. In 2015, the solar cult court and, in 2017, the sanctuary of Amun were also opened to visitation.


title: Beastly (film)

text: Beastly is a 2011 American romantic fantasy drama film loosely based on Alex Flinn's 2007 novel of the same name. It is a retelling of the fairytale "Beauty and the Beast" and is set in modern-day New York City. The film was written and directed by Daniel Barnz and stars Alex Pettyfer and Vanessa Hudgens.


title: Beastly (film)

text: Kyle Kingson (Alex Pettyfer) is the arrogant and vain son of news anchor Rob Kingson (Peter Krause). Kyle bullies Kendra Hilferty (Mary-Kate Olsen), not knowing she is a witch; she transforms him into a hairless, scarred, heavily tattooed shell of his former self. If Kyle does not find someone who loves him by the next spring, he will stay altered permanently. Kyle is taken to live in a private house with their maid Zola Davies (LisaGay Hamilton) and the blind tutor Will (Neil Patrick Harris). Both are comforts to Kyle when his father, unable to deal with his transformation, has abandoned him.


title: Beastly (film)

text: As spring nears, Kyle finds himself infatuated with Lindy Taylor (Vanessa Hudgens), a former classmate he had avoided. He rescues her drug-addicted father from two dealers, shooting one; the other vows to kill Lindy. Kyle persuades Lindy's father (Roc Lafortune) to allow her to move in with him. At first, Kyle uses a false identity and introduces himself as Hunter. He also refuses to see Lindy and hides from her, which angers her to the point that she stops speaking to him. Kyle eventually reveals his face and the two begin to warm up to each other. Kyle writes a letter professing his love for Lindy but does not give it to her for fear of rejection. He visits Kendra to plead for more time; she refuses, but agrees to restore Will's vision and grant green cards to Zola's three children in Jamaica if he gets Lindy to fall in love with him.


title: Beastly (film)

text: The surviving drug dealer lands in jail. Kyle and Lindy visit Lindy's hospitalized father. He gives her the letter but regrets it when she tells him she considers him a good friend. Lindy calls him after reading the letter, but a heartbroken Kyle does not answer the phone. Persuaded by Will and Zola, Kyle goes to meet Lindy one last time before she leaves on a school trip to Machu Picchu. Kyle tells her to go, but as she leaves, Lindy tells him that she loves him, breaking the curse. Kyle's former self is restored but Lindy does not recognize him and tries to call Hunter but Kyle's phone rings instead. When Lindy realizes what happened, the two share a passionate kiss on the side of the street.


title: Beastly (film)

text: After the curse is lifted, Will wakes up with the ability to see and Zola receives the green cards. Kendra approaches Rob Kingson's office as a new intern, implying that she will test Rob like she did Kyle.


title: Beastly (film)

text: An alternate ending was filmed where Lindy gets kidnapped by the drug dealer, and Kyle gets shot while in the process of saving her. As he lies injured in her arms, she confesses her love to him, breaking the curse in a fashion more closely based on the book and the original Beauty and the Beast story. This ending was not used in the official release, but it was used in the official video game for the Wii.


title: Beastly (film)

text: The film is based on Alex Flinn's 2007 supernatural romance novel "Beastly", and has been in production since CBS Films bought the rights in December 2007. In February 2009, it was announced by Amy Baer, President and CEO of CBS Films, that Daniel Barnz would direct the film and write the screenplay. Susan Cartsonis produced the film through Storefront Films and Roz Weisberg co-produced it. Initially, the executives wanted a late 2008 theatrical release; however, the WGA strike prevented that possibility.


title: Beastly (film)

text: Baer expressed excitement about the director, saying, "Daniel's fresh vision makes him one of the most exciting directors of his generation. We are thrilled to partner with him as he brings his unique voice to arguably the most universally resonant myth in storytelling." Barnz anticipated bringing an indie sensibility to Flinn's story. "It's a very commercial idea that I get to tell in a highly artistic fashion," he said. Barnz also said; "There was this sort of hyper-modern version of this story and that it was told from his perspective, which we'd never seen before and thematically, because it's all about beauty and how you look and inner beauty that this was such a great story set in the teenage world and for teenagers, because it has such a great message to it".


title: Beastly (film)

text: Barnz's script was inspired by the film "Say Anything...". He "immediately fell for it, because [he] saw that there was an amazing opportunity to tell a modern version of this fairytale and [he] loved the idea of it." Barnz was happy that the story would be told from the beast's perspective and that it focused more on the romance elements than the supernatural.


title: Beastly (film)

text: In his role as Hunter, Pettyfer's appearance was altered with heavy makeup and prosthetics. Hunter's appearance differs from the description in the novel; he has no fur or fangs. Pettyfer was pleased with the revision; he said, "I was very happy to know I wasn't going to be furry. Question is, were you happy I wasn't furry? Well, I think the audience will be happy. This beast make-up is phenomenal. You're talking to someone who is a fanatic about it [prosthetics and movie make-up] and I've never seen anything that looks remotely similar to this."


title: Beastly (film)

text: The makeup consisted of 67 pieces; seven pieces went on his head and 60 tattoos and individual scars were applied after the full-body makeup. The facial prosthetics and tattoos took almost three hours to apply and the full body makeup took the artists six hours to finish. About his transformation, Pettyfer said, "It really affected me because as soon as I shaved my head it kind of put me in this weird place, the same place [Kyle is in after his transformation] which really helped me with the role a lot. But at the same time, it kind of is a challenge because you are fighting personally with your own problems off set, but then onset you have a great resource to go to."


title: Beastly (film)

text: Tony Gardner and Alterian, Inc. designed and created the prosthetics and tattoos. Jamie Kelman handled Pettyfer's daily makeup application. Hudgens described the beast's look as "crazy" and that it moved her in "a really weird and peculiar way." Several days before the announced production date, several members of the cast were photographed en route to a wardrobe studio for fittings. The costumes and clothing used in the film were designed by Suttirat Anne Larlarb.


title: Beastly (film)

text: "Beastly" was one of the first feature films to be produced and distributed by CBS Films; it had a budget of $17 million for filming and marketing. Production began on June 13, 2009, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and ended in August that year. The first clip of the official "Beastly" trailer was filmed in Chicago, and used Walter Payton College Prep High School as Buckston Academy High School. Old Montreal and Laval were used as filming locations, and Mount Royal Park in Montreal served as Central Park in New York and other outdoor locations. Local Montreal diner Place Milton was also used as a location, and was renamed Cafe Santiago for the film. Filming was completed in 45 days.


title: Beastly (film)

text: The Quebec government announced on June 12, 2009, that it would increase its tax credit for foreign TV and film producers filming there from 25% of labor expenses to 25% of the entire budget of productions shot there. The producers of "Beastly" chose to film in Montreal before the announcement of tax-paying increase.


title: Beastly (film)

text: Hudgens left for Montreal to film following the MTV Movie Awards. "I'm laid-back about it," she said. On June 4, 2009, Hudgens and Pettyfer arrived in Montreal. Neil Patrick Harris also went to Montreal to shoot his scenes, and concurrently for his lead role in an independent film. Hudgens was the first to finish shooting in order to promote the film "Bandslam". Re-shoots were conducted in 2010 due to the delays to the film's release and in order to "emphasize the romantic relationship between the two main characters".


title: Beastly (film)

text: The film score was composed by Marcelo Zarvos. Songs by Swedish indie band "Marching Band" were featured in the film. Also featured was Natalia Kills' second single, "Wonderland". The film's soundtrack was released on March 1, 2011, and the score album was released on March 15, 2011; both albums were released by Lakeshore Records.


title: Beastly (film)

text: The first teaser trailer was released on November 20, 2009, during the previews of "". The 23-second teaser received comments from commercial websites. Annie Barrett of "Entertainment Weekly" wrote, "Alex Pettyfer is giving off more of a (Disney pretty-boy) Gaston vibe than the Beast here." A holographic poster was displayed in selected theaters. The first official poster was then released in early April 2010. A featurette video which includes clips from the film, was released in early February 2010. The full-length trailer premiered on April 19, 2010. A new trailer, featuring a new logo, the new release date and the song "Broken Arrow" by Pixie Lott, was released in late 2010.


title: Beastly (film)

text: CBS Films announced that clothing and accessories, social expressions and games would be produced to market the film. Among the products were proprietary and co-branded games and puzzles by Fundex; figures and bobbleheads worldwide by Bif Bang Pow!; costumes, masks and accessories for the US and Canada from Rubie's; and video games worldwide from Storm City.


title: Beastly (film)

text: "Beastly" was expected to be distributed to theaters by CBS Films on July 30, 2010. However, the film's release was delayed until March 18, 2011, in order to avoid a clash with the release of "Charlie St. Cloud", which starred Zac Efron, Hudgens's then-boyfriend with whom she had a strong following at the time. In January 2011, the release was moved forward to March 4, 2011.


title: Beastly (film)

text: Alliance Films, based in Montreal, released the film in Canada under a deal with CBS Films. Sony Pictures handled international distribution. The first planned release date was July 30, 2010, but a few weeks after "Charlie St. Cloud" moved to a July 30 release, CBS films released a statement through "Beastly"s official Facebook page. CBS films would delay the release of "Beastly" because it would cause a "real dilemma" to fans of Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens' relationship. The film's new release date was March 18, 2011 to avoid clashing with films opening during summer 2010. However, the new date was four weeks after Pettyfer debuted in American cinema in "I Am Number Four", and three weeks before the release of Hudgens' other film "Sucker Punch". CBS Films distribution head Steven Friedlandere said, "There wasn't much left in the summer that we could move it to. We didn't want to go in fall, and the holidays are for four-quadrant movies. So we figured if we went to March, we'd have some school breaks happening around that time." After a successful test screening, CBS Films decided on an earlier release date, March 4, 2011. The movie was released on Blu-ray Disc on June 28, 2011.


title: Beastly (film)

text: "Beastly" received mostly negative reviews, earning a 21% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes from 97 reviews, with an average rating of 3.70/10. The critical consensus read "Fundamentally misguided, poorly written, and badly acted, "Beastly" adds little to the legacy of its timeless source material." Adam Markovitz gave it a D− in "Entertainment Weekly", commenting, "Spectacularly poor judgment in everything from acting to costuming (Olsen's Harajuku-troll get-up is scarier than her curse) puts "Beastly" right on the cusp of the so-bad-it's-good Hall of Shame." Lou Lumenick of the "New York Post" said the film " more than lives up to its name with ultra-campy performances, high-glucose direction (Daniel Barnz), laughable dialogue, cheesy effects and a back-lot simulation of a Manhattan street that wouldn't pass muster on an after-school special." Mick LaSalle of the "San Francisco Chronicle", while noting problems with the plot and script, argued that these problems were largely acceptable within the confines of the genre, and were alleviated by the charm of the actors and the direction. He remarked that Barnz "showed imagination and sensitivity in his feature "Phoebe in Wonderland" and hasn't lost those qualities now that he's entered the world of the big budgets." Claudia Puig wrote in "USA Today" that "This modern reworking of "Beauty and the Beast" has none of the charm of the Disney animated version. It's dogged by awkward dialogue, a ridiculous plot and lackluster performances, especially by the leads ..." A number of reviewers criticized that Kyle did not look genuinely ugly in his beast form, and could even be regarded as more attractive, thereby compromising the film's moral about "inner beauty" shining through physical ugliness.


title: Beastly (film)

text: "Beastly" had the third largest weekend gross earnings behind "Rango" and "The Adjustment Bureau". As of May 25, "Beastly"'s total US gross is $27.9 million. It garnered $15.3 million more in other regions, making the film's worldwide gross earnings $43.2 million.


title: Batman: White Knight

text: Batman: White Knight is an American comic book published by DC Comics. The eight-issue limited series, written and illustrated by Sean Murphy, began monthly publication in October 2017 and concluded in May 2018. In the series, the Joker is seemingly cured of his madness and sets out to become a politician under his real name of Jack Napier, seeking to change his public image as a "villain" and save Gotham City from Batman, whom he views as the real enemy of the city.


title: Batman: White Knight

text: A sequel titled "" ran from July 24, 2019 to March 25, 2020. A second sequel, "", began publication on March 29, 2022 and will conclude in December of the same year.


title: Batman: White Knight

text: Batman, Batgirl and Nightwing pursue the Joker through Gotham City. While the Joker benignly weaves a two-wheeled hoverboard through the city, Batman recklessly chases him in the tank-like Batmobile, causing significant property damage and nearly killing multiple bystanders; from the passenger seat, Batgirl pleads with him to drive more carefully, but she is ignored. Nightwing follows on a motorcycle, saving a man from nearly being hit by the Batmobile.