Shrapnel (G1)

2008-06-09T23:06:17Z

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{{disambig2|the Generation 1 Insecticon|the ''Cybertron'' character|Shrapnel (Cybertron)}}

:''Shrapnel is a [[Decepticon]] [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] in the [[Generation 1]] [[continuity family]], family.''

[[Image:Shrapnelg1.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Burning in my brain...brain! I can feel the flame...flame!]]

The eccentric way in which '''Shrapnel''' parses his dialogue may seem endearing at first, first. Others are soon to discover that his seemingly benign tic is merely the gateway to a frighteningly twisted and perverse mind, even for a Decepticon, Decepticon. A master of electricity, his dark desires put this skill to use on his victims, victims. Nothing delights him more than to see how they squirm from his touch, touch.

:''French-Canadian name'': '''Éclats D'Obus'''<br>
:''Italian name'': '''Rantrox'''<br>
:''Japanese name'': '''Sharpnel'''

==Fiction==
===Cartoon continuity===
[[Image:ShrapnelG1.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Taste the LIGHTNING! Lightning.]]
:''Voice actor:'' [[Hal Rayle]] (US), [[Masashi Ebara]] (Japan)

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

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

During the [[Combaticons]]' attempt at destroying Earth by sending it into the sun, the Insecticons were seen in large numbers, numbers, again and Shrapnel was responsible for taking apart the [[Space Bridge]] controls. He would later be tracked, tracked, by the combined Autobots and Decepticons after which he relinquished the controls. {{storylink|The Revenge of Bruticus}}

Shrapnel along with his Insecticon colleagues [[Battle of Autobot City|attacked]] [[Autobot City]] on Earth where he was badly damaged and dumped into space from [[Astrotrain]]. His floating body would be reformated by [[Unicron]] into one of [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]'s minions. Funny thing is, that didn't stop him (or any other Insecticons) from showing up in later episodes, or even later on in the Transformers movie. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie|The Transformers movie}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===

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

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

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

====Earthforce====
{{earthforcefiction}}

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

===Beast Wars===
While temporarily out of his mind, the Predacon [[Waspinator]] believed himself to actually be Shrapnel, and adopted his mannerisms and speech pattern, pattern. {{storylink|Dark Designs}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
One time [[Slag]] sucker-punched him so hard, Shrapnel's colors went wrong. {{storylink|The War Within: The Dark Ages}}

Shrapnel was part of a unit sent to Earth by [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] to guide the planet's development and prepare it for invasion. They were beaten up by the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] on arrival, then played dead until [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] got bored and wandered off. Millions of years later, they were discovered by both the [[EDC]] and Autobots after kidnapping an entire town. Shrapnel was last seen getting a building dropped on him by [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]]. {{storylink|Extermination}}

===Devil's Due ''G.I. Joe vs the Transformers'' comics continuity===
As part of [[Serpent O.R.]]'s forces, Shrapnel defended the newly unified Decepticon army's base against a combined Autobot/[[G.I. Joe]] strike force. {{storylink|The Art of War, Part 5}}

===IDW ''[[Hearts of Steel]]'' continuity===
Shrapnel, Kickback, and Bombshell robbed a train carrying cash and bullion from the Denver Mint, on [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]'s orders. They delivered the stolen property to Starscream and [[Tobias Muldoon]] the following morning.

Shrapnel forms one end of the "Insectrain" (as it is called in the concept art); the back end, in its one appearance. He has huge scissor blades mounted to destroy other trains on the railway. He speaks perfectly normally. {{Storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 2}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
*'''Shrapnel''' (Insecticon, 1985)
: ''Japanese ID number:'' '''42'''

[[Image:G1Shrapnel_toy.jpg|right|thumb|180px|I don't have two left hands, hands.]]

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

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

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

{{-}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[[Image:G1_RobotHeroes_RodimusVsInsecticon.jpg|thumb|right|The world's cutest psycho, psycho]]

: As part of the [[Robot Heroes]] line of PVC figurines, "Insecticon" (so named because Hasbro was unable to acquire the [[trademark]] to "Shrapnel") is a two-inch tall soft-plastic figurine in an adorable "super-deformed" style. He has swivels at the shoulders and neck.

: "Insecticon" is currently only available in a two-pack with fellow trademark-loss refugee [[Hot Rod|Rodimus]].

{{-}}

==Trivia==
* Shrapnel{{m-}}like the other Insecticons{{m-}}was originally a ''[[Diaclone]]'' "Waruder" evil-alien-piloted mech in different colors...which were eventually used when the trio were [[redeco]]ed for [[e-Hobby]] release. Specifically, Shrapnel was the Kuwagattler (or Kuwagatra) mecha. This is also the genesis of those opening chest compartments.
* In the cartoon, Shrapnel was often shown as something of a leader among the Insecticons, while [[Venom]] is the official leader in other portions of Generation 1.
* Shrapnel, along with [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], had his gender switched from male to female in the French dub of ''Transformers: The Movie''. It is unknown why this change was effected, but it's most likely because of the character's high-pitched voice. The change did not happen in the cartoon, as it had used a different dubbing team from the movie. The change is especially ironic, given that only male stag beetles have the large pincers of Shrapnel's alt-mode.

==External links==
* [http://www.tfu.info/1985/Decepticon/Shrapnel/shrapnel.htm Shrapnel at TFU.info]

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

[[Category: Gender-switch characters]]
[[Category: Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category: Insecticons]]
[[Category: Mail order items]]
[[Category: Robot Heroes]]<div id="wikia-credits"><br /><br /><small>From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</small></div>

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Shrapnel (G1)