Snaptrap (G1)

This article is about the evil Decepticon. For the heroic member of the Mayhem Suppression Squad, see Snaptrap (Shattered Glass).

Snaptrap is a Decepticon Seacon from the Generation 1 continuity family.

File:G1Snaptrap MTMTE.jpg

Snaptrap leads, Donatello does machines!

If asked what three words would best describe himself, Snaptrap would likely answer "unstoppable killing machine" and then try to eat your brains. He truly earned his nickname of "Butcher of the Bogs" when he massacred an Autobot regiment in the Toxic Sludge Swamp on Cybertron. As powerful as he is deranged, escaping Snaptrap is impossible and defeating him is even harder. While his Seacon underlings all share a unanimous love of the hunt, Snaptrap prefers the capture and gutting of the prey. Fueled by an unquenchable bloodlust, even his fellow Seacons know to tread lightly in his presence, as even the slightest offense can envoke Snaptrap's psychotic brutality.

Snaptrap can combine with his Seacon warriors to form Piranacon.

French-Canadian name: Traquenard

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

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

Life can be better / down where it's wetter / take it from me

When Shockwave's Earthbound Decepticons established their new undersea base, Seawing and the Seacons were summoned from Cybertron to work on the base's fortifications, as they were uniquely suited for underwater activity. They got more than they bargained for when the super-Decepticon Galvatron came a'calling. In the battle, Seawing and Jawbreaker managed to momentarily stun Galvatron, but in the end even the combined might of Piranacon couldn't beat him. Enemy Action!

After Shockwave was deposed, he set up shop in Fortress Sinister - Snaptrap, for reasons unknown, stuck with him and helped recover Megatron's body (well, a clone Megatron's) from the Thames. Snaptrap showed previously unknown mechanical skills by repairing Megatron's body to full working capacity. Salvage! Whatever it was that caused Snaptrap to stick with Shockwave, it didn't last long - shortly after, they joined the new commander Ratbat.

When they say Snaptrap is Megatron's puppet, they mean that literally.

The Seacons were commissioned to hunt down a sunken shipwreck in the water around the Decepticon undersea base, a wreck which supposedly contained two Autobot cassettes with valuable information encoded on them. They successfully obtained the treasure chest containing the cassettes and, despite a brief theft by the Autobot Blaster, managed to recapture the prize and return it to their leader. Club Con! Unfortunately for them, this led to a sequence of events whereby the treacherous Starscream acquired the power of the Underbase for himself. The Autobots and Decepticons of Earth were forced to unite in order to stop him from seizing ultimate power. The Seacons attacked Starscream in unison in the waters around Manhattan, but were destroyed in a single energy discharge. Dark Star!

Sometime later, during the Earthforce saga, Megatron traveled back in time and possessed the body of Seacon leader Snaptrap during the Underbase Saga, in an attempt to save them in the past to bolster his troops in the present. He failed due to the intervention of Prowl, and the Seacons met their fate as before. Flashback!

Toys

Generation 1

• Snaptrap (Seacon, 1988)
  • Team ID number: SE6
  • Accessories: Blaster, "Incendiary sword", half-shell shield/chestplate, 2 footplates, L & R combiner fists, super robot head

Blastoise, use Hydro Pump!

Snaptrap transforms into a mechanical land tortoise, which is odd considering the aquatic theme of the Seacons. A lever on his back makes the large cannons over his beast-mode head move back and forth in a "pom-pom" reciprocating motion. His large black rifle can be mounted on the rear half of the shell. All four of his legs are articulated, the beast mode head is articulated at the neck and has an opening jaw. In robot mode he is armed with his rifle and large sword. The rear half of the turtle shell can fitted on his shoulders as a shield.

He forms the torso of the combined mode Piranacon, but since the mold uses the Scramble City style of combination, he can use any limb-robot of similar construction. The rear of the shell/shield becomes Piranacon's chest and is armed with Snaptrap's sword.

This exact toy was released in Japan as Turtler, and was later redecoed as the Beast Wars II Predacon Halfshell.

• Piranacon (Giftset, 1988)

Snaptrap was also available in the Seacon box set, along with his teammates Overbite, Seawing, Skalor and Tentakil. Nautilator was not included.

Timelines

• Piranacon (Seacon giftset, 2008)

The yellow stands for "danger."

A redeco of the Generation 1 mold above, Timelines Snap Trap (note the parsing change) was available exclusively as part of a Official Transformers Collectors' Club-exclusive giftset containing all six Seacons in new color schemes.

This toy was originally intended as an exclusive set of Energon-series Terrorcons, but was shelved due to a lack of retailer interest. The team were called the Piranhacons and their combined form was Piranhaking, but this other Snaptrap's name would have remained Snaptrap (or maybe Snap Trap).

External links

• Snaptrap at TFU.info
• Snaptrap's Universe profile at NTFA.net