Snaptrap (G1)
| This article is about the evil Decepticon. For the heroic member of the Mayhem Suppression Squad, see Snaptrap (SG). |
- Snaptrap is a Decepticon Seacon from the Generation 1 continuity family.
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 Swamps 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
Generation 1
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.
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
Earthforce
Sometime later, 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!
Classics
Snaptrap and the Seacons were eventually reconstructed, and came to serve under Bludgeon's command. Snaptrap rose in the Decepticon ranks to become one of Bludgeon's top lieutenants. As the conflict between Bludgeon and the re-emerging rival faction led by Megatron reached its peak, Snaptrap was attending to his leader's battle plans on a distant planet in preparation for an attack from space. Once Bludgeon learned that a member of his own team had compromised their strategies to the enemy, he ordered Snaptrap to assemble the Seacons so that might confront the betrayer. They located the alleged traitor, Hun-Grrr, and a fight broke out. Snaptrap traded blows with Hun-Grrr until the Terrorcon leader summoned his fellow combiners and merged into Abominus.
Undaunted, Snaptrap directed the Seacons to blast at Abominus's joint linkages, the weakest part of any combination robot, but to no avail -- the savage warrior was too far gone to notice the pain. Snaptrap therefore ordered his comrades to combine into Piranacon. Taking advantage of his interchanging limbs and extra Targetmaster components, Piranacon levelled the mighty Abominus. Luckily for the other Decepticons, Snaptrap had retained the foresight to set Piranacon's internal timer, forcing him to disassemble just as the battle concluded before his hunter's instinct led him to attack the other Decepticons.
As Bludgeon's men prepared for the coming attack by Megatron's vessels, Snaptrap directed his men to their stations. Once Bludgeon was engrossed in the tactical display, however, Snaptrap showed his true colors. It was the Seacons, not the Terrorcons, who had betrayed Bludgeon to Megatron. A fact he may have recognized nanoclicks before Piranacon's mass compression cannon obliterated him. At Fight's End
Devil's Due G.I. Joe vs. The Transformers comics
In the form of Piranacon, Snaptrap and the Seacons battled Predaking in the Gladiator Zone before joining Serpent O.R.'s new army of Decepticons. The Art of War issue 2 Still combined, the Seacons subsequently helped their new leader capture a few Autobots and Joes before attacking an Autobot peace ceremony. The Art of War issue 3 Although Piranacon helped take down Omega Supreme, he was defeated when Optimus Prime rammed Sixshot into his face. The Art of War issue 4
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
- 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)
- A redeco of the Generation 1 mold above, Timelines Snap Trap [sic] 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).
Transformers (2010)
- Decepticon Piranacon (Seacon giftset, 2010)
- All six Seacons were reissued as a BigBadToyStore exclusive set. The set came with collector cards of each individual Seacon as well as their combined form.
