Zarak (G1)

Zarak is a Nebulan character in the U.S. Generation 1 continuity and a Decepticon character in the Japanese Generation 1 continuity.

Marvel Comics

Lord Zarak is depicted as a politician, who is blackmailed and manipulated by the Decepticon Scorponok into working for him and binary-bonding with him. In this continuity, Zarak is shown to have a family as well.

Animated Continuity

The Rebirth (U.S.)

In the three part The Rebirth series, Lord Zarak is a vile dictator, the leader of the Hive, a group of telekinetics who have enslaved the population of Nebulos. While the Hive cannot control Transformers as they would normal machines, Zarak nonetheless uses his machines to capture and bully the Decepticons into supplying Headmaster and Targetmaster forms for the other ten members.

Zarak later rebuilt the Hive's underground city into the giant Headmaster body Scorponok, with a special suit that allowed him sole control over Scorponok. In the end, Zarak/Scorponok lost to Fortress Maximus and the Decepticons and Hive fled Nebulos. The series ended but hints of a conflict between Zarak and Galvatron for leadership were present.

Zarak talks in an almost monotone voice, showing little emotion and never anger. While he retains his body, he is never shown to walk without his Headmaster suit and may be a papaplegic. One eye is also drawn closed, he may be blind in it or missing it.

Animation errors also abound in these episodes, as Zarak, both with and without his suit, is drawn as both human and Transformer sized, which fluctuates between scenes.

Headmasters (Japan)

Zarak is a Decepticon who left Cybertron long ago with the rest of the Headmaster robots. Unlike the rest of them, his body is fully Transformer sized, not human sized like the rest. Zarak is notable for his destruction of Cybertron, and placed himself as Decepticon leader while Galvatron was believed dead. Scorponok is his floating fortress and giant Headmaster body.