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Breakdown (G1)

2010-04-29T10:50:12Z

159.46.2.55: /* The Headmasters cartoon */

{{disambig3|Breakdown}}
{{factions|decepticon|decepticong2}}
:''Breakdown is a [[Decepticon]] [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticon]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:MTMTEBreakdown.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Ever since the invention of [[Targetmaster]]s, Breakdown has been convinced his pistol is out to kill him...]]
'''Breakdown''' has an acute case of paranoia. (What was that!?) He genuinely believes that things, both living and inanimate, are ''watching'' him. (They're everywhere!) Breakdown doesn't like to stand out in a crowd. (Did you hear ''that''!?) He dreads being different and garnering attention. (Stop staring at me!) At times, he almost wishes he was a [[human]] so he could just disappear and no one would notice. (Get them off meeeee!) Needless to say, he and [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (He's one of THEM!!) would be energon drinking buddies if each wasn't likely to be convinced the other was trying to poison him.

Breakdown can combine (They'll never take me alive!!) with his fellow [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] to form [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]].

:''Italian name:'' '''Caimano''' ("Caiman")
:''French-Canadian name:'' '''Panicon'''
:''Hungarian name:'' '''Vibrátor''' ("Vibrator", aheh)
:''Chinese name (Taiwan):'' '''Pāo-máo''' (拋錨, literally "Reject Anchor")
:''Chinese name (China):'' '''Daji''' (打击, "Strike")

==Fiction==
===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Jack Angel]] ([[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1|First appearance only]]); [[Alan Oppenheimer]] (English), [[Keiichi Nanba]] (Japanese)

[[Image:Ktvs1 megs builds breakdown.jpg|left|thumb|220px|These Snap-Tite kits are awesome!]]

After a failed attempt to steal experimental rocket fuel from [[United States military]], [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] realized that while the Decepticons controlled the skies, the Autobots had supremacy on the ground, and so they needed new ground-based warriors who could out-drive and out-fight the Autobots on their terms. [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] was sent to steal various [[human]] vehicles that would be rebuilt to become the new Stunticons. Breakdown was given [[Spark|life]] by [[Vector Sigma]] along with the rest of the Stunticons. He agreed to obey Megatron, but there was a certain reluctance in his voice. He probably thought Megatron was out to get him, or something. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1}}

[[Image:Breakdown.jpg|right|220px|thumb|I'm Breakdown and...what the $*#@! are you looking at?!]]

Whilst the Autobots were trapped on Cybertron, the Decepticons returned to [[Earth]] with the newly awakened Stunticons who began wreaking havoc and damaging the Autobots' good name by attacking the US military base containing the experimental rocket fuel. Eventually, the Autobots returned with the newly built [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] whose combined form Superion defeated the Stunticon combiner Menasor. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2}}

Despite this defeat, the Stunticons were the key component in Megatron's elaborate scheme to hold a [[Europa 2000|fake charity race]] from Paris to Istanbul so he could steal US driver [[Auggie Cahnay (G1)|Auggie Cahnay]]'s car which would be melted down to house the the powerful [[Pearl of Bahoudin]]. One by one, the Stunticons disabled the Autobot participants assigned to protect Cahnay. Afterwards, the Stunticons were defeated when Cahnay rammed his car into Menasor’s face. {{storylink|Trans-Europe Express}}

[[Image:Cosmicrust taking over this boat.jpg|left|thumb|220px]]

When Megatron was infected with [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]] after a trip to the lost Autobot colony of [[Antilla]], the Stunticons were assigned to capture the Autobot scientist [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], who had developed the powerful anti-corrosion [[Corrostop]]. Arriving incognito on a ferry, Breakdown transformed and nervously informed the human passengers that this was a mutiny...no, no a hijack! Anyway, they were taking over the boat! Breakdown forced the humans into the captain’s cabin, though he actually locked them in the garage. After Megatron cured himself and infected the Autobots with the Cosmic Rust, Menasor attacked the Statue of Liberty in [[New York City]] with the ancient [[Lightning Bug]] heat ray, intent on stopping the Autobots from [[Matter duplicator|matter-duplicating]] more Corrostop from the layer they sprayed on the statue. Superion defeated Menasor and destroyed the Lightning Bug. {{storylink|Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust}}

After Starscream was banished for yet another failed coup, he returned with a powerful new Decepticon team called the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]], who were able to outfight Autobot and Decepticon alike. With Megatron needing a trump card, [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] attempted to call on the Stunticons to help, but they refused as they were having a demolition derby with various human-owned cars. However, the Stunticons belatedly arrived after the Combaticons' combined form of [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] defeated [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] and forced Megatron to acknowledge Starscream as the new Decepticon leader. Realizing that Starscream would not stop at Megatron, the Stunticons merged into Menasor and disabled Bruticus in one mighty punch. {{storylink|Starscream's Brigade}}

[[Image:Masquerade_as_i_preducted.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Shouldn't the [[Red Alert (G1)|insanely paranoid]] Lambo Autobot have taken his place?]]

While assembling a new weapon capable of destroying any target by creating a chain reaction in its molecules, Megatron found himself short a few key components to finish the device. He sent the Stunticons out to retrieve those components by any means necessary. Breakdown and [[Wildrider]] assaulted a local optics laboratory to gather new focusing lenses for the cannon's beam. On their way to the weapon's construction site, they were intercepted by a troop of Autobots. It was [[Grapple]] who brought down Breakdown, setting him on fire with his arc-welder rifle by using a trail of fuel as a fuse. The Stunticons were dragged back to Autobot Headquarters for imprisonment, an experience that Breakdown considered thoroughly "mortifrying". Once brought in, the Stunticons' radios were disabled and they were trapped in vehicle mode behind energized bars. The Autobots then used camouflage paint to alter their appearances and mimic the Stunticons, hoping to get close enough to Megatron to catch him unawares. Autobot warrior [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] assumed Breakdown's appearance for the mission. After they left, however, Breakdown tried using his unique vibratory pulses to disrupt his bars and break free, and just as he "preducted", it worked! He caught his Autobot captors by surprise and blasted several of them before they could react, giving him enough time to free his fellow Stunticons and form Menasor. After a brief but memorable conflict, Menasor escaped the Ark and returned to Megatron. The cannon was rendered unusable by the Autobots' intervention, though, and Megatron's plan failed. {{storylink|Masquerade}}

[[Image:Ffod3_squalor_on_chaar.jpg|left|thumb|200px]]

In the wake of [[Unicron]]'s attack on Cybertron in the year 2005 and the subsequent Decepticon exile to [[Chaar]] in 2006, the Stunticons were reduced to being scavengers, fighting like [[slaarg]]s with their fellow Decepticons over the few scraps of energon they had. Motormaster determined that the Decepticons needed strong leadership to survive, and hope came when [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] brought news of [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]'s survival and asked for the Decepticons to donate their remaining energon to revive their leader. While Dead End was pessimistic about their survival, Breakdown said they were doomed anyway without a leader and focus. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1}} However, while Cyclonus and the [[Sweep]]s were resurrecting Galvatron, the [[Quintesson|Quintessons]] arrived on Chaar with an offer of energon in exchange for attacking the Autobots. The Stunticons were instrumental in convincing the other Decepticons to ally themselves with the Quintessons. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3}} After Galvatron returned to seize control of the Decepticons, the Stunticons were part of the Decepticon team attacking the Autobots on Earth. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5}}
{{-}}

====Japanese cartoon continuity====
{{note|The events of the Generation 1 cartoon occur in this continuity as detailed above, except the events of 2006 are pushed back to 2010. Japanese continuity inserts several new stories into the resultant gaps in the timeline.}}

=====''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' comic=====
[[Image:Srlf manga breakdown.jpg|right|thumb|It's nice to see him happy once in a while!]]

Breakdown and the Stunticons decided to have a little fun and tear up a baseball stadium in Japan. Luckily, the Autobots' plucky young ally [[Kenji]] was present to radio for assistance. All the combiner teams assembled, and it was Menasor and Bruticus against Superion and Defensor! Defensor was forced to break apart by the combined Decepticon attack, but Superion and Kenji got the idea to shoot out the Decepticons' leg components. [[Groove (G1)|Groove]] and [[Blades (G1)|Blades]] took advantage of the empty combiner ports and took over as Menasor's legs while [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] and [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]] took over as Bruticus' lower limbs. All four Protectobots immediately launched Menasor and Bruticus into the ocean. Breakdown was last seen chasing his "possessed" teammates into the distance. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 5}}

While posing as Autobots, Breakdown, [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] and the Stunticons rampaged through the city streets, smearing the good name of their adversaries. Later, [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] and [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] posed as humans to rally people against the Autobots, and Motormaster's brigade staged an attack on the rally to drive the point home. The Autobot fire engines [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] arrived, however, and used their water hoses to wash off the Decepticons' fake insignia. Enraged, Motormaster planned to combine into Menasor...only to see Breakdown and the others were already retreating into the distance. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 7}}

{{-}}
=====''Scramble City'' cartoon=====

[[Image:Scramblecity_breakdown_forms_an_arm.jpg|220px|left|thumb|Arm? Leg? He's the guy with the gun!]]

Breakdown and the Stunticons were summoned by Megatron to put an end to the [[Metroplex (G1)|Scramble City]] project, and succeeded where [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] had failed. Their first strike was impressive, holding back Optimus Prime and a cadre of Autobots and shooting the Aerialbots out of the skies. When the Aerialbots formed Superion, Breakdown and his teammates followed suit and merged into Menasor. During the battle, the Stunticons tried mixing it up by swapping around their usual configuration, and Breakdown became Menasor's left arm. {{storylink|Scramble City}}

=====''The Great Transformer War'' comic=====

Galvatron kidnapped [[Doctor Dalton]] of [[Eran]] to upgrade the might of his combiner warriors. When the Autobot combiners arrived to save Dalton, Breakdown and his teammates were deployed at high speeds from Motormaster's launcher mode. They met Superion in mid-air, and the force of their deployment enabled the combiner teams to tear him apart. The Stunticons then merged into Menasor to move in for the kill. They were ultimately outwitted by the Autobots, however, who rescued Dalton and safely returned to Metroplex. {{storylink|The Great Transformer War issue 1}}

=====''The Headmasters'' cartoon=====

[[Image:Hmep3_breakdown_and_dragstrip.jpg|right|thumb|The writers of Headmasters obviously forgot that Breakdown is deeply paranoid.]]

Breakdown and the Stunticons participated in Galvatron's siege on Cybertron. They managed to gain the high ground against the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]]s and [[Throttlebot]]s, and rained laser fire down on their opponents. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} Breakdown and his team formed Menasor to fight their Autobot counterparts, but were steamrolled by the might and firepower of the [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Battleship Maximus]]. Transporting back to Earth, they attempted to interfere with [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]'s quest for the Matrix. Breakdown and the Stunticons were confronted by the Aerialbots in the desert, but the battle of their combiner forms eventually led them to the Arctic. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}}

When [[Vector Sigma]] began perfecting the new super-metal [[Cybertonuron]] on Cybertron, Galvatron ordered another all-out attack on the planet to seize the metal for the Decepticons before the Autobots could make use of it. Breakdown and the Stunticons journeyed to Cybertron with the strike force, and confronted their old enemies, the Aerialbots. The Aerialbots got the drop on Breakdown's group by forming Superion and lashing out before the Stunticons could form Menasor as well. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1}} Breakdown and the Stunticons were still in a firefight sometime later, as [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] passed by looking for [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] and the Decepticon [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]]s. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2}} In [[San Francisco]], Breakdown and the Stunticons assisted Bruticus in using a carnivorous plant to distract the Autobots from [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]'s plans on [[Zarak (planet)|Zarak]]. They fought against the [[Technobot (G1)|Technobot]]s and [[Computron (G1)|Computron]]. {{storylink|Head On!! Fortress Maximus}}

Sometime later, Breakdown and the Stunticons gathered in the desert as their Ninja Commander [[Sixshot]] began issuing orders. They assembled as Menasor, and took part in the escalating Decepticon war effort as five separate Autobot outposts were attacked simultaneously at Sixshot's command. {{storylink|The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg}} The Stunticons remained on Earth while Scorponok took the bulk of the Decepticon forces to planet [[Master (planet)|Master]], hiding from the Autobots in the sunken continent of [[Lemuria (G1)|Lemuria]] where they mined [[crysmag metal]]. When Scorponok returned, the Stunticons, combined as Menasor, joined in the final battle between the Autobot and Decepticons at the North Pole. {{storylink|The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)}}

=====''Zone'' cartoon, comic and story pages=====

Seeking to create a [[Decepticon Zone]] to counter the [[Micro|Autobot Zone]], [[Emperor of Destruction|Decepticon Emperor]] [[Violen Jiger]] gathered together the Nine Great Demon Generals, upgrading them with powerful new armor and weaponry, then sent them forth to conquer planets. Breakdown was among those summoned, but only as a part of Menasor. {{storylink|Zone (story page)|Zone Part 1}} {{storylink|Zone (manga)|Transformers: Zone}} {{storylink|Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
{{noteukonly}}
====Generation 1====
Many years ago on Cybertron, somehow Breakdown existed before he was born and had joined [[Bombshell]] and [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] in shooting at [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]]. {{storylink|Spacehikers!}}

[[Image:Stunticonsmarvelg1.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Breakdown is the blue guy in the background.]]

''Though [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]] had given the [[Creation Matrix]] back to Optimus Prime, its influence was still present in his mind. He and Prime had their minds connected to a machine, where they shared a vision of a "Second Generation" of Transformers. Breakdown was the member of the Stunticons, one of four [[Special Team]]s. In this vision, Breakdown and his fellow Stunticons combined into Menasor and fought the Autobots Superion and Defensor. But Megatron and Soundwave were listening in on this vision, and both sides planned to make it reality. {{storylink|Second Generation!}}''

Upon learning that the [[cerebro-shell]] implanted in [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] had also granted them access to the powers of the [[Matrix of Leadership|Creation Matrix]], [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] immediately built a team of Decepticons. The new Stunticons, which included Breakdown, were sent to find the Autobot [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], who had earned new trust for the Autobots by publically saving a [[human]]. After Breakdown and the others knocked over every car in their way to get to Skids, they turned to "protect" him from the new [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]], hoping to confuse the public and discredit the Autobots. Breakdown combined with his fellow Stunticons to form [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]], and they fought the Aerialbots' [[Superion (G1)|Superion]]. {{storylink|Heavy Traffic!}}

''The other Stunticons watched as Megatron raged at the accidentally insolent Motormaster. Breakdown looked especially concerned as Megatron seemed to have crushed Motormaster under a boulder, but Megatron had purposefully missed to teach him a lesson. {{storylink|Prey!}}''

Breakdown had traveled early with some other Decepticons to the Decepticons' [[Club Con|new island headquarters]], where he helped construct an energy transfer pipeline that led from the island through the [[Space Bridge]] to Cybertron. Megatron, meanwhile, had been attacked by [[Predaking]] under secret orders from Shockwave. When Predaking was defeated, (possibly) Breakdown found a "laser disk" inside Predaking that proved Shockwave's treachery. And then Megatron went nuts and apparently blew up himself and the Space Bridge before their eyes. {{storylink|Gone but Not Forgotten!}}

[[Image:Clubconresort.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Breakdown is responsible for the mints on pillows.]]

Breakdown was seen among the Decepticons on board Shockwave's island base. When it was attacked by [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]], Breakdown and the others traveled with the space-faring island headquarters into Earth's orbit, though Shockwave was seemingly killed in the process. {{storylink|The Desert Island of Space!}} [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]], who had assumed command, organized Breakdown and the other Decepticons in a battle against the Autobots on Earth's [[Moon (moon)|moon]]. [[Goldbug (G1)|Goldbug]] defended himself by throwing a moon rock at his head. But when their island ship was damaged, Ratbat called for a retreat. {{storylink|Totaled!}}

Ratbat moved their space-traveling island base back to Earth's seas, where it became a human travel resort to smokescreen the Decepticons' efforts to locate a key to finding the powerful [[Underbase]]. Breakdown was advertised on television as part of the island's smiling welcoming party. {{storylink|Club Con!}} Shortly thereafter, Ratbat's Decepticons met with [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]'s Decepticons, and tempers and suspicions came to a head between the two groups as Breakdown was helping move fuel to the island base's fission tubes. {{storylink|Cold War!}}

{{-}}
=====Earthforce=====
{{earthforcefiction}}
[[Image:Jazz end of the road.jpg|left|200px|thumb|]]
''Breakdown was briefly seen at the [[Enclave]], rubbing shoulders with the various troops from Megatron and [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]'s factions.'' {{storylink|The Bad Guy's Ball!}} ''Later, after the factions merged, he drove into battle alongside the Stunticons and [[Battlecharger]]s when [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] led an attack on Autobot [[Earthbase]]. Although the Autobot defense systems were down at the time, Breakdown and his comrades were still ultimately driven off.'' {{storylink|Divide and Conquer!}} ''On another occasion, Starscream and Soundwave learned the Autobots had a [[Irwin Spoon (G1)|human reporter]] writing a positive story about them. Fearing that good publicity among the humans would give Earthforce an edge, they sent the Stunticons to kidnap the human. As Motormaster made off with the reporter, Breakdown and the Stunticons ran interference against the Autobot cars following him. After [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] transformed and got off a quick shot at their leader, Breakdown rear-ended him in the legs. The Autobot was knocked out of the fight, but so was Breakdown as he had caved in his own hood in the effort.'' {{storylink|End of the Road! (UK)|End of the Road!}}

{{Note|It is unclear which faction Breakdown was on before Soundwave and Starscream led their coup for Decepticon leadership.}}

=====Marvel UK future timelines=====
''Breakdown and the Stunticons attacked [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] on the road in 2003, making an attempt to steal the plans for the upcoming [[Autobot City]]. They were successful, but the plans were a set of fakes, so they ultimately didn't gain anything. A traffic light tried to tell Breakdown as much, but he refused to listen to it. {{storylink|Ark Duty}}''

''In 2008, [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Death's Head (G1)|Death's Head]] were compelled by [[Unicron|Unicron]] to make an assassination attempt on the Decepticon leader, Shockwave. They sealed the door to the audience chamber during the attack, and so Soundwave summoned the Stunticons as Menasor to break through the door. They eventually did so, and Breakdown and Dead End were about to execute the Decepticon traitors when Death's Head returned with news of Shockwave's demise. Using a series of explosives built into his hover platform as an incentive, the bounty hunter forced Soundwave and the other Decepticons to submit to their leadership. {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}}''

====Generation 2====
[[Image:NewDawn-Breakdown.jpg|right|thumb|100px|Sneering because they forgot about his snazzy new colors.]]
Breakdown was among the Decepticons rallied for war against the [[Cybertronian (faction)|Cybertronian Empire]] after [[Skullgrin]]'s death. {{storylink|New Dawn}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
At some point in Cybertron's recent history, the Stunticons were deemed psychotic and too dangerous to function in society, and as a result were placed into perpetual stasis lock inside of a prison facility. Later, in an attempt to create a diversion while he set his final plans in motion, [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] arranged for the release of the Stunticons. They formed into Menasor and ran amuck for awhile, until [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] arrived and began insulting them. Unable to reconcile with this, the five Stunticons began to bicker with each other over whose fault it was that they were failing, temporarily stopping Menasor and allowing Ultra Magnus to ram the combiner in the chest, forcing him to separate into his component parts and disabling the Stunticons. {{storylink|Passive Aggression}}

===Devil's Due ''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers'' comics===
[[Image:GIJoevsTFII_2_Breakdown.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"I learned ''this'' from [[Scrounge (G1)|Scrounge]]!"]]
It must've been Breakdown's lucky day when [[Teletran 3]] went haywire and transported him the Stunticons to 1930s [[Chicago]], as unlike his comrades, he stayed conscious the whole time instead of getting locked in a new vehicle mode. Breakdown decided to stay quiet, however, and let himself be used by a human criminal gang until he and the others were found by a group of [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joes]] and [[Cobra]] members sent to bring the lost Cybertronians back to the future. After overhearing [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] explaining what would happen to Earth if the Stunticons weren't retrieved, Breakdown revealed himself and stole [[Beachhead]]'s [[disruption unit]]s, using them to awaken Dead End, Wildrider and Drag Strip. With Motormaster absent, Breakdown led the others in a car chase across Chicago, which ended when Prime and the humans found Motormaster and sent everyone back to present-day Cybertron. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 2|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #2}}

[[Image:ArtofWar4_Breakdown_shoots_Nautilator.jpg|thumb|left|200px|]]
The Stunticons were later recruited into [[Serpentor|Serpent O.R.]]'s army, and Breakdown both helped capture some Autobots and G.I. Joes and attack an Autobot peace ceremony in the form of Menasor. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 3|The Art of War #3}} Following the battle, he and [[Nautilator]] were assigned to guard the imprisoned Joes, and Breakdown told his fellow Decepticon how freaky it was to be on Earth and have all those fleshlings stare at you. He then decided to check up on the [[Snake-Eyes|prisoner in black]], only to hypnotized by the human's [[Arashikage]] ninja techniques and forced to gun down Nautilator. After then freeing the humans, Breakdown was released from Snake-Eyes's control and fell unconscious. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 4|The Art of War #4}}

{{-}}
===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}
[[Image:ForAllMankind-Breakdown.jpg|right|thumb|200px|"I hated that show!"]]
Breakdown was among the Decepticons abandoned on Earth after the fall of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. Two years later, he was so desperate for energon that he attacked a human solar power planet, looking to somehow recharge. [[Skywatch]] was dispatched to the scene, and they overpowered the Stunticon using armored [[Crash suit]]s. By attaching a mode-lock device, the Skywatch agents forcibly reverted Breakdown to vehicle mode, leaving him trapped and unable to operate himself. [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] took possession of Breakdown's car mode himself after the battle. {{storylink|...For All Mankind}}

Breakdown has since been relegated to Spike's pimpmobile, although the human did repair the battle damage first before taking the Decepticon out on the town. {{storylink|New Arrivals, Old Encounters}} Witwicky drove Breakdown to Skywatches' headquarters to interrogate [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], who had surrendered himself. {{storylink|A Rude Awakening}}

{{spoiler|Enemies of the System|30 April 2010}}

After an enlightening conversation with Optimus, Spike left to drive Breakdown around to help clear his head. He asked Breakdown rhetorical questions about his feelings on the war, knowing that the suppressor kept the captive Decepticon from being able to listen, but Spike's one-sided chat was suddenly interrupted. The other [[Stunticon]]s had surrounded Breakdown on the road, hoping to rescue him. Reclaiming Breakdown wouldn't be easy, as Spike began unloading gunfire at them through his busted window. Despite these countermeasures, Spike was forced to abandon Breakdown by leaping out his window into a body of water when he saw the much bigger [[Motormaster]] heading towards him in a game of chicken.

Breakdown was returned to the construction site of a spaceship, built by an alliance between some Decepticons and a group of Autobots led by [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]. [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] spent three hours doing mysterious repairs on Breakdown, cutting into time needed to build the spaceship, a decision that had begun to rub the Autobots the wrong way. But when [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and a group of deputized Autobots under [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]'s command arrived to arrest everyone for their illegal actions, Swindle's gambit was revealed. Breakdown had been rebuilt, like the other Stunticons, to combine into the massive [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]]. Surprise! {{storylink|Enemies of the System}}
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1Breakdown toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Wahoo reaction, now a gucci cola sale]]
*'''Breakdown''' (Stunticon, 1986/1987)
**''Team ID number'': '''S2'''
**''Japanese ID number'': '''D-51'''
**''Accessories'': "[[Concussion cannon]]", double-barreled "plasma-energy blaster".

: The original Breakdown toy transforms into a white [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes#Lamborghini Countach|Lamborghini Countach]]. He comes with a blue double-barreled cannon that attaches to the back of his vehicle mode. In robot mode, he is armed with a small blue laser pistol. As he was designed with the "[[Scramble City]]" style of combination, he can form the arm or leg to any similarly-constructed super robot. Although the 1986 Stunticon gift set shows Breakdown as the left arm of Menasor, Breakdown's nominal placement is as Menasor's right leg.

: The original release featured a red sticker on Breakdown's hood. Later "[[Classics (Europe)|Classics]]" range releases in Europe featured a gold sticker instead.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1986/Decepticon/Breakdown/breakdown.htm More information on Breakdown at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|Menasor}}
*'''Menasor''' (Giftset, 1986)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''D-55'''
**''Accessories'': "Concussion rifle", double-barreled "plasma-energy blaster".

: Breakdown was also available as part of the Menasor giftset in numerous markets, along with his teammates [[Motormaster]], [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]], [[Drag Strip]], and [[Wildrider]]. All of the toys in the set are identical to their individual releases.

===Generation 2===
[[Image:G2-toy Breakdown.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean you aren't coloured neon blue.]]
*'''Breakdown''' (Stunticon, 1994)
**''Team ID number:'' '''S3'''
**''Accessories'': "Concussion rifle", double-barreled "plasma-energy blaster".

: ''[[Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'' Breakdown was released as an [[exclusive]] at [[BotCon 1994]], with only approximately 300 units sold. Originally, Hasbro had planned to mass-release a complete set of ''Generation 2'' Stunticons, but ultimately only Breakdown saw official release in any form. The "collect them all!" [[cross-sell]] on the back of the packaging featuring the other Stunticons was covered by a BotCon 1994 sticker.

: The toy is, of course, a [[redeco]] of the original Breakdown toy, and has the distinction of being the first [[BotCon]] toy ever.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1994/Decepticon/Breakdown/breakdown.htm More information on Generation 2 Breakdown at TFU.info]''
{{-}}
===Timelines===
[[Image:BreakdownBotcon.JPG|right|300px|thumb|Cue the Miami Vice theme.]]
*'''Generation 2: Redux''' (BotCon 2010 box set)
**''Accessories'': Pistol, engine block

: A [[redeco]] and new-head [[retool]]ing of the [[Universe (2008 toyline)|''Universe'']] [[Sideswipe (G1)#Universe (2008)|Sideswipe]]/[[Sunstreaker (G1)#Universe (2008)|Sunstreaker]] mold, Breakdown transforms into a heavily-modified-for-legal-purposes [[wikipedia:Lamborghini_Gallardo|Lamborghini Gallardo]] in his ''Generation 2'' color scheme. He uses the "Sideswipe" robot mode with the hood-chest. His pistol can be mounted in either of the holes on his shoulders, as well as combined with the removable engine assembly to form a beefier-looking weapon. The engine can also be mounted on his back as his jet pack.

: His license plate reads "BCFW94", as in "BotCon Fort Wayne '94", the [[BotCon 1994|very first BotCon ever]].

: He's part of a ''[[Generation 2 (franchise)|Generation 2]]''-themed five-figure box set available [[exclusive]]ly at [[BotCon 2010]].

{{comingsoontoy}}
{{-}}

==Trivia==
[[Image:G2Breakdown toy.jpg|right|200px|thumb|So what if he can't transform? He doesn't have to link up to that jerk Motormaster ever again!]]

* An ''unofficial'' [[Action Master]] ''Generation 2'' Breakdown was an exclusive at [[BotCon 2004]], created from bootlegged Action Master [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] parts. Though this wiki does not normally list unofficial items, this one is put here simply to reinforce that even though it is a [[BotCon]] toy, it was from the one year that BotCon was unofficial, and the toy is not [[Hasbro]]-approved either. Thank you, won't we?

* In the ''[[Transformers Autobots/Decepticons|Transformers Decepticons]]'' game based on the [[Transformers (2007)|2007 movie]], an unlocked alternate mode called "Scout" is a [[homage]] to Breakdown.

* ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (franchise)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' [[Runamuck (ROTF)|Runamuck]]'s vehicle mode deco homages Breakdown's Generation 1 form.

: Also, ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (franchise)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' [[Brakedown_(ROTF)|Brakedown]] homages G1 Breakdown in form, color, ''and'' name.

* Breakdown's depiction in [[IDW Publishing]]'s ''[[The Transformers (IDW)|The Transformers]]'' comic is based upon ''[[Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]'' [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]]'s design sans roof. Sunstreaker's roof IS removable without tools, so feel free to paint away.

{{-}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Breakdown Breakdown's Universe profile at NTFA.net]

[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Convention exclusives]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Generation 2 characters]]
[[Category:Headmasters characters]]
[[Category:Predacons]]
[[Category:Scouts]]
[[Category:Stunticons]]

Breakdown (G1)

2010-04-29T10:49:01Z

159.46.2.55: /* The Headmasters cartoon */

{{disambig3|Breakdown}}
{{factions|decepticon|decepticong2}}
:''Breakdown is a [[Decepticon]] [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticon]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:MTMTEBreakdown.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Ever since the invention of [[Targetmaster]]s, Breakdown has been convinced his pistol is out to kill him...]]
'''Breakdown''' has an acute case of paranoia. (What was that!?) He genuinely believes that things, both living and inanimate, are ''watching'' him. (They're everywhere!) Breakdown doesn't like to stand out in a crowd. (Did you hear ''that''!?) He dreads being different and garnering attention. (Stop staring at me!) At times, he almost wishes he was a [[human]] so he could just disappear and no one would notice. (Get them off meeeee!) Needless to say, he and [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (He's one of THEM!!) would be energon drinking buddies if each wasn't likely to be convinced the other was trying to poison him.

Breakdown can combine (They'll never take me alive!!) with his fellow [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] to form [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]].

:''Italian name:'' '''Caimano''' ("Caiman")
:''French-Canadian name:'' '''Panicon'''
:''Hungarian name:'' '''Vibrátor''' ("Vibrator", aheh)
:''Chinese name (Taiwan):'' '''Pāo-máo''' (拋錨, literally "Reject Anchor")
:''Chinese name (China):'' '''Daji''' (打击, "Strike")

==Fiction==
===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Jack Angel]] ([[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1|First appearance only]]); [[Alan Oppenheimer]] (English), [[Keiichi Nanba]] (Japanese)

[[Image:Ktvs1 megs builds breakdown.jpg|left|thumb|220px|These Snap-Tite kits are awesome!]]

After a failed attempt to steal experimental rocket fuel from [[United States military]], [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] realized that while the Decepticons controlled the skies, the Autobots had supremacy on the ground, and so they needed new ground-based warriors who could out-drive and out-fight the Autobots on their terms. [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] was sent to steal various [[human]] vehicles that would be rebuilt to become the new Stunticons. Breakdown was given [[Spark|life]] by [[Vector Sigma]] along with the rest of the Stunticons. He agreed to obey Megatron, but there was a certain reluctance in his voice. He probably thought Megatron was out to get him, or something. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1}}

[[Image:Breakdown.jpg|right|220px|thumb|I'm Breakdown and...what the $*#@! are you looking at?!]]

Whilst the Autobots were trapped on Cybertron, the Decepticons returned to [[Earth]] with the newly awakened Stunticons who began wreaking havoc and damaging the Autobots' good name by attacking the US military base containing the experimental rocket fuel. Eventually, the Autobots returned with the newly built [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] whose combined form Superion defeated the Stunticon combiner Menasor. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2}}

Despite this defeat, the Stunticons were the key component in Megatron's elaborate scheme to hold a [[Europa 2000|fake charity race]] from Paris to Istanbul so he could steal US driver [[Auggie Cahnay (G1)|Auggie Cahnay]]'s car which would be melted down to house the the powerful [[Pearl of Bahoudin]]. One by one, the Stunticons disabled the Autobot participants assigned to protect Cahnay. Afterwards, the Stunticons were defeated when Cahnay rammed his car into Menasor’s face. {{storylink|Trans-Europe Express}}

[[Image:Cosmicrust taking over this boat.jpg|left|thumb|220px]]

When Megatron was infected with [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]] after a trip to the lost Autobot colony of [[Antilla]], the Stunticons were assigned to capture the Autobot scientist [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], who had developed the powerful anti-corrosion [[Corrostop]]. Arriving incognito on a ferry, Breakdown transformed and nervously informed the human passengers that this was a mutiny...no, no a hijack! Anyway, they were taking over the boat! Breakdown forced the humans into the captain’s cabin, though he actually locked them in the garage. After Megatron cured himself and infected the Autobots with the Cosmic Rust, Menasor attacked the Statue of Liberty in [[New York City]] with the ancient [[Lightning Bug]] heat ray, intent on stopping the Autobots from [[Matter duplicator|matter-duplicating]] more Corrostop from the layer they sprayed on the statue. Superion defeated Menasor and destroyed the Lightning Bug. {{storylink|Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust}}

After Starscream was banished for yet another failed coup, he returned with a powerful new Decepticon team called the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]], who were able to outfight Autobot and Decepticon alike. With Megatron needing a trump card, [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] attempted to call on the Stunticons to help, but they refused as they were having a demolition derby with various human-owned cars. However, the Stunticons belatedly arrived after the Combaticons' combined form of [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] defeated [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] and forced Megatron to acknowledge Starscream as the new Decepticon leader. Realizing that Starscream would not stop at Megatron, the Stunticons merged into Menasor and disabled Bruticus in one mighty punch. {{storylink|Starscream's Brigade}}

[[Image:Masquerade_as_i_preducted.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Shouldn't the [[Red Alert (G1)|insanely paranoid]] Lambo Autobot have taken his place?]]

While assembling a new weapon capable of destroying any target by creating a chain reaction in its molecules, Megatron found himself short a few key components to finish the device. He sent the Stunticons out to retrieve those components by any means necessary. Breakdown and [[Wildrider]] assaulted a local optics laboratory to gather new focusing lenses for the cannon's beam. On their way to the weapon's construction site, they were intercepted by a troop of Autobots. It was [[Grapple]] who brought down Breakdown, setting him on fire with his arc-welder rifle by using a trail of fuel as a fuse. The Stunticons were dragged back to Autobot Headquarters for imprisonment, an experience that Breakdown considered thoroughly "mortifrying". Once brought in, the Stunticons' radios were disabled and they were trapped in vehicle mode behind energized bars. The Autobots then used camouflage paint to alter their appearances and mimic the Stunticons, hoping to get close enough to Megatron to catch him unawares. Autobot warrior [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] assumed Breakdown's appearance for the mission. After they left, however, Breakdown tried using his unique vibratory pulses to disrupt his bars and break free, and just as he "preducted", it worked! He caught his Autobot captors by surprise and blasted several of them before they could react, giving him enough time to free his fellow Stunticons and form Menasor. After a brief but memorable conflict, Menasor escaped the Ark and returned to Megatron. The cannon was rendered unusable by the Autobots' intervention, though, and Megatron's plan failed. {{storylink|Masquerade}}

[[Image:Ffod3_squalor_on_chaar.jpg|left|thumb|200px]]

In the wake of [[Unicron]]'s attack on Cybertron in the year 2005 and the subsequent Decepticon exile to [[Chaar]] in 2006, the Stunticons were reduced to being scavengers, fighting like [[slaarg]]s with their fellow Decepticons over the few scraps of energon they had. Motormaster determined that the Decepticons needed strong leadership to survive, and hope came when [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] brought news of [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]'s survival and asked for the Decepticons to donate their remaining energon to revive their leader. While Dead End was pessimistic about their survival, Breakdown said they were doomed anyway without a leader and focus. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1}} However, while Cyclonus and the [[Sweep]]s were resurrecting Galvatron, the [[Quintesson|Quintessons]] arrived on Chaar with an offer of energon in exchange for attacking the Autobots. The Stunticons were instrumental in convincing the other Decepticons to ally themselves with the Quintessons. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3}} After Galvatron returned to seize control of the Decepticons, the Stunticons were part of the Decepticon team attacking the Autobots on Earth. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5}}
{{-}}

====Japanese cartoon continuity====
{{note|The events of the Generation 1 cartoon occur in this continuity as detailed above, except the events of 2006 are pushed back to 2010. Japanese continuity inserts several new stories into the resultant gaps in the timeline.}}

=====''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' comic=====
[[Image:Srlf manga breakdown.jpg|right|thumb|It's nice to see him happy once in a while!]]

Breakdown and the Stunticons decided to have a little fun and tear up a baseball stadium in Japan. Luckily, the Autobots' plucky young ally [[Kenji]] was present to radio for assistance. All the combiner teams assembled, and it was Menasor and Bruticus against Superion and Defensor! Defensor was forced to break apart by the combined Decepticon attack, but Superion and Kenji got the idea to shoot out the Decepticons' leg components. [[Groove (G1)|Groove]] and [[Blades (G1)|Blades]] took advantage of the empty combiner ports and took over as Menasor's legs while [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] and [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]] took over as Bruticus' lower limbs. All four Protectobots immediately launched Menasor and Bruticus into the ocean. Breakdown was last seen chasing his "possessed" teammates into the distance. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 5}}

While posing as Autobots, Breakdown, [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] and the Stunticons rampaged through the city streets, smearing the good name of their adversaries. Later, [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] and [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] posed as humans to rally people against the Autobots, and Motormaster's brigade staged an attack on the rally to drive the point home. The Autobot fire engines [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] arrived, however, and used their water hoses to wash off the Decepticons' fake insignia. Enraged, Motormaster planned to combine into Menasor...only to see Breakdown and the others were already retreating into the distance. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 7}}

{{-}}
=====''Scramble City'' cartoon=====

[[Image:Scramblecity_breakdown_forms_an_arm.jpg|220px|left|thumb|Arm? Leg? He's the guy with the gun!]]

Breakdown and the Stunticons were summoned by Megatron to put an end to the [[Metroplex (G1)|Scramble City]] project, and succeeded where [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] had failed. Their first strike was impressive, holding back Optimus Prime and a cadre of Autobots and shooting the Aerialbots out of the skies. When the Aerialbots formed Superion, Breakdown and his teammates followed suit and merged into Menasor. During the battle, the Stunticons tried mixing it up by swapping around their usual configuration, and Breakdown became Menasor's left arm. {{storylink|Scramble City}}

=====''The Great Transformer War'' comic=====

Galvatron kidnapped [[Doctor Dalton]] of [[Eran]] to upgrade the might of his combiner warriors. When the Autobot combiners arrived to save Dalton, Breakdown and his teammates were deployed at high speeds from Motormaster's launcher mode. They met Superion in mid-air, and the force of their deployment enabled the combiner teams to tear him apart. The Stunticons then merged into Menasor to move in for the kill. They were ultimately outwitted by the Autobots, however, who rescued Dalton and safely returned to Metroplex. {{storylink|The Great Transformer War issue 1}}

=====''The Headmasters'' cartoon=====

[[Image:Hmep3_breakdown_and_dragstrip.jpg|right|thumb|250pxThe writers of Headmasters obviously forgot that Breakdown is deeply paranoid.]]

Breakdown and the Stunticons participated in Galvatron's siege on Cybertron. They managed to gain the high ground against the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]]s and [[Throttlebot]]s, and rained laser fire down on their opponents. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} Breakdown and his team formed Menasor to fight their Autobot counterparts, but were steamrolled by the might and firepower of the [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Battleship Maximus]]. Transporting back to Earth, they attempted to interfere with [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]'s quest for the Matrix. Breakdown and the Stunticons were confronted by the Aerialbots in the desert, but the battle of their combiner forms eventually led them to the Arctic. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}}

When [[Vector Sigma]] began perfecting the new super-metal [[Cybertonuron]] on Cybertron, Galvatron ordered another all-out attack on the planet to seize the metal for the Decepticons before the Autobots could make use of it. Breakdown and the Stunticons journeyed to Cybertron with the strike force, and confronted their old enemies, the Aerialbots. The Aerialbots got the drop on Breakdown's group by forming Superion and lashing out before the Stunticons could form Menasor as well. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1}} Breakdown and the Stunticons were still in a firefight sometime later, as [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] passed by looking for [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] and the Decepticon [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]]s. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2}} In [[San Francisco]], Breakdown and the Stunticons assisted Bruticus in using a carnivorous plant to distract the Autobots from [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]'s plans on [[Zarak (planet)|Zarak]]. They fought against the [[Technobot (G1)|Technobot]]s and [[Computron (G1)|Computron]]. {{storylink|Head On!! Fortress Maximus}}

Sometime later, Breakdown and the Stunticons gathered in the desert as their Ninja Commander [[Sixshot]] began issuing orders. They assembled as Menasor, and took part in the escalating Decepticon war effort as five separate Autobot outposts were attacked simultaneously at Sixshot's command. {{storylink|The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg}} The Stunticons remained on Earth while Scorponok took the bulk of the Decepticon forces to planet [[Master (planet)|Master]], hiding from the Autobots in the sunken continent of [[Lemuria (G1)|Lemuria]] where they mined [[crysmag metal]]. When Scorponok returned, the Stunticons, combined as Menasor, joined in the final battle between the Autobot and Decepticons at the North Pole. {{storylink|The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)}}

=====''Zone'' cartoon, comic and story pages=====

Seeking to create a [[Decepticon Zone]] to counter the [[Micro|Autobot Zone]], [[Emperor of Destruction|Decepticon Emperor]] [[Violen Jiger]] gathered together the Nine Great Demon Generals, upgrading them with powerful new armor and weaponry, then sent them forth to conquer planets. Breakdown was among those summoned, but only as a part of Menasor. {{storylink|Zone (story page)|Zone Part 1}} {{storylink|Zone (manga)|Transformers: Zone}} {{storylink|Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
{{noteukonly}}
====Generation 1====
Many years ago on Cybertron, somehow Breakdown existed before he was born and had joined [[Bombshell]] and [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] in shooting at [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]]. {{storylink|Spacehikers!}}

[[Image:Stunticonsmarvelg1.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Breakdown is the blue guy in the background.]]

''Though [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]] had given the [[Creation Matrix]] back to Optimus Prime, its influence was still present in his mind. He and Prime had their minds connected to a machine, where they shared a vision of a "Second Generation" of Transformers. Breakdown was the member of the Stunticons, one of four [[Special Team]]s. In this vision, Breakdown and his fellow Stunticons combined into Menasor and fought the Autobots Superion and Defensor. But Megatron and Soundwave were listening in on this vision, and both sides planned to make it reality. {{storylink|Second Generation!}}''

Upon learning that the [[cerebro-shell]] implanted in [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] had also granted them access to the powers of the [[Matrix of Leadership|Creation Matrix]], [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] immediately built a team of Decepticons. The new Stunticons, which included Breakdown, were sent to find the Autobot [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], who had earned new trust for the Autobots by publically saving a [[human]]. After Breakdown and the others knocked over every car in their way to get to Skids, they turned to "protect" him from the new [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]], hoping to confuse the public and discredit the Autobots. Breakdown combined with his fellow Stunticons to form [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]], and they fought the Aerialbots' [[Superion (G1)|Superion]]. {{storylink|Heavy Traffic!}}

''The other Stunticons watched as Megatron raged at the accidentally insolent Motormaster. Breakdown looked especially concerned as Megatron seemed to have crushed Motormaster under a boulder, but Megatron had purposefully missed to teach him a lesson. {{storylink|Prey!}}''

Breakdown had traveled early with some other Decepticons to the Decepticons' [[Club Con|new island headquarters]], where he helped construct an energy transfer pipeline that led from the island through the [[Space Bridge]] to Cybertron. Megatron, meanwhile, had been attacked by [[Predaking]] under secret orders from Shockwave. When Predaking was defeated, (possibly) Breakdown found a "laser disk" inside Predaking that proved Shockwave's treachery. And then Megatron went nuts and apparently blew up himself and the Space Bridge before their eyes. {{storylink|Gone but Not Forgotten!}}

[[Image:Clubconresort.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Breakdown is responsible for the mints on pillows.]]

Breakdown was seen among the Decepticons on board Shockwave's island base. When it was attacked by [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]], Breakdown and the others traveled with the space-faring island headquarters into Earth's orbit, though Shockwave was seemingly killed in the process. {{storylink|The Desert Island of Space!}} [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]], who had assumed command, organized Breakdown and the other Decepticons in a battle against the Autobots on Earth's [[Moon (moon)|moon]]. [[Goldbug (G1)|Goldbug]] defended himself by throwing a moon rock at his head. But when their island ship was damaged, Ratbat called for a retreat. {{storylink|Totaled!}}

Ratbat moved their space-traveling island base back to Earth's seas, where it became a human travel resort to smokescreen the Decepticons' efforts to locate a key to finding the powerful [[Underbase]]. Breakdown was advertised on television as part of the island's smiling welcoming party. {{storylink|Club Con!}} Shortly thereafter, Ratbat's Decepticons met with [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]'s Decepticons, and tempers and suspicions came to a head between the two groups as Breakdown was helping move fuel to the island base's fission tubes. {{storylink|Cold War!}}

{{-}}
=====Earthforce=====
{{earthforcefiction}}
[[Image:Jazz end of the road.jpg|left|200px|thumb|]]
''Breakdown was briefly seen at the [[Enclave]], rubbing shoulders with the various troops from Megatron and [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]'s factions.'' {{storylink|The Bad Guy's Ball!}} ''Later, after the factions merged, he drove into battle alongside the Stunticons and [[Battlecharger]]s when [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] led an attack on Autobot [[Earthbase]]. Although the Autobot defense systems were down at the time, Breakdown and his comrades were still ultimately driven off.'' {{storylink|Divide and Conquer!}} ''On another occasion, Starscream and Soundwave learned the Autobots had a [[Irwin Spoon (G1)|human reporter]] writing a positive story about them. Fearing that good publicity among the humans would give Earthforce an edge, they sent the Stunticons to kidnap the human. As Motormaster made off with the reporter, Breakdown and the Stunticons ran interference against the Autobot cars following him. After [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] transformed and got off a quick shot at their leader, Breakdown rear-ended him in the legs. The Autobot was knocked out of the fight, but so was Breakdown as he had caved in his own hood in the effort.'' {{storylink|End of the Road! (UK)|End of the Road!}}

{{Note|It is unclear which faction Breakdown was on before Soundwave and Starscream led their coup for Decepticon leadership.}}

=====Marvel UK future timelines=====
''Breakdown and the Stunticons attacked [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] on the road in 2003, making an attempt to steal the plans for the upcoming [[Autobot City]]. They were successful, but the plans were a set of fakes, so they ultimately didn't gain anything. A traffic light tried to tell Breakdown as much, but he refused to listen to it. {{storylink|Ark Duty}}''

''In 2008, [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Death's Head (G1)|Death's Head]] were compelled by [[Unicron|Unicron]] to make an assassination attempt on the Decepticon leader, Shockwave. They sealed the door to the audience chamber during the attack, and so Soundwave summoned the Stunticons as Menasor to break through the door. They eventually did so, and Breakdown and Dead End were about to execute the Decepticon traitors when Death's Head returned with news of Shockwave's demise. Using a series of explosives built into his hover platform as an incentive, the bounty hunter forced Soundwave and the other Decepticons to submit to their leadership. {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}}''

====Generation 2====
[[Image:NewDawn-Breakdown.jpg|right|thumb|100px|Sneering because they forgot about his snazzy new colors.]]
Breakdown was among the Decepticons rallied for war against the [[Cybertronian (faction)|Cybertronian Empire]] after [[Skullgrin]]'s death. {{storylink|New Dawn}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
At some point in Cybertron's recent history, the Stunticons were deemed psychotic and too dangerous to function in society, and as a result were placed into perpetual stasis lock inside of a prison facility. Later, in an attempt to create a diversion while he set his final plans in motion, [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] arranged for the release of the Stunticons. They formed into Menasor and ran amuck for awhile, until [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] arrived and began insulting them. Unable to reconcile with this, the five Stunticons began to bicker with each other over whose fault it was that they were failing, temporarily stopping Menasor and allowing Ultra Magnus to ram the combiner in the chest, forcing him to separate into his component parts and disabling the Stunticons. {{storylink|Passive Aggression}}

===Devil's Due ''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers'' comics===
[[Image:GIJoevsTFII_2_Breakdown.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"I learned ''this'' from [[Scrounge (G1)|Scrounge]]!"]]
It must've been Breakdown's lucky day when [[Teletran 3]] went haywire and transported him the Stunticons to 1930s [[Chicago]], as unlike his comrades, he stayed conscious the whole time instead of getting locked in a new vehicle mode. Breakdown decided to stay quiet, however, and let himself be used by a human criminal gang until he and the others were found by a group of [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joes]] and [[Cobra]] members sent to bring the lost Cybertronians back to the future. After overhearing [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] explaining what would happen to Earth if the Stunticons weren't retrieved, Breakdown revealed himself and stole [[Beachhead]]'s [[disruption unit]]s, using them to awaken Dead End, Wildrider and Drag Strip. With Motormaster absent, Breakdown led the others in a car chase across Chicago, which ended when Prime and the humans found Motormaster and sent everyone back to present-day Cybertron. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 2|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #2}}

[[Image:ArtofWar4_Breakdown_shoots_Nautilator.jpg|thumb|left|200px|]]
The Stunticons were later recruited into [[Serpentor|Serpent O.R.]]'s army, and Breakdown both helped capture some Autobots and G.I. Joes and attack an Autobot peace ceremony in the form of Menasor. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 3|The Art of War #3}} Following the battle, he and [[Nautilator]] were assigned to guard the imprisoned Joes, and Breakdown told his fellow Decepticon how freaky it was to be on Earth and have all those fleshlings stare at you. He then decided to check up on the [[Snake-Eyes|prisoner in black]], only to hypnotized by the human's [[Arashikage]] ninja techniques and forced to gun down Nautilator. After then freeing the humans, Breakdown was released from Snake-Eyes's control and fell unconscious. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 4|The Art of War #4}}

{{-}}
===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}
[[Image:ForAllMankind-Breakdown.jpg|right|thumb|200px|"I hated that show!"]]
Breakdown was among the Decepticons abandoned on Earth after the fall of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. Two years later, he was so desperate for energon that he attacked a human solar power planet, looking to somehow recharge. [[Skywatch]] was dispatched to the scene, and they overpowered the Stunticon using armored [[Crash suit]]s. By attaching a mode-lock device, the Skywatch agents forcibly reverted Breakdown to vehicle mode, leaving him trapped and unable to operate himself. [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] took possession of Breakdown's car mode himself after the battle. {{storylink|...For All Mankind}}

Breakdown has since been relegated to Spike's pimpmobile, although the human did repair the battle damage first before taking the Decepticon out on the town. {{storylink|New Arrivals, Old Encounters}} Witwicky drove Breakdown to Skywatches' headquarters to interrogate [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], who had surrendered himself. {{storylink|A Rude Awakening}}

{{spoiler|Enemies of the System|30 April 2010}}

After an enlightening conversation with Optimus, Spike left to drive Breakdown around to help clear his head. He asked Breakdown rhetorical questions about his feelings on the war, knowing that the suppressor kept the captive Decepticon from being able to listen, but Spike's one-sided chat was suddenly interrupted. The other [[Stunticon]]s had surrounded Breakdown on the road, hoping to rescue him. Reclaiming Breakdown wouldn't be easy, as Spike began unloading gunfire at them through his busted window. Despite these countermeasures, Spike was forced to abandon Breakdown by leaping out his window into a body of water when he saw the much bigger [[Motormaster]] heading towards him in a game of chicken.

Breakdown was returned to the construction site of a spaceship, built by an alliance between some Decepticons and a group of Autobots led by [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]. [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] spent three hours doing mysterious repairs on Breakdown, cutting into time needed to build the spaceship, a decision that had begun to rub the Autobots the wrong way. But when [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and a group of deputized Autobots under [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]'s command arrived to arrest everyone for their illegal actions, Swindle's gambit was revealed. Breakdown had been rebuilt, like the other Stunticons, to combine into the massive [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]]. Surprise! {{storylink|Enemies of the System}}
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1Breakdown toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Wahoo reaction, now a gucci cola sale]]
*'''Breakdown''' (Stunticon, 1986/1987)
**''Team ID number'': '''S2'''
**''Japanese ID number'': '''D-51'''
**''Accessories'': "[[Concussion cannon]]", double-barreled "plasma-energy blaster".

: The original Breakdown toy transforms into a white [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes#Lamborghini Countach|Lamborghini Countach]]. He comes with a blue double-barreled cannon that attaches to the back of his vehicle mode. In robot mode, he is armed with a small blue laser pistol. As he was designed with the "[[Scramble City]]" style of combination, he can form the arm or leg to any similarly-constructed super robot. Although the 1986 Stunticon gift set shows Breakdown as the left arm of Menasor, Breakdown's nominal placement is as Menasor's right leg.

: The original release featured a red sticker on Breakdown's hood. Later "[[Classics (Europe)|Classics]]" range releases in Europe featured a gold sticker instead.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1986/Decepticon/Breakdown/breakdown.htm More information on Breakdown at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|Menasor}}
*'''Menasor''' (Giftset, 1986)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''D-55'''
**''Accessories'': "Concussion rifle", double-barreled "plasma-energy blaster".

: Breakdown was also available as part of the Menasor giftset in numerous markets, along with his teammates [[Motormaster]], [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]], [[Drag Strip]], and [[Wildrider]]. All of the toys in the set are identical to their individual releases.

===Generation 2===
[[Image:G2-toy Breakdown.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean you aren't coloured neon blue.]]
*'''Breakdown''' (Stunticon, 1994)
**''Team ID number:'' '''S3'''
**''Accessories'': "Concussion rifle", double-barreled "plasma-energy blaster".

: ''[[Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'' Breakdown was released as an [[exclusive]] at [[BotCon 1994]], with only approximately 300 units sold. Originally, Hasbro had planned to mass-release a complete set of ''Generation 2'' Stunticons, but ultimately only Breakdown saw official release in any form. The "collect them all!" [[cross-sell]] on the back of the packaging featuring the other Stunticons was covered by a BotCon 1994 sticker.

: The toy is, of course, a [[redeco]] of the original Breakdown toy, and has the distinction of being the first [[BotCon]] toy ever.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1994/Decepticon/Breakdown/breakdown.htm More information on Generation 2 Breakdown at TFU.info]''
{{-}}
===Timelines===
[[Image:BreakdownBotcon.JPG|right|300px|thumb|Cue the Miami Vice theme.]]
*'''Generation 2: Redux''' (BotCon 2010 box set)
**''Accessories'': Pistol, engine block

: A [[redeco]] and new-head [[retool]]ing of the [[Universe (2008 toyline)|''Universe'']] [[Sideswipe (G1)#Universe (2008)|Sideswipe]]/[[Sunstreaker (G1)#Universe (2008)|Sunstreaker]] mold, Breakdown transforms into a heavily-modified-for-legal-purposes [[wikipedia:Lamborghini_Gallardo|Lamborghini Gallardo]] in his ''Generation 2'' color scheme. He uses the "Sideswipe" robot mode with the hood-chest. His pistol can be mounted in either of the holes on his shoulders, as well as combined with the removable engine assembly to form a beefier-looking weapon. The engine can also be mounted on his back as his jet pack.

: His license plate reads "BCFW94", as in "BotCon Fort Wayne '94", the [[BotCon 1994|very first BotCon ever]].

: He's part of a ''[[Generation 2 (franchise)|Generation 2]]''-themed five-figure box set available [[exclusive]]ly at [[BotCon 2010]].

{{comingsoontoy}}
{{-}}

==Trivia==
[[Image:G2Breakdown toy.jpg|right|200px|thumb|So what if he can't transform? He doesn't have to link up to that jerk Motormaster ever again!]]

* An ''unofficial'' [[Action Master]] ''Generation 2'' Breakdown was an exclusive at [[BotCon 2004]], created from bootlegged Action Master [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] parts. Though this wiki does not normally list unofficial items, this one is put here simply to reinforce that even though it is a [[BotCon]] toy, it was from the one year that BotCon was unofficial, and the toy is not [[Hasbro]]-approved either. Thank you, won't we?

* In the ''[[Transformers Autobots/Decepticons|Transformers Decepticons]]'' game based on the [[Transformers (2007)|2007 movie]], an unlocked alternate mode called "Scout" is a [[homage]] to Breakdown.

* ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (franchise)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' [[Runamuck (ROTF)|Runamuck]]'s vehicle mode deco homages Breakdown's Generation 1 form.

: Also, ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (franchise)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' [[Brakedown_(ROTF)|Brakedown]] homages G1 Breakdown in form, color, ''and'' name.

* Breakdown's depiction in [[IDW Publishing]]'s ''[[The Transformers (IDW)|The Transformers]]'' comic is based upon ''[[Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]'' [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]]'s design sans roof. Sunstreaker's roof IS removable without tools, so feel free to paint away.

{{-}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Breakdown Breakdown's Universe profile at NTFA.net]

[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Convention exclusives]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Generation 2 characters]]
[[Category:Headmasters characters]]
[[Category:Predacons]]
[[Category:Scouts]]
[[Category:Stunticons]]

The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2

2010-01-28T14:24:17Z

159.46.2.55: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode|
|series=G1toon
|series2=2010
|ep=95
|ep2=32
|image=ReturnOptimusPrime2 title shot.JPG
|caption=I'm back, kiddies!
|title="The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2"
|production code=700-116
|airdate=[[February 25]], 1987
|written by=[[Michael Charles Hill]]
|story by=[[Marv Wolfman]] [[Cherie Wilkerson]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Optimus and a handful of Autobots make a desperate bid to recover the Matrix, in the hopes that a cure for the Hate Plague can be found.'''

:''Japanese title:'' コンボイの復活パート2 (''Convoy no Fukkatsu Part 2'', "The Resurrection of Convoy Part 2")
:''German title:'' '''Die Rückkehr von Optimus Prime, Teil 2''' ("The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Primeandjessicamorgan.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Chip Chase, is that you?]]

[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], now fully restored to life by [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] and a [[Quintesson]] survivor of the rampant Hate Plague that's infecting the universe, demands to know what has happened during his time on the [[Allspark|other side]]. Sky Lynx recaps the events that had conspired to bring him back, including [[Jessica Morgan]]'s valiant play to save him from total destruction, the discovery of the [[Hate Plague]] spores, and the trap laid out by Jessica's father and her partner Gregory Swofford to infect the Autobots with the spores in revenge, which ultimately spiraled out of control. It was thought by Rodimus, before his infection, that Prime would know what it would take to stop the plague. Prime asks who is available, and learns of the injured [[Autobot|Autobots]]. The Quintesson manages to reactivate them, completely rebuilding [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] into Goldbug.

When [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] asks what the plan is, Prime admits that he doesn't have a plan. Without the accumulated wisdom within the [[Matrix of Leadership]] (which now resides in Rodimus), he doesn't have a clue as to where to start. That is, until Jessica comes forward with the experimental alloy that she, her father, and Gregory had worked on, which proved strong enough to block the spores. Theoretically, coating Optimus with this alloy would protect himself from the spore's infection and allow him to get close enough to Rodimus to extract the Matrix from him. However, all remaining alloy samples were stolen by the Decepticons. The Autobots decide to retrieve the metal.

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 crazycons.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Cyclonus and Scourge each spent 2,000 XP to create the Level 7 Flame Barrier spell. Unfortunately Galvatron has Protection from Fire with Permanency effect.]]

Meanwhile, on [[Chaar]], [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] is pinned down by his own mutinously diseased soldiers, unable to fight back against their maddening ferocity...until Optimus and his team arrive to save the day, convincing Galvatron that it would be in his best interest to join in an alliance with them. As is his way, however, the Decepticon leader is suspicious of Optimus' motives, especially when he learns they need the alloy he stole, but cannot get a reason for it out of them. He agrees to join in and leads Optimus and his gang down a series of boobytrapped tunnels, their numbers dwindling from the tunnel's natural hazards and the infected Decepticon mob behind them, until only Optimus, Galvatron, Sky Lynx, and Jessica arrive at the alloy's hiding place. Unfortunately, Jessie accidentally lets slip their plan to coat Optimus with the metal after confirming there would be enough of it to do the job, prompting Galvatron to turn on Optimus in hopes of using the process on himself, but he is soon subdued by Sky Lynx. Under coercion, Galvatron loads the alloy onto Prime's trailer, but doesn't notice that an infected Cyclonus has managed to sneak in, infecting Jessica in the process. Jessica, in turn, infects Galvatron, forcing Sky Lynx and Optimus to flee back to Earth.

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 Primes duel.JPG|left|200px|thumb|So I guess Rodimus is a bottom...to Ultra Magnus?]]

Once on Earth, Optimus is coated with the alloy, and sets out to find Rodimus. He finds him, taking down infected Transformers with reckless glee, and attempts to reason with him, which fails. Unwilling to hurt his successor, Prime lures Rodimus to a nearby auto shop, attempting to peacefully subdue and talk Rodimus into helping him, but the Hate Plague is overriding any effort to do so, forcing Optimus to knock Rodimus out and take the Matrix back by force. Back at [[Autobot City]], Optimus dives into the Matrix to question the elders of the past in reverse chronological order (of their history) to try and find out any information on the spores. The spirit of [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] warns him that if he travels too far, he risks becoming lost within the Matrix itself.

During Prime's journey, the Quintesson that revived him notices a troop of infected Transformers attempting to get in, and manages to temporarily shut them out, giving Optimus the time he needs to finally find his answer. He learns that, in a period of pre-Cybertronian history, the Plague ''has'' visited the planet before, but was contained and sealed inside the star Jessica and Gregory found it in using sheer wisdom, though even back then, no one had the wisdom to destroy the spores, and now that it has spread so much throughout the galaxy, it's doubtful that anyone has the wisdom to even contain them again. Optimus then realizes that a source of raw wisdom may be available to destroy the infection once and for all: the accumulated wisdom within the Matrix of Leadership.

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 Matrix open.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Hmm, this looks familiar...]]

The infected Transformers finally break into the base, and corner the Quintesson, who begs them to stop. Galvatron grabs a metal pole, intending to impale Prime. However, Prime's chest opens to reveal a glowing Matrix, surprising the Transformers. Asking it to "light our [[darkest hour]]", Optimus Prime releases the energy of the Matrix of Leadership, which spreads across the universe and totally eradicates the Plague. It even seems to, at least temporarily, cure Gregory and Jessica's father of their hatred for Autobots, and Galvatron of his own madness; all of them call a truce with Optimus.

It is then that Rodimus (now [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], without the Matrix within him) notes that the Matrix is now empty, its wisdom supposedly lost in order to stop the plague. Optimus, however, disagrees; they have all become a little wiser, now, and although the Matrix is indeed empty of wisdom, it is up to them from then on to fill it again with their knowledge and experience. Optimus, once again the Autobot leader, ordering his troops to "Transform and roll out".

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (1)
*[[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (2)
*[[Slingshot]] (6)
*[[Chase (G1)|Chase]] (7)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (8)
*[[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (10)
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (11)
*[[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]] (12)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee/Goldbug]] (13)
*[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] (14)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (15)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] (21)
*[[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] (22)

|c2=
*[[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] (16)
*[[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (17)
*[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (18)
*[[Sweep|Sweeps]] (19)
*[[Predaking]] (20)
*[[Rampage (G1)|Rampage]] (23)
*[[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (24)
*[[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] (25)

|c3=
*[[Jessica Morgan]] (4)
*[[Gregory Swofford]] (5)
*[[Mark Morgan]] (26)

|c4=
*[[Quintesson]] (3)
*[[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]] (9)
}}

==Quotes==

"We need a plan! Okay, Optimus, what's the plan?" 
"I... have no plan."
:—'''Goldbug''' and '''Optimus Prime''', the latter of whom is not exactly inspiring confidence

"[[Autobots, transform and roll out]]!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''', getting back into the swing of things.

"Fools, I am your leader! ... It's no use. You're all crazed!"
:—'''Galvatron''' fighting his infected and insane troops. The irony fairy just had a coronary.

"Have I no friends left?!" 
"Well, well, what have we here?" 
"Looks like something the cat dragged in."
:—'''Galvatron''' tries to reason with the infected '''Cyclonus''' and '''Scourge'''...for once

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 Prime Galvatron.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"Come on, Optimus, why can't we be friends?" "When we first met, you shot and damaged me and my girlfriend. You make a bad first impression."]]

"Come on, Optimus, tell me! Why do you want this metal? How will it be used? Why is it so precious?" 
"I've explained it to you." 
"You told me it was important, but you didn't tell me why!" 
"That's because I know you too well, Galvatron."
:—'''Galvatron''' and '''Optimus Prime''' resuming their same old song and dance

"I don't need you anymore, Optimus. So much for your resurrection!"
:—'''Galvatron''', same song, different tune

"I don't want to hurt you, Rodimus!" 
"Don't worry, Optimus, you won't! HAHAHAHAH!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Rodimus Prime''' throw down.

"Innocent lives are at stake, Rodimus!" 
"''No one'' is innocent!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Rodimus Prime''' throw down some more...right before Optimus clocks him.

"Now, light our darkest hour!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''', proving that destiny and Chosen Ones mean nothing when pitted against letters from angry kids and parents.

"There will be no war today, Optimus. You have earned Galvatron's respect."
:—'''Galvatron''', totally sane for the first time since...ever

"The wisdom of the ages! It's lost!" 
"No, not lost. We're all a little wiser now." 
"But the Matrix is empty!" 
"It's up to all of us to fill it again—with the wisdom we accumulate from this moment on. Autobots, transform and roll out!"
:—'''Hot Rod''' and '''Optimus Prime'''

==Notes==
===Animation errors===
*When Galvatron is threatening Optimus after they find the heat-resistant metal, Galvatron's cannon has a trigger on it.
*When escaping after Galvatron is infected, Optimus and his cab are coated in the resistant metal before it was even melted down.
*During the aforementioned escape, an infected Jessica Morgan makes a jump for Sky Lynx and there are several frames where it appears as if she had managed to grab hold of his tail...yet he remains mysteriously unaffected by the Hate Plague.
*As Optimus is explaining that the Matrix must be refilled with the future wisdom, he is colored as if he still has the heat resistant metal on him.
*When Optimus takes the Matrix from Rodimus, the "glow" from the Matrix lags behind the Matrix itself when he raises it up

===Continuity errors===
*The alloy is heat-resistant to the point of surviving a supernova in the [[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1|previous episode]]. Yet it now can be melted down to coat Optimus Prime with it.
* So....how ''exactly'' does Sky Lynx know every single detail of what happened in the previous episode? He wasn't even there when half of those recapped events took place!
*The Transformers wounded by [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] included Steeljaw and Wheelie, who are briefly seen at the start. They are then replaced by Blaster. Steeljaw returns a bit later, however, but Wheelie stays gone. Not that this is a bad thing.
*How did Kup know that Rodimus had been contaminated since he was deactivated by Superion before Rodimus was?
*When Galvatron and Prime are working together, Prime says, "That's because I know you too well, Galvatron." Yet this is the first time a ''cognizant'' Optimus has ever met Galvatron (him being only half-alive back when they met in "[[Dark Awakening]]"). Perhaps he just has really good intuition, or knows [[Megatron (G1)|who Galvatron USED to be...]]
* How exactly did Jessica get off [[Chaar]]?
* Rodimus' Matrix chamber opens via a pair of swing-out doors much like Optimus. Back in "Dark Awakening", Rodimus' chamber is a single vertically hinged door shaped as the flame design on his chest.
* When Optimus puts the Matrix into his chest, he puts it in kind of... sideways. Surely his months of deactivation haven't made him forget how the thing sat in his chest for ''millions of years''?
* Upon entering the Matrix of Leadership, the first ancient Autobot that Optimus Prime converses with is Alpha Trion. The latter's appearance there is somewhat puzzling, as it was [[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2|previously established]] (and [[The Rebirth, Part 2|later reiterated]]) that he had merged with Vector Sigma. Alpha Trion's presence makes even ''less'' sense considering that it was clearly stated in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4]]" that he had never taken the Matrix for himself, thus eliminating the possibility that a "backup copy" of himself had somehow been "uploaded" into it. Years later, of course, the big ol' retcon of the [[Allspark]] indirectly rectified this: Alpha Trion's in the afterlife, which one can communicate with through both the Matrix and Vector Sigma.
*Does anyone else think that Dr. Swofford and Morgan get off waaaaay too easy at the end of the episode? They ''willingly'' unleash the hate plague that causes widespread devastation (and probably death) across not just the world but the entire galaxy, just to spite the Autobots, and they get off by just saying "sorry"?

===Transformers references===
*When Optimus uses the Matrix to cure the Hate Plague, it bears more than a passing resemblance to when Rodimus Prime used the Matrix to destroy [[Unicron]] in [[The Transformers: The Movie|''The Movie'']]. They've even got "The Touch" playing in the background.

*In Japanese continuity, the events of [[The Great Transformer War issue 3|issue 3]] of ''[[The Great Transformer War]]'' take place shortly after this episode, helping to bridge the gap between it and "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]", the first episode of ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|The Headmasters]]''.

===Trivia===
[[Image:DialogueScriptTROOPOrionPax.jpg|thumb|250px|So this is odd.]]
*The Japanese version of this episode has a slightly alternate ending. After Optimus Prime and the Autobots ride off into the sunset and "the Touch" ends, the music changes to "[[Transformer 2010|TRANSFORMER 2010]]" by [[Shō Hirose]] and the scene shifts to a montage of all the major characters from the series.
*The portion of "The Touch" that plays includes the line about "Hell breaking loose," an unusually strong word for an American '80s TV cartoon. Guess the censors were looking elsewhere that day.
*The [[Sunbow Productions]] cast list entry for this episode lists Orion Pax as appearing. A flashback to Optimus Prime's early days that was removed for time constraints, you might think? No. According to the [[dialogue script]] for the episode, Orion Pax was originally going to be the one to ask Prime why he had returned to the Matrix! Presumably someone on staff caught the error early enough, as Pax's line in the final cut went to Alpha Trion.

==External links==
* [http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_return_of_optimus_prime_part_2.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Scorponok (G1)

2009-12-31T13:46:12Z

159.46.2.55: /* Zone comic and story pages */

{{factions|decepticon|{{factions/icons|custom=Machination_logo.png|cSize=45x30px|cLink=Machination}}}}
{{disambig3|Scorponok}}
:''Scorponok is a [[Decepticon]] [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] [[City-bot]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]]. In Japan, he became '''BlackZarak'''.''

[[Image:Scorponok-Annual.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Scorponok's American look… taken from a British publication.]]
'''Scorponok''' is frequently in a position of Decepticon leadership and is usually the arch-foe of [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]. He is often partnered in some way with a being named [[Zarak (Nebulan)|Zarak]].

{{note|Other than these base facts, much about him differs by continuity; from personality to [[Scale|size]]. See separate character notes in the sections below.}}
:''Japanese name:'' '''Scorpion''' ("The Rebirth") / '''MegaZarak''' and '''Scorponok''' (see below)
:''Italian name'': '''Skorpion'''

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
{{noteukonly}}
{{note|Though quite powerful, the Marvel Comics version of Scorponok stands only a few heads taller than the average Transformer.}}
Scorponok was a Decepticon commander on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], and was a rival of the [[Autobot]] [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]. ''Some time in the past, [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] were displaced from the year 2008 and fell under his command. {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}}'' In the modern day, Scorponok led his troops in a raid on an Autobot city on Cybertron, leveling the city and leaving its remnants in flaming ruins. A long line of captives was taken from the battle; as they marched to their doom in the [[smelting pool]], Scorponok took a sadistic glee in ordering them to move faster or feel his sting. He wasn't so gleeful when Fortress Maximus led an ambush on his squadron; his troops were overwhelmed by the Autobots' righteous fury, and Scorponok ordered a retreat so that they might live to fight another day. {{storylink|Ring of Hate!}}

Soon after, Fortress Maximus and his followers quit the war and left for the planet [[Nebulos]]. Scorponok invaded the Autobots' abandoned base, but found nothing, not even the obligatory trap that Scorponok expected. They did, however, receive a communication from [[Zarak (Nebulan)|Lord Zarak]] on Nebulos, who informed them of the Autobots' arrival there and requested their help. Scorponok happily led his troops there, vowing to conquer the new planet.

[[Image:Loveandsteel-scorponokispissedoff.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Not having a good day here.]]
Upon reaching Nebulos, Scorponok immediately confronted Zarak and obtained the location of Fortress Maximus, learning that he had surrendered himself and four of his followers to ensure peace for the Autobots. Scorponok decided to attack there first, ignoring Zarak's protests. Scorponok and his troops laid siege to the capital city of [[Koraja]], demanding the surrender of the Autobots and blasting away at its newly erected defensive walls when they were refused. It seemed the Decepticons would capture the city, until the gates opened to reveal the Autobots. They had not come to surrender, however, but to fight. With their newly enhanced [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] powers, they easily overwhelmed the more numerous Decepticons; Brainstorm and Chromedome effortlessly penetrated Scorponok's defenses, blasting him. Faced with this unexpected development, Scorponok ordered a rather ignominious retreat.

Scorponok and his troops began investigating ways to dispose cleanly of the Nebulans, such as dumping them into space inside anti-gravity-powered polymer bubbles. In the midst of this research, Apeface and Snapdragon returned from a failed mission, defeated by two of the Autobot Headmasters, and Scorponok gave them a good smacking around. When the captive Lord Zarak suggested that there might be something to this whole "working with fleshlings" thing, Scorponok nearly smacked ''him'' around too, before conceding that perhaps sharing his power might indeed be in his best interest.

And so, Scorponok underwent the Headmaster process, along with five of his troops; Zarak became his binary-bond partner. Using Zarak's daughter [[Llyra]] as bait, the Decepticons lured the Autobots into a trap. During the ensuing battle, the Decepticons trapped a group of Nebulans inside the floating polymer bubbles. When Scorponok noticed Llyra was inside one of the bubbles, he found himself conflicted, his feelings as Zarak the father battling against his legacy as Scorponok the Decepticon. The Decepticon won out, and plan went forward: While the Autobots were busy saving the humans, Scorponok and his troops defeated them and took them captive. {{storylink|Love and Steel!}}

[[Image:Terrorcons-rollout1.jpg|left|250px|thumb|The Terrorcons are too dumb to notice that they're hanging out with a headless dude.]]
Scorponok continued to dominate Zarak's personality more and more, driving him to a battle lust at the [[Mercury Gardens of Melanossus]], and again at [[The Nursery]]. Zarak broke free of Scorponok's influence long enough to free the captive Autobots, but the Nebulan was soon back atop his partner, urging his troops onward to destruction. {{storylink|Brothers in Armor!!}}

''Scorponok and Zarak challenged Fortress Maximus and Galen (here called "Kord") to a duel to settle their differences. Kord/Maximus won by cheating, but it didn't matter because the duel was a ruse to distract the Autobots while [[Slugslinger (G1)|Slugslinger]] stole Autobot fuel converters. The Deceptions had bugged the Autobot base and learned of Earth. They needed the converters to travel there. The Decepticons left for Earth and the Autobots followed.'' {{storylink|The Final Conflict}}

{{note|The events in this UK story differ in significant ways to the [[Headmasters (comic)|Headmasters]] mini-series.}}

When [[Galen]] decided to leave Nebulos for [[Earth]], Scorponok and his forces again followed, leaving the war-torn Nebulos behind. {{storylink|Brothers in Armor!!}}

Scorponok's first action upon arriving on Earth was to track down the signal that had led Fortress Maximus's crew there. At first, he found only an [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|impudent fleshling]], but soon Fortress Maximus and the Autobots returned to the cave from which the signal had been sent. In the ensuing battle, Scorponok nearly took the human hostage, and he used him as a tool to kill Zarak's old nemesis, Galen. At first, he thought this would leave Fortress Maximus helpless, but the human took Galen's place, and Fortress Maximus drove the Decepticons into retreat. {{storylink|Trial by Fire!}}

[[Image:Scorponokpretendertothethrone.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Nya ha ha!]]
Scorponok took his time establishing a beachhead on Earth. First, he covertly seized a genetics lab and created the Decepticon [[Pretender|Pretenders]], hoping to disguise his troops' robotic natures. It was during this operation that he first crossed paths with Optimus Prime, within a computer-simulated world. {{storylink|Pretender to the Throne!}} Scorponok then sent [[Skullgrin]] to the planet to establish a fuel depot for the Decepticons' eventual landing. {{storylink|Monstercon from Mars!}} Scorponok used his human component to head up a covert operation by the [[Z Foundation]], in an effort to get humans to destroy the Autobots for him. When the plan failed, Scorponok himself attacked [[Roadjammer|some of the same humans]] in a brutal battle in a parking garage. {{storylink|Ca$h and Car-nage!}}

''When Scorponok sought to have [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] brainwash the Autobot [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]], his plans couldn't have gone more wrong. Mindwipe neglected to hypnotise Highbrow's partner [[Gort]], and the Nebulan managed to regain enough control of Highbrow's body to rip Scorponok's head clean off his shoulders. The sudden separation without any mental command caused both Scorponok and Zarak to black out, and Highbrow returned to base with Scorponok's head in his grip.'' {{storylink|All in the Minds!}} ''Highbrow found himself unable to kill Scorponok in cold blood despite his desire to end the threat he posed, but as he ruminated on the matter outside the Autobot base, he was attacked by a group of Decepticons who had come to reclaim the head of their leader. The chronal crisis known as the "Time Wars" soon erupted, during which Scorponok was reunited with his head and reactivated, at which point he joined with the various Transformers of two worlds, two factions and two eras against the fighting-mad [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]].'' {{storylink|Time Wars}}

Not long afterwards, Scorponok was contacted by Starscream, representative of another faction of Decepticons operating on Earth under the command of [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]]. Scorponok immediately brought his ship to this group's location in the [[Arctic]], only to find his vessel under attack by [[Piranacon (G1)|Piranacon]]. Starscream soon arrived to smooth things over before any damage could be done, but relations were off to a rocky start. Things got worse when Scorponok revealed his partially fleshling nature to Ratbat's group, worse still as a tour of Ratbat's base seemed to be a pointless delaying tactic, and even worse when he learned of Ratbat's plan to seize the legendary power source known as the [[Underbase]]. Furious that Ratbat had clearly never intended to cooperate with his group, Scorponok attempted to lead his troops away, only to find his path barred by the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]]. Seeing their leader besieged, the rest of Scorponok's troops stormed to the attack. A battle soon erupted between the two sides, with Scorponok mercilessly ripping, tearing, smashing and blasting his way through Ratbat's soldiers. Only the sight of Starscream stealing his ship in the midst of the battle caused him to call a cease-fire. {{storylink|Cold War}}

The arrival of the Autobots caused another battle to break out, this time with the Decepticons united against a common foe. But Ratbat and Fortress Maximus called for a cease-fire so they could unite against Starscream. The group was unable to stop Starscream from uniting with the Underbase, and he destroyed Scorponok's ship. Optimus Prime saved the allied groups, bringing them all aboard the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]]. Scorponok found the proposed alliance "detestable" and was eager to take action against the traitor; he was disgusted by Optimus Prime's apparent cowardice in refusing to join the attack teams against Starscream on Earth.

[[Image:Ratbatdarkstardeath.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Sorry, no, I'm a $40 toy. I am NOT getting upstaged by a cassette.]]
Scorponok was co-commander of an attack team in [[Tokyo]], where an offhand comment by Grimlock caused him to realize what Optimus Prime must be up to. Abandoning the fight, Scorponok returned to the Ark aboard the Autobot shuttle that had ferried him to Earth. He found that Ratbat had the same idea; the two confronted Optimus Prime, who had just launched a rocket into space to bring the Underbase to Earth. Seeing the Autobot leader's apparent treachery, Scorponok blasted him. When Ratbat stated his intention to take the Underbase himself, Scorponok blasted him, too, taking him out of the picture permanently. Rocketing into space, Scorponok was nearly in range of the Underbase, when Optimus Prime—now recovered and with his [[Powermaster]] partner back in place—pushed them both out of its way. The two leaders watched in horrified fascination as Starscream arrived, absorbed the entire Underbase, and promptly self-destructed.

Impressed by Prime's actions, Scorponok agreed to a temporary truce, long enough for both sides to gather up their fallen. With Ratbat and Starscream out of the way, Scorponok's command of the Decepticons on Earth was assured. {{storylink|Dark Star (issue)|Dark Star}}

The truce at an end, Scorponok attempted to assassinate his old foe, Fortress Maximus, by having [[Carnivac (G1)|Carnivac]] and [[Snarler]] kill his human partner, [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]]. {{storylink|The Man in the Machine!}} ''In return, Scorponok granted Pretender shells to the pair.'' {{storylink|Survivors!}}

Scorponok finally made a permanent landing on Earth, establishing [[New Jersey base|a base in New Jersey]] as part of a plan to gather energy. The plan failed, but Scorponok kept his base there. {{storylink|King Con!}}

Zarak continued to function as a covert human for Scorponok, allowing the Decepticons to counter the growing popularity of [[Roadhandler (G1)|Roadhandler]] in [[New York City]]. {{storylink|The Interplanetary Wrestling Championship!}}

Scorponok found himself drawn into a battle at [[MacDill Air Force Base]] by his newest recruits, the [[Air Strike Patrol]]. Announcing his arrival in no uncertain terms, he attacked the Autobots who were harassing his troops, only to have those same troops cut and run. Optimus Prime, meanwhile, tried talking to him about alliance and cooperation, of them both being manipulated by some unknown player. Scorponok wasn't very interested in listening, but his memories of Prime's selfless actions during the [[Underbase Saga]] finally got the better of him. Just as he was ready to compare notes, however, the [[Classic Pretender|Pretender-enhanced]] Starscream arrived. {{storylink|All the Familiar Faces!}} The Autobots and Decepticons eventually overpowered him, however, and Starscream begged Scorponok to take him back. {{storylink|Skin Deep|Skin Deep}} Badly in need of additional troops and firepower, Scorponok agreed, but this decision proved to be very unpopular with his troops. {{storylink|Primal Scream (issue)|Primal Scream}} It eventually cost him the loyalty of [[Triggerhappy]] and [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]], who deserted him after Starscream went missing again. {{storylink|The Gathering Storm}}

In 1991, Scorponok made Decepticon history as [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] formally offered his surrender in hopes of making a new force to combat the Dark God [[Unicron]]. Scorponok initially planned to betray Prime's trust to bolster his own leadership position, but Prime eventually convinced him of the Chaos-Bringer's threat and persuaded him to unite their forces—just as a contingent of rebel Decepticons under Shockwave's command attacked Scorponok's base. {{storylink|Surrender!}}

[[Image:Allthisandcivilwar-arethey.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Wildman and Baskerville, pretty well summed up in one panel.]]

Scorponok arose from the wreckage of his base and quickly put down most of the rebels. He then went mano-a-mano with Shockwave, in a protracted battle which spilled into New York Harbor and across the river into the city's Battery Park. Optimus Prime and Nightbeat interrupted the fight, as did the arrival of the human mutant squad the [[Neo-Knights]]. {{storylink|...All This and Civil War 2}} Though initially scornful of the humans' efforts, Scorponok was downed by two of them and was nearly killed by [[Circuit Breaker]]. The battle came to a conclusive end when Circuit Breaker used all her power to knock out Shockwave, and Scorponok agreed to stop fighting.

In a sign of the growing alliance, Scorponok was actually inquiring as to Prime's well-being, when they, along with every other Transformer on Earth, were transported by Primus to Cybertron. {{storylink|Out of Time!}}

Faced with Armageddon, Scorponok confessed his fears of dying to Optimus Prime, who reassured him that there was no shame in it. Scorponok vowed that he would be proud to go down fighting alongside Optimus... which he nearly did, when the two came under attack from a group of [[Unicron cultist|Unicron cultists]]. Though Scorponok had the option of leaving Prime to his fate, the Decepticon portion of him wouldn't hear of it, and he attacked the cultists in a rage. With the battle won, Scorponok spared one of the cultists at Optimus Prime's behest. {{storylink|The Void! (US)|The Void!}}

Unicron arrived at Cybertron mere seconds later, and the final battle began. Scorponok was at first paralyzed by the sheer size of their foe, and later further terrified when Optimus Prime was batted aside with ease. But he rose to the challenge, calling on his Decepticon heritage, and attacked Unicron viciously. While he was tearing into the giant's foot, Unicron blasted him with a stream of fire, mortally wounding him. Optimus Prime knelt over him as him as he lay dying, providing solace in the final moments of his life. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}}

====Marvel UK future timelines====
''In an alternate 1991, near the end of the Decepticon Civil War between the forces of Scorponok, [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], and [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], Scorponok found himself separated from his troops and hounded by Megatron's [[Air Strike Patrol]]. He attracted the attention of the Autobots by rampaging through a human settlement, and immediately surrendered to [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], leader of the Autobot unit. As Autobot ethics require the protection of prisoners, Scorponok had maneuvered Hot Rod's team into fighting his battle for him. With the frustrated Autobots and Megatron's Decepticons focused on each other, Scorponok was free to walk away. {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}}''

===''Classics''===
{{note|The ''[[Classics (2006)|Classics]]'' story takes place in a post-Marvel Generation 1 comics universe where neither [[Generation 2 (franchise)|Generation 2]] nor the Marvel UK material happened.}}
Scorponok and Zarak's remains on Cybertron were discovered and studied by the [[Mini-Con]] [[Broadside (Classics)|Broadside]]. {{storylink|The New World}}

===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Stephen Keener]] (English)

Scorponok was a gigantic Headmaster robot built from scratch by Lord Zarak, the secret ruler of Nebulos, upon learning of the Transformers. Working from the Headmaster process designed by the Autobot [[Brainstorm]] and later applied to his allies in the [[Hive (G1)|Hive]] and the Decepticons, Zarak used his mental powers to reconstruct the Hive's entire city into a robotic body for him to binary bond with. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 2}} With Scorponok under his command, Zarak was able to retrieve the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber from the Autobots and carry the Decepticon forces back to Cybertron to reunite with Galvatron. In the end, however, a bolt of [[plasma energy]] zapped Scorponok in his city mode, launching the massive Headmaster (and the collected Decepticons inside) far out into space. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 3}}

{{Note|Like Fortress Maximus, it is unclear if Scorponok has a life of his own or is simply a large machine that Zarak can control. There is no explanation of how Zarak could've brought him to life and his one line of "Autobot Die!" isn't exactly the most sophisticated of expressions.}}
{{-}}

===Japanese cartoon continuity===
{{note|In this continuity, in a reverse of the standard western naming, Scorponok is the name of the being who becomes the ''head'' of the giant robot, taking the place of Lord Zarak in Japanese fiction. The giant robot's name is '''MegaZarak''', but it's simply a lifeless [[Transtector]] that serves as a larger body for Scorponok.}}
====''The Headmasters'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Banjō Ginga]] (Japanese)

[[Image:Scorponok headmasters shadows.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Well-manicured eeeeevil.]]
Scorponok was one of a group of diminutive Transformers who left Cybertron four million years ago to escape the Great War and took up residence on the planet [[Master (planet)|Master]]. To survive the harsh environmental conditions on Master, the Transformers built large, lifeless robotic bodies called [[Transtector|Transtectors]], to which they could connect as heads, increasing their size and power. Scorponok underwent the training to become one of these "Headmasters," but he chafed under the leadership of [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress]], and he led several like-minded Headmaster warriors in a rebellion that ultimately ended with their defeat and exile from Master. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}}

By the year 2011, Scorponok had teamed up with Galvatron and the Decepticons, and his three minions, [[Weirdwolf]], Mindwipe and [[Skullcruncher]], joined Galvatron's forces in an attack on Cybertron in 2011. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} Scorponok himself, on the other hand, refrained from making appearances on the battlefield, sticking to the shadows (in the most preposterously literal way imaginable) and emerging only to lure the Autobot Headmasters into a trap on the planet [[Praum]]. {{storylink|The Four-Million-Year-Old Veil of Mystery}} Not long thereafter, when Galvatron discovered that [[Vector Sigma]] was in the midst of developing a powerful [[Cybertonuron|new alloy]], Scorponok advised against attacking the planet, suggesting instead that they destroy the alloy, rather than risk the Autobots gaining control of it. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1}} In truth, Scorponok was more concerned about ''Galvatron'' obtaining the alloy's power, and determined to stop anyone from acquiring it by taking out Cybertron itself. He had Mindwipe plant powerful bombs in Vector Sigma's chamber, which went off and devastated the planet, ostensibly taking Galvatron with it. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2}}

[[Image:Scorponok headmasters smallrobot.jpg|left|225px|thumb|"Mine is an evil laugh! Moo hoo ha ha!"]]
Scorponok subsequently took control of the Decepticons, falsely claiming that Galvatron was alive and commanding him from afar. He immediately put a series of far-reaching plans into action, starting with the creation of a massive Transtector for himself, which would put him on equal footing with Fortress and his Transtector-cum-battleship, the ''Maximus''. Enslaved [[Beastformer|Beastformers]] were put to work on the planet [[Zarak (planet)|Zarak]] to construct this Transtector, and to provide it with power, Scorponok had the Decepticons steal the [[Solar-1]], a human solar-energy-gathering satellite, which beamed its power reserves to Zarak. {{storylink|The Shadow Emperor, Scorponok}} While the construction was going on, meanwhile, Scorponok focused his attention on harnessing the power of the [[plasma energy]] released in the destruction of Cybertron. Seeking to generate even more of the energy for his plans of universal conquest, Scorponok used the energy he had already obtained to create bombs that were planted beneath the surface of [[Mars (planet)|Mars]], which would rip the planet apart. {{storylink|Explosion on Mars!! Maximus Is in Danger}} While the Autobots were busy fighting the Decepticon contingent on Mars to prevent the planet's destruction, Scorponok unveiled his completed Transtector to the rest of the Decepticons on [[Chaar]], stepping from the shadows for the first time as he brought all his troops aboard his new battleship-body and flew to Mars. Once there, he transformed into robot mode and spitefully attacked the immobile Maximus before fleeing into space just before his plasma bombs detonated and blew Mars to cosmic rubble. The Maximus was able to absorb some of the energy released in the initial stages of the explosion, however, and Fortress was able to transform into Fortress Maximus and escape the blast. Fortress Maximus cleaved Scorponok's shoulder with his [[Master Sword]], forcing the Decepticons to retreat. {{storylink|Explosion on Mars!! MegaZarak Appears}}

[[Image:Scorponok headmasters megazarak.jpg|right|225px|thumb|"Hello? My visor seems to have fallen down over my face. Little help?"]]
Believing that his deeds had cemented his position of power, Scorponok arranged to be coronated the new Decepticon emperor on Earth's moon, but in the midst of the ceremony , Galvatron returned alive and well and retook leadership. {{storylink|Return of the Immortal Emperor}} Galvatron's return saw Scorponok relegated to the insulting position of interplanetary short bus as the Decepticons traveled from world to world, pillaging copious amounts of energy. Scorponok transformed to robot mode only once on the journey, to battle Fortress Maximus on [[Susei]]. {{storylink|Fight to the Death on Planet Hive!!}} When the Decepticons returned to Earth, diminishing Scorponok's immediate usefulness to Galvatron, the wicked Headmaster returned to this own schemes, ignoring Galvatron's orders {{storylink|Ultra Magnus Dies!!}} and planting more plasma energy bombs along the [[Pacific Ring of Fire]]. {{storylink|The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg}}

Everything turned around for Scorponok when Galvatron faced the Autobot Headmasters alone in a battle in Alaska, and was finally destroyed when they collapsed and iceberg on top of him. {{storylink|The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg}} This allowed Scorponok to once again seize leadership of the Decepticons, appointing himself the "Emperor of Terror" and resuming his plan for the destruction of Earth by attempting the detonation of his plasma bombs. During the previous interplanetary quest, however, the Autobots had made contact with [[Tekna]], one of the Beastformers who had worked on the construction of Scorponok's Transtector, and he was able to provide them with encrypted data that pinpointed the location of the Transtector's weak spot. After [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] decoded the data, he raced to Earth where the battle was already in progress and gave Fortress Maximus the information, allowing the Autobot leader to perforate Scorponok's weak spot, and send the critically wounded Decepticon fleeing off into space. {{storylink|I Risk My Life for Earth}}

[[Image:Scorponok headmasters scorpionmode.jpg|left|225px|thumb|Claws...check. Stinger...check. Multiple gun turrets...check. Giant, vulnerable weak spot dead center on the chest...check mate.]]
Moving his attentions away from Earth for the time being, Scorponok led the Decepticons back to planet Master in search of a weapon to counter the power of Fortress's Master Sword. The Autobots pursued them, which unfortunately resulted in [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] being captured by the villains and ransomed for the secrets of the Master Sword. {{storylink|The Master Sword Is in Danger!!}} Using this information, Scorponok forged the [[Zarak Shield]] out of [[G-Metal]], and when the two weapons clashed, the Zarak Shield emerged triumphant. {{storylink|Operation: Destroy the Decepticons}} Emboldened by this victory, Scorponok led the charge back to Earth, intending to finally destroy it, pausing only in the asteroid belt to effect repairs on his Transtector, and to betray and dispose of [[Sixshot]], whom he had never trusted. {{storylink|Duel on the Asteroid}}

Upon his return to Earth, Scorponok promptly had the Decepticon launch an energy-gathering satellite into orbit, and then withdrew to the sunken continent of [[Lemuria (G1)|Lemuria]], where already had numerous Decepticons working to mine the legendary [[crysmag metal]]. Scorponok raised "Death Towers" of this metal in five strategic location all over Earth all, which proceeded to generate waves of energy that were gathered by the satellite. {{storylink|The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 1)}} For the final part of his plan, Scorponok lured the Autobots to the North Pole, where he clashed with Fortress Maximus for the last time atop a sixth dais of crysmag metal. As soon as the two combatants were upon the dais, Scorponok had the satellite beam its stored energy down into his Transtector, and through it into the dais, creating an exponential loop that threatened to tear the Earth apart. Scorponok disconnected from his Transtector and retreated into space with the Decepticons to watch the Earth's destruction, only for Fortress Maximus—supercharged with the combined energy of the Autobot army united in a [[Head Formation]]—to destroy his Transtector, breaking the circuit and saving the Earth. {{storylink|The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)}}

====''The Headmasters''/''Super-God Masterforce'' intermezzo====
{{note|Following ''The Headmasters'', Japanese continuity branches off in two similar but distinct directions: one is depicted in the ''Super-God Masterforce'' animated series, leading into the ''Zone'' cartoon, while the other is told through the ''Super-God Masterforce'' manga, which leads into the ''Zone'' manga and story pages. However, Scorponok's activities ''between'' the end of ''The Headmasters'' and the beginning of ''Super-God Masterforce'', told through his own packaging [[bio]] and [[TV Magazine]] articles, apply to both continuities.}}
With the Decepticons at last forced off of Earth, the Autobots also left the planet, and Transformers' war transitioned into a series of space-based exchange between Chaar and [[Athenia]], with the advanced technology of planet [[Master (planet)|Master]] forming the backbone of the conflict. To rejoin the fight, Scorponok had a new Transtector constructed, much smaller than his old one (comparatively speaking – it was still taller than a [[combiner]]), but outfitted with hyper-dense armor. Before he could connect with this new body, however, Scorponok was captured by the mysterious alien entity [[Devil Z]], who had been in hibernation on Earth until recently, and saw a use for Scorponok in his plan to create the ultimate lifeform. Devil Z brainwashed Scorponok, placing him, and by extension the entire Decepticon army, under his control, and then allowed him to link up with his new Transtector. Rather than forming the head for his Transtector, however, Scorponok controlled it from it within its chest cavity, wired directly into its systems from there, with a new "decoy" head placed between its shoulders. Now, Scorponok was '''BlackZarak'''.

The former Decepticon ninja, [[Sixshot]], learned what had befallen Scorponok, and alerted the Autobots to the existence of Devil Z on Earth. The news of this shadowy controller reached the Autobots just as the [[Trainbot|Trainbots]] reported the first sighting of BlackZarak in the shadows of a meteor cluster, and the concerned Autobots decided to send a collection of Transtectors to the small Autobot group under the command of [[Metalhawk]] that was still on Earth, which he used to transform human beings into Autobot warriors to aid in the battle against Devil Z's forces.

====''Super-God Masterforce'' cartoon continuity====
=====''Super-God Masterforce'' cartoon=====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Banjō Ginga]] (Japanese), [[Hidekatsu Shibata]] (Japanese, when merged with Devil Z)

[[Image:Blackzarak robotmode.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Also known as "African-American" Zarak.]]
After numerous failures by Devil Z's forces on Earth resulted in multiple [[Godmaster]] warriors joining the Autobot ranks instead of the Decepticons, the incensed alien summoned BlackZarak to Earth. Observing BlackZarak's activities, Fortress Maximus's younger brother, [[Grand Maximus]], raced to Earth ahead of him and warned the Autobots of his coming. In preparation for BlackZarak's arrival, the Autobots worked to construct a power-up drone named [[Godbomber]] for their most powerful member, [[Ginrai]]. {{storylink|Life? Death? Lightfoot Must Choose}} While they worked, the approaching BlackZarak bombarded the Earth with meteors as part of a complicated scheme by Devil Z's ambassadors, [[Giga]] and [[Mega]] to publicly discredit the Autobots, which was ultimately foiled. {{storylink|Expose the Decepticons' Dark Deception!}}

Giga and Mega combined into their robot form of [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] and headed to Earth's moon to rendezvous with BlackZarak, but before BlackZarak arrived, Ginrai merged with the completed Godbomber, and pursued him into space. BlackZarak showed up in the midst of their battle, and promptly impaled Ginrai with his Tyrant Spear, sending him crashing to the moon's surface. {{storylink|God Ginrai - Into the Sky!!}} BlackZarak and Overlord followed him down to the moon, and hunted the wounded Autobot, who was in dire straits until the timely arrival of Grand Maximus. With the sides now more evenly matched, the two Decepticons attempted to break off the battle and head for Earth, but Ginrai and Grand brought them back down to the moon with a bump. BlackZarak instructed the damaged Overlord to flee the battle, and although he was furious at being ordered around by this newcomer, Overlord could do little to argue, and left BlackZarak to face the two Autobots alone. Grand and Ginrai double-teamed BlackZarak, and eventually, Ginrai was able to decapitate the Decepticon with his God Fire Guts attack. Although Ginrai thought his opponent was done for, BlackZarak's headless body hauled itself back up, and retreated off into space, with Grand Maximus hot on his tail. {{storylink|God Ginrai - Showdown on the Surface of the Moon}}

[[Image:Blackzarak scorpion mode.jpg|left|215px|thumb|The scorched remains of two fans who wouldn't stop asking why Devil Z made so many Autobot Transtectors.]]
During this extended stay in space, BlackZarak mastered localized gravity manipulation and gained the ability to open black holes, which he could use to teleport himself across the galaxy at will. After trapping Grand Maximus one of these singularities in order to keep him out of the way, BlackZarak teleported directly to Earth and immediately tore through [[New York City]] as part of Devil Z's "Operation M-1". He proceeded to attack [[Tokyo]] alongside Overlord, but was foiled when Ginrai freed Grand Maximus, and the two Autobots stopped the villains by tricking them into blasting each other. {{storylink|BlackZarak - Destroyer from Space}} With the failure of this scheme, Devil Z initiated "Operation M-2" and had BlackZarak withdraw to the far side of the moon, where he would unleash the atmosphere-destroying [[Death Para-Machine]] against the Earth. Thankfully, BlackZarak was only able to get off one shot from the deadly weapon before Ginrai destroyed it with his God Fire Guts attack. {{storylink|Crisis! The Day of the Downfall of Humanity}}

[[Image:Blackzarak dakatsu mode.jpg|right|215px|thumb|A dog chasing its own tail has nothing on Hydra Mode.]]
BlackZarak returned to attacking cities around the globe, and soon struck in a city where [[Cancer]] went to, with a trio of [[Sparkdash]] drones to back him up. Luckily, Autobot Godmaster [[Road King]] was on patrol in the area, and soon called him Ginrai to help him take BlackZarak down. {{storylink|God Ginrai - Save Cancer!?}} Later, after battling Grand Maximus in [[Moscow]], BlackZarak was present at the Decepticon base when the Autobots attacked it. During this clash, Devil Z took his brainwashing to the next level, and actually merged his consciousness with BlackZarak, entering his body and taking control of it himself. For his first act in BlackZarak's body, Devil Z collapsed the Decepticon base in a failed attempt to destroy the Autobots {{storylink|The Ultimate Combination!! BlackZarak, the New Lifeform}} and then led the Decepticons in an attack on North America, bombarding the country with his [[Devil Power]] from a strategic staging point in the heart of the [[Grand Canyon]]. {{storylink|Battle to the Death!! God Ginrai VS Darkwings Reborn}}

Devil Z next took the Decepticons to the peak of the Matterhorn, where he unleashed his Devil Power upon Europe until God Ginrai arrived to challenge him. The battle was fierce, and Ginrai thought he had won when he once again cleaved BlackZarak's head from his shoulders, but the decapitation of his host meant little to Devil Z, who simply transformed BlackZarak's body into a new, twin-headed serpent form, and kept the fight going. Uniting his Chōkon Power with that of the [[Headmaster Junior|Headmaster Juniors]], Ginrai unleashed his most powerful God Fire Guts yet and dove through BlackZarak's body, finally destroying the giant Decepticon in a huge explosion that left only ash and shrapnel. Although Devil Z survived the blast, he now no longer had BlackZarak's body to enclose him, and was wide open for Ginrai's finishing move: the Final Fire Guts, which utterly obliterated the evil alien. {{storylink|A Battle... and Then...}}
{{-}}

=====''Zone'' cartoon=====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Hirohiko Kakegawa]] (Japanese)

[[Image:ZarakZone1.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Aye aye aye—sharpen your boot, and bludgeon your eye]]
Several years after the conclusion of the Masterforce war, when the supernatural entity [[Violen Jiger]] seized control of the Decepticons, one of his first actions was to recruit "[[Nine Great Demon Generals]]" from Decepticon history. Using his mysterious powers, Violen Jiger resurrected BlackZarak to serve as his "Evil Spirit General," and outfitted him with new armor and weapons to make him more deadly that ever before. It was never explicitly stated if he possessed the consciousness of Scorponok or Devil Z, but he seemed to have a serious ''pirate''-vibe going on, now sporting a hook for a hand and an eye-patch.

[[Image:Zone blackzarak.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Aye aye aye—the blarney stone brings a tear to me eye]]
BlackZarak was part of the team of generals who attacked planet [[Micro|Zone]] in order to steal its precious [[Energon Z]] for Violen Jiger's schemes, but BlackZarak refrained from participating in the assault, hanging back on the fringes of the planet's atmosphere to cover his allies' rear. As his fellow generals made good their escape with the Energon Z in hand, BlackZarak barred the way of the [[Super Car Patrol Team]] and [[Battle Patrol]] as they attempted to pursue in the [[Rocket Base|Galaxy Rocket]]. The Demon General managed to trap the rocket in a crackling field of electricity, and then departed to rejoin his fellow Decepticons, leaving the electric net to slowly destroy the rocket. Luckily for the Autobots, the [[Jet Patrol Team]] arrived to destroy the net, and [[Sunrunner]] proceeded to use his radar to track BlackZarak back to the other Decepticons. {{storylink|Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!}}
{{-}}

====''Super-God Masterforce'' comic continuity====
=====''Super-God Masterforce'' comic=====
[[Image:Blackzarak manga.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Black-and-WhiteZarak]]
When it became apparent that the small force under his command on Earth lacked the manpower to handle the Autobots, Devil Z chose to unite them with the Decepticons in space, and ordered the combined army to attack Athenia. Ginrai (who was on the planet at the time to be appointed Supreme Commander of the Autobots) was able to win the battle by defeating [[Scramble 7]], but after the fight, BlackZarak made his first appearance before the Autobots, carrying Hydra, Buster and the Decepticon Headmasters, who announced that they were returning to Earth. {{storylink|The Battle Begins! The United Earth-Space Troops}}

BlackZarak joined the Decepticons in travelling to Earth, battling [[Raiden]] and the Autobot Headmasters outside the planet's atmosphere while Ginrai confronted Overlord for the first time down on its surface. After defeating his opponents, BlackZarak turned towards Earth, only to find Ginrai streaking towards him, with Overlord in close pursuit. At the last moment, Ginrai spun out of the way, causing the two Decepticons to accidentally strike each other, and damage one another quite badly. While the wounded Overlord returned to Earth, BlackZarak limped back off into space. {{storylink|God Ginrai's Amazing Super-God Combination!}}

BlackZarak later battled Grand Maximus and the Autobot Godmasters in space, with the aid of [[Darkwings]], {{storylink|The Earth Family of Good and Evil}} after which Devil Z spirited him away to carry out some upgrades. {{storylink|Decepticons' Great Counterattack!}} These upgrades complete, BlackZarak was soon returned to Earth, and joined Overlord in attacking another city, where he wound up battling Grand Maximus and the Autobots Godmasters once more. {{storylink|Live? Die?! The Desperate Super-God Combination}} Later, BlackZarak attacked China with a trio of [[Sparkdash|Sparkdash drones]]. Decepticon Headmaster Junior [[Cancer]] happened to be in the city at the time, and when the Autobots arrived to battle BlackZarak, he displayed his disdain for humans—even comrades—by seizing Cancer and using him as a shield to keep the Autobots at bay. It was then that Overlord arrived, and surprised everyone by viciously attacking BlackZarak, disgusted by his treatment of Cancer. While the two Decepticons were fighting, the Autobots exploited their conflict to attack and force them to retreat. {{storylink|Great Turn-Around! Autobots}}

[[Image:Devilz head on%21.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Head? I don't need a head. Heads are for wimps!]]
Overlord's betrayal proved to be the last straw for Devil Z, and he took matters into his own hands by connecting himself to BlackZarak's Transtector as a new head of sorts. Now in control of the Decepticon's body and mind, he transformed BlackZarak into a new serpentine form, and attacked Overlord, the Headmaster Juniors and Ginrai, intending to absorb their [[Chōkon Power|Jinchōkon]], in order to transform himself into the ultimate lifeform. His Jinchōkon-absorbing beam was blocked by the wholly-robotic Autobot [[Pretender|Pretenders]], and the Autobots and Decepticons united to destroy Devil Z and BlackZarak for good. Uniting their powers in the "Perfect Transform Attack", all the Autobots and Decepticons boarded Grand Maximus, who collided with BlackZarak, destroying the Decepticon and his alien passenger in an explosion of pure Chōkon Power. {{storylink|The Birth of the Super Lifeforms}}
{{-}}

=====''Zone'' comic and story pages=====
[[Image:Blackzarak zone manga.jpg|left|180px|thumb|BlackZarak looking like Blackbeard. Without oddly enough, the beard.]]

Years after the end of the Masterforce war on Earth, the creature known as [[Violen Jiger]] took control of the Decepticon forces and created an elite fighting force by recruiting "[[Nine Great Demon Generals]]" from throughout Transformer history. BlackZarak was selected to be one of these generals, and Violen Jiger used his strange, supernatural powers to bring the Decepticon back from the dead, dubbing him his "Evil Spirit General" and increasing his strength with new armor and weaponry. {{storylink|Zone (story page)|Zone Part 1}}

BlackZarak was part of the contingent of generals sent to planet Zone to steal its super-energy, Energon Z, for Violen Jiger. After his fellow Decepticons succeeded in purloining the Energon Z, BlackZarak covered their escape, seizing the Galaxy Rocket carrying the pursuing Autobots in an unbreakable grip. He proceeded to coat the rocket in a cocoon of strange energy webbing and then departed to join his fellow generals, but fortunately for the Autobots, the Jet Patrol Team arrived to cut them free before they lost BlackZarak's trail. {{storylink|Zone (manga)|Transformers: Zone}}

BlackZarak later attacked Earth, and met resistance in the form of [[Landshaker]] and [[Sky Hyper]]. BlackZarak seized Landshaker, easily shrugging off Skyhyper's blasts, but was suddenly stunned by a barrage from [[Sonic Bomber]], as he and Dai Atlas came swooping onto the battlefield. Exploiting the opening, Dai Atlas fired on BlackZarak, proving once again that the Autobots' desire to save their comrades would always best the Decepticons' evil. {{storylink|Zone (story page)|Zone Part 5}}

Along with the other Generals, BlackZarak schooled [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]] and the [[Metrosquad]] in the ways of evil, making them formidable oponents for the [[Powered Master]]s. {{storylink|Zone (story page)|Zone Part 7}}

===Ladybird Books continuity===
[[Image:Decepticonsatthepole.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"Put me on the Naughty List, will you?!"]]
Scorponok was originally a large, mobile Decepticon base on [[Nebulos]]. {{storylink|Decepticons at the Pole}} Through means unknown, he became a Transformer, as well as smaller and sentient, and took command of the Decepticon forces from [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]].

He matched wits with Optimus Prime himself, at one point trying to lure him into surrendering in exchange for a hostage's life. {{storylink|Autobot Hostage}} Eventually, the Autobots became too big a nuisance, and Scorponok had the Decepticons move en masse to a secret underground city in the Nebulos Triangle, but this backfired when the Autobots sealed him and his army underground for good. {{storylink|Decepticons Underground}}
{{-}}
===Dreamwave comics continuity===
[[Image:DestinedforNothing_Scorponok.jpg|left|200px|thumb|]]
Shortly before the [[Great Shutdown]], Scorponok attended a teleconference with [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] and [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], where he criticized the latter for "thinking like a calculator instead of a warrior". {{storylink|Destined for Nothing}}

{{-}}

===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}
[[Image:SpotlightUltraMagnus Scorponok.jpg|right|300px|thumb|If you insist on sticking your olfactory sensors where they don't belong, I'm just going to have to take them from you!]]
Long ago, Scorponok once robbed an installation that the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobots]] were guarding—it was something [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] wouldn't forget. {{storylink|Spotlight: Grimlock}}

After the destruction of Cybertron, Scorponok became a criminal known for his flagrant violations of the [[Code of Interplanetary Conflict]]. His traditional modus operandi was to make contact with ambitious non-Cybertronians on a developing world, work with his contacts to develop advanced weaponry using Cybertronian technology, then eliminate his partners when he had what he wanted. [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] had been seeking him for some time.

On the planet Nebulos, Scorponok was in league with [[Zarak (Nebulan)|Mo Zarak]], head of the [[Zarak Consortium]], a cabal of really smart scientists. Presumably with input from Scorponok, the Cranium had created hybrid Nebulan/Cybertronian beings. Unfortunately for Scorponok, Ultra Magnus had tracked him down. Claiming to be on the verge of something "breathtaking", Scorponok proceeded to beat the snot out of Ultra Magnus, before transforming into beast mode to finish him off. Unfortunately, Zarak ran out, begging Scorponok not to fire, or risk destroying what they had built. Unable to abort his shot, Scorponok killed Zarak (revealing to Magnus that the Nebulan had also been infused with Cybertronian technology). Shocked at his actions, a furious Scorponok turned to Ultra Magnus, and Magnus shot Scorponok in the head. However, Scorponok managed to escape through an artificial wormhole generator. {{storylink|Spotlight: Ultra Magnus}}

Shortly after the [[Brasnya]] conflict, Ultra Magnus contacted Optimus Prime, saying that he had a new lead on Scorponok's whereabouts, but he did not elaborate on the specifics. {{storylink|Spotlight: Optimus Prime}}

At some point over the last twenty years, Scorponok chose [[Earth]] as the location to continue his experiments. Making contact with a man named [[Abraham Dante]], Scorponok established an underground organization of human agents known as the [[Machination]], based out of [[Tampa, Florida]]. With their assistance, Scorponok began further developing the [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] technology he had begun on Nebulos, designing the means for cybernetically-enhanced humans to bond with mechanoid bodies. This technology now had great personal value to Scorponok, as he had been reduced to little more than a disconnected head without a body, apparently due to the head shot Ultra Magnus gave him in their last encounter.

{{note|It is unclear whether Scorponok pre-dated the Decepticon infiltration unit on Earth or not.}}
[[Image:Devastation6 Scorponok liveagain.jpg|left|200px|thumb|That must have been one hell of a stag night]]
The Headmaster process was completed shortly before [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] initiated Phase Two on Earth—all it needed was a test subject. To accommodate this, Scorponok and Dante sent agents out into the field to locate the Autobot and Decepticon bases, and conceived tactical scenarios for forcibly acquiring a Transformer as a "guinea pig" before Scorponok underwent the process himself. When the discovery of [[Ultra-Energon|Ore-13]] accelerated the conflict on Earth, the Machination accelerated their plans as well. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 4}}

When the Autobots [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] next left the ''[[Ark-19]]'' in [[Lake Michigan]], Machination agents surprised them on the highway and kidnapped Sunstreaker, leaving behind a heavily-scrapped replica to throw any pursuers temporarily off the scent. As a bonus, they picked up Sunstreaker's passenger as well, [[Hunter O'Nion]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 1}} Taking advantage of the situation, Scorponok and Dante attempted to have Hunter brainwashed and subjected him to the same bio-mechanical engineering as their own agents, creating a small squad of [[Sunstreaker clone|Sunstreaker clones]], each with their own human cyborg controller modified to act as the head in robot mode. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6}}

With the Headmaster process a success, Scorponok proceeded to the next stage: revitalizing himself. Abraham Dante underwent the Headmaster process and donned an exo-carapace of his own. The two of them binary bonded just in time to test-drive their union against Hunter O'Nion, who had managed to shake off their brainwashing attempt and was trying to escape the Machination compound. Despite his renewed size and power, however, Scorponok failed to prevent Hunter from binary-bonding with one of the Sunstreaker drones, and escaping the Machination. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6}}

[[Image:SpotlightGrimlock punch KLUNG.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Oh come on, I just got this head!]]
The Dante/Scorponok merge went well; even Dante considered them one being. He planted a mole named [[Kloss]] into [[Skywatch]], who planted a virus into Grimlock, freeing him from Skywatch's control. When Grimlock escaped, Scorponok met Grimlock with an offer of an alliance for world conquest. Grimlock refused and they battled, with Grimlock losing. Before he could be killed, Grimlock teleported to his still-functional ship. Dante/Scorponok later planned to take control of the other Dynobots and use them to destroy Grimlock. {{storylink|Spotlight: Grimlock}}

While continuing his search for the real Sunstreaker, Hot Rod came upon a wrecked Sunstreaker clone; he deduced that its destruction was "the price of failure." {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer}}

[[Image:ScorponokHotRodMaxDino02.jpg|left|200px|thumb|No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to listen.]]
Following his bonding with Dante, he became a lot chattier and willing—nay, ''desperate''—to monologue his evil schemes.

Once his agents had ensured Skywatch had reprogrammed the Dynobots (reprogramming ''he'' could remotely control) and an army of Sunstreaker clones had been built, Scorponok arranged for Grimlock to be orbital-bounced to [[Fallon]], [[Nevada]]. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 1}}

When Skywatch turned up with the Dynobots, he ensured a massive, destructive fight took place, all a set-up so Skywatch would be discredited and his Headmasters could "save the day"... intending his puppet companies would get all the lucrative anti-Transformer defense contracts from a panicked US government. While his attempt to exploit the Dynobots' internal divides failed, he ''did'' get to beat Hot Rod half to death and yell a lot. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 2}}

When Scorponok's control of the Dynobots was lost, he sent in an army of Headmasters to annihilate everyone. They might have succeeded if not for the timely arrival of the [[Monsterbot]]s. This bemused Hot Rod, and Scorponok ordered him terminated, but Hot Rod managed to set his guards ablaze and escape the compound. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 3}}

As Hot Rod broke out, Sunstreaker broke in to find his real head. Scorponok caught him and blasted him through the chest, but Hunter was able to escape. Before Scorponok could find Hunter, the Monsterbots began blasting the compound, taking out the defenses. Scorponok ordered a recall of all Headmasters to attack the Dynobots, but Hunter was able to sever the connection to Sunstreaker's head, disabling all the Headmasters. A furious Scorponok began to take revenge but was thrown into battle with [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], who wanted the same thing. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 4}}

Shockwave eventually gained the upper hand but allowed Scorponok to retreat gracefully. Scorponok caught Hot Rod trying to sever the connection with his real head, so he thought he'd take out his frustrations by squeezing the life out of Hot Rod. The timely arrival of the Dynobots prevented that, and Swoop severed the connection himself, rendering Scorponok helpless. Just then, Ultra Magnus arrived, responding to an S.O.S. from Hot Rod. He wouldn't allow Scorponok to be killed, but took him into custody. He also ordered the Machination stripped and all technology removed. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 5}}
{{-}}

==Commercial appearances==
[[Image:Scorponok-Rebirth.jpg|right|180px|thumb|"Not Elton John."]]
Scorponok has an odd history of [[Commercial|television commercial]] appearances:

* Like any proper flagship toy, he appears in a 1987 commercial largely devoted to him. As Galvatron narrates, the Technobots attack his base mode, prompting him to transform and counterattack, bashing Computron with a boulder. Notably, the commercial identifies Scorponok as Galvatron's "[[Triple Changer]] Headmaster base". Some of the animation was recycled for the Season 4 cartoon opening.

* In 1989, a [[Giant Decepticon Soldier|Frankenstein Decepticon]] appeared in one of the first Micromaster commercials, getting swarmed and overwhelmed by hordes of Micromasters. While not using the same character model, this character was partially based on Scorponok's appearance, including his distinctive head antennae and some of his color palette.

* In 1990, a Scorponok toy painted white and gray appeared in the stop-motion animated toy segment of a commercial advertising the [[Hot Rod Patrol]] and [[Construction Patrol]]. Like his cel animated counterpart, he gets overwhelmed by his smaller foes, who blow up a bridge beneath him, sending him tumbling into a ravine with an amusingly unthreatening cry of "RAWRRR."

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1 Scorponok toy.jpg|right|350px|thumb|If a camel is a horse designed by committee, then Scorponok is… er…]]
* '''Scorponok''' (Headmaster, 1987)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-93'''
**''Accessories:'' Lord Zarak Headmaster unit, helmet, Scorponok's rifle, rifle cover, Scorponok's shield, [[Fasttrack (Scorponok)|Fasttrack]], Fasttrack's 2 guns, 2 ramps, 4 double cannons, 4 antenna, 2 leg shields, 1 claw arm, 1 side gun arm and 1 elevator.

: The largest Decepticon toy in Generation 1, Scorponok's beast mode is a robotic purple, green and orange scorpion. The pincers have multiple points of articulation, and the ratcheting joints are strong enough to grasp a smaller Transformer. His eight legs are also independently jointed. There are two wheels with rubber grips underneath Scorponok's beast mode body, and pushing him along will cause the scorpion legs to move, simulating the motion of walking. Lord Zarak can sit inside the scorpion head/cockpit while in robot form, or he can be stored inside the chest compartment.

:Like many large Generation 1 Transformers, Scorponok has a base mode, with various ramps and towers for smaller Transformer toys to interact with, though it is quite out of [[scale]] for larger toys, such as his fellow Decepticon Headmasters. The central ramp (formed out of his beast tail) is designed with Fasttrack in mind and features a minor gimmick — placing Fasttrack on the orange panel and pressing the small black button will cause the back of the orange panel to rise, sending Fasttrack rolling down the ramp.

:Scorponok's robot mode is impressively large, and still remains one of the largest Decepticon toys in the ''Transformers'' franchise. As with all Headmasters, Scorponok has a flip-down panel on his chest which covers a spring-loaded mini-[[Tech Spec|Tech-Spec]]-meter which gives readings for Speed, Strength and Intelligence. The tumblers are activated when Lord Zarak (or any other Headmaster unit) is plugged into his neck socket while in head mode. As Lord Zarak is about the same size as the Headmaster units of smaller Headmaster toys, Scorponok would thus have a pretty small noggin if not for the large helmet (that was the beast mode scorpion head) that is placed over the Headmaster. The helmet also features a flip-down visor, which was homaged in ''Energon'' [[Scorponok (Energon)|Scorponok]]. The 2-part rifle and shield plug into Scorponok's pincers.

:Also, he has a [[die-cast]] ass.

:Fasttrack transforms into a small six-wheeled attack vehicle. He comes with a small, easily lost orange gun.

::*[http://www.tfu.info/1987/Decepticon/Scorponok/scorponok.htm More information on Scorponok at TFU.info]

===Super-God Masterforce===
[[Image:Blackzarak toy.jpg|right|320px|thumb|Stingin' and blingin']]
*'''BlackZarak''' (Headmaster, 1988)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-311'''
**''Accessories:'' Scorponok Headmaster unit, face cover, two-piece "Tyrant Spear", "Black Hole Cannon", cannon cover, "Shield Tower"/"Plantium Shield", four "Blacking Cannons", two "Combat Ramps", two "Maintenance Arms", four "Radar Sensors", elevator, [[Fasttrack (Scorponok)|Black Rorichi]], Black Rorichi's two lasers

:This Japanese-exclusive [[retool]] of the original Scorponok figure [[Redeco|redecoes]] the figure in black, gold and red, and equips the figure with a new helmet/scorpion head that features a better-proportioned face sculpted directly into it. As such, it's not really necessary to plug the Scorponok Headmaster unit between the shoulders, since the new helmet-head conceals it completely, but it does fit. The figure includes a small red visor-like mask that clips over the robot mode face, hiding it from view for scorpion mode.

:BlackZarak comes with one major new accessory—his red, two-piece "Tyrant Spear", which he can hold in robot mode—and also includes all of Scorponok's original accessories, appropriately redecoed, including a gold redeco of [[Fasttrack (Scorponok)|Fasttrack]] named "Black Rorichi". BlackZarak is, however, notoriously difficult to find complete, due to many of his accessories, and even body parts, suffering from [[Gold Plastic Syndrome]]. Even sealed box samples have horrified owners who opened the toys for the first time to discover broken parts on their previously-untouched toys.

:Like [[Sixshot]] and Overlord, with their respective "Wingwolf" and "space jet" alternate modes, BlackZarak's instructions do not feature the additional two-headed serpent mode, created as it was by the production staff after fiddling around with the toy and dubbed the "dakatsu" mode. As such, it's entirely possible to transform the toy into this form, but if you try, be aware that it was seriously streamlined for animation, and doesn't look nearly as good in plastic as it does on the screen or comic page. (Also, if the toy hasn't shattered yet due to GPS, putting the toy into Hydra Mode will probably finish the job.)

::*[http://www.tfu.info/1988/Destron/BlackZarak/blackzarak.htm More information on BlackZarak at TFU.info]

==Merchandise==
===Parody Deformed===
[[Image:Scorponok pd model.jpg|right|125px|thumb|]]
*'''MegaZarak''' (1990)

:A small white and red, non-transforming [[super deformed]] model kit of Scorponok was available as part of [[Kabaya]]'s "[[Parody Deformed]]" line of [[Candy toy|candy toys]]. The fourteenth figure in the series, he came with a "[[Transformer PD Type]]" comic about himself, "Watch Out! MegaZarak!", and something that could charitably be described as "gum".
{{--}}

===Super Collection Figure===
*'''BlackZarak''' (2001)

[[Image:Scorponok scf.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Me and myself]]
:BlackZarak was the "Build-A-Figure" from the fifth, ''Masterforce''-centric wave of [[TakaraTomy|Takara]]'s line of ''[[Super Collection Figure]]'' PVC figurines, available in eight out of every ten cases. He was divided into six parts, each one packaged with one of the silver metallic "pewter" versions of the other six figurines in the line (the regular, color versions of the figures didn't come with BlackZarak parts): his head and torso came with Ginrai, his left arm with [[Shūta Gō|Goshooter]], his right arm with Metalhawk and [[Minerva]], his waist and tail with [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], his left leg with [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] and his right leg with Overlord. BlackZarak's part were available in both full-color and smokey translucent plastic (in an equal ratio of 4 out of every 10 cases each), meaning that there were two versions of the figure to collect.

*'''MegaZarak''' (2002)

:Like BlackZarak before him, this version of Scorponok was the Build-A-Figurine from the line's eighth wave. His six components were packaged with the regular color versions of the other figurines in the line: his head and torso came with Fortress, his left arm with Dai Atlas, his right arm with Star Convoy, his pelvis with [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], his left leg with [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] and his right leg with [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]]. Like BlackZarak, there was both a regular full-color figure to collection (available in 6 out of every 10 cases) as well as a rarer variant version, this time in metallic silver (available in 4 out of every 10 cases).

==Trivia==
* The [[Action Master Elite]] [[Double Punch (G1)|Double Punch]]'s mold looks just like an [[Action Master]] version of BlackZarak, right down to the molded details, including the head. The coloring (black/red/purple) is similar to BlackZarak's coloring (black/red/gold) as well. This is very strange, considering that Japan never got Action Masters, and Europe never got BlackZarak.

* Both Scorponok and Fortress Maximus suffer from the writers struggling to reconcile the characters' high rank with their size. In their comic appearances, they are portrayed as commanders in some capacity but are shrunk down to interact with other Transformers, and their city modes pretty much don't exist. Conversely, the cartoons have opted to portray them as giant city Transformers, though they seem to be merely extensions of the smaller beings that bond with them, with no real life or will of their own.

[[Category:Decepticon bases]]
[[Category:City Transformers]]
[[Category:Multi-component Transformers]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Generation 1 locations]]
[[Category:Headmasters]]
[[Category:Headmasters characters]]
[[Category:Machination]]
[[Category:Masterforce characters]]
[[Category:Triple Changers]]
[[Category:Zone characters]]
[[Category:Zombies]]

Scorponok (G1)

2009-12-31T13:45:33Z

159.46.2.55: /* Zone comic and story pages */

{{factions|decepticon|{{factions/icons|custom=Machination_logo.png|cSize=45x30px|cLink=Machination}}}}
{{disambig3|Scorponok}}
:''Scorponok is a [[Decepticon]] [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] [[City-bot]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]]. In Japan, he became '''BlackZarak'''.''

[[Image:Scorponok-Annual.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Scorponok's American look… taken from a British publication.]]
'''Scorponok''' is frequently in a position of Decepticon leadership and is usually the arch-foe of [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]. He is often partnered in some way with a being named [[Zarak (Nebulan)|Zarak]].

{{note|Other than these base facts, much about him differs by continuity; from personality to [[Scale|size]]. See separate character notes in the sections below.}}
:''Japanese name:'' '''Scorpion''' ("The Rebirth") / '''MegaZarak''' and '''Scorponok''' (see below)
:''Italian name'': '''Skorpion'''

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
{{noteukonly}}
{{note|Though quite powerful, the Marvel Comics version of Scorponok stands only a few heads taller than the average Transformer.}}
Scorponok was a Decepticon commander on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], and was a rival of the [[Autobot]] [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]. ''Some time in the past, [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] were displaced from the year 2008 and fell under his command. {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}}'' In the modern day, Scorponok led his troops in a raid on an Autobot city on Cybertron, leveling the city and leaving its remnants in flaming ruins. A long line of captives was taken from the battle; as they marched to their doom in the [[smelting pool]], Scorponok took a sadistic glee in ordering them to move faster or feel his sting. He wasn't so gleeful when Fortress Maximus led an ambush on his squadron; his troops were overwhelmed by the Autobots' righteous fury, and Scorponok ordered a retreat so that they might live to fight another day. {{storylink|Ring of Hate!}}

Soon after, Fortress Maximus and his followers quit the war and left for the planet [[Nebulos]]. Scorponok invaded the Autobots' abandoned base, but found nothing, not even the obligatory trap that Scorponok expected. They did, however, receive a communication from [[Zarak (Nebulan)|Lord Zarak]] on Nebulos, who informed them of the Autobots' arrival there and requested their help. Scorponok happily led his troops there, vowing to conquer the new planet.

[[Image:Loveandsteel-scorponokispissedoff.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Not having a good day here.]]
Upon reaching Nebulos, Scorponok immediately confronted Zarak and obtained the location of Fortress Maximus, learning that he had surrendered himself and four of his followers to ensure peace for the Autobots. Scorponok decided to attack there first, ignoring Zarak's protests. Scorponok and his troops laid siege to the capital city of [[Koraja]], demanding the surrender of the Autobots and blasting away at its newly erected defensive walls when they were refused. It seemed the Decepticons would capture the city, until the gates opened to reveal the Autobots. They had not come to surrender, however, but to fight. With their newly enhanced [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] powers, they easily overwhelmed the more numerous Decepticons; Brainstorm and Chromedome effortlessly penetrated Scorponok's defenses, blasting him. Faced with this unexpected development, Scorponok ordered a rather ignominious retreat.

Scorponok and his troops began investigating ways to dispose cleanly of the Nebulans, such as dumping them into space inside anti-gravity-powered polymer bubbles. In the midst of this research, Apeface and Snapdragon returned from a failed mission, defeated by two of the Autobot Headmasters, and Scorponok gave them a good smacking around. When the captive Lord Zarak suggested that there might be something to this whole "working with fleshlings" thing, Scorponok nearly smacked ''him'' around too, before conceding that perhaps sharing his power might indeed be in his best interest.

And so, Scorponok underwent the Headmaster process, along with five of his troops; Zarak became his binary-bond partner. Using Zarak's daughter [[Llyra]] as bait, the Decepticons lured the Autobots into a trap. During the ensuing battle, the Decepticons trapped a group of Nebulans inside the floating polymer bubbles. When Scorponok noticed Llyra was inside one of the bubbles, he found himself conflicted, his feelings as Zarak the father battling against his legacy as Scorponok the Decepticon. The Decepticon won out, and plan went forward: While the Autobots were busy saving the humans, Scorponok and his troops defeated them and took them captive. {{storylink|Love and Steel!}}

[[Image:Terrorcons-rollout1.jpg|left|250px|thumb|The Terrorcons are too dumb to notice that they're hanging out with a headless dude.]]
Scorponok continued to dominate Zarak's personality more and more, driving him to a battle lust at the [[Mercury Gardens of Melanossus]], and again at [[The Nursery]]. Zarak broke free of Scorponok's influence long enough to free the captive Autobots, but the Nebulan was soon back atop his partner, urging his troops onward to destruction. {{storylink|Brothers in Armor!!}}

''Scorponok and Zarak challenged Fortress Maximus and Galen (here called "Kord") to a duel to settle their differences. Kord/Maximus won by cheating, but it didn't matter because the duel was a ruse to distract the Autobots while [[Slugslinger (G1)|Slugslinger]] stole Autobot fuel converters. The Deceptions had bugged the Autobot base and learned of Earth. They needed the converters to travel there. The Decepticons left for Earth and the Autobots followed.'' {{storylink|The Final Conflict}}

{{note|The events in this UK story differ in significant ways to the [[Headmasters (comic)|Headmasters]] mini-series.}}

When [[Galen]] decided to leave Nebulos for [[Earth]], Scorponok and his forces again followed, leaving the war-torn Nebulos behind. {{storylink|Brothers in Armor!!}}

Scorponok's first action upon arriving on Earth was to track down the signal that had led Fortress Maximus's crew there. At first, he found only an [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|impudent fleshling]], but soon Fortress Maximus and the Autobots returned to the cave from which the signal had been sent. In the ensuing battle, Scorponok nearly took the human hostage, and he used him as a tool to kill Zarak's old nemesis, Galen. At first, he thought this would leave Fortress Maximus helpless, but the human took Galen's place, and Fortress Maximus drove the Decepticons into retreat. {{storylink|Trial by Fire!}}

[[Image:Scorponokpretendertothethrone.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Nya ha ha!]]
Scorponok took his time establishing a beachhead on Earth. First, he covertly seized a genetics lab and created the Decepticon [[Pretender|Pretenders]], hoping to disguise his troops' robotic natures. It was during this operation that he first crossed paths with Optimus Prime, within a computer-simulated world. {{storylink|Pretender to the Throne!}} Scorponok then sent [[Skullgrin]] to the planet to establish a fuel depot for the Decepticons' eventual landing. {{storylink|Monstercon from Mars!}} Scorponok used his human component to head up a covert operation by the [[Z Foundation]], in an effort to get humans to destroy the Autobots for him. When the plan failed, Scorponok himself attacked [[Roadjammer|some of the same humans]] in a brutal battle in a parking garage. {{storylink|Ca$h and Car-nage!}}

''When Scorponok sought to have [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] brainwash the Autobot [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]], his plans couldn't have gone more wrong. Mindwipe neglected to hypnotise Highbrow's partner [[Gort]], and the Nebulan managed to regain enough control of Highbrow's body to rip Scorponok's head clean off his shoulders. The sudden separation without any mental command caused both Scorponok and Zarak to black out, and Highbrow returned to base with Scorponok's head in his grip.'' {{storylink|All in the Minds!}} ''Highbrow found himself unable to kill Scorponok in cold blood despite his desire to end the threat he posed, but as he ruminated on the matter outside the Autobot base, he was attacked by a group of Decepticons who had come to reclaim the head of their leader. The chronal crisis known as the "Time Wars" soon erupted, during which Scorponok was reunited with his head and reactivated, at which point he joined with the various Transformers of two worlds, two factions and two eras against the fighting-mad [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]].'' {{storylink|Time Wars}}

Not long afterwards, Scorponok was contacted by Starscream, representative of another faction of Decepticons operating on Earth under the command of [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]]. Scorponok immediately brought his ship to this group's location in the [[Arctic]], only to find his vessel under attack by [[Piranacon (G1)|Piranacon]]. Starscream soon arrived to smooth things over before any damage could be done, but relations were off to a rocky start. Things got worse when Scorponok revealed his partially fleshling nature to Ratbat's group, worse still as a tour of Ratbat's base seemed to be a pointless delaying tactic, and even worse when he learned of Ratbat's plan to seize the legendary power source known as the [[Underbase]]. Furious that Ratbat had clearly never intended to cooperate with his group, Scorponok attempted to lead his troops away, only to find his path barred by the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]]. Seeing their leader besieged, the rest of Scorponok's troops stormed to the attack. A battle soon erupted between the two sides, with Scorponok mercilessly ripping, tearing, smashing and blasting his way through Ratbat's soldiers. Only the sight of Starscream stealing his ship in the midst of the battle caused him to call a cease-fire. {{storylink|Cold War}}

The arrival of the Autobots caused another battle to break out, this time with the Decepticons united against a common foe. But Ratbat and Fortress Maximus called for a cease-fire so they could unite against Starscream. The group was unable to stop Starscream from uniting with the Underbase, and he destroyed Scorponok's ship. Optimus Prime saved the allied groups, bringing them all aboard the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]]. Scorponok found the proposed alliance "detestable" and was eager to take action against the traitor; he was disgusted by Optimus Prime's apparent cowardice in refusing to join the attack teams against Starscream on Earth.

[[Image:Ratbatdarkstardeath.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Sorry, no, I'm a $40 toy. I am NOT getting upstaged by a cassette.]]
Scorponok was co-commander of an attack team in [[Tokyo]], where an offhand comment by Grimlock caused him to realize what Optimus Prime must be up to. Abandoning the fight, Scorponok returned to the Ark aboard the Autobot shuttle that had ferried him to Earth. He found that Ratbat had the same idea; the two confronted Optimus Prime, who had just launched a rocket into space to bring the Underbase to Earth. Seeing the Autobot leader's apparent treachery, Scorponok blasted him. When Ratbat stated his intention to take the Underbase himself, Scorponok blasted him, too, taking him out of the picture permanently. Rocketing into space, Scorponok was nearly in range of the Underbase, when Optimus Prime—now recovered and with his [[Powermaster]] partner back in place—pushed them both out of its way. The two leaders watched in horrified fascination as Starscream arrived, absorbed the entire Underbase, and promptly self-destructed.

Impressed by Prime's actions, Scorponok agreed to a temporary truce, long enough for both sides to gather up their fallen. With Ratbat and Starscream out of the way, Scorponok's command of the Decepticons on Earth was assured. {{storylink|Dark Star (issue)|Dark Star}}

The truce at an end, Scorponok attempted to assassinate his old foe, Fortress Maximus, by having [[Carnivac (G1)|Carnivac]] and [[Snarler]] kill his human partner, [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]]. {{storylink|The Man in the Machine!}} ''In return, Scorponok granted Pretender shells to the pair.'' {{storylink|Survivors!}}

Scorponok finally made a permanent landing on Earth, establishing [[New Jersey base|a base in New Jersey]] as part of a plan to gather energy. The plan failed, but Scorponok kept his base there. {{storylink|King Con!}}

Zarak continued to function as a covert human for Scorponok, allowing the Decepticons to counter the growing popularity of [[Roadhandler (G1)|Roadhandler]] in [[New York City]]. {{storylink|The Interplanetary Wrestling Championship!}}

Scorponok found himself drawn into a battle at [[MacDill Air Force Base]] by his newest recruits, the [[Air Strike Patrol]]. Announcing his arrival in no uncertain terms, he attacked the Autobots who were harassing his troops, only to have those same troops cut and run. Optimus Prime, meanwhile, tried talking to him about alliance and cooperation, of them both being manipulated by some unknown player. Scorponok wasn't very interested in listening, but his memories of Prime's selfless actions during the [[Underbase Saga]] finally got the better of him. Just as he was ready to compare notes, however, the [[Classic Pretender|Pretender-enhanced]] Starscream arrived. {{storylink|All the Familiar Faces!}} The Autobots and Decepticons eventually overpowered him, however, and Starscream begged Scorponok to take him back. {{storylink|Skin Deep|Skin Deep}} Badly in need of additional troops and firepower, Scorponok agreed, but this decision proved to be very unpopular with his troops. {{storylink|Primal Scream (issue)|Primal Scream}} It eventually cost him the loyalty of [[Triggerhappy]] and [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]], who deserted him after Starscream went missing again. {{storylink|The Gathering Storm}}

In 1991, Scorponok made Decepticon history as [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] formally offered his surrender in hopes of making a new force to combat the Dark God [[Unicron]]. Scorponok initially planned to betray Prime's trust to bolster his own leadership position, but Prime eventually convinced him of the Chaos-Bringer's threat and persuaded him to unite their forces—just as a contingent of rebel Decepticons under Shockwave's command attacked Scorponok's base. {{storylink|Surrender!}}

[[Image:Allthisandcivilwar-arethey.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Wildman and Baskerville, pretty well summed up in one panel.]]

Scorponok arose from the wreckage of his base and quickly put down most of the rebels. He then went mano-a-mano with Shockwave, in a protracted battle which spilled into New York Harbor and across the river into the city's Battery Park. Optimus Prime and Nightbeat interrupted the fight, as did the arrival of the human mutant squad the [[Neo-Knights]]. {{storylink|...All This and Civil War 2}} Though initially scornful of the humans' efforts, Scorponok was downed by two of them and was nearly killed by [[Circuit Breaker]]. The battle came to a conclusive end when Circuit Breaker used all her power to knock out Shockwave, and Scorponok agreed to stop fighting.

In a sign of the growing alliance, Scorponok was actually inquiring as to Prime's well-being, when they, along with every other Transformer on Earth, were transported by Primus to Cybertron. {{storylink|Out of Time!}}

Faced with Armageddon, Scorponok confessed his fears of dying to Optimus Prime, who reassured him that there was no shame in it. Scorponok vowed that he would be proud to go down fighting alongside Optimus... which he nearly did, when the two came under attack from a group of [[Unicron cultist|Unicron cultists]]. Though Scorponok had the option of leaving Prime to his fate, the Decepticon portion of him wouldn't hear of it, and he attacked the cultists in a rage. With the battle won, Scorponok spared one of the cultists at Optimus Prime's behest. {{storylink|The Void! (US)|The Void!}}

Unicron arrived at Cybertron mere seconds later, and the final battle began. Scorponok was at first paralyzed by the sheer size of their foe, and later further terrified when Optimus Prime was batted aside with ease. But he rose to the challenge, calling on his Decepticon heritage, and attacked Unicron viciously. While he was tearing into the giant's foot, Unicron blasted him with a stream of fire, mortally wounding him. Optimus Prime knelt over him as him as he lay dying, providing solace in the final moments of his life. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}}

====Marvel UK future timelines====
''In an alternate 1991, near the end of the Decepticon Civil War between the forces of Scorponok, [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], and [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], Scorponok found himself separated from his troops and hounded by Megatron's [[Air Strike Patrol]]. He attracted the attention of the Autobots by rampaging through a human settlement, and immediately surrendered to [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], leader of the Autobot unit. As Autobot ethics require the protection of prisoners, Scorponok had maneuvered Hot Rod's team into fighting his battle for him. With the frustrated Autobots and Megatron's Decepticons focused on each other, Scorponok was free to walk away. {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}}''

===''Classics''===
{{note|The ''[[Classics (2006)|Classics]]'' story takes place in a post-Marvel Generation 1 comics universe where neither [[Generation 2 (franchise)|Generation 2]] nor the Marvel UK material happened.}}
Scorponok and Zarak's remains on Cybertron were discovered and studied by the [[Mini-Con]] [[Broadside (Classics)|Broadside]]. {{storylink|The New World}}

===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Stephen Keener]] (English)

Scorponok was a gigantic Headmaster robot built from scratch by Lord Zarak, the secret ruler of Nebulos, upon learning of the Transformers. Working from the Headmaster process designed by the Autobot [[Brainstorm]] and later applied to his allies in the [[Hive (G1)|Hive]] and the Decepticons, Zarak used his mental powers to reconstruct the Hive's entire city into a robotic body for him to binary bond with. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 2}} With Scorponok under his command, Zarak was able to retrieve the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber from the Autobots and carry the Decepticon forces back to Cybertron to reunite with Galvatron. In the end, however, a bolt of [[plasma energy]] zapped Scorponok in his city mode, launching the massive Headmaster (and the collected Decepticons inside) far out into space. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 3}}

{{Note|Like Fortress Maximus, it is unclear if Scorponok has a life of his own or is simply a large machine that Zarak can control. There is no explanation of how Zarak could've brought him to life and his one line of "Autobot Die!" isn't exactly the most sophisticated of expressions.}}
{{-}}

===Japanese cartoon continuity===
{{note|In this continuity, in a reverse of the standard western naming, Scorponok is the name of the being who becomes the ''head'' of the giant robot, taking the place of Lord Zarak in Japanese fiction. The giant robot's name is '''MegaZarak''', but it's simply a lifeless [[Transtector]] that serves as a larger body for Scorponok.}}
====''The Headmasters'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Banjō Ginga]] (Japanese)

[[Image:Scorponok headmasters shadows.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Well-manicured eeeeevil.]]
Scorponok was one of a group of diminutive Transformers who left Cybertron four million years ago to escape the Great War and took up residence on the planet [[Master (planet)|Master]]. To survive the harsh environmental conditions on Master, the Transformers built large, lifeless robotic bodies called [[Transtector|Transtectors]], to which they could connect as heads, increasing their size and power. Scorponok underwent the training to become one of these "Headmasters," but he chafed under the leadership of [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress]], and he led several like-minded Headmaster warriors in a rebellion that ultimately ended with their defeat and exile from Master. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}}

By the year 2011, Scorponok had teamed up with Galvatron and the Decepticons, and his three minions, [[Weirdwolf]], Mindwipe and [[Skullcruncher]], joined Galvatron's forces in an attack on Cybertron in 2011. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} Scorponok himself, on the other hand, refrained from making appearances on the battlefield, sticking to the shadows (in the most preposterously literal way imaginable) and emerging only to lure the Autobot Headmasters into a trap on the planet [[Praum]]. {{storylink|The Four-Million-Year-Old Veil of Mystery}} Not long thereafter, when Galvatron discovered that [[Vector Sigma]] was in the midst of developing a powerful [[Cybertonuron|new alloy]], Scorponok advised against attacking the planet, suggesting instead that they destroy the alloy, rather than risk the Autobots gaining control of it. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1}} In truth, Scorponok was more concerned about ''Galvatron'' obtaining the alloy's power, and determined to stop anyone from acquiring it by taking out Cybertron itself. He had Mindwipe plant powerful bombs in Vector Sigma's chamber, which went off and devastated the planet, ostensibly taking Galvatron with it. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2}}

[[Image:Scorponok headmasters smallrobot.jpg|left|225px|thumb|"Mine is an evil laugh! Moo hoo ha ha!"]]
Scorponok subsequently took control of the Decepticons, falsely claiming that Galvatron was alive and commanding him from afar. He immediately put a series of far-reaching plans into action, starting with the creation of a massive Transtector for himself, which would put him on equal footing with Fortress and his Transtector-cum-battleship, the ''Maximus''. Enslaved [[Beastformer|Beastformers]] were put to work on the planet [[Zarak (planet)|Zarak]] to construct this Transtector, and to provide it with power, Scorponok had the Decepticons steal the [[Solar-1]], a human solar-energy-gathering satellite, which beamed its power reserves to Zarak. {{storylink|The Shadow Emperor, Scorponok}} While the construction was going on, meanwhile, Scorponok focused his attention on harnessing the power of the [[plasma energy]] released in the destruction of Cybertron. Seeking to generate even more of the energy for his plans of universal conquest, Scorponok used the energy he had already obtained to create bombs that were planted beneath the surface of [[Mars (planet)|Mars]], which would rip the planet apart. {{storylink|Explosion on Mars!! Maximus Is in Danger}} While the Autobots were busy fighting the Decepticon contingent on Mars to prevent the planet's destruction, Scorponok unveiled his completed Transtector to the rest of the Decepticons on [[Chaar]], stepping from the shadows for the first time as he brought all his troops aboard his new battleship-body and flew to Mars. Once there, he transformed into robot mode and spitefully attacked the immobile Maximus before fleeing into space just before his plasma bombs detonated and blew Mars to cosmic rubble. The Maximus was able to absorb some of the energy released in the initial stages of the explosion, however, and Fortress was able to transform into Fortress Maximus and escape the blast. Fortress Maximus cleaved Scorponok's shoulder with his [[Master Sword]], forcing the Decepticons to retreat. {{storylink|Explosion on Mars!! MegaZarak Appears}}

[[Image:Scorponok headmasters megazarak.jpg|right|225px|thumb|"Hello? My visor seems to have fallen down over my face. Little help?"]]
Believing that his deeds had cemented his position of power, Scorponok arranged to be coronated the new Decepticon emperor on Earth's moon, but in the midst of the ceremony , Galvatron returned alive and well and retook leadership. {{storylink|Return of the Immortal Emperor}} Galvatron's return saw Scorponok relegated to the insulting position of interplanetary short bus as the Decepticons traveled from world to world, pillaging copious amounts of energy. Scorponok transformed to robot mode only once on the journey, to battle Fortress Maximus on [[Susei]]. {{storylink|Fight to the Death on Planet Hive!!}} When the Decepticons returned to Earth, diminishing Scorponok's immediate usefulness to Galvatron, the wicked Headmaster returned to this own schemes, ignoring Galvatron's orders {{storylink|Ultra Magnus Dies!!}} and planting more plasma energy bombs along the [[Pacific Ring of Fire]]. {{storylink|The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg}}

Everything turned around for Scorponok when Galvatron faced the Autobot Headmasters alone in a battle in Alaska, and was finally destroyed when they collapsed and iceberg on top of him. {{storylink|The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg}} This allowed Scorponok to once again seize leadership of the Decepticons, appointing himself the "Emperor of Terror" and resuming his plan for the destruction of Earth by attempting the detonation of his plasma bombs. During the previous interplanetary quest, however, the Autobots had made contact with [[Tekna]], one of the Beastformers who had worked on the construction of Scorponok's Transtector, and he was able to provide them with encrypted data that pinpointed the location of the Transtector's weak spot. After [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] decoded the data, he raced to Earth where the battle was already in progress and gave Fortress Maximus the information, allowing the Autobot leader to perforate Scorponok's weak spot, and send the critically wounded Decepticon fleeing off into space. {{storylink|I Risk My Life for Earth}}

[[Image:Scorponok headmasters scorpionmode.jpg|left|225px|thumb|Claws...check. Stinger...check. Multiple gun turrets...check. Giant, vulnerable weak spot dead center on the chest...check mate.]]
Moving his attentions away from Earth for the time being, Scorponok led the Decepticons back to planet Master in search of a weapon to counter the power of Fortress's Master Sword. The Autobots pursued them, which unfortunately resulted in [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] being captured by the villains and ransomed for the secrets of the Master Sword. {{storylink|The Master Sword Is in Danger!!}} Using this information, Scorponok forged the [[Zarak Shield]] out of [[G-Metal]], and when the two weapons clashed, the Zarak Shield emerged triumphant. {{storylink|Operation: Destroy the Decepticons}} Emboldened by this victory, Scorponok led the charge back to Earth, intending to finally destroy it, pausing only in the asteroid belt to effect repairs on his Transtector, and to betray and dispose of [[Sixshot]], whom he had never trusted. {{storylink|Duel on the Asteroid}}

Upon his return to Earth, Scorponok promptly had the Decepticon launch an energy-gathering satellite into orbit, and then withdrew to the sunken continent of [[Lemuria (G1)|Lemuria]], where already had numerous Decepticons working to mine the legendary [[crysmag metal]]. Scorponok raised "Death Towers" of this metal in five strategic location all over Earth all, which proceeded to generate waves of energy that were gathered by the satellite. {{storylink|The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 1)}} For the final part of his plan, Scorponok lured the Autobots to the North Pole, where he clashed with Fortress Maximus for the last time atop a sixth dais of crysmag metal. As soon as the two combatants were upon the dais, Scorponok had the satellite beam its stored energy down into his Transtector, and through it into the dais, creating an exponential loop that threatened to tear the Earth apart. Scorponok disconnected from his Transtector and retreated into space with the Decepticons to watch the Earth's destruction, only for Fortress Maximus—supercharged with the combined energy of the Autobot army united in a [[Head Formation]]—to destroy his Transtector, breaking the circuit and saving the Earth. {{storylink|The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)}}

====''The Headmasters''/''Super-God Masterforce'' intermezzo====
{{note|Following ''The Headmasters'', Japanese continuity branches off in two similar but distinct directions: one is depicted in the ''Super-God Masterforce'' animated series, leading into the ''Zone'' cartoon, while the other is told through the ''Super-God Masterforce'' manga, which leads into the ''Zone'' manga and story pages. However, Scorponok's activities ''between'' the end of ''The Headmasters'' and the beginning of ''Super-God Masterforce'', told through his own packaging [[bio]] and [[TV Magazine]] articles, apply to both continuities.}}
With the Decepticons at last forced off of Earth, the Autobots also left the planet, and Transformers' war transitioned into a series of space-based exchange between Chaar and [[Athenia]], with the advanced technology of planet [[Master (planet)|Master]] forming the backbone of the conflict. To rejoin the fight, Scorponok had a new Transtector constructed, much smaller than his old one (comparatively speaking – it was still taller than a [[combiner]]), but outfitted with hyper-dense armor. Before he could connect with this new body, however, Scorponok was captured by the mysterious alien entity [[Devil Z]], who had been in hibernation on Earth until recently, and saw a use for Scorponok in his plan to create the ultimate lifeform. Devil Z brainwashed Scorponok, placing him, and by extension the entire Decepticon army, under his control, and then allowed him to link up with his new Transtector. Rather than forming the head for his Transtector, however, Scorponok controlled it from it within its chest cavity, wired directly into its systems from there, with a new "decoy" head placed between its shoulders. Now, Scorponok was '''BlackZarak'''.

The former Decepticon ninja, [[Sixshot]], learned what had befallen Scorponok, and alerted the Autobots to the existence of Devil Z on Earth. The news of this shadowy controller reached the Autobots just as the [[Trainbot|Trainbots]] reported the first sighting of BlackZarak in the shadows of a meteor cluster, and the concerned Autobots decided to send a collection of Transtectors to the small Autobot group under the command of [[Metalhawk]] that was still on Earth, which he used to transform human beings into Autobot warriors to aid in the battle against Devil Z's forces.

====''Super-God Masterforce'' cartoon continuity====
=====''Super-God Masterforce'' cartoon=====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Banjō Ginga]] (Japanese), [[Hidekatsu Shibata]] (Japanese, when merged with Devil Z)

[[Image:Blackzarak robotmode.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Also known as "African-American" Zarak.]]
After numerous failures by Devil Z's forces on Earth resulted in multiple [[Godmaster]] warriors joining the Autobot ranks instead of the Decepticons, the incensed alien summoned BlackZarak to Earth. Observing BlackZarak's activities, Fortress Maximus's younger brother, [[Grand Maximus]], raced to Earth ahead of him and warned the Autobots of his coming. In preparation for BlackZarak's arrival, the Autobots worked to construct a power-up drone named [[Godbomber]] for their most powerful member, [[Ginrai]]. {{storylink|Life? Death? Lightfoot Must Choose}} While they worked, the approaching BlackZarak bombarded the Earth with meteors as part of a complicated scheme by Devil Z's ambassadors, [[Giga]] and [[Mega]] to publicly discredit the Autobots, which was ultimately foiled. {{storylink|Expose the Decepticons' Dark Deception!}}

Giga and Mega combined into their robot form of [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] and headed to Earth's moon to rendezvous with BlackZarak, but before BlackZarak arrived, Ginrai merged with the completed Godbomber, and pursued him into space. BlackZarak showed up in the midst of their battle, and promptly impaled Ginrai with his Tyrant Spear, sending him crashing to the moon's surface. {{storylink|God Ginrai - Into the Sky!!}} BlackZarak and Overlord followed him down to the moon, and hunted the wounded Autobot, who was in dire straits until the timely arrival of Grand Maximus. With the sides now more evenly matched, the two Decepticons attempted to break off the battle and head for Earth, but Ginrai and Grand brought them back down to the moon with a bump. BlackZarak instructed the damaged Overlord to flee the battle, and although he was furious at being ordered around by this newcomer, Overlord could do little to argue, and left BlackZarak to face the two Autobots alone. Grand and Ginrai double-teamed BlackZarak, and eventually, Ginrai was able to decapitate the Decepticon with his God Fire Guts attack. Although Ginrai thought his opponent was done for, BlackZarak's headless body hauled itself back up, and retreated off into space, with Grand Maximus hot on his tail. {{storylink|God Ginrai - Showdown on the Surface of the Moon}}

[[Image:Blackzarak scorpion mode.jpg|left|215px|thumb|The scorched remains of two fans who wouldn't stop asking why Devil Z made so many Autobot Transtectors.]]
During this extended stay in space, BlackZarak mastered localized gravity manipulation and gained the ability to open black holes, which he could use to teleport himself across the galaxy at will. After trapping Grand Maximus one of these singularities in order to keep him out of the way, BlackZarak teleported directly to Earth and immediately tore through [[New York City]] as part of Devil Z's "Operation M-1". He proceeded to attack [[Tokyo]] alongside Overlord, but was foiled when Ginrai freed Grand Maximus, and the two Autobots stopped the villains by tricking them into blasting each other. {{storylink|BlackZarak - Destroyer from Space}} With the failure of this scheme, Devil Z initiated "Operation M-2" and had BlackZarak withdraw to the far side of the moon, where he would unleash the atmosphere-destroying [[Death Para-Machine]] against the Earth. Thankfully, BlackZarak was only able to get off one shot from the deadly weapon before Ginrai destroyed it with his God Fire Guts attack. {{storylink|Crisis! The Day of the Downfall of Humanity}}

[[Image:Blackzarak dakatsu mode.jpg|right|215px|thumb|A dog chasing its own tail has nothing on Hydra Mode.]]
BlackZarak returned to attacking cities around the globe, and soon struck in a city where [[Cancer]] went to, with a trio of [[Sparkdash]] drones to back him up. Luckily, Autobot Godmaster [[Road King]] was on patrol in the area, and soon called him Ginrai to help him take BlackZarak down. {{storylink|God Ginrai - Save Cancer!?}} Later, after battling Grand Maximus in [[Moscow]], BlackZarak was present at the Decepticon base when the Autobots attacked it. During this clash, Devil Z took his brainwashing to the next level, and actually merged his consciousness with BlackZarak, entering his body and taking control of it himself. For his first act in BlackZarak's body, Devil Z collapsed the Decepticon base in a failed attempt to destroy the Autobots {{storylink|The Ultimate Combination!! BlackZarak, the New Lifeform}} and then led the Decepticons in an attack on North America, bombarding the country with his [[Devil Power]] from a strategic staging point in the heart of the [[Grand Canyon]]. {{storylink|Battle to the Death!! God Ginrai VS Darkwings Reborn}}

Devil Z next took the Decepticons to the peak of the Matterhorn, where he unleashed his Devil Power upon Europe until God Ginrai arrived to challenge him. The battle was fierce, and Ginrai thought he had won when he once again cleaved BlackZarak's head from his shoulders, but the decapitation of his host meant little to Devil Z, who simply transformed BlackZarak's body into a new, twin-headed serpent form, and kept the fight going. Uniting his Chōkon Power with that of the [[Headmaster Junior|Headmaster Juniors]], Ginrai unleashed his most powerful God Fire Guts yet and dove through BlackZarak's body, finally destroying the giant Decepticon in a huge explosion that left only ash and shrapnel. Although Devil Z survived the blast, he now no longer had BlackZarak's body to enclose him, and was wide open for Ginrai's finishing move: the Final Fire Guts, which utterly obliterated the evil alien. {{storylink|A Battle... and Then...}}
{{-}}

=====''Zone'' cartoon=====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Hirohiko Kakegawa]] (Japanese)

[[Image:ZarakZone1.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Aye aye aye—sharpen your boot, and bludgeon your eye]]
Several years after the conclusion of the Masterforce war, when the supernatural entity [[Violen Jiger]] seized control of the Decepticons, one of his first actions was to recruit "[[Nine Great Demon Generals]]" from Decepticon history. Using his mysterious powers, Violen Jiger resurrected BlackZarak to serve as his "Evil Spirit General," and outfitted him with new armor and weapons to make him more deadly that ever before. It was never explicitly stated if he possessed the consciousness of Scorponok or Devil Z, but he seemed to have a serious ''pirate''-vibe going on, now sporting a hook for a hand and an eye-patch.

[[Image:Zone blackzarak.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Aye aye aye—the blarney stone brings a tear to me eye]]
BlackZarak was part of the team of generals who attacked planet [[Micro|Zone]] in order to steal its precious [[Energon Z]] for Violen Jiger's schemes, but BlackZarak refrained from participating in the assault, hanging back on the fringes of the planet's atmosphere to cover his allies' rear. As his fellow generals made good their escape with the Energon Z in hand, BlackZarak barred the way of the [[Super Car Patrol Team]] and [[Battle Patrol]] as they attempted to pursue in the [[Rocket Base|Galaxy Rocket]]. The Demon General managed to trap the rocket in a crackling field of electricity, and then departed to rejoin his fellow Decepticons, leaving the electric net to slowly destroy the rocket. Luckily for the Autobots, the [[Jet Patrol Team]] arrived to destroy the net, and [[Sunrunner]] proceeded to use his radar to track BlackZarak back to the other Decepticons. {{storylink|Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!}}
{{-}}

====''Super-God Masterforce'' comic continuity====
=====''Super-God Masterforce'' comic=====
[[Image:Blackzarak manga.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Black-and-WhiteZarak]]
When it became apparent that the small force under his command on Earth lacked the manpower to handle the Autobots, Devil Z chose to unite them with the Decepticons in space, and ordered the combined army to attack Athenia. Ginrai (who was on the planet at the time to be appointed Supreme Commander of the Autobots) was able to win the battle by defeating [[Scramble 7]], but after the fight, BlackZarak made his first appearance before the Autobots, carrying Hydra, Buster and the Decepticon Headmasters, who announced that they were returning to Earth. {{storylink|The Battle Begins! The United Earth-Space Troops}}

BlackZarak joined the Decepticons in travelling to Earth, battling [[Raiden]] and the Autobot Headmasters outside the planet's atmosphere while Ginrai confronted Overlord for the first time down on its surface. After defeating his opponents, BlackZarak turned towards Earth, only to find Ginrai streaking towards him, with Overlord in close pursuit. At the last moment, Ginrai spun out of the way, causing the two Decepticons to accidentally strike each other, and damage one another quite badly. While the wounded Overlord returned to Earth, BlackZarak limped back off into space. {{storylink|God Ginrai's Amazing Super-God Combination!}}

BlackZarak later battled Grand Maximus and the Autobot Godmasters in space, with the aid of [[Darkwings]], {{storylink|The Earth Family of Good and Evil}} after which Devil Z spirited him away to carry out some upgrades. {{storylink|Decepticons' Great Counterattack!}} These upgrades complete, BlackZarak was soon returned to Earth, and joined Overlord in attacking another city, where he wound up battling Grand Maximus and the Autobots Godmasters once more. {{storylink|Live? Die?! The Desperate Super-God Combination}} Later, BlackZarak attacked China with a trio of [[Sparkdash|Sparkdash drones]]. Decepticon Headmaster Junior [[Cancer]] happened to be in the city at the time, and when the Autobots arrived to battle BlackZarak, he displayed his disdain for humans—even comrades—by seizing Cancer and using him as a shield to keep the Autobots at bay. It was then that Overlord arrived, and surprised everyone by viciously attacking BlackZarak, disgusted by his treatment of Cancer. While the two Decepticons were fighting, the Autobots exploited their conflict to attack and force them to retreat. {{storylink|Great Turn-Around! Autobots}}

[[Image:Devilz head on%21.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Head? I don't need a head. Heads are for wimps!]]
Overlord's betrayal proved to be the last straw for Devil Z, and he took matters into his own hands by connecting himself to BlackZarak's Transtector as a new head of sorts. Now in control of the Decepticon's body and mind, he transformed BlackZarak into a new serpentine form, and attacked Overlord, the Headmaster Juniors and Ginrai, intending to absorb their [[Chōkon Power|Jinchōkon]], in order to transform himself into the ultimate lifeform. His Jinchōkon-absorbing beam was blocked by the wholly-robotic Autobot [[Pretender|Pretenders]], and the Autobots and Decepticons united to destroy Devil Z and BlackZarak for good. Uniting their powers in the "Perfect Transform Attack", all the Autobots and Decepticons boarded Grand Maximus, who collided with BlackZarak, destroying the Decepticon and his alien passenger in an explosion of pure Chōkon Power. {{storylink|The Birth of the Super Lifeforms}}
{{-}}

=====''Zone'' comic and story pages=====
[[Image:Blackzarak zone manga.jpg|left|180px|thumb|BlackZarak looking like Blackbeard. Without oddly enough the beard.]]

Years after the end of the Masterforce war on Earth, the creature known as [[Violen Jiger]] took control of the Decepticon forces and created an elite fighting force by recruiting "[[Nine Great Demon Generals]]" from throughout Transformer history. BlackZarak was selected to be one of these generals, and Violen Jiger used his strange, supernatural powers to bring the Decepticon back from the dead, dubbing him his "Evil Spirit General" and increasing his strength with new armor and weaponry. {{storylink|Zone (story page)|Zone Part 1}}

BlackZarak was part of the contingent of generals sent to planet Zone to steal its super-energy, Energon Z, for Violen Jiger. After his fellow Decepticons succeeded in purloining the Energon Z, BlackZarak covered their escape, seizing the Galaxy Rocket carrying the pursuing Autobots in an unbreakable grip. He proceeded to coat the rocket in a cocoon of strange energy webbing and then departed to join his fellow generals, but fortunately for the Autobots, the Jet Patrol Team arrived to cut them free before they lost BlackZarak's trail. {{storylink|Zone (manga)|Transformers: Zone}}

BlackZarak later attacked Earth, and met resistance in the form of [[Landshaker]] and [[Sky Hyper]]. BlackZarak seized Landshaker, easily shrugging off Skyhyper's blasts, but was suddenly stunned by a barrage from [[Sonic Bomber]], as he and Dai Atlas came swooping onto the battlefield. Exploiting the opening, Dai Atlas fired on BlackZarak, proving once again that the Autobots' desire to save their comrades would always best the Decepticons' evil. {{storylink|Zone (story page)|Zone Part 5}}

Along with the other Generals, BlackZarak schooled [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]] and the [[Metrosquad]] in the ways of evil, making them formidable oponents for the [[Powered Master]]s. {{storylink|Zone (story page)|Zone Part 7}}

===Ladybird Books continuity===
[[Image:Decepticonsatthepole.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"Put me on the Naughty List, will you?!"]]
Scorponok was originally a large, mobile Decepticon base on [[Nebulos]]. {{storylink|Decepticons at the Pole}} Through means unknown, he became a Transformer, as well as smaller and sentient, and took command of the Decepticon forces from [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]].

He matched wits with Optimus Prime himself, at one point trying to lure him into surrendering in exchange for a hostage's life. {{storylink|Autobot Hostage}} Eventually, the Autobots became too big a nuisance, and Scorponok had the Decepticons move en masse to a secret underground city in the Nebulos Triangle, but this backfired when the Autobots sealed him and his army underground for good. {{storylink|Decepticons Underground}}
{{-}}
===Dreamwave comics continuity===
[[Image:DestinedforNothing_Scorponok.jpg|left|200px|thumb|]]
Shortly before the [[Great Shutdown]], Scorponok attended a teleconference with [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] and [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], where he criticized the latter for "thinking like a calculator instead of a warrior". {{storylink|Destined for Nothing}}

{{-}}

===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}
[[Image:SpotlightUltraMagnus Scorponok.jpg|right|300px|thumb|If you insist on sticking your olfactory sensors where they don't belong, I'm just going to have to take them from you!]]
Long ago, Scorponok once robbed an installation that the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobots]] were guarding—it was something [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] wouldn't forget. {{storylink|Spotlight: Grimlock}}

After the destruction of Cybertron, Scorponok became a criminal known for his flagrant violations of the [[Code of Interplanetary Conflict]]. His traditional modus operandi was to make contact with ambitious non-Cybertronians on a developing world, work with his contacts to develop advanced weaponry using Cybertronian technology, then eliminate his partners when he had what he wanted. [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] had been seeking him for some time.

On the planet Nebulos, Scorponok was in league with [[Zarak (Nebulan)|Mo Zarak]], head of the [[Zarak Consortium]], a cabal of really smart scientists. Presumably with input from Scorponok, the Cranium had created hybrid Nebulan/Cybertronian beings. Unfortunately for Scorponok, Ultra Magnus had tracked him down. Claiming to be on the verge of something "breathtaking", Scorponok proceeded to beat the snot out of Ultra Magnus, before transforming into beast mode to finish him off. Unfortunately, Zarak ran out, begging Scorponok not to fire, or risk destroying what they had built. Unable to abort his shot, Scorponok killed Zarak (revealing to Magnus that the Nebulan had also been infused with Cybertronian technology). Shocked at his actions, a furious Scorponok turned to Ultra Magnus, and Magnus shot Scorponok in the head. However, Scorponok managed to escape through an artificial wormhole generator. {{storylink|Spotlight: Ultra Magnus}}

Shortly after the [[Brasnya]] conflict, Ultra Magnus contacted Optimus Prime, saying that he had a new lead on Scorponok's whereabouts, but he did not elaborate on the specifics. {{storylink|Spotlight: Optimus Prime}}

At some point over the last twenty years, Scorponok chose [[Earth]] as the location to continue his experiments. Making contact with a man named [[Abraham Dante]], Scorponok established an underground organization of human agents known as the [[Machination]], based out of [[Tampa, Florida]]. With their assistance, Scorponok began further developing the [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] technology he had begun on Nebulos, designing the means for cybernetically-enhanced humans to bond with mechanoid bodies. This technology now had great personal value to Scorponok, as he had been reduced to little more than a disconnected head without a body, apparently due to the head shot Ultra Magnus gave him in their last encounter.

{{note|It is unclear whether Scorponok pre-dated the Decepticon infiltration unit on Earth or not.}}
[[Image:Devastation6 Scorponok liveagain.jpg|left|200px|thumb|That must have been one hell of a stag night]]
The Headmaster process was completed shortly before [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] initiated Phase Two on Earth—all it needed was a test subject. To accommodate this, Scorponok and Dante sent agents out into the field to locate the Autobot and Decepticon bases, and conceived tactical scenarios for forcibly acquiring a Transformer as a "guinea pig" before Scorponok underwent the process himself. When the discovery of [[Ultra-Energon|Ore-13]] accelerated the conflict on Earth, the Machination accelerated their plans as well. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 4}}

When the Autobots [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] next left the ''[[Ark-19]]'' in [[Lake Michigan]], Machination agents surprised them on the highway and kidnapped Sunstreaker, leaving behind a heavily-scrapped replica to throw any pursuers temporarily off the scent. As a bonus, they picked up Sunstreaker's passenger as well, [[Hunter O'Nion]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 1}} Taking advantage of the situation, Scorponok and Dante attempted to have Hunter brainwashed and subjected him to the same bio-mechanical engineering as their own agents, creating a small squad of [[Sunstreaker clone|Sunstreaker clones]], each with their own human cyborg controller modified to act as the head in robot mode. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6}}

With the Headmaster process a success, Scorponok proceeded to the next stage: revitalizing himself. Abraham Dante underwent the Headmaster process and donned an exo-carapace of his own. The two of them binary bonded just in time to test-drive their union against Hunter O'Nion, who had managed to shake off their brainwashing attempt and was trying to escape the Machination compound. Despite his renewed size and power, however, Scorponok failed to prevent Hunter from binary-bonding with one of the Sunstreaker drones, and escaping the Machination. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6}}

[[Image:SpotlightGrimlock punch KLUNG.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Oh come on, I just got this head!]]
The Dante/Scorponok merge went well; even Dante considered them one being. He planted a mole named [[Kloss]] into [[Skywatch]], who planted a virus into Grimlock, freeing him from Skywatch's control. When Grimlock escaped, Scorponok met Grimlock with an offer of an alliance for world conquest. Grimlock refused and they battled, with Grimlock losing. Before he could be killed, Grimlock teleported to his still-functional ship. Dante/Scorponok later planned to take control of the other Dynobots and use them to destroy Grimlock. {{storylink|Spotlight: Grimlock}}

While continuing his search for the real Sunstreaker, Hot Rod came upon a wrecked Sunstreaker clone; he deduced that its destruction was "the price of failure." {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer}}

[[Image:ScorponokHotRodMaxDino02.jpg|left|200px|thumb|No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to listen.]]
Following his bonding with Dante, he became a lot chattier and willing—nay, ''desperate''—to monologue his evil schemes.

Once his agents had ensured Skywatch had reprogrammed the Dynobots (reprogramming ''he'' could remotely control) and an army of Sunstreaker clones had been built, Scorponok arranged for Grimlock to be orbital-bounced to [[Fallon]], [[Nevada]]. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 1}}

When Skywatch turned up with the Dynobots, he ensured a massive, destructive fight took place, all a set-up so Skywatch would be discredited and his Headmasters could "save the day"... intending his puppet companies would get all the lucrative anti-Transformer defense contracts from a panicked US government. While his attempt to exploit the Dynobots' internal divides failed, he ''did'' get to beat Hot Rod half to death and yell a lot. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 2}}

When Scorponok's control of the Dynobots was lost, he sent in an army of Headmasters to annihilate everyone. They might have succeeded if not for the timely arrival of the [[Monsterbot]]s. This bemused Hot Rod, and Scorponok ordered him terminated, but Hot Rod managed to set his guards ablaze and escape the compound. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 3}}

As Hot Rod broke out, Sunstreaker broke in to find his real head. Scorponok caught him and blasted him through the chest, but Hunter was able to escape. Before Scorponok could find Hunter, the Monsterbots began blasting the compound, taking out the defenses. Scorponok ordered a recall of all Headmasters to attack the Dynobots, but Hunter was able to sever the connection to Sunstreaker's head, disabling all the Headmasters. A furious Scorponok began to take revenge but was thrown into battle with [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], who wanted the same thing. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 4}}

Shockwave eventually gained the upper hand but allowed Scorponok to retreat gracefully. Scorponok caught Hot Rod trying to sever the connection with his real head, so he thought he'd take out his frustrations by squeezing the life out of Hot Rod. The timely arrival of the Dynobots prevented that, and Swoop severed the connection himself, rendering Scorponok helpless. Just then, Ultra Magnus arrived, responding to an S.O.S. from Hot Rod. He wouldn't allow Scorponok to be killed, but took him into custody. He also ordered the Machination stripped and all technology removed. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 5}}
{{-}}

==Commercial appearances==
[[Image:Scorponok-Rebirth.jpg|right|180px|thumb|"Not Elton John."]]
Scorponok has an odd history of [[Commercial|television commercial]] appearances:

* Like any proper flagship toy, he appears in a 1987 commercial largely devoted to him. As Galvatron narrates, the Technobots attack his base mode, prompting him to transform and counterattack, bashing Computron with a boulder. Notably, the commercial identifies Scorponok as Galvatron's "[[Triple Changer]] Headmaster base". Some of the animation was recycled for the Season 4 cartoon opening.

* In 1989, a [[Giant Decepticon Soldier|Frankenstein Decepticon]] appeared in one of the first Micromaster commercials, getting swarmed and overwhelmed by hordes of Micromasters. While not using the same character model, this character was partially based on Scorponok's appearance, including his distinctive head antennae and some of his color palette.

* In 1990, a Scorponok toy painted white and gray appeared in the stop-motion animated toy segment of a commercial advertising the [[Hot Rod Patrol]] and [[Construction Patrol]]. Like his cel animated counterpart, he gets overwhelmed by his smaller foes, who blow up a bridge beneath him, sending him tumbling into a ravine with an amusingly unthreatening cry of "RAWRRR."

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1 Scorponok toy.jpg|right|350px|thumb|If a camel is a horse designed by committee, then Scorponok is… er…]]
* '''Scorponok''' (Headmaster, 1987)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-93'''
**''Accessories:'' Lord Zarak Headmaster unit, helmet, Scorponok's rifle, rifle cover, Scorponok's shield, [[Fasttrack (Scorponok)|Fasttrack]], Fasttrack's 2 guns, 2 ramps, 4 double cannons, 4 antenna, 2 leg shields, 1 claw arm, 1 side gun arm and 1 elevator.

: The largest Decepticon toy in Generation 1, Scorponok's beast mode is a robotic purple, green and orange scorpion. The pincers have multiple points of articulation, and the ratcheting joints are strong enough to grasp a smaller Transformer. His eight legs are also independently jointed. There are two wheels with rubber grips underneath Scorponok's beast mode body, and pushing him along will cause the scorpion legs to move, simulating the motion of walking. Lord Zarak can sit inside the scorpion head/cockpit while in robot form, or he can be stored inside the chest compartment.

:Like many large Generation 1 Transformers, Scorponok has a base mode, with various ramps and towers for smaller Transformer toys to interact with, though it is quite out of [[scale]] for larger toys, such as his fellow Decepticon Headmasters. The central ramp (formed out of his beast tail) is designed with Fasttrack in mind and features a minor gimmick — placing Fasttrack on the orange panel and pressing the small black button will cause the back of the orange panel to rise, sending Fasttrack rolling down the ramp.

:Scorponok's robot mode is impressively large, and still remains one of the largest Decepticon toys in the ''Transformers'' franchise. As with all Headmasters, Scorponok has a flip-down panel on his chest which covers a spring-loaded mini-[[Tech Spec|Tech-Spec]]-meter which gives readings for Speed, Strength and Intelligence. The tumblers are activated when Lord Zarak (or any other Headmaster unit) is plugged into his neck socket while in head mode. As Lord Zarak is about the same size as the Headmaster units of smaller Headmaster toys, Scorponok would thus have a pretty small noggin if not for the large helmet (that was the beast mode scorpion head) that is placed over the Headmaster. The helmet also features a flip-down visor, which was homaged in ''Energon'' [[Scorponok (Energon)|Scorponok]]. The 2-part rifle and shield plug into Scorponok's pincers.

:Also, he has a [[die-cast]] ass.

:Fasttrack transforms into a small six-wheeled attack vehicle. He comes with a small, easily lost orange gun.

::*[http://www.tfu.info/1987/Decepticon/Scorponok/scorponok.htm More information on Scorponok at TFU.info]

===Super-God Masterforce===
[[Image:Blackzarak toy.jpg|right|320px|thumb|Stingin' and blingin']]
*'''BlackZarak''' (Headmaster, 1988)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-311'''
**''Accessories:'' Scorponok Headmaster unit, face cover, two-piece "Tyrant Spear", "Black Hole Cannon", cannon cover, "Shield Tower"/"Plantium Shield", four "Blacking Cannons", two "Combat Ramps", two "Maintenance Arms", four "Radar Sensors", elevator, [[Fasttrack (Scorponok)|Black Rorichi]], Black Rorichi's two lasers

:This Japanese-exclusive [[retool]] of the original Scorponok figure [[Redeco|redecoes]] the figure in black, gold and red, and equips the figure with a new helmet/scorpion head that features a better-proportioned face sculpted directly into it. As such, it's not really necessary to plug the Scorponok Headmaster unit between the shoulders, since the new helmet-head conceals it completely, but it does fit. The figure includes a small red visor-like mask that clips over the robot mode face, hiding it from view for scorpion mode.

:BlackZarak comes with one major new accessory—his red, two-piece "Tyrant Spear", which he can hold in robot mode—and also includes all of Scorponok's original accessories, appropriately redecoed, including a gold redeco of [[Fasttrack (Scorponok)|Fasttrack]] named "Black Rorichi". BlackZarak is, however, notoriously difficult to find complete, due to many of his accessories, and even body parts, suffering from [[Gold Plastic Syndrome]]. Even sealed box samples have horrified owners who opened the toys for the first time to discover broken parts on their previously-untouched toys.

:Like [[Sixshot]] and Overlord, with their respective "Wingwolf" and "space jet" alternate modes, BlackZarak's instructions do not feature the additional two-headed serpent mode, created as it was by the production staff after fiddling around with the toy and dubbed the "dakatsu" mode. As such, it's entirely possible to transform the toy into this form, but if you try, be aware that it was seriously streamlined for animation, and doesn't look nearly as good in plastic as it does on the screen or comic page. (Also, if the toy hasn't shattered yet due to GPS, putting the toy into Hydra Mode will probably finish the job.)

::*[http://www.tfu.info/1988/Destron/BlackZarak/blackzarak.htm More information on BlackZarak at TFU.info]

==Merchandise==
===Parody Deformed===
[[Image:Scorponok pd model.jpg|right|125px|thumb|]]
*'''MegaZarak''' (1990)

:A small white and red, non-transforming [[super deformed]] model kit of Scorponok was available as part of [[Kabaya]]'s "[[Parody Deformed]]" line of [[Candy toy|candy toys]]. The fourteenth figure in the series, he came with a "[[Transformer PD Type]]" comic about himself, "Watch Out! MegaZarak!", and something that could charitably be described as "gum".
{{--}}

===Super Collection Figure===
*'''BlackZarak''' (2001)

[[Image:Scorponok scf.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Me and myself]]
:BlackZarak was the "Build-A-Figure" from the fifth, ''Masterforce''-centric wave of [[TakaraTomy|Takara]]'s line of ''[[Super Collection Figure]]'' PVC figurines, available in eight out of every ten cases. He was divided into six parts, each one packaged with one of the silver metallic "pewter" versions of the other six figurines in the line (the regular, color versions of the figures didn't come with BlackZarak parts): his head and torso came with Ginrai, his left arm with [[Shūta Gō|Goshooter]], his right arm with Metalhawk and [[Minerva]], his waist and tail with [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], his left leg with [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] and his right leg with Overlord. BlackZarak's part were available in both full-color and smokey translucent plastic (in an equal ratio of 4 out of every 10 cases each), meaning that there were two versions of the figure to collect.

*'''MegaZarak''' (2002)

:Like BlackZarak before him, this version of Scorponok was the Build-A-Figurine from the line's eighth wave. His six components were packaged with the regular color versions of the other figurines in the line: his head and torso came with Fortress, his left arm with Dai Atlas, his right arm with Star Convoy, his pelvis with [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], his left leg with [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] and his right leg with [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]]. Like BlackZarak, there was both a regular full-color figure to collection (available in 6 out of every 10 cases) as well as a rarer variant version, this time in metallic silver (available in 4 out of every 10 cases).

==Trivia==
* The [[Action Master Elite]] [[Double Punch (G1)|Double Punch]]'s mold looks just like an [[Action Master]] version of BlackZarak, right down to the molded details, including the head. The coloring (black/red/purple) is similar to BlackZarak's coloring (black/red/gold) as well. This is very strange, considering that Japan never got Action Masters, and Europe never got BlackZarak.

* Both Scorponok and Fortress Maximus suffer from the writers struggling to reconcile the characters' high rank with their size. In their comic appearances, they are portrayed as commanders in some capacity but are shrunk down to interact with other Transformers, and their city modes pretty much don't exist. Conversely, the cartoons have opted to portray them as giant city Transformers, though they seem to be merely extensions of the smaller beings that bond with them, with no real life or will of their own.

[[Category:Decepticon bases]]
[[Category:City Transformers]]
[[Category:Multi-component Transformers]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Generation 1 locations]]
[[Category:Headmasters]]
[[Category:Headmasters characters]]
[[Category:Machination]]
[[Category:Masterforce characters]]
[[Category:Triple Changers]]
[[Category:Zone characters]]
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