Bludgeon (G1)
| The name or term "Bludgeon" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Bludgeon (disambiguation). |
- Bludgeon is a Decepticon in the Generation 1 continuity family.
Bludgeon is a ferocious warrior, skilled in the ancient Cybertronian martial art of Metallikato. Utterly vicious and aloof, Bludgeon is also highly religious, adhering to an arcane code of honor.
"Arcane", of course, is code for "bloodthirsty, murderous, sadistic, and subject to the whims of the guy holding the sword."
- French-Canadian name: Gourdin
- Italian name: Teskior
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
(Note: Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.)
Bludgeon killed Catilla, a former Decepticon turned Autobot causing ex-Decepticon Carnivac who loosely allied himself with the Autobot "Survivors" group to hunt Bludgeon to avenge Catilla's death.
He later took on the leadership of Thunderwing's new Mayhem Attack Squad, sent to slay the newly-resurrected Jazz, Bumblebee, and Grimlock. However, alongside the Rescue Patrol, the Mayhems were foiled, and inadvertently awakened the slumbering Primus in the process. During the subsequent battle against Unicron, Bludgeon served as an advisor to Scorponok, and battled against Unicronian cultists on Cybertron. After Unicron's defeat and Scorponok's death, Bludgeon became leader of the Decepticons, and abandoned the ruined Cybertron to the Autobots. Alongside his lieutenant Krok, Bludgeon and the Decepticons invaded and pillaged the planet Klo. The Autobots attempted to stop them, but were routed by the Decepticons until the arrival of Optimus Prime, the Neo-Knights, and The Last Autobot. Their combined assault decimated the Decepticons and sent them into retreat.
Following a brief exile, Bludgeon created a large planet-like spacecraft known as the Warworld, which functioned as a vessel for pirating resources throughout the galaxy. Bludgeon then made a bid to lure Optimus Prime to Earth to steal the Autobot Creation Matrix so life could be granted to a new generation of Decepticon warriors. The plan involved a full-scale attack on Earth and did succeed in drawing Optimus Prime to Earth's defense, but not before Bludgeon was confronted by the newly-rebuilt Megatron, who wanted command of the Decepticons for himself once more. In a brief skirmish, Megatron decapitated Bludgeon's shell and destroyed his inner robot, killing him. The victorious Decepticon leader subsequently displayed Bludgeon's severed head in the Warworld.
Dreamwave Generation 1 comics
During the so-called 'Dark Ages' of the Autobot/Decepticon conflict, Bludgeon, alongside Bugly and Mindwipe, was a disciple of the mysterious being known as The Fallen. Together with him, they captured a number of Transformers in order to perform a bizarre ceremony at Cybertron's core, but were eventually foiled by Jetfire and Grimlock. Bludgeon was stopped from alerting The Fallen of the impending allied attack on the Well of All Sparks by a teleporting Skywarp.
Dreamwave Armada comics
An alternate universe version of Bludgeon later appeared as one of Unicron's heralds in Dreamwave's comic in their cross-over storyline "Worlds Collide," along with Thunderwing, Scourge, Dirge, and Galvatron. This Bludgeon was also a martial artist, but unlike Bludgeon's verbose incarnation in Marvel Comics, this incarnation seemed to be mute. After his Pretender shell is destroyed, he is blown up when Jetfire detonates the Decepticon headquarters that they have taken over.
IDW Comics
Bludgeon is the leader of a team of Decepticons who were assigned by Megatron to look into what Shockwave was researching before he disappeared. Megatron also sent Soundwave to spy on them. Eventually, however, they discovered the remains of Thunderwing, the Decepticon scientist who became the avatar of the Cybertronian cataclysm, and became bent on restoring the wasted Cybertron to its former glory by resurrecting him. He and his team of G1 Pretenders (Iguanus, Finback, Skullgrin, and Bomb-Burst) believed that in reawakening Thunderwing and turning him loose, the mass sacrifice of worlds would allow the rebirth of Cybertron. They also delved into the outlawed bio-graft experiments pioneered by Thunderwing, in an attempt to create super-shells of their own.
 Spoiler warning: Plot details follow. of the next episode/issue in the series or 30 days after release, whichever is sooner |
In 1984 they went to Earth to extract a load of ultra-energon, establishing a base within Mt. St. Helens. Soundwave naturally followed them. He eventually came to them asking for a cut of their profits, believing that they meant to sell the energon, but when he realized that they meant to resurrect Thunderwing he tried to stop them. They used one of Shockwave's devices to lock him in his alt-mode, then caused a volcanic eruption and returned to Cybertron via an orbital bounce.
Twenty years later, when the Wreckers attacked Bludgeon's base on Cybertron by surprise, Iguanus escaped to the bio-graft chamber to find Bludgeon - only to find the cult leader having donned full Pretender armor, giving him a G1 Shell look which is presumably transformable. However, in Bludgeon's rush the shell was not mentally aligned, causing a psychic backlash that took down the Decepticon before the Wreckers even found him. It is unclear whether Bludgeon's mind survived, but if it did it is apparently trapped in torment.
Bludgeon's 'original' mode was vastly overhauled for Stormbringer, evoking much more clearly the more recognisable skull-face and helmet. His shell bore a great resemblance to that of G1, only like Thunderwing's it seems that it may be able to transform into a tank.
Devil's Due GI Joe vs. Transformers continuity
Spoiler warning: Plot details follow. of the next episode/issue in the series or 30 days after release, whichever is sooner |
When Optimus Prime was given the Matrix, Bludgeon attempted to kill him. Some years after failing, he ended up on Earth working with Cobra-La. He was responsible for the death of Atomic Man in 1978. In the caves under Tibet that served as Cobra-La's lair, Bludgeon engaged Optimus Prime in battle. After being burned by Bludgeon, Optimus ripped the chest off of Bludgeon's Pretender shell. In his anger, Bludgeon lost his edge and fell off a cliff. Although Optimus had caught him, Bludgeon chose to fall, standing by his philosophy of "merciless death and destruction."
Toys
Generation 1
- Bludgeon (Pretender)
External links
