Scorponok
Encyclopedia
Scorponok is the name shared by several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes
. All are Decepticons that turn into Scorpoins.
, Scorponok is binary-bonded to Lord Zarak, the leader of an evil faction of Nebulons, and wields an anti-gravity gun in robot mode. A Triple Changer
, Scorponok's primary alternate mode is that of a giant scorpion
, with claws that can crush mountains and a tail that fires deadly electric blasts. His third mode is a defense base, outfitted with assorted tracking and communication equipment, repair and constructicon bays, as well as copious amounts of weaponry. His base mode is patrolled by Fasttrack, a partially-autonomous armoured vehicle that can transform into a robot mode armed with twin photon cannons.
comics, Scorponok first appeared in the four-issue Headmasters mini-series, which introduced the new breed of warrior to the Transformers universe. In this series Scorponok was leader of a troop of Decepticons who were summoned to the planet Nebulos by Lord Zarak, a corrupt politician who was intent on removing Fortress Maximus and other Autobots who had previously settled on the planet.
Scorponok was among the Decepticon troops who first met with the Nebulans led by Zarak in the Transformers U.K. Annual 1998 story Doomsday for Nebulos.
As the Headmaster and Targetmaster processes escalated the Transformers' conflict on Nebulos, Zarak realized that their war threatened to destroy the planet and its peaceful inhabitants. To that end, he orchestrated events leading to both Autobot and Decepticon forces travelling to Earth.
Upon their arrival, (in issue #38 of the main Transformers series) Scorponok's group continued its rivalry with the Autobots led by Fortress Maximus and Zarak's former political rival, Galen. After succeeding in killing Galen (Maximus's Nebulan partner), he was shocked to see the Autobot commander controlled by Spike Witwicky, the human he tortured hours earlier.
In issue #49 (part 3 of "The Underbase Saga"), Scorponok met up with the Earthbound Decepticons controlled by Ratbat
. The meeting was arranged by Starscream
, privately in the hopes of playing the two groups against one another. According to his wishes, the alliance between Scorponok and Ratbat broke down after Scorponok's disapproval of Ratbat's specist beliefs about humans (as Scorponok was now partially human himself) and witnessing the capture and torture of Buster Witwicky (ironically, the brother of the human he earlier harassed). When Scorponok's attempt to leave was met with an assault by the Predacons, that was all his troops needed to wage a civil war against their fellow Decepticons. The battle came to a close as Autobots responded to a distress signal (attached to a freed Buster) left by Starscream and again as Starscream's Underbase-powered fury was waged against them all.
Scorponok added the Earthbound Decepticons to his own forces after he destroyed Ratbat. His ship now destroyed, he quickly set up a new base of operations beneath the New Jersey swamps. Morale was low due to their recent failures. It only worsened when he accepted Starscream back into their ranks, after the recently rebuilt Decepticon had again assaulted them (this time being controlled by Megatron). In issue #69, "Eye of the Storm", Mindwipe and Triggerhappy (key members of Scorponok's inner circle) abandoned him after his re-inclusion of Starscream—a final straw for the two, injured by Starscream's previous assaults. They were then forcibly recruited by Shockwave, Starscream and Ravage to take part in an attempted coup.
The coup came to a close when Scorponok attained the surrender of Optimus Prime just prior to the climactic battle with Unicron. During that battle, Zarak's courage wavered and he began to flee until realizing that honor demanded him to stand and fight.
He was destroyed by Unicron during one final attack, after which he was told by Optimus Prime that he had "done good".
While that would be the last the U.S. comics saw of Scorponok, he put in one additional appearance in the U.K. comics. In a possible future (told from the perspective of an aged Rodimus Prime
) Scorponok battled against Shockwave
and Megatron for leadership of the Decepticons. Losing, and attacked by the Micromaster
Air Strike Patrol, Scorponok surrendered to Hot Rod – only to manipulate him and his comrades into defending a human settlement from the Decepticons while he escaped. This would be his last appearance in the Marvel timeline.
Lord Zarak was the supreme leader of the Hive, an evil dictatorship that ruled the planet of Nebulos and saw the populace as their slaves. Each of the eleven Hive members possessed telepathic/telekinetic control over machines, which they controlled worldwide to subjugate the Nebulans, moving to a subterranean city as their powers developed. But as the strength of their minds grew, the Hive's bodies withered away and became useless, to the extent that some members of the group apparently no longer even possess organic forms, only robotic shells which house their brains. Zarak himself retains his body, but despite his muscular build, may be paraplegic (he is never seen walking without his Headmaster suit) and possibly blind in one eye (one eye is always drawn either shut or solid white).
With the arrival of the Transformers to Nebulos, and the fusion of a group of Autobots and Nebulan rebels into Headmasters, Zarak masterminded a scheme to duplicate the process with Decepticons. Unable to control the Decepticons directly with their mental powers, the Hive were able to subdue them with their own machines and force them into the scheme, striking a deal to create both Headmasters and Targetmaster
s. With his fellow Hive members binary bonded to the Decepticons, Zarak then turned his attention to himself, reconstructing the Hive's entire subterranean city into a giant Transformer, Scorponok, to which he then bonded himself as Headmaster partner. Scorponok emerged in the midst of a battle between the Autobots and Decepticons, capturing Arcee
, who was currently holding the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber, and departing for Cybertron
with the Decepticons on board. They key was subsequently used by Galvatron
to open the Plasma Energy Chamber while Scorponok transformed to his robot mode and battled with Fortress Maximus
. Escaping into space with the Decepticons aboard as the chamber opened, Scorponok was struck by a tendril of plasma energy, and sent hurtling off into the depths of space. In the end, it became clear that Zarak had intended to take leadership of the Decepticons for himself, though the series ended just as this was hinted at.
Zarak's voice is supplied by Stan Jones
. Scorponok speaks only one line of dialogue - "Autobots! Die!" - provided by Stephen Keener.
was created, following on one year after the end of the show's third season. In Japan, the Headmaster process is different to that in the US fiction – here there are no Nebulons, and there is only one mind involved. The Headmasters are small robots who connect to larger, lifeless bodies called Transtectors. Here, Zarak (known as Scorponok in Japan) is one such robot. In Transformers: The Headmasters, Zarak's (small) body more closely resembles his toy form than the art style of his U.S. and Marvel Comics counterparts.
Having fled Cybertron with many fellow Transformers under the command of Fortress during the Autobot/Decepticon war, Zarak was among the Cybertronians who settled on the harsh world of Planet Master. The brutal environments of the world necessitated that the Transformers construct new, stronger bodies for themselves in order to survive, connecting to them as heads. The process was accomplished, but several of the resultant "Headmasters" chafed under Fortress's leadership, and sided with Zarak against him. Eventually, however, they were defeated and forced off the planet.
In 2011, Zarak made contact with Galvatron
, the current Decepticon leader, and he and his Headmaster minions joined him in their new attack on Cybertron. Appearing only in shadow for quite some time, Scorponok schemed to take leadership of the Decepticons for himself. When Galvatron led a raid on Cybertron acquire the new super-alloy, Cybertonuron, Zarak - fearful of the power Galvatron could acquire with it, and tired of the disrespect heaped upon him by Galvatron - lured Galvatron to the core of Cybertrons, where a bomb his forces had previously planted was detonated, destroying much of the planet and apparently killing Galvatron.
Zarak subsequently took command of the Decepticons, lying and claiming that he knew where Galvatron was, and that he had been appointed to lead. Zarak then had the Decepticons acquire an Earth satellite, the Solar One, which could harness solar energy, and used it to direct the sun's energy to a small world he had enslaved in a dark nebula off in space, where he was having a massive Transtector constructed for himself. With the Transtector now powered up by the solar energy, Zarak initiated a plan of his own, scheming to blow up Mars and harness the plasma energy released. To stop the Autobots, Zarak boarded his Transtector and travelled to Mars, where combined with it to battle Fortress Maximus, proclaiming that he was no longer Zarak - now, he was Scorponok (renamed MegaZarak in Japan).
Scorponok's leadership was cut short before it even began as Galvatron returned during his coronation ceremony and reclaimed his throne, relegating Scorponok to an insulting status, using him simply as transport from planet to planet as the Decepticons ransacked numerous worlds for their energy. Upon return to Earth, however, Galvatron was deactivated and buried in the Arctic battling the Autobot Headmasters, allowing Scorponok to seize power once more. To combat the power of Fortress Maximus's Master Sword, Scorponok led an attack on Planet Master, where he acquired the powerful G-Metal and constructed the Zarak Shield to counter the Master Sword. Returning to Earth once more, Scorponok put his plan to destroy the planet into motion. Operating out of the lost continent of Lemuria
, Scorponok raised towers composed of the city's powerful "Crysmag" metal all across the world, which began to tear the planet apart, channelling the plasma energy into an orbiting satellite, which directed it into Scorponok's Transtector. In a final battle at the North Pole, Fortress Maximus was energised by the power of all his fellow Autobots, and cleaved Scorponok's Transtector in half (after which it exploded), stopping the process and saving the planet.
, which featured a character named Black Zarak, whose toy was a remoulded, repainted Scorponok, with a new head/helmet and "Tyrant Spear" accessory as large as the figure itself. The toy itself is of note among collectors due to its nature as a Japanese exclusive and often sells for double the price of the original Scorponok. Unlike the original figure, the Headmaster toy component does not need to be attached as the helmet has a face of its own. However, the toy features a heavy downside – the gold plastic parts (the dual guns, the gun shield, the shield/tower, the feet, the Headmaster component (Zarak/Scorponok) and Guardminder, BlackZarak's version of Fasttrack) are very brittle, and can break from even the slightest handling.
Although not explained in the main 42 episodes of the animated series itself, Black Zarak was revealed to actually be Scorponok in an additional clip episode, produced after the end of the series. After the destruction of his original Transtector by Fortress Maximus, Zarak had a new body constructed for himself - smaller in size than his original (although it was still much larger than most of the other transformers in that series), but stronger and with super-dense armour – but before being able to connect with it, he was captured and brainwashed by the evil energy entity and self-styled "Decepticon God", Devil Z, putting him under his control. He was then dispatched back into outer space, to join the Decepticon forces warring with the Autobots further off in the galaxy. When the smaller, Earth-based Autobot/Decepticon conflict began to escalate Black Zarak was summoned to Earth by Devil Z to join his forces there. The Autobot, Grand Maximus, reached the planet ahead of him, in order to warn Earth's Autobots of his approach. Black Zarak soon arrived on Earth's moon for a rendezvous with Overlord
, and a battle erupted as they were attacked by God Ginrai
and Grand Maximus. The battle was hard fought, but God Ginrai succeeded in decapitating Black Zarak, only for the still-functioning villain to flee back into space.
During this period in space, Black Zarak mastered localised gravity manipulation, gaining the power to create black holes that he could use to transport himself great distances - and of course, his first stop was Earth. After the Autobots countered a series of Black Zarak's attacks on cities across the globe, including a space-based attack using the mighty ozone-depleting weapon, the Death-Para Machine, they located and invaded the Decepticon base, prompting Devil Z to take the next step to enhance his and Black Zarak's abilities; by fusing together with him. The Devil Z/Black Zarak hybrid blew up the Decepticon base in a failed attempted to destroy the Autobots, and led the Decepticons' renewed attacks on the Earth with his mighty "Devil Thunder" power, seeking to wipe out humanity, fearful of the unpredictable power of their strength and spirit. Overlord, however, acknowledged and celebrated this power - at least within himself - and for that, Black Zarak turned upon him, prompting God Ginrai to rescue him from the monster's clutches. In God Ginrai's final battle with Black Zarak, he again decapitated the villain, only to have him reveal a new transformation, assuming the form of a two-headed hydra
. With his God Fire Guts attack, God Ginrai successfully destroyed BlackZarak, and then, infused with the additional power of Shuta, Cab and Minerva, performed the Final Fire Guts technique to destroy Devil Z, forcing the surviving Decepticons to flee the planet.
Although the toy includes Zarak as a Headmaster, Black Zarak is not a Headmaster in the series itself, proving the fact by being decapitated and continuing to function on two occasions. The companion manga in TV Magazine provides the answer to this mystery - Zarak does not "Head On" with his Black Zarak body, but is actually fully integrated as part of it within the chest compartment.
along with eight other great Decepticon generals(the others being Devastator
, Menasor, Bruticus
, Predaking, King Poseidon
, Trypticon
, Overlord
and Abominus
). They were dispatched by the alien Violenjiger to harvest Zone Energy. They were defeated by Dai Atlas.
story Decepticons at the Pole by John Grant
. In this story he was the base for the Decepticons.
Scorponok was among the Decepticons featured in the 1988 book and audio adventure Autobot Hostage by Ladybird Books.
Just before the Great Shutdown, Scorponok was one of the leaders of the Decepticons, under Shockwave.
appearance in the Spotlight issue on Ultra Magnus
. A Decepticon with a reputation for completely disregarding what few rules govern the Autobot/Decepticon war, Scorponok was well known for offering Cybertronian technology to races in return for completing his own unscrupulous projects. His latest project took him to Nebulos, where he struck a deal with local business leader Zarak to upgrade Nebulans with Transformer technology for an unknown reason. However, Scorponok was tracked down by Autobot law enforcement officer Ultra Magnus
and the two battled. A shot from Scorponok's scorpion mode seemingly inadvertently killed Zarak, and Magnus shot Scorponok in the head.
The Decepticon escaped badly injured. He reappeared in the main storyline as the Transformer behind the Machination, with only his badly damaged head remaining (although he was not revealed until the final issue of The Transformers: Devastation
). He had continued his ambitions of merging organics and Transformer technology, creating an army of Headmasters
using the body of the kidnapped Sunstreaker
as a template to mass produce Headmaster bodies while using Sunstreaker's decapitated head as a hub, using his memories to hunt the other Autobots. Eventually he combined with Abraham Dante, the human head of the Machination, into a copy of his old body. Even with his mobility and power restored he was unable to stop Hunter O'Nion, now merged with Sunstreaker's mind in one of the copy bodies, from escaping.
Now aware of Megatron's intentions for Earth, Scorponok had his mole in Skywatch (a legitimate government anti-Transformer organization) sabotage Grimlock
's reawakening. Scorponok approached him with the offer of an alliance, in the hopes Grimlock would distract the Decepticons long enough for his own Machination empire to become entrenched. Grimlock refused and attacked, but Scorponok's new Headmaster powers allowed him to overwhelm the Dynobot. Grimlock escaped, but Scorponok had his agents prepare to take control of the rst of the Dynobots, planning on letting Skywatch kill off Grimlock for them (Spotlight: Grimlock).
Ultra Magnus' schematics indicate that Scorponok's previous alternate mode was a tracked Cybertronian tank.
's Darksyde crew who stole the Golden Disk
artifact from the Cybertron
archives in Beast Wars
. He turns into a giant scorpion.
gathered a crew of like-minded individuals. While Waspinator
and Terrorsaur
stole a ship, Megatron, Dinobot
and Scorponok stole the Golden Disk
, battling the guards and destroying one, disabling a second, and leaving a third to commandeer a ship to pursue them. Picked up by their ship, they fled and were pursued by two ships - one of which was the Axalon
commanded by Optimus Primal
, the other the Chromia 10. With a little help from Laserbeak
and Buzzsaw (secretly sent by Divebomb to ensure Megatron's plan to change history succeeded) they destroyed one of their pursuers, and the newly christened Darksyde fled into transwarp space, with the Axalon in pursuit - thus beginning the Beast Wars.
Scorponok's pre-Beast Wars mode seems to be based on Energon Scorponok, but no actual toy was created for this character.
after forcibly (and literally) ejecting Dinobot
from the group, and acted as Megatron's
right hand in the first season of the Beast Wars. To survive on the Energon-filled planet, he scanned a scorpion as his beast mode.
Scorponok had several important roles in season one, like finding an old Predacon cannon (which he almost lost to Cheetor), and then chased Cheetor
in the Darksyde with Waspinator. He then tried to infect Optimus Primal
with a virus that was supposed to make him a coward, but instead made him a berserker. He was partners with Blackarachnia who betrayed him twice. Scorponok also didn't get along with Terrorsaur, because Terrorsaur always wanted to usurp Megatron. Throughout season one, Scorponok's faith in Megatron was unmatched, almost to the extent of looking up to him. Scorponok was arguably the lone original Predacon who was completely loyal to Megatron; the other 4 original Predacons - Terrorsaur
, Tarantulas
, Waspinator
, and Dinobot
- all tried to usurp Megatron's position of leader at one point of the first season. Sadly this was never reciprocated, and Megatron treated Scorponok as disposable as the rest of his minions.
In the season one finale, he joined Megatron and Terrorsaur at the alien structure, where the Maximals Rattrap and Optimus Primal
were trying to get inside of it to rescue Airazor. But due to the truce, and their hopes of the Maximals possible destruction within the structure, the Predacons decided to help them. They used Scorponok's toxic sting so that they could enter the forcefield in an attempt to retrieve Airazor. Scorponok announced to Megatron that he had one mega missile to shoot at the Maximals while they were inside, to which Megatron replied, "Excellent!" With their plan to destroy the Maximals thwarted, Megatron, Terrorsaur and Scorponok returned to their base which proved to play a significant part of the demise of Terrorsaur and Scorponok when their base was hit by the Quantum Surge.
Scorponok seemingly died along with his rival, Terrorsaur, in the second season premiere, when they both fell into a pit of magma as the quantum surge hit the planet from the destroyed Vok
"Planet Buster". After this, Inferno
took his place as Megatron's second-in-command.
. According to his biography published in the Beast Wars Sourcebook Scorponok actually survived the events of season 2 and was turned into a transmetal scorpion, but he remained trapped in the magma, unable to escape until after Megatron was defeated and the Maximals left with him for Cybertron. What happened to Scorponok afterwards is unknown.
incarnation of Scorponok (misspelled Scorponauk in his debut episode) is known as Megazarak in Japan and is a Triple Changer
, transforming from robot to scorpion-themed tank to jet.
. The spark of the planet's ruler, later to be known as Alpha Q, continued to exist within the dormant Unicron, and set about forming a plan to recreate his homeworld and other worlds that had been consumed by Unicron, using Energon. From Unicron, he recreated Planet Q's armies as the Terrorcon
s, and resurrected Scorponok to lead them.
Scorponok managed to turn several Decepticons to his and Alpha Q's side, until Megatron was resurrected. Although Scorponok tried to kill the newly reborn Decepticon Leader, Megatron predictably beat Scorponok brutally for trying to usurp the power of Decepticon Leader, and branded him with a Decepticon symbol. Megatron then used Scorponok as a shield against the Autobots' fire on his first attack in his new body (he was eventually repaired by Tidal Wave
). However, Scorponok continued to act as a mole for Alpha Q, working towards his master's goals from within Megatron's team. When Megatron came to suspect this, he strapped Scorponok to a meteor and hurled him at Earth's Energon Grid, hoping to force Alpha Q out of hiding to rescue his minion. Scorponok survived the ordeal, and reunited with Alpha Q, entering into an alliance with the Autobots to stop Megatron from reviving Unicron. However, after Scorponok's subsequent defeat by Megatron, the positively-charged Energon released from Unicron's head by Alpha Q reacted with the negatively-charged Energon vented from Unicron's body by Megatron, tearing open a fissure in space, through which the teams were sucked. In this new region of space, all of the planets consumed by Unicron had been recreated, but Scorponok was to meet an unfortunate fate as Megatron completely reprogrammed him, turning him into a true Decepticon.
During his alliance with the Autobots, Scorponok had earned an admirer in Ironhide, who attempted several times to make him remember who he was and to turn him away from Megatron's service. His words continuously fell on deaf ears, and the two friends-turned-foes had their final conflict on Cybertron as Optimus Prime battled the Unicron-possessed Galvatron. Both combatants were rendered unconscious, but Scorponok was the first to recover as Ironhide's Spark began to glow - Optimus Prime was calling on all his troops to lend him their strength. With the last of his own energy, Scorponok transported Ironhide to Prime's side so that he could join in the ultimate combination, but told him that he was not doing it for him - he was doing it so that Prime could save Galvatron from Unicron. And with that final act, Scorponok died.
The Japanese version of Ironhide and Scorponok's final exchange adds a touch of ambiguity to their relationship. From his reappearance as a Decepticon up to this point, Ironhide has been attempting to make Scorponok remember Alpha Q, while Scorponok has insisted that Megatron is the only master he has known. His final line, however - a near-whispered "Our planet..." - suggests that he may well indeed remember Alpha Q, and that he may be serving Megatron out of his own free will (perhaps, as some earlier dialogue suggests, for giving him new life as Decepticon when he would have died otherwise). Scorponok's line survives into the Energon dub, but Ironhide's reaction ("Scorponok? So... you do...") does not, depriving the exchange of the punctuation which makes its meaning clear.
In the 33rd episode, "Scorponok's Scars", it is revealed that the spark within Scorponok is not actually that of the general of Planet Q - his spark was completely extinguished in his last act of sacrifice. Alpha Q instead used the wandering Spark of a Decepticon to recreate Scorponok, programming it to act and think the way the real Scorponok did. For an unexplained reason, however, this episode was not dubbed into English.
' Transformers: Energon comic book series, Scorponok was a former lieutenant of Megatron. Unlike Megatron, he preferred to actively participate in combat, his brutal and 'right-to-the-point' tactics earning him the respect of his troops. Scorponok's precise history after this is unknown, although Starscream implied he was one of those who fought against Unicron.
Ten years after the defeat of Unicron, Scorponok sought out the Decepticons who were not happy with the current Autobot-Decepticon alliance, and found a new ally in Alpha-Quintesson who gave him and his followers new, energon-enhanced hyper-modes for finding Energon to re-activate Unicron. As his first act, Scorponok killed the always treacherous Starscream, stating he never knew why Megatron kept him around.
Following Alpha-Q's orders, he led his new army, the Terrorcon
s to Earth, planning to suck the planet dry of Energon. During his first assault his team captured Kicker, whom Scorponok realised could help him locate Energon. After soundly defeating the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, Scorponok started the mining of Energon. The Autobots' second attack, aided by the Omnicon
s, took him by surprise and with the mined Energon blown up, Scorponok was gated away and reprimanded by his master.
Learning from his mistakes, Scorponok didn't take any chances in his next attack. He unleashed four huge armies of the cloned Terrorcons on four cities of Earth, while he hitched a ride on a tower of the Earth defence grid, arriving from space to the Yukon Territory Autobot station. Thus avoiding the warning systems, Scorponok took the three Autobots Ironhide
, Overload
and Dropshot by surprise and took them out easily. However, just as he wanted to claim the defense system, he was challenged by Megatron, who was recently freed from his imprisonment in Unicron (in flashbacks we would see Starscream warning Megatron about Scorponok's ambitions).
Megatron and Scorponok battled it out, both verbally and physically. Their philosophies, subtle and blunt, clashed just like they themselves did on the battlefield. Figuring that Megatron was drained of energy by using his teleportation powers, Scorponok grounded him and buried him under a hill, but then was stabbed in the back by Megatron, who was far from finished. Burning him from the inside out with his energon sword, Megatron left the empty husk of what was Scorponok behind.
Dreamwave went bankrupt and the comic was cancelled, but the official bio of Hasbro's Cybertron Dark Scorponok follows this Energon comic continuity, where Scorponok is reanimated by the energy of Unicron, and follows his orders while hoping to regain his spark.
The character appeared in the Transformers: Cybertron comic strip exclusive to the Official Transformers' Collectors Club, transported into the Cybertron animated series timeline by reality warps resulting from the black hole created by Unicron's destruction.
Dark Scorponok first appears in the third issue of the comic, as Vector Prime
warns that Unicron could bring more minions to battle the Autobots, Dark Scorponok rises from the dead. Later, an Autobot named Skyfall
arrives in his ship at a spaceport only to discover the place abandoned, until he is attacked by Scrapmetal and Dark Scorponok. As Scorponok continues to attack Skyfall, Skyfall is buried in rubble. The Mini-Con
s of Ramjet
find Scorponok and lure him to the Autobots. Safeguard attempts to defend Alpha Trion's chamber from Scorponok, then is joined by Sentinel Maximus. Scorponok fights madly, ignoring all injuries to himself. While the other Autobots defend Vector Prime tries to get the nearby autoguns online. Scorponok stings Sentinel Maximus who nearly shuts down due to the cyber-venom. The autoguns come online and blast Scorponok.
. His machine form is a mechanized scorpion
and is the only Decepticon in the film that does not transform (though a toy of him has a robot mode), but is able to dive under sand or other soft landforms. Screenwriter Roberto Orci
indicated that this Scorponok is conceptually closer to the Beast Wars character than the original; he does bear a noticeable resemblance to the McDonald's Transmetal Scorponok figure (see above). He is Blackout's partner, similar to the role that cassettes such as Ravage
and Laserbeak
served under Soundwave
. His weapons include missiles, spinning pincers (which can also be formatted into drills for burrowing), directed-energy weapons, and an impaling spike that represents the stinger on his tail. Scorponok can be seen strapped to Blackout's back in the video game, and is playable as a character on some consoles. When he is playable, the transformation button, instead of causing a transformation, instead makes him dive into the ground (or attempt to do so if he's over hard concrete).
, where he is used in an assault by Blackout to injure Optimus Prime, although he is defeated. Blackout later uses him to infiltrate the Ark
, disabling it. He is thrown out by Ratchet.
The children's book Transformers - Meet The Decepticons by Jennifer Frantz has a slightly different ending than the film. This book has all six Decepticons leaving Earth together after being defeated by the Autobots, instead of having most of their numbers die.
online, Scorponok (referred to as Blackout's pet by Starscream) is among the Decepticons who come to Earth under Starscream's command. While his role is minor, it is notable that this comic shows Scorponok's robot mode for the first time. While it is visually similar to the other movie Transformers, he retains the claws and tail of his movie form, giving him an appearance not unlike his Beast Wars incarnation.
. Scorponok chases eight Special Forces soldiers across the desert, eventually killing trooper Donnelly, wounding Figueroa, and killing several Qatari soldiers before being wounded in an attack by two A-10 Thunderbolt II
s and an AC-130 Spectre gunship. With the tip of his tail blown off, Scorponok burrows under the desert sands, and is not seen again for the rest of the film. However, the survivors take the damaged tail and bring it aboard a transport plane en route back to the U.S.
. While examining the tail, it suddenly goes wild, but Lennox and Epps manage to restrain it. The soldiers also discover through the damage on the tail that while robot armor is impervious to bullets, it can easily be weakened by anti-tank sabot
rounds.
In Revenge of the Fallen, Scorponok appears briefly once in Egypt
with his tail repaired and participates in the final battle. He bursts out of the sand and disembowels Jetfire, who in turn kills him by smashing his head with his fist.
Scorponok is in the Transformers: Dark of the Moon toyline but he does not appear in the film.
In "Twilight's Last Gleaming part 3", Starscream and Scorponok attack the Autobots Arcee, Armorhide, Elita-One, Longarm, Skyblast and Strongarm on the Moon. The Autobots flee to Earth, which is exactly what Starscream hoped they would do.
Transformers
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling.Transformer may also refer to:* ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet computer manufacturer by Asus...
. All are Decepticons that turn into Scorpoins.
Transformers: Generation 1
When Scorponok passes by, all that will be left by the time he is gone is destruction and misery – no class of citizen is safe from his venomous wrath, as he takes pleasure in inflicting suffering upon any and all that he can. As leader of the Decepticon HeadmastersHeadmaster (Transformers)
Headmasters are a sub-group of characters from the Transformers meta-series, distinguished by their ability to detach their heads when transforming into their alternate modes, with the heads then transforming themselves into a humanoid form...
, Scorponok is binary-bonded to Lord Zarak, the leader of an evil faction of Nebulons, and wields an anti-gravity gun in robot mode. A Triple Changer
Triple Changer
Triple Changers are Transformers that can transform from robot into two different alternative modes.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
, Scorponok's primary alternate mode is that of a giant scorpion
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
, with claws that can crush mountains and a tail that fires deadly electric blasts. His third mode is a defense base, outfitted with assorted tracking and communication equipment, repair and constructicon bays, as well as copious amounts of weaponry. His base mode is patrolled by Fasttrack, a partially-autonomous armoured vehicle that can transform into a robot mode armed with twin photon cannons.
Marvel Comics
In the U.S. Marvel ComicsMarvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
comics, Scorponok first appeared in the four-issue Headmasters mini-series, which introduced the new breed of warrior to the Transformers universe. In this series Scorponok was leader of a troop of Decepticons who were summoned to the planet Nebulos by Lord Zarak, a corrupt politician who was intent on removing Fortress Maximus and other Autobots who had previously settled on the planet.
Scorponok was among the Decepticon troops who first met with the Nebulans led by Zarak in the Transformers U.K. Annual 1998 story Doomsday for Nebulos.
As the Headmaster and Targetmaster processes escalated the Transformers' conflict on Nebulos, Zarak realized that their war threatened to destroy the planet and its peaceful inhabitants. To that end, he orchestrated events leading to both Autobot and Decepticon forces travelling to Earth.
Upon their arrival, (in issue #38 of the main Transformers series) Scorponok's group continued its rivalry with the Autobots led by Fortress Maximus and Zarak's former political rival, Galen. After succeeding in killing Galen (Maximus's Nebulan partner), he was shocked to see the Autobot commander controlled by Spike Witwicky, the human he tortured hours earlier.
In issue #49 (part 3 of "The Underbase Saga"), Scorponok met up with the Earthbound Decepticons controlled by Ratbat
Ratbat
Ratbat is the name of several fictional characters who appeared in various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:As is the case with many Transformers characters, the various continuities in which Ratbat has appeared have portrayed him widely differently in terms of size, personality,...
. The meeting was arranged by Starscream
Starscream (Transformers)
Starscream is a fictional character in the Transformers franchise. He is one of the most prolific characters in the Transformers fictional work, appearing in almost all incarnations of the story. Starscream is usually portrayed with the same characterization...
, privately in the hopes of playing the two groups against one another. According to his wishes, the alliance between Scorponok and Ratbat broke down after Scorponok's disapproval of Ratbat's specist beliefs about humans (as Scorponok was now partially human himself) and witnessing the capture and torture of Buster Witwicky (ironically, the brother of the human he earlier harassed). When Scorponok's attempt to leave was met with an assault by the Predacons, that was all his troops needed to wage a civil war against their fellow Decepticons. The battle came to a close as Autobots responded to a distress signal (attached to a freed Buster) left by Starscream and again as Starscream's Underbase-powered fury was waged against them all.
Scorponok added the Earthbound Decepticons to his own forces after he destroyed Ratbat. His ship now destroyed, he quickly set up a new base of operations beneath the New Jersey swamps. Morale was low due to their recent failures. It only worsened when he accepted Starscream back into their ranks, after the recently rebuilt Decepticon had again assaulted them (this time being controlled by Megatron). In issue #69, "Eye of the Storm", Mindwipe and Triggerhappy (key members of Scorponok's inner circle) abandoned him after his re-inclusion of Starscream—a final straw for the two, injured by Starscream's previous assaults. They were then forcibly recruited by Shockwave, Starscream and Ravage to take part in an attempted coup.
The coup came to a close when Scorponok attained the surrender of Optimus Prime just prior to the climactic battle with Unicron. During that battle, Zarak's courage wavered and he began to flee until realizing that honor demanded him to stand and fight.
He was destroyed by Unicron during one final attack, after which he was told by Optimus Prime that he had "done good".
While that would be the last the U.S. comics saw of Scorponok, he put in one additional appearance in the U.K. comics. In a possible future (told from the perspective of an aged Rodimus Prime
Rodimus
Rodimus is the name of a fictional character from the various Transformers universes. Rodimus is a young Autobot and succesor to Optimus Prime. He was formerly known as Hot Rod, but was reformatted as Rodimus Prime by the Matrix of Leadership and became the leader of the Autobots...
) Scorponok battled against Shockwave
Shockwave (Transformers)
Shockwave is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers series. Throughout his incarnations, he is usually distinguished by a laser cannon in lieu of one of his hands and his distinctive face, which is featureless save a single robotic eye...
and Megatron for leadership of the Decepticons. Losing, and attacked by the Micromaster
Micromasters
Micromasters is a Transformers subline composed of small figures that came packaged in groups and with bases that interacted with the figures. They were sold at the peak of Galoob's Micro Machines craze and were packaged in groups of four just like Micro Machines...
Air Strike Patrol, Scorponok surrendered to Hot Rod – only to manipulate him and his comrades into defending a human settlement from the Decepticons while he escaped. This would be his last appearance in the Marvel timeline.
Animated series
In the English cartoon, Scorponok and Lord Zarak only appeared in the three-part episode "The Rebirth", comprising the entirety of the show's fourth season and concluding the American run of the original cartoon era.Lord Zarak was the supreme leader of the Hive, an evil dictatorship that ruled the planet of Nebulos and saw the populace as their slaves. Each of the eleven Hive members possessed telepathic/telekinetic control over machines, which they controlled worldwide to subjugate the Nebulans, moving to a subterranean city as their powers developed. But as the strength of their minds grew, the Hive's bodies withered away and became useless, to the extent that some members of the group apparently no longer even possess organic forms, only robotic shells which house their brains. Zarak himself retains his body, but despite his muscular build, may be paraplegic (he is never seen walking without his Headmaster suit) and possibly blind in one eye (one eye is always drawn either shut or solid white).
With the arrival of the Transformers to Nebulos, and the fusion of a group of Autobots and Nebulan rebels into Headmasters, Zarak masterminded a scheme to duplicate the process with Decepticons. Unable to control the Decepticons directly with their mental powers, the Hive were able to subdue them with their own machines and force them into the scheme, striking a deal to create both Headmasters and Targetmaster
Targetmaster
Targetmaster is a subline of the Transformers toyline that include Nebulan sidekicks who can transform into the Transformers' weapons.-1987 Targetmasters:...
s. With his fellow Hive members binary bonded to the Decepticons, Zarak then turned his attention to himself, reconstructing the Hive's entire subterranean city into a giant Transformer, Scorponok, to which he then bonded himself as Headmaster partner. Scorponok emerged in the midst of a battle between the Autobots and Decepticons, capturing Arcee
Arcee
Arcee is the name of a fictional character in the Transformers franchise. She is a female Autobot, usually pink in color. Being the most famous of the Female Transformers, she has two primary forms...
, who was currently holding the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber, and departing for Cybertron
Cybertron
Cybertron is a fictional planet, the homeworld of the Transformers in the various fictional incarnations of the metaseries and toyline by Hasbro. In the Japanese series, the planet is referred to as "Cybertron" pronounced as セイバートロン Seibātoron...
with the Decepticons on board. They key was subsequently used by Galvatron
Galvatron
Galvatron is the name of several fictional Transformers, most often the recreated version of Megatron, the Decepticon leader. He was voiced by Leonard Nimoy in the 1986 Transformers movie, and then by Frank Welker in season 3 and 4 of the animated television series. Since then, other Transformers...
to open the Plasma Energy Chamber while Scorponok transformed to his robot mode and battled with Fortress Maximus
Fortress Maximus
Fortress Maximus is the name of several fictional characters from several of the various Transformers universes. Fortress Maximus appeared in the season 4 finale of the US Transformers animated series voiced by Stephen Keener. He was one of the stars of the Japanese Transformers: Headmasters...
. Escaping into space with the Decepticons aboard as the chamber opened, Scorponok was struck by a tendril of plasma energy, and sent hurtling off into the depths of space. In the end, it became clear that Zarak had intended to take leadership of the Decepticons for himself, though the series ended just as this was hinted at.
Zarak's voice is supplied by Stan Jones
Stan Jones (actor)
Gordon Stan Jones , sometimes credited as G. Stanley Jones, Staley Jones or Stanley Jones, was a Canadian film and television actor.-Career:...
. Scorponok speaks only one line of dialogue - "Autobots! Die!" - provided by Stephen Keener.
Transformers: Headmasters
Whereas in the US, "The Rebirth" concluded the cartoon series, in Japan, it was decided to continue producing new episodes. To that end the events of "The Rebirth" were disregarded, and a new series, titled Transformers: The HeadmastersTransformers: The Headmasters
is a Japanese anime television series.-Development:Inititally, Takara, the Japanese producers of the Transformers toyline, imported the American Transformers cartoon series from 1985 to 1986...
was created, following on one year after the end of the show's third season. In Japan, the Headmaster process is different to that in the US fiction – here there are no Nebulons, and there is only one mind involved. The Headmasters are small robots who connect to larger, lifeless bodies called Transtectors. Here, Zarak (known as Scorponok in Japan) is one such robot. In Transformers: The Headmasters, Zarak's (small) body more closely resembles his toy form than the art style of his U.S. and Marvel Comics counterparts.
Having fled Cybertron with many fellow Transformers under the command of Fortress during the Autobot/Decepticon war, Zarak was among the Cybertronians who settled on the harsh world of Planet Master. The brutal environments of the world necessitated that the Transformers construct new, stronger bodies for themselves in order to survive, connecting to them as heads. The process was accomplished, but several of the resultant "Headmasters" chafed under Fortress's leadership, and sided with Zarak against him. Eventually, however, they were defeated and forced off the planet.
In 2011, Zarak made contact with Galvatron
Galvatron
Galvatron is the name of several fictional Transformers, most often the recreated version of Megatron, the Decepticon leader. He was voiced by Leonard Nimoy in the 1986 Transformers movie, and then by Frank Welker in season 3 and 4 of the animated television series. Since then, other Transformers...
, the current Decepticon leader, and he and his Headmaster minions joined him in their new attack on Cybertron. Appearing only in shadow for quite some time, Scorponok schemed to take leadership of the Decepticons for himself. When Galvatron led a raid on Cybertron acquire the new super-alloy, Cybertonuron, Zarak - fearful of the power Galvatron could acquire with it, and tired of the disrespect heaped upon him by Galvatron - lured Galvatron to the core of Cybertrons, where a bomb his forces had previously planted was detonated, destroying much of the planet and apparently killing Galvatron.
Zarak subsequently took command of the Decepticons, lying and claiming that he knew where Galvatron was, and that he had been appointed to lead. Zarak then had the Decepticons acquire an Earth satellite, the Solar One, which could harness solar energy, and used it to direct the sun's energy to a small world he had enslaved in a dark nebula off in space, where he was having a massive Transtector constructed for himself. With the Transtector now powered up by the solar energy, Zarak initiated a plan of his own, scheming to blow up Mars and harness the plasma energy released. To stop the Autobots, Zarak boarded his Transtector and travelled to Mars, where combined with it to battle Fortress Maximus, proclaiming that he was no longer Zarak - now, he was Scorponok (renamed MegaZarak in Japan).
Scorponok's leadership was cut short before it even began as Galvatron returned during his coronation ceremony and reclaimed his throne, relegating Scorponok to an insulting status, using him simply as transport from planet to planet as the Decepticons ransacked numerous worlds for their energy. Upon return to Earth, however, Galvatron was deactivated and buried in the Arctic battling the Autobot Headmasters, allowing Scorponok to seize power once more. To combat the power of Fortress Maximus's Master Sword, Scorponok led an attack on Planet Master, where he acquired the powerful G-Metal and constructed the Zarak Shield to counter the Master Sword. Returning to Earth once more, Scorponok put his plan to destroy the planet into motion. Operating out of the lost continent of Lemuria
Lemuria (continent)
Lemuria is the name of a hypothetical "lost land" variously located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The concept's 19th century origins lie in attempts to account for discontinuities in biogeography; however, the concept of Lemuria has been rendered obsolete by modern theories of plate tectonics...
, Scorponok raised towers composed of the city's powerful "Crysmag" metal all across the world, which began to tear the planet apart, channelling the plasma energy into an orbiting satellite, which directed it into Scorponok's Transtector. In a final battle at the North Pole, Fortress Maximus was energised by the power of all his fellow Autobots, and cleaved Scorponok's Transtector in half (after which it exploded), stopping the process and saving the planet.
Transformers: Super-God Masterforce
Japan followed up Headmasters with another exclusive series the following year, titled Transformers: Super-God MasterforceTransformers: Super-God Masterforce
is the title of a Japanese Transformers line of toys and anime series that ran from April 12, 1988 to March 7, 1989 for 42 episodes. On July 3, 2006 the series was released on DVD in the UK, and it was aired on AnimeCentral in the UK a few years later....
, which featured a character named Black Zarak, whose toy was a remoulded, repainted Scorponok, with a new head/helmet and "Tyrant Spear" accessory as large as the figure itself. The toy itself is of note among collectors due to its nature as a Japanese exclusive and often sells for double the price of the original Scorponok. Unlike the original figure, the Headmaster toy component does not need to be attached as the helmet has a face of its own. However, the toy features a heavy downside – the gold plastic parts (the dual guns, the gun shield, the shield/tower, the feet, the Headmaster component (Zarak/Scorponok) and Guardminder, BlackZarak's version of Fasttrack) are very brittle, and can break from even the slightest handling.
Although not explained in the main 42 episodes of the animated series itself, Black Zarak was revealed to actually be Scorponok in an additional clip episode, produced after the end of the series. After the destruction of his original Transtector by Fortress Maximus, Zarak had a new body constructed for himself - smaller in size than his original (although it was still much larger than most of the other transformers in that series), but stronger and with super-dense armour – but before being able to connect with it, he was captured and brainwashed by the evil energy entity and self-styled "Decepticon God", Devil Z, putting him under his control. He was then dispatched back into outer space, to join the Decepticon forces warring with the Autobots further off in the galaxy. When the smaller, Earth-based Autobot/Decepticon conflict began to escalate Black Zarak was summoned to Earth by Devil Z to join his forces there. The Autobot, Grand Maximus, reached the planet ahead of him, in order to warn Earth's Autobots of his approach. Black Zarak soon arrived on Earth's moon for a rendezvous with Overlord
Overlord (Transformers)
Overlord is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:-Animated series:Outside of Japan, Overlord's sole animated appearance was in the toy commercial aired in Europe....
, and a battle erupted as they were attacked by God Ginrai
Ginrai
Ginrai, occasionally spelled Jinrai and also known as both Super Ginrai and God Ginrai, and later rebuilt as Victory Leo, is a fictional character from the animated series Transformers: Super-God Masterforce and its toy line, one of the Transformers series exclusive to Japan...
and Grand Maximus. The battle was hard fought, but God Ginrai succeeded in decapitating Black Zarak, only for the still-functioning villain to flee back into space.
During this period in space, Black Zarak mastered localised gravity manipulation, gaining the power to create black holes that he could use to transport himself great distances - and of course, his first stop was Earth. After the Autobots countered a series of Black Zarak's attacks on cities across the globe, including a space-based attack using the mighty ozone-depleting weapon, the Death-Para Machine, they located and invaded the Decepticon base, prompting Devil Z to take the next step to enhance his and Black Zarak's abilities; by fusing together with him. The Devil Z/Black Zarak hybrid blew up the Decepticon base in a failed attempted to destroy the Autobots, and led the Decepticons' renewed attacks on the Earth with his mighty "Devil Thunder" power, seeking to wipe out humanity, fearful of the unpredictable power of their strength and spirit. Overlord, however, acknowledged and celebrated this power - at least within himself - and for that, Black Zarak turned upon him, prompting God Ginrai to rescue him from the monster's clutches. In God Ginrai's final battle with Black Zarak, he again decapitated the villain, only to have him reveal a new transformation, assuming the form of a two-headed hydra
Lernaean Hydra
In Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra was an ancient nameless serpent-like chthonic water beast, with reptilian traits, that possessed many heads — the poets mention more heads than the vase-painters could paint, and for each head cut off it grew two more — and poisonous breath so virulent even...
. With his God Fire Guts attack, God Ginrai successfully destroyed BlackZarak, and then, infused with the additional power of Shuta, Cab and Minerva, performed the Final Fire Guts technique to destroy Devil Z, forcing the surviving Decepticons to flee the planet.
Although the toy includes Zarak as a Headmaster, Black Zarak is not a Headmaster in the series itself, proving the fact by being decapitated and continuing to function on two occasions. The companion manga in TV Magazine provides the answer to this mystery - Zarak does not "Head On" with his Black Zarak body, but is actually fully integrated as part of it within the chest compartment.
Transformers: Zone
Through the power of Zone Energy, Black Zarak was later resurrected by the mysterious insectoid being called Violenjiger in 1990s Transformers: ZoneTransformers: Zone
is a one-shot OVA exclusive to Japan in the fictional Transformers universe.-Development:Originally intended to be a full TV series, Transformers: Zone was forced to become direct-length direct-to-video due to less than expected toy sales. The series was canceled after just one episode at 25 minutes...
along with eight other great Decepticon generals(the others being Devastator
Constructicons
right|thumb|Scavenger, Bonecrusher, Longhaul, Scrapper & Mixmaster - five of the original six Constructicons The Constructicons are a group of fictional characters from the various Transformers continuities...
, Menasor, Bruticus
Combaticons
The Combaticons are a group of Decepticon military vehicles in the assorted fictional universes of the Transformers.- Transformers: Generation 1 :...
, Predaking, King Poseidon
Seacons
This article is about the Transformers characters the Seacons. For the shopping mall, see Seacon Square. For the 1961 Worldcon in Seattle, Washington, Seacon, see 19th World Science Fiction Convention...
, Trypticon
Trypticon
Trypticon is a fictional character in the Transformers toyline.-Transformers: Generation 1:Trypticon is the Decepticons' principal command base. He has three modes: a city, a mobile battle station, and a Tyrannosaurus rex. In each mode, he has a variety of weapons...
, Overlord
Overlord (Transformers)
Overlord is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:-Animated series:Outside of Japan, Overlord's sole animated appearance was in the toy commercial aired in Europe....
and Abominus
Terrorcon
The name Terrorcons refers to several different groups in the Transformers toyline. They are referred to as Terrortrons in Japan.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
). They were dispatched by the alien Violenjiger to harvest Zone Energy. They were defeated by Dai Atlas.
Books
Scorponok appeared in the 1988 Ladybird BooksLadybird Books
Ladybird Books is a London-based publishing company, trading as a stand-alone imprint within the Penguin Group of companies. The Ladybird imprint publishes mass-market children's books.-History:...
story Decepticons at the Pole by John Grant
John Grant (children's author)
John Grant is a Scottish author and illustrator, possibly best known as the author of the Littlenose series of children's stories, which he read on the BBC's Jackanory in 55 programmes from 1968 to 1986....
. In this story he was the base for the Decepticons.
Scorponok was among the Decepticons featured in the 1988 book and audio adventure Autobot Hostage by Ladybird Books.
Dreamwave Productions
When civil war broke out on the planet Cybertron between the Autobots and Decepticons, Scorponok joined with the Decepticons under Megatron. A powerful warrior and leader among the troops, he quickly rose in rank among Decepticon forces. In homage to his original Marvel portrayal, his Dreamwave tech spec indicated he was a formidable warrior, but with a keen sense of honor.Just before the Great Shutdown, Scorponok was one of the leaders of the Decepticons, under Shockwave.
IDW Publishing
Scorponok made his first IDW PublishingIDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
appearance in the Spotlight issue on Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers storylines.-Transformers: Generation 1:The greatest Transformer of them all. A commander could want no finer a soldier than Ultra Magnus...
. A Decepticon with a reputation for completely disregarding what few rules govern the Autobot/Decepticon war, Scorponok was well known for offering Cybertronian technology to races in return for completing his own unscrupulous projects. His latest project took him to Nebulos, where he struck a deal with local business leader Zarak to upgrade Nebulans with Transformer technology for an unknown reason. However, Scorponok was tracked down by Autobot law enforcement officer Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers storylines.-Transformers: Generation 1:The greatest Transformer of them all. A commander could want no finer a soldier than Ultra Magnus...
and the two battled. A shot from Scorponok's scorpion mode seemingly inadvertently killed Zarak, and Magnus shot Scorponok in the head.
The Decepticon escaped badly injured. He reappeared in the main storyline as the Transformer behind the Machination, with only his badly damaged head remaining (although he was not revealed until the final issue of The Transformers: Devastation
The Transformers: Devastation
The Transformers: Devastation is a six-issue comic book miniseries, published by IDW Publishing, based on the Transformers and following on from The Transformers: Escalation. Issue 1 of Devastation was released on October 3, 2007, with issue 2 following on the 24th of October and was published...
). He had continued his ambitions of merging organics and Transformer technology, creating an army of Headmasters
Headmaster (Transformers)
Headmasters are a sub-group of characters from the Transformers meta-series, distinguished by their ability to detach their heads when transforming into their alternate modes, with the heads then transforming themselves into a humanoid form...
using the body of the kidnapped Sunstreaker
Sunstreaker
Sunstreaker is the name of two fictional characters from the various Transformers universes. The first is one of the main Autobot cars from the original Transformers series...
as a template to mass produce Headmaster bodies while using Sunstreaker's decapitated head as a hub, using his memories to hunt the other Autobots. Eventually he combined with Abraham Dante, the human head of the Machination, into a copy of his old body. Even with his mobility and power restored he was unable to stop Hunter O'Nion, now merged with Sunstreaker's mind in one of the copy bodies, from escaping.
Now aware of Megatron's intentions for Earth, Scorponok had his mole in Skywatch (a legitimate government anti-Transformer organization) sabotage Grimlock
Grimlock
Grimlock is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. He is usually portrayed as a tough leader who turns into a mechanical dinosaur...
's reawakening. Scorponok approached him with the offer of an alliance, in the hopes Grimlock would distract the Decepticons long enough for his own Machination empire to become entrenched. Grimlock refused and attacked, but Scorponok's new Headmaster powers allowed him to overwhelm the Dynobot. Grimlock escaped, but Scorponok had his agents prepare to take control of the rst of the Dynobots, planning on letting Skywatch kill off Grimlock for them (Spotlight: Grimlock).
Ultra Magnus' schematics indicate that Scorponok's previous alternate mode was a tracked Cybertronian tank.
Mosaic
Scorponok appeared in the Transformers: Mosaic story "The Sting of Scorponok" by Josh “Richter” van Reyk.Toys
- Generation 1 Scorponok with Zarak (1987)
- Scorponok is the second-largest toy from the original Transformers toyline, slightly taller than TrypticonTrypticonTrypticon is a fictional character in the Transformers toyline.-Transformers: Generation 1:Trypticon is the Decepticons' principal command base. He has three modes: a city, a mobile battle station, and a Tyrannosaurus rex. In each mode, he has a variety of weapons...
, and second only to his opposite number, Fortress MaximusFortress MaximusFortress Maximus is the name of several fictional characters from several of the various Transformers universes. Fortress Maximus appeared in the season 4 finale of the US Transformers animated series voiced by Stephen Keener. He was one of the stars of the Japanese Transformers: Headmasters...
. Originally, his Tech Spec statistics were printed upside down, resulting in a grossly inaccurate representation of his abilities (suggesting, for example, that his Strength was merely 3). Later production runs of the toy bore modified statistics - though they were again incorrect as they were consistently two points lower than those revealed by plugging Lord Zarak into the chest meter. (This may be due to the blue line of the tech specs card being printed in yet another inverted form -- mirrored, as opposed to upside down.)
Beast Wars
Scorponok was one of the original members of MegatronMegatron (Beast Wars and Beast Machines)
The Beast Wars and Beast Machines version of Megatron is the main antagonist from the aforementioned parts of the Transformers animated series, toy lines, and multiverse...
's Darksyde crew who stole the Golden Disk
Golden Disk
-Beast Wars:The Golden Disk is a relic from the Beast Wars Transformers timeline, and a key plot device for the events of the show. Considered a revered artifact, it is actually the Voyager Golden Record, which includes information on Earth and humanity, and is presumably the only source of...
artifact from the Cybertron
Cybertron
Cybertron is a fictional planet, the homeworld of the Transformers in the various fictional incarnations of the metaseries and toyline by Hasbro. In the Japanese series, the planet is referred to as "Cybertron" pronounced as セイバートロン Seibātoron...
archives in Beast Wars
Beast Wars
Transformers: Beast Wars is a Transformers toyline released by Hasbro between 1995 and 2000, and a Daytime Emmy Award winning full-CG animated television series spawned by it that debuted in 1996...
. He turns into a giant scorpion.
Fun Publications
The Predacon General now known as MegatronMegatron (Beast Wars and Beast Machines)
The Beast Wars and Beast Machines version of Megatron is the main antagonist from the aforementioned parts of the Transformers animated series, toy lines, and multiverse...
gathered a crew of like-minded individuals. While Waspinator
Waspinator
Waspinator is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes. He is sometimes called Wasp. The original Waspinator was voiced by Scott McNeil in the Beast Wars animated series.-Beast Wars:...
and Terrorsaur
Terrorsaur
Terrorsaur is the name of several fictional characters from the world of Transformers universes.Terror-Saur is an amalgamate of terror and saur .-Beast Wars:...
stole a ship, Megatron, Dinobot
Dinobot
Dinobot is a fictional character from the Beast Wars Transformers universe.-Beast Wars:Dinobot originally debuts in the series' premiere as a subordinate of Megatron, leader of the villainous Predacons. However, Dinobot challenges Megatron's leadership, and is shortly expelled from his crew. He...
and Scorponok stole the Golden Disk
Golden Disk
-Beast Wars:The Golden Disk is a relic from the Beast Wars Transformers timeline, and a key plot device for the events of the show. Considered a revered artifact, it is actually the Voyager Golden Record, which includes information on Earth and humanity, and is presumably the only source of...
, battling the guards and destroying one, disabling a second, and leaving a third to commandeer a ship to pursue them. Picked up by their ship, they fled and were pursued by two ships - one of which was the Axalon
Axalon
The Axalon is the name of the fictional Maximal ship in the Beast Wars cartoon and comic books. In addition, in the Transformers: Armada cartoon, the Autobots constructed a space ship that was also named the Axalon, possibly in reference to the original Maximal ship.-History:The Axalon, commanded...
commanded by Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal is a fictional character from the Transformers toyline, and the leader of the Maximal forces and the main protagonist in the Beast Wars television series. He is sometimes called Optimal Optimus...
, the other the Chromia 10. With a little help from Laserbeak
Laserbeak
Laserbeak is the name given to several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. He is almost always a mechanical bird, and is partnered with Soundwave.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
and Buzzsaw (secretly sent by Divebomb to ensure Megatron's plan to change history succeeded) they destroyed one of their pursuers, and the newly christened Darksyde fled into transwarp space, with the Axalon in pursuit - thus beginning the Beast Wars.
Scorponok's pre-Beast Wars mode seems to be based on Energon Scorponok, but no actual toy was created for this character.
Animated series
Scorponok was promoted to second-in-command of the PredaconsPredacon (Transformers)
The Predacons usually refer to the name of several fictional Decepticon-like teams led by Megatron, however Transformers: Armada, Predacon is the name of a single character.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
after forcibly (and literally) ejecting Dinobot
Dinobot
Dinobot is a fictional character from the Beast Wars Transformers universe.-Beast Wars:Dinobot originally debuts in the series' premiere as a subordinate of Megatron, leader of the villainous Predacons. However, Dinobot challenges Megatron's leadership, and is shortly expelled from his crew. He...
from the group, and acted as Megatron's
Megatron (Beast Wars and Beast Machines)
The Beast Wars and Beast Machines version of Megatron is the main antagonist from the aforementioned parts of the Transformers animated series, toy lines, and multiverse...
right hand in the first season of the Beast Wars. To survive on the Energon-filled planet, he scanned a scorpion as his beast mode.
Scorponok had several important roles in season one, like finding an old Predacon cannon (which he almost lost to Cheetor), and then chased Cheetor
Cheetor
Cheetor is several fictional characters from various Transformers universes.- Beast Wars :Cheetor's original tech spec indicated he was a seasoned and confident warrior always in search of battle with the Predacons, seemingly in contrast to his youthful and impulsive portrayal in the original show...
in the Darksyde with Waspinator. He then tried to infect Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal is a fictional character from the Transformers toyline, and the leader of the Maximal forces and the main protagonist in the Beast Wars television series. He is sometimes called Optimal Optimus...
with a virus that was supposed to make him a coward, but instead made him a berserker. He was partners with Blackarachnia who betrayed him twice. Scorponok also didn't get along with Terrorsaur, because Terrorsaur always wanted to usurp Megatron. Throughout season one, Scorponok's faith in Megatron was unmatched, almost to the extent of looking up to him. Scorponok was arguably the lone original Predacon who was completely loyal to Megatron; the other 4 original Predacons - Terrorsaur
Terrorsaur
Terrorsaur is the name of several fictional characters from the world of Transformers universes.Terror-Saur is an amalgamate of terror and saur .-Beast Wars:...
, Tarantulas
Tarantulas (Transformers)
Tarantulas is a Predacon in theBeast Wars series who turns into a tarantula. Due to problems in trade-marking the name, later releases of the character were called Predacon Tarantulus by Hasbro.-Beast Wars:...
, Waspinator
Waspinator
Waspinator is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes. He is sometimes called Wasp. The original Waspinator was voiced by Scott McNeil in the Beast Wars animated series.-Beast Wars:...
, and Dinobot
Dinobot
Dinobot is a fictional character from the Beast Wars Transformers universe.-Beast Wars:Dinobot originally debuts in the series' premiere as a subordinate of Megatron, leader of the villainous Predacons. However, Dinobot challenges Megatron's leadership, and is shortly expelled from his crew. He...
- all tried to usurp Megatron's position of leader at one point of the first season. Sadly this was never reciprocated, and Megatron treated Scorponok as disposable as the rest of his minions.
In the season one finale, he joined Megatron and Terrorsaur at the alien structure, where the Maximals Rattrap and Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal is a fictional character from the Transformers toyline, and the leader of the Maximal forces and the main protagonist in the Beast Wars television series. He is sometimes called Optimal Optimus...
were trying to get inside of it to rescue Airazor. But due to the truce, and their hopes of the Maximals possible destruction within the structure, the Predacons decided to help them. They used Scorponok's toxic sting so that they could enter the forcefield in an attempt to retrieve Airazor. Scorponok announced to Megatron that he had one mega missile to shoot at the Maximals while they were inside, to which Megatron replied, "Excellent!" With their plan to destroy the Maximals thwarted, Megatron, Terrorsaur and Scorponok returned to their base which proved to play a significant part of the demise of Terrorsaur and Scorponok when their base was hit by the Quantum Surge.
Scorponok seemingly died along with his rival, Terrorsaur, in the second season premiere, when they both fell into a pit of magma as the quantum surge hit the planet from the destroyed Vok
Vok
The Vok are a race of fictional aliens from the Transformers universe.-Beast Wars:In Transformers history, the Vok were mysterious and powerful aliens who had evolved beyond the corporeal world. Their base of operations—be it another planet, location in space, or entire dimension—is dubbed "Nexus...
"Planet Buster". After this, Inferno
Inferno
Inferno means "Hell" in both Italian and Portuguese, so this word may refer to:*Hell*Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire.-Literature:* Inferno , the first part of Dante's Divine Comedy...
took his place as Megatron's second-in-command.
IDW Publishing
Scorponok had a biography printed in the Beast Wars Sourcebook by IDW PublishingIDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
. According to his biography published in the Beast Wars Sourcebook Scorponok actually survived the events of season 2 and was turned into a transmetal scorpion, but he remained trapped in the magma, unable to escape until after Megatron was defeated and the Maximals left with him for Cybertron. What happened to Scorponok afterwards is unknown.
Toys
- Beast Wars Scorponok (1996)
- The Scorponok toy was repainted as Double Punch in Japan in 1998 and as Botcon Sandstorm in 1999. The commercial for Scorponok referred to him as a "robot in disguise with a killer bee inside!"
- Beast Wars Transmetal Scorponok
- A transmetalTransmetalsTransmetals are a subgroup of the Beast Wars and Beast Machines characters in the fictional Transformers universe. Ordinary Transformers in the Beast Wars universe have a mechanical robot form and a techno-organic animal form, also known as a "beast mode"...
toy of Scorponok was released as McDonald'sMcDonald'sMcDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
happy mealHappy MealA "Happy Meal" is a meal specifically marketed at children, sold at the fast-food chain McDonald's since June 1979. A toy is typically included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a small box or paper bag with the McDonald's logo....
toy.
Transformers: Energon
Like his predecessor, the Transformers: EnergonTransformers: Energon
Transformers: Energon, known in Japan as , is the 2004–2005 Transformers toyline, animated series and comic book series, another co-production between Hasbro and Takara and a direct sequel to Transformers: Armada...
incarnation of Scorponok (misspelled Scorponauk in his debut episode) is known as Megazarak in Japan and is a Triple Changer
Triple Changer
Triple Changers are Transformers that can transform from robot into two different alternative modes.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
, transforming from robot to scorpion-themed tank to jet.
Animated series
Originally, he was the Grand Chamberlain of the alien world of Planet Q, and sacrificed his life when he detonated the planet's core to stop the attack of UnicronUnicron
Unicron is a fictional character from the Transformers universe and toyline. Created by Floro Dery, he was introduced in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie as the film's main antagonist. Unicron is a prodigiously large robot whose scale reaches planetary proportions, and he is also...
. The spark of the planet's ruler, later to be known as Alpha Q, continued to exist within the dormant Unicron, and set about forming a plan to recreate his homeworld and other worlds that had been consumed by Unicron, using Energon. From Unicron, he recreated Planet Q's armies as the Terrorcon
Terrorcon
The name Terrorcons refers to several different groups in the Transformers toyline. They are referred to as Terrortrons in Japan.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
s, and resurrected Scorponok to lead them.
Scorponok managed to turn several Decepticons to his and Alpha Q's side, until Megatron was resurrected. Although Scorponok tried to kill the newly reborn Decepticon Leader, Megatron predictably beat Scorponok brutally for trying to usurp the power of Decepticon Leader, and branded him with a Decepticon symbol. Megatron then used Scorponok as a shield against the Autobots' fire on his first attack in his new body (he was eventually repaired by Tidal Wave
Tidal Wave (Transformers)
Tidal Wave is the name of a fictional character from Transformers: Armada and Transformers: Energon. He is a Decepticon, and at one point of the Energon series, he was rebuilt as Mirage....
). However, Scorponok continued to act as a mole for Alpha Q, working towards his master's goals from within Megatron's team. When Megatron came to suspect this, he strapped Scorponok to a meteor and hurled him at Earth's Energon Grid, hoping to force Alpha Q out of hiding to rescue his minion. Scorponok survived the ordeal, and reunited with Alpha Q, entering into an alliance with the Autobots to stop Megatron from reviving Unicron. However, after Scorponok's subsequent defeat by Megatron, the positively-charged Energon released from Unicron's head by Alpha Q reacted with the negatively-charged Energon vented from Unicron's body by Megatron, tearing open a fissure in space, through which the teams were sucked. In this new region of space, all of the planets consumed by Unicron had been recreated, but Scorponok was to meet an unfortunate fate as Megatron completely reprogrammed him, turning him into a true Decepticon.
During his alliance with the Autobots, Scorponok had earned an admirer in Ironhide, who attempted several times to make him remember who he was and to turn him away from Megatron's service. His words continuously fell on deaf ears, and the two friends-turned-foes had their final conflict on Cybertron as Optimus Prime battled the Unicron-possessed Galvatron. Both combatants were rendered unconscious, but Scorponok was the first to recover as Ironhide's Spark began to glow - Optimus Prime was calling on all his troops to lend him their strength. With the last of his own energy, Scorponok transported Ironhide to Prime's side so that he could join in the ultimate combination, but told him that he was not doing it for him - he was doing it so that Prime could save Galvatron from Unicron. And with that final act, Scorponok died.
The Japanese version of Ironhide and Scorponok's final exchange adds a touch of ambiguity to their relationship. From his reappearance as a Decepticon up to this point, Ironhide has been attempting to make Scorponok remember Alpha Q, while Scorponok has insisted that Megatron is the only master he has known. His final line, however - a near-whispered "Our planet..." - suggests that he may well indeed remember Alpha Q, and that he may be serving Megatron out of his own free will (perhaps, as some earlier dialogue suggests, for giving him new life as Decepticon when he would have died otherwise). Scorponok's line survives into the Energon dub, but Ironhide's reaction ("Scorponok? So... you do...") does not, depriving the exchange of the punctuation which makes its meaning clear.
In the 33rd episode, "Scorponok's Scars", it is revealed that the spark within Scorponok is not actually that of the general of Planet Q - his spark was completely extinguished in his last act of sacrifice. Alpha Q instead used the wandering Spark of a Decepticon to recreate Scorponok, programming it to act and think the way the real Scorponok did. For an unexplained reason, however, this episode was not dubbed into English.
Dreamwave Productions
In Dreamwave ProductionsDreamwave Productions
Dreamwave Productions was a Canadian art design studio and comic book publisher founded in 1996 and is best known for their multiple Transformers comic book series...
' Transformers: Energon comic book series, Scorponok was a former lieutenant of Megatron. Unlike Megatron, he preferred to actively participate in combat, his brutal and 'right-to-the-point' tactics earning him the respect of his troops. Scorponok's precise history after this is unknown, although Starscream implied he was one of those who fought against Unicron.
Ten years after the defeat of Unicron, Scorponok sought out the Decepticons who were not happy with the current Autobot-Decepticon alliance, and found a new ally in Alpha-Quintesson who gave him and his followers new, energon-enhanced hyper-modes for finding Energon to re-activate Unicron. As his first act, Scorponok killed the always treacherous Starscream, stating he never knew why Megatron kept him around.
Following Alpha-Q's orders, he led his new army, the Terrorcon
Terrorcon
The name Terrorcons refers to several different groups in the Transformers toyline. They are referred to as Terrortrons in Japan.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
s to Earth, planning to suck the planet dry of Energon. During his first assault his team captured Kicker, whom Scorponok realised could help him locate Energon. After soundly defeating the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, Scorponok started the mining of Energon. The Autobots' second attack, aided by the Omnicon
Omnicon
-Transformers: Energon:Omnicons were a main group of characters Transformers: Energon series allied with the Autobots. They were opposition of to the Decepticon allied Terrorcons.The Omnicons include:...
s, took him by surprise and with the mined Energon blown up, Scorponok was gated away and reprimanded by his master.
Learning from his mistakes, Scorponok didn't take any chances in his next attack. He unleashed four huge armies of the cloned Terrorcons on four cities of Earth, while he hitched a ride on a tower of the Earth defence grid, arriving from space to the Yukon Territory Autobot station. Thus avoiding the warning systems, Scorponok took the three Autobots Ironhide
Ironhide
Ironhide is the name of several different fictional characters in the Transformers universes. According to the original creator of the Transformers names, Bob Budiansky, Ironhide was named after the television series Ironside.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
, Overload
Overload (Transformers)
Overload is the name of four different fictional character in the various Transformers universes. They are seemingly unrelated besides sharing a name.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
and Dropshot by surprise and took them out easily. However, just as he wanted to claim the defense system, he was challenged by Megatron, who was recently freed from his imprisonment in Unicron (in flashbacks we would see Starscream warning Megatron about Scorponok's ambitions).
Megatron and Scorponok battled it out, both verbally and physically. Their philosophies, subtle and blunt, clashed just like they themselves did on the battlefield. Figuring that Megatron was drained of energy by using his teleportation powers, Scorponok grounded him and buried him under a hill, but then was stabbed in the back by Megatron, who was far from finished. Burning him from the inside out with his energon sword, Megatron left the empty husk of what was Scorponok behind.
Dreamwave went bankrupt and the comic was cancelled, but the official bio of Hasbro's Cybertron Dark Scorponok follows this Energon comic continuity, where Scorponok is reanimated by the energy of Unicron, and follows his orders while hoping to regain his spark.
Fun Publications
Dark Scorponok first appears in the third issue of the comic, as Vector Prime
Vector Prime (Transformers)
Vector Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers: Cybertron toyline, animated series and comics. In fiction he is an ancient Autobot, one of the first ever created, with powers over time and space, and turns into a spaceship...
warns that Unicron could bring more minions to battle the Autobots, Dark Scorponok rises from the dead. Later, an Autobot named Skyfall
Skyfall (Transformers)
Skyfall is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. In some cases the name Skyfall is used as a substitute for Skyjack.-Transformers Generation 1:...
arrives in his ship at a spaceport only to discover the place abandoned, until he is attacked by Scrapmetal and Dark Scorponok. As Scorponok continues to attack Skyfall, Skyfall is buried in rubble. The Mini-Con
Mini-Con
Mini-Cons are a human-sized race and faction of power-enhancing transforming robots in the Transformers: Armada universe and its sequels, one of the assorted universes in Transformers fiction...
s of Ramjet
Ramjet (Transformers)
Ramjet is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All have been Decepticon aligned characters who turn into jets, usually white.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
find Scorponok and lure him to the Autobots. Safeguard attempts to defend Alpha Trion's chamber from Scorponok, then is joined by Sentinel Maximus. Scorponok fights madly, ignoring all injuries to himself. While the other Autobots defend Vector Prime tries to get the nearby autoguns online. Scorponok stings Sentinel Maximus who nearly shuts down due to the cyber-venom. The autoguns come online and blast Scorponok.
Toys
- Energon Ultra Scorponok
- A Triple Changer.
- Cybertron Ultra Dark Scorponok
- Energon Scorponok returned in the Transformers: CybertronTransformers: CybertronTransformers: Cybertron, known in Japan originally as , is the 2005-2007 Transformers toy line and animated series, another co-production between Hasbro and Takara...
toyline. Now called Dark Scorponok, his toy biography cites his death as that seen in the Dreamwave comic book, at Megatron's hands, rather than the cartoon's depicition of his passing. - A retool of the Energon toy, he is a homage to Black Zarak. He is a zombieZombieZombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
who hungers for the lifeforce of other Transformers, much in the wave of victims of the Transorganic Dweller.- Titanium 3 inch Scorponok
- A 3 inch tall non-transforming Scorponok toy was released in the Transformers: Titanium line. Though the toy comes in Energon colors, his tech specs fit more with original Decepticon Scorponok's character.
Transformers
Scorponok appears in the live-action Transformers film directed by Michael BayMichael Bay
Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and substantial practical special effects...
. His machine form is a mechanized scorpion
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
and is the only Decepticon in the film that does not transform (though a toy of him has a robot mode), but is able to dive under sand or other soft landforms. Screenwriter Roberto Orci
Roberto Orci
Roberto Gaston Orci is a Mexican-American film producer, television producer, and screenwriter.-Biography:Orci was born in Mexico City to a Mexican father and a Cuban mother. His mother had left Cuba for Mexico after Fidel Castro came to power. He is the older brother of screenwriter-producer J....
indicated that this Scorponok is conceptually closer to the Beast Wars character than the original; he does bear a noticeable resemblance to the McDonald's Transmetal Scorponok figure (see above). He is Blackout's partner, similar to the role that cassettes such as Ravage
Ravage (Transformers)
Ravage is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. Due to the inability to trademark the common word "ravage", he is sometimes called Battle Ravage, Command Ravage or Tripredacus Agent...
and Laserbeak
Laserbeak
Laserbeak is the name given to several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. He is almost always a mechanical bird, and is partnered with Soundwave.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
served under Soundwave
Soundwave (Transformers)
Soundwave is the name of several characters in the various series Transformers series. His most famous disguise is that of a microcassette recorder and has an iconic voice done by a vocoder.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
. His weapons include missiles, spinning pincers (which can also be formatted into drills for burrowing), directed-energy weapons, and an impaling spike that represents the stinger on his tail. Scorponok can be seen strapped to Blackout's back in the video game, and is playable as a character on some consoles. When he is playable, the transformation button, instead of causing a transformation, instead makes him dive into the ground (or attempt to do so if he's over hard concrete).
Books
Scorponok appears in the prequel novel Transformers: Ghosts of YesterdayTransformers: Ghosts of Yesterday
Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday, is a prequel novel to the Michael Bay Transformers film. It was written by Alan Dean Foster, based on a story by David Cian.-Plot summary:...
, where he is used in an assault by Blackout to injure Optimus Prime, although he is defeated. Blackout later uses him to infiltrate the Ark
Ark (Transformers)
The Ark is an Autobot spacecraft in the Transformers Universe. It has appeared as a central fixture of the Transformers storyline ever since its creation, as the Autobots main method of transport to Earth and as a base once they arrive....
, disabling it. He is thrown out by Ratchet.
The children's book Transformers - Meet The Decepticons by Jennifer Frantz has a slightly different ending than the film. This book has all six Decepticons leaving Earth together after being defeated by the Autobots, instead of having most of their numbers die.
IDW Publishing
In the second issue of the Transformers: Movie Prequel comic distributed by Target storesTarget Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
online, Scorponok (referred to as Blackout's pet by Starscream) is among the Decepticons who come to Earth under Starscream's command. While his role is minor, it is notable that this comic shows Scorponok's robot mode for the first time. While it is visually similar to the other movie Transformers, he retains the claws and tail of his movie form, giving him an appearance not unlike his Beast Wars incarnation.
Movie plot
In the film, he and his partner Blackout attack the SOCCENT Operations Base in QatarQatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
. Scorponok chases eight Special Forces soldiers across the desert, eventually killing trooper Donnelly, wounding Figueroa, and killing several Qatari soldiers before being wounded in an attack by two A-10 Thunderbolt II
A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
s and an AC-130 Spectre gunship. With the tip of his tail blown off, Scorponok burrows under the desert sands, and is not seen again for the rest of the film. However, the survivors take the damaged tail and bring it aboard a transport plane en route back to the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. While examining the tail, it suddenly goes wild, but Lennox and Epps manage to restrain it. The soldiers also discover through the damage on the tail that while robot armor is impervious to bullets, it can easily be weakened by anti-tank sabot
Sabot
A sabot is a device used in a firearm or cannon to fire a projectile, such as a bullet, that is smaller than the bore diameter, or which must be held in a precise position. The term is also applied to a battery stub case, a device used similarly to make a small electrical battery usable in a...
rounds.
In Revenge of the Fallen, Scorponok appears briefly once in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
with his tail repaired and participates in the final battle. He bursts out of the sand and disembowels Jetfire, who in turn kills him by smashing his head with his fist.
Scorponok is in the Transformers: Dark of the Moon toyline but he does not appear in the film.
Titan Magazine
In a later issue, set after the events of the film, Ironhide aids the human military in hunting Scorponok. The Decepticon attacks Ironhide and uses his tongue to drill into the Autobot's neck, sending him into a frenzy. One of the humans manages to fire at Scorponok's tongue. Ironhide regains control and smashes Scorponok to death.In "Twilight's Last Gleaming part 3", Starscream and Scorponok attack the Autobots Arcee, Armorhide, Elita-One, Longarm, Skyblast and Strongarm on the Moon. The Autobots flee to Earth, which is exactly what Starscream hoped they would do.
Toys
- Transformers Voyager Blackout with Scorponok (2007)
- A non-poseable Scorponok mini-figurine comes with the Blackout toy and stores in Blackout's rear compartment in helicopter mode.
- Transformers Deluxe Scorponok (2007)
- A detailed Deluxe sized toy, Scorponok is a mechanical scorpion covered in gears and military warning symbols. In his scorpion form, running him across a flat surface will activate gears on his underside, causing his claws to rotate. Pushing on the elongated rear of his stinger will cause it to slide forward until it hits a stopper. In this mode, he can combine with Voyager Blackout figure (in helicopter mode) so that when Blackout's rotors are turned, Scorponok's claws will also rotate. The face slides down on to the underbelly, the claws are rotated down to face the new "front" of the figure, and the sides of the scorpion mode detach and rotate down to become the new legs. The sole appearance of this humanoid robot mode was in the second Target store exclusive online movie prequel comic.
- In late 2007, a special bonus pack was sold with Ultimate Bumblebee packaged together with Deluxe Decepticon Brawl and Scorponok.
- A Toys "R" Us exclusive gift pack with both Voyager Blackout and Deluxe Scorponok was sold under the name "Desert Attack".
- Transformers Deluxe Scorponok Screen Battle: Desert Attack (2008)
- A redeco of Deluxe Scorponok comes packaged in this mini-diorama with figurines of Capt. Lennox, Epps and Figueroa.
- Transformers Legends Bumblebee vs. Scorponok (2008)
- A new mold for Scorponok as a Legends figure, slightly larger than the one included with Blackout and able to transform to robot mode.
- Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe Stalker Scorponok (2009)
- A black redeco of the Deluxe figure. Like the previous release, he is able to combine with the Voyager Grindor figure (a gray repaint of Blackout).
- Revenge of the Fallen Voyager Grindor with Scorponok (2009)
- A gray redeco of Voyager Blackout with Scorponok.
- Transformers Legends Stalker Scorponok (not yet released)
- A black redeco of the Legends figure.
- Dark of the Moon Cyberverse Blackout with Scorponok (2011)
- A new type of Blackout and Scorponok which are Cyberverse molds. Scorponok can be placed into the back of the MH-53 Helicopter like the Voyager's from the previous movies.