Skullgrin
| This article is about the American Pretender. For his Japanese counterpart from Masterforce, see Dauros. |
- Skullgrin is a Decepticon Pretender in the Generation 1 continuity family.
Who you meet, when you meetSkullgrin, depends largely on what he happens to be wearing at the time. The cybertronian robot at his core is intelligent, logical, coldblooded, and vain. He tends to put his own interests above the Decepticon cause and is easily distracted from missions and even direct combat should something of interest catch his optic. He finds Earth in particular quite interesting and is eager (in a decadent and mercinary way) to learn what it has to offer him. Should you meet Skullgrin inside his Pretender shell however you'll find yourself facing a whole different beast. Encased in its monsterous hide a new personality takes over and he becomes a snorting, snarling sinister sick-o. Low on brains but brimming over with boundless, unstoppable rage, this Skullgrin is the kind of warrior you just point in a certain direction and let fly. Mindless destruction is his favorite passtime and he won't stop snarling and fighting until everything before him has fallen.
The disconnect between these two personas can leed to some rather eratic behaviour on his part. The two disperate personalities attempting to reconcile themselves within him can make who and what Skullgrin is like on any given day a toss-up, and should the coin come down wrong, a potentially deadly one for anyone nearby.
- French-Canadian name: Crânien
- Italian name: Korno
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
After commandeering a genetics research lab on Earth, Scorponok was able to create the science of Pretender shells using synthoplasmic chambers constructed by him and Vorath. Skullgrin was one of six Decepticon volunteers transformed by the process into Pretenders. Pretender to the Throne!
Sent to Earth alone by Scorponok to secretly construct a fuel depot for his Decepticon comrades, the belief that that his organic shell would arouse less suspicion than a normal Decepticon would due to the increasing public hostilitiy towards giant alien robots (fanned by the Z Foundation). Catching the attention of Rollie Friendly after big-foot style sightings of him appeared in the gutter press, the film director offered Skullgrin a movie role, the Pretender agreeing in exchanging for being paid in fuel. When the public and press went wild over him, Skullgrin began to like being a movie star. But while his Pretender shell had fooled most people, robot hunter Circuit Breaker suspected his origins and when Skullgrin reveals his true form to the movie's leading lady, she attacked and destroyed the film and his movie career. Monstercon from Mars!
Following the destruction of their mobile starship headquarters, the Decepticons established a new base hidden under the New Jersey dumps. Shortly there after, Iguanus was chosen by Scorponok to spearhead a new energy-collecting endeavor by him and his fellow Pretenders. When Skullgrin expressed displeasure at being left with guard duty while the other Pretenders had more exciting roles, Iguanus taunted that it was because movie stardom had made him a softhearted fleshling lover. King 'Con!
Generation 2
Skullgrin's ship was attacked by the Cybertronian Empire. He and the ship exploded during re-entry. New Dawn
Dreamwave comics continuity
Skullgrin was a brillant and methodical field commander for the Decepticons. But nobody likes intelligence in the Decepticon Empire, so his superiors put a shell program in his Pretender shell's circuitry that drove him nuts and made him virtually useless in a leadership position. And everyone lived happily ever after.
IDW comics continuity
Skullgrin was one of the cultists under Bludgeon attempting to resurrect Thunderwing. Then Optimus Prime and the Wreckers arrived, and Springer blew him up with a grenade. Bummer.
Toys
Generation 1
- Skullgrin (1988)
External links
