Bristleback

Decepticon

Bristleback is a Decepticon in the Generation 1 continuity family.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Stress Fractures

Bristleback hates being a Pretender. He was forced into undergoing the process when he discovered, to his great dismay, that his steel skin was somehow inferior to other Transformers', corroding and rusting upon contact with Earth's atmosphere. Worse yet, his bulky and cumbersome Pretender shell has transformed him from a once-quick-footed fighter to one of the slowest movers in the Decepticon ranks. A ceaselessly foul-mouthed, bullying malcontent before these indignities, Bristleback has only become meaner since. His Pretender shell's one redeeming feature is the spikes on its back, which secrete a powerful corrosive acid upon contact. Bristleback dreams of being assigned to space missions, where his rust condition will no longer be an issue.

He can combine with his fellow Pretender Monsters to form Monstructor, curiously without any rust problems of note.

French-Canadian name: Épinox

Italian name: Spettro

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Generation 1

In an alternate future where the Decepticons had conquered much of Earth, Bristleback and his fellow Pretender Monsters were led by Galvatron to the remains of New York City in an attempt to root out the last remaining vestiges of Autobot and human resistance. All they managed to find, however, was a human-made booby trap that buried Icepick under tons of debris.

Not long later, he and the others rejoined the Decepticons to defend the Decepticon Powerbase against an Autobot attack. Rhythms of Darkness!

Devil's Due G.I. Joe vs. Transformers comics continuity

Bristleback was among a group of Decepticons who made a deal with Cobra-La, receiving power-enhancing organic shells in exchange for defending Cobra-La's underground kingdom. They attacked a trio of Autobots aboard the submerged Arc II, then as Monstructor, defended the kingdom against surface attack by GI Joe. Black Horizon, Part 2

IDW Comics continuity

He's ticked off about being so fragile.

Long millennia ago, Monstructor was the first gestalt, constructed out of the individual Pretender Monsters. Created by Jhiaxus under the direction of Nova Prime, they were intended to be the ultimate fusion of mind and body, a vast amount of intellect combined with unparalleled strength. Unfortunately, they were driven into insanity by the merging process and became monsters. After Nova Prime departed Cybertron in the Ark, Omega Supreme locked them in a dimensionally displaced prison to live out the rest of their horrid existence. Eventually, they escaped and tracked down and attacked Omega Supreme, but were defeated by Optimus Prime and split apart into their individual bodies. Despite Omega Supreme's protestations about the dangers of gestalt technology falling into Decepticon hands, Prime had them taken into custody in an attempt to repair their shattered minds. Spotlight: Optimus Prime

Bristleback and his comrades were incarcerated at the Garrus-9 penitentiary where Jetfire attempted to carry out Optimus Prime's orders despite Fortress Maximus's misgivings about the whole endeavour. Thanks to a tipoff from the double-agent Dealer, Banzai-Tron's Decepticon Secret Service attacked the facility and absconded with the monsters. Spotlight: Arcee

The breakout of the "Monstructor Six" eventually made its way to the Autobot Orbital Command Hub, and from there to Optimus Prime. Although Earth was currently facing the threat of Megatron and Sixshot, Prime decided that they couldn't risk allow the Decepticons to gain gestalt technology, and ordered Prowl's team to abandon Earth and head to Garrus-9. Devastation

However, the Decepticons were later attacked in turn by the minions of Jhiaxus and Nova Prime (now Nemesis Prime), who took the gestalt Transformers for the purpose of making Monstructor a guardian of a Nega-Core, a device crucial to Nemesis Prime's grand plans. The Autobot Arcee and the Decepticon survivors struck a deal to capture Monstructor. Spotlight: Hardhead They engaged Monstructor on Rotan, but Arcee left mid-battle to confront Jhiaxus. The outcome of the battle is unknown. Spotlight: Sideswipe

Thus far in IDW continuity, Scowl and his partners are not Pretenders.

Toys

Generation 1

File:Bristleback-toy.jpg

Bristleback's toy, complete with a small sample of Gold Plastic Syndrome -- note the break between his robot-mode boots.

• Bristleback (Pretender Monster, 1989)
  • Team ID number: PM2
  • Accessories:

Bristleback's Pretender shell is a monstrous, turtle-like creature. Similarly, his inner robot is a four-legged beast, possibly with wings. He folds up to become one of Monstructor's arms. His simple transformation to beast mode is similar to that of Birdbrain. He comes with his shell, shell plate, a gun, and a fist for Monstructor.

Bristleback's inner robot and combiner kibble were also used to make Gairyū.

He is one of the G1 toys most susceptible to Gold Plastic Syndrome. This probably fits what his profile meant by rusting.

External links

• Bristleback at TFU.info.