Straxus (G1)

This subject of this article goes by multiple names that apply to other articles as well. See Straxus (disambiguation), Darkmount (disambiguation).

Straxus is a Decepticon from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Mercy is not dispensed here, fools, only Pez.

A ruthless, fearmongering dictator, Lord High Governor Straxus (aka Rollermaster and Darkmount) is a threat to all under his rule—including his own inner circle. From his throne in Darkmount, there are none in Polyhex who do not feel his crushing influence. Straxus's word is law, unbound by reason or facts, and can and will change from thought to thought. Do not try to appeal to his sense of pity; he has none.

A brutal powerhouse, he is more than able to enforce his policies, usually with a deadly blow from his battle axe. So terrible is Straxus that even Megatron gives the dictator his space, allowing the small-minded tyrant to terrorize his corner of the globe. Megatron may have designs on the galaxy, but in Polyhex, Straxus rules.

Mercy is not dispensed here, fools... only death!Straxus, "The Smelting Pool!"

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.

He's got a metal palm tree and he's not afraid to use it!

Following the assassination of the Decepticon warlord Trannis by the Autobot commando unit, the Wreckers, Straxus assumed his position as Decepticon leader on Cybertron. Cybertron: The Middle Years!

Straxus would oversee a horrifically brutal reign, having his men hunt down neutrals, Autobots, and the destitute so they could be melted down in smelting pools and their metal reused by the Decepticons. Even other Decepticons weren't safe from his brutality, with him battering his own Executive Officer Shrapnel when he was in a mood.

When a Decepticon transmission beamed from the planet Earth circa the Earth year 1985 reached Cybertron, Straxus immediately arranged for the capture of the scientist Spanner so that a space bridge between the worlds could be constructed. Attempting to locate Spanner, the Autobot spy Scrounge learned of this plot, but was captured by Shrapnel and brought before Straxus, who maliciously destroyed his unique recording-device arm before consigning him to death in the smelting pools. In turn, Blaster came searching for Scrounge (against orders), was captured and brought before Straxus, and sentenced to the pools. There he discovered the dying Scrounge, was given the information he had acquired, and escaped with the aid of his Autobot friends who had come looking for him (against orders). The Smelting Pool!

Yeah, but where does the axe go?

The space bridge was subsequently completed, but its earliest tests reduced Straxus to rage when a malfunction caused the death of Crosscut, and he sent another unfortunate to instant death in an attempt to figure out what had gone wrong. In an act of petty brutality, he threatened Shrapnel that he better sort the problem out soon because he was going to be sent to clear the rubbish off the Bridge! As the tests went on, an Autobot raiding party planted explosives within Darkmount, destroying it, and sending an enraged Straxus after their heads. With the bridge unattended, Blaster intended to destroy it, but was confronted by Straxus in a one-on-one duel. Crippling Blaster with his axe, Straxus was duped into accidentally severing the bridge's fuel line, destabilizing its teleporting arch, through which Blaster then kicked Straxus, destroying him. The Bridge to Nowhere!

Teletraan I, Rita's escaped, recruit a team of teenagers with attitude...no, er wait...

However, while Straxus's body was reduced to ash, his head was salvaged and placed in a life-support pod that allowed him to continue on in his position as leader. ...The Harder They Die! Soon after, when Megatron arrived on Cybertron, Straxus immediately set in motion a scheme to restore himself to life, calmly following Megatron's directions to hunt down Optimus Prime, who had arrived on the planet with him. Under Fire! Distant Thunder! After Prime carried out several successful raids alongside the Wreckers, Megatron began to grow more and more unstable, and Straxus more and more impatient with his deranged houseguest. Despite the warnings of his technicians as to the "unpredictability" of the machinery involved, Straxus made the final step, activating a device that would exchange his and Megatron's minds, giving him a body once more. Megatron resisted the transfer, however, leaving the two minds within Megatron's body, fighting for dominance, each one in control at a different moment. The other Decepticons, in particular Ratbat, soon noticed their leader's problems and began to scheme about how to handle it. When in battle with Prime and Ultra Magnus, Megatron prepared to unleash his destructive antimatter powers; in order to save the Polyhex Decepticon stronghold, Ratbat activated the space bridge, teleporting the three Transformers back to Earth. Resurrection!

This story is full of awesome Megatron moments and Straxus retroactively stole them all. He is evil!

Before this could occur, having failed to oust Megatron's mind, Straxus activated his contingency plan, "Project Re-Birth," and his consciousness fled into a body he had specially prepared—a duplicate of Megatron created from a "hapless trooper", complete with a copy of his brain patterns, beneath which Straxus's personality lay dormant. Two Megatrons! Upon hearing of the true Megatron's seeming death aboard the space bridge a short time later, the project technicians activated the clone, sending it to the sewers beneath London where it came into conflict with a small group of Autobots, Action Force and Centurion. Straxus's mind had yet to take over the clone at this point, and it genuinely believed itself to be the true Megatron, but it was soon dealt with when an oil tank explosion sent it and Centurion tumbling into the River Thames. Ancient Relics!

Some time later, seeking a weapon to use against the deranged future Decepticon Galvatron, Shockwave recovered the Megatron clone, also believing it to be the genuine article, only to find that "Megatron"'s mind had retreated into itself. Shockwave subjected the clone to the psycho-probe, intending to force "Megatron" to face his fears—but instead, Straxus emerged, intending to fight Megatron's fears for him and finally take control of the body. Megatron fought back, however, ripping the mental image of Straxus to pieces and finally taking over their shared mind. Salvage!

"NOW, WITNESS THE MOST POWERFUL SQUAT OF ALL TIME!"

After being thoroughly reprogrammed by Shockwave, this Megatron killed Cyclonus in a test run Dry Run! and then proceeded to battle Galvatron. He ceased his attack after hearing from the future Decepticon that: a) Starscream would throw him out a ship in 2006, and b) Galvatron would kill him. Amused and seeing the two had a lot in common, Megatron agreed to join him. Altered Image! He helped Galvatron battle Autobots of the present and future in the "Time Wars", massacring Wreckers and the Mayhem Attack Squad, but was soon put off by the growing madness and pointless destruction that his ally was causing. The Megatron clone opted instead to return to Cybertron. Time Wars

He was taken aback to find his homeworld so different from what he remembered it as; Autobots were wandering about, unafraid and undisturbed by the planet's Decepticon presence, even in Helex, the Decepticon capital. Vowing to retake control of Cybertron, Megatron quickly dispatched a would-be Autobot assassin and sought out those responsible for the Decepticons' sorry state. He discovered that their current commanders, Legonis, Octus and Seizer, were leading an idle life, enjoying gladiatorial battles while lounging about and drinking high-grade oil. The Triumvirate nearly goaded Megatron into attacking them in order to have their troops kill him in retaliation, but Megatron saw through their ruse. Growing desperate to rid themselves of the challenger, Seizer shoved Megatron down in the arena to have his gladiators deal with him, but once more Megatron retained his cool. With an eloquent speech, pointing out how far the Decepticons had fallen from their former glory, Megatron effortlessly dethroned the decadent ruling trio by turning their soldiers against them. The Triumvate was destroyed, and Megatron took control of the Decepticons on the planet once more... ruling confident in the knowledge he'd become Galvatron, and this time he'd do things right! The Fall and Rise of the Decepticon Empire.

No, no! Aim away from the face!

Soon, however, he began to suffer from nightmarish visions of the lives lived by both the trooper whose body became his, and of Straxus, just as the true Megatron—having recovered his memories after a period of wandering amensia in the Dead End—attacked his base. Mind Games The two Megatrons battled, with the true one revealed the clone's nature to him, and all at once, everything made sense to the clone. Along with this revelation, another immediately arose—Straxus's mental defeat was a sham, and he had been dwelling within the clone's mind all along, steadily growing in power as the clone weakened. Straxus made one final attempt to seize control of their mind, and the clone committed suicide, blowing his own head off with his fusion cannon, rather than allow Straxus to win. Two Megatrons!

It is possible that in the original un-altered pre-Time Wars timeline, the Straxus-Megatron clone may have been the Megatron transformed into Galvatron, but the shifting nature of the timelines makes this open to debate at best.

All very simple, isn't it?

The true nature of the Megatron clone was not revealed until the story which depicted his death. This was because, for all of the clone's other stories, he was regarded by characters, readers and writer Simon Furman as actually being the real Megatron, having survived his supposed death in the US comics. The US comics, however, continued to treat Megatron as pushing up daisies, so when Simon Furman took over writing that title and penned Megatron's return, he needed an explanation that would reconcile Megatron's continual appearances in the UK title with his lack of activity in the US. Relegating the Megatron of the UK comics to a clone was that explanation, revealed in UK-exclusive strips which ran concurrently with the reprints of Megatron's US return.

Trigger-Happy!

The madness that had gripped the Megatron clone for so long began to subside, as the full ramifications of meeting his future self dawned on him. Foreknowledge that he would one day become Galvatron emboldened Megatron, and left him believing that he was invincible until such events came to pass. He still had to contend with Scorponok's rogue faction however, though an opportunity to gain an upper hand against his rival soon presented itself. Megatron received word from Crankcase and Ruckus that they had acquired battle plans drafted by Scorponok, and set up a meeting to receive the documents. Though the messengers were nearly intercepted by an Autobot ambush, they evaded capture thanks to Backstreet botching the sting. Afterwards, Megatron learned that Backstreet had gone on the run from Autobot justice, and saw an opportunity to capitalize on the situation. Backstreet had accidentally endangered several humans before fleeing, and Megatron plotted to make the fugitive into a pariah; through him, humans might be led to believe that all Autobots meant them harm. Megatron would turn the locals against Optimus's forces, and eliminate them too once the Autobots had fallen. An altercation between Backstreet and a human military convoy only served to further Megatron's goals.

It was Spinister who eventually tracked down Backstreet, then squatting in an abandoned amusement park. Megatron ordered his troops to stand back so that he might approach Backstreet himself, and "recruit" him to the Decepticons. But upon his arrival, Megatron found that both Scoop and Spinister had disregarded his orders and were in the process of roughing up the Autobot. Outraged, Megatron tossed aside both his minions and ordered them away. Then, in his best attempt to appear sincere, Megatron extended a hand in friendship towards Backstreet, promising him protection and a privileged position in the Decepticon hierarchy. Despite Megatron's best efforts, Backstreet saw through his charade, and turned down the offer. Abandoning all attempts at subtlety, Megatron readied to strike Backstreet dead when Optimus Prime barged in on the scene.

Megatron ordered his troops to remain in position, declaring the honor of killing Prime to be his alone. He nearly succeeded in his attempt too, only for Backstreet to regain his senses upon hearing that his commander was willing to take him back despite his past mistakes. Megatron was knocked out, and only regained consciousness in time to see the Autobots slipping away. Trigger-Happy!

Marvel UK future timelines

The Megatron clone would terrify a young Hot Rod in 1990 by willingly risking the lives of loyal Decepticons to flush out a double-agent, and then muse it would've been easier to just murder everyone. Later, he would wage a Decepticon Civil War against Shockwave and Scorponok. Aspects of Evil!

He then become Galvatron by 2006 and, by not fleeing to Earth's past, conquered Cybertron! Well, it seems to be him, it's very confusing. If it was him, he then got stepped on by Unicron in 2010. Aspects of Evil!

Marvel Generation 2 comic

His weapon gets less threatening with each appearance.

Jhiaxus referred to Straxus as one of the petty, small-minded dictators he left in charge of Cybertron when he left to start the Cybertronian Empire. War Without End!

Classics

Decades after the death of Straxus, Blaster would tell of the evil Straxus to a mirror universe's good Straxus. Falling into Place

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

United EX

"GAH! Don't look at me that way!"

Somehow traveling across universes, Straxus inserted himself into the alternate universe's Decepticons led by Scrash, becoming part of the Master Chaos in his pursuit of new technology. With his new body, he gained the new identity of "Rollermaster" (ローラーマスター Rōrāmasutā) and the Targetmaster Spanner. United EX Straxus bio

Rollermaster revealed the existence of the Decepticon Master Chaos brigade to the Autobots when he attacked Choppermaster, who was training in the Swiss Alps. Rollermaster overrode the Autobot flyer's control of the PCC drones, achieving his own combination form. In the Blazing Alps

Rollermaster and Choppermaster fought to a standstill, but Combatmaster stepped in at the end and easily snatched up the drones from the wounded Autobot. Prelude to the Siege

Wars manga

Straxus eventually shed his Master Chaos identity and was appointed leader of a Decepticon force concentrated on Metrotitan, whose base mode he dubbed "Darkmount" after his old haunts. Straxus somehow acquired a rebuilt and comatose Ultra Megatron, who he attempted to brainwash with his technology. When the Decepticon Emperor resisted, Straxus noted that more of such would crumble Megatron's "diabolical nature". In the meantime, he led an attack on Scramble City, but the Decepticon forces fled when the Autobots showed the power of a newly-reborn Metroplex. Metrowars

Following the failure of this attack, Straxus worked on repairing the wounded Metrotitan whilst simultaneously manipulating his thoughts and emotions. Metrowars 2

Legends comic

Straxus's schemes were interrupted when Metroplex confronted him and asked him to give up on fighting, seeing as the recent discovery of the unlimited energy source nucleon made the Decepticons' thirst for energy pointless. Responding that his desire to conquer was unrelated to the war for energy, Straxus had Metrotitan attack Metroplex, but he was decisively defeated. Bonus Edition Vol. EX

IDW Generation 1 continuity

I may or may not be here in subsequent panels, depending on how the artist feels today.

Straxus of Yuss Post Hoc (not a "Lord") was part of the crew of the first Ark, which left Cybertron six million years ago. The ship was lost to the Dead Universe, and Straxus and his crewmates became the living dead, unable to survive in their home universe for long periods of time. Spotlight: Cyclonus Despite this, however, an erroneous account placed Straxus on Cybertron two million years later, working security at the Kaon Security Headquarters just prior to the outbreak of the Autobot/Decepticon war. Megatron Origin #4

In the present day, Nightbeat was abducted on Gorlam Prime, Straxus implanted a device in his brain that would make him a sleeper agent for the Dead Universe crew. Spotlight: Nightbeat

And yet, surprisingly few kitbashes from Cybertron Sideways...

After Cyclonus secured the Nega-Core and activated its guardian, Straxus initiated the Expansion with Nemesis Prime and the rest of the Dead Universe crew. Spotlight: Cyclonus

Later, Straxus attacked Earth with Grindcore. His job was to bombard the surface in his jet mode and then operate an energon drill while Grindcore set up a space bridge. Spotlight: Doubledealer

Straxus and Grindcore soon had to defend this site when an Autobot team led by Fortress Maximus stormed it, trying to prevent the Expansion. Sideswipe ended up holding off both of them at the same time while the other Autobots slipped by. The Benzuli Expanse anomaly was soon sealed off, and unable to survive without their connection to the Dead Universe, both Straxus and Grindcore simply... ceased functioning. Spotlight: Sideswipe

Universe toy bios

During Straxus's rule over Polyhex, he put a lowly, unknown warrior through an excruciating rebuilding process, tortuously reforging him into the very image of Optimus Prime. Through forcible data uploads and brainwashing, the Decepticon was imbued with memories and skills culled from many sources, giving him much of Optimus Prime's knowledge and combat algorithms. However, Straxus perished before he could complete this "Nemesis Prime", and his creation was left without a framework with which to process the mental injections. Straxus's legacy was this mad wraith haunting the back alleys of Cybertron, hunting down Autobots and Decepticons alike.

Wings Universe

...I was an unstoppable tyrannical warlord who answered to no one, once...

Straxus was one of a number of Decepticon Warlords who fought for territory in the early days of the Great War. With the threat of the Elite Guard, the Warlords formed a war council. During one meeting, they reviewed footage of the Elite Guard wiping out some of Megatron's men, and discussed ways of ridding themselves of the Elite Guard. At the next meeting of the council, Deathsaurus sent along his lieutenant, Falcon, with a box containing an important message. The message turned out to be a bomb, which killed the council members present. A Team Effort

United

A nano-virus that afflicted most Autobots save the Targetmasters and the Headmasters required Ricochet to lead a team to Nebulos for an anti-virus. However, the nano-virus was merely a ploy by the Decepticons to draw out the Targetmasters and Headmasters to abduct their Nebulan partners, so when the Autobots arrived on Nebulos, Straxus was waiting for them with a considerable army! His army quickly fell into disarray, unfortunately, when Straxus was singled out and defeated. He returned to his master to beg forgiveness. The Fierce Fighting on Planet Nebulos

Kre-O online manga

Straxus was part of a massive Decepticon invasion force intended to ruin the Autobots' picnic. However, Optimus Prime plowed through them with his truck and left them scattered... and then left. Returning to the scene after.. ahem, taking care of some pressing business, Optimus gathered up the still-wiped-out Kreons, bound them up on a flatbed trailer, and took them to the picnic. Emergency! Hurry to the Base, Optimus!

Transformers vs. G.I. Joe

Part of Megatron's inner circle, Straxus was present when Starscream delivered Bumblebee's head to the Decepticon leader. The Golden Boys He was giggling creepily to himself in a corner when Destro appeared before Megatron offering an alliance. Funeral for a Friend When the Decepticons withdrew from a battle without finishing the Autobots off, Straxus recognized that Megatron just wouldn't admit he'd sustained injuries in battle with Grimlock. Everybody Hates Metroplex

TransTech

When the Waruders caused a blackout in Axiom Nexus, a Kreon Straxus within the offworlder maximum security prison fought it out with his fellow inmates, particularly a Kreon Scrounge. Cybertron's Most Wanted

Ask Vector Prime

Pity the multiverse's Archforces, for Straxuses surgically altered them to look like Megatron. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/10

In Primax 092.0 Beta, Hyperdrive gathered as many Autobot survivors as he could and stormed Straxus's shipyards, commandeering the Iron Hope and setting back the Decepticons' space infrastructure by hundreds of stellar cycles. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/07/16

Of Masters and Mayhem

Straxus developed a mental conditioning program which Loudpedal and Oil Slick applied on Toxitron. The Toxic Transformer

e-HOBBY comics

A member of the heroic Primal Vanguard, Straxus was at one point saved from a Specter attack by Big Convoy, who shocked him by lending him the Matrix Sword to protect himself. Cybertron Blue Big Convoy prequel comic At some point he was joined by a second Straxus, the two being different in that one was a powerful brute while the other had a keen scientific mind and was later reduced to a head in a jar. They eventually betrayed the Vanguard and destroyed it using programs that caused its members to turn on each other. Cybertron Magna Convoy Once the Vanguard was gone, they stole Big Convoy's Matrix Sword, brought it to Darkmount and experimented on its energies that were tied to the leader's spark, creating the clone C-6. Cybertron Magna Convoy prequel comic To introduce the traits of of organic life to the next generation of Transformers, Straxus also performed experiments that created a new, hybrid form of Cybertronian, applying the results to C-6 and D-6. Legends Convobat bio The full-bodied Straxus had C-6 trained as an assassin and granted him the name "Convobat", but punished him for hesitating when it came to killing. When Convobat and D-6, now calling himself Megalligator, tried to escape, Straxus confronted the two but was taken by surprise when Megalligator exploded a transtector in his face and failed to stop them. Cybertron Convobat prequel comic

Magna Convoy, a Primus Vanguard drone brought to life by Straxus's programs and the last member of the group, vowed revenge and attacked Darkmount to recover the Matrix Sword. It had lost all its power, however, and Straxus and his allies easily bested the intruder. When the defeated Convoy was teleported away, the scientist Straxus believed his spirit was crushed and considered the problem solved, but the full-bodied Straxus was determined to hunt him down. Cybertron Magna Convoy prequel comic He and his Rollermaster Corps pursued Magna Convoy to a planet's surface and battled him again, but Convoy had found new resolve in his mission to protect Convobat and was able to call upon the Matrix Sword's power to defeat Straxus. The crippled Straxus was then finished off by his own Rollermaster troops, one of which claimed that they were Straxus now. Meanwhile, the scientist Straxus was among the Cybertronians being observed by Bludgeon from an unknown location. Cybertron Magna Convoy

Games

Transformers Legends

Straxus, Axer, and Thunderwing accompanied Nemesis Prime on a mission to defeat Nemesis's former self, Nova Prime. Prime Evil

Straxus was part of a Decepticon raiding party that scoured a Human military base for the MacGuffin Generator. Straxus's job was to look in every building to check if it housed the generator, and reduce it to rubble if it didn't. The Decepticons eventually found the device, despite some Autobot interference, but it proved to be more volatile than they had anticipated. The Generator exploded, sending Straxus and the Decepticons flying off into the distance. Raiding Party

Transformers: Battle Tactics

SHREDDER!!

Darkmount participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was a Rare character who could be recruited after collecting 110 units of Cybermetal, 60 units of Transmetal, and 35 support cores. Transformers: Battle Tactics

Transformers: Earth Wars

Purple? Where did that come from?

Straxus of Polyhex contacted Starscream to work together and overthrow Megatron, His plan involved Slog and the Insecticons. When Starscream asked if they know that they are part of a larger scheme, he replied that they, like Slog, are just primitive creatures driven by instinct. Dark Deeds Bombshell reported to Straxus that he had taken control of Slog, but a little less responsive. Mind Games As Megatron was preparing to send Slog on his first mission, Straxus reminded Starscream that he was overdoing his flattery. As Starscream went over his signal to Slog to "Crush Megatron", Straxus planned for Slog to crush Starscream afterwards. At the Decepticon's abandoned space-port, things went according to plan. Straxus ordered Starscream to activate the Space Bridge, and then approached Megatron, but was surprised to see that he was still functional. Megatron then blew him away to kingdom come with his fusion cannon. Double-Crossed

Megatron had Bombshell apply one of his cerebro-shells on Straxus, making him an obedient and powerful asset to Megatron, with no memories of his conspiracy. But Skrapnel was aware that the memories could always come back - especially if Bombshell had rigged them that way...

• Class - Warrior
• Lowest Star Rating: 2 stars
• Weapons: Straxus uses his battle axe to dispense damage to buildings and defenses.
• Ability: Seismic Charge - Target an enemy wall with a resonating seismic charge. The explosion deals damage for each wall within the radius, and quadruple damage to walls.
  • Cost: 8 ability points + 3 for reuses.

Straxus at Transformers: Earth Wars Wiki

Toys

Generations

You're welcome.

• Darkmount (Deluxe, 2010)
  • Accessories: Pick-axe/cannon, missile launcher, machine gun, smoke grenade launchers

Part of wave 2 of Generations, Darkmount ("Straxus" was unavailable) transforms into a half-tracked self-propelled artillery inspired by the South African G6 Rhino, as well as a tripod-mounted howitzer platform called a "battle station".

In vehicle mode, the turret can rotate and the barrel can raise. Initially it was planned to have him interact with Scout Class figures who could man his "fortress mode". The remainders of that idea are the otherwise pointless handlebars that end up on his knees in robot mode. In robot mode, the cannon barrel becomes his trademark pick-axe weapon, while his smaller weapons (featuring C joints) can clip onto various compatible rungs, bars and tubes sculpted onto the vehicle or robot. Despite his portly robot form, and his alternate half-track mode, his tech specs list his speed rank as 10.

"M17" is written on his vehicle mode, referencing "Marvel #17", the comic issue in which Straxus first appeared. His head is designed with a light-piping feature but it is not utilized.

The mold was redecoed into Timelines/Shattered Glass The Bard of Darkmount and retooled into Generations Skullgrin.

• More information on Darkmount at TFU.info

United

TakaraTomy will collect the fee...personally!

• Straxus (Deluxe, 2010-12-25)
  • Japanese ID number: UN-10
  • Accessories: "Battle axe"/cannon, missile launcher, machine gun, smoke grenade launchers

Darkmount was redecoed for inclusion in the first wave of TakaraTomy's United toyline, and even released under his original name. He now sports a new color scheme that replaces much of his grey plastic and all of his red plastic with more dark blue and new light-blue pieces, apparently shooting to emulate Straxus as he was colored in his second Marvel appearance, drawing particular inspiration from the cover of the issue. And he's got his dead, black eyes!

Besides the black eyes, Straxus features additional paint on his face as well as his crotch plate and knee flaps.

• Image gallery of United Straxus at Seibertron.com

United EX

File:United-toy RollerMaster.jpg

• Rollermaster vs Choppermaster (Vs pack, 2012-09-22)
  • ID number: EX P1

"Rollermaster" is a redeco of the Power Core Combiners Icepick toy, transforming into a treaded snow-plow vehicle of probably-made-up model. Unlike most Power Core Combiners Commander molds, Rollermaster does not have 5mm post holes in or near his hands to allow him to use hand-held weapons. He has some sweet claws, though, and the hardpoint on his right shoulder allows him to use a Mini-Con's weapon mode as a shoulder-mounted emplacement. A flip-up Powerlinx socket on his chest allows him to use Mini-Cons as armor. He also has a secondary "Prime mode" configuration in which he forms a super robot torso; in this mode he can use the drone-limbs from any 5-pack set to make a new super-robot.

He was only available in a set with Choppermaster, Spanner, and Firebug.

Notes

Consistency is not dispensed here, fools, only GAFFES!

• For some reason, Straxus's colors changed drastically between the two issues he was in for the US comic. Also, sometimes between panels.
• With that in mind, Darkmount's color scheme (with its red biceps and gold chest) is based on an amalgam of his appearances. Specifically, a unique color arrangement that appeared on the cover of the fan-publication "The Obscure Omnibus" that super-fan Monzo gave the Transformers team for reference.
• Not only was Straxus's color scheme unstable, but so was his weapon design. In his first issue, it looked like a pick-axe, but when Straxus battled Blaster in his second issue, it had evolved into a scythe.
• "Two Megatrons!" means that Straxus was around but dormant when Ratbat was boss of Cybertron. Was he dormant for a proper reason or did Ratbat arrange it that way?
• So why "Darkmount" for the toy instead of the obviously-made-up "Straxus", theoretically easy to trademark? One possible explanation is that an Austrian company, Stadlbauer, has owned "Strax" as an international registered trademark for toys since 1966, and applied to register the term in the United States in 2009. This would give Stadlbauer a solid legal hold on the term versus another company trying to use a sound-alike in the same field. While this unforeseen hitch may have necessitated Straxus's name-change, it's not like another company could get away with using "Optimusor Primeo", either...
  • There is also a staxus.com website, which is AMAZINGLY NOT SAFE FOR WORK, so... yeah. Remember "Nexus Maximus"? That kinda thing. So much that kinda thing. (This, of course, does make the move to "Darkmount" pretty funny in context.)
• According to Hasbro copy writer Forest Lee, Straxus was mentioned in Comic-Con 2008 Nemesis Prime's bio entirely to make David Willis happy. Incidentally, Willis colored the cover to the fan publication mentioned in the second note, so he's probably on Cloud Nine right now.
• Darkmount's instructions show Skullgrin's robot head. It's becoming a trend.
• Universe Nemesis Prime's backstory was certainly inspired by the Megatron-clone plot, but their relation to each other in-fiction is unclear. A straight reading would suggest that Straxus merely had more than one clone project in the works. However, if one assumes that the Classic Series bios are meant to follow the Classics comic, then Nemesis Prime would be Straxus's ONLY known clone project in his universe, since the UK comics are not part of that continuity. However, it wouldn't be the first time a UK-only plot thread managed to make it into a Classics-related product...
• It's likely that Eric Holmes didn't consult with Simon Furman when he had Straxus as a cameo in Megatron Origin. (Straxus must have been mentioned in the script, since he shows up in Marcelo Matere's version of the page.) Since he was never mentioned by name in Origin, and he has a different design in the later Spotlights, it can be easily retconned that the character in Megatron Origin was "Straxus's brother", since Straxus was supposedly in the Dead Universe at this time.
• Rollermaster's bio notes do not explicitly say he's Straxus, but... come on. Plus, the guy who wrote the bio and story and all that said he is.
• Straxus in the online Kre-O comic is made from existing Kre-O parts. He uses Bumblebee's helmet and a pair of scythe-weapons from the G.I. Joe Kre-O sets. The Straxus that appears in "Cybertron's Most Wanted", meanwhile, wears the Kre-O Major Bludd helmet and a pickaxe built from existing parts; it was based on an unused proposal by Greg Sepelak.
• A proposed Fun Publications BotCon exclusive was a redeco of Generations Darkmount into Generation 1 Bombshell/Hardshell.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Straxus (ストラクサス Sutorakusasu)
• Mandarin: Straxus Dàgōng (China, 斯塔萨斯大公 Sītǎsàsī Dàgōng, "Lord Straxus")