Spinister (G1)
| This article is about the Decepticon helicopter from Generation 1. For the Decepticon helicopter from Revenge of the Fallen, see Spinister (ROTF). |
- Spinister is a Decepticon from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Spinister is mysterious... terribly mysterious. He cannot cut guns in half with his mind, though he has been known to wield a gun that separates into two Nebulans. These dumb stubbies are Singe and Hairsplitter, if this really matters to anyone.
This grim air warrior seems far more independent of mind than the common Decepticon, though he doesn't go in for the outright mutiny for which Starscream is noted. When he spots unrecognized potential in the Decepticon ranks, however, he may well bring the would-be warrior under his tutelage without the knowledge or permission of his superior officers.
A closed book to the Decepticons, Spinister is a dark menace to his Autobot enemies. Often, the first warning of his approach is the gentle note of a detonating fusion bomb or the delightful hiss of metal boiling away under an assault of charged particles from his beam cannon. How he is so terribly sneaky is unclear, but rumor has it that he has beaten the Romulans by centuries and developed a cloaking device. However, if he has, he hasn't spoken to anybody about it.
Quiet and mysterious, that's how he likes to be and how he intends to stay. Speaking his mind would prevent the whole mysterious, shadow-warrior thing from working. One must wonder how much even his binary-bonded companions know about him.
Also, his name is cooler than Slayride and Sinnertwin combined.
Fiction
Marvel Generation 1 comics
Spinister was recruited into the new Mayhem Attack Squad by Snarler, and placed in charge of training and grading other new recruits to the squad. During a training exercise, a fresh-new warrior named Needlenose went AWOL in the middle of a battle. Spinister went after him, knowing the desertion was punishable by death in the Decepticon Army. He saw promise in the young soldier, though, and so instead faked having difficulty against an Autobot drone he was fighting. Spinister hoped that seeing him in danger would force Needlenose to act, and he was right. Needlenose came back and fought off the drone to "save" Spinister. Because of this, Spinister ignored his temporary loss of courage in the official report, and nominated Needlenose for full membership in the Mayhems, and their mission to hunt down the traitors Carnivac and Catilla. The Hunting Party
Arriving on Earth, the Mayhems confronted Carnivac separately from his new Autobot comrades in the Survivors, and ran him to ground. Way of the Warrior Seeing Carnivac's newfound care for fleshlings, Spinister opened fire into a crowd, committing Carnivac to taking the fire himself in order to protect the humans. Stunned by the gunfire, Carnivac lay wounded as Spinister transformed and was about to pass sentence on him. His fellow traitor Catilla leapt out from nowhere, however, spoiling Spinister's aim. Bludgeon managed to impale the new arrival with his sword, but the Mayhems were then driven off by the Survivors before they could finish Carnivac off as well. A Savage Place!
As a member of the Mayhem Attack Squad, Spinister joined Needlenose, Ruckus and Windsweeper in serving their commander, Thunderwing. They investigated why Autobots were patrolling a sector of space, taking a group of Autobots as prisoner on the planet Pz-Zazz. Bird of Prey! The hostages revealed the search for the Creation Matrix, inflaming Thunderwing's obsession to obtain the artifact. The Mayhem Attack Squad were soon taken to Cheyne, where Spinister and Ruckus took down Dogfight for Thunderwing. As the Autobot proved to be of little use, the Decepticons left. Kings of the Wild Frontier. They next went to Pequod, and Thunderwing sent Spinister, who was beginning to have doubts about the sanity of his leader, and Needlenose to deal with the Autobot Pretenders at the planet while their leader mentally connected with the Klud to discern the Matrix's location. Once he did, he recalled his troops and left. Deadly Obsession On the moon VsQs, where the Matrix was, Thunderwing led his forces in battle with the Autobots there. He abandoned Windsweeper to his fate when the Matrixspawn creature attacked, being more focused on his prize than a fellow Decepticon. When their leader ran off chasing the creature, Spinister held back his fellow Mayhems, telling them it was their duty to look after the injured Windsweeper, and let Thunderwing deal with his own business. Dark Creation
After Thunderwing captured the Matrix and arranged for his team to infiltrate the Ark aboard a stolen shuttle, he quickly found the Matrix's own corrupted persona waxing control over his own mind. Spinister tried to warn him of the madness taking over, only to have Thunderwing fire on his own troop. The shock of having shot one of his loyal soldiers drove home the point for Thunderwing, but it was too late, and the Matrix completely overtook his thoughts. After the Autobots managed to drive Thunderwing out of the ship and into the vacuum of space, Spinister and the Mayhems gave up without a fight, wanting no more violence that day. All Fall Down
Earthforce
While Carnivac was still seeking revenge for Catilla's murder, Spinister and the others set up an island base on Earth while preparing for their next strike. The cowardly Needlenose got on everyone's nerves, though, when the waiting weighed on his circuits enough to compel him to stage a mock emergency drill and test the Mayhems' response time, just in case Carnivac came looking for him. Spinister gave Needlenose a stern rebuke after that, warning him that the next incident would cost him his life. As it turned out, Carnivac HAD infiltrated the base during the commotion, and Needlenose's next round of genuine emergency calls were left unheeded. Cry Wolf! The wolf's next strike on Bludgeon did not go as quietly, and he drew the attention of the rest of the base. Instead of risking himself in close-quarters combat, Carnivac's forte, Spinister wisely chose to blast the traitor from a distance, apparently destroying him. Wolf in the Fold! The Mayhems were then forced to defend themselves against the combined might of the Survivors and Earthforce, who had come to rescue Carnivac from his insane mission of vengeance. While Bludgeon and the others charged head first into battle, Spinister saw no gain in a warrior's suicide, and attempted to slip away. Unfortunately for him, only Carnivac's shell had been destroyed earlier, and the robot within had survived to take his vengeance on the Mayhems, shooting Spinister, crushing Snarler and then assisting the Earthforce in capturing the remaining Decepticons. Where Wolf?
Transformers Comic-Magazin
Template:TransformersComicMagazin Spinister was present when Megatron made peaceful gestures to Humanity in New York City; and the Decepticons gave a "statue" of Snaptrap as a gift to the city. Unsurprisingly, once Humanity was off-guard, the Decepticons struck, and the Autobots barely stopped them. Transformers in Action: The Troy Principle
Classics
Dreamwave Armada comic
In one of many alternate realities, Spinister was one of the few survivors of Unicron's attack on that universe's Cybertron, and has become little more than a gibbering half-insane emotional wreck as a result. When Optimus Prime was accidentally transported into this reality, Spinister told him about Unicron and what he did. Worlds Collide, Part 2 of 4 When Unicron returned soon after Prime's arrival, Spinister welcomed his oblivion with open arms, and was drawn into the Chaos Bringer's open maw and destroyed. Worlds Collide, Part 4 of 4
IDW Generation 1 comics
Back before the war, Spinister appeared in the crowd cheering Megatron's first pit fight. Megatron Origin #2 It is unknown whether he joined the Decepticons at their inception or became part of the movement later on after the conquest of Kaon. Much later, Spinister was working under Razorclaw on Cybertron, shortly after the Battle of Thunderhead Pass. He was part of the last major push for territory on the planet before it became uninhabitable. Spotlight: Blaster Millennia later, Spinister still served with the Predacon leader as part of the crew aboard the starship Thanatos. He followed Divebomb and the other flying Decepticons into battle with Thunderwing on Cybertron. Stormbringer #4
Spinister was among the Decepticons imprisoned on Cybertron after the war with the D-Void. The Autonomy Lesson
Toys
Generation 1
- Spinister (Targetmaster, 1988)
- Accessories: Hairsplitter and Singe Targetmaster partners/guns
- Spinister transforms into a rather busily-coloured AH-64 Apache attack helicopter. His Targetmaster partners Singe and Hairsplitter can be attached onto peg holes on the underside of his wings. The rotors spin, but the main rotor tends to fold back into its storage mode when turned.
- Spinister, like all the Double Targetmasters, was never released in Japan.
Timelines
- Spinister and Octopunch (multipack, 2012)
