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Starscream (Animated)

2009-09-13T17:15:18Z

71.125.149.224:

{{factions|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Starscream}}
:''Starscream is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Starscreamanimated.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Special skills: <s>barefist fighting</s> backstabbing, aggressive negotiation, dramatic oratory, self-resurrection, clone production, [[chin]]-stroking.]]
'''Starscream''' is easily as accomplished, powerful and deserving of leadership as [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]. At least, that's what he thinks. Power-hungry and driven by jealousy, Starscream operates through three ideals: lying, manipulation and deception. And when all else fails, a bit of sabotage never goes astray. Wise bots are careful about turning their backs on Starscream, just in case it's the day he finally decides to shove in the knife.

Though not as powerful as Megatron (despite what he thinks of himself), Starscream is by no means a wimp. His weapons can demolish large buildings, and he can fly around so fast that he can break free of [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet's]] magnetic powers. Unfortunately, all these abilities are offset by an enormous ego and the tendency to make long, overbearing speeches when he should just get on with it and fight. More than once, his leanings towards bombast have caused him to miss a golden opportunity. Sadly, he doesn't seem to be learning from these mistakes.

{{bigquote|Don't worry. I'll tell them all you went offline valiantly... just after you named ''me'' as your successor!|Starscream to a bound Megatron|"[[A Bridge Too Close, Part II]]"}}

{{Power is it's own justication|Starscream's tech spec motto}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
{{note|Events from [[IDW Publishing]] comics are in italics.}}
:''Voice actor:'' [[Tom Kenny]] (English), [[Stefan Staudinger]] (German), [[Krzysztof Korzeniowski]] (Polish) [[Daniele Demma]] (Italian)

Starscream was aboard the ''[[Nemesis (Animated)|Nemesis]]'' when it came across an [[Teletran-1|Autobot repair ship]] that appeared to be emitting the energy signature of the fabled [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]]. Starscream's doubt of the AllSpark's very existence and his dismissal of Megatron's millennia-long search did not sit well with [[Lugnut]], and an argument broke out on the bridge until Megatron himself arrived and all fell silent. Starscream was forced to eat his words when [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] confirmed that the energy coming off the ship was indeed that of the AllSpark, but quickly volunteered to secure it for his leader. Seeing through his lieutenant's greed, Megatron put a dent in Starscream's wing and rose to obtain it for himself. As he was leaving, however, Starscream arrived at the airlock to wish Megatron luck and patted him on the back—planting an overload device on him in the process. As Megatron attacked the Autobot ship, the device overloaded his circuits and caused an explosion that led Starscream to believe that Megatron was no more. In the aftermath of the blast, Starscream got so caught up in his own greatness that he didn't notice that his comrades had left him on the ship, hurtling towards an exploding space bridge.

[[Image:MegsRisingPt1-StarTeeth.jpg|left|150px|thumb|He gained strength and speed and shiny teeth and as the Huntsman was reboo-oorn!]]
Surviving the explosion, Starscream spent the next fifty [[Units of time|solar cycles]] searching for the [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]] on his own, using the damaged ship as a base (and probably getting a few screws loose in his [[central processor]] in the meantime). Detecting the faint signal of the AllSpark on [[Earth]], Starscream tapped into television broadcasts from the planet and discovered that the Autobot ship had landed there. ''While heading for the planet, Starscream was approached by Blackarachnia, who was also seeking the AllSpark for her own purposes and proposed an alliance. Starscream was unsurprisingly unwilling to share power, and he booted Blackarachnia out into space just before the ship warped away. Starscream was so occupied by the task, however, that he failed to notice Earth's [[Moon (moon)|moon]] appearing in the ship's path.'' {{storylink|Dispatches}}

One crash-landing later, Starscream abandoned the ruined hulk of the ship and headed down to Earth, immediately drawing the attention of military jets. After a brief dogfight, Starscream scanned one of the jets as an alternate mode in order to continuing searching incognito. The search did not go on long, as Starscream found the Autobots watching a [[Crimson Angels]] air show, and he quickly joined in the proceedings. Upon revealing himself to the Autobots, he quickly thrashed each of them individually. Starscream mocked them, apparently assuming that the Autobots thought ''they'' had really defeated Megatron (whom he referred to as "the great Megatron" without sarcasm, so he seems to have at least a loathing respect for his leader's power). All too boastful of his cunning, Starscream boldly admitted that Megatron was already defeated by the bomb which Starscream himself had put on him. Despite being more powerful than the Autobots, Starscream failed to take the AllSpark, partially because he [[Megatron (BW)|spent too much time gloating]]. [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] grabbed Starscream in midair, and they opened the AllSpark, releasing a massive wave of energy. Optimus was killed by the energy surge and subsequent fall (he got better), while Starscream disappeared. {{storylink|Transform and Roll Out}}

[[Image:StarscreamProfessorArrivalIssue2.jpg|thumb|]]
''Starscream was hurled into the wilderness by the AllSpark energy surge, where he lay, unconscious and undisturbed, for an unspecified period of time. Eventually, Starscream came back online, only to discover that his body had succumbed to [[stasis lock]], leaving him immobile. As "luck" would have it, it was at this moment that he was happened upon by the villainous [[Professor Princess]], whom Starscream attempted to sweet-talk into triggering his manual reset. She was insistent upon "fixing up" Starscream first, plastering him with makeup and a wig, but when the horrified Starscream screamed at her, she just decided to blast him. Her rainbow-blast jumpstarted Starscream's systems, and he seized the Professor, but before he could reduce her to a pink stain, she threatened to broadcast an image of the prettified Starscream all over the world and perhaps the galaxy. Preferring ''not'' to be hideously embarrassed, Starscream let her live and quickly departed, unaware that she'd worked her fashion magic on his wings, too.'' {{storylink|Whatever Happened To Whatisname?}}

[[Image:Megatron rising 1 Starscream freakout.jpg|left|150px|thumb|"Do you have any idea how long I spent preparing that speech!?"]]
Starscream laid low on Earth, until he revealed himself to a badly damaged [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] and Lugnut, offering them help in exchange for their loyalty. {{storylink|Lost and Found (episode)|Lost and Found}} After repairing the duo, Starscream continually had to reassert his authority over the two walking malfunctions, who were quick to point out that their service was by threat, not choice. As Lugnut went prostrate with praise, Starscream was initially quite flattered by the hulking Decepticon's obsequity, but quickly learned that the big guy was being manipulated by an outside source. Tracking the transmission, he came to [[Sumdac Tower]] and was quite surprised to find the disembodied head of his former leader. Megatron, aware of Starscream's betrayal after seeing a news report on his earlier battle with the Autobots {{storylink|Home Is Where the Spark Is}} but not wanting to tip his hand, greeted Starscream as a "devoted and faithful subject", while Starscream adopted a subservient attitude himself. Beginning the smug monologue to end all smug monologues, he was interrupted by the senseless heroics of the Autobot [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]]. Focusing his attentions on the yellow little squirt, he mistakenly assumed that Megatron was helpless, an oversight that allowed the galactic despot to control the lab's machinery and defenestrate the traitor. Even so Starscream remained fixated on Bumblebee, and thus was caught unaware when the repaired form of Megatron burst from the tower roof. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 1}}

[[Image:PayThePiper.JPG|150px|thumb|Ghost in three...two...one...]]
Starscream watched with interest, tossing Bumblebee around absentmindedly as Megatron trashed the Autobots. When Megatron called out his loyal Decepticons, Starscream gracefully landed on Lugnut's head, ready to return to his position as second-in-command. Megatron prepared to fire on the Autobots, but quickly lashed out and rammed the [[AllSpark Key]] into Starscream's chest, seemingly offlining the traitor, who then crumpled to the ground. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 2}}

[[Image:Jagged.JPG|left|150px|thumb|All tied up and ready for ''Kiss Players''.]]
Sometime later, Starscream awoke on a garbage barge, evidently thrown in by an Autobot cleaning up Detroit. He found he couldn't detect any Decepticons, not even himself. Panicking, he wondered if he was dead, but recovered when he realized he was still on Earth. Furious, he managed to track down Lugnut and Blitzwing and to follow them to the Decepticon base. There he challenged Megatron and was soundly sliced, blasted and thrown off a cliff. However, he again revived, except now he had no [[spark]]! Starscream discovered he was being kept alive by an AllSpark fragment embedded in his head. Using this newfound immortality to his advantage, he again attacked Megatron... and again and again and again, each time taking a trouncing and having his corpse thrown off a cliff by Blitzwing and Lugnut. Discovering another fragment, he set up a trap that would draw Megatron out and blow up both him and the city. He embedded the shard in a train engine, and as the overloading machine drew out Megatron, Blitzwing, the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]] AND the Earth team, the plan seemed to be working. Unfortunately, the Autobots stopped the train, and Megatron knocked Starscream out of the sky, sending him crashing into the midst of the Autobots. He blasted [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] and took back his fragment, but was put into stasis lock when Optimus slipped [[Stasis cuffs|some cuffs]] on him. He was last seen bound, gagged and being taken onto the [[Steelhaven (Animated)|Elite Guard vessel]]. {{storylink|Mission Accomplished}}

While in transit on said vessel, Starscream somehow blasted his way out, once again vowing revenge against Megatron. Magnus sent word to Optimus Prime, warning him that Starscream was most likely on his way back to Earth. Megatron, eavesdropping on the conversation, offered a substantial reward for bringing Starscream to him.

To this end, [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] ran off by himself to the resting place of the ''Nemesis'' on the Moon, where he ran right into Starscream. Despite getting in behind Prowl, Starscream was rather easily disabled and put in stasis cuffs. While [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] and Prowl battled, Starscream somehow managed to escape.

Lockdown and Prowl agreed to team up, and they tracked down an apparently very scared Starscream, who was captured easily. While Lockdown brought him to Megatron, another Starscream turned up. This Starscream tried to deal with the Autobots, suggesting they team up to deal with their common enemy, Megatron. Prowl disabled him with ease, despite making a total mess.

[[Image:Lotta starscreams.jpg|thumb|Megs is gonna have a field day.]]
Shortly after Lockdown delivered "Starscream" into the hands of Megatron, the Autobots showed with the other Starscream. Confusion ensued, and suddenly both Starscreams exposed internal bombs, and a recording of the real Starscream revealed that his entire plan was to allow the [[Starscream clone|clones of himself]] to be captured and take out all his enemies in one fell swoop. In his infinite wisdom, however, he apparently programmed the bombs to explode long after everyone had realized what had happened. Prowl sent the clones into the sky, where they exploded without destroying the city.

Afterwards, Megatron increased the bounty on Starscream, this time stipulating that it had to be the ''real'' one. Watching, Starscream cursed Megatron (again) and dismissed his failure, noting he had plenty more clones—an army of them. {{storylink|A Fistful of Energon}}

[[Image:Starscream with Shescream.jpg|thumb|left|Technically, she is my sister, and therefore unable to take me as her lover. After much soul searching, I have reluctantly decided, "What the hell", I just won't tell her.]]
His time alone allowed him to produce five clones of himself, which he empowered with small slivers of the AllSpark fragment in his head, giving them life. He quickly learned that each of the Starscreams was a different aspect of his personality: [[Skywarp (Animated)|cowardice]], [[Thundercracker (Animated)|ego]], [[Sunstorm (Animated)|sycophancy]], [[Ramjet (Animated)|deception]], and...[[Slipstream (Animated)|something else]]. He asked the female version of him where she came from, and she said not to ask. Once introductions were done, he ordered them on their merry way to Megatron's base. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part I}}

[[Image:TFA ABTC1 Screamer Clones Emerge.jpg|thumb|There can be only one!]]
Upon reaching the base, the clone army attacked, leading to a free-for-all against Megatron's forces and the Autobots who'd assembled to stop the Decepticon leader's plan. During the fight, Starscream became fed up with his female clone telling him how to handle Megatron, as he'd been working on killing him long before she existed. She was unimpressed with his results to date. Eventually, his team overwhelmed Megatron, allowing two of the clones to subdue him while Starscream prepared to deal the killing blow. Starscream relished the moment, wryly assuring Megatron that he'd tell everyone that he died fighting valiantly—after naming Starscream as his successor. Abruptly, Starscream got head-jacked by [[Isaac Sumdac]] in a [[Headmaster (Animated)|Headmaster]] unit.

Starscream's inert body fell on top of his head, which put him out of action. Panicking, he told his clones to attack, but was outraged when they all sided with Megatron instead. Starscream's head was then glued to one of the walls by [[Mixmaster (Animated)|Mixmaster]]'s concrete. When he tried to mock Megatron's plan for the conquest of Cybertron, he had his mouth closed by more concrete. Poor Screamer.

[[Image:TFA ABTC2 Megatron Screamer End.jpg|150px|left|thumb|So...Megatron..how've you been]]
When Megatron's newly activated [[Space bridge]] ran out of power to maintain the portal to Cybertron, Megatron replaced the AllSpark fragment with Starscream's head, which overloaded the power systems. This caused the portal to expand and attempt to suck everything around it into itself. This included Starscream's head and Megatron, the latter of whom was disabled by Autobot stasis cuffs, which prevented him from resisting the space bridge's pull. The overload also caused the space bridge receiving coordinates to be deleted, dumping the pair into empty space. Without a body to manoeuvre, Starscream was forced to look at Megatron, while Megatron, still disabled by the stasis cuffs, suffered a similar problem. A long night of bickering commenced. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part II}}

[[Image:TransWarpedStarscreamsScream.jpg|thumb|200px|How... literal. And disturbingly yonic.]]
Somehow, Starscream managed to manoeuvre his head to begin trying to free Megatron from his stasis cuffs, either by gnawing on them or by picking them with a fragment of asteroid in his mouth. Megatron berated Starscream for his incompetence, whereupon the indignant Decepticon pointed out that this would be much easier if Megatron had reattached his head to his body back on Earth, and that they wouldn't even be here if Megatron hadn't overloaded the Space Bridge. Fuelled with anger, Starscream screamed that this was all Megatron's fault, during which the fragment in his head lit up... and Starscream's face suddenly unfolded into a sonic blaster that smashed Megatron's cuffs.

This was evidently not something from Starscream's original design plans, as he could be heard asking where that had come from once it had fired. Megatron didn't care, though; all that mattered was that he was free now. Starscream was petrified when Omega Supreme chose that moment to float into view, trying to denounce Megatron in order to save his own hide. Fortunately for them both, Omega Supreme was currently offline, giving Megatron an idea. Though Starscream nearly gave the plan away when he was brought inside the awoken giant, Megatron succeeded in installing Starscream's head into the computer to be used as a combination of power source and control mechanism.

[[Image:TransWarpedDigitalStarscream.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Take me to ATARI!]]
Megatron used Omega Supreme to attack the Autobots on Earth, and during the battle, [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] infiltrated Omega, accessed his internal processor, and helped him fight off Megatron's control... only for Starscream to take over instead. He continued fighting the Autobots until Megatron suggested that they just go conquer Cybertron instead. Starscream agreed that it was a good idea, but failed to make Omega transwarp as the giant's old friend [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] swayed his control. Eventually overpowering Omega's mind, Starscream tried flying into space, only for Optimus Prime to plant a [[plasmadynamic thruster]] on his new body, causing it to start warping around randomly in outer space. {{storylink|Transwarped}}

At some point during Starscream and Megatron's warping adventures, Starscream stopped controlling Omega Supreme's body, again reduced to a sarcastic head. After one of the warp jumps, Lugnut suddenly smacked into their windshield and joined their merry group. {{storylink|Decepticon Air}} Removing the plasmadynamic thruster, they traveled into Cybertron airspace, even though Omega Supreme was offline and drained of energy. Starscream advocated that they abandon the hulk before the Autobots picked them off in their helpless state, but Megatron disagreed. After the Decepticon agent [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] obtained Omega's activation codes, they picked him up and transwarped back to Earth's moon, where Starscream noted Lugnut's anger at Megatron complimenting Shockwave. {{storylink|This Is Why I Hate Machines}}

[[Image:TFA-Endgame-MegatronFieldDay.jpg|thumb|Megs has his field day.]]
Goading Lugnut into fighting Shockwave, Starscream used the distraction to roll himself back to his old headquarters, the wrecked ''Nemesis'', where he used a [[protoform]] and one of his many clone bodies to get himself back to 100%. Megatron subsequently destroyed the rest of the lifeless clone bodies, before explaining to Starscream his ultimate plan—creating Decepticon clones of Omega Supreme. When the time came for these clones to imprint upon a leader, Starscream went for a power grab yet again, knocking Megatron down and taking his place. However, he was in turn tackled by the eternally loyal Lugnut, who ended up becoming the template of the three "[[Lugnut Supreme]]s". As Megatron explained that this had been his plan all along, Starscream retorted that the giants would just be lifeless shells without his AllSpark fragment.

[[Image:TFA-Endgame-StarscreamBits.jpg|thumb|left|"It’s incredible! I can feel, I can touch, I’m alive! I can fondle, I can fiddle! Phwooar! I am ali—"]]
Unfortunately for him, Megatron had found three other fragments in Omega Supreme's spark chamber, and so and deemed Starscream useless before blasting his lower body to smithereens with a fusion cannon shot and leaving him on the surface of the Moon. {{storylink|Endgame, Part I}}

But this did not destroy the tenacious traitor, and he painstakingly reattached himself to a reassembled lower torso before transforming and flying to Earth. There, he was distracted from his goal of taking revenge on Megatron by a sudden severe pain in his head, which pulled him to Sumdac Towers, where he found Jazz and Prowl using their Processor-Over-Matter skills to reassemble AllSpark fragments. Realising what a threat this posed to him, he opened fire on them in an effort to distract them, but failed. His fragment was torn from his head, and Starscream, his sparkless body no longer fueled by the AllSpark, fell from the air, finally dead.

[[Image:TFAni EndgamePart2 Screamer Offlined.jpg|thumb|The ''seventh'' time's the charm.]]
He did leave behind a nasty post-mortem surprise, however: Upon the disconnection of Lugnut from the [[Lugnut Supreme]]s, a hidden program kicked in, a message from Starscream revealing that each of the Omega clones had been secretly outfitted with a nasty set of concealed explosives, now primed and ready to detonate. Unfortunately for Starscream, his revenge would not come to be. Not only did Omega Supreme destroy one clone while deactivating its explosive, the other was encased in an AllSpark-powered force field and failed to destroy anything...not even Megatron, who took the full force of the blast (albeit he was heavily damaged). {{storylink|Endgame, Part II}}
{{--}}

===Titan Magazines===

[[Image:Starscreamanimated_DinoMIGHT.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"''They're not singing<br>they're not singing<br>they're not singing any morrrre!''"]]

Megatron kept uncovering Starscream's hide-outs, so Starscream took his [[Starscream clone|clone army]] and seized control of the Autobots' own base, reasoning the Decepticons would never look for him ''there''. His plan was undone by the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]]. {{storylink|Dino-MIGHT!}}

He later acted as the backer for the supervillain [[Crossroads]], giving him a sliver of Megatron (no, it ''wasn't'' explained how he got it) that completed the man's robot-controlling gauntlets. Starscream didn't care that Crossroads was going to hurt robots, as long as he made sure to turn the city against the Autobots. Boo, hiss! {{storylink|Crossroads!}}

Later still, he appeared out of nowhere to hack into the [[Wraith-X]] stealth bomber and send it off to bomb Detroit to bits, seemingly just for shits and giggles. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 23|Divebomb}} It turned out he'd been let back into the Decepticons for... some reason, joining their massed attack on the Autobot base. Of course, he used that as a way to ensure Megatron had an "accident", and then "saved him"; as a result, Megatron become stupid and believed he could be trusted with temporary command of the Decepticons... {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 24|Megatron's Revenge}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
===Animated===
[[Image:TFAnimated Voyager Starscream toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|What? Decepticon sigil not upside down? [[Ruined_FOREVER|HERESY! HERESYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!]]]]
*'''Starscream''' (Voyager, 2008)
**''Accessories:'' 2 missiles

: Starscream transforms into a futuristic, forward-swept wing jet fighter based upon the [http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/s37/ Su-47 (S-37) Berkut Experimental Fighter] and the [http://www.new-un-spacy.com/macrossplus/yf-19.htm YF-19 "Alpha One"] from the series ''[[wikipedia:Macross_Plus|Macross Plus]]''.

: His twin "sonic shock blaster" spring-loaded missile launchers can slide forward, opening panels on his forearms (referred to as blasters on the packaging). Landing gear in his vehicle mode flip down from his undercarriage, and his blasters flip forward or back for a "hidden" attack. He also features two [[automorph]] gimmicks. When his nose cone is pushed in, his undercarriage folds into his hips. Folding his shoulders down also pushes up his head. Though not really an "automorph", with the arms and legs out of the way, his spring loaded wings fold down by themselves. His arms are also ''just'' poseable enough to stroke that enormous chin.

:His missiles have tiny shark faces molded into them.

:As with [[Seeker (body-type)|past incarnations]], Starscream was [[Redeco|redecoed]] as [[Skywarp (Animated)|''Animated'' Skywarp]] and redecoed again as [[Sunstorm (Animated)|''Animated'' Sunstorm]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/Starscream/starscream.htm More information on Voyager Starscream at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|activator}}
[[Image:Activatorsstarscream.jpg|right|250px|thumb|I shall call him Screamer and he shall be mine and he shall be my Screamer. Come here, Screamer!]]
*'''Starscream''' (Activators, 2008)

: A smaller, simpler version of Starscream, the Activators Starscream toy has a spring-loaded autotransform gimmick that springs him from Harrier jet mode to robot mode in one easy step, although robot to Harrier jet mode is still that good old manual click-it-up yourself transformation, giving you the best of both worlds.

: Activators Starscream greatly resembles Voyager Starscream, especially when compared to several other Activators and their respective larger toys, with the only discernible difference between Activators and Voyager Starscream is that Activator Starscream's wings sit lower on his back. Most notably, this toy possesses more show-accurate weapons than its Voyager counterpart, due to the lack of a launching mechanism.

: This mold was also used to make ''Animated'' [[Thundercracker (Animated)|Thundercracker]] and [[Dirge (Animated)|Dirge]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/ActStarscream/starscream.htm More information on Activators Starscream at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|McDonald's}}
*'''Starscream''' (McDonald's Happy Meal Toy, 2008)

:A simple version of Starscream with a very simple transformation sequence. A tad unique among the McDonald's ''Animated'' toys, he has given up a toy accurate vehicle mode for a toy accurate robot mode. You transform him by splitting the front of the jet to form the legs, snapping up the feet, lowering the rear wings and rotating his head. His robot mode, save for the fact the wings are pointing the wrong direction and that he is missing his guns, is decently [[Show-accuracy|show-accurate]], but his vehicle mode totally sucks. Plain and simple.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/McStarscream/starscream.htm More information on McDonald's Starscream at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|RescueRatchet}}
*'''Rescue Ratchet''' (Animated 3-pack, 2008)

: A ''Universe'' Legends-class Starscream came packaged with this [[Target]]-[[exclusive]] version of [[Ratchet (Animated)#Rescue|Ratchet]], as well as a Legends [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/AniLegendsStarscream/starscream.htm More information on Legends Starscream at TFU.info]''

{{-}}

===Universe (2008)===
[[Image:Universe2008-toy LegendsAniStarscream.JPG|right|250px|thumb|And yet, his ego remains as big as ever.]]
*'''Starscream''' (Legends, 2008)

:Legends-class Starscream transforms surprisingly similarly to his larger counterparts. He is notable for being the only version of the character to have his weapons mounted correctly on his upper arms, rather than his lower arms (though this is largely because he completely lacks elbows). However, as with his past versions, he is again not gray, but apparently a shade of blue.

:This toy can also be found as part of the ''Animated'' [[Ratchet (Animated)|Rescue Ratchet]] three-pack with Legends [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]], but with a more purple deco.
{{--}}

==Notes==
*In a podcasted audio interview, [[Marty Isenberg]] revealed that he originally wanted to play Starscream's name ironically — he wanted the character to have a quiet, whispery tone, as he '''really''' didn't like the screechy voice of [[Starscream (G1)|the original Starscream]] (though, at the same time, he pointed out that he has nothing against [[Chris Latta|his actor]]). [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] argued against this idea, and Tom Kenny's reading finally won Marty over.
* Though he never ''truly'' took out Megatron, this Starscream may be the most successful to bear the name to date.
* There is some confusion as to precisely what weapons Starscream has. According to the Decepticon character descriptions sent out in the initial [[Cartoon Network]] press release for ''Transformers Animated'', Starscream "can affect a sonic scream and produce powerful blasts of sound that can send enemies spinning through the atmosphere". His toy packaging declares that he has "twin sonic shock blasters" rather than the [[null-ray]]s of his Generation 1 counterpart, while a bio on the [[Hasbro]] website declares that ''Animated'' Starscream '''does''' have null-rays... while otherwise being a direct copy of the press release text, which doesn't mention them anywhere. What is unquestionably Starscream's "sonic scream" appears in the third season episode "TransWarped", apparently a modification created by the AllSpark fragment in his head. Similarly, in the same episode, Blurr tells [[Skywarp (Animated)|Skywarp]] and [[Thundercracker (Animated)|Thundercracker]] to use alternating sonic pulses to destabilise the concrete the trio are trapped in. This could point to Starscream's arm-mounted cannons being sonic shock blasters, as he was addressing Skywarp, but also could be a reference to Generation 1 [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] and his ability to create sonic booms.
*Several times in the series, Starscream's alt-mode is called a "harrier jet". In the real world, this term actually refers to just one specific jet type--the [[United Kingdom|British]]-designed V/STOL-capable [[wikipedia:Harrier_Jump_Jet|Harrier Jump Jet]]--which very clearly is not Starscream's altmode. Then again, the series is set about 100 years in the future, so perhaps the jet designs or terminology could have changed.

[[Category:Animated characters]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]

Swoop (Animated)

2009-09-13T17:12:07Z

71.125.149.224:

{{factions|autobot}}{{picsneeded|Beast mode.}}
{{disambig3|Swoop}}
:''Swoop is an [[Autobot]] in the [[Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:TFAnimated Swoop.jpg|right|256px|thumb|Gatchaman!]]
'''Swoop''' is a ''Pteranodon'' [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobot]]. He prefers his nice, quiet island to the mainland, but doesn't say no to crossing over for the odd battle. Not only is it fun to see humans scatter at the sight of him, bashing Decepticons with his flaming [[wikipedia:Flail (weapon)|flail]] is more fun than bashing trees.

{{Bombs away!|Swoop's tech spec motto}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
Swoop made his appearance along with the other Dinobots, but neither he nor [[Snarl (Animated)|Snarl]] spoke. He battled the Autobots but like the others ended up trapped in tar, before being relocated to Dinobot Island by Prowl and Bulkhead. He also did not [[Transformation|transform]], as he didn't know it was possible until [[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]] discovered ''he'' could. {{storylink|Blast from the Past}}

[[Image:Aniswoopflail.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Me Swoop give you head start..."]]
He was later forced by the villain [[Meltdown (Animated)|Meltdown]] to kidnap [[Sari Sumdac]] and attack her would-be rescuers, [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] and [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]]. Once Meltdown was trapped and unable to hurt him, he demonstrated he'd learned to transform and joined his fellow Dinobots in threatening the acid-thrower. However, before Meltdown could be hurt, Swoop's attention was diverted to [[Colossus Rhodes]] and two of Meltdown's mutants, and he and the other Dinobots beat up on them instead. {{storylink|Survival of the Fittest}}

He would later be found along with his fellow Dinobots by [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]], Prowl and Bulkhead to see if they would help fight against the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]]. However, Grimlock refused to fight with the [[Autobot|Autobots]], saying that they would destroy robots. Optimus then replied to Grimlock that the Dinobots were robots themselves. Swoop promptly began following to the letter Grimlock's order to destroy all robots, starting with Grimlock. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 1}}

When Optimus, [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Autobot Commander Ultra Magnus]], and [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Planetary Bitch Sentinel Prime]] went to find the Ark, they intruded on Swoop's territory and gave him a big ass-kicking which a slightly big jerk like him deserves. However, he was scared off by Ultra Magnus and his electrical powers. {{storylink|The Elite Guard}}

When his friend Grimlock had a large spike in his toe, he went on a rampage, which he tried to prevent, but to no avail. Prowl managed to reluctantly use [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet's]] [[EMP]] Blaster (which he was borrowing) before anything was damaged. When Prowl told him he would be okay and Bulkhead took the spike out of his toes, he was very relieved. {{storylink|A Fistful of Energon}}

[[Image:Dinobots Meltdown Black Friday.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"Me Swoop thought boxed chocolates too cliché, but contents still have gooey centre."]]
He returned once again with his fellow Dinobots, working for [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]]. He, Grimlock and Snarl were ordered to fetch Meltdown from prison for her, so that she could be [[Along Came a Spider|rid of her organic half]]. It was revealed that the Dinobots worked for her due to her feminine ways. Grimlock fought and beat both Swoop and Snarl to prove that he loved Blackarachnia most. Blackarachnia then used her mimic ability to steal Grimlock's [[Fire-breath|fire-breathing]] power and proceeded to incinerate Swoop and Snarl. Despite this, they still worked for her later, as they helped both Optimus and Grimlock by defeating [[Fusion creature|Meltdown's mutants]] once again. Unlike Grimlock, Swoop seemed indifferent to the fact that Blackarachnia then left them all. {{storylink|Black Friday (episode)|Black Friday}}

Swoop later found the female spider, who asked him to deliver the fugitive [[Wasp]] for her. He agreed and took the fugitive to the island, with the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]] soldiers [[Jetfire (Animated)|Jetfire]], [[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]], and Sentinel Prime still on his tail. However, he managed to evade their pursuit and brought Wasp back to Meltdown's lab. Later, he and the others were guarding the way to the lab when they encountered the Jet twins. Swoop faced them, but was ultimately defeated. {{storylink|Predacons Rising}}

Swoop and Grimlock later kicked out Snarl when he decided to be the pet of a [[Scrapper (Animated)|Constructicon castaway]] that arrived on the island. {{storylink|Human Error, Part II}}

===Titan Magazines===
Swoop can ''talk!'' {{storylink|Dino-MIGHT!}}

[[Image:TitanSwoop.jpg|left|200px|thumb|He's not speaking to you either.]]

Later on, a Rage virus infection stopped him from showing this power of speech. He instead turned violent and attacked Grimlock, hovered around for [[Afterburn]] to stand on, and threw [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] into mud. Not that big a rage then. {{storylink|Ratchet & Grimlock Are DEAD?}}

Later still, a huge row between him and Grimlock over a TV program saw Swoop booted out of the Dinobots. On his way to join the Autobots, he buzzed past a [[United States Military|USAF]] plane and so got a bollocking from Prime when he landed, causing him to leave in a huff. However, soon the Autobots needed aerial assistance to stop a rogue stealth bomber, and Bumblebee convinced Swoop to help by <strike>reminding him that he owed them for the Rage virus thing</strike> appealing to his <strike>sense of team spirit</strike> ego. He successfully stopped the bomber, saving Detroit and proving to the Autobots that he was awesome.

And all that while only talking ''once'' (and off-panel at that) due to being in a huff!{{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 23|Divebomb}}
{{--}}
==Toys==
===Animated===
[[Image:Deluxeanimatedswoop.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Swoop looms, like a vast predatory bird...]]
*'''Swoop''' (Deluxe, 2008)
**''Accessories'': Flail

: Part of the fourth wave of ''Animated'' Deluxes, Swoop transforms into a robotic pteranodon. His relatively simple transformation results in a startlingly [[Show-accuracy|show-accurate]] robot mode (albeit with longer legs in pteranodon mode). He comes with a flail weapon which can be stored under his foot in beast mode. The weapon seems to have an abandoned gimmick where pushing in the bottom of the ball would activate pop-out flames. Apparently, it was abandoned after the realization that if a child swallowed the weapon, the flames popping out would make the kid's esophagus worse for wear. However, this gimmick can somewhat be reactivated with a small modification [http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/radicons-customs/208812-tutorial-animated-swoops-flaming-mace.html], allowing the flames to be ''partially'' revealed. A slightly more complex modification can be done to allow the flames to raise to '''full height''' when they pop out[http://mattbooker.info/2009/01/05/sos-dinobot-part-1/], resulting in the inner curve of the flames matching the curve of the ball[http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/1531/flamingmorningstar.png]—a look which indicates this is much closer to the original intention.

==External links==
* [http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/Swoop/swoop.htm Swoop at TFU.info]

[[Category:Animated characters]]
[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Dinobots]]

Snarl (Animated)

2009-09-13T17:10:29Z

71.125.149.224:

{{factions|autobot}}
{{disambig3|Snarl}}
:''Snarl is an [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobot]] from the [[Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:TFAnimated Snarl.jpg|right|256px|thumb|"Me Snarl think lost 80 pounds?"]]
'''Snarl''' is a ''Triceratops'' [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobot]]. Built quite a bit better than a tank, there's nothing he enjoys more than taking the nearest solid object and headbutting it. It's not so much the mindless destruction he likes, it's just that Snarl thoroughly enjoys being strong, and smashing things to powder seems like the best way of expressing this. And if he needs to mix things up a little, being able to [[Fire-breath|breathe fire]] hot enough to melt a garbage truck helps.

{{quote|Snarl Smash!|Snarl's tech spec motto}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
[[Image:SnarlswoopBlastfromthepast.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"[[wikipedia:Marjorine|Damn, Ken.]]"]]
Snarl, like the other two [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]], began life as an animatronic robot at [[Dino Drive]], where he/it was damaged by an over-enthusiastic [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]]. He was upgraded with Cybertronian technology in [[Isaac Sumdac]]'s lab (with the help of [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]), and further modified by a burst of [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]] energy. He then spent his time breathing fire and breaking things such as [[Captain Fanzone's car]]. He also swallowed a missile, which is just beyond cool.

He, along with [[Swoop (Animated)|Swoop]], did not [[Transformation|transform]] during the course of his early life. It is possible he didn't know he could do it until [[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]] discovered he could. {{storylink|Blast from the Past}}

[[Image:Anisnarlsurvivalofthefittest.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"[[Slag (slang)|Slag]] you [[Dinobots (Animated)|guys]], me Snarl goin' home."]]
He was later forced by the villain [[Prometheus Black|Meltdown]] to guard the research facility Meltdown had commandeered on an island in Lake Erie, and to attack the Autobots [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] and Bulkhead. Once Meltdown was trapped and unable to hurt him, he demonstrated he'd learned to transform and joined his fellow Dinobots in threatening the acid-thrower. However, before Meltdown could be hurt, Snarl's attention was diverted to [[Colossus Rhodes]] and two of [[Fusion creature|Meltdown's mutants]], and he and the other Dinobots had fun beating up on them instead. {{storylink|Survival of the Fittest}}

Following a sharp increase in Decepticon activity on [[Earth]], [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]], Bulkhead, and Prowl went to [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]] to ask the Dinobots to help fight the coming invasion. Grimlock first
ordered the Dinobots to attack, and Snarl started to obey, but Prowl got them all to stop. Grimlock then insisted that the Dinobots could "destroy robots" by themselves, to which Prime retorted that the Dinobots were robots too. Grasping this concept with gusto, Snarl then started fighting Grimlock but was easily tossed aside by his leader. The three Dinobots began to tackle the robot problem... starting with the 'bot in the mirror. The Autobots left them to their task. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 1}}

When investigating Dinobot Island for traces of the Allspark and any Decepticons, Optimus Prime, [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] and [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] were confronted by the Dinobots. After insulting them, Sentinel was floored by Grimlock whilst Snarl looked on, brandishing his club. After Ultra Magnus held aloft his mighty hammer, the Dinobots transformed and backed off into the forest. {{storylink|The Elite Guard|The Elite Guard}} Some time later, [[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]] was rampaging due to a foot injury, and Snarl seemed to be staying out of his way. Whether he was scared or just confused is unknown. {{storylink|A Fistful of Energon}}

After aiding with rescuing [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]], Snarl as well as the other Dinobots saw her as an item of worship, doing her every bidding. He assisted in the prison break of [[Meltdown (Animated)|Meltdown]]. However, upon returning with the prize, the only reward he and Swoop got was a scorching stream of stolen [[Fire-breath|special power]]. He didn't seem too put out by this, though, as later he loyally guarded his mistress's [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Autobot]] [[Prowl (Animated)|captives]]. Snarl also helped saved the day by bonking [[Fusion creature|Meltdown's ruffians]] over the head, scaring them off. After Blackarachnia abandoned them, Snarl didn't seem too fussed. {{storylink|Black Friday (episode)|Black Friday}} When an oil rig was teleported out to Lake Erie, Snarl and the other Dinobots watched it explode violently from the shores of Dinobot Island. {{storylink|Three's a Crowd}}

Blackarachnia eventually returned to Dinobot Island, where she took up manipulating the Dinobots again. After kidnapping the rogue Autobot [[Wasp]], she ordered Snarl, Swoop and Grimlock to stand guard while she performed an experiment on her victim. They were soon set upon by Wasp's pursuers; [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]] members Sentinel Prime, [[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]] and [[Jetfire (Animated)|Jetfire]]. Before Snarl could react, Jetstorm blew him into a wall with a burst of wind, knocking him unconscious. Just to be safe, Sentinel poked the Dinobot's inert body with his lance, causing it to be covered in a minor rockfall. {{storylink|Predacons Rising}}

[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part2 Beachbum Scrapper.jpg|thumb|left|200px]]
Snarl later found the [[Constructicon (Animated)|Constructicon]] [[Scrapper (Animated)|Scrapper]], who had washed up on Dinobot Island following the oil rig explosion. Scrapper decided to make the Dinobot his pet and gave him his name (he was tempted to name him "Slag", but Snarl took it as an insult). Grimlock and Swoop did not take this very well and branded Snarl as a traitor. [[Sari Sumdac]] later found the two and convinced them to help save her Autobot allies from [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]] and also found some unexpected help from [[Wreck-Gar (Animated)|Wreck-Gar]]. These "[[substitute Autobot]]s" soon found Soundwave and the other Autobots, the latter of whom had been reprogrammed. The battle did not go so well for them, but thanks to some strategic thinking from Sari, they were able to defeat Soundwave and return the Autobots back to normal. Following their victory, Scrapper tried riding Snarl back to Dinobot Island, but the Dinobot responded by kicking him and forcing him to drive. {{storylink|Human Error, Part II}}
{{-}}

===Titan Magazines===
[[Image:Titan23_poorSnarl.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Grimmy better ''pray'' that Snarl doesn't read ''[[The 4,000,000 Year Itch!]]'' and get ideas...]]

Starscream clones got in Snarl's way, and he hated that so much he spontaneously gained the power of speech just to tell them that. {{storylink|Dino-MIGHT!}}

Later on, he was infected with a Rage virus that caused him to tear around Dinobot Island and badly injure Grimlock. When the Autobots arrived to investigate, Snarl tore into Ratchet and ran off with his spare drink flask before hitting Grimlock some more. Bumblebee got the flask back and [[Afterburn]] cured him of the virus. {{storylink|Ratchet & Grimlock Are DEAD?|Ratchet & Grimlock Are DEAD?}}

Later still, he bore mute and annoyed witness to Grimlock warring with Swoop over the answer on a TV quiz show (Grimlock was wrong). {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 23|Divebomb}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
===Animated===
[[Image:Snarl animated toy.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Me Snarl not [[Slag (G1)|sociopath]], me just play one on tv.]]
*'''Snarl''' (Deluxe, 2008)
**''Accessories'': Club

: Part of the third wave of ''Animated'' Deluxes, Snarl transforms into a robotic ''Triceratops''. His shoulderpads/foreleg shoulders feature spring-loaded pop out "flames". He comes with a large club which does not store in his beast mode anywhere. Unlike promotional stock photos, his club and dinosaur forehead are unpainted, though in the latter case this is actually more accurate to the animation model. The promotional photos also showed his front horn assembled upside down, but it's turned the right way around on the final toy. While there are pegs intended to keep his waist together, they do not click, and so the legs are quite loose. The toy features orange [[light-piping]] engineered into the head, but the gimmick is disabled by the eyes being painted blue.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/Snarl/snarl.htm More information on Snarl at TFU.info]''

==Notes==
* Snarl was obviously designed to be the ''Animated'' incarnation of the [[Generation 1]] [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]] named [[Slag (G1)|Slag]], and preproduction shots even bore that name. Hasbro [http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=76674442 holds the United States trademark for "Slag" unopposed, and renewed it as recently as Xmas 2007]. As revealed by Hasbro representatives at [[BotCon 2008]], they are not using "Slag" as a product name because it is a [[wikipedia:Slag_(slang)|negative slang]] term in the United Kingdom (meaning, roughly, "slut") which might have affected toy sales. Let's hope they don't do another [[Slapper (RID)|Slapper]].

* Snarl and [[Swoop (Animated)|Swoop]] did not have any lines in the cartoon. Reportedly, this is due to limitations on the number of voice actors that can be used in an episode, and the number of characters they can voice in one as well. [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] remarked at [[BotCon 2008]] that his ideal voice for Snarl would be [[wikipedia:Louie Anderson|comedian Louie Anderson]]. Their lack of dialogue would be used for a gag in [[Transformers Comic issue 24|comic story ''Divebomb'']].

* Snarl was only called Snarl ''after'' Scrapper called him that? [[Simon Furman]] and [[Robin Etherington]] probably wish they'd known that!

[[Category:Animated characters]]
[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Dinobots]]

Grimlock (Animated)

2009-09-13T17:08:18Z

71.125.149.224:

{{Factions|autobot}}{{disambig3|Grimlock}}
:''Grimlock is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:TFAnimated Grimlock.jpg|right|256px|thumb|Some people got collar and cuffs, me Grimlock got collar and brass knuckles.]]
'''Grimlock''' is a ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' in charge of a small, three-mech group of dinosaur transformers known as the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]]. Born from a fusion of Earth and Cybertronian technology, with some [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]] intervention thrown in, he's a force to be reckoned with. A little short on brains (at first he didn't actually realise he was a Transformer) and a lot short on temper, Grimlock's answer to a problem is usually the simplest: squash it, slash it, bite it, burn it, or eat it.

Physically, Grimlock is one of the most powerful Transformers, with enough brute strength to give even the likes of Megatron pause for thought. In his beast mode, his powerful jaws and flame breath give him excellent short- and long-range combat abilities, while his flaming sword is an effective weapon in robot mode. Factor in his temper, and facing Grimlock can be a terrifying experience.

Currently, Grimlock and his fellow Dinobots are living on [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|an island]] in Lake Erie, hidden there by [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] and [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] from the rest of the world. But don't think he's not willing to come to the mainland, find the biggest 'Con around and feed 'em their own chassis after he's eaten his fill of it. After all, him Grimlock badass.

{{bigquote|No one tell me Grimlock how to fight!|Grimlock, rebel without a cause|"[[Black Friday (episode)|Black Friday]]"}}

{{quote|Where are Decepticons? Me Grimlock getting hungry!|Grimlock's tech spec motto}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[David Kaye]] (English), [[Dieter Memel]] (German)

[[Image:Grimlockanimatedinskin.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Cars shot me T-rex, out come me Grimlock! Him [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] sure blew it.]]
Grimlock, [[Snarl (Animated)|Snarl]], and [[Swoop (Animated)|Swoop]] were originally theme park animatronic displays that [[Isaac Sumdac]] upgraded with the help of [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] and a flash of [[spark]] from the [[AllSpark Key]]. When they came online, Grimlock dubbed himself the Dinobot leader, despite Megatron's commands. However, [[Tutor Bot]] brought up videos on how cars use fossil fuels. Grimlock believed this to mean that cars ate [[dinosaur]]s, and Megatron convinced them to destroy the "fossil feeders", including the only thing worse than cars...cars and trucks that turn into robots.

[[Image:Grimlockanimatedbeastmode.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Me Grimlock beginning to [[Repeat Performance!|hate black sticky stuff!]]]]
As the Dinobots raged against the machines, the Autobots drew them away from the city towards a park. Finally getting out of his funk, [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] managed to throw them into a parking lot that their fire breath had melted into tar, trapping the Dinobots. After their defeat, they were imprisoned in an energy cage and were scheduled for meltdown. Believing they had life and were not just some mindless machines, [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] freed the Dinobots with the help of Bulkhead and secretly relocated them to an island.

Dwelling within the peaceful forest, Grimlock dubbed cars and trucks bad, but nature good—until two birds pooped on him. Redubbing
nature stupid, Grimlock expected the two birds to fight like Dinobots, but they escaped! Tail twitching and stomach opening, Grimlock [[Transformation|transformed]], shocking Snarl and Swoop. He drew a [[Energo-sword|huge, blazing sword]] and decided he liked the results. {{storylink|Blast from the Past}}

He was later forced by the villain [[Prometheus Black|Meltdown]] to attack Sari's would-be rescuers, Prowl and Bulkhead. Once Meltdown
was trapped and unable to hurt him, he demonstrated he'd learned to transform and joined his fellow Dinobots in threatening the
acid-thrower. However, before Meltdown could be hurt, Grimlock's attention was diverted to [[Colossus Rhodes]] and two of Meltdown's mutants, and he and the other Dinobots beat up on them instead. {{storylink|Survival of the Fittest}}

Shortly after this, the Autobots learned that the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]] were mobilizing, and Bulkhead spilled the beans on the Dinobots' location. Seriously pissed, [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Prime]] had them take him to [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]], where he tried to convince the Dinobots to help them fight the Decepticons. Grimlock was...uninterested, to say the least. He told Prime that Dinobots didn't need robots to fight, but that they would destroy robots. When Prime pointed out that the Dinobots ''were'' robots, this seemed to compel them to fight each other. When Grimlock gives an order, the Dinobots carry it out without question. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 1}}

[[Image:Animated cartoon Grimlock Sentinel Prime.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Me Grimlock say you jerk!]]
When Optimus brought [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] and [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel]] to see [[Autobot ship (Animated)|his damaged ship]], which had crashed into Dinobot Island as a result of [[Megatron Rising - Part 2|a recent Decepticon attack]], the Dinobots showed up. Optimus advised the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guardsbots]] that as long as the Dinobots weren't provoked, they wouldn't attack. Sentinel thought they were just primitive scrap heaps and acted like it. Grimlock responded by transforming, taking out his sword and knocking the jerk flying. Alas, neither he nor the other Dinobots could withstand the elemental lightning summoned by Ultra Magnus, Bot of Thunder. {{storylink|The Elite Guard}}

[[Image:T-Rex Ambush Predator.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Prowl learned T-rex defensive tactics from ''Jurassic Park''. Sadly, Grimlock never watched that movie.]]
Later, reports reached the Autobots of rampages on Dinobot Island, and Optimus sent Prowl and Bulkhead, the only two Autobots the Dinobots accepted, to investigate. Prowl's disbelief at the idea that the territorial but relatively peaceful Dinobots would be going on rampages was quickly dispelled when a furious Grimlock burst from the bushes and charged. He easily thrashed the two Autobots, and in his rage would have roasted a nest full of baby birds if Prowl hadn't used [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]]'s loaned [[EMP]] generator to drop the massive beast. But a blast that would have knocked out an Autobot for a while merely dropped Grimlock for a moment, and a few seconds later, he began to wake up. Upon examination, it was revealed that Grimlock had a large piece of metal embedded in his foot, and the pain had driven him mad. Prowl used the EMP generator to loosen the shard while Bulkhead yanked it out, and an exhausted Grimlock collapsed and allowed the Autobots to fix him up. {{storylink|A Fistful of Energon}}

[[Image:TFA Black Friday ME GRIMLOCK IN LOVE.jpg|left|180px|thumb|I, Grimlock, am hot-headed when in love, wot.]]
When [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] washed ashore after the defeat of Megatron, the Dinobots took her in as one of their own. Ever the [[wikipedia:Alpha_(biology)|alpha male]], Grimlock was quick to remind Swoop and Snarl that "Spider-Lady like me Grimlock best" (he was taller than them), and was not above using violence to drive the point home. After Blackarachnia discovered Meltdown's genetic research, she had the Dinobots take Meltdown from prison. When the Autobots arrived to investigate, Prowl and [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] were poisoned with venom, and Grimlock accompanied Optimus Prime to the mainland to help him find the [[Genetic modifier|genetic thingy]] that Meltdown needed.

[[Image:Animated Black Friday Grimlock Prime Powell.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Me Grimlock will love you and hug you and feed you and pet you and hug you and love you and call you George.]] Grimlock refused to listen to Prime's claims that Blackarachnia was using them, and he tore through the city to show the "puny humans" that "Dinobots rule". Arriving at [[Sumdac Tower]], Grimlock threatened [[Porter C. Powell]] with becoming lunch, which convinced the businessman to surrender the modifier. When the two Autobots returned to the island, Meltdown turned the tables on them, planning to remove Blackarachnia's technological half and leave him with an organic Transformer. To delay Grimlock and Prime, Meltdown sicced [[Fusion creature|his experiments]] on them. Grimlock nearly burned down half the forest while fighting "bad bat", but the other Dinobots arrived and helped them defeat the monsters while Prime put out the fire. After Prime defeated Meltdown, Blackarachnia urged him to hold her, causing Grimlock to attack Prime in jealousy. However, it was a trick to allow Blackarachnia time to escape, as Prime had predicted. Practically in tears, Grimlock begged Blackarachnia to return, saying he loved her, but all for naught. {{storylink|Black Friday (episode)|Black Friday}}

He later looked on as an oil rig with the Constructicons appeared out of nowhere and exploded off Dinobot Island. {{storylink|Three's a Crowd}}

Grimlock and the Dinobots once again fall under Blackarachnia's sway. After having Swoop abduct [[Wasp]] she orders the Dinobots to stand guard. Sentinel Prime, along with [[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]] and [[Jetfire (Animated)|Jetfire]], sneak onto Dinobot Island to retrieve Wasp. Sentinel tells the Jet twins to create a diversion to get the Dinobots away from the enterance so he can sneak into Blackarachnia's lab. Grimlock is tricked into chasing Jetstorm and was [[to sell toys|defeated off camera]]. {{storylink|Predacons Rising}}

Later when Sari went to get the help of the Dinobots to fight [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]], Grimlock and Swoop refused to help her. When she asked about Snarl, Grimlock tells her they kicked him out after he decided to become [[Scrapper (Animated)|Scrapper]]'s pet. {{storylink|Human Error, Part II}}

===Titan Magazines===

[[Image:Titan23_Grimlockvsswoop.jpg|left|200px|thumb|ONLY ME GRIMLOCK have speaking parts!]]

One day, it was raining really badly and making Grimlock's joints all stiff. Grimlock hate that! Then [[Sari Sumdac|that small girl thing]]
came to Dinobot Island; Grimlock almost ate her as a trespasser, but then she said the Dinobots could stay in the Autobots' base until it stopped raining and all they had to do in return was hit [[Starscream (Animated)|some annoying guy]] and his [[Starscream clone|clones]]. Plus, he got a souvenir in the form of a ripped off clone arm. Sari Grimlock's friend!

[[Simon Furman|Grimlock]] thinks there should be clones of ''him'' as the world needs more Grimlock! {{storylink|Dino-MIGHT!}}

Another day, the other Dinobots were sick and it made them attack Grimlock! Grimlock get hurt! Grimlock send an distress signal to other Autobots by means unknown! Small girl thing save him with [[AllSpark Key|even smaller glowy thing]], so he not eat her. {{storylink|Ratchet & Grimlock Are DEAD?}}

Bah! Swoop keep questioning Grimlock! ''HOW DARE'' he disagree with Grimlock! Grimlock kick Swoop out of Dinobots! Bah! How dare Swoop... oh, cows ''do'' give milk like Swoop said? Well... Swoop still sucks, shut up Snarl! {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 23|Divebomb}}
{{--}}
==Toys==
===Animated===
[[Image:Grimlock Animated Toy.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Me Grimlock like. But want crown accessory.]]
*'''Grimlock''' (Voyager, 2008)
**''Accessories'': Flaming sword

: Part of the third wave of ''Animated'' Voyagers, Grimlock transforms into a robotic [[Popular beast alternate modes|tyrannosaurus rex]] with a spring-loaded chompy-jaw. His flaming sword somehow pegs into his dino-jaw to simulate his flaming breath attack. A mechanized switch in the right robot-mode wrist interacts with a spring-loaded feature in the sword, revealing pop-out flames when the wrist is tilted. Purely by coincidence, a peg on his left leg is the exact right size to serve as a [[Powerlinx]] port for any [[Mini-Con]].

: The [[Instruction booklet|instruction sheet]] for this toy has an error in step two, in which his mid-back region (with the three hash marks on either side) is shown as both unfolding backwards to form part of his feet ''and'' staying where it is. Also, the call-out on the back of the packaging that claims his flame-sword doubles as a mouth-mounted jet of flame breath totally lies.

: Some Grimlocks have been reported with legs that are impossible to shorten into arms for robot mode. Others contract, but the two halves of the thighs/shoulders start to separate when they do. Others still have no problem. It looks like a quality control issue rather than a running change to fix the problem, as recently bought Grimlocks still suffer with this issue.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/Grimlock/grimlock.htm More information on Grimlock at TFU.info]''

*'''Goldfire Grimlock''' (Voyager, 2010?)
**''Accessories'': Flaming sword

: Goldfire Grimlock appears to be a redeco of his Voyager toy, sporting a gold and black color scheme, with a few silver parts too. Me, Grimlock King!

{{Comingsoontoy}}

<span id="Activator"></span>

[[Image:ActivatorGrimlock.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Tonight, on Jurassic Fight Club: Nanotyrannus!]]
*'''Grimlock''' (Activator, 2008)

: Part of the third assortment of [[Activators]], this is a smaller, simplified version of the larger Grimlock toy. He features a spring-loaded [[Autotransform|auto-transformation]] from beast to robot mode.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/ActGrimlock/grimlock.htm More information on Activators Grimlock at TFU.info]''

[[Image:Animated-toy_FireblastGrimlock.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Me Grimlock not [[The Fallen|Fallen]], Me Grimlock King!]]
*'''Fireblast Grimlock''' (Activator, 2009)

{{Comingsoontoy}}
{{--}}

==Notes==
* Grimlock took his name by forming a portmanteau out of a sentence spoken by Megatron: "My prospects are '''grim''', '''lock'''ed in this prison of a lab." Who knew he had it in him? For the entirety of seasons 1 and 2, he was the only Dinobot in the cartoon to have a name. This changed when Snarl finally received his name from Scrapper in mid-season 3. (Swoop wasn't named in the show at all.)
* He's still the only ''Animated'' Dinobot actually to speak. He may not talk pretty, but maybe he deserves some credit for making it THAT far.
* As seen in "[[Black Friday (episode)|Black Friday]]", when he is very angry (or in love), his head pops up and some fire shoots up from around his collar in robot mode.

==External links==
* [http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/Grimlock/grimlock.htm Grimlock at TFU.info]

[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Animated characters]]
[[Category:Dinobots]]

Megatron (Animated)

2009-09-13T17:05:53Z

71.125.149.224:

{{factions|decepticon}}{{disambig3|Megatron}}
:''Megatron is a [[Decepticon]] in the [[Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Megatronanimated.jpg|300px|thumb|An insult to G1, we swear!]] If you were to ask '''Megatron''' to describe himself in one word, he'd probably go with "heroic". He sees himself as a freedom fighter, [[Decepticon leader#Animated|leading]] the Decepticons out of the days of "[[Autobot]] tyranny". The fact he's hoping to replace that with Decepticon tyranny isn't really a concern. A fanatic at [[spark]], he revels in every Autobot who suffers at Decepticon hands and doesn't register humans as anything more than "collateral damage."

Megatron demands loyalty from the Decepticons, loyalty he gains by his awe-inspiring power. With the combined threat of a sharp mind, his [[fusion cannon]], a pair of deadly swords and simple brute strength, there aren't many who'd dare cross him. Still, he has no problem manhandling troops as a gentle reminder.

The loss of his body and former power was only a minor setback for him, as Megatron proved a master manipulator. He effortlessly duped [[Isaac Sumdac]] into helping him--and once Megatron was restored to full power, he turned the tables on his old captor.

He is extremely intolerant of treachery and deals with [[Starscream (Animated)|said treacherous bots]] with a vicious no-nonsense efficiency, [[Megatron (G1)|unlike other Decepticon leaders]]. He is a shrewd strategist and effortlessly [[Scrapper (Animated)|wraps]] [[Mixmaster (Animated)|others]] around his fingers.

{{bigquote|Decepticons... ''transform and rise up!''|Megatron puts a new twist on [[Roll out|an old saying]]|"[[Megatron Rising - Part 2]]"}}

{{quote|The AllSpark is mine, and cybertron will tremble at my feet.|Megatron's tech spec motto}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Corey Burton]] (English), [[Jan Spitzer]] (German)

[[Image:Megatron Cybertron.jpg|left|thumb|Pointier than thou.]] Eons ago, Megatron led the Decepticons in their war against the Autobots for control of Cybertron and freedom from Autobot tyranny. However, the Autobots under [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] had two major advantages: They possessed the [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]], giving them an infinite supply of energy, and they had exclusive [[space bridge]] technology, allowing them to move about the galaxy more easily. However, Megatron's forces continued to fight on until the Autobots sent the AllSpark through the space bridge to random coordinates. Realizing that the AllSpark was the key to defeating the Autobots, Megatron abandoned the Cybertron theater and began searching the galaxy aboard his massive flagship, the ''[[Nemesis (Animated)|Nemesis]]''. However, some Decepticons continued to fight on against the Autobots.

[[Image:TFA TARO Decepticons attention.JPG|175px|thumb|He's not planning on shaking Prime's hand...he's going to tear it off.]] Four million years later, Megatron's crew discovered a [[Autobot ship (Animated)|small Autobot repair vessel]] after detecting the [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]]. When [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] volunteered to attack, Megatron saw his ambitions all too clearly, and pointedly remarked that he wasn't about to let four million solar cycles of searching for the AllSpark end with Starscream getting his greasy wings on it. No, Megatron would strike the Autobot ship and take the AllSpark himself. Just prior to his departure, Starscream approached him again, ostensibly to wish him luck, but actually to place an overload device on his leader's back. This device went off just as Megatron's fusion cannon was about to breach the hull of the Autobots' ship. The Autobot crew managed to steer the now-failing ship through an asteroid field and into a nearby [[space bridge]].

With the ship now plummeting through the Earth's atmosphere, a wounded Megatron still managed to thrash the crew soundly and nearly claimed the AllSpark. Quick thinking on the part of [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] sent the Decepticon leader out the cargo hatch and into free fall. Megatron [[Megatron (Movie)|fell from the sky]] and crashed in Paw Paw, Michigan, where his head (and later, a hand) was found by a young [[Isaac Sumdac]].

Over the next fifty years, Sumdac built a robotics empire by reverse-engineering Megatron's components, while, Megatron's inert head remained secretly in Sumdac's private lab, the source of the human's engineering genius and also a secret shame. Megatron's severed hand was there as well, used by Sumdac as a piece of furniture. {{storylink|Transform and Roll Out!}}

[[Image:AniMegsHead-TransformAndRollout.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Hey Megatron, don't lose your... oh.]] After the Autobots re-awoke, [[Sari Sumdac|Sari]] used her [[AllSpark Key]] to sneak into her father's lab. He stopped her from seeing anything it contained, but the AllSpark energy from the Key was absorbed by Megatron's head, reawakening his spark and bringing him back online. Confused and disoriented, he automatically brought up video footage of Starscream and the Autobots, footage in which Starscream admitted to his treachery. Furious both at Starscream's betrayal and the fact he didn't have the hands to reach out and take the AllSpark which was finally within his grasp, he released a burst of energy which activated a small drone Dr. Sumdac had been working on. Megatron thus realized he could control the extremely primitive (by his standards) technology around him. Learning Sari was going to spend the night at the Autobot base, he secreted his drone into her backpack. Once she arrived, Megatron sent the drone to look for the AllSpark, but his search was fruitless. He decided to try a simpler method: Kill the Autobots and extract the data from their lifeless corpses. Interfacing with the factory's assembly line, he attacked. As the Autobots fought back, he decided to cut out the middleman and knocked a hole in a fuel tank. [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] realized the factory was working via motion sensors and managed to get close to the control panel. To counter him, Megatron simply took over the factory arms and snatched up Prowl. However, he failed to stop [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]], due to the primitive tools he was forced to use. With his plans foiled, Megatron was out of patience, refusing to work through these worthless proxy machines. He needed a body, which meant it was time to provide some more advanced technology to Sumdac... {{storylink|Home Is Where the Spark Is}}

Megatron soon revealed to Isaac that he still functioned and, when Isaac guessed he was a friend of the Autobots, Megatron played along. He persuaded Isaac to keep his existence secret until Isaac had built him a new body, as then the Autobots would be more forgiving of how Isaac had reverse-engineered their friend. Megatron then helped construct the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]], deliberately programming them to go on a rampage and building fire-breath into them as a prototype for a planned army of drones. When they were defeated, Megatron despaired he might never gain a new body, but upon discovering they'd been turned into sentient Transformers, he quickly convinced them that cars, trucks and "[[Autobot|car robots]]" were evil beings that ate the fossil fuels supposedly derived from dinosaurs.

During their second rampage, Isaac realized Megatron had deliberately built weapons into the Dinobots. The tyrant feigned shame, saying he'd added experimental features out of a desire to have a body again. Isaac promised not to tell the Autobots and that Megatron would have a body again one day... {{storylink|Blast from the Past}}

Soon, Dr. Sumdac began attempting to build him some new servos, but these proved inadequate. Megatron revealed that his body would need
[[Destronium]] to work, but Isaac responded there was only a small amount available and that it would have to be delivered across town in less than 10 minutes or it would become unstable. Taking notice of an experimental turbo suit Sumdac's labs were developing (with flaws that possibly precluded Isaac considering it as a solution), Megatron manipulated computer systems so the suit was delivered to small-time hood [[Nanosec|Nino Sexton]]. Once Sexton began using the suit to commit crimes too quickly to be stopped, Megatron contacted him with an offer of much money out of Dr. Sumdac's private account if Sexton used the suit to steal and deliver the Destronium. Between Autobot interference and the suit aging him prematurely, Sexton failed. Worse, the Destronium was energized to a critical level, risking an explosion that would destroy [[Detroit]]. The Autobots barely managed to send the Destronium sample into the upper atmosphere before it exploded, and they were left to wonder why a human had tried to steal it in the first place. {{storylink|Nanosec (episode)|Nanosec}}

After Megatron learned of the power of the AllSpark Key and the careless nature in which she used it, he attempted to trick her into assisting him. He designed [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]], a musical toy that was secretly meant to grow more powerful every time Sari used the Key upon it, until eventually it would be a suitable robotic body for Megatron himself. When the Key instead brought Soundwave to independent life, Megatron changed his plan and, with convincing logic, recruited Soundwave as a Decepticon warrior. {{storylink|Sound and Fury}}

When [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] and [[Lugnut]] arrived on Earth, Megatron, remembering Starscream's betrayal, was hesitant to act. After witnessing a battle between his soldiers and the Autobots, Megatron concluded that Blitzwing was too unstable, but Lugnut was genuinely loyal. He contacted Lugnut only, instructing him to locate the AllSpark, which would help restore him. Later, he also informed Lugnut about the Key. Unfortunately, Lugnut and Blitzwing were defeated and damaged by the Autobots, severing Lugnut's link with Megatron—and Megatron's only link to the outside world. {{storylink|Lost and Found (episode)|Lost and Found}}

[[Image:Sumdac megatron%27s body.jpg|200px|thumb|Yeah, it's a fixer-upper.]]
Although Megatron himself was not mentally involved, his headless body was infected with [[space barnacles]], causing the barnacles to mutate into a semi-sentient form. After absorbing two mining bots and attacking a [[Sparkplug (Animated human)|miner]], it was defeated by Bumblebee and Prowl. Later, the body was discovered (minus space barnacles) by Isaac Sumdac and most likely brought back to his laboratory. Sumdac remarked that Megatron would be ''very'' pleased with the find... {{storylink|Nature Calls}}

[[Image:MegRisingRebuilt.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Don't call it a comeback; I've been here for years.]] Sumdac attempted to rebuild Megatron, but progress was slowed by a power failure. Frustrated, Megatron again contacted Lugnut and ordered him to bring him the AllSpark Key. This communication triggered Starscream's curiosity, and the treacherous jet located Megatron. Starscream didn't have time to <s>finish his speech</s> slay Megatron before he was distracted by the Autobots—and Megatron used that distraction to take Starscream by surprise and eject him from the lab. When Blitzwing and Lugnut arrived with the Key, Megatron revealed his true identity to his human "friend". Sumdac, seized by the mechanical hand he had so long used as a chair, could only watch and wail in horror as the Decepticon tyrant used the power of the AllSpark to reconstruct himself, more powerful than ever. Finally restored, he burst through the roof of [[Sumdac Tower]], to the horror of the Autobots and Starscream, ready to unleash his vengeance on all of them. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 1}}

[[Image:PayThePiper.JPG|200px|thumb|"Will anyone else attempt to fill his shoes?"]] Megatron's revenge was quick and brutal. Trashing the Autobots in short order, he called his Decepticons to him. As Starscream bootlicked, Megatron powered up his fusion cannon to destroy the one responsible for his defeat—then used the AllSpark Key to send a painful power surge through Starscream, extinguishing the traitor's spark and reinforcing his authority over Blitzwing and Lugnut. He commanded them to "transform and rise up," and the three Decepticons took to the sky, using the Key to track the AllSpark.

[[Image:Megatron Rising 2 All Spark Megs boom.jpg|left|200px|thumb|This is not good...]] Finding it aboard the Autobots' ship, the Decepticons caused the ship to crash on [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]], where Megatron proceeded to beat the [[Slag (slang)|slag]] out of Optimus Prime. Getting into the ship, Megatron removed the AllSpark from its casing and placed it in his chest, preparing to devastate Earth before conquering Cybertron. However, Professor Sumdac used his knowledge of Megatron's circuitry to disrupt his equilibrium sensors, causing Megatron to drop the AllSpark Key. Optimus Prime used the Key to force a surge of power through the AllSpark within Megatron, causing it to explode and disperse its energy.

And yet, it was not a total loss for Megatron; despite the damage, he escaped and managed to abduct Sumdac. Once again, their fates were intertwined, only this time Sumdac was Megatron's prisoner. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 2}}

Establishing a base deep underground in a mine, Megatron quickly adjusted his plans after the loss of the AllSpark. During his battle aboard the Autobot ship, he had managed to download a partial [[space bridge]] schematic from their computers. He planned to use the space bridge to teleport himself, Lugnut, and Blitzwing to Cybertron, then conquer the planet from within. To facilitate this plan, Megatron used the captive Professor Sumdac to reverse-engineer the space bridge and fill in the "gaps" within the schematics. However, when a service bot suddenly malfunctioned, it was revealed that a shard of the AllSpark was embedded within it. This gave Megatron hope that the AllSpark was not destroyed, but dispersed throughout the city of Detroit. {{storylink|The Elite Guard}}

[[Image:Swordscream.JPG|200px|thumb|Yes, Starscream, and we'll keep doing it until you get it right!]] Finding out about the AllSpark fragments, however, didn't seem to result in any changes in his plans. Megatron received word from a spy that the Decepticons had begun making random assaults on the Autobots. He realized that they needed to make a concentrated effort in order to secure his victory. He had Lugnut and Blitzwing steal a tachyon transmitter from the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]] so he could send his message, but was interrupted during his transmission by a revived Starscream. After quickly beating him to a pulp, Megatron relayed his commands to the spacefaring 'Cons, only to be repeatedly attacked by a seemingly invincible Starscream. The renegade even attempted to draw Megatron out with an AllSpark fragment. Megatron emerged victorious every time and was informed by his spy that all was going as planned: With his [[Decepticon Uprisings|forces now drawing the Autobots away from Cybertron]], Megatron could attack a weakened Cybertron from within as soon as his space bridge was completed. {{storylink|Mission Accomplished}}

Later, while at the Decepticon base, Lugnut detected an AllSpark energy signal emanating from Detroit. Megatron quickly dispatched Lugnut to retrieve the AllSpark shard before the Autobots could. Lugnut proceeded to praise his master's "grand and glorious plan", but Megatron, fed up with the adulation to the point of involuntary optic-twitching, curtly commanded his enforcer to get going. {{storylink|Garbage In, Garbage Out}}

[[Image:RiseoftheConstructicons-Megatron%27sprivateblend.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Gentlemen, to evil.]] When Lugnut and Blitzwing brought the [[Constructicons (Animated)|Constructobots]] back to base, Megatron saw the advantage of keeping them alive, and he invited them to have a look at his space bridge schematics. Impressed by their knowledge, he decided to put them to work stealing supplies. After an encounter with [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]], the Constructobots became convinced of "the funny guy's" less-than-noble intentions, and they returned to the mine to confront him. Megatron calmly slammed them both against a rock face and asked them to explain. He feigned shock and brought them in to discuss things over his own private oil blend. Megatron showed himself to be a bit of an oil connoisseur, possessing stylish little goblets for it made of twisted oil drums, as well as a secret stash of top-quality oil and a chamber to drink it in. Megatron spoke of the glories they could achieve as Constructicons: the adulation, the statues in their honor...the barrels of oil they could down. Ever the shrewd worker, it didn't take much for him to convince them to join up, and he promptly sent them to the Autobot base to retrieve the AllSpark fragments. {{storylink|Rise of the Constructicons}}

[[Image:Rise Constructicons Megatron what.jpg|200px|thumb|Constructicons say WHAAAAAT?]] When Starscream escaped from the Elite Guard's ship, Megatron received [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]]'s alert to the Autobots thanks to the stolen tachyon transmitter. Megatron had placed a bounty on the traitor, and [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] (with the unknowing aid of Prowl) pretty much took the opportunity to bring him to the Decepticon leader. Lockdown contacted Megatron to confirm that he had captured a purple-ish "Starscream" (who was acting quite odd and cowardly) and agreed to meet at an abandoned warehouse for the exchange. As "Starscream" was brought to Megatron, Prowl, who was hiding on a rafter high above, accidentally scuffed a small bolt, which grabbed the Decepticons' attention. Not too long after, the Autobots appeared with another, different-colored Starscream. Megatron intercepted Lockdown's escape and announced confusedly that no one was to leave until they found out which was the true Starscream. However, it turned out that both Starscreams were clones with bombs in their [[spark]] chambers designed to destroy Megatron and the Autobots in one go. Quickly thinking up a plan, Megatron and the other Decepticons transformed and escaped forcibly through the ceiling. However, Prowl used the upgrades given to him by Lockdown to send the [[Starscream clone|clones]] into the air, not too far from the fleeing Decepticons, when the bombs exploded. It is unknown if they were wounded, but Megatron later raised the bounty on Starscream—insisting on the ''real'' one this time. {{storylink|A Fistful of Energon}}

He was later contacted by [[Swindle (Animated)|Swindle]], who attempted to sell him a new weapon. Nothing came of this, as Swindle was defeated before the deal could be closed. {{storylink|SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy}} Megatron also made some ''"secret"'' transmissions to his [[Shockwave (Animated)|double agent]] on Cybertron in order to settle his new plans for the coming Autobot-Decepticon war. {{storylink|Autoboot Camp}}

[[Image:TFA ABTC1 Megatron Sumdac Hostage.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Did I tell you about the time I killed the cult leader?"]] Megatron's plans finally seemed on the verge of fruition when Sumdac and the Constructicons completed the space bridge. However, some vital technical aspects made it inoperable. In order to remedy this, Megatron contacted Shockwave to learn who was Cybertron's leading [[Space bridge technician]], which turned out to be the Autobot Bulkhead. Not wishing to leave Doctor Sumdac alone to sabotage the Constructicons' efforts, Megatron took him along as a hostage while he went to capture Bulkhead. Once he had the big Autobot in custody, Megatron threatened to use the [[Headmaster (Animated)|Headmaster]] unit on him if he didn't help make the space bridge operational. To Megatron's satisfaction, Bulkhead agreed and finished the project. Just as the machine was activated, both the Autobots and Starscream and his clone army attacked. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part I}}

The three-way free-for-all ironically forced Megatron and Optimus Prime to team up temporarily, but this quickly ended when Megatron used Prime's body as a shield against one of Starscream's clone's attacks. Despite putting up a decent resistance, Megatron was overwhelmed and held down by two of the Starscream clones. As the original Starscream gloated, he was head-jacked by Isaac Sumdac in the Headmaster unit. Sumdac prepared to fight Megatron himself, but Megatron simply used his strength to throw the two Starscream clones at him, knocking off the Headmaster unit and proving himself the victor. With Starscream incapacitated, the clones sided with Megatron. He then made his own victory speech to his soldiers, declaring he would send Optimus Prime through the bridge to test it. However, the Autobots got some [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|reinforcements]]. Megatron quickly ordered the majority of his forces to deal with this new menace while the Constructicons cleared the space bridge area of rubble. Grabbing Optimus, Megatron threw him into the portal, but was frustrated when Prowl freed his leader in the nick of time, at which point the bridge shut down. Bulkhead declared the power source wasn't strong enough to maintain the link for long, so Megatron grabbed Starscream's AllSpark-powered head to maintain the gateway. However, this provided too much power, sending the space bridge portal out of control. An enraged Megatron decided to terminate Optimus Prime, only for Optimus to slap [[stasis cuffs]] on him, causing him to lose his grip and fall into the portal.

[[Image:TFA ABTC2 Megatron Screamer End.jpg|200px|thumb|"Stop staring at me!"]] With the overload having deleted the space bridge's receiving coordinates, the defeated Megatron was transported to some unknown sector of space. Still immobilized by the stasis cuffs, Megatron's only companion was now Starscream's head, which a cruel twist of Fate had deposited right next to him. Forced to remain face to face with his traitorous ex-lieutenant, Megatron could only trade verbal blows. A most cruel fate, indeed. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part II}}

After their bickering subsided, Starscream began trying to free Megatron from the stasis cuffs, but having no body was a hinderance. Megatron was only freed when Starscream revealed a previously unseen weapon from his mouth. Before their could react, Omega Supreme appeared, offline. Getting aboard him, Megatron was captured by Omega, but was able to convince the simple processor possessing behemoth to take him to Cybertron to face a war crimes tribunal. However, Omega Supreme's attempt to transwarp to Cybertron left them somewhere else in space, but did drain Omega for the time being. Initially disgusted that he was trapped aboard the cause of the Decepticons defeat, as well without his weapons and only Starscream for company, Megatron soon realized that if he could reprogram Omega to serve him, he would be a great advantage.

Managing to hotwire the Autobot with the stasis cuffs and Starscream's AllSpark charged head, Megatron contacted Shockwave to give him a status report on the Earth space bridge. However, the situation was worse than Megatron realized: not only was the space bridge network shut down, but the Earth Autobots could expose Shockwave at any moment. Although Omega Supreme provided an advantage that could end both problems, Megatron decided that the space bridge invasion plan was a failure, and issued a fleet wide stand down order. Heading to Earth, Megatron attempted to use Omega to destroy the Autobots (even though he couldn't remember their names). However, Prowl and Optimus Prime managed to board Omega and sever Megatron's control over him. Unfortunately, Starscream managed to gain control over Omega Supreme, capturing Megatron again. Ever the manipulator, Megatron convinced Starscream that his time would be better spent conquering Cybertron. However, the Autobots managed to install the [[plasmadynamic thruster]] from Megatron's space bridge into Omega Supreme, sending Omega and the two Decepticons aboard warping through space randomly. {{storylink|TransWarped}}

[[Image:TFAni Decepticon Air Lugnut Megatron.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Don't you just hate it when fanboys keep following you?]]
Later, as Lugnut was floating through space following his half-successful escape from the Elite Guard flagship, Omega Supreme transwarped to directly in front of him and he smashed into the bridge window. When Starscream asked Megatron if they were picking up hitchhickers, Megatron simply slapped his head of its position. That was for asking stupid questions.. {{storylink|Decepticon Air}}

Soon thereafter, Megatron gained control of Omega Supreme's transforming mechanism, and by detaching the plasmadynamic thruster was also able to direct their transwarp jumps; however, he could not get the weapons online without the proper access codes. Megatron brought the ship to Cybertron, where they could do little but float helplessly in the air; Megatron reasoned--correctly--that the Autobots would not dare fire on their own most famous weapon (though [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel "Magnus"]] sure wanted to). Megatron ordered Shockwave to hurry up his search for the access codes; once Shockwave successfully abducted Arcee and boarded the ship, they transwarped into Earth orbit right before Sentinel opened fire. Megatron welcomed Shockwave aboard as his "most loyal" servant, to the great concern of Lugnut.{{storylink|This Is Why I Hate Machines}}

Now on the moon, Megatron commanded Shockwave to extract the access codes from Arcee's mind. When Starscream re-attached his head to another clone body, Megatron pursued him and destroyed all the remaining clones, teasing Starscream for having always thought on a small scale. Megatron's ultimate plans for the protoforms aboard the ''Nemesis'' was to use them to create his own clone fleet of Omega Supremes--based on the personality template of his ''truly'' most loyal minion, Lugnut. That part of the plan went just fine, but Shockwave was still unable to get Arcee to do his bidding--perhaps because although she was fooled by his Longarm Prime persona, she saw the evil Megatron standing right behind him and refused to cooperate. After a few technical bypasses put Lugnut in mental command of the "[[Lugnut Supreme]]" fleet, Megatron ordered his new weapons to test their skills by destroying the Earthbound Autobots.{{storylink|Endgame, Part I}}

Observing from within one of the Lugnut Supremes, Megatron's first target for destruction was his former prison, Sumdac Tower. But when the tower's forcefield proved impenetrable and Optimus Prime was able to destroy one of the Lugnut Supremes and severely damage the other two by using the [[Magnus Hammer]], Megatron settled on a new plan: destroying everything that wasn't him. He flew cover over the advancing Lugnut Supremes, directly engaging Optimus Prime (at first mistaken for [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]], then dismissed as a [[knockoff|"cheap imitation"]]) so Prime would not again be able to use the Magnus Hammer on the giants. As their combat raged on, Megatron was at last able to remember Optimus Prime's name, to Prime's bitter enjoyment. The two were later trapped within a prison of Allspark energy--meant to seal in the timebomb that Starscream had secretly placed in one of the Lugnut Supremes--and Megatron reasoned that even if he himself had to die, he could at least kill Prime first. But Prowl's ghost was having none of that, and Megatron soon found himself left alone to be blown up. Though massively damaged, he survived this and turned to attack the Autobots once more. He was quickly defeated by Optimus Prime, and when Megatron then invited Prime to kill him, Prime retorted that that would be "the easy way out," which Megatron did not deserve. Megatron was placed in [[stasis cuffs]] and arrested, then brought back to Cybertron and displayed as a prisoner before the cheering Autobot masses.{{storylink|Endgame, Part II}}

===Titan Magazines===

[[Image:MegatronTitan23.jpg|right|180px|thumb|"NIXON'S BAAACK!"]]

Apart from showing interest in the activities of [[Quake-Maker]] {{storylink|Animated Comic issue 1|Burnout!}}, Megatron seemed idle... but what the Autobots were unaware of was that he'd constructed a Spark-less drone unit, [[Afterburn]], as a prototype of a future army, and then sent Afterburn off to spy on the Autobots.

He not only received repeated communications from his spy, but gained directions to the Autobot base! Megatron entered with explosive results {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 23|Divebomb}} and then ''killed'' Afterburn while rubbing [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee's]] nose in it. He proceeded to summon the other Decepticons and thrash most of the Autobots with ease, making some really bad puns along the way, only stopped when [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] secretly got him buried under a crane. Starscream then "saved" him, making Megatron think he'd turned over a new leaf and thus giving him temporary command until he got better. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 24|Megatron's Revenge}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
===Animated===
[[Image:TFAnimated Deluxe BattleBegins Megatron toy.jpg|250px|thumb|SPAAAACE ROOOAAACH!]]
*'''Optimus Prime vs. Megatron: The Battle Begins''' (Entertainment Pack, 2008)
**''Accessories'': Missile

: Transforms into a sleek spacecraft with, er, VTOL turbofans (presumably designed to show some lineage with his eventual helicopter mode. It's best if you don't think about it too hard). Megatron's signature fusion cannon forms the central chassis and cockpit section of the spacecraft (officially, a "Fusion Fighter"); his sword sections mount on the sides of the cannon for storage, though the blade is unremovable and effectively useless. Like the [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Prime]] figure he comes with, he features a punching gimmick, having a spring-loaded waist that snaps back when twisted. Unfortunately, Megatron's balljoint hips and the swivel joints between his thighs and knees are rather loose, making it difficult to pose the figure in such a way that he stands on his own. The figure features a silver color scheme and battle damage paint applications.

:The design makes it tricky to tell which end of his Fusion Fighter is the front and which is the back.

:This toy was also released in a 2-pack with Prowl as a Wal*Mart [[exclusive]] (see below).

:If you want to be pedantic about it, the battle implied by the battle-pack pairing is technically a timeline impossibility, insofar as it depicts Cybertron Mode Megatron versus Earth Mode Optimus. It is also [[Scale|scaled]] incorrectly, as Megatron was shown as being notably larger than Optimus in ''[[Transform and Roll Out!]]''

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/BattleBeginsMegatron/megatron.htm More information on "The Battle Begins" Megatron at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|VoyagerCybMode}}

[[Image:Animated megatron voyager.jpg|250px|thumb|Curse you, Earth's atmosphere!]]
*'''CYBERTRON Mode Megatron''' (Voyager, 2008)
**''Accessories'': Missile

: A larger, bulkier, more detailed, and more gimmick-laden iteration of the same character design used in the deluxe-scaled versus pack toy. Note that while both modes of both toys look very similar, they have different transformation mechanisms and are not a simple upscaling/downscaling of each other. Where the deluxe version is straight silver, this version has a pearl-gray paint scheme. The figure features an [[automorph]] gimmick in the chest, which closes like a clamshell in transforming to robot mode. A second automorph gimmick is built into the energon blades on the cannon, swinging them into place to form a polearm. Red translucent plastic is heavily used throughout the figure, including in the light piping for the head and the missile for the spring-loaded cannon. Even his ''fingers'' are made of energon, it seems.

:This toy apparently had a safety modification done late on in the design process (late enough that it doesn't show up on the instructions), possibly as a result of drop test failure. The strut that holds his fusion cannon has been reinforced, and as a result, his cannon cannot be mounted flush against his arm.

:As with the smaller figure above, it's not obvious exactly what end is the front of his spaceship mode. Neither orientation really matches up to the version seen in the show, which had the fusion cannon mounted in a way that's impossible with both toys.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/VoyagerMegatron/megatron.htm More information on Cybertron Mode Megatron at TFU.info]''
{{-}}{{anchor|Leader}}

[[Image:Animated megatron leader.jpg|250px|thumb|"I kill you till you're dead!"]]
*'''Megatron''' (Leader, 2008)
**''Accessories'' Missile, 2 rotor-swords

: Megatron's "Earth" robot mode bears a significant resemblance to Generation 1 [[Megatron (G1)#The Battlestars|Super Megatron]] from the ''Battlestars'' storyline, and thus, in turn, to his original G1 body. His alt-mode is a dual-rotored helicopter design, somewhat like an [[Incinerator (Movie)|Osprey]] [[Obsidian|helicopter]] or the [[Cobra]] Mamba. Its rotors form double-bladed swords. The fusion cannon is attached to the left arm out of the box, but it can be detached and put on either arm. It has wheels for use in vehicle mode, and if it is removed, then (undocumented) landing gear can be deployed to make up for the loss. Interestingly, it seems the alt-mode was originally intended to allow for the removal of the cannon without removal of the bottom half of the fuselage. With a fair amount of force the cannon can be popped off (and will reattach), but the cannon mount/fuselage lower half does not provide the front landing gear with sufficient clearance to fully extend. The toy has a [[Gimmick|voice chip]], activated by pressing the Decepticon symbol on his chest. If used in robot mode it says one of three quotes: "Crush the Autobots!", "Where is the AllSpark?", and (glorious) evil laughter. In helicopter mode it makes the sound of the rotors warming up, spinning, and powering down. When the cockpit is moved during transformation the classic G1/Animated [[Transformation#The noise|transformation noise]] is heard. It is compatible with the [[Headmaster (Animated)|Headmaster]] toy, but it does not change his quotes.

: The instructions leave a couple of things out. First, the shoulders should be pushed backwards/upwards for vehicle mode. This lowers the wings down and aligns the front of the engines with the back. Second, the barrel of the cannon can be rotated 180 degrees (at a separate pivot from the one at its base) for robot mode, to better match how it looks in the cartoon, with the red stripes facing his arm. Considering how padded the instructions are to mask the relatively simple transformation (two whole steps just to move the rear landing gear), leaving all this out is quite a feat. Bad Hasbro.

:There is no doubt whatsoever as to which end is the front and which is the back of his vehicle mode.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/Megatron/megatron.htm More information on Leader Megatron at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|McDonalds}}

*'''Megatron''' (McDonald's Happy Meal Toys, 2008)

:This is a very simple representation of Megatron in his Earth form. It transforms by rotating the head, lying face down and flipping the arms onto the back. The robot mode seems to have taken priority in the design process, since the vehicle mode looks like his robot mode lying down. Megatron does not come with his signature arm cannon.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/McMegatron/megatron.htm More information on McDonald's Megatron at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|Activator}}

[[Image:Megatronanimatedactivator.jpg|250px|thumb|"Transform and shrink down!"]]
*'''Megatron''' (Activators, 2008)

:Part of the fourth wave of [[Activators]], this version of Megatron is a very simplified, roughly-Basic-sized version of his Earth mode. His spring-loaded transformation from vehicle to robot mode is activated by a single switch on the back of his copter mode.

:Despite having a cannon on the bottom of his vehicle mode, he does not possess one on either arm in robot mode.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/ActMegatron/megatron.htm More information on Activators Megatron at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|ShadowBlade}}

[[Image:SBAniMegs..jpg|200px|thumb|I defy the Unicron Trilogy. Defy it, I say!]]
*'''Shadow Blade Megatron''' (Leader, 2008)

: A [[Black repaint|black]], grey and purple redeco of Megatron's leader class mold with a slight remolding to the tail... that's NOT called [[Megatron (Armada) toys|Galvatron]]. YeabuhWHA?

:Surprisingly for a Hasbro produced redeco, Shadow Blade Megatron is cast entirely in black plastic with the exception of his translucent parts.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2009/Decepticon/SBMegatron/megatron.htm More information on Shadow Blade Megatron at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

==Notes==
[[Image:AnimatedMegatronMovieHat.jpg|150px|thumb|They moonlight as lawn darts.]]
* Megatron's pre-Earth head has a rather pointed resemblance to the somewhat early head of 2007 movie's [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], which went unused in the actual movie but appeared on loads of promotional materials and merchandise. Also in common with Movie Megatron, ''Animated'' Megatron lay inert for many years while his technology was [[Sector Seven|reverse-engineered by humans]].

* He is, additionally, [[Megatron (BW)|not the only Megatron]] to spend time as [[Grand Mal|a giant, disembodied head]].

* Megatron's cannon makes the same sound as his [[Megatron (G1)|Generation 1 counterpart]]'s weapon, except with additional effects mixed in to make it actually sound like a laser cannon.

[[Image:AnimatedMegatronAltmode.jpg|150px|thumb|[[Show-accuracy]] be damned!]]
* Megatron's outer space alt mode, shown for all of 20 seconds, has ''two'' toy molds devoted to it. Though these "Cybertron mode" toys resemble each other, neither looks anything like the alt mode of the pre-Earth Megatron seen on the show.

* Megatron is the only one of the original 5 Decepticons in ''Animated'' actually to have a Cybertronian vehicle mode design. Although the others have different robot mode kibble before they scan their Earth modes, none of them had an alt-mode created. Having a toy helps. (This is in contrast to the Autobots, who all had Cybertronian-modes designed for them from the start, even if we didn't see them in the first episode.)

* Sumdac found Megatron's head intact in its original Cybertronian mode. The head housed in his lab, however, is essentially a damaged version of his Earth-mode head. Presumably, this change is the result of Sumdac's destructive tinkering and research over the fifty years Megatron was in stasis lock.

* Early images of Megatron's Earth body had slight differences from the finished product, most notably the lack of a fusion cannon and the presence of a katana instead of his twin swords.

* According to [[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac|The Allspark Almanac]], Megatron's Earth mode cockpit seats five.

[[Category:Animated characters]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Engineers]]

Swindle (Animated)

2009-09-13T17:03:19Z

71.125.149.224:

{{faction|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Swindle}}
:''Swindle is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Swindleanimated.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"Ladies and gentlebots, I'm going to show you the greatest upgrade ever made. The SwindleCo™ Blast-o-Matic™ can blast your enemies to julienne fries with all the precision and quality you've come to expect from a SwindleCo™ product. But wait, there's more!"]]

Quick, hide the silver! An entrepreneur with few equals, the smooth-talking '''Swindle''' is always ready to make a deal. Trading extensively with many alien races and loaded down with their respective technologies, his goods are highly useful to interstellar warlords, bounty hunters, and many, many others. Though nominally a Decepticon, he just views the Cybertronian civil war as yet another business opportunity, one which has kept him living posh for centuries and could be great for his bottom line again now that it's starting back up.

{{quote|Scruples? You'd sell your own motherboard to the highest bidder.|[[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] scoffs at Swindle's spiel|"[[SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy]]"}}

{{quote|Hey man. Wanna buy a plasma cannon, cheap?|Swindle's tech spec motto}}
==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
{{note|Events from [[IDW Publishing]] comics are in italics.}}
:''Voice actor:'' [[Fred Willard]] (English), [[Dieter Memel]] (German)

''While [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] was negotiating with [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]], he was interrupted by [[Lugnut]], who was incensed that his comrade-in-arms would deal with bounty-hunting scum. Finding himself outgunned in this fight, Blitzwing was ''extremely'' lucky to find that Swindle had chosen that moment to pay a visit to the base on [[New Kaon]]. Providing the Triple Changer with enhanced weaponry (and a convenient payment plan), Swindle watched as the fight escalated. Each time, he was more than happy to provide each side with ever-increasing hardware, up to and including planetbuster weaponry. So much for New Kaon. Once the pair of Decepticons found out that Swindle was arming ''both'' of them, they took things up with customer service, leaving Swindle a fair bit worse for wear. But, he took it in stride. After all, the customer is always right.'' {{storylink|Everything Must Go}}

[[Image:Swindle and weapon.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"What would you say if I told you that you don't have to fight Autobots? You'd say I'm crazy, right? That I'm out of my head? Well that is exactly what I'm telling you about this amazing product from SwindleCo™!"]]

Swindle found out about the situation on [[Earth]] after a little business transaction with Lockdown. Upon his arrival, he made a deal with the newly formed [[Society of Ultimate Villainy]]: they'd steal components he needed, and he'd give them monetary compensation. He set the arrangement up anonymously, communicating with them through the radio in their new getaway vehicle, a present of sorts that he'd provided. When they had stolen the parts, he had them construct a generator. Sadly, the deal went sour when he asked [[Slo-Mo]] to hand over her AllSpark-powered timepiece. She refused, and he let them in on his little secret: He ''was'' the getaway vehicle.

[[Image:TFASwindlefullyarmed.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"That's not all, though! If you order right now, I am offering this exclusive accessory package, compliments of the good folks here at SwindleCo™!"]]

He dispatched most of the SUV and used his force field (acquired in a deal with a race known as the [[Vok]] from [[Nexus Zero]], nice folks) to protect himself from Slo-Mo's watch. He took it from her and contacted his old client [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]. After a few pleasantries, he demonstrated the generator's ability to freeze everything mechanical in Detroit, including the [[Autobot|Autobots]]. Unfortunately, before the deal could go through, [[Bumblebee (Animated)|a shielded Autobot]] and the SUV burst in and managed to knock him over the side of the parking block on which he had stationed himself. While he managed to reacquire the watch, he was frozen in his vehicle mode when a blast ricocheted off of the Autobot's shield. He was last seen being towed by [[Captain Fanzone|the police]], who promised to strip apart the paralyzed Decepticon and sell his insides at a police auction. Bloody ''hell!'' ([[B.O.T. (episode)|The irony probably wasn't lost on him]].) {{storylink|SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy}}

Swindle was later "apprehended" by [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]]... in that Sentinel paid a fine to the Detroit police department and had the still-stuck-in-vehicle-mode Decepticon towed to the Autobot ship. {{storylink|Five Servos of Doom}} He and almost all of the Earth-based Decepticons were transported as prisoners back to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. {{storylink|Predacons Rising}}

Since Swindle was mode-locked and offline, the Elite Guard simply parked him in their ship's brig, not taking care to secure him. This proved to be a mistake when an energy storm in space revived him. Swindle freed the other Decepticons, waiving the usual service charge as a sign of good faith to friends of his "best customer" Megatron. Swindle was able to use the numerous gadgets and weapons inside his own [[subspace|personal storage dimension]] to re-arm the Decepticons and defeat the Elite Guard--as well as accessorizing the [[Starscream clone]]s so he could [[conehead|finally tell them apart]]. His [[Sonic Jammer 3000]] got them through the Elite Guard's alarms and into the main bridge, plus handily incapacitated [[Jetfire (Animated)|Jetfire]] and [[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]]. After [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]] and Sentinel fell, Swindle convinced [[Lugnut]] to spare their lives for now, as not only would the prisoners make good bargaining chips, but Elite Guard parts could make them enough credits on the black market to retire to a beach island on [[Nebulos]].

[[Image:TFAni Decepticon Air Swindle Optimus Hand.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Oh ''no''. Not ''again''.]]

Unfortunately for the Decepticons, Sentinel Prime had managed to get a [[Broken Lance|coded distress signal]] to Earth. The Earthbound Autobots were able to lock onto Swindle's private [[transwarp]] frequency and beam Optimus Prime right into Swindle's guts, giving them quite a surprise. Ordered by Lugnut to guard the prisoners while the rest chased after Optimus, Swindle instead took his time thoroughly looting the Elite Guard ship of as much valuable hardware as he could before making his getaway in an escape pod. {{storylink|Decepticon Air}}

{{quote|Guard the prisoners, or... loot the ship? It's a no-processor...er.|Swindle shows his true colors|"[[Decepticon Air]]"}}
{{--}}

==Travelogue==
{{quote|Now, at no extra charge, I'm willing to throw in these little items I picked up in a little excursion to the planet Dahros. By the way, if you should ever find yourself on Dahros, trust me, you do not want to visit the Northern hemisphere. The locals are surly, the service is lousy, and the energon is always watered down.|Swindle gives travel advice|"[[Everything Must Go]]"}}

Swindle travels extensively, to provide his customers spectacular bargains from the far corners of the universe. His trade route includes:

*[[Nexus Zero]], where the [[Vok]] manufacture superior force-field technology.
*The planet [[Andellor]], who make an excellent [[Anti-gravity gun|anti-gravity cannon]].
*[[Talos Four]], manufacturers of the [[triple crusher cannon]].
*The world of [[Torkulon]], source of the spectacular [[Torkulonian decompression pump|decompression pump]].
*The planet [[Darhos|Dahros]], which produces the amazing product that is [[glass gas]].
*[[Menonia]], source of the robotic panacea of "[[Menonian super glue|super glue]]".
*[[Quintessa]], where he picked up the fantastic [[Sonic Jammer 3000]] for a great price, as well as all the oil he could drink.
*[[Nebulos]], where the energon is exceptionally smooth, and one can retire to live the good life on a tropical island.
*[[Pz-Zazz]], where he visited the scenic fifth moon.
*[[Prysmos]], a future stop on his itinerary where he will trade with the [[Visionaries|Darkling Lords]].

He has also obtained, by unknown means:

*[[Omega bomb]]s, planet-busting weaponry presumably from the [[Quintesson]]s
*[[Nemesis Shield]]s to defend against said bombs, which are [[Mini-Con]] technology.

==Toys==
===Animated===
[[Image:SwindleDeluxe.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"Are you seeing this? Are you loving this? I'm so excited I could almost spring a leak."]]
*'''Swindle''' (Deluxe, 2008)
**''Accessories'': Large "[[Scatter blaster]]" gun, missile

: Part of the fifth wave of ''Animated'' Deluxes, Swindle transforms into an armored Humvee-styled vehicle with a roof-mounted cannon. This cannon mounts on his right arm in robot mode, and features a spring-loaded launching [[missile]]. The cannon also features an additional [[gimmick]]: when the missile is inserted into the cannon, the slits on the weapon change from a deep, clear purple (the same color used for the eyes, chest windows, upper arms and fingers) to a painted orange-red. He also features a flip-out Gatling gun in his midsection, as well as his twin over-shoulder double-blasters. The Gatling ''can'' be deployed in vehicle mode (and is even depicted on the cardback that way), but it rides so low that the front wheels won't touch the ground. Swindle's cartoon-accurate cat-like pupils are simulated by carefully placed air bubbles within the [[light-piping]] plastic.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2009/Decepticon/Swindle/swindle.htm More information on Swindle at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

==Notes==
* Swindle made his appearance because [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] lobbied ''hard'' for him to show up.<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/interviews-27/tfw2005-interviews-transformers-animated-story-editor-marty-isenberg-165509/ Interview with story editor Marty Isenberg]</ref>

* Swindle's design is quite heavily influenced by his [[Swindle (G1)|Generation 1 namesake]]'s animation [[character model]], from the "squarehead" with large, purple optics to the windshield-chest with grill-stomach to the right-arm-mounted cannon which can be mounted on the back of his vehicle mode. As a result, Swindle is the first of only [[Wasp|two]] Decepticons to not have red eyes in Animated.

* Swindle is a double-homage, as he also features a chest cannon that is quite similar to his [[Swindle (Movie)|movie namesake]]'s.

* He also makes a reference to ''Binaltech'' Swindle, who possessed a force field because his body was meant to be [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]]'s, but couldn't use it. This Swindle doesn't have that issue.

* He has a [[wikipedia:bolo tie|bolo tie]]. That's awesome.

* Swindle also possesses a chest compartment which is capable of storing many, many things, such as weapons, Seeker accessories, and even an [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|entire Autobot]]. Though, at first glance, this sounds virtually impossible, Swindle explains that he has a transwarp link to his own "personal storage dimension" within this compartment.

* Derrick J. Wyatt has noted that Swindle's mannerisms are based on [[wikipedia:Ron Popeil|Ron Popeil]]. In fact, in "Everything Must Go", Swindle even uses Ron's signature catch-phrase "Now, how much would you pay?", and in "Decepticon Air" he uses Ron's other catchphrase, "But wait, there's more!" (Coincidentally enough, [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] has done a song about Popeil...)

* Despite the two having never been seen together in the show, Swindle is apparently [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]]'s 'agent', by the latter's [[AllSpark Almanac|testimony.]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Animated characters]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Merchants]]

Wreck-Gar (Animated)

2009-09-13T16:59:50Z

71.125.149.224:

{{factions|autobot|decepticon}}
{{disambig2|the garbage truck from ''Transformers Animated''|the Junkion from Generation 1|Wreck-Gar (G1)}}
:''Wreck-Gar is a very confused individual from the [[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Wreck-garanimatedpoint.jpg|right|360px|thumb|Put down that chainsaw and listen to me!]]
Recently brought to life by the power of the [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]], '''Wreck-Gar''' is simple-minded and highly suggestible. As he attempts to learn more about his identity, he never loses his sense of humor. His trash bin is an impressive bag of tricks, able to stash and deploy many useful (and even more useless) items at a moment's notice, or make them seemingly disappear forever. This ability is a bit of a mixed blessing, as Wreck-Gar will frequently confuse your request with something that sounds vaguely similar.

Wreck-Gar's primary goal in life is to acquire an identity. Additionally, he is eager to help people and be liked. He will automatically take on whatever role is suggested to him. This makes him rather unpredictable and prone to making the wrong move at the wrong time. However, if he can learn to think for himself instead of relying on others, there's potential in this friendly mix-and-match bot.

{{bigquote|I am Wreck-Gar! I am only good for one thing... '''GARBAGE!'''|Wreck-Gar cheerily takes [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] at his word, "[[Garbage In, Garbage Out]]"}}

{{quote|Anything I can do to help?|Wreck-Gar's tech spec motto}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [["Weird Al" Yankovic|"Weird Al" Yankovic]] (English), [[Joachim Kaps]] (German)

[[Image:Wreck-garisgoodforonlyonething.jpg|left|180px|thumb|OKAY I CAN HEAR YOU NOW!]]

Wreck-Gar emerged from a garbage scow, activated by a shard of [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]] energy that was close to [[Sari Sumdac]]'s [[AllSpark Key]], self-aware but with no sense of history or identity. He tried to figure out what he was by studying objects in his environment and was briefly tricked by a food label into thinking he was high-fructose corn syrup. Spying a blimp proclaiming the [[Detroit]] Metro Police Department was "here to help", Wreck-Gar went off in search of the police for help. Once ashore, Wreck-Gar's clumsy curiosity prevented police officers from apprehending the [[Angry Archer]], and the villain quickly conscripted Wreck-Gar as a sidekick, even giving the confused mechanoid his new, shorter name (as "worthless-''wreck''-walking-pile-of-''gar''bage" was a bit overlong). Wreck-Gar helped the Archer disable an armored car, allowing him to steal a canister of unknown content right in front of the [[Autobot]]s [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] and [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]].

Upon seeing the Autobots and overhearing that they protected life and caught bad guys, Wreck-Gar decided he wanted to do that, slapped an [[Insignia|Autobrand]] on his chest, and chased the escaping Archer. Throwing the Archer high into the air in order to "catch" him, Wreck-Gar only got the canister, as the Archer used a grappling arrow to escape. After being harshly told by Ratchet he was only good for one thing, ''GARBAGE!'', Wreck-Gar proudly declared he was good for only one thing—''GARBAGE!''—and set about trying to deliver the stinky stuff to the entire citizenry of Detroit. (Detroit just happened to be in the middle of a garbage strike as well. Hooray!) The Autobots gave chase, having discovered the canister Wreck-Gar held contained experimental [[Sumdac Systems]] garbage-eating microbots, which Ratchet worried would be dangerously mutated by Wreck-Gar's AllSpark energy.

[[Image:Wreck-garanimatedvehicle.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Buy some sensible shoes and a Chevrolet!]]

This mission became much more dangerous when he was approached by [[Lugnut]], who was out to retrieve the AllSpark shard from Wreck-Gar's body. Thanks to Wreck-Gar's habit of repeating everything said to him (specifically, Ratchet's proclamation that "you're not an Autobot, and you never ''will be'' an Autobot!"), Lugnut believed the newcomer was just as much a loyal [[Decepticon]] as himself. When Ratchet accosted Wreck-Gar, Lugnut prepared his [[Punch of Kill Everything]], which Wreck-Gar took to mean the [[universal greeting]], so he gave Lugnut a high-five that left a colossal impact crater. As the Autobots ran for it, Wreck-Gar hopped on the pursuing Lugnut, pulling out the now-cracked microbot canister he'd gotten. A small amount spilled on Lugnut and began eating through his tail section. Wreck-Gar helpfully disassembled the tail, sending Lugnut plummeting somewhere in Detroit, with himself and the tail landing in a full garbage scow, which the nanobots quickly began to consume. From the shore, a group of bystanders began cheering as they saw the scow's load diminish. Now supplied with a fresh load of garbage and mistaking the cheers as intended for his delivery of said garbage, Wreck-Gar pushed the scow full steam ahead.

Wreck-Gar's attempt to deliver it was impeded by Ratchet, who first screamed at the junk-bot that the nanobots would destroy the entire city should they reach shore, but Wreck-Gar was adamant. Ratchet then did the hardest thing he'd ever had to do: ''apologize'' for his insults and bad attitude. Ratchet told the now-even-more-confused robot that he could be whatever he wanted and to not let others decide for him who he was. Wreck-Gar decided he truly wanted to be a hero, and slapping the Autobot symbol on his chest once again, began vacuuming up the nanobots. The nanobots began to overload within his backpack, however, and as Wreck-Gar tumbled off of what was left of the scow, he cried out his thank-you to Ratchet. An explosion of AllSpark energy burst from the water, and all Ratchet's magnetic power could retrieve was random junk...

And, at the bottom of the lake, Wreck-Gar smiled to himself, a hero. Despite being buried up to his shoulders, he assured the fish passing by he was there to help...but first...could somebody give him a hand or a fin? {{storylink|Garbage In, Garbage Out}}

[[Image:Wreck Gar Polka Party.jpg|thumb|180px|left|You better squeeze all the Charmin you can, when Mr. Whipple's not around!]]

Eventually roused from his lakebed slumber by the crude raft of Sari Sumdac's [[Scrapper (Animated)|ragtag]] [[Snarl (Animated)|crew]], he joined the [[Substitute Autobot]]s to help liberate Detroit from the grip of [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]]. A bit less befuddled than in previous encounters, he proved (mostly) effective in aiding Sari in battle, only being defeated once Soundwave was able to focus his attentions solely on controlling [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]]. Afterward, he enthusiastically pitched in on the cleanup efforts, collecting the scraps of hundreds of [[Porter C. Powell]]'s damaged Soundwave toys.

[[Image:TFAni_Human_Error_Part2_Wreck-Gar_Merry_Trashmas.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The sleigh bells are ringing and the carolers are singing while the air raid sirens blare!]]

He even got into the [[Christmas|holiday]] spirit a bit, playing Santa and handing out garbage to all the good little girls and boys. {{storylink|Human Error, Part II}}

{{-}}

==Toys==
===Animated===
[[Image:Wreckgaranimatedvoyager.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Ya gotta buy one if you wanna get one free!]]
*'''Wreck-Gar''' (Voyager, 2008)
**''Accessories'': 2 scissor-blade weapons

: Wreck-Gar transforms into a garbage truck with articulated lifting-forks. Pushing a small spring-loaded lever on the back of either of the lifting forks will extend the fork forward. The sliding lever on the top of the truck exposes both of his weapons from slots in the rear. These blade- or scissor-like weapons can attach to his forearms, or combine into a single bladed weapon which can also attach to either of his forearms. (Don't run with them!) His [[Shellformer|transformation]] involves pulling nearly his entire robot mode out from under the truck mode, meaning he wears his vehicle mode like a backpack. However, you don't care because Wreck-Gar is awesome (and it's show-accurate).

:According to the back of his box, he collects things others throw out, watches more TV than even Bumblebee, and believes everything he reads on the internet. How he manages to watch TV and browse the internet ''at the bottom of a river'' is unknown, but this is still awesome.

:Rather annoyingly, a number of Wreck-Gars have a problem with their right shoulders that causes the pin to move out of its position when the shoulder is moved during transformation. It is currently unknown if this would eventually cause the pin to pop out completely.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2009/Autobot/Wreck-Gar/wreck-gar.htm More information on Wreck-Gar at TFU.info]''

==Notes==
* Originally, the creators wanted [[Eric Idle]] to play Wreck-Gar, as he was the original voice for his [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Generation 1 namesake]]. As Idle was busy with the production of ''Spamalot'', Weird Al was selected instead.

* Wreck-Gar's head is an old-fashioned portable TV set, complete with channel selection dials, aerial and a handle for transport. As art director/character designer [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] has admitted to being heavily influenced by [[wikipedia:Gainax|Gainax]] shows, this may well be a visual cue to [[wikipedia:FLCL|FLCL]], along with the resemblance to the original Wreck-Gar's head and his "TV talk" persona.

* Wreck-Gar's line "I ''dare'' to be stupid!" is something of a double-callout, as the Weird Al song "[[Dare to Be Stupid]]" was featured in the original [[The Transformers: The Movie|''Transformers'' movie]] during the battle against the [[Junkion]]s, and Wreck-Gar himself is voiced by Al.

* Then, of course, there's the accordion in one of the above images. Al himself has been an accordion player since the age of 7.

* ''Transformers Animated'' story editor [[Marty Isenberg]] stated in an interview that the idea of a garbage bin that Wreck-Gar can pull anything out of was inspired by Harpo Marx.<ref>[http://www.cvcomics.com/artandstory/?p=242 CVComics.com's Art & Story 68 audio interview with Marty Isenberg.]</ref>

* Among the things that Wreck-Gar throws at Ratchet and Bumblebee when they meet is a motorcycle resembling the alt mode of the original Wreck-Gar.

* Weird Al stated in a Q&A at BotCon '09 that Wreck-Gar ended up working with Detroit's sanitation committee. Sounds like he's living the American dream!

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Animated characters]]
[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]