Gnaw (G1)

This article is about . For other uses of "Gnaw", see Gnaw (disambiguation)|The name or term "Gnaw" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Gnaw (disambiguation).}}
Gnaw is a Sharkticon from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Too cute for the Decepticons, too spikey for the Autobots, and expendable by Quintesson standards, a young Gnaw's sense of rejection gave way to overeating.

Though he originated as just another Sharkticon, Gnaw seems to be loyal only to the one who fed him last, be they Quintesson, Decepticon, or even Autobot. Much like his kin, he is insatiable in appetite and savage in combat. Gnaw's "masters" don't so much give him orders as they do unleash him like a caged tornado that promptly eats its way through the battlefield in a feeding frenzy.

And yet, Gnaw has on occasion shown glimpses of heart and devotion. He has been known to watch over the Autobot Wheelie and seems genuinely loyal to the youngster regardless of suppertime frequency. Gnaw tends to snap at the fingers of any other robot, however.

Fiction

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Dreamwave Generation One continuity

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"Oh, anyone get the number of that truck that ran me over?"

During the Great Shutdown, the Quintessons sent swarms of Sharkticons to Cybertron for an unknown purpose, possibly to infiltrate and reconquer the planet. Some of them encountered the revived Shockwave and Scourge, Unicron's chief agent. Cold War Gnaw was damaged, presumably in battle with these two, and was abandoned on Cybertron when the other Sharkticons were called home. Following the great revival, an amnesiac Gnaw came across the young Autobot named Wheelie, and the two formed a strong bond. Gnaw later followed Wheelie in joining the resistance movement alongside Hot Rod, Kup, and several others. Passive Aggression

Down in one of the tunnels that make up the Old Slave Trails, he saved Optimus Prime from the Battlechargers in his own... unique style (Tastes great! Less filling!). Cold War Gnaw took Prime to his resistance group, but when Prime awoke, his first sight was Gnaw, who he thought was trying to eat him, and attacked. Wheelie took this poorly, and bit Prime's foot. Obviously the little guy and the Sharkticon had been hanging around each other for too long. Passive Aggression Once the misunderstanding had been dealt with, Gnaw was present to witness Optimus Prime unite the Autobot resistance and lead it against Shockwave. Countdown to Extinction He was last seen working with Wheelie under Ultra Magnus's command on Cybertron, being assigned perimeter guard duty in anticipation of whatever threat might endanger Cybertron next. The Route of All Evil

Generation One ceased publication before the story could conclude. The following would have taken place in unpublished issues.

After accompanying Hot Rod to visit Optimus while he was still off-line and recovering, Gnaw and Wheelie witness their friend being accosted by a group of female Autobots. Gnaw leaped into action to help Hot Rod, but was quickly beaten down. Generation 1 #11

Beast Wars: Uprising

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Gnaw was a Sharkticon picked up on Arkus by Dead-End to keep as a pet. Aboard Dead-End's ship, the Dinosaur, Gnaw was kept in the liquid coolant systems as a secret, where she occasionally visited and sneaked him food over time. Gnaw proved useful when the proto-former crew mutinied against the Builder command structure. Dead-End needed to shut down the higher brain functions of the ship, which was actually the cityformer Trypticon. She unleashed Gnaw to keep the Brunt tank drone busy long enough to deactivate Trypticon and stop him from killing them.

After Trypticon crashed on the planet LGC-8803, the crew retrofitted him as a new colony, Dinosaur City. Gnaw and Dead-End remained behind on the colony as other members of the crew returned to Cybertron. Intersectionality

Games

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Transformers Legends

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Gnaw was among the Decepticons who aided Galvatron after his rebirth in Unicron's maw, but their assault on the Autobots failed when they were defeated by Rodimus's forces. All Hail Galvatron

Transformers Rising

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{{#ifeq: ||}}{{#ifeq: |File|}}Grimlock's New Brain

Transformers: Earth Wars

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I bite the hand that feeds because that hand is tasty.

Gnaw’s loyalty is conditional rather than fixed, determined entirely by whoever most recently provided him with sustenance. Unlike typical Sharkticons, who are universally hostile, he can be temporarily aligned through this simple incentive. In combat, he functions as a highly destructive force, driven by both aggression and an unending appetite. Once directed, he can be unleashed with minimal control, relying on instinct and brute force to overwhelm targets. However, if an opposing force offers energon, Gnaw will readily switch sides without hesitation.Gnaw Bio

Both the Autobots and the Decepticons recruited a Sharkticon by tuning a Gnaw Crystal to lock onto his signal. He began munching on the Space Bridge he just came through, and Ironhide/Bludgeon tried unsuccessfully to extract him. Bumblebee/Shockwave figured out they could tame him with Energon snacks. He was then later assigned to work with Seaspray/Octopunch. Transformers: Earth Wars

On the Autobot side, Seaspray named the new Sharkticon Gnaw, after considering "Gnasher"™ and "Bite Me". Blaster picked up a Decepti-comm on the coast, and so Seapsray and Gnaw went to invesitigate.

On the Decepticon side, Gnaw went with Octopunch to one of Earth's oceans, waiting to ambush an Autobot. Gnaw didn't seem interested in Octopunch's explanation. ("Nuff, Yaff", he said). Seaspray eventually arrived, but Gnaw leapt out too soon, and Seaspray had enough Energon goodies to make him turn on Octopunch. Gnaw Decepticon Research

  • Added: July 22, 2016
  • Class: Special
  • Star Ratings: 2-5 stars
  • Weapons: Gnaw breathes acid on buildings to soften them up before eating.
  • Ability: Chomp Chomp Chomp - Gnaw calls in four Sharkticon buddies. However, using this ability when Sharkticons are already active will cause them to explode, damaging friend and foe alike.
  • Level 11 Bonus: Ability summons 2 additional Sharkticons.
    • Cost: 4 ability points +3 for reuses.
  • Compatible C.O.M.B.A.Ts:
    • Companion
    • Melee


Gnaw at Transformers: Earth Wars Wiki

Transformers Roleplaying Game

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Gnaw was once an ordinary Sharkticon, but chose to rebel against the hierarchy and join the Predacons. Decepticon Directive

Toys

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The Transformers

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Been hitting the energon goodies too much, have we?
  • Gnaw (Sharkticon, 1986)
  • Takara name: Sharktron (シャークトロン)
  • Takara release date: ?? 1987 and ?? 1988
  • Accessories: tail/mace, maceration laser
  • Known designers: Floro Dery (concept artist){{#if: |, {{{2}}}}}
Gnaw transforms into a rotund, squat-limbed, shark-like monster with chromed chompers. His beast mode tail becomes a mace weapon for robot mode and is also the most frequently missing piece from many Gnaws on the secondary market.
There is a minor production variation in the beast mode legs/robot arms; some have two screws holding the light-gray calf/forearms together, while other have three screws. Exciting, we know. Some releases of Gnaw also came with one of four pieces to a The Transformers: The Movie poster with glow-in-the-dark elements, advertising the Decipher the Decepticon contest.
Though the toy is labeled as "Gnaw", it can be considered either the individual character or one of the countless others of its type. Because of its fictional appearance as mass armies, it is one of the few original-line army builder toys, though it is costly to use it for that purpose.
In the United States, Gnaw's toy shipped as part of the Predacon case assortment. In Japan, Gnaw was not available as part of the normal retail assortment, despite its semi-prominent fictional appearance. At first, it was a mail-away contest prize in the first wave of the Beastformers spin-off line in 1987, requiring mailing in five filled-in survey forms from Beastformers toys for a chance to win. It was later made available in limited quantities as a mail-away in 1988, by which time the toyline consisted of the Super-God Masterforce line-up. Rather than any sort of Japanese-original packaging, the figure simply shipped in Hasbro packaging, with only a couple of additional stickers identifying it as a "limited" Japanese market version and a separate set of instructions in Japanese that identify the toy as "Sharktron".

Titans Return

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Commence Army Building!
  • Gnaw (Legends Class, 2016)
  • Accessories: tail/mace
  • Known designers: John Warden (Hasbro){{#if: |, {{{2}}}}}
Part of the third wave of Titans Return Legends Class toys, Gnaw transforms once again into a squat-limbed, shark-like monster. He comes with a mace accessory, which can be wielded by his 5mm hands, or plug onto his beast mode butt as his tail.
Like all other new-mold Titans Returns Legends toys, he has a riding compartment for Titan Masters (and Prime Masters)... but this one is inside his mouth. Yes, you read that right.
He was redecoed to make two different generic Sharkticons, first in Transformers Legends as "Sharktron", and later in the War for Cybertron Trilogy series as a the only Sharkticon in the "Quintesson Pit of Judgement" box set.
He's extremely short for a humanoid Legends Class figure, coming up to the shoulders of most other robot modes.

Studio Series

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"How many would you like to buy?"
"Yes."
  • Gnaw (Deluxe Class, 2021)
  • Movie: The Transformers: The Movie
  • Hasbro ID number: 86-08
  • TakaraTomy ID number: SS-70
  • TakaraTomy release date: November 27, 2021
  • Accessories: tail mace, fin sword, blaster, "Mockery of Justice" backdrop
  • Known designers: Evan Brooks (Hasbro), Shogo Hasui (TakaraTomy){{#if: |, {{{2}}}}}
Released to commemorate the 35th anniversary of The Transformers: The Movie, Studio Series Gnaw is mostly accurate to the Sharkticons' general appearance in the original cartoon, though he has circular dents where the antennae should be. His tail-mace has a single swivel-joint at the base to give it a bit of articulation. His robot-mode blaster can attach to his beast mode's left side. Sadly, the gun barrel's end is not compatible with blast effects. His dorsal fin is attached by a simple 5 mm post, and can be removed and held as a knife, though Gnaw's cuffs cause some minor clearance issues.
Gnaw's backpack comes detached in the packaging, and Gnaw himself is set quite high in the box, with his head often humorously looking down into his chest.
Gnaw has the honor of being both the first Quintesson-aligned character released in Studio Series and the first toy of the character to not be labeled as a Decepticon. While this is a quintessential (hahaha) army-builder, designer Evan Brooks has stated that the figure is named Gnaw in reference to the original toy during its May 21 Fan First Friday reveal.<ref>May 21st, 2021 Fan First Friday</ref>
A lot of Gnaw's details appear to be heavily inspired by an older Marvel Productions model of the Sharkticon, which in turn, is one of two refinded variants of line art based on Floro Dery's original designs. The final model by Toei actually mirrors the Allicon models (also designed by Toei artists), in that they share the same poses, but aside from those differences the base details remain mostly the same.<ref>Toei Sharkticon robot mode models</ref><ref>Toei Sharkticon alternate mode models</ref> Additionally, the heads, shoulders and paint applications ressemble more of the final Toei models, therefore, making Gnaw a combination of both designs.
As with other Studio Series toys, the interior of the package forms a diorama display for the figure. In this case, it is the Dinobots' famous "self-invited" entrance at Hot Rod and Kup's execution.
In 2024, Gnaw was re-released in new packaging that was altered significantly in accordance with Hasbro's new plastic-free packaging approach. This packaging variant was released in the same wave as Concept Art Sunstreaker and Gamer Edition Sideswipe, and came with different UPC and EAN barcodes than the original version.


Merchandise

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Blokees

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Can't properly army-build if you get others instead, but hey.
You can find second-hand/opened-yet-unbuilt ones elsewhere.
  • Sharkticon (2025)
  • Series: Galaxy Version 08 - One Shall Fall
  • Accessories:: 2 pairs of hands (Item-holding, splayed open-palm), Maceration Laser
Part of the eighth wave of Blokees' Galaxy Version blindbox kits, this Sharkticon ―can also be represented as Gnaw himself― is a roughly 4-inch-tall version of the character, and it is built on a "Standard Body" skeleton shared with other Blokees figures in the line, but with different body pieces to make them distinct. As advertised in the box, the Sharkticon has a pull rate of 1 in every 9 boxes, or three times across four cases. Aside from the 2 pairs of hands, it comes with his own Maceration Laser gun. While the Sharkticon features an extra ball-jointed waist and a slide-down hip joint axis, it still utilizes the regular thigh parts and pre-assembled hinged elbow/knee joints, rather than the upgraded pieces.
Unlike the storage box modeled after its alternate mode, this Sharkticon is labeled as unaligned, as if he's still part of Unicron's group.
If you're a speed builder, be mindful when attaching the pre-assembled joints; Unlike the symmetrical joints from earlier waves, the pegs on both ends of these joints are designed to connect to specific pieces; The tabs with slightly smaller holes are intended for the upper arms and thighs, while the regular tabs are meant for the forearms and lower legs. While an incorrect knee joint assembly may cause it to very slightly lean when standing straight or in an A-stance, an incorrect elbow assembly won't be noticeably affected unless you're looking very closely.
Along with the rest of the wavemates, the Sharkticon/Gnaw is first revealed at Blokees' booth at the IBTE 2025 (Indonesia International Baby Products & Toys Expo) event.

Notes

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  • Leaked product listings for the Thrilling 30 subline of Generations included a "Gnaw & Gnash" entry, indicating that a new Legends Class toy of Gnaw was in the works prior to cancellation.<ref>Hasbro customer service listings breakdown by Monzo (Matthew Karpowich) on the Allspark Forums, 2013/11/01 (via the Internet Archive)</ref> It is unknown if this Thrilling 30 figure eventually evolved into the Titans Return Gnaw figure, or if the latter is a completely separate development.
  • Studio Series Gnaw having a blaster accessory is unusual for the scrupulously cartoon-accurate Studio Series '86, since none of the Sharkticons in the Generation 1 cartoon ever carried firearms.
    • This was acknowledged by Evan Brooks during the figure's Fan First Friday reveal, who stated that the blaster was included out of necessity to reference the original Generation 1 Gnaw toy.<ref>Evan Brooks on the May 21 Fan First Friday stated "He comes with the blaster that his G1 toy came with. Wasn't featured in the movie at all, but we just wanted to make sure it was included."</ref>

Foreign names

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  • Japanese: Gnaw (ノー Nō)
  • French: Fringalo (Canada)
  • Mandarin: Gāng Yá (钢牙, "Steel Teeth")

References

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<references />
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