Octopunch (G1)

Octopunch is a Decepticon Pretender from the Generation 1 continuity family.

I shot God, right in the FACE!

Not a single doubloon of sunken treasure is safe from Octopunch's slimy tentacles. A greedy scavenger, Octopunch spends most of his free time dredging the murky ocean depths for the riches that lie hidden there. (What he does with these riches is none of your business.) Unlike other robots with similar functions, Octopunch is also . . . well, not completely incompetent. He is a fearsome warrior above or beneath the waves, and is not afraid of a little heresy to get the job done.

French-Canadian name: Octocoup

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Generation 1

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

If you ever wanted to see his character model, this is probably it.

Octopunch was part of the Mayhem Attack Squad (alongside Bludgeon and Stranglehold, sent by Thunderwing to assassinate the Autobot Pretenders Bumblebee, Grimlock, and Jazz. After failing spectacularly, Octopunch and the rest of the Squad followed the Autobots into the core of Cybertron. Surprisingly, Cybertron's core contained none other then Primus himself! Yesterday's Heroes!

After failing again to kill the Autobots, Octopunch made a final attempt to fire at Grimlock, which ended up ricocheting off the Dinobot's armor-plating and striking Primus. Upon being shot, Primus awoke and unleashed a scream that eventually drew Unicron to the Transformers' homeworld. Primal Scream

Thanks a LOT, Octopunch.

Octopunch and the other Squad members ended up on Earth, and joined forces with Scorponok. They worked for him until the war against Unicron was successfully won, and Scorponok killed. At this point, Octopunch's comrade Bludgeon assumed command of the Decepticons, and arranged to leave the Autobots stranded on the dying planet of Cybertron while he and the Decepticons began conquering anew. They basically levelled the planet Klo before the Autobots managed to catch a ride and track them down. Wiping out nearly all the Autobots in the battle that followed, Octopunch led a squad consisting of Quake, Fangry, and Weirdwolf to pick off the stragglers. Grimlock and his surviving warriors fought back and, with the arrival of Optimus Prime and the Last Autobot, the fight turned against the Decepticons, and Bludgeon and his crew were forced to slink away. End of the Road!

Marvel UK future timelines

In 1990, Octopunch was working for Megatron on Cybertron along with Bludgeon, Stranglehold, and Warmonger. After some Autobot captives temporarily escaped, Megatron determined there was a traitor in their midst, and singled out Bludgeon. When the Pretender demanded a trial by combat, Megatron set him loose to face his fellow Decepticons on the field of battle. In the fight, Bludgeon scored first blood against Octopunch, but the salvage expert caught his "once friend" off-guard by popping out of his shell with a flying punch. The punch did little against Bludgeon's armored shell, though, and he knocked Octopunch out. Bludgeon was eventually proven innocent when Warmonger caught him napping but couldn't pull the trigger, thus proving to Megatron that HE was the weak-willed Autobot in disguise. Aspects of Evil!

The above story is the earliest known account from the Marvel UK alternate "Movie" timeline. The split between the main comic and the future stories almost certainly took place in 1989, either due to the Time Wars, the events of Primal Scream where Primus alerted Unicron to his location 15 years early, or both.

Another Time and Place

After the war on Klo, Octopunch and the Decepticons lay in wait for Grimlock to do something stupid, and so he did. Tracking the Dinobot commander and his troops to Hydrus Four, Octopunch and his fellows caught Grimlock off-guard and managed to take control of the medical facility where Nucleon was being produced. Bludgeon had plans to use the super-energy to bring Megatron himself back to life. Octopunch was later seen worshipping at the alter of Megatron's corpse alongside Stranglehold and Bludgeon. When the Autobots attacked, Octopunch charged into battle with his electro trident like the others, but was ultimately defeated. Another Time and Place

Generation 2

Wasn't he on Scooby-Doo?

Octopunch was one of countless Decepticons under Bludgeon's command when they fought the Autobots over ownership of a cache of weapons on an unnamed barren world. The Decepticons were easily overpowering the Autobots; Octopunch, in particular, was strangling Jazz with his tentacles. Bludgeon ordered a retreat when a gigantic, monstrous creature who guarded their quarry warned them away. Ghosts

Later, Octopunch and the other Decepticons were ordered to rampage across Earth in order to get Optimus Prime's attention. Tales of Earth Part One Their "work" was interrupted when Megatron returned in a powerful new body with Starscream in tow. Megatron challenged Bludgeon for leadership of the Decepticons, and when Bludgeon lost, Octopunch and the other Decepticons switched their allegiance to the victor. Tales of Earth Part Two

Soon after, Megatron's forces clashed with Jhiaxus's Cybertronian Empire. Megatron declared war against them as Octopunch and the other Decepticons cheered him on. Their feelings changed, however, when the Warworld was attacked. Octopunch and the others fought the Cybertronians on the surface of the Warworld, but they were getting massacred. Octopunch was shot in the chest, presumably killed. New Dawn

Toys

Generation 1

• Octopunch (Pretender, 1989)
  • Accessories: Gun, small gun, helmet, 2 crab legs (left & right)

Yo, where the Japanese schoolgirls at?

Octopunch's inner robot transforms into a crab, with the help of two sets of legs that attach to his sides. His Pretender shell is a cross between a deep sea diver and a Japanese delicacy. It has four additional octopus-like tentacles extending from his shoulders, and a detachable helmet. Though, if you don't want to have nightmares, don't detach it. (There's a reason he was drawn in the comics with only his teeth visible under the helmet...) Unfortunately, Octopunch does NOT come with the wicked trident he uses in the comics. Pity.

The shell's arms, head and helmet are all made from a softer plastic than the rest of the shell.

Trivia

• It was bad enough when Octopunch's ricocheted shot alerted Unicron to Primus's location, resulting in countless deaths and the persisting threat of the Planet Eater. It was later retconned that Octopunch's ricocheted shot not only doomed his own universe to Unicron, but every single Transformers universe in the entire multiverse as well. Better hope there's no karma in Transformers, or he's got some serious comeuppance due. Vector Prime: In the Beginning

External links

• Octopunch at TFU.info
  
  
  From Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki, a Wikia wiki.