Scorponok (BW)

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 Predacon from the Beast Wars portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

Transforms into a scorpion. Surprise?

Scorponok's personality seems to have two main features: He's dumb, and he's loyal to Megatron (surprisingly so, considering Megatron's other crew members), and of those two features, only the loyalty seems to be consistent. He tries to serve Megatron to the best of his abilities, but when Waspinator is able to outwit you, there's only so much you have to offer.

Scorponok begins as Megatron's second-in-command on the Darksyde, though he is insecure about the title and constantly tries to assert himself among the other Predacons who, aware of his shortcomings, generally dismiss or ignore him.

Scorponok's only other real contribution to Megatron's cause is in developing cyber-viruses that he delivers with his cyberbee drone. (This is impressive, actually, given his otherwise limited mentality.) However, these generally don't work out as he hoped, and so they've done little to increase his standing in the eyes of the other Predacons.

Japanese name: Scorpos

French-Canadian name: Scorpinor

Italian name: Scorpionok

Polish name: Skorpinor

Latin American name: Skorpicon

Fiction

First wave toy bios

Inhabiting the Mojave Desert, Scorponok is suited to the harsh conditions of this arid environment. Described as vicious, this desert attack specialist relies mainly on surprise attacks to overcome his foes. For this task, he possesses three alternatives: launching a robotic bee stored in one claw, his 2-shot missile blast stored in the other; his terrifying tail, which deals poisonous cyber-strikes. Scorponok bio

The on-package bios of the first wave of Beast Wars toys, predate the development of the Beast Wars cartoon and its backstory. They seem to present the characters as a direct continuation of the previous Autobot/Decepticon conflict, with Optimus Primal actually being a new form of Optimus Prime and Megatron being his Generation 1 counterpart, and their battles taking place on present day, human-inhabited Earth, rather than in the distant past. Once the cartoon launched, the toyline adjusted itself to match that continuity instead, relegating this one to an aborted micro-continuity.

Cartoon continuity

Fun Publications Beast Wars fiction

Theft of the Golden Disk

Voice actor: Brad Venable (English)

The Predacon that would be called Scorponok and Backslash were part of a mission to steal the sacred Maximal relic, the Golden Disk, on behalf of Cryotek; in actual fact, "Scorponok" was loyal to Megatron and in on his plan to take the disk for himself. He was meant to bomb Maximal Power Station B4-Y to aid Megatron and his partner's attack; he was almost caught by a guard but Backslash saved him, berating him for being sloppy. Later on, when Backslash was caught by a guard, "Scorponok" laughed, mockingly referencing what Backslash said early and happily triggered the bombs, killing his alleged comrade. Nice guy. Theft of the Golden Disk

Dawn of Future's Past

Looking at him, he was probably called "Scorponok" before the Beast Wars, too.

With the Disk in their hands, the thieves were picked up by their other comrades in a stolen ship, newly christened the Darksyde. Soon after leaving Cybertron, the Darksyde was involved in a space battle with the Maximal vessels Axalon and Chromia 10 and an unidentified Predacon ship. At its conclusion, only the Axalon and the Darksyde survived, and both ships passed through a transwarp portal to an unknown destination. Dawn of Future's Past

Beast Wars cartoon

Voice actor: Don Brown (English), Masashi Endō (Japanese), Bernard Métraux (French), Sidney Lilla (Portuguese), Antonio Paiola (Italian), Mario Grete (German), Brando Miranda (Latin American Spanish), Enrique Cazorla (Castilian Spanish)

OUR MISSILES!

Crash-landing on an unknown planet, Scorponok and his peers were forced to take on organic beast modes to shield themselves from the planet's dangerous levels of raw energon. Scorponok took a scorpion as his new alternate mode. When Dinobot furiously berated Megatron for foolishly marooning them on the wrong planet and attempted to attack his leader, Scorponok stood behind Megatron and waited for his cue to fire on Dinobot, sending the traitor far into the distance. Later, Scorponok participated in the first battle between the Maximal and Predacon factions and managed to trap Cheetor's leg under a boulder. However, the Predacons soon succumbed to energon overload. Beast Wars (Part 1)

After recovering in beast mode, Scorponok and the lower-ranking Predacons were wagering who would win the battle between Optimus Primal and Dinobot until Megatron ordered them to fire on the unwitting combatants. After their shots failed to destroy the Maximals but instead revealed a massive energon cache buried inside a mountain, the Predacons moved out, followed by the Maximals. The two parties confronted each other at the energon cache, and Scorponok fought Dinobot in the one-on-one clashes that ensued. Beast Wars (Part 2)

Beware my stinger tail!

While Scorponok was later salvaging a mega-cannon, he was surprised by Cheetor. Luckily Tarantulas distracted the Maximal, giving Scorponok time to hit Cheetor with a missile. Despite asserting that he was second in command and should be giving the orders, Scorponok took Tarantulas's suggestion to scarper before Optimus Primal arrived. He subsequently installed the cannon as part of the perimeter defences for the Predacon base, aided by Terrorsaur and Waspinator. The Web Scorponok found himself hunting Cheetor again, when the cat somehow teleported into the Predacon base. Cheetor escaped into the ducts, so Scorponok sent a missile in after him, unsuccessfully. A short time later, they found Cheetor messing with the Predacon computer, so Scorponok fired another missile at him, only for it to end up slagging himself and Waspinator. Equal Measures

my heads an ostriches arse

Scorponok took part in a battle at the Standing Stones, and ended up face-down in the dirt after Cheetor shot him. After Primal went missing, blasted by an alien probe, Megatron sent Scorponok and Waspinator to guard the Standing Stones. As it turned out, Primal wasn't dead, and after he was released from the probe, he blasted all of the Predacons. Chain of Command When Terrorsaur mounted a leadership bid and badly damaged Megatron, Scorponok simply had his leader repaired the instant Terrorsaur wasn't looking. Power Surge

After a stasis pod crashed, Megatron took Scorponok and Tarantulas to attack the Maximal base. While the Predacon leader provided a diversion, the two other Predacons sneaked up on Dinobot, knocking him out. Unfortunately for them, Dinobot had time to activate the Axalon's autoguns, and first Tarantulas, then Scorponok were blasted off the ship. Fallen Comrades Scorponok was part of an ambush, enabling the Predacons to steal another stasis pod and bring Blackarachnia online. Terrorsaur would later mount another bid to become leader, with Rattrap's help, but Scorponok announced loudly and at length that his loyalty belonged to Megatron and he would never follow Terrorsaur. As it turned out, Megatron allowed Terrorsaur temporary leadership, so Scorponok appeared to be happy to follow the new leader's commands, at least until it was proved in battle that Terrorsaur was incompetent as a leader. Double Jeopardy

Megatron tasked Scorponok with a mission to create a virus for his cyberbee that would turn Optimus Primal into a coward. Ambushing the Maximal leader and Dinobot as they were on a botanical study near a waterfall, Scorponok managed to have his cyberbee latch onto Optimus when he attempted to help the traitor. Unfortunately, Optimus Primal fired off a shot before going down, dislodging the log Scorponok was sitting upon and sending him over the edge of the waterfall. To greater misfortune, Scorponok had botched the virus, turning Optimus Primal not into a coward, but a fearless, ultra-aggressive berserker. Both Scorponok and Megatron were blown up with the cyberbee when Primal ripped it off and chucked it at Megatron's back. Gorilla Warfare

He told me enough. He told me you killed him.

Scorponok spotted the Maximals building a communications array, and gave a video of it to Terrorsaur to take back to Megatron. After word came through that the array was to be destroyed, he confronted the Maximals. Primal intercepted his missiles, Rattrap blew his claw off, and then Dinobot blasted him into the distance. The Probe He was later (improbably) one of the Predacons who staged a revolt against Megatron. That should have been the Maximal's first clue it was only a mock revolt, as once they'd made the Axalon space-worthy, the Predacons emerged from hiding and attempted to take their ship. Though he was hit by the ship's cannons during a charge, Scorponok was still able to fire a missile which knocked Primal from the entry lift. Victory

Yet another day Scorponok would rather forget.

After Rhinox was converted into a Predacon by Megatron's Transmuter, Scorponok found himself assigned to repair the base computer. Unaware that the computer had actually been sabotaged by Rhinox, he was surprised and shocked when the ex-Maximal dropped a pile of heavy crates on him. A spell in a Predacon restoration pool left him ready to extract some revenge, but Rhinox deftly deflected his rage onto Terrorsaur, and the pair had their heads slammed together by Rhinox. Despite all this, he was able to take part in the inevitable fight with the Maximals, during which he was able to take some of his anger out on Dinobot. He ultimately lost the fight and was at ground zero when the Transmuter exploded. Dark Designs

Scorponok acted as a lab assistant to Megatron, as his leader created a clone of Dinobot. He was a teeny bit skeptical at the result. Double Dinobot When another stasis pod crashed, Megatron dispatched Blackarachnia and Scorponok to retrieve it. Blackarachnia was disgusted by Scorponok's subservient attitude, and on their way to the pod, she ditched him. Scorponok almost immediately ran into Tigatron, who ended his quest by freezing him. The Spark

Scorponok was again teamed with Blackarachnia when Terrorsaur and Waspinator found a weird flying island. After they reached the island, Scorponok used a cyberbee to check the place out, but it was intercepted by Tigatron. The Trigger, Part 1 The two Predacons reached the obelisk at the center of the island and blasted their way in. When Blackarachnia announced the island's power would allow her to defeat even Megatron, Scorponok revealed that he had been sent with her to make sure that didn't happen. Of course, she promptly tricked him into triggering one of the island's many traps, and he fell through the hole that opened up to the ground below. The Trigger, Part 2

Looks like someone gave Scorponok...

On another occasion, Scorponok was on lookout when he spotted Tarantulas being "chased" by a stasis pod. Megatron ordered he obtain take the stasis pod back to base, so he confronted Tarantulas... only for the pod to blow up, knocking him into some boulders, where a falling rock rendered him unconscious. By the time he recovered, the fight was over, and Megatron ordered him to gather up Inferno for repair. Spider's Game He took part in a diversionary attack on the Axalon, while Waspinator and Terrorsaur stole the ship's rectifier coil. Later, once the Maximals had gone feral, he participated on the hunt by carrying Megatron's chair, but was taken down by Cheetor once the Maximals overcame their beast instincts. Call of the Wild

In one of his rare successes, Scorponok triggered an energon explosion, apparently taking out a group of Maximals. In reality, he'd simply blinded them, but he didn't find this out until after he'd reported back to Megatron. Dark Voyage After Starscream, possessing the body of Waspinator, helped the Predacons take over the Axalon, Megatron left the Decepticon in charge of the Maximal base with Scorponok and Blackarachnia as underlings. When the inevitable betrayal occurred, Scorponok put up a token resistance before Starscream blasted him off the side of the ship. Possession

So we shall flow a river forth to Thee and teeming with souls shall it ever be. In Nomeni Patri Et Fili Spiritus Sancti

Scorponok was among the Predacons who were taken out by Rhinox's almighty fart. The Low Road After Megatron declared a truce, and Tigatron infiltrated the Predacon base in search of information, Scorponok and Terrorsaur attempted to stop the Maximal from escaping, and ended up colliding spectacularly. Luckily for Scorponok, he didn't have to pursue Tigatron, as the Predacons who did mostly came back on stretchers. Before the Storm Scorponok later accompanied Megatron on a mission to an alien construct which had appeared. His toxic sting was instrumental in breaching the construct's wall, allowing Rattrap to get inside and retrieve Airazor. Of course, a short time later, Rattrap used one of Scorponok's missiles to dispose of Megatron, shortly before Scorponok himself was blasted by Airazor. Other Voices, Part 1

Oh, the... robotity?

Back at base, Scorponok and the other Predacons monitored the situation with the Planet Buster which had been revealed high above the planet. Though Scorponok was confident that Megatron would save them, his leader announced that he had someone else in mind to do that. As it turned out, Optimus Primal was the one who piloted a modified stasis pod and blew up the Planet Buster. Other Voices, Part 2 Scorponok celebrated with his fellow Predacons, but the destruction of the alien weapon had other consequences. A quantum surge flooded through the base, beginning to mutate their bodies into Transmetals. However both Scorponok and Terrorsaur lost control of their hover platforms, crashing into each other and tumbling into the lava beneath the Predacon base, where they perished. No one much noticed, though Blackarachnia pointed out that only Waspinator was present with Megatron when the Predacons arrived at the Axalon (only to keep herself from getting blasted). Aftermath

IDW Beast Wars comics

You'd look angry too if you had heat burns all over you.

However, Scorponok and Terrorsaur were not actually dead—they were just in stasis lock. They awakened after the Beast Wars ended, finding themselves in Transmetal bodies. Scorponok got shafted, though-his new body didn't have a third vehicle mode like everyone else's. He had hover-fans with which he could fly, though, so that's likely a decent thing. Beast Wars Sourcebook

Games

Beast Wars: Transformers video game

This game takes place in an alternate version of the first season of the Beast Wars cartoon.

Scorponok is a playable character in the Predacon mode of this game for normal gameplay.

Scorponok is reported to be mining energon in a desert area, causing damage to the environment. A lone Maximal investigates, only to be confronted with an onslaught of defenses; automated weapons protecting the arid area include immobile autoguns, automated weapons that arise from the sands to pester the hero with volleys of lasers and blasts, in addition to an array of flying machines and devices that relentlessly open fire on sight on any Maximal that trespasses in Scorponok's territory. Additionally, the area is populated by ravenous beasts, including what appears to be velociraptors! But of all the obstacles to be faced, the most incredible appear to be an automated weapon that FIRES ravenous beasts! Turrets mounted on hillsides dispense snakes to antagonize Maximals who approach it. If all of this wasn't enough, the large amount of energon deposits throughout the area force the lone warrior to revert to beast mode oftentimes. After the Maximal traverses the desert, Scorponok is revealed to be in command of his own personal base! Thus the confrontation between Maximal and Predacon begins: the bout starts with Scorponok standing outside his base, protected by a shield and two autoguns (he'd been saving up for his own little place in the wasteland, obviously), on the opposite side of a canyon from the Maximal. Whilst the autoguns fire, Scorponok also unleashes volleys of his personal arsenal. Once the guns are destroyed, the whole shield program shuts down. Scorponok then begins strafing and firing, but after a few more hits, falls into the canyon. Nonetheless, this is not the end of Scorponok! The Maximal must now confront Scorponok in a close-quarter combat, by following his enemy into the canyon. After a few more blasts, Scorponok collapses (and presumably the Maximal loots his base). Beast Wars: Transformers

Due to the nature of this game, a player may select various individual characters to perform the feats required in every level, and complete the game's narrative. Thus, any playable Maximal can fill the role of protagonist in Maximal Mode, and any playable Predacon can fill the role of protagonist in Predacon Mode. As such, each character's page only lists said character's actions when they fill the role of antagonist during gameplay. To view the various feats Scorponok can accomplish throughout gameplay in Predacon Mode, it is told on the pages of the several Maximals included as opponents in this game, as well as the game's main antagonists, the Skriix, wherein Scorponok fills the role of the nameless Predacon. To view the plot as a whole view the Beast Wars: Transformers (video game) page.

Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Warriors' Strongest Decisive Battle video game

Megatron was capable of summoning Scorponok forth to the battlefield in his attempts to acquire the super-powerful energon crystal. Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Warriors' Strongest Decisive Battle

Toys

Beast Wars

Admit it, you bought this for the bee.

• Scorponok (Mega, 1996/1997)
  • Japanese ID number: D-2
  • Accessories: Cyberbee drone, 2 missiles

Scorponok transforms into a fairly organic but highly inaccurate black scorpion. The right pincer contains a small, spring-loaded bee drone-type gimmick which can be launched, while his left pincer has a spring-loaded double missile launcher activated by pulling the top part of his claw open far enough to trigger the launcher. His tail also has a spring-loaded "stinging" action activated by pushing forward on a lever halfway up the scorpion tail. All three gimmicks are available in both modes.

As one of the first toys released in the Beast Wars line, he features a "mutant head" gimmick; the halves of his mutant mask clamshell over his robot face from the sides.

In Japan, Scorponok was initially released without notable changes from the Hasbro version. Come 1997, he and most of the rest of the show-cast toys were redecoed to be more "show-accurate", with wildly varying degrees of success. Scorponok's black plastic was replaced with a charcoal gray, and the connecting red pieces were colored a lighter shade, almost orange.

One should take care not to stress the pin that holds the cyber bee in his claw, it's fairly frail.

This mold was later used to make Sandstorm and Double Punch.

• More information on Scorponok at TFU.info

"North Pole Showdown"? Good luck, Scorp.

• North Pole Showdown: Whiteclaw VS Scorpos (Vs set, 1996)
  • Japanese ID number: VS-2
  • Accessories: 2 missiles

In Japan, Scorponok was available both as an individual and in a two-pack with Polar Claw. Both toys are identical to their individual releases. It is unknown if the set ever came with the redecoed "show-like" version of Scorponok.

Amusingly, both toys are packaged in beast mode with their smaller partners deployed, making it look like the fight isn't going so well for Polar Claw.

Oo oo. C'mon party people. Oo oo. Put your claws in the air.

• Scorponok (Happy Meal premium, 1998)

Since Scorponok got killed off in order to introduce new prod—er, characters, he was granted a "Transmetal" toy as part of the second McDonald's Beast Wars Happy Meal promotion. He transforms like every other Scorponok, except his shoulders can't go lower than a few degrees from pointing up, meaning all he can do is "raise the roof." It's cast mostly in gauche magenta and "metallic" gold soft-plastics to prevent little kiddies from breaking it. Like the other McDonald's Transmetals, he lacks a third "vehicle" mode.

• More information on McDonald's Scorponok at TFU.info

Merchandise

• Beast Wars Transformers Mutating Card Game (1997)

Scorponok was one of the 24 beast warriors to receive a battle card representation for the Beast Wars card game.

• Beast Wars Movie Coin (1997)

Released only in Japan, Scorponok was one of three characters from Beast Wars to receive a movie coin, the other two being Rattrap and Rhinox.

• Scorponok Movie Coin at TFMuseum.com

Notes

The most effective stealth ever.

• Scorponok was first advertised on the back of the Optimus Primal versus Megatron two-pack at the start of the Beast Wars line with a completely different color scheme. The toy itself was cast completely in transparent orange and blue plastic, which would have made it remarkably fragile at the joints. Another version cast in pink translucent plastic and having the final claw coloration surfaced in 2006, although this could likely be explained by the random plastics used in test shots.
  • Some early animation test shots included on Madman Entertainment's Beast Wars Season 2 DVD release show Scorponok in his orange and blue color scheme.

• Scorponok's CGI animation model had an unusual tendency to switch from having yellow-colored optics to red-colored optics at random—sometimes within the same scene of a given episode. Most of the time he had yellow, though.

• Scorponok's pre-Beast form in "Theft of the Golden Disk" is a redeco of Cybertron Shortround, but in "Dawn of Future's Past" he is based on Energon Scorponok, even though the latter story is set immediately after the former, with no real opportunity for him to change bodies in between.

• In the first few episodes, Scorponok's missiles had Maximal faction symbols on them, a Cybertronian equivalent to carving the name of your next victim on your bullets. Many viewers failed to pick up on this symbolism, though, and they were promptly replaced with Predacon faction symbols to avoid confusion.