Insecticon clone

Insecticon clones are a type of mass-produced drone from the cartoon portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

The Insecticons have the ability to make clones of themselves out of scrap metal. They have similar abilities as the Insecticons themselves, but lack the intelligence and individual initiative needed to be effective without the guidance of the Insecticons. If the beams controlling them are interrupted, they will disintegrate.

Known named Insecticon clones:

Japanese names:

• Salvo
• Shothole
• Zaptrap

Fiction

Generation 1 cartoon

On the island of Bali, the Insecticons were feeding off of human farmland when confronted by Skyfire, Windcharger, Brawn, Bumblebee, and Spike Witwicky. Being outnumbered, the Insecticons created clones to defend themselves. Bombshell destroyed a combine with an "insectishell". Shrapnel and Kickback then created clones from the resulting scrap metal using "electronic clone beams". With the clones, the Insecticons were now more than a match for the four Autobots who then fled into the cover of the crops.

Later, after the Insecticons teamed up with Megatron, the Insecticons left their clones in the control of Megatron to help take over an oil refinery. The Insecticons themselves went to prevent the Autobots from following them. The Autobots arrived at the refinery anyway and there was a battle. The clones had Bumblebee and Spike surrounded when Trailbreaker used his force field to interrupt Shrapnel's control beam. The clones crumbled. A Plague of Insecticons

The Insecticons teamed up with Megatron once again and created a vast number of new clones to serve as the Insecticon Army. The Insecticons and their clones feasted on farmland as a way to harvest energy which was then extracted from them using an Energon Transfer Device. The Insecticon Army was too powerful for the Autobots so Optimus Prime sent Cosmos, Bumblebee, and Spike to Floron III to pick up some robotic insecticide. On the way back, Cosmos was contaminated with Morphobot spores. When Cosmos returned to Earth, he crashed and the spores rapidly spread an infestation of Morphobots to a valley. Megatron warned the Insecticons not to come near the valley because they were vulnerable to the robotic insecticide. The Insecticons reasoned that Megatron was lying to them to keep them away from some source of energy and went to the valley anyway.

Megatron had destroyed the robotic insecticide, but when the Insecticons saw the Morphobots they thought they would make a good source of energy and the entire Insecticon Army descended for what they thought would be a feast. The Morphobots feasted on the clones instead. Only the Insecticons themselves made it out alive. Quest for Survival

Under the command of Megatron, the Insecticons and some clones were eating a city. The Protectobots evacuated the city, allowing the Autobots to destroy all the clones. The Revenge of Bruticus

Toys

Generation 1

• Insectron Clone Army (multi-pack, 2004)
  • Japanese ID number: 73, 74, 75 (individuals), 76 (clones set)

Salvo, Shothole, and Zaptrap are included in this e-Hobby exclusive set. They are redecos of the Insecticons Bombshell, Kickback, and Shrapnel.

Notes

• Only Bombshell, Kickback, and Shrapnel were featured in the cartoon, but the e-Hobby bios states that cloning is an ability possessed by "Insecticons". Therefore, it is possible that the Deluxe Insecticons (Barrage, Chop Shop, Ransack, and Venom) are also capable of self-replicating. However, Deluxe Insecticons were not part of Japanese fiction, so those Japanese bios probably don't apply to them.
• The clones didn't have an official name in the cartoon, but the e-Hobby bio for Zaptrap calls them "Insecticlones".