Sludge (G1)
| The name or term "Sludge" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Sludge (disambiguation). |
- Sludge is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
"Sludge dumb" is how Grimlock, the Dinobot commander himself, describes the plodding Autobot. The Dinobots have a perhaps undeserved reputation for being dimwitted, but Sludge is the genuine article. He makes the other four look like scholars in comparison.
As Sludge can't make much of an impression in the mental department, he likes to make his presence known physically. He'll stomp his hefty hide around just so you know he's there. None of the Dinobots really like Optimus Prime, but he and Slag share an especially intense dislike for him. Sludge believes that the strongest should lead, and in his mind, Grimlock is the strongest Autobot. But Sludge genuinely believes in the Autobot cause, so he tolerates Prime. Beyond that, Sludge is actually what you might call nice... Maybe not to Swoop's level, but nicer than the other guys.
| “ | Sludge no like Predacons. Let's stomp! | ” |
—Sludge's solution to every problem, "Call of the Primitives" | ||
Fiction
Generation 1 cartoon continuity
The Transformers cartoon
- Voice actor: Frank Welker (English), Kenyū Horiuchi (Japanese), Minoru Inaba (Japanese, The Movie only), Georges Atlas (French), Edgar Wald (Latin American), Manfred Schmidt (German, Webworld), Bernd Simon (German, Grimlocks New Brain & Call of the Primitives), Thomas Albus (German, The Movie TV Dub) Willy Schäfer (German, Generation 2 Dub)
Sludge was developed, along with his fellow Dinobots Slag and Grimlock, after the Autobots discovered dinosaur bones in their volcanic headquarters. Inspired by the power of the prehistoric beasts, Wheeljack and Ratchet built a trio of Dinobots to add firepower to the Autobot forces. The Dinobots proved too dangerous at first, and Optimus Prime ordered Wheeljack to abandon the Dinobot project. Wheeljack continued improving the trio of titans in secret, crafting memory components that made them smarter and easier to control. When the rest of the Autobots were captured by the Decepticons at the Great Falls hydroelectric power plant, Wheeljack dispatched the Dinobots to free their comrades and destroy the Decepticons. The Dinobots succeeded in forcing a Decepticon retreat and were welcomed as members of the Autobot team. S.O.S. Dinobots
Sludge's greatest weakness was his sheer stupidity. Megatron exploited the Dinobots' weaknesses to turn them against Optimus Prime, Sludge merely choosing to follow whichever leader was "strongest". When Optimus Prime risked his life to boldly save Grimlock, the Dinobots rejoined him. War of the Dinobots
Sludge and his fellow Dinobots were called upon to stop a colossal tidal wave, The Ultimate Doom, Part 2 and afterwards, he and Grimlock helped repair a city that was destroyed during the terror. Countdown to Extinction
The Dinobots were in the Ark to fight off the Constructicons who came for Teletraan I. Sludge didn't recognize the new Decepticons, but was still willing to pummel them. When the Constructicons merged into Devastator, Hound created a giant hologram that distracted the beast and gave the Dinobots an advantage, forcing Devastator into a crevice of lava. Heavy Metal War
During a game of football, Sludge was tackled by Hound. The other Autobots later went on a mission to stop Nergill and the Decepticons at Washington, D.C., and when in dire need of assistance, Wheeljack called in the Dinobots as reinforcements. When they arrived, Sludge was pleased to hear Grimlock's order to "transform and destroy", and his powerful feet created earthquakes. Later, Sludge and the rest of the Dinobots were deposited on Negill’s home base of Sub-Atlantica, with instructions to act prehistoric. The Dinobots subsequent destruction made Nergill decide to detonate the entire base rather than let the Autobots have it, and everyone was forced to flee the vanquished Sub-Atlantica.Atlantis, Arise!
Once again, when the Autobots were overwhelmed and needed good brute force, the Dinobots were called in. This time at Quantum Laboratories where the super computer, TORQ III, began remote controlling machines to go on the offensive. Sludge helped out with the destruction of trucks, stomping them like ants. Sludge's long neck gave Optimus Prime a boost so that he could rescue Paul Gates who was held captive in his office. Day of the Machines
After Wheeljack's attempt to show off the Dinobots' finesse was a failure, (Sludge stepped on Slag's tail, unleashing his flame-breath, and it only got worse from there) they were sent to Dinobot Island, a place where the Dinobots would be at home. Sludge didn't mind, because he thought that more room was a good thing for a big guy like him. On the island, he rescued Spike from a lake and had a rock fly in his face (courtesy of Snarl), but with the other four Dinobots, he was cornered by Megatron and fell over a cliff, plunging into a tar pit. Dinobot Island, Part 1 Luckily, Sludge survived, and the Dinobots got out of the pit and outnumbered the Decepticons who had arrived, forcing them to retreat. Sludge then helped release the island's energy return the flow of time to normal. Dinobot Island, Part 2
When Bumblebee saw Decepticons at a public airport and Optimus Prime's squad was unavailable, Wheeljack sent in the Dinobots. At the airport, Sludge rescued Bumblebee from the incoming Blitzwing, and helped overpower Megatron’s forces, but when he recklessly changed into robot modes with his comrades, Sludge was vanquished by the Decepticons' assault. Though the Autobot doctors did their best, Sludge was no longer interested in doing labour for Optimus Prime and quit with his fellow Dinobots. When the Autobots were incapacitated by the deterioration of cybertonium in their bodies, Spike and Carly pleaded with the Dinobots to help steal some of the critical component from the Decepticons.
Instead, the Dinobots used the Decepticon Space Bridge to go to Cybertron, Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1 where Sludge and the others were captured by Shockwave and reprogrammed into thinking that they obeyed the Decepticons. Shockwave stuck them down in the Cybertonium pits to mine more of the element. Luckily, they was rescued by Spike and Carly, and sent back to Earth with a healthy supply of cybertonium for the weakened Autobots. Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2
By the year 2005, The Auobots had been driven off of Cybertron completely, but were formulating an assult from two of the planet’s moons. The Dinobots worked in the armament factories, until the Battle of Autobot City had them accompany Optimus Prime to earth. Sludge and the Dinobots were charged with destroying Devastator, but were overmatched. During the attack, Devastator struck Sludge so hard his optic sensors bulged out of his head. Fortunately, none of the Dinobots suffered any fatal damage as they were all present when Spike and Bumblebee contacted them from Moon Base 2 about Unicron’s attack.
When Galvatron and his troops attacked the city, the Dinobots escaped with Kup and Hot Rod, only to have their spaceship shot down over Quintessa. The Dinobots managed to save the two Autobots from an army of Sharkticons with the help of Wheelie, and Sludge and Slag dispatched a Quintesson prosecutor—by standing on top of a door under which he'd been caught. They all escaped Quintessa and flew to Junkion, reuniting with their fellow Autobots. Later, Sludge was part of the Dinobot attack on Unicron and was able to tail-whip the butt of a god. Unicron wasn’t quite a sport about this and the Dinobots just barely escaped being grabbed by the planet eater.The Transformers: The Movie
Sludge and Snarl were later left to guard Cybertron when a seemingly resurrected Optimus Prime returned, saying that Hot Rod, Kup, Ultra Magnus, and Arcee had been killed by the Quintessons. When the aforementioned Autobots turned up on Cybertron alive, Arcee said that she was happy to see them, but Sludge was not happy, as he thought that meant he and Snarl were dead. Dark Awakening
When Grimlock detected Dinosaur transform static at the crime scene where Fort Knox once stood, all the Dinobots (and Sky Lynx) were interrogated about the theft of the building. They were quickly cleared by Perceptor, though. Sludge and the other Dinobots later accompanied the Autobots in the liberation of Carbombya from the Decepticons. Thief in the Night
Sludge helped the Autobots mine isidrite on an asteroid. When the Decepticons arrived, Sludge kicked aside a ”Dumb Sweep” that Sky Lynx tossed his way, and later knocked Galvatron over before he could blast Ultra Magnus. Sludge escaped with the other Autobots aboard Sky Lynx. Webworld
Sludge was on hand to watch the activation of the Autobots’ new power generator. After Grimlock had suffered an accident which dramatically increased his intelligence, Sludge, along with Slag and Snarl, found their offer to fish with them rebuked. Grimlock explained the more important things he had to do, but Sludge really didn’t understand what he was talking about. Later, the Dinobots came looking for Grimlock who was working on a new spaceship. Grimlock remarked that they were just in time to assist him, but Sludge complained about the Dinobot leader’s new demeanor and the disapproving Dinobots left to go hunting without Grimlock. The Dinobots were much happier when Grimlock was returned to his normal self and they all went back to fishing together. Grimlock's New Brain.
Sludge was present during a battle with the Decepticons on the Moon, and was among the Primitives who were summoned by Primacron's assistant. Travelling on board Trypticon, when Headstrong insulted Grimlock, Sludge, who didn't like the Predacons, suggested that they stomp them. Soon a scuffle broke out, until Trypticon shook everyone back into place. The Primitives kept their tempers in check for the rest of their journey, locating the assistant and learning their mission to fight Tornedron. When Tornedron arrived on the Oracle's planet, Sludge and the Dinobots were defeated during an attempted ambush on the creature, as were most of the other Primitives. However, everyone was restored to normal thanks to the actions of Grimlock.Call of the Primitives
The Headmasters cartoon
When the Decepticons invaded Cybertron to conquer Vector Sigma, Sludge defended the planet alongside his fellow Dinobots. The Mystery of Planet Master
Marvel Comics continuity
Generation 1
While the Autobots remained dormant inside Mount St. Hilary, the Ark detected Cybertronian life. Dispatching a probe, the Ark learned that Shockwave had come to Earth and was wandering the Savage Land. The Ark used data gathered from the Savage Land to convert five of the dormant Autobots into the Dinobots. They traveled to fight Shockwave, but all combatants became trapped in a tar pit. The Last Stand The Dinobots were later freed by Ratchet and helped him fight and defeat Megatron. Repeat Performance!
Sludge, like the other Dinobots, went a-wandering after this but reverted to his base instincts after his primary cybo-dendrons burnt out, probably because the insulation that protected them had been eroded by 4 million years submerged in a tar-pit. Sludge ended up in the waterways of Littlewood, California, where he was befriended by Joy Meadows. Unfortunately, the Decepticons attacked, took him away from his newfound love, and made him fight Grimlock. Dinobot Hunt!
While Sludge was recovering from brain surgery, he dreamed of Joy, Victory! and when he'd recovered, he saw her on TV and decided to search her out. It was lucky he did, because the Intelligence and Information Institute had marked her for death to protect their Robot-Master story. Sludge saved her life, and she hooked up with the Dinobots, though both she and they viewed Sludge's open crush as quite weird. However, even the power of unrequited love couldn't stop the Decepticons from defeating the Dinobots and forcing Joy to stop her investigation. In the National Interest. Later on, he ended up fighting a time-travelling Galvatron. Fallen Angel
Sludge was then destroyed by an Underbase-powered Starscream Dark Star before being revived with Nucleon by Grimlock on Hydrus Four. The Pri¢e of Life! After reviving the other deactivated Autobots aboard the Ark, the Dinobots returned to Cybertron to fight Unicron. On the Edge of Extinction! Subsequently, Sludge found himself facing a new enemy when the Demons rose from beneath Cybertron's surface. Still Life! When the planet threatened to tear itself apart, the Decepticons abandoned the Autobots to their fate, but Sludge and the other Dinobots had stashed some Decepticon battle cruisers aeons before, allowing them to pursue their enemies to the planet Klo. A Savage Circle In the ensuing ambush, Sludge was killed and then resurrected by the Last Autobot as the Autobots finally won... End of the Road!
Marvel UK future timelines
In 2008, Sludge and the Dinobots were one of several special units unleashed on the Decepticon attack force when Scourge and Cyclonus led the 'Cons on a siege of the Autobots' main base on Cybertron. Autobot High Command soon learned this assault was only a distraction, however, engineered by Unicron himself who was reconstructing himself on the planet of Junk. When Smokescreen returned from Junk with this news, Rodimus Prime gathered Scattershot, Grimlock, and the rest of the Dinobots with him to make an assault on Junk. Much to Rodimus's dismay, Sludge and the Dinobots didn't hold back at all when attacking the Junkions Unicron had mind-controlled into doing his bidding, and tore through them as if they were any other enemy. The Legacy of Unicron!
Earthforce
After Grimlock revived the Dinobots under mysterious circumstances, Shockwave and his Decepticons attempted to beat the information out of the Dinobots. Didn't work too well. Sludge engaged in some serious swordplay with Motormaster, pitting energo-sword against ionizer sword. The Decepticons were quickly driven off. Two Steps Back! Naturally, when Optimus Prime put Grimlock in charge of Autobot activity on Earth, Sludge and the Dinobots joined his new Earthforce. Break-Away!
Early on, the Dinobots tried to teach Grimlock the value of a good joke; he pelted them with the world's largest snowball. Snow Fun! Later, they tried to teach Slag the value of not killing everyone in sight and chewing on their circuitry; he got a little hot and bothered and left them a little... run down. The 4,000,000 Year Itch!
Later, Snarl began to suffer from the rusting disease called Corrodia Gravis, leaving Earthforce in the uncomfortable position of getting help from the only Transformer who could give Snarl a compatible systems boost: Starscream. Fortunately, they found the perfect opportunity for quid pro quo when they came upon the Decepticons' Louisiana headquarters and found Starscream under attack by Megatron, Shockwave and a group of assassins. Grimlock stuttered a bit on the order, but he sent Sludge and Swoop to keep Starscream alive. They fought off the Mayhems and kept Starscream around long enough for him to give Snarl the boost. The Lesser Evil!
Another Time & Place
Several months after the golden age of Cybertron was reintroduced, Sludge and most of his fellow Dinobots had succumbed to the transfiguring effects of Nucleon and lost their ability to transform. When Grimlock received information that the Hydrus Four facilities had reopened, and discovered a means of reversing Nucleonic changes, the Dinobots jumped at the idea. Despite Prime's half-hearted warnings, Sludge and his teammates followed Grimlock back to Hydrus Four in the hopes of becoming Transformers once again. They were followed by the "exiled" Decepticons, however, and a battle with a huge native creature delayed the Dinobots long enough for Bludgeon's crew to get ahead of them and take over the Nucleon facility. The Dinobots were laid low by a Holocaust Trigger, overloading their sensory circuits so that they were helpless before the Decepticons. Cruelly tortured, the Dinobots were still left alive so that they could witness the rebirth of Megatron, thanks to the Nucleon infusions Bludgeon was feeding him. Luckily, the Autobots had long since learned to become worried whenever the Dinobots were out of sight for too long, and had followed them to Hydrus Four. Roadhandler, Tote and several Micromasters managed to free the injured Dinobots, and an Autobot strike force brought down their Decepticon captors. The Nucleon reversion process was a success, and Sludge and his comrades were restored to fully operational Transformers. Another Time & Place
Generation 2
Sludge and the Dinobots were fighting alongside Grimlock and a small group of Autobot firestormers when they uncovered the Cybertronian Empire and their terraforming measures. After calling in Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots, they became part of a major offensive against not only Jhiaxus and his ilk, but everything they represented. War Without End! Despite Prime serving as overall commander, however, Sludge and his buddies were still Dinobots first and foremost. So when Grimlock wanted to take first strike action against Prime's orders, there was no question who they'd follow. Sludge and the others were captured almost immediately, though, and only escaped thanks to the timely intervention of Optimus Prime and his more loyal group of soldiers. Devices and Desires!
Sludge continued to fight alongside the Autobots with his Dinobot comrades, on both Earth and Ethos. The Gathering Darkness Escalation! Later, after the Autobots forged an alliance with the first-generation Decepticons against the Cybertronians, the Dinobots got into the spirit of things — they teamed up with Headstrong and Weirdwolf in a metal-munching contest, to see who could chow down on the most Cybertronians.
Man, too bad Hun-Grrr and Skullcruncher weren't there to make it a real contest. Total War!
Classics
Dreamwave comics continuity
Sludge was originally part of Grimlock's Lightning Strike Coalition. They were a small squad that basically ran amok disrupting the Decepticons (which typically involved stealing energon and taking names). He didn't have much of a speaking role (like at all) and basically plodded along and smashed whatever Grimlock told him to. Later he and his fellow Dynobots (minus Grimlock who was busy executing other people for treason) aided Prowl's group with Trypticon before joining forces with good ol' one eye to help against The Fallen. Later, he went to Earth along with the other Dynobots to go crush some bugs and eventually wound up under Megatron's control. They were used to blackmail Grimlock to serve the Decepticons once again; however, Meg's defeat allowed them to be freed by their mighty leader and taken to Cybertron (in a stolen Decepticon vessel no less) where they did what they did best, causing massive destruction against Shockwave's regime. However this was cut short as old one eye let loose the Guardian robots after them, leading to some 'rest time'. They were last seen being briefed by Ultra Magnus as well as standing around being huge.
G.I.Joe vs the Transformers
When Teletran 3 malfunctioned and sent a random number of Transformers into different points in Earth's timeline, Sludge and his comrades ended up in the planet's distant past, where they were reformatted into dinosaurs and took on the "Dinobot" moniker. They were eventually brought back to present day Cybertron by a group of G.I. Joes and a Cobra Viper, where their powerful dinosaur modes easily overwhelmed Shockwave and his troops. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #4
Redemption Center
Sludge agreed with Grimlock's plan to deal with a helpless Starscream by slagging the Decepticon and scattering the pieces. Redemption Center
IDW Generation 1 comics
Sludge responded to Optimus' rallying call for additional support and fought in the following battle for control of Cybertron. Broadcast During the battle, he and his Dynobots took out alot of tanks. Endgame
Sludge and the other Dynobots followed Grimlock to revenge themselves against Shockwave, who blew up a cache of energon they had stolen. When Shockwave traveled to Earth, the Dynobots pursued him and reformatted themselves to transform into robotic dinosaurs with a synthetic skin as a defense against energon overload. Sadly, it did not protect the Dynobots from Shockwave's energy blasts, which melted the artificial skin and caused the Dynobots to go into stasis lock due to excessive energon radiation. Due to a deadman's switch, the Dynobots' ship blasted a volcano that buried everyone in molten lava. Spotlight: Shockwave
Thousands of years later, the Dynobots were eventually excavated by Skywatch, and though Grimlock was the first to be brought back online, he was freed from Skywatch's control through a virus implanted by a Machination spy (under orders from Scorponok). Scorponok wanted Grimlock to join him, but Grimlock refused, fought Scorponok and escaped, vowing to find and rescue Sludge and the other Dynobots. Scorponok, however, plans to take control of the Dynobots himself and use them to assassinate Grimlock. Spotlight: Grimlock
Skywatch activated Sludge, and in a test run, had him attack a bi-plane. When Grimlock showed up in Fallon, he and the other Dynobots were sent to intercept him. Maximum Dinobots #1
He smashed through buildings, rammed Grimlock and got chucked around by his neck before his reprogramming was toned down, allowing him to find out Grimlock had set up a dead man's switch without telling the team and then hear Grimlock's defense. Sludge's face went ":(" during this. Maximum Dinobots #2
Along with the other Dinobots, Sludge walked away after Swoop read Grimlock the riot act. When Grimlock was attacked and almost destroyed by the Sunstreaker clones, however, the team reunited once again for battle. Although fighting valiantly, they might have been destroyed, if not for the intervention of the Monsterbots, who were earlier contacted by Grimlock. Maximum Dinobots #3
Aboard the Monsterbots' ship, Sludge and the others wonder why Grimlock would side with the outcasts. They gave Grimlock a stern look when he exited the cockpit. The Dynobots didn't see the point of fighting Scorponok, but Grimlock said that Scorponok made it their fight when he turned the Dynobots against him. Snarl disagreed, saying that it has always been Grimlock's fight, that he and the other Dynobots went along with him, and that it was now Grimlock's wounded pride at stake. After the Monsterbots blasted away the defenses, Grimlock exited the ship, saying that there was no way he could let this go, and that with or without the Dynobots, there would be a reckoning for Scorponok. The Dynobots decided that arguing is pointless and followed Grimlock. When Hunter O'Nion pulled the cords from Sunstreaker's head, shutting him down, the clones ceased to function. Sludge cried out in victory, but the moment is short-lived as Scorponok blasted Sludge into stasis. Maximum Dinobots #4
Grimlock stared down at Sludge's dead body, brooding about how it was his fault Sludge was dead... while a battle between Scorponok and Shockwave (for rights of revenge upon Grimlock) raged on around him. Eventually Snarl, Slag, and Swoop decide to get to the Monsterbots' ship while the getting was good, but Grimlock stayed behind with Sludge. Grimlock tried infusing some of his spark energy into Sludge to revive him, but it seemed to have no effect. Shockwave got the upper hand and let Scorponok escape, and in frustration, Grimlock attacked Shockwave. Grimlock and Shockwave were too busy fighting to notice the return of Slag, Snarl, and Swoop, who reasoned that, while helping Grimlock might not be much of a cause, it still beat being no better than the Monsterbots. They were noticed by Sludge, however, who seemed to have recovered due to Grimlock's treatment after all. The four of them dove into the fray proper, but Grimlock ordered them to go after Scorponok instead. When Hot Rod was about to get squished by Scorponok, the remaining Dynobots showed up in just the nick of time. At Hot Rod's urgings, Swoop severed the connections keeping Scorponok's head conscious. But before the Dynobots could kill the rest of Scorponok, Ultra Magnus showed up and told them that Scorponok would be revived and made to answer to a tribunal instead. He then said they should purge the entire Machination facility, gather up all related Machination technology, and get as far away from Earth as possible as soon as possible—a plan that the Dynobots, Hot Rod, and Hunter were all perfectly OK with. Ultra Magnus later told Grimlock that having Scorponok and Shockwave in custody could help offset Grimlock's own sentence, and that the other Dynobots' warrants had been canceled, and Grimlock was content with that and the fact that Sludge was alive again thanks to him. Sludge and the others meanwhile happily repaired the Skyfire. Maximum Dinobots #5
Wings Universe
Together with Hot Rod and Kup, the Dinobots were onboard a shuttle fleeing from Cyclonus, Scourge and the Sweeps, though they were more concerned about hearing one of Kup's war stories than being under attack. When they found temporary safety inside a nebula, Kup relented and told them about the time he was in the Elite Guard and fought on Beta-Nine. Eventually the Decepticons found them, but Sludge and the other Dinobots were so angry about the interruption that they made short work of the attackers. Wings of Honor
Games
The Transformers (PS2)
Toys
Generation 1
- Sludge (Dinobot, 1985/1986/1991/1992)
- Japanese ID number: 27
- Accessories: "Energo-Sword", "Electron Cannon", "Rocket Pod", 3 rockets
- Sludge was released as part of the second series of Transformers in 1985, transforming into a robotic "brontosaurus". He has a trio of silver rockets, a rocket launcher, a black gun, and a red sword. Like most Diaclone-era molds, Sludge also has a conspicuous driver compartment located in his chest.
- Sludge was re-released in the European "Classics" line in 1991. In Japan, he and the other Dinobots were offered as mail-away items during Operation Combination; Sludge cost 2300 yen (his original retail price) and two Robot Points.
- In stark contrast to most Transformers toys of his era, Sludge is fairly well articulated in robot mode. He has a waist swivel, his legs move in and out at the hips as well as back and forth, and he has articulated knees. He also has articulated elbows and wrists, although they can only bend inward. Still, impressive for his time. He can totally facepalm.
Merchandise
Decoy
- Cybertron Hero Collection 9 (multi-pack, 1986)
- Sludge (1987)
- Decoy number: 14
- The figurine was later brought over to Hasbro markets as part of the Decoy promotion, largely identical to the Japanese release except for the fact that the number on his back was replaced with a simple "checklist" number. Like all Autobot Decoys, he was a randomly-chosen pack-in available with the carded Throttlebots, Aerialbots, Protectobots and Technobots.
Notes
- Sludge was originally a Diaclone "Dinosaur Robo Brontosaurus". The only differences between this incarnation and the Transformers release is that the Diaclone version has a gold-chromed sword and a blue crotch piece rather than red, as well as coming with a red-and-black Diaclone pilot figure.
- Sludge turns into a Brontosaurus (a sauropod dinosaur), a dinosaur that, due to skeletal misidentification at its discovery, does not actually exist. However, in the IDW continuity, he was depicted as an Apatosaurus.
- Sludge is the only one of the original Dinobots not to share his alt mode with another character in another series (although considering that it doesn't exist, that ain't too difficult).
- The overall design and transformation sequence of the original Sludge toy served as the basis for Thunder Geist, one of four recurring villainous henchmen on the Takara/Sunrise co-production Brave Exkaiser. In what might be called a vision of things to come, the four "Geisters" were once briefly fused into a single robot called "Mad Geister" (マッドガイスター Maddogaisutā). However, because each Geister controlled a portion of the combined body—and, aside from Ptera Geist, they had the accumulated brain power of a Froot Loop—this ended rather badly. In a more successful (if not also prescient) later development, the Geisters learned to merge in groups of two, with Thunder Geist forming the lower body of "Pteder" (プテダー Putedā).
- Swoop and Sludge's absence from the Generation 2 toyline has never been fully explained, though rumors of what might have been persist. In the late 2000s, packaging art of both in new colors was put up for auction on eBay — seemingly from the collection of a former Hasbro employee — indicating what he might have looked like in the line. This art surfaced alongside a screaming yellow-orange and turquoise Grimlock, so it is possible that the three were at one time planned for a second wave of Dinobots.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Sludge (スラージ Surāji)
- French: Slug, Terro (Canada)
- Hungarian: Iszap
- Italian: Bronto
- Portuguese: Chafurda (Brazil comic) Lama (Portugal)
References
- ↑ Jim Sorenson revealed that the Generation 1 cartoon series bible features a descriptions of him typed with the name "Piledrive", then crossed out by hand and relabeled "Sludge". He was also listed parenthetically as "Brontobot".
- ↑ "Bronton" is from the Sunbow Productions cast list page for "Countdown to Extinction", and was evidently coined by writer Donald F. Glut.[1]
