Goryu (G1)
| This article is about the evil Decepticon. For the heroic Decepticon Dinocon, see Goryu (SG). |
- Goryu is a Decepticon from the Victory portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
The leader of the Dinoforce, Goryu (ゴウリュウ Gōryū) is a mighty proud little bot. Sure, the rest of the team are varying degrees of idiot. Sure, they have an abysmal success rate. Sure, they constantly get on his nerves, bungle plans, and generally make life miserable for him. But they're his team. He's leading a whole team, under the command of Deathsaurus, one of the greatest Decepticon Emperors ever! That's amazing! He dreams of the Dinoforce being instrumental to ultimate Decepticon victory. And for all the berating and beating of his subordinates, he genuinely cares about them and wants them to be the best dang warriors they can be, all in the name of Emperor Deathsaurus.
On the battlefield, Goryu can be quite the terror, riding to battle on the back of his semi-autonomous Tyrannosaurus shell rather than inside it as his subordinates do. That's because actually merging with his shell can result in a massive discharge of electrical energy that can leave both enemy and ally alike a smoking, burned-out husk, an attack he's dubbed the "Go-Tyranno Sparky". Even without the shell, he can hold his own with the best, firing heat rays from his claws and manipulating gravity to incapacitate and crush opponents, typically by creating trapping rings of energy that he hurls from his club.
Sadly, his gung-ho attitude, penchant for not listening to his subordinates' warnings, and desire to impress Deathsaurus often means that all that power ends up wasted on ill-thought-out actions.
Someday though, he'll show them all how great he and his team are. Especially that jerk Leozack. He'll show 'em.
Fiction
Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity
Victory cartoon
- Voice actor: Daisuke Gōri (Japanese)
Years ago, Goryu led the Dinoforce in a raid on a Mars research ship, robbing it of as much energon as they could carry. The sheer amount of destruction they inflicted on the ship caused it to explode, resulting in the deaths of nearly all onboard, including Jan's parents. The Dinoforce made their escape before Star Saber arrived, too late to save anyone but the infant Jan, who had been put into an escape pod. Attack! Leozack
When Deathsaurus revived the Decepticon campaign to take Earth, he unleashed the Dinoforce to steal energon from the humans' lunar operations. After tearing through a floating space station under construction, they descended on the Moon and attacked the lunar base, running rampant until the Brainmasters arrived. Goryu led the charge against the Autobots, though he had to step aside a moment to berate Kakuryu for his sorry choice of weapon in the fight. When Braver made a break to help evacuate the humans from the devastated base, Goryu hit him with a binding energy ring from his club, then hit him with the club proper, sending the Brainmaster tumbling into a crevasse. The remaining two Autobots soon found themselves on the ropes until Star Saber arrived, who sent them to help evacuate the base while he took care of Dinoforce. Goryu tried to rally his troops into attacking the Autobot leader, and they almost did, but chickened out at the last moment before Star Saber flattened them anyway. Goryu had a go at it himself, but a sustained energy beam from Saber's sword sent him falling into a crevasse. Goryu pulled himself out just as Deathsaurus arrived, bearing witness to the Decepticon leader's defeat, and fled at speed as Deathsaurus retreated on the Thunder Arrow. The Brave Hero of the Universe - Star Saber
Goryu was immediately summoned to Deathsaurus's throne room afterward, where Leozack gave the order for Dinoforce to destroy the Autobot Galaxy Base, where the lunar base refugees were waiting for transport back to Earth. Goryu questioned the logic of worrying about that, thinking it was more important to deal with "that Star Saber guy". Leozack was none too pleased with the backtalk, and a pointed question from Deathsaurus sent Goryu quickly scampering to go take out the Galaxy Base, loudly and violently waking the Dinoforce from their post-battle nap. They stopped at some floating wreckage, spotting the lone Autobot Wingwaver on his way from Planet V to the Galaxy Base, and Goryu decided that ambushing and killing the Autobot would be a good warmup. Wingwaver put up a good fight (and Kakuryu kept bungling), but the sheer numbers were against him, and soon he found himself struggling to fend off a furious serious of club strikes from Goryu. The Brainmasters intervened once again, giving Wingwaver the chance to escape. As the rest of the Dinoforce exited their shells to take on the Autobots, Goryu enacted a fairly savvy (for him) plan, sending the dino shells ahead to destroy the Galaxy Base while the Decepticons finished the fight with the Brainmasters. Unable to take the trio out even with superior numbers, Goryu called for combination, and to the Brainmasters' shock, the team merged into the gigantic Dinoking, who proved more than a match for the Autobots. Star Saber left the Galaxy Base to tackle Dinoking and send the Brainmasters back to defend the Galaxy Base. After taking several shots from Saber's "V-Star" weapon, Dinoking engaged the Autobot Supreme Commander in melee combat, but ended up getting absolutely trounced, and the team de-combined and fled for their lives.
Meanwhile, the dino shells used the absence of Star Saber to close the gap and begin wrecking the Galaxy Base. Goryu's T.rex attempted to take out Holi and Jan when they fled their wrecked battle station, but Dashtacker blinded it with an intense light-burst from the Flasher, giving Wingwaver and Machtackle an opening to deliver a double flying kick. To make things worse, the shuttle at the top of Galaxy Base revealed itself to be the giant Autobot Galaxy Shuttle, who used the rocket thrusters in his feet to send the shells flying uncontrollably into the void of space. Sneak Attack! Dinoking
The Dinoforce accompanied Leozack (on Deathsaurus's orders) on a mission to kill Star Saber as the Autobot commander visited the Schwimmbad School in the Alps to drop off his adopted son Jan. After some mindless destruction of the school grounds, the Dinoforce joined together into Dinoking once again at the arrival of the Brainmaster trio. But this time the Autobots combined as well, forming Road Caesar and besting the brute, while the Dinoforce's shells were driven off by Jan piloting the V-Star. And with Leozack gravely wounded, the Decepticons beat a hasty retreat, the rest of Dinoforce clinging desperately to Yokuryu as they made an aerial escape.
The Decepticons assembled in Deathsaurus's throne room to discuss a new plan, not to merely steal energy, but to steal an entire floating energy plant, allowing them to continuously power their war effort. Leozack, joined by fellow Breastforce soliders Killbison, Jallguar and Drillhorn, made no effort to disguise their contempt for the Dinoforce, and Goryu's protestations earned him a rebuke from Deathsaurus and a threat of pummeling from Killbison. As the Dinoforce began their attack, Goryu, still nursing a grudge from his earlier humiliation, decided that the "take the whole plant" objective was a stupid plan for nerds, and ordered the team to go with their usual plan, "steal as much energy as you can carry and destroy everything else"... and had Yokuryu lightly toasted when the flier pointed out the original plan. Goryu's fun was soon interrupted by Dashtacker and Machtackle, and with the arrival of Wingwaver (and a just-shot-down Yokuryu), Goryu made the call to combine. Dinoking kept the Multiforce on the ropes, until he was distracted by Leozack and Drillhorn, who had arrived to yell at the Dinoforce for causing too much destruction. Their argument gave Multiforce the break they needed to combine into Landcross, and while he put up a good fight against Dinoking, interference from the Breastforce nearly got the Autobot combiner killed. But the timely arrival of Star Saber (sensing a pattern yet?) turned the tide, and the dino-combiner was once again beaten into his component robots. Goryu made the call to flee, leaving Leozack and Drillhorn to deal with two very large Autobots. Unite!! Multiforce
"But Dead Tom's always been dead. That's why he's called Dead Tom."
"Oh." (Drops skeleton)
Throughout Deathsaurus' campaign against Earth for energy, Goryu was a loyal grunt. Often he and his Dinoforce were the first in the fight and the last to retreat. However, he was betrayed when Deathsaurus finally acquired enough energy to free his space fortress—the Decepticon commander abandoning Dinoforce, and leaving them to die. As retaliation, Goryu went to the Autobots, and told them the secret weakness in Deathsaurus's space fortress.
After the destruction of the space fortress, Goryu and his Dinoforce lived peacefully on Earth alongside the humans. Showdown! The Fortress vs the Victory Unification
Legends comic
Goryu was present at the unveiling of the Cybertron Alliance with his former teammate. Epiloge
Victory comic
Goryu and his Dinoforce rode their shells into battle, ransacking the planet Earth. They attempted to escalate the devastation by forming Dinoking, but were stopped cold by the power of Landcross. So Cool! Our Ally, Star Saber!
Goryu stood watch as Kakuryu went through his daily fitness routine. Star Saber, Warrior of Love!
On Guard, Goryu oversaw the Decepticons' slave labor as they constructed the mighty King Solon armor for Deathsaurus's protege. Victory Saber Is Strong!
As the Autobots infiltrated the Decepticon Space Stronghold, their sudden appearance scattered Goryu and the Dinoforce. The fighting soon ceased as the Decepticons revealed they only sought energy for their families, including the adorable Dinobabies. He has a son. Seriously. The Grand Victory War
2005 IDW continuity
Goryu was part of Deathsaurus's contingent of Decepticons stationed in their Warworld. In agreement with Tarn, Deathsaurus and his forces joined with the Decepticon Justice Division to continue the Decepticon dream and eliminate Megatron. The Permanent Revolution
Toys
Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers
- Goryu (Dinoforce, 1989)
- ID number: D-322
- Accessories: Tyrannosaurus rex shell, shell back, "Tyranno Gun", Dinoking foot-plate
- A redeco of the Hasbro Pretender Monster Icepick, Goryu transforms into a bipedal, clawed monster-thing. He can also transform into either leg to Dinoforce's combined Dinoking mode, but his nominal placement is as the giant's left leg.
- He comes with a rubbery, cyborg Tyrannosaurus rex shell he hides inside; sadly, there is no way to securely perch him on the beast's back as he does in the anime. The back of the shell can also store his rifle and the Dinoking footplate. This shell, like all the Dinoforce shells, has a pair of QC flaws that appear nearly universal: the shell has a nasty tendency to "sweat" an oily residue, plus the metallic paints age poorly, with the gold famously developing a green patina, while the silver just gets uneven and grody-looking. While some water and a little bit of hand-soap should take care of the slime, there's not much to be done about the green discoloration.
- Dinoking (Dinoforce gift set, 1989)
- ID number: D-328
- Accessories: Tyrannosaurus rex shell, shell back, "Tyranno Gun", Dinoking foot-plate
- All six members of Dinoforce were available both in individual boxes, and in a complete six-piece gift set. While there are no differences in the toys themselves, the gift set lacks any bio or Tech Spec cards for the individual components, only having cards for the combined mode.
Notes
- Gōryū corresponds with 強竜, meaning "Strong Dinosaur".
- The Victory anime depicted the Dinoforce members as carrying melee weapons, rather than the blasters the toys actually came with; Goryu packs a large club which he mainly uses to brain his subordinates, but it can also create rings of energy that can ensnare targets. And while they are sometimes depicted as riding their shells (Goryu more often than the others), obviously the toys proper cannot do this. Plus, their mechanical beast modes are never shown, making them kind of the mirror of the Super-God Masterforce Seacons.
Foreign names
- English: Icepick (Omni Productions dub)
- Mandarin: Pick (Taiwan, 皮哥 Píkē), Ace (Taiwan Omni Productions dub, 艾斯 Àisī), Gāojiǎoguài (China, 高脚怪, "Long-legged Monster")
- Russian: Zadavala (Задавала, "Arrogant")
- Spanish: Ice (America)
