Shrapnel (G1)

2010-03-25T06:09:05Z

199.94.85.251: /* IDW comic continuity */

{{factions|decepticon}}
{{disambig2|the Generation 1 Insecticon|the ''Cybertron'' character|Shrapnel (Cybertron)}}
:''Shrapnel is a [[Decepticon]] [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] in the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]], family. He is sometimes known as '''Sharpshot''', shot.''

[[Image:Shrapnelg1.jpg|right|300px|thumb|My kingdom for better electrical insulation... insulation.]]
The eccentric way in which '''Shrapnel''' parses his dialogue may seem endearing at first, first. Others are soon to discover that his seemingly benign tic is merely the gateway to a frighteningly twisted and perverse mind, even for a Decepticon, Decepticon. A master of electricity, his dark desires put this skill to use on his victims, victims. Nothing delights him more than to see how they squirm from his touch, touch.

:''French-Canadian name'': '''Éclats D'Obus'''
:''Portuguese name (Portugal comic):'' '''Estilhaço'''
:''Portuguese name (Brazil comic):'' '''Metralha / Estilhaço'''
:''Italian name'': '''Rantrox'''
:''Japanese name'': '''Sharpnel''' (シャープネル ''Shāpuneru'')

==Fiction==
===Cartoon continuity===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Hal Rayle]] (English), [[Masashi Ebara]] (Japanese), [[Toshio Ishii]] (Japanese, ''The Transformers: The Movie'' only)

[[Image:ShrapnelG1.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Flash before my eyes, now it's time to die, die!]]
The mercenary Insecticons landed on earth in their own space pod before the Ark crashed to [[Earth]]. ''(It is unclear whether this pod was launched from the [[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]] or not, as the dialogue seems to suggest maybe it was, but the Insecticons and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s Decepticons do not seem to know each other.)'' Their pod crashed into the region that would become known as "[[Demon Swamp]]" and their [[idento-computer]]s adapted them to transform into insects and eat organic food to survive. Though they were largely communal, Shrapnel was a leader among then, usually alternating with [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] ([[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] was out of luck). The "Insecticons" apparently lived in the swamp for millions of years until discovered by Megatron's Decepticons. They form an uneasy alliance with Megatron, never coming fully under his command but working with the Decepticons when they could be convinced there was something (usually food) in it for them. {{storylink|A Plague of Insecticons}}

The Insecticons were able to create vast [[Insecticon clone|clone]] armies of themselves at will, a formidable ability that may have been the reason they were able to maintain their autonomy from Megatron. They would use this ability once to create the [[Insecticon Army]] which nearly devastated the planet Earth but they were destroyed by the [[Morphobots]]. {{storylink|Quest for Survival}} Even before this, they were shown to be very duplicitous and often betrayed Megatron or disobeyed him.

[[Image:TFTM RundownShrapnel.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Great, now there's bug guts all over his windshield, windshield.]]
During the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]]' attempt at destroying Earth by sending it into the sun, the Insecticons were seen in large numbers, numbers, again and Shrapnel was responsible for taking apart the [[Space Bridge]] controls. He would later be tracked, tracked, by the combined Autobots and Decepticons after which he relinquished the controls. {{storylink|The Revenge of Bruticus}}

Shrapnel, along with his Insecticon colleagues, [[Battle of Autobot City|attacked]] [[Autobot City]] on Earth, where he was badly damaged and dumped into space from [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]]. His floating body would be reformatted by [[Unicron]] into one of [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]'s minions. But that didn't stop him from showing up later on [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]] and threatening [[Daniel]]. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}} He also somehow appeared on [[Chaar]] after the Decepticons' defeat to nibble on some energon cubes {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1}}, and he tried to stop [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] from returning [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]'s [[transformation cog]]. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5}} Much later, [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] briefly spoke using Shrapnel's voice and speech pattern for no reason. {{storylink|Fight or Flee}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
{{noteukonly}}
Shrapnel was one of the top lieutenants of Lord [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]] at [[Darkmount]] on Cybertron, acting as his Executive Officer and supervising both the technicians that translated [[The Next Best Thing to Being There!|Soundwave's message from Earth]] & assisting on the Space Bridge project. He was also was responsible for capturing Autobot spy [[Scrounge (G1)|Scrounge]] before he could report back on the whereabouts of [[Spanner (G1)|Spanner]]. Despite his rank, Straxus used Shrapnel's face as a stress ball when things went wrong {{storylink|The Smelting Pool!}} and was willing to send him on a suicidal janitorial mission once simply out of petty spite, but Shrapnel managed to talk his way out of it. {{storylink|The Bridge to Nowhere!}}

''In addition to his high rank, he was one of the most feared and dangerous killers on Cybertron, a key target for the Autobot resistance. The rebel plan [[Operation: Volcano]] was kicked off when Shrapnel tortured the information of a (fake) rebel meeting out of an [[Autobot traitor|informant]], but was ruined by Megatron calling the Insecticons to Earth. (Yes, they were called Insecticons and had insect-like alt forms on a planet with NO INSECT LIFE.) {{storylink|Target: 2006}}'' Shrapnel arrived on Earth to play a key role in the [[Hoover Dam]] battle, and afterwards served on Earth under Megatron permanently. {{storylink|Aerialbots over America!}}

Then he served under [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]], possibly [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]], Megatron again... all while doing absolutely nothing of note besides being uncommonly easy to spot in crowd shots. He may have been killed by the [[Underbase]]-powered [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], or alternatively he could've just been really lazy and not gotten involved with things—he's one of Cybertron's deadliest killers, what does he have to prove?

====Earthforce====
{{earthforcefiction}}
''Shrapnel and his Insecticon buddies served under Megatron in the [[Decepticon Civil War]], but their spying mission against Shockwave was foiled by Starscream. Shrapnel got in a good electrified shot at Starscream's bum first, but then he caught them in a [[Rustbug hoop|rustbug hoop]]. The treacherous [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]] then drafted them into helping him set up a clash between the two leaders. {{storylink|Bugged!}}''

===''Beast Wars'' cartoon===
While temporarily out of his mind (well, more than usual, anyway), the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] believed himself to actually be Shrapnel, and adopted his mannerisms and speech pattern, pattern. {{storylink|Dark Designs (episode)|Dark Designs}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
[[Image:Bombshell kickback shrapnel soundwave ravage war within 1-2.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Oy with the speechifying, ing! When do we get to shoot someone, one??]]
Shrapnel was part of an assassination unit alongside Kickback, Bombshell, [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] and [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] shortly after the rise of Optimus Prime. He and his partners were assigned to eliminate the new Prime, steal the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]], and bring it to Megatron so that he could turn Cybertron into a cosmic dreadnought and conquer the universe. Spoiler alert—it didn't work. {{storylink|The War Within}} During the Dark Ages after Megatron's disappearance, Shrapnel served with the main Decepticon faction under [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]'s command. One time [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] sucker-punched him so hard, Shrapnel's colors went wrong. {{storylink|Conflagration}}

Shrapnel was part of a unit sent to Earth by Shockwave to guide the planet's development and prepare it for invasion. He and his team changed their alternate modes to giant insects (from his original "jet with antennae" mode). They were beaten up by the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobots]] on arrival, then played dead until [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] got bored and wandered off. {{storylink|Extermination}}

{{note|Shrapnel and the Insecticons made a brief appearance in the second Keepers Trilogy novel, "[[Annihilation]]", as troops under Starscream's command on Earth. This appearance is contradicted by later Dreamwave stories. Also, in the novel the Insecticons shrink down to insect-size as they did in Marvel Comics, whereas later Dreamwave issues showed them retaining their full size, like their cartoon versions.}}

Millions of years later, they were discovered by both the [[Earth Defense Command|EDC]] and Autobots after kidnapping an entire town. Over the preceding few thousand vorns, Shrapnel had apparently lost control of the Insecticons unit, with Bombshell gathering more and more power for himself without Shrapnel even recognizing it. Kickback pointed this out, but the Autobot incursion prevented the conversation from going any farther. Shrapnel was last seen getting a building dropped on him by [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]]. {{storylink|Extermination}}

===Devil's Due ''G.I. Joe vs the Transformers'' comics continuity===
In an alternate future where the Decepticons had conquered Earth, swarms of Insecticons, including Shrapnel-type ones, was a constant menace. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 3}}

In the regular timeline, as part of [[Serpent O.R.]]'s forces, Shrapnel defended the newly unified Decepticon army's base against a combined Autobot/[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] strike force. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 5}}

===IDW comic continuity===
Shrapnel, Bombshell and Kickback were created by [[Deluge (Decepticon)|Deluge]], under supervision by [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. The Insecticons joined Megatron's forces on Earth, where they helped defeat and capture the local Autobots. The Decepticons then shipped their prisoners off to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] via [[space bridge]], intending to feed them to the failed Insecticon creations known as the [[Insecticon swarm|swarm]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}}

The Insecticons then participated in the attack on [[New York City]], during which Shrapnel took part in destroying some human jets. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1|All Hail Megatron #1}} After listening to Megatron's victory speech {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4|All Hail Megatron #4}}, the Insecticons traveled to [[China]] and helped wreck [[Beijing]]. There, Shrapnel and Kickback sided with Bombshell when he picked a fight with [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] and [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]], but the three bugs decided to drop the subject and run away when faced with Skywarp's [[teleportation]] ability. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} After returning to New York, the Insecticons were approached by [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], and Shrapnel demanded to know what the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]] wanted with them, although Bombshell chastised him for being rude to a superior officer. Starscream apologized to the three for their treatment at Skywarp and Thundercracker's hands, then decided it was time to tell them about his vision of the future. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}}

The Insecticons subsequently joined Starscream as he rebelled against Megatron, and Shrapnel blasted his former leader with lightning. Unfortunately, this did minimal damage to Megatron, who responded by shooting Shrapnel with his [[fusion cannon]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}} The revolt was cut short when human jets from [[Europe]] attacked and the Autobots returned from Cybertron unharmed, {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 11|All Hail Megatron #11}} leading to the Decepticons' defeat. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}} As they fled the planet aboard [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], Shrapnel showed Starscream that Megatron was still functioning, which did not please the Seeker in the least. Shrapnel volunteered to stealthily kill Megatron by siphoning his energon, but Starscream felt assassination wouldn't work in his favor. When he saw that Starscream was going to throw the Autobot [[Matrix of Leadership]] down a garbage chute, Shrapnel was shocked and convinced him to keep the artifact as a symbol of leadership. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 13|Uneasy Lies the Head}}

===IDW ''Hearts of Steel'' continuity===
[[Image:HeartsofSteel2_Shrapnel_safes.jpg|thumb|right|200px|]]
The Decepticons, including Shrapnel, fought against the Autobots in Earth's distant past until an Ice Age forced them to shut down and wait it out. They awoke in the late 19th century when a failed human submarine crashed onto their submerged ship. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 1}} As the Decepticons' [[Tobias Muldoon|human ally]] required money to help them, [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] ordered the Insecticons to provide some. Shrapnel disguised himself as one end of the "[[Insectrain]]", providing the combined mode with a pair of giant scissor blades to destroy other trains on the railway. The Insecticons robbed a train carrying cash and bullion from the Denver Mint, and despite not seeing the value in human currency, they stuffed Shrapnel's chest cavity full of money and [[gold]]. They delivered the stolen property to Starscream and Tobias Muldoon the following morning. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 2}}

{{-}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1Shrapnel toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|I don't have two left hands, hands.]]
*'''Shrapnel''' (Insecticon, 1985)
** ''Japanese ID number:'' '''42'''

: Shrapnel transforms into a robotic [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhaetulus_crenatus stag beetle]. He doesn't do a whole lot more than that. Like the other Insecticons, he has a variation on his chromed parts, but this one is on his gun. Some Shrapnels have "fins" on the very back-end of the rifle and a more detailed main barrel, while others (obviously) lack those details. The extra-detail versions appear to be a later run.

: In Japan, Shrapnel and the other Insecticons were "re-released" as mail-order items from 1987 through 1988. They each cost 880 yen (their normal retail price) and two [[Robot Point]]s.

: This mold was used to make the [[Zaptrap]] drones.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1985/Decepticon/Shrapnel/shrapnel.htm More information on Shrapnel at TFU.info]''

*'''Insectrons''' ("Bookbox" multi-pack, 2004)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''16''' (full set)

: Shrapnel was released as part of the Japanese [[Transformers Collection]] series in a set with [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] and [[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]]. This set also included three [[Energon cube|energon cube]] accessories that fit inside their chest compartments.

: The Shrapnel in this set has the lower-detail rifle, probably in order to keep it closer to the original-original release, particularly for the redeco.

*'''Insecticons''' (Toys-R-Us multi-pack, 2009)

: Shrapnel was released as part of the ''[[Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' line, as a [[Toys"R"Us]] [[exclusive]], in a set with his Insecticon pals. Like with his 2007 ''[[Robot Heroes]]'' incarnation (see below), Shrapnel has been renamed for [[trademark]] reasons, this time to "Sharpshot". Likewise, [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]'s name has been changed to "Hardshell", a name previously used for his Robot Hero.

{{charstubtoys}}

==Merchandise==
===Decoy===
*'''Shrapnel''' (Decoy, 1987)

: Shrapnel was one of the Decepticon [[Decoy|Decoys]] packed in with smaller carded ''Transformers'' toys. While the normal purple version could be included with any Decepticon toy, the rarer red version was available ''only'' on [[Throttlebot]] cards and only for a short while before the switch to purple.

*'''Destron Hero Collection-22 Set''' (Decoy multi-pack, 1987)

: The entire run of twenty-two Decepticon Decoys were sold as a single boxed set in Japan, only in purple.

===Hard Hero===
[[Image:HardHero Shrapnel statue.JPG|right|150px|thumb|Stop in the name of love, love.]]
*'''Shrapnel''' (2003)

: The second installment of [[Hard Hero]]'s "Insecticon Series", Shrapnel is a 9-inch cold-cast porcelain statue sculpted by [[Jason Ray]]. Only 1000 pieces of the statue were produced.

{{-}}
===Robot Heroes===
*'''Rodimus Vs. Insecticon''' (2007)

[[Image:G1 RobotHeroes RodimusVsInsecticon.jpg|right|180px|thumb|The world's cutest psycho, psycho.]]
: As part of the [[Robot Heroes]] line of PVC figurines, "Insecticon" (so named because Hasbro was unable to acquire the [[Trademark|trademark]] to "Shrapnel") is a two-inch tall soft-plastic figurine in an adorable "super-deformed" style. He has swivels at the shoulders and neck.

: "Insecticon" was only available in a two-pack with fellow trademark-loss refugee, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]].

{{-}}
==Trivia==
* Shrapnel—like the other Insecticons—was originally a ''[[Diaclone]]'' "Waruder" evil-alien-piloted mech in different colors... which were eventually used when the trio were [[Redeco|redecoed]] for [[E-Hobby|e-Hobby]] release. Specifically, Shrapnel was the Kuwagattler (or Kuwagatra) mecha. This is also the genesis of those opening chest compartments.
* In the cartoon, Shrapnel was often shown as something of a leader among the Insecticons, while [[Venom (G1)|Venom]] is the official leader in other portions of Generation 1.
* Shrapnel's Executive Officer rank would never come up again after ''The Bridge to Nowhere!'', and he ended up as just some guy. Presumably, Budiansky (and later Furman) just forgot about it.
* Shrapnel's alt mode is devoid of wings yet he [[Flight#Levitation|still manages to fly]] while transformed as an insect.
* In ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', this guy got shot by [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (thanks to [[Kup (G1)|Kup]]), knocked into a moat by [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], AND run over by [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]. THEN he proceeded to get THROWN INTO SPACE by his fellow Decepticons. Poor guy sure had an off-day.
* Shrapnel, along with [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], had his gender switched from male to female in the French dub of ''The Transformers: The Movie''. It is unknown why this change was effected, but it's most likely because of the character's high-pitched voice. The change did not happen in the cartoon, as it had used a different dubbing team from the movie. The change is especially ironic, given that only male stag beetles have the large pincers of Shrapnel's alt-mode.
* [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] once went crazy (more so) and for a brief time, believed he was Shrapnel even speaking with his distinctive speech pattern, pattern. This makes sense since both have insect alt-modes, both have the slag kicked out of them several times and while Waspinator, being a male wasp, should not have a stinger, Shrapnel, once being a female stag beetle, should not have had pincers. This also means Waspinator has had experiences with both characters who switched gender in the french dub of the movie, having once been taken over by Starscream's ghost.

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

[[Category:Gender-switch characters]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Insecticons]]
[[Category:Mail order items]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]

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Shrapnel (G1)