Bristleback

2012-05-26T23:12:35Z

109.145.110.241: Corrected a sentence, because that's not what "ironic" means.

{{factions|decepticon}}
:''Bristleback is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:G1-Bristleback1.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Crouching Tiger, Hidden [[Gold Plastic Syndrome|Stress Fractures]]]]
'''Bristleback''' ''hates'' being a [[Pretender]]. He was forced into undergoing the process when he discovered, to his great dismay, that his steel skin was somehow inferior to other Transformers', corroding and [[rust]]ing upon contact with [[Earth]]'s atmosphere. Worse yet, his bulky and cumbersome Pretender shell has transformed him from a once-quick-footed fighter to one of the slowest movers in the Decepticon ranks. A ceaselessly foul-mouthed, bullying malcontent ''before'' these indignities, Bristleback has only become meaner since. His Pretender shell's one redeeming feature is the spikes on its back, which secrete a powerful corrosive acid upon contact. Bristleback dreams of being assigned to space missions, where his rust condition will no longer be an issue.

He can combine with his fellow [[Pretender Monster]]s to form [[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]], curiously without any rust problems of note.

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
In an alternate future where the Decepticons had conquered much of Earth, Bristleback and his fellow Pretender Monsters were led by [[Galvatron II|Galvatron]] to the remains of [[New York City]] in an attempt to root out the last remaining vestiges of Autobot and human resistance. All they managed to find, however, was a human-made booby trap that buried [[Icepick (G1)|Icepack]] under tons of debris.

Not long later, he and the others rejoined the Decepticons to defend the [[Decepticon Powerbase]] against an Autobot attack. {{storylink|Rhythms of Darkness!}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. Transformers''===
Bristleback was among a group of Decepticons who made a deal with [[Cobra-La]], receiving power-enhancing organic shells in exchange for defending Cobra-La's underground kingdom. During Cobra-La's scheme to summon [[Unicron]] to Earth, the Pretender Monsters were sent to attack a trio of Autobots aboard the submerged [[Arc II]]. {{storylink|Black Horizon, Part 1 of 2}} Later, they combined into Monstructor to defend Cobra-La's kingdom against surface attack by [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]. Monstructor used his life-draining aura to take out [[Windmill (G.I. Joe)|Windmill]] and just generally stomped all over the rest of the attackers. However, the overconfident bot was felled by a long-range attack by Joe's [[Laser Squad]], who targeted his head with high-intensity beams until it blew up, forcing the monster to disassemble. Whether or not Bristleback and the other components survived this trauma is unknown. {{storylink|Black Horizon, Part 2 of 2}}

===IDW comics continuity===
[[Image:Bristleback-optimusprimespotlight.jpg|left|200px|thumb|He's ticked off about being so fragile.]]
Long millennia ago, Monstructor was the first gestalt, constructed out of the individual Pretender Monsters. Created by [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] under the direction of [[Nova Prime]], they were intended to be the ultimate fusion of mind and body, a vast amount of intellect combined with unparalleled strength. Unfortunately, they were driven into insanity by the merging process and became monsters. After Nova Prime departed Cybertron in the Ark, [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] locked them in a dimensionally displaced prison to live out the rest of their horrid existence. Eventually, they escaped and tracked down and attacked Omega Supreme, but were defeated by [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and split apart into their individual bodies. Despite Omega Supreme's protestations about the dangers of gestalt technology falling into Decepticon hands, Prime had them taken into custody in an attempt to repair their shattered minds. {{storylink|Spotlight: Optimus Prime}}

Bristleback and his comrades were incarcerated at the [[Garrus-9]] penitentiary where [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] attempted to carry out Optimus Prime's orders despite [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus's]] misgivings about the whole endeavour. Thanks to a tipoff from the double-agent [[Doubledealer|Dealer]], [[Banzai-Tron (G1)|Banzai-Tron's]] [[Decepticon Secret Service]] attacked the facility and absconded with the monsters. {{Storylink|Spotlight: Arcee}}

The breakout of the "Monstructor Six" eventually made its way to the [[Autobot Orbital Command Hub]], and from there to Optimus Prime. Although Earth was currently facing the threat of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and [[Sixshot]], Prime decided that they couldn't risk allow the Decepticons to gain gestalt technology, and ordered [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl's]] team to abandon Earth and head to Garrus-9. {{storylink|The Transformers: Devastation|Devastation}}

However, the Decepticons were later attacked in turn by the minions of Jhiaxus and Nova Prime (now Nemesis Prime), who took the gestalt Transformers for the purpose of making Monstructor a guardian of a [[Nega-Core]], a device crucial to Nemesis Prime's grand plans. The Autobot Arcee and the Decepticon survivors struck a deal to capture Monstructor. {{Storylink|Spotlight: Hardhead}} They engaged Monstructor on [[Rotan]], but Arcee left mid-battle to confront Jhiaxus. {{Storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

Falling back into the hands of the Decepticons, Bristleback and the others came under the command of [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]]. While hunting down [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], they were confronted by [[Kup (G1)|Kup]]'s elite Autobot team, and combined into Monstructor to do battle with them. After Monstructor was downed by a precise shot from [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], his components fled the scene with Bludgeon. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 15|Lost & Found}}

{{Note|Thus far in IDW continuity, Bristleback and his partners are not Pretenders.}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:Bristleback-toy.jpg|300px|thumb|Bristleback's toy, complete with a small sample of [[Gold Plastic Syndrome]]—note the break between his robot-mode boots.]]
* '''Bristleback''' (Pretender Monster, 1989)
**''Team ID number:'' '''PM2'''
**''Accessories:'' "Electrostatic pulse rifle", monster shell, shell backing, right Monstructor fist

:Bristleback transforms into a horn-backed, quadrupedal land-shark kinda thing. His Pretender shell is a monstrous, turtle-like creature, with the inner robot's horn/wing things sticking out. His shell backing can store his rifle and Monstructor fist as weapons. Bristleback can form either arm to [[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]], but his nominal placement is as the right arm.

:He is one of the Generation 1 toys most susceptible to [[Gold Plastic Syndrome]]... appropriate given his [[bio]]. It's most likely a complete coincidence, of course, but still simultaneously funny and distressing. In a second, less horrible design flaw, the [[sticker]]s on his robot legs are prone to being scraped off by his creature-mode legs.

:Bristleback's inner robot and combiner [[kibble]] were also used to make [[Gairyū]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1989/Decepticon/Bristleback/bristleback.htm More information on Bristleback at TFU.info]''

==Notes==
===Foreign names===
*''French:'' '''Épinox''' (Canada)
*''Italian:'' '''Spettro'''

[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Pretenders]]

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Bristleback