Jazz (Transformers)

Jazz is a popular and recurring character in the Transformers franchise.
==Canon Background==
[characterization, story role, further important appearances]
===Major Appearances===
 
*The Transformers TV series
*The Transformers Generation One Marvel Comics
*The Transformers Generation One IDW Comics
*Transformers Bay Movies 
*Transformers Animated
*Transformers Aligned (RiD 2015) Continuity
*Transformers One
See on TFWiki.net for more of his appearances.
== Popular Tropes & Fanon ==
TBA
==Subjects of Fannish Interest & Meta==
=== Jazz/Prowl and Fanon Jazz ===
Jazz/Prowl, Jazz's most popular ship, originated in early 90s as a crack ship in the G1 canon, later becoming one of the most popular pairings in the fandom overall. It predated following continuities, so when they released, many shippers adapted their new personalities to fix the ship rather than the other way around. Prowl in particular was heavily influenced by this fanon in fanworks, as he was originally the least developed personality-wise between him and Jazz. He can be considered one of the first fandom ghosts.As said in Prowl, Original Fandom Ghost by multiple fans
The ship's appeal largely comes from the opposites attract angle. Jazz is seen as laid back, fun-loving, sociable and adaptive while Prowl is stricter, more uptight, as seen as someone who takes everything literally. The black/white angle plays into this, with Jazz representing black and Prowl representing white -- coming from Jazz being black-coded, (Scatman Crothers as his VA in the G1 cartoon, his love of a black-made music genre, his way of talking, etc, has made him be consistently black-coded since the 80s,) and to a lesser extent Prowl being colored white and having a white VA in the G1 cartoon.
Meta about Jazz often talks about how fanon Jazz is often far removed from his canon characterization and encompasses negative racial stereotypes.
These stereotypes include him being very sexually promiscuous, a Decepticon spy or otherwise untrustworthy, from a dangerous neighborhood, and in need of being taught by the white-coded characters how to be a good person. Other common racist tropes are him "always running hot." Fanwriters also may get his AAVE incorrect instead of basing it largely on Swing/Bebop-era/Southern US AAVE, which is where most of his canon vocabulary comes from. (08 May 2023) (03 November 2023) 
==Relationships==
This is purposefully an incomplete list, as Jazz is shipped with many of the other Transformers. He's also popular for self-insert shipping.
Please add any notable relationships in fanworks if they are missing.
Primary Canon	With... 	Who is a(n)...	Full Label 	Type	Ship Name(s) 	Information
various 	Prowl 	Autobot 	Jazz/Prowl 	M/M 	マイプロ | プロマイ 	Juggernaut ship for both Jazz and Prowl; crack-ish w/ little canon backing
various 	Prowl 	Autobot 	Jazz & Prowl 	Gen 	(n/a) 	Both high-ranking Autobots
G1 Cartoon 	Soundwave 	Decepticon 	Jazz/Soundwave 	M/M 	音マイ | マイ音 	Rivals; Soundwave is Jazz's Decepticon counterpart
G1 Cartoon 	Optimus Prime 	Autobot 	Jazz/Optimus Prime 	M/M 	マイコン | コンマイ 	Close allies
G1 Cartoon 	Optimus Prime 	Autobot 	Jazz & Optimus Prime 	Gen 	(n/a) 	Close allies
various 	Optimus Prime, Prowl	Autobot x2 	Jazz/Optimus Prime/Prowl	Poly	Jazzprowlop 	All three non-poly versions of this ship are popular
various 	Bumblebee 	Autobot 	Bumblebee & Jazz 	Gen 	(n/a) 	Rarepair; but possible in multiple continuities
Bayverse 	Mikaela Banes 	Autobot ally 	Mikaela Banes/Jazz 	F/M 	(n/a) 	(n/a)
G1 Cartoon 	Blaster 	Autobot 	Blaster/Jazz 	M/M 	ブロマイ | マイブロ 	Both love music, w/ Jazz liking jazz and Blaster liking hip-hop
Animated 	Blitzwing 	Decepticon 	Blitzwing/Jazz 	M/M 	(n/a) 	Rarepair; semi-common early in Animated fandom
Animated 	Blurr 	Autobot 	Blurr/Jazz 	M/M 	Jazzblurr 	Rarepair; semi-common early in Animated fandom
various 	Bumblebee 	Autobot 	Bumblebee/Jazz 	M/M 	Jazzbee 	Rarepair; but possible in multiple continuities
G1 Cartoon 	Starscream 	Decepticon 	Jazz/Starscream 	M/M 	マイスタ | スタマイ 	Often enemies to lovers
==Example/Notable Fanac==
===Fan Communities/Fan Events===
* , a fanweek held in 2024.
* , a fanweek held in 2022.
* , a club on Deviantart.
* , a club on Deviantart.
* , a club on Deviantart for Blitzwing/Jazz.
* , a club on Deviantart for Blurr/Jazz.
* , a club on Deviantart for Bumblebee/Jazz.
* , a club on Deviantart for Jazz/Optimus Prime.
* , a club on Deviantart for Jazz/Prowl.
* , a community on LiveJournal for Jazz/Prowl.
* , a community on Dreamwidth for Jazz/Prowl.
=== Wikis ===
* on PixivEncyclopedia
* on PixivEncyclopedia
* on the TFWiki
* on the Shipping Wiki for Jazz/Prowl.
===Fan Fic===
===Fan Art===
* (2016)
===General Fanworks===
==== Collections ====
* , a fic collection on FanFiction.Net.
==== Shared Universes ====
* Jazz Mecha Pilot AU by keferon, a Jazz/Prowl AU where Jazz is secretly a human mecha pilot on Cybertron. 
==== Fan Mixes ====
* (2017)
===Meta===
* (2022)
* (2023)
* (2023), comparing fanon Jazz with canon Blaster, another black-coded character.
* (2023-2024), long meta about his canon characterization.
** (2024)
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Transformers Characters