Grotusque
- Grotusque is an Autobot Monsterbot (and sometimes a former Decepticon) from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Grotusque laughs at life and everything in it. Why shouldn't he when nothing out there could ever be as frightening as his own reflection in the mirror? Still, Grotusque gamely laughs off even his own hideous appearance and alternate mode with a joke about Primus having had a little too much high-grade energon that day.
He's jovial, upbeat, and irreverent by nature despite his frightening exterior. To the frequent amusement (and sometimes annoyance) of his comrades, Grotusque can be counted on to fill the air with laughter and lighthearted jokes in even the darkest or least appropriate of situations. To their dismay he's simply incapable of taking anything totally seriously. Yet they have little other reason to complain, even if there are rumors he was once on the other side of the war; Grotusque's courage is legendary and he's a top-notch fighter. He's also quite brilliant at his function as strategist, with a sharp and analytical mind that's perfect for planning masterful campaigns (and witty quips). Fighting is fun, in Grotusque's opinion, or he simply wouldn't do it, and, in the end, death is as much a joke as life, so smile and laugh a little, and enjoy yourself while you're here.
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Grotusque and the Monsterbots joined Fortress Maximus in abandoning Cybertron, hoping to find a new life for themselves on the planet of Nebulos. Grotusque's flight abilities proved handy as the Autobots awkwardly made their way down to the surface from their orbiting ship; he arrived with a fellow Autobot hitching a ride by hanging on to his tail, noting as he did that the organic planet before them looked quite strange. Ring of Hate!
Conflicts with the locals made the Autobots' lives on Nebulos difficult, and those conflicts were only exacerbated by the Decepticons' arrival and subsequent binary bonding with a deceitful group of local Nebulans, including the pairing of Decepticon leader Scorponok with high-ranking official Lord Zarak. Zarak turned the Nebulan people against the Autobots, portraying the Decepticons as public heroes even as they raided Nebulos's resources to serve the lust for power of both Zarak and Scorponok. When the Decepticons attempted to take control of the Mercury Gardens of Melanossus, the Monsterbots and several comrades attempted to stop them. They failed—not only did the Decepticon Headmasters kill every Autobot but the escaping Monsterbots, they also successfully proclaimed their heroism to the media for driving off the Autobot "attackers". Brothers in Armor!!
The Autobots eventually quit Nebulos and traveled to Earth, where Grotusque continued to serve as one of Fortress Maximus's top advisors. He was part of a select greeting party involved in the first meeting with the Ark's crew. Totaled!
The Headmasters cartoon
- Voice actor: Masaharu Satō (Japanese)
Grotusque and his Monsterbot comrades were called in by Rodimus Prime to help liberate the enslaved natives on planet Beast. Their mission was a success, and the Monsterbots subsequently stayed on Beast in order to protect it from future Decepticon attacks. Rebellion on Planet Beast There was apparently a change of plans some time later, as the Monsterbots were ordered to help the Autobots with a battle against the Decepticons on the planet Paradise. During the fight, Grotusque used his flaming breath to help topple Abominus and destroy the Decepticons' energon cubes. Head Formation of Friendship
Transformers in 3-D
The three Monsterbots and Kup comprised Ultra Magnus's team during the search for Metascan Alpha. The group ended up on a desolate moon, confronted by Cyclonus and the Terrorcons. Ultra Magnus insisted they ignore the Decepticons and continue with their mission. They flew down to the planet below, only to find it under attack by the Destructons. Grotusque commented that the foe was "really ugly", shortly before being struck by Bruton's Confusion Club. The Autobots beat a hasty retreat back to the moon, where the Destructons began beating on the Decepticons, and Magnus was able to engineer an Autobot/Decepticon truce. The War Against the Destructons, Chapter 1 of 3
Dreamwave comic continuity
3H comics
Less than 3 deca-cycles after the reformatting of Cybertron into a technorganic wonderland, Grotusque and his fellow Monsterbots (apparently all having undergone the Great Upgrade downsizing) are seen exiting a bar on the CSSB-16 Spaceport soused out of their minds on some high quality energon. The Wreckers: Finale Part 1
IDW comics continuity
Grotusque is part of the mercenary Monsterbots team, who do violent work not for fun but for money (and also fun). The Monsterbots were called in to assist Grimlock, who was having Machination problems. Maximum Dinobots #2 Grotusque helped by eating Headmasters, god damn. Maximum Dinobots #3
After the initial bout of Headmaster slaughter, the Monsterbots agreed to drop the Dynobots off at Machination headquarters for a final reckoning. Aboard their ship, Grotusque and Doublecross observed quietly (and slightly menacingly) as Repugnus negotiated a fee with Grimlock. The Monsterbots dropped the Dynobots off at their destination, while taking some anti-air fire. Luckily, the Monsterbots' ship was well-armed and they were able to easily destroy all ground defenses with a blanket dispersal of firepower. Maximum Dinobots #4
Their agreement with the Dynobots called for evac as well, and Slag, Snarl, and Swoop eventually showed up to be pulled out. Repugnus even offered up membership in the Monsterbots to the trio. But the three Dynobots eventually decided that they would stay behind to fight after all. The Monsterbots presumably left the planet shortly thereafter. Maximum Dinobots #5
A few years later, Grotusque had apparently rejoined the Autobot cause. Together with Cloudburst, he was performing a routine security inspection of Kimia Facility when Cyclonus blasted straight through said security with a huge number of Sweeps in tow. Grotusque and Cloudburst rushed to Kimia's armories only to find them already infested with Sweeps, and were ultimately killed in the battle for the facility. Chaos Part One: Lamentations
Commercial appearances
Grotusque and the Monsterbots were created accidentally during an attempt to create new Autobots. Kup raced to warn Rodimus Prime and Blurr of the accident, as the wild Monsterbots trashed the lab where they were born. Thankfully the Decepticons attacked just then and the Monsterbots burst out of the building through the wall to fight them. In the ensuing battle, Grotusque traded fire with Scourge. Rodimus expressed relief that, though they were monsters, at least they were Autobot monsters.
Games
The Transformers (PS2)
Toys
Generation 1
- Grotusque (Monsterbot, 1987)
- Japanese ID number: C-99
- Accessories: "Vaporator" double-barreled blaster, left and right wings
- Grotusque transforms into a robotic winged sabertoothed-cat-like monster (and see Notes). Pressing a button on the back of his beast-mode neck makes "cold" sparks shoot from his mouth, which opens and closes. His "Vaporator" weapon can also mount on his beast-mode back.
- Note that if the toy is transformed into beast mode properly—as depicted in the instructions, and the picture on this page—the curvature of its back is so acute that the monster must either be standing on the tips of its claws with its head pointed down at the ground, or facing forwards while rearing up on its hindlegs in a manner that makes it look less like a terrifying monster and more like a pudgy gerbil trying to drink from a cage water bottle. Leaving the beast hindquarters partially unconnected to the forequarters (as was done in his original catalog photo) allows Grotusque a more "normal" posture.
Notes
- Grotusque's name is obviously a play on "grotesque", which works on the most obvious level as a description of how ugly and awful this Monsterbot is; similar wordplay was used with fellow Monsterbot Repugnus. However, Grotusque's twisted, many-different-animals-mashed-together alternate mode actually matches another definition of "grotesque"—that of the same sort of fanciful monstrosities that were carved into gothic structures for centuries. See, parents, this stuff is educational too!
Foreign names
- Japanese: Grotus (グロテス Gurotesu)
- Italian: Tigerbot
