Scorponok (G1)
| The name or term "Scorponok" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Scorponok (disambiguation). |
- Scorponok is a Decepticon Headmaster from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Scorponok is frequently in a position of Decepticon leadership and is usually the arch-foe of Fortress Maximus. He is often partnered in some way with a being named Zarak.
In some universes, he becomes BlackZarak (ブラックザラック Burakkuzarakku).
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Generation 1
Scorponok was a Decepticon commander on Cybertron, and was a rival of the Autobot Fortress Maximus. Some time in the past, Cyclonus and Scourge were displaced from the year 2008 and fell under his command. The Legacy of Unicron! In the modern day, Scorponok led his troops in a raid on an Autobot city on Cybertron, leveling the city and leaving its remnants in flaming ruins. A long line of captives was taken from the battle; as they marched to their doom in the smelting pool, Scorponok took a sadistic glee in ordering them to move faster or feel his sting. He wasn't so gleeful when Fortress Maximus led an ambush on his squadron; his troops were overwhelmed by the Autobots' righteous fury, and Scorponok ordered a retreat so that they might live to fight another day. Ring of Hate!
Soon after, Fortress Maximus and his followers quit the war and left for the planet Nebulos. Scorponok invaded the Autobots' abandoned base, but found nothing, not even the obligatory trap that Scorponok expected. They did receive a communication from Lord Zarak on Nebulos, who informed them of the Autobots' arrival there and requested their help. Scorponok happily led his troops there, vowing to conquer the new planet.
Upon reaching Nebulos, Scorponok immediately confronted Zarak and obtained the location of Fortress Maximus, learning that he had surrendered himself and four of his followers to ensure peace for the Autobots. Scorponok decided to attack there first, ignoring Zarak's protests. Scorponok and his troops laid siege to the capital city of Koraja, demanding the surrender of the Autobots and blasting away at its newly erected defensive walls when they were refused. It seemed the Decepticons would capture the city, until the gates opened to reveal the Autobots. They had not come to surrender, but to fight. With their newly enhanced Headmaster powers, they easily overwhelmed the more numerous Decepticons; Brainstorm and Chromedome effortlessly penetrated Scorponok's defenses, blasting him. Faced with this unexpected development, Scorponok ordered a rather ignominious retreat.
Scorponok and his troops began investigating ways to dispose cleanly of the Nebulans, such as dumping them into space inside anti-gravity-powered polymer alloy bubbles. In the midst of this research, Apeface and Snapdragon returned from a failed mission, defeated by two of the Autobot Headmasters, and Scorponok gave them a good smacking around. When the captive Lord Zarak suggested that there might be something to this whole "working with fleshlings" thing, Scorponok nearly smacked him around too, before conceding that perhaps sharing his power might indeed be in his best interest.
And so, Scorponok underwent the Headmaster process, along with five of his troops; Zarak became his binary-bond partner. Using Zarak's daughter Llyra as bait, the Decepticons lured the Autobots into a trap. During the ensuing battle, the Decepticons trapped a group of Nebulans inside the floating polymer bubbles. When Scorponok noticed Llyra was inside one of the bubbles, he found himself conflicted, his feelings as Zarak the father battling against his legacy as Scorponok the Decepticon. The Decepticon won out, and plan went forward: While the Autobots were busy saving the nebulans, Scorponok and his troops defeated them and took them captive. Love and Steel!
Scorponok continued to dominate Zarak's personality more and more, driving him to a battle lust at the Mercury Gardens of Melanossus, and again at The Nursery. Zarak broke free of Scorponok's influence long enough to free the captive Autobots, but the Nebulan was soon back atop his partner, urging his troops onward to destruction. Brothers in Armor!!
Apparently having difficulty perfecting the Targetmaster process, Scorponok kidnapped Pointblank, Crosshairs, Sureshot and their respective partners to study. When the Autobot Headmasters attempted to free their comrades he revealed that it had been a trap and promptly abducted Highbrow, as it was the Headmaster process that he couldn't perfect. Scorponok was dismayed to find that Highbrow and Gort's mental disunity matched that of his own Headmasters, but realised that the process was sound—the issue lay with the compatibility between the Headmaster partners themselves. Before he could eliminate the now-useless Highbrow, Scorponok was driven off by Chromedome. Worlds Apart!
Scorponok and Zarak challenged Fortress Maximus and Galen (here called "Kord") to a duel to settle their differences. Kord/Maximus won by cheating, but it didn't matter because the duel was a ruse to distract the Autobots while Slugslinger stole Autobot fuel converters. The Deceptions had bugged the Autobot base and learned of Earth. They needed the converters to travel there. The Decepticons left for Earth and the Autobots followed. The Final Conflict
When Galen decided to leave Nebulos for Earth, Scorponok and his forces again followed, leaving the war-torn Nebulos behind. Brothers in Armor!!
Scorponok's first action upon arriving on Earth was to track down the signal that had led Fortress Maximus's crew there. At first, he found only an impudent fleshling, but soon Fortress Maximus and the Autobots returned to the cave from which the signal had been sent. In the ensuing battle, Scorponok nearly took the human hostage, and he used him as a tool to kill Zarak's old nemesis, Galen. At first, he thought this would leave Fortress Maximus helpless, but the human took Galen's place, and Fortress Maximus drove the Decepticons into retreat. Trial by Fire!
Scorponok took his time establishing a beachhead on Earth. First, he covertly seized a genetics lab and created the Decepticon Pretenders, hoping to disguise his troops' robotic natures. It was during this operation that he first crossed paths with Optimus Prime, within a computer-simulated world. Pretender to the Throne! Scorponok then sent Skullgrin to the planet to establish a fuel depot for the Decepticons' eventual landing. Monstercon from Mars! Scorponok used his human component to head up a covert operation by the Z Foundation, in an effort to get humans to destroy the Autobots for him. When the plan failed, Scorponok himself attacked some of the same humans in a brutal battle in a parking garage. Ca$h and Car-nage!
When Scorponok sought to have Mindwipe brainwash the Autobot Highbrow, his plans couldn't have gone more wrong. Mindwipe neglected to hypnotise Highbrow's partner Gort, and the Nebulan managed to regain enough control of Highbrow's body to rip Scorponok's head clean off his shoulders. The sudden separation without any mental command caused both Scorponok and Zarak to black out, and Highbrow returned to base with Scorponok's head in his grip. All in the Minds! Highbrow found himself unable to kill Scorponok in cold blood despite his desire to end the threat he posed, but as he ruminated on the matter outside the Autobot base, he was attacked by a group of Decepticons who had come to reclaim the head of their leader. The chronal crisis known as the "Time Wars" soon erupted, during which Scorponok was reunited with his head and reactivated, at which point he joined with the various Transformers of two worlds, two factions and two eras against the fighting-mad Galvatron. Time Wars
Not long afterwards, Scorponok was contacted by Starscream, representative of another faction of Decepticons operating on Earth under the command of Ratbat. Scorponok immediately brought his ship to this group's location in the Arctic, only to find his vessel under attack by Piranacon. Starscream soon arrived to smooth things over before any damage could be done, but relations were off to a rocky start. Things got worse when Scorponok revealed his partially fleshling nature to Ratbat's group, worse still as a tour of Ratbat's base seemed to be a pointless delaying tactic, and even worse when he learned of Ratbat's plan to seize the legendary power source known as the Underbase. Furious that Ratbat had clearly never intended to cooperate with his group, Scorponok attempted to lead his troops away, only to find his path barred by the Predacons. Seeing their leader besieged, the rest of Scorponok's troops stormed to the attack. A battle soon erupted between the two sides, with Scorponok mercilessly ripping, tearing, smashing and blasting his way through Ratbat's soldiers. Only the sight of Starscream stealing his ship in the midst of the battle caused him to call a cease-fire. Cold War!
The arrival of the Autobots caused another battle to break out, this time with the Decepticons united against a common foe. But Ratbat and Fortress Maximus called for a cease-fire so they could unite against Starscream. The group was unable to stop Starscream from uniting with the Underbase, and he destroyed Scorponok's ship. Optimus Prime saved the allied groups, bringing them all aboard the Ark. Scorponok found the proposed alliance "detestable" and was eager to take action against the traitor; he was disgusted by Optimus Prime's apparent cowardice in refusing to join the attack teams against Starscream on Earth.
Scorponok was co-commander of an attack team in Tokyo, where an offhand comment by Grimlock caused him to realize what Optimus Prime must be up to. Abandoning the fight, Scorponok returned to the Ark aboard the Autobot shuttle that had ferried him to Earth. He found that Ratbat had the same idea; the two confronted Optimus Prime, who had just launched a rocket into space to bring the Underbase to Earth. Seeing the Autobot leader's apparent treachery, Scorponok blasted him. When Ratbat stated his intention to take the Underbase himself, Scorponok blasted him, too, taking him out of the picture permanently. Rocketing into space, Scorponok was nearly in range of the Underbase, when Optimus Prime—now recovered and with his Powermaster partner back in place—pushed them both out of its way. The two leaders watched in horrified fascination as Starscream arrived, absorbed the entire Underbase, and promptly self-destructed.
Impressed by Prime's actions, Scorponok agreed to a temporary truce, long enough for both sides to gather up their fallen. With Ratbat and Starscream out of the way, Scorponok's command of the Decepticons on Earth was assured. Dark Star
The truce at an end, Scorponok attempted to assassinate his old foe, Fortress Maximus, by having Carnivac and Snarler try to kill his human partner, Spike Witwicky. The Man in the Machine! In return, Scorponok granted Pretender shells to them, as well as Catilla, who was monitoring the mission. Survivors!
Scorponok finally made a permanent landing on Earth, establishing a base in New Jersey as part of a plan to gather energy. The plan failed, but Scorponok kept his base there. King Con!
Zarak continued to function as a covert human for Scorponok, allowing the Decepticons to counter the growing popularity of Roadhandler in New York City. The Interplanetary Wrestling Championship!
Scorponok found himself drawn into a battle at MacDill Air Force Base by his newest recruits, the Air Strike Patrol. Announcing his arrival in no uncertain terms, he attacked the Autobots who were harassing his troops, only to have those same troops cut and run. Optimus Prime, meanwhile, tried talking to him about alliance and cooperation, of them both being manipulated by some unknown player. Scorponok wasn't very interested in listening, but his memories of Prime's selfless actions during the Underbase Saga finally got the better of him. Just as he was ready to compare notes, the Pretender-enhanced Starscream arrived. All the Familiar Faces! The Autobots and Decepticons eventually overpowered him, and Starscream begged Scorponok to take him back. Skin Deep Badly in need of additional troops and firepower, Scorponok agreed, but this decision proved to be very unpopular with his troops. Primal Scream It eventually cost him the loyalty of Triggerhappy and Mindwipe, who deserted him after Starscream went missing again. Eye of the Storm
In 1991, Scorponok made Decepticon history as Optimus Prime formally offered his surrender in hopes of making a new force to combat the Dark God Unicron. Scorponok initially planned to betray Prime's trust to bolster his own leadership position, but Prime eventually convinced him of the Chaos-Bringer's threat and persuaded him to unite their forces—just as a contingent of rebel Decepticons under Shockwave's command attacked Scorponok's base. Surrender!
Scorponok arose from the wreckage of his base and quickly put down most of the rebels. He then went mano-a-mano with Shockwave, in a protracted battle which spilled into New York Harbor and across the river into the city's Battery Park. Optimus Prime and Nightbeat interrupted the fight, as did the arrival of the human mutant squad the Neo-Knights. ...All This and Civil War 2 Though initially scornful of the humans' efforts, Scorponok was downed by two of them and was nearly killed by Circuit Breaker. The battle came to a conclusive end when Circuit Breaker used all her power to knock out Shockwave, and Scorponok agreed to stop fighting.
In a sign of the growing alliance, Scorponok was actually inquiring as to Prime's well-being, when they, along with every other Transformer on Earth, were transported by Primus to Cybertron. Out of Time!
Faced with Armageddon, Scorponok confessed his fears of dying to Optimus Prime, who reassured him that there was no shame in it. Scorponok vowed that he would be proud to go down fighting alongside Optimus... which he nearly did, when the two came under attack from a group of Unicron cultists. Though Scorponok had the option of leaving Prime to his fate, the Decepticon portion of him wouldn't hear of it, and he attacked the cultists in a rage. With the battle won, Scorponok spared one of the cultists at Optimus Prime's behest. The Void!
Unicron arrived at Cybertron mere seconds later, and the final battle began. Scorponok was at first paralyzed by the sheer size of their foe, and later further terrified when Optimus Prime was batted aside with ease. But he rose to the challenge, calling on his Decepticon heritage, and attacked Unicron viciously. While he was tearing into the giant's foot, Unicron blasted him with a stream of fire, mortally wounding him. Optimus Prime knelt over him as he lay dying, providing solace in the final moments of his life. On the Edge of Extinction!
Earthforce
Mindwipe attempted to hypnotise Scorponok but failed, and was thrown out of the Decepticons for his trouble. The Living Nightlights!
Marvel UK future timelines
In an alternate 1991, near the end of the Decepticon Civil War between the forces of Scorponok, Megatron, and Shockwave, Scorponok found himself separated from his troops and hounded by Megatron's Air Strike Patrol. He attracted the attention of the Autobots by rampaging through a human settlement, and immediately surrendered to Hot Rod, leader of the Autobot unit. As Autobot ethics require the protection of prisoners, Scorponok had maneuvered Hot Rod's team into fighting his battle for him. With the frustrated Autobots and Megatron's Decepticons focused on each other, Scorponok was free to walk away. Aspects of Evil!
Transformers Comic-Magazin
Template:TransformersComicMagazin Scorponok was present when the Decepticons unleashed a robotic hell-beast known as 'King Con' on New York; however Optimus Prime rented a helicopter to fly a banner announcing huge raw oil deposit finds in the Rocky Mountains. After a short hesitation, the Decepticons retreated to pursue these findings. New York — A City Sinking in Terror
Classics
Scorponok and Zarak's remains on Cybertron were discovered and studied by the Mini-Con Broadside. The New World
Regeneration One
Template:Noterg1 The Headmasters' original heads had been left behind on Nebulos, and Nebulan scientists led by Borx began experimenting with rebuilding the Autobot Headmasters' bodies, under the aegis of "Project Lazarus". Though early attempts failed to work, the reports that Grimlock reviewed were promising, as he sought to cure himself and his fellow Dinobots from the effects of Nucleon. However, Grimlock was ambushed at Koraja Spaceport, and taken away by something that strongly resembled Scorponok's scorpion alt form. Loose Ends, Part 2 As it turned out, it was indeed Scorponok—the original—who had captured Grimlock. He decided to make the Dinobot commander an offer... If he and his Dinobots were to join Scorponok, not only would they be spared, but they would be given new bodies. As an incentive, Scorponok even had a duplicate of Grimlock's original body prepared. Loose Ends, Part 5
As Scorponok studied the effects of Nucleon on Grimlock, the Dinobot commander questioned his captor's sudden scientific bent—a stark contrast to the hard warrior he had faced millennia ago on Cybertron. Scorponok revealed that his binary bonding with Lord Zarak had provided him with this new expertise, which he embraced fully; he went on to mention that had Zarak shared as equally in Scorponok's warrior nature, he would have survived longer. Scorponok revealed that Zarak had left behind a ghost protocol which reactivated Scorponok's head when the Nebulans attempted to decrypt his database, and he was able to take control of the scientists' minds, ordering them to construct his new body. He once again offered the new body to Grimlock.
Grimlock attempted to escape, only to be beaten down by his fellow Dinobots—except that it turned out to be a simulation provided by Scorponok. Grimlock, shaken by the experience, relented, agreeing to serve Scorponok in exchange for new bodies for his Dinobots. Scorponok then revealed that his Nucleon research has produced a Gene Key, a program capable of rewriting the genetic code of a Transformer. With this key, Scorponok intended to awaken the "warrior gene" of every inhabitant of Cybertron, turning the entire population into Decepticons! Natural Selection, Part One
Scorponok demonstrated his Gene Key on three of the former Autobot Headmasters, Brainstorm, Hardhead, and Highbrow. Once activated, the trio attacked Grimlock, but the newly restored Dinobot was able to disable them. Scorponok, satisfied that the Gene Key worked, ordered them to depart for Cybertron. Grimlock's shuttle arrived at the Cybertropolis Spaceport, where he was taken into custody under the orders of temporary Autobot commander Hot Rod. While the Autobots were distracted by Grimlock's arrival and the return of his ability to transform, a second shuttle landed in the Badlands, from which Brainstorm, Hardhead and Highbrow disembarked. The altered trio made their way to the Iacon Civil Defense Hub, clearing the way for Scorponok. Natural Selection, Part Two
Scorponok arrived up at Fort Scyk to meet with the Decepticons there, intending to rally them to his cause. At first surprised by Scorponok's survival, the Decepticons found themselves more confused than convinced by his words. When Misfire pointed out that they were under Soundwave's command, Scorponok killed his former subordinate on the spot as a demonstration of his authority.
With Optimus Prime still on Earth, Ultra Magnus and his crew still in space aboard the Valiant, and Hot Rod searching underground for the Primus chamber, the Autobots in Iacon found themselves overwhelmed by their Key-altered brethren. Grimlock was out looking for the Dinobots when Brainstorm passed on Scorponok's order to return to the Civil Defense Hub. Back at the Hub, Grimlock demanded that Scorponok complete his side of their bargain and provide new bodies for the Dinobots, but Scorponok had other plans. The Decepticon had discovered that at least one Autobot, Punch, was immune to the effects of the Gene Key, and thus surplus to requirements. As a test of loyalty, Scorponok ordered Grimlock to execute Punch, but Grimlock instead attacked Scorponok, only to be repelled by a force field. Scorponok then produced a crystal that gave him control over the new body he created for Grimlock, using it to subdue the Dinobot. He communicated with Perceptor, who had begun construction of a giant Gene Key at the Sonic Canyons, one capable of converting every Autobot on Cybertron at once! Natural Selection, Part Three
Scorponok headed to the Sonic Canyons to supervise the completion of the Key, and proceeded to pontificate to all within earshot about how he would be the one to heal the rift in Primus's great plan, uniting Cybertron under the Decepticon banner and getting his just due as the architect of peace. Perceptor countered his bold proclamations, however, by suggesting that, as chaos was the natural order of things, perhaps the schism that led to millennia of civil war was part of Primus's plan all along. Scorponok didn't care much for Perceptor's theory, however, and could barely contain his rage. He insisted to himself that he had evolved beyond being a creature of aggression.
When the Valiant dropped out of hyperspace and contacted Cybertron for landing instructions, Pounce and Wingspan contacted Scorponok for direction. He had them provide the Autobot cruiser with a flight plan, and then to use the planetary defenses to blow the ship out of the sky. Natural Selection, Part Four
Grimlock and Grapple and their teams stormed the Civil Defense Hub, taking the control room from Pounce and Wingspan. Grapple set out to recover the data on Scorponok's new technologies, but also discovered that the incoming Valiant had been targeted by the defense systems. As Grimlock and the Dinobots headed to the Sonic Canyons to confront Scorponok, Crosshairs got the lockout code from Pounce... by killing Wingspan when Pounce initially refused to cooperate.
At the canyons, Perceptor announced another delay in the activation of the Gene Key caused by a minor technical issue, which was enough to send Scorponok into a rage and knock Roadblock into the canyons. Scorponok continued to rant as the other Decepticons watched with silent concern, only for Grimlock to show up on a sky-sled and attack Scorponok, lecturing the Decepticon on loyalty, and how it must be won through action. Scorponok, thrilled to have an opponent, transformed and blasted Grimlock off his sled. He then subdued Grimlock with his failsafe crystal, and ordered Perceptor to activate the Gene Key. Scorponok continued to remind Grimlock about how he was bringing about the true unification of Cybertron... only to discover that the Key had reverted the altered Autobots back to normal! As it turned out, Grimlock's betrayal of Scorponok's grand scheme went back to his encounter with Perceptor. The Dinobot never actually used the Gene Key on the scientist, who then pretended to go along with Scorponok's plan only to sabotage the larger Key, all the while needling the Decepticon!
Fully enraged, Scorponok prepared to attack Perceptor, but Grimlock jumped him from behind, and ordered the Dinobots (who had been hiding nearby) to strike. A fierce battle ensued on the bridge over the canyons, which was damaged to the point of collapse. Grimlock, refusing rescue, continued to grapple with Scorponok as the two plummeted into the bottomless darkness of the canyons, sacrificing his life to ensure he took Scorponok with him. Natural Selection, Part Five
Generation 1 cartoon continuity
The Transformers cartoon
- Voice actor: Stephen Keener (English), Eiji Itō (Japanese), Hans-Rainer Müller (German)
Scorponok was a gigantic Headmaster robot built from scratch by Lord Zarak, the secret ruler of Nebulos, upon learning of the Transformers. Working from the Headmaster process designed by the Autobot Brainstorm and later applied to his allies in the Hive and the Decepticons, Zarak used his mental powers to reconstruct the Hive's entire city into a robotic body for him to binary bond with. The Rebirth, Part 2 With Scorponok under his command, Zarak was able to retrieve the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber from the Autobots and carry the Decepticon forces back to Cybertron to reunite with Galvatron. In the end, a bolt of plasma energy zapped Scorponok in his city mode, launching the massive Headmaster (and the collected Decepticons inside) far out into space. The Rebirth, Part 3
Wings Universe
Japanese cartoon continuity
The Headmasters cartoon
- Voice actor: Banjō Ginga (Japanese)
Scorponok was one of a group of diminutive Transformers who left Cybertron four million years ago to escape the Great War and took up residence on the planet Master. To survive the harsh environmental conditions on Master, the Transformers built large, lifeless robotic bodies called Transtectors, to which they could connect as heads, increasing their size and power. Scorponok underwent the training to become one of these "Headmasters," but he chafed under the leadership of Fortress, and he led several like-minded Headmaster warriors in a rebellion that ultimately ended with their defeat and exile from Master. The Mystery of Planet Master
By the year 2011, Scorponok had teamed up with Galvatron and the Decepticons, and his three minions, Weirdwolf, Mindwipe and Skullcruncher, joined Galvatron's forces in an attack on Cybertron in 2011. Four Warriors Come out of the Sky Scorponok himself, on the other hand, refrained from making appearances on the battlefield, sticking to the shadows (in the most preposterously literal way imaginable) and emerging only to lure the Autobot Headmasters into a trap on the planet Praum. The Four-Million-Year-Old Veil of Mystery Not long thereafter, when Galvatron discovered that Vector Sigma was in the midst of developing a powerful new alloy, Scorponok advised against attacking the planet, suggesting instead that they destroy the alloy, rather than risk the Autobots gaining control of it. Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1 In truth, Scorponok was more concerned about Galvatron obtaining the alloy's power, and determined to stop anyone from acquiring it by taking out Cybertron itself. He had Mindwipe plant powerful bombs in Vector Sigma's chamber, which went off and devastated the planet, ostensibly taking Galvatron with it. Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2
Scorponok subsequently took control of the Decepticons, falsely claiming that Galvatron was alive and commanding him from afar. He immediately put a series of far-reaching plans into action, starting with the creation of a massive Transtector for himself, which would put him on equal footing with Fortress and his Transtector-scum-battleship, the Maximus. Enslaved Beastformers were put to work on the planet Zarak to construct this Transtector, and to provide it with power, Scorponok had the Decepticons steal Sol 1, a human solar-energy-gathering satellite, which beamed its power reserves to Zarak. The Shadow Emperor, Scorponok While the construction was going on, meanwhile, Scorponok focused his attention on harnessing the power of the plasma energy released in the destruction of Cybertron. Seeking to generate even more of the energy for his plans of universal conquest, Scorponok used the energy he had already obtained to create bombs that were planted beneath the surface of Mars, which would rip the planet apart. Explosion on Mars!! Maximus Is in Danger While the Autobots were busy fighting the Decepticon contingent on Mars to prevent the planet's destruction, Scorponok unveiled his completed Transtector to the rest of the Decepticons on Chaar, stepping from the shadows for the first time as he brought all his troops aboard his new battleship-body and flew to Mars. Once there, he transformed into robot mode and spitefully attacked the immobile Maximus before fleeing into space just before his plasma bombs detonated and blew Mars to cosmic rubble. The Maximus was able to absorb some of the energy released in the initial stages of the explosion, and Fortress was able to transform into Fortress Maximus and escape the blast. Fortress Maximus cleaved Scorponok's shoulder with his Master Sword, forcing the Decepticons to retreat. Explosion on Mars!! MegaZarak Appears
Believing that his deeds had cemented his position of power, Scorponok arranged to be coronated the new Decepticon emperor on Earth's moon, but in the midst of the ceremony, Galvatron returned alive and well and retook leadership. Return of the Immortal Emperor Galvatron's return saw Scorponok relegated to the insulting position of interplanetary short bus as the Decepticons traveled from world to world, pillaging copious amounts of energy. Scorponok transformed to robot mode only once on the journey, to battle Fortress Maximus on Hive. Fight to the Death on Planet Hive!! When the Decepticons returned to Earth, diminishing Scorponok's immediate usefulness to Galvatron, the wicked Headmaster returned to this own schemes, ignoring Galvatron's orders Ultra Magnus Dies!! and planting more plasma energy bombs along the Pacific Ring of Fire. The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg
Everything turned around for Scorponok when Galvatron faced the Autobot Headmasters alone in a battle in Alaska, and was finally destroyed when they collapsed an iceberg on top of him. The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg This allowed Scorponok to once again seize leadership of the Decepticons, appointing himself the "Emperor of Terror" and resuming his plan for the destruction of Earth by attempting the detonation of his plasma bombs. During the previous interplanetary quest, the Autobots had made contact with Tekna, one of the Beastformers who had worked on the construction of Scorponok's Transtector, and he was able to provide them with encrypted data that pinpointed the location of the Transtector's weak spot. After Chromedome decoded the data, he raced to Earth where the battle was already in progress and gave Fortress Maximus the information, allowing the Autobot leader to perforate Scorponok's weak spot, and send the critically wounded Decepticon fleeing off into space. I Risk My Life for Earth
Moving his attentions away from Earth for the time being, Scorponok led the Decepticons back to planet Master in search of a weapon to counter the power of Fortress's Master Sword. The Autobots pursued them, which unfortunately resulted in Wheelie being captured by the villains and ransomed for the secrets of the Master Sword. The Master Sword Is in Danger!! Using this information, Scorponok forged the Zarak Shield out of G-Metal, and when the two weapons clashed, the Zarak Shield emerged triumphant. Operation: Destroy the Decepticons Emboldened by this victory, Scorponok led the charge back to Earth, intending to finally destroy it, pausing only in the asteroid belt to effect repairs on his Transtector, and to betray and dispose of Sixshot, whom he had never trusted. Duel on the Asteroid
Upon his return to Earth, Scorponok promptly had the Decepticon launch an energy-gathering satellite into orbit, and then withdrew to the sunken continent of Lemuria, where already had numerous Decepticons working to mine the legendary crysmagnetal. Scorponok raised "Death Towers" of this metal in five strategic location all over Earth all, which proceeded to generate waves of energy that were gathered by the satellite. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 1) For the final part of his plan, Scorponok lured the Autobots to the North Pole, where he clashed with Fortress Maximus for the last time atop a sixth dais of crysmagnetal. As soon as the two combatants were upon the dais, Scorponok had the satellite beam its stored energy down into his Transtector, and through it into the dais, creating an exponential loop that threatened to tear the Earth apart. Scorponok disconnected from his Transtector and retreated into space with the Decepticons to watch the Earth's destruction, only for Fortress Maximus—supercharged with the combined energy of the Autobot army united in a Head Formation—to destroy his Transtector, breaking the circuit and saving the Earth. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)
Super-God Masterforce Master File
With the Decepticons at last forced off of Earth, the Autobots also left the planet, and Transformers' war transitioned into a series of space-based exchanges between Chaar and Athenia, which became known as the Master Wars. To rejoin the fight, Scorponok had a new Transtector constructed, much smaller than his old one (comparatively speaking – it was still taller than a combiner), but outfitted with hyper-dense armor. Before he could connect with this new body, Scorponok was captured by the mysterious alien entity Devil Z, who had been in hibernation on Earth until recently, and saw a use for Scorponok in his plan to create the ultimate lifeform. Devil Z brainwashed Scorponok, placing him, and by extension the entire Decepticon army, under his control, and then allowed him to link up with his new Transtector. Rather than forming the head for his Transtector, however, Scorponok controlled it from within its chest cavity, wired directly into its systems from there, with a new "decoy" head placed between its shoulders. Now, Scorponok was BlackZarak.
The former Decepticon ninja, Sixshot, learned what had befallen Scorponok, and alerted the Autobots to the existence of Devil Z on Earth. The news of this shadowy controller reached the Autobots just as the Trainbots reported the first sighting of BlackZarak in the shadows of a meteor cluster, and the concerned Autobots decided to send a collection of Transtectors to the small Autobot group under the command of Metalhawk that was still on Earth, which he used to transform human beings into Autobot warriors to aid in the battle against Devil Z's forces. Master File No, 1
Super-God Masterforce cartoon continuity
Super-God Masterforce cartoon
- Voice actor: Banjō Ginga (Japanese), Hidekatsu Shibata (Japanese, when merged with Devil Z)
After numerous failures by Devil Z's forces on Earth resulted in multiple Godmaster warriors joining the Autobot ranks instead of the Decepticons, the incensed alien summoned BlackZarak to Earth. Observing BlackZarak's activities, Fortress Maximus's younger brother, Grand Maximus, raced to Earth ahead of him and warned the Autobots of his coming. In preparation for BlackZarak's arrival, the Autobots worked to construct a power-up drone named Godbomber for their most powerful member, Ginrai. Life? Death? The Desperate Lightfoot While they worked, the approaching BlackZarak bombarded the Earth with meteors as part of a complicated scheme by Devil Z's ambassadors, Giga and Mega to publicly discredit the Autobots, which was ultimately foiled. Expose the Decepticons' Dark Trap!
Giga and Mega combined into their robot form of Overlord and headed to Earth's moon to rendezvous with BlackZarak, but before BlackZarak arrived, Ginrai merged with the completed Godbomber, and pursued him into space. BlackZarak showed up in the midst of their battle, and promptly impaled Ginrai with his Tyrant Spear, sending him crashing to the moon's surface. God Ginrai - Into the Sky!! BlackZarak and Overlord followed him down to the moon, and hunted the wounded Autobot, who was in dire straits until the timely arrival of Grand Maximus. With the sides now more evenly matched, the two Decepticons attempted to break off the battle and head for Earth, but Ginrai and Grand brought them back down to the moon with a bump. BlackZarak instructed the damaged Overlord to flee the battle, and although he was furious at being ordered around by this newcomer, Overlord could do little to argue, and left BlackZarak to face the two Autobots alone. Grand and Ginrai double-teamed BlackZarak, and eventually, Ginrai was able to decapitate the Decepticon with his God Fire Guts attack. Although Ginrai thought his opponent was done for, BlackZarak's headless body hauled itself back up, and retreated off into space, with Grand Maximus hot on his tail. God Ginrai - Showdown on the Surface of the Moon
During this extended stay in space, BlackZarak mastered localized gravity manipulation and gained the ability to open black holes, which he could use to teleport himself across the galaxy at will. After trapping Grand Maximus inside one of these singularities in order to keep him out of the way, BlackZarak teleported directly to Earth and immediately tore through New York City as part of Devil Z's "Operation M-1". He proceeded to attack Tokyo alongside Overlord, but was foiled when Ginrai freed Grand Maximus, and the two Autobots stopped the villains by tricking them into blasting each other. BlackZarak - Destroyer from Space With the failure of this scheme, Devil Z initiated "Operation M-2" and had BlackZarak withdraw to the far side of the moon, where he would unleash the atmosphere-destroying Death Para-Machine against the Earth. Thankfully, BlackZarak was only able to get off one shot from the deadly weapon before Ginrai destroyed it with his God Fire Guts attack. Crisis! The Day of Human Extinction
BlackZarak returned to attacking cities around the globe, and soon struck in a city where Cancer went to, with a trio of Sparkdash drones to back him up. Luckily, Autobot Godmaster Road King was on patrol in the area, and soon called him Ginrai to help him take BlackZarak down. God Ginrai - Save Cancer!? Later, after battling Grand Maximus in Moscow, BlackZarak was present at the Decepticon base when the Autobots attacked it. During this clash, Devil Z took his brainwashing to the next level, and actually merged his consciousness with BlackZarak, entering his body and taking control of it himself. For his first act in BlackZarak's body, Devil Z collapsed the Decepticon base in a failed attempt to destroy the Autobots The Ultimate Combination!! BlackZarak, the New Lifeform and then led the Decepticons in an attack on North America, bombarding the country with his Devil Power from a strategic staging point in the heart of the Grand Canyon. Battle to the Death!! God Ginrai VS Darkwings Reborn
Devil Z next took the Decepticons to the peak of the Matterhorn, where he unleashed his Devil Power upon Europe until God Ginrai arrived to challenge him. The battle was fierce, and Ginrai thought he had won when he once again cleaved BlackZarak's head from his shoulders, but the decapitation of his host meant little to Devil Z, who simply transformed BlackZarak's body into a new, twin-headed serpent form, and kept the fight going. Uniting his Chōkon Power with that of the Headmaster Juniors, Ginrai unleashed his most powerful God Fire Guts yet and dove through BlackZarak's body, finally destroying the giant Decepticon in a huge explosion that left only ash and shrapnel. Although Devil Z survived the blast, he now no longer had BlackZarak's body to enclose him, and was wide open for Ginrai's finishing move: the Final Fire Guts, which utterly obliterated the evil alien. A Battle... and Then...
Zone cartoon
- Voice actor: Hirohiko Kakegawa (Japanese)
Several years after the conclusion of the Masterforce War, when the supernatural entity Violen Jiger seized control of the Decepticons, one of his first actions was to recruit "Nine Great Demon Generals" from Decepticon history. Using his mysterious powers, Violen Jiger resurrected BlackZarak to serve as his "Evil Spirit General," and outfitted him with new armor and weapons to make him more deadly than ever before. It was never explicitly stated if he possessed the consciousness of Scorponok or Devil Z, but he seemed to have a serious pirate-vibe going on, now sporting a hook for a hand and an eye-patch.
BlackZarak was part of the team of generals who attacked planet Zone in order to steal its precious Energon Z for Violen Jiger's schemes, but BlackZarak refrained from participating in the assault, hanging back on the fringes of the planet's atmosphere to cover his allies' rear. As his fellow generals made good their escape with the Energon Z in hand, BlackZarak barred the way of the Super Car Patrol Team and Battle Patrol as they attempted to pursue in the Galaxy Rocket. The Demon General managed to trap the rocket in a crackling field of electricity, and then departed to rejoin his fellow Decepticons, leaving the electric net to slowly destroy the rocket. Luckily for the Autobots, the Jet Patrol Team arrived to destroy the net, and Sunrunner proceeded to use his radar to track BlackZarak back to the other Decepticons. Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!
Super-God Masterforce comic continuity
Super-God Masterforce comic
When it became apparent that the small force under his command on Earth lacked the manpower to handle the Autobots, Devil Z chose to unite them with the Decepticons in space, and ordered the combined army to attack Athenia. Ginrai (who was on the planet at the time to be appointed Supreme Commander of the Autobots) was able to win the battle by defeating Scramble 7, but after the fight, BlackZarak made his first appearance before the Autobots, carrying Hydra, Buster and the Decepticon Headmasters, who announced that they were returning to Earth. The Battle Begins! The United Earth-Space Troops
BlackZarak joined the Decepticons in travelling to Earth, battling Raiden and the Autobot Headmasters outside the planet's atmosphere while Ginrai confronted Overlord for the first time down on its surface. After defeating his opponents, BlackZarak turned towards Earth, only to find Ginrai streaking towards him, with Overlord in close pursuit. At the last moment, Ginrai spun out of the way, causing the two Decepticons to accidentally strike each other, and damage one another quite badly. While the wounded Overlord returned to Earth, BlackZarak limped back off into space. God Ginrai's Amazing Super-God Combination!
BlackZarak later battled Grand Maximus and the Autobot Godmasters in space, with the aid of Darkwings, The Earth Family of Good and Evil after which Devil Z spirited him away to carry out some upgrades. Decepticons' Great Counterattack! These upgrades complete, BlackZarak was soon returned to Earth, and joined Overlord in attacking another city, where he wound up battling Grand Maximus and the Autobots Godmasters once more. Live? Die?! The Desperate Super-God Combination Later, BlackZarak attacked China with a trio of Sparkdash drones. Decepticon Headmaster Junior Cancer happened to be in the city at the time, and when the Autobots arrived to battle BlackZarak, he displayed his disdain for humans—even comrades—by seizing Cancer and using him as a shield to keep the Autobots at bay. It was then that Overlord arrived, and surprised everyone by viciously attacking BlackZarak, disgusted by his treatment of Cancer. While the two Decepticons were fighting, the Autobots exploited their conflict to attack and force them to retreat. Great Turn-Around! Autobots
Overlord's betrayal proved to be the last straw for Devil Z, and he took matters into his own hands by connecting himself to BlackZarak's Transtector as a new head of sorts. Now in control of the Decepticon's body and mind, he transformed BlackZarak into a new serpentine form, and attacked Overlord, the Headmaster Juniors and Ginrai, intending to absorb their Jinchōkon, in order to transform himself into the ultimate lifeform. His Jinchōkon-absorbing beam was blocked by the wholly-robotic Autobot Pretenders, and the Autobots and Decepticons united to destroy Devil Z and BlackZarak for good. Uniting their powers in the "Perfect Transform Attack", all the Autobots and Decepticons boarded Grand Maximus, who collided with BlackZarak, destroying the Decepticon and his alien passenger in an explosion of pure Chōkon Power. The Birth of the Super Lifeforms
Zone comic and story pages
Years after the end of the Masterforce War on Earth, the creature known as Violen Jiger took control of the Decepticon forces and created an elite fighting force by recruiting "Nine Great Demon Generals" from throughout Transformer history. BlackZarak was selected to be one of these generals, and Violen Jiger used his strange, supernatural powers to bring the Decepticon back from the dead, dubbing him his "Evil Spirit General" and increasing his strength with new armor and weaponry. Zone Part 1
BlackZarak was part of the contingent of generals sent to planet Zone to steal its super-energy, Energon Z, for Violen Jiger. After his fellow Decepticons succeeded in purloining the Energon Z, BlackZarak covered their escape, seizing the Galaxy Rocket carrying the pursuing Autobots in an unbreakable grip. He proceeded to coat the rocket in a cocoon of strange energy webbing and then departed to join his fellow generals, but fortunately for the Autobots, the Jet Patrol Team arrived to cut them free before they lost BlackZarak's trail. Transformers: Zone
BlackZarak later attacked Earth, and met resistance in the form of Landshaker and Sky Hyper. BlackZarak seized Landshaker, easily shrugging off Skyhyper's blasts, but was suddenly stunned by a barrage from Sonic Bomber, as he and Dai Atlas came swooping onto the battlefield. Exploiting the opening, Dai Atlas fired on BlackZarak, proving once again that the Autobots' desire to save their comrades would always best the Decepticons' evil. Zone Part 5
Along with the other Generals, BlackZarak schooled Metrotitan and the Metrosquad in the ways of evil, making them formidable opponents for the Powered Masters. Zone Part 7
Ladybird Books continuity
Scorponok was originally a large, mobile Decepticon base on Nebulos. Decepticons at the Pole Through means unknown, he became a Transformer, as well as smaller and sentient, and took command of the Decepticon forces from Cyclonus.
He matched wits with Optimus Prime himself, at one point trying to lure him into surrendering in exchange for a hostage's life. Autobot Hostage Eventually, the Autobots became too big a nuisance, and Scorponok had the Decepticons move en masse to a secret underground city in the Nebulos Triangle, but this backfired when the Autobots sealed him and his army underground for good. Decepticons Underground
The Transformers Adventure Game Books
Swamp of the Scorpion
The mighty city Scorponok lay dormant deep within Nebulos's vast jungle-swamp. In this mode, he served as Lord Zarak's base of operation while Zarak plotted to steal Nebulos's oil supply to further his dreams of conquest. Opposing him were you and the Autobot Highbrow. Whether or not Scorponok and the other Decepticons succeeded in their plot depended on the decisions you made! Swamp of the Scorpion
Transformers in 3-D
Seeking a new Energon source, the Decepticons flew Scorponok to an out-of-the-way asteroid, where he served as a base of operations. When a fight inevitably broke out, Scorponok flew to the battle scene. After he pucked up Blurr and tossed the Autobot into the distance, Fortress Maximus angrily bodyslammed him, and the pair began grappling. The Test
Scorponok, accompanied by Cyclonus and Octane, intercepted Cosmos, as the Autobot was heading for Andellor. Scorponok threatened to destroy the Autobot unless he revealed where he was headed. Cosmos complied, but Scorponok was keen on destroying him anyway. Cyclonus insisted they investigate, and recalled the history of Andellor. Scorponok realised that the Prism of Power which Cosmos sought was the only thing that could stop the Decepticon's new weapon, the suspension-ray beam. Down on the planet, the three Decepticons ventured into a cave and were attacked, first by some tentacles from a pool, and finally by Ironhide. Ironhide shrugged off Scorponok's mightiest blast, and defeated both him and Cyclonus. Transformers in 3-D #2
After the Clones failed to obtain the coordinates to Metascan Alpha, Zarak mocked Galvatron's skills and, combining with Scorponok, reasserted that he was leader of the Decepticons now. While the pair were still in disagreement, Optimus Prime broke into their base with the intention of destroying Galvatron's Nullification Cannon. During the battle, Scorponok took a swing at Prime which accidentally connected with the Cannon, causing it to explode. The War Against the Destructons, Chapter 1 of 3
Transformers PD Type
Scorponok and Fortress Maximus met in battle, with Scorponok vowing to crush Maximus with his bare hands. Unfortunately the two giant Transformers, engrossed in their fight, began to topple over, sending their smaller comrades fleeing for their lives. Watch Out! Mega Zarak!
Dreamwave Generation One continuity
Shortly before the Great Shutdown, Scorponok attended a teleconference with Ratbat and Shockwave, where he criticized the latter for "thinking like a calculator instead of a warrior". Destined for Nothing
IDW Generation 1 continuity
Scorponok was one of the gladiators from Kaon who rallied under Megatron when he formed the Decepticons. He knew the Dynobots from these days, having fought their leader Grimlock personally and considering him one of the greatest gladiators around. Rage Soundwaves Though he joined the Decepticons, Scorponok didn't share Megatron's desire to create an equal society: in his eyes the only thing that mattered was strength, and he nurtured ambitions of his own to create a world where the powerful ruled and the weak were wiped out. Unleashed
When Megatron was defeated in his first battle with Optimus Prime, Scorponok swiftly moved to replace him as Decepticon leader, believing he had failed the Decepticons by showing weakness. Rather than just killing Megatron, however, he wanted a punishment that would go down in history and opted to exile him to the deadly world of Junkion. Derelicts Most Decepticons fell under his command without complaint, but Hun-Gar and his Terrorcons were disappointed that he'd failed to kill Megatron and set out to finish the job, leaving Scorponok with the promise that they'd deal with him afterwards. Wreckage
Scorponok's first goal as leader was to break up the Grand Convocation set up by Optimus Prime to restore order, something he planned to do by conquering Cybertron's last major source of energon, the Toraxxis mega-refinery, thus forcing the factions of the Convocation to fight amongst themselves over the little energy that was left. He led a strike force to the refinery only to find that it was already being robbed by the Dynobots, who summoned the Autobots to their aid. Faces of Darkness Angered, Scorponok followed Grimlock into the refinery to kill him, but was overwhelmed when the Dynobot became increasingly ferocious and started transforming into a monstrous alt-mode. When the Autobots arrived to arrest Grimlock, he got desperate and threatened to blow up the whole refinery, something which Scorponok encouraged. Grimlock eventually backed down, but Scorponok had no qualms about enacting his devastating plan, leaping to the refinery's fusion-regulator and deactivating it before anybody could stop him. Rage The ensuing explosion killed thousands, including many Decepticons, but Scorponok survived and encouraged his troops to scavenge parts from their dead comrades, calling them weaklings and failures. One Decepticon protested against his lack of respect for the casualties and claimed Megatron would have treated them better, only for Scorponok to crush his head for daring to bring up their past leader. Fallout
Learning that the Autobots had discovered the sleeping giant Trypticon beneath the ruins of Toraxxis, Scorponok believed that awakening the beast would be the perfect method of destroying Cybertron's civilization, allowing him to rebuild it into the world he desired. To this end he had his Decepticons carbet-bomb the area until the seals keeping Trypticon down were destroyed, awakening it. Unleashed As Scorponok sat back to enjoy Trypticon's ensuing rampage from afar, he was asked by Starscream to come with him to Kolkular's throne room where he found seated none other than Megatron, returned from his exile. Abandoned by his troops thanks to his own ruthless actions, he tried to save himself by fleeing, fighting and finally pleading with Megatron, only to be unceremoniously shot in the head and left to be torn to shreds by the Terrorcons. As he took back his rightful place as leader of the Decepticons, Megatron ordered the Terrorcons to keep Scorponok alive... and in agonizing pain. The Illusion of Control
During the war, Scorponok once robbed an installation that the Dynobots were guarding—it was something Grimlock wouldn't forget. Spotlight: Grimlock After the destruction of Cybertron, Scorponok became a criminal known for his flagrant violations of the Code of Interplanetary Conflict. His traditional modus operandi was to make contact with ambitious non-Cybertronians on a developing world, work with his contacts to develop advanced weaponry using Cybertronian technology, then eliminate his partners when he had what he wanted. Ultra Magnus had been seeking him for some time.
On the planet Nebulos, Scorponok was in league with Mo Zarak, head of the Zarak Consortium, a cabal of really smart scientists. Presumably with input from Scorponok, the Cranium had created hybrid Nebulan/Cybertronian beings. Unfortunately for Scorponok, Ultra Magnus had tracked him down. Claiming to be on the verge of something "breathtaking", Scorponok proceeded to beat the snot out of Ultra Magnus, before transforming into beast mode to finish him off. Unfortunately, Zarak ran out, begging Scorponok not to fire, or risk destroying what they had built. Unable to abort his shot, Scorponok killed Zarak (revealing to Magnus that the Nebulan had also been infused with Cybertronian technology). Shocked at his actions, a furious Scorponok turned to Ultra Magnus, and Magnus shot Scorponok in the head. However, Scorponok managed to escape through an artificial wormhole generator. Spotlight: Ultra Magnus
Shortly after the Brasnya conflict, Ultra Magnus contacted Optimus Prime, saying that he had a new lead on Scorponok's whereabouts, but he did not elaborate on the specifics. Spotlight: Optimus Prime
At some point over the last twenty years, Scorponok chose Earth as the location to continue his experiments. Making contact with a man named Abraham Dante, Scorponok established an underground organization of human agents known as the Machination, based out of Tampa, Florida. With their assistance, Scorponok began further developing the Headmaster technology he had begun on Nebulos, designing the means for cybernetically-enhanced humans to bond with mechanoid bodies. This technology now had great personal value to Scorponok, as he had been reduced to little more than a disconnected head without a body, apparently due to the head shot Ultra Magnus gave him in their last encounter.
The Headmaster process was completed shortly before Megatron initiated Phase Two on Earth—all it needed was a test subject. To accommodate this, Scorponok and Dante sent agents out into the field to locate the Autobot and Decepticon bases, and conceived tactical scenarios for forcibly acquiring a Transformer as a "guinea pig" before Scorponok underwent the process himself. When the discovery of Ore-13 accelerated the conflict on Earth, the Machination accelerated their plans as well. Infiltration #4
When the Autobots Ironhide and Sunstreaker next left the Ark-19 in Lake Michigan, Machination agents surprised them on the highway and kidnapped Sunstreaker, leaving behind a heavily-scrapped replica to throw any pursuers temporarily off the scent. As a bonus, they picked up Sunstreaker's passenger as well, Hunter O'Nion. Escalation #1 Taking advantage of the situation, Scorponok and Dante attempted to have Hunter brainwashed and subjected him to the same bio-mechanical engineering as their own agents, creating a small squad of Sunstreaker clones, each with their own human cyborg controller modified to act as the head in robot mode. Escalation #6
With the Headmaster process a success, Scorponok proceeded to the next stage: revitalizing himself. Abraham Dante underwent the Headmaster process and donned an exo-carapace of his own. The two of them binary bonded just in time to test-drive their union against Hunter O'Nion, who had managed to shake off their brainwashing attempt and was trying to escape the Machination compound. Despite his renewed size and power, Scorponok failed to prevent Hunter from binary-bonding with one of the Sunstreaker drones, and escaping the Machination. Devastation #6
The Dante/Scorponok merge went well; even Dante considered them one being. He planted a mole named Kloss into Skywatch, who planted a virus into Grimlock, freeing him from Skywatch's control. When Grimlock escaped, Scorponok met Grimlock with an offer of an alliance for world conquest. Grimlock refused and they battled, with Grimlock losing. Before he could be killed, Grimlock teleported to his still-functional ship. Dante/Scorponok later planned to take control of the other Dynobots and use them to destroy Grimlock. Spotlight: Grimlock
While continuing his search for the real Sunstreaker, Hot Rod came upon a wrecked Sunstreaker clone; he deduced that its destruction was "the price of failure". Spotlight: Doubledealer
Following his bonding with Dante, he became a lot chattier and willing—nay, desperate—to monologue his evil schemes.
Once his agents had ensured Skywatch had reprogrammed the Dynobots (reprogramming he could remotely control) and an army of Sunstreaker clones had been built, Scorponok arranged for Grimlock to be orbital-bounced to Fallon, Nevada. Maximum Dinobots #1
When Skywatch turned up with the Dynobots, he ensured a massive, destructive fight took place, all a set-up so Skywatch would be discredited and his Headmasters could "save the day"... intending his puppet companies would get all the lucrative anti-Transformer defense contracts from a panicked US government. While his attempt to exploit the Dynobots' internal divides failed, he did get to beat Hot Rod half to death and yell a lot. Maximum Dinobots #2
When Scorponok's control of the Dynobots was lost, he sent in an army of Headmasters to annihilate everyone. They might have succeeded if not for the timely arrival of the Monsterbots. This bemused Hot Rod, and Scorponok ordered him terminated, but Hot Rod managed to set his guards ablaze and escape the compound. Maximum Dinobots #3
As Hot Rod broke out, Sunstreaker broke in to find his real head. Scorponok caught him and blasted him through the chest, but Hunter was able to escape. Before Scorponok could find Hunter, the Monsterbots began blasting the compound, taking out the defenses. Scorponok ordered a recall of all Headmasters to attack the Dynobots, but Hunter was able to sever the connection to Sunstreaker's head, disabling all the Headmasters. A furious Scorponok began to take revenge but was thrown into battle with Shockwave, who wanted the same thing. Maximum Dinobots #4
Shockwave eventually gained the upper hand but allowed Scorponok to retreat gracefully. Scorponok caught Hot Rod trying to sever the connection with his real head, so he thought he'd take out his frustrations by squeezing the life out of Hot Rod. The timely arrival of the Dynobots prevented that, and Swoop severed the connection himself, rendering Scorponok helpless. Just then, Ultra Magnus arrived, responding to an S.O.S. from Hot Rod. He wouldn't allow Scorponok to be killed, but took him into custody. He also ordered the Machination stripped and all technology removed. Maximum Dinobots #5
Commercial appearances
Scorponok has an odd history of television commercial appearances:
- Like any proper flagship toy, he appears in a 1987 commercial largely devoted to him. As Galvatron narrates, the Technobots attack his base mode, prompting him to transform and counterattack, bashing Computron with a boulder. Notably, the commercial identifies Scorponok as Galvatron's "Triple Changer Headmaster base". Some of the animation was recycled for the Season 4 cartoon opening.
- In 1989, a Frankenstein Decepticon appeared in one of the first Micromaster commercials, getting swarmed and overwhelmed by hordes of Micromasters. While not using the same character model, this character was partially based on Scorponok's appearance, including his distinctive head antennae and some of his color palette.
- In 1990, a Scorponok toy painted white and gray appeared in the stop-motion animated toy segment of a commercial advertising the Hot Rod Patrol and Construction Patrol. Like his cel animated counterpart, he gets overwhelmed by his smaller foes, who blow up a bridge beneath him, sending him tumbling into a ravine with an amusingly unthreatening cry of "RAWRRR."
Transformers vs. G.I. Joe
Games
Transformers: The Headmasters
As the Decepticons rampaged over Earth, Cybertron, and some place called "Jail", Scorponok waited on the Last planet (seriously, THE last planet) for Fortress Maximus to show up and challenge him. And Fortress did. And he won. Yay. Transformers: The Headmasters
Transformers Legends
Toys
Generation 1
- Scorponok (Headmaster, 1987)
- Japanese ID number: D-93
- Accessories: Lord Zarak Headmaster unit, helmet, Scorponok's rifle, rifle cover, Scorponok's shield, Fasttrack, Fasttrack's 2 guns, 2 ramps, 4 double cannons, 4 antenna, 2 leg shields, 1 claw arm, 1 side gun arm and 1 elevator.
- The largest Decepticon toy in Generation 1, Scorponok's beast mode is a robotic purple, green and orange scorpion. The pincers have multiple points of articulation, and the ratcheting joints are strong enough to grasp a smaller Transformer. His eight legs are also independently jointed. There are two wheels with rubber grips underneath Scorponok's beast mode body, and pushing him along will cause the scorpion legs to move, simulating the motion of walking. Lord Zarak can sit inside the scorpion head/cockpit while in robot form, or he can be stored inside the chest compartment.
- Like many large Generation 1 Transformers, Scorponok has a base mode, with various ramps and towers for smaller Transformer toys to interact with, though it is quite out of scale for larger toys, such as his fellow Decepticon Headmasters. The central ramp (formed out of his beast tail) is designed with Fasttrack in mind and features a minor gimmick — placing Fasttrack on the orange panel and pressing the small black button will cause the back of the orange panel to rise, sending Fasttrack rolling down the ramp.
- Scorponok's robot mode is impressively large, and still remains one of the largest Decepticon toys in the Transformers franchise. As with all Headmasters, Scorponok has a flip-down panel on his chest which covers a spring-loaded mini-Tech-Spec-meter which gives readings for Speed, Strength and Intelligence. The tumblers are activated when Lord Zarak (or any other Headmaster unit) is plugged into his neck socket while in head mode. As Lord Zarak is about the same size as the Headmaster units of smaller Headmaster toys, Scorponok would thus have a pretty small noggin if not for the large helmet (that was the beast mode scorpion head) that is placed over the Headmaster. The helmet also features a flip-down visor, which was homaged in Energon Scorponok. The 2-part rifle and shield plug into Scorponok's pincers.
- Also, he has a die-cast ass.
- Fasttrack transforms into a small six-wheeled attack vehicle. He comes with two small, easily lost orange guns.
Super-God Masterforce
- BlackZarak (Headmaster, 1988)
- Japanese ID number: D-311
- Accessories: Scorponok Headmaster unit, face cover, two-piece "Tyrant Spear", "Black Hole Cannon", cannon cover, "Shield Tower"/"Plantium Shield", four "Blacking Cannons", two "Combat Ramps", two "Maintenance Arms", four "Radar Sensors", elevator, Black Roritchi, Black Roritchi's two lasers
- This Japanese-exclusive retool of the original Scorponok figure redecoes the figure in black, gold and red, and equips the figure with a new helmet/scorpion head that features a better-proportioned face sculpted directly into it. As such, it's not really necessary to plug the Scorponok Headmaster unit between the shoulders, since the new helmet-head conceals it completely, but it does fit. The figure includes a small red visor-like mask that clips over the robot mode face, hiding it from view for scorpion mode.
- BlackZarak comes with one major new accessory—his red, two-piece "Tyrant Spear", which he can hold in robot mode—and also includes all of Scorponok's original accessories, appropriately redecoed, including a gold redeco of Fasttrack named "Black Roritchi". BlackZarak is notoriously difficult to find complete, due to many of his accessories, and even body parts, suffering from Gold Plastic Syndrome. Even sealed box samples have horrified owners who opened the toys for the first time to discover broken parts on their previously-untouched toys.
- Like Sixshot and Overlord, with their respective "Wingwolf" and "space jet" alternate modes, BlackZarak's instructions do not feature the additional two-headed serpent mode, created as it was by the production staff after fiddling around with the toy and dubbed the "dakatsu" mode. As such, it's entirely possible to transform the toy into this form, but if you try, be aware that it was seriously streamlined for animation, and doesn't look nearly as good in plastic as it does on the screen or comic page. (Also, if the toy hasn't shattered yet due to GPS, putting the toy into dakatsu mode will probably finish the job.)
Timelines
- Pirates vs Knights (BotCon 2014 box set)
- Accessories: Olin Zarak Headmaster figure
- Decepticon Pirate Scorponok is a retool of Energon Scorponok, who transforms into both a scorpion-shaped construction vehicle thing and a spaceship. The vehicle is armed with decidedly non-scorpion-like double laser cannons behind each tread, two translucent orange laser cannons either side of his cockpit, and two flip-out laser cannons on the end of his crane arm, which are activated by pushing the small cockpit-shaped device (which also has a Mini-Con Powerlinx port) forwards. Inside his bucket scoops are two spring-loaded missile launchers in translucent housings. The right pincer houses his spark crystal while the left has another Mini-Con Powerlinx port. On Scorponok's pincers are 5mm peg holes to accommodate all forms of Terrorcon and Omnicon Energon weaponry, as well as most other accessories featuring a similar peg system. On the production toy, the green-and-orange panels on either side of his torso are swapped left to right. This doesn't inhibit transformation, but does block his shoulders from going fully into robot mode position. This can be fixed with a screwdriver.
- Most importantly, Scorponok has new tooling that replaces his head with a new mechanism for his Headmaster head to plug into. The Headmaster figure itself is a retooled Encore Spike Witwicky figure with a new face based on Scorponok's original model sheet head.
- Scorponok comes in a box set with fellow pirates Ferak, Tornado, and Cannonball, plus knights Ginrai and Devcon.
- The original version of this mold was redecoed into Timelines Double Punch, and retooled differently to make Dark Scorponok.
Merchandise
Parody Deformed
- MegaZarak (1990)
- A small white and red, non-transforming super deformed model kit of Scorponok was available as part of Kabaya's "Parody Deformed" line of candy toys. The fourteenth figure in the series, he came with a "Transformers PD Type" comic about himself, "Watch Out! MegaZarak!", and something that could charitably be described as "gum".
Super Collection Figure
- BlackZarak (2001)
- BlackZarak was the "Build-A-Figure" from the fifth, Masterforce-centric wave of Takara's line of Super Collection Figure PVC figurines, available in eight out of every ten cases. He was divided into six parts, each one packaged with one of the silver metallic "pewter" versions of the other six figurines in the line (the regular, color versions of the figures didn't come with BlackZarak parts): his head and torso came with Ginrai, his left arm with Goshooter, his right arm with Metalhawk and Minerva, his waist and tail with Devastator, his left leg with Omega Supreme and his right leg with Overlord. BlackZarak's parts were available in both full-color and smokey translucent plastic (in an equal ratio of 4 out of every 10 cases each), meaning that there were two versions of the figure to collect.
- MegaZarak (2002)
- Like BlackZarak before him, this version of Scorponok was the Build-A-Figurine from the line's eighth wave. His six components were packaged with the regular color versions of the other figurines in the line: his head and torso came with Fortress, his left arm with Dai Atlas, his right arm with Star Convoy, his pelvis with Jazz, his left leg with Alpha Trion and his right leg with Cyclonus. Like BlackZarak, there was both a regular full-color figure to collect (available in 6 out of every 10 cases) as well as a rarer variant version, this time in metallic silver (available in 4 out of every 10 cases).
Gigantic Action
- Kyōfu Taitei MegaZarak (2014)
- Accessories: Rifle, shield
- Produced by Japanese toy company Sentinel, Transformers Gigantic Action MegaZarak is a huge non-transforming action figure based on the character's appearance in The Headmasters but with details drawn from the original toy. It stands at close to 23" tall (58 cm), finally allowing Scorponok to rival the size of the original Fortress Maximus toy.
- Ankoku Taitei BlackZarak (2014)
- Accessories: Rifle, shield
- Gigantic Action BlackZarak is a redeco/retool of MegaZarak with a new head.
Notes
- Scorponok's colors are distributed differently in the 1987 and 1988 toy catalogs as compared to the finished product.
- Both Scorponok and Fortress Maximus suffer from the writers struggling to reconcile the characters' high rank with their size. In their comic appearances, they are portrayed as commanders in some capacity but are shrunk down to interact with other Transformers, and their city modes pretty much don't exist. Conversely, the cartoons have opted to portray them as giant city Transformers, though they seem to be merely extensions of the smaller beings that bond with them, with no real life or will of their own.
- When Scorponok prepares to leave Nebulos in "The Rebirth, Part 3," he opens a ramp for the other Decepticons to board him. Curiously, the ramp leads up into one of his scorpion-mode legs.
- The Action Master Elite Double Punch's mold looks just like an Action Master version of BlackZarak, right down to the molded details, including the head. The coloring (black/red/purple) is similar to BlackZarak's coloring (black/red/gold) as well. This is very strange, considering that Japan never got Action Masters, and Europe never got BlackZarak.
- Scorponok served as the basis for the evil "Zazorigun" (ザゾリガン Zazorigan, a play on サソリ, sasori, meaning "scorpion") mecha in Takara's Brave of Gold Goldran series. Unlike fellow Goldran baddie Deathgarrygun (who was derived from Sky Garry), no toy or merchandise of Zazorigun was ever released. At least one enterprising Japanese fan, though, has created a custom one for himself.
- Omni Productions dialogue scripts for The Headmasters, included on the R2 release of the series, feature a number of different, bizarre names for Scorponok, including "Bronco" in episode 7, "Locke"/"Lok" and "Jart" in episode 9, and "Sogi" and "Chandler" in later episodes. While the final English dub just calls him Scorponok, variations of these names were actually used in the Latin American dub based on the same scripts, leading to some inconsistencies with Scorponok's name. On his first appearance, Galvatron calls him "Lok". Later, Skullcruncher calls him "Gronko" (episode 7 only), later in the series, he's named "Scorponok", and during the space travel event, he's called "'Chandler", the last two names being the most used during the Headmasters series. It should be noted that no name makes a distinction between Scorponok and his Transtector.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Scorponok (スコルポノック Sukoruponokku), MegaZarak (メガザラック Megazarakku), Zarak (ザラック Zarakku, see above), Scorpion (スコーピオン Sukōpion, "The Rebirth")
- Italian: Scorpion
- Ukrainian: Skorpiy (cartoon, Скорпій, "Skorpiy")
- Russian: Skorponog (cartoon, Скорпоног, "Scorpoleg")
- Spanish: Lok, Gronko, Chandler, Scorponok (all America, see above)
- Pages with image sizes containing extra px
- Character stubs missing fiction
- Pages with broken file links
- Upcoming toy releases
- BotCon exclusives
- City Transformers
- Decepticon bases
- Decepticon leaders
- Emperors
- Generation 1 Decepticons
- Generation 1 locations
- Headmasters
- Ladybird Books Decepticons
- Machination
- Multi-component Transformers
- Point One Percenters
- Pirates
- Regeneration One Decepticons
- Super-God Masterforce Decepticons
- The Headmasters Decepticons
- Timelines characters
- Triple Changers
- Wings Universe Star Seekers
- Zone Decepticons
- Zombies
- Wings Universe locations
