Scorponok (Movie)

The name or term "Scorponok" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Scorponok (disambiguation).

Scorponok is a Decepticon from the Movie continuity family.

This is his first major role since Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie as Scorpitron. This role he likes better because he doesn't get blown up.

Scorponok is a small Transformer with a symbiotic connection to Blackout. Barely sentient, a very narrow term among the Decepticons, his main drives are to hunt, destroy, and hunt some more. Just as Blackout would often be found looming powerful and silent by Megatron, Scorponok is always near Blackout, except in those times he has been sent to kill. Since he can tunnel underground with frightening speed, he's incredibly good at ambushing. His favorite past time is playing Hide and Seek with unsuspecting players, be they robotic or organic. He prefers to be hider and seeker.

Fiction

Ghosts of Yesterday

He helped Blackout fight Optimus Prime, and later sabotaged the Ark. Ratchet makes Scorponok his bitch for this. He is saved by Blackout, who was still recovering from a massive beating by Starscream. What a pal.

Transformers Movie Prequel (Target)

Adorably bloodthirsty

Scorponok and Blackout, who ordinarily never leave Megatron's side, were dispatched to join Starscream's forces elsewhere on Cybertron while Megatron closed in on the All Spark. After the group realized that both the All Spark and Megatron have left Cybertron, Blackout ended an argument with Starscream over what to do next by deploying the fearsome Scorponok. The entire group headed to Earth, where Scorponok adorably helped out in the massacre of a United States military installation in Afghanistan. Transformers Movie Prequel (Target) Volume 2

Note: This comic has the only fictional depiction of Scorponok's robot mode (which was designed for the toy), and shows that he has always had a scorpion beast mode, and as such it was not a form he assumed once on Earth. However, given the numerous and often contradictory continuity errors in this comic, this depiction of Scorponok should be taken with a grain of salt. Although, his beast mode is just alien enough to work. Explain his name yourself.

Transformers: The Game

After Blackout scrapped the military base in Qatar, Scroponok was sent to destroy four mobile communications vehicles, succeeding in his task. Scorponok went and did his own thing while Blackout searched the databanks for information on Megatron and the AllSpark, but reunited with Blackout in time for their escape.

After arriving in Mission City, Scorponok fought through a horde of Energon drones to secure the AllSpark. Sam Witwicky nearly handed Scorponok the AllSpark, but Ironhide punted Scorponok. That made Blackout very mad...

Transformers (2007) movie

Oh, slag, I forgot the Bungee cord!

During Blackout's attack on US SOCCENT Forward Operations Base in Qatar, the Decepticon helicopter dispatched Scorponok to seek out and destroy the escaped unit under the command of Captain Lennox.

File:Movie Scorponok attack.jpg

No one buries Scorponok in the sand and leaves him to the tide!

The next morning, as the surviving soldiers discussed the attack, Scorponok observed their conversation from a distance while hidden in the sand. Targeting Lennox for elimination, Scorponok followed the unit as they made their way to the human boy's village. Choosing his moment to strike just as the men stopped on the outskirts of the settlement, his attack was foiled when Sergeant Epps saw the metal scorpion tail pointed at Lennox's back and shouted a warning. (Well, it wasn't so much a warning as it was a very, very panicked "WHOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" followed by gunfire, but hey, it counts.) The other soldiers joined in the firefight as Scorponok dove under the sand to confuse them before impaling Sgt. Donnelly and dragging him below.

HUUUGZ!!!

Driving the soldiers into the village, Scorponok fired a barrage of missiles which destroyed the ruins that the village had grown around and critically injured Figueroa. Unfortunately for Scorponok, Lennox's distress call to the Pentagon had gotten through, and an MQ-1 Predator drone relayed images of the Decepticon to astonished US military commanders. They immediately sent two A-10 Thunderbolt IIs to attack Scorponok to little effect, then followed up with an AC-130 Spectre gunship, which damaged Scorponok enough for him to dive back into the sand and escape, leaving his broken tail behind.

I'm not having fun any more.

Scorponok's tail was transported back to the States. Lennox, Epps, and several other soldiers examined it en route, which lead to the discovery that the only damage the armor didn't either shrug off or quickly heal was the "6000-degree magnesium burn" of a sabot round. Armed with this knowledge, the humans knew they now had a weapon that could hurt the invaders. Transformers (2007)

Scorponok's current whereabouts, and what effect the death of his symbiotic partner Blackout will have, are unknown.

Toys

Transformers (2007)

• Scorponok (Deluxe Class, 2007)

Japanese ID number: MD-04

File:Move DeluxeScorponok toy.jpg

Ever notice every Scorponok has the same transformation? Claws into claws, legs from the main body, tail sits behind, hoping to be ignored...

Scorponok is a robotic scorpion superficially resembling a Zoids Death Stinger. His body is covered in military warning and command designation markings, suggesting he forms part of a larger military vehicle (hint, hint). Two wheels on the bottom of his beast mode, when pushed on a flat, smooth surface, rotate gears that cause the turbines in his body and the pincers on his arms to spin. His tail features a spring-loaded, yet non-launching stinger that extends when a latch is released.

In beast mode, Scorponok can combine with the underside of Blackout's helicopter mode to exploit the larger Decepticon's own gear gimmick system. A geared shaft linked to Blackout's rotor mechanism connects to a geared peg on Scorponok's back. Thus, pressing the button on Blackout's tail not only rotates his blades, but also rotates Scorponok's pincers and the turbines in his body. Also, it causes Scorponok to fall off after a few seconds. (This can also be done with Evac due to him being a retool of Blackout.) This gimmick can also be activated (more easily) by rotating the geared wheels on Scorponok's undercarriage instead.

Scorponok can transform into what might be charitably called a robot mode, but was most likely added as an afterthought to the design for added play value (and, possibly, so Hasbro could actually justify selling the toy as a "Transformer" by itself). In any case, this robot mode never appears in the movie, but does appear briefly in the Target-exclusive movie Prequel comic.

• Blackout (Voyager Class, 2007)

Japanese ID number: MD-01

File:MiniScorponok.jpg

The itsy-bitsy scorponok climbed up the waterspout. Down came the foot and SQUASHED HIM!

Blackout comes packed with an extremely tiny, cheesy little white and silver figurine of Scorponok, who himself features a spring-loaded tail. He is usually stored in a cage on the rear of Blackout's helicopter mode that is incredibly difficult (if not impossible) to close. (Note: The spring in the figurine's tail is oriented not to spring the tail forward, but to help propel the figure out of the cage so that it lands right side up.)

• Decepticon Desert Attack (multi-pack, 2007)

Japanese ID number: SB-03

Ignoring the vast difference in scale between Scorponok's two figures while linked to Blackout takes some imagination.

This package, based on their first appearance in the film, features an unchanged Voyager Blackout packaged with an unchanged Deluxe Scorponok, which was exclusively available at Toys "R" Us stores. Since Voyager Blackout was gang-molded with the miniature Scorponok figure the single release came with, this means that the set contains two Scorponok toys in different sizes.

• Desert Attack (Screen Battles, 2007)

Scorponok now comes with little people to kill.

This pack features a Deluxe Scorponok repainted with 'sand' paint applications on his body and comes with non-posable figurines of Sergeant Epps, Jorge Figueroa and Sergeant Donnelly. They are packaged in a special window box featuring a diorama depicting the battle at Mahfous's village.

Attacktix

• Battle Masters Megatron and Scorponok (Battle Master set, 2007)

I am going to KILL Yukon Cornelius.

Merchandise

Robot Heroes

• Optimus Prime vs Scorponok (2007)

If this toy line is called "Robot Heroes" then what the heck is a decepticon doing in it?!?

Ripped straight from that scene they didn't appear together in (isn't bug-eyed scorpy sooooo cute?).

Trivia

• Real physical props of Scorponok's head and tail were made by ILM's crew for certain scenes, most notably Lennox and Epps' examination of the tail leftovers on the plane. The head prop was used in the close-up of Scorponok stalking the SOCCENT survivors.

Now I'm the Headmaster!

• According to writer Roberto Orci on the official Transformers Movie board, Ravage was originally going to appear in the movie (back when Blackout was still supposed to be Soundwave), but was later changed to Scorponok when the setting of the opening scene was changed from jungle to desert.

• This also puts the lack of a "robot mode" into perspective, as it makes the scorpion mode the robot mode (in the same fashion Ravage's panther mode was the robot mode), whereas his "alternate mode" is actually a part of Blackout's engine, as suggested by the Deluxe toy's various markings (which were also used for the CGI model and the life-sized props). Oddly enough, though, those same markings can also be found on props used for the scene which features the US Navy dumping the Decepticons' remains into the ocean. So either Scorponok reattached himself to Blackout after he escaped the US Air Force's counter-attack in Qatar (and was therefore part of Blackout during the final battle), or Blackout somehow magically regrew the parts that were previously made up by Scorponok.

• The movie novelization spells his name "Skorponok", probably yet another late production change. Meanwhile, in interviews, Michael Bay constantly refers to him as "Scorponox", and a preorder listing for the movie score uses the spelling "Skorpinok". Come on, people. It's not like his name's Mxyzptlk.

• Speaking of real, the famous shot of Scorponok leaping from the sand after a trio of soldiers used in a lot of the promos? Scorponok is the only element of CGI in that shot. The sand-explosion behind the soldiers is real, caused by carefully timed explosives placed under the dunes, which certainly must have encouraged the actors to run like hell--the looks of fear on their faces are 100% genuine. The overwhelming majority of explosions, flying cars, and broken buildings in the movie are similarly real effects, not CGI.

Footnotes

From Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki, a Wikia wiki.