COUNTDOWN: 12 memorable robot characters who originated in the Marvel G1 TF comic

Pretty much every form of media that forms part of the Transformers franchise introduces its own original characters at some point or another, although arguably none more so than the original Marvel Transformers comic. There were countless robots who made their debut across the 332-issue run of the UK version of the title, with a good number of them being surprisingly integral to the ongoing plot. Sometimes these native creations would go on to find life beyond the confines of the stories they came from, even taking shape in toy form from time-to-time, whereas others are relegated to remain as players in their initial narrative forevermore. Either way, today we’re counting down 12 of the most memorable!

We’ll be considering every story included in the extended UK run of the comic (but not G2 for today!). It goes without saying that there will be MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for the whole of the Marvel comic storyline!

 

#12: Scrounge

Artwork credit: Perlin / Williams

Scrounge is a rather unfortunate specimen. He’s loveable enough and has certainly found his fans over the years, although its fair to say that the deck is stacked quite significantly against him during his brief stint in the now-classic tale, The Smelting Pool! He’s an Autobot spy who transforms into a wheel (yes, really) and has a special arm (which he’s very keen to remind everyone about!) that can do all kinds of crazy surveillance stuff… until he’s quickly captured and the Decepticon tyrant, Straxus tears it off at the shoulder. Still, Scrounge’s good mate, Blaster, soon rushes to his rescue… only to find that he’s already been tossed in the smelting pool of the story title and is now entirely melted from the waist down. What a way to go! Still, it’s a pretty memorable exit, and even made our own list of shocking moments from the comic run, so that’s something.

 

#11: Xaaron

Artwork credit: Smith / Peters

Emirate Xaaron is one of the more noteworthy original characters from the Marvel run, for several reasons. First, he has a significantly bigger impact on the overall storyline than the vast majority of Cybertronians, given that he was at one stage part of Iacon’s ruling council and was directly responsible for orchestrating the Autobot resistance to the rising Decepticon threat, even engineering for Optimus Prime himself to lead the war effort. Secondly, he’s not a classic military ‘bot, unlike a lot of his comrades. If anything, he’s a politician and his biggest weapon are his words, although he’s proven exceptionally good at marshalling others to take care of the fighting, going on to assemble the infamous assault team, the Wreckers. Thirdly, he hasn’t transformed in such a long time that the shock of doing so is likely to kill him!

Artwork credit: Senior / Yomtov

Ultimately though, Xaaron’s end comes after he’s inhabited by the spirit of Primus and destroyed in battle with Unicron, but he still manages to last through the bulk of the overall comic run and makes a significant impact during that time. He’s quite popular with some people who believe he makes a good online avatar, too.

 

#10: Rack ‘n’ Ruin

Artwork credit: Senior 

OK, technically this is two robots, in case you were in any doubt! Rack ‘n’ Ruin are a highly distinctive duo of lads who’re fused together at the shoulder to make one awesome fighting force. Together they form part of the Wreckers, first appearing under Impactor’s command in the classic caper, Target: 2006. What’s really strange is that no attempt is made to explain their strange appearance or their origin, and it isn’t until a later tie-in promotional booklet fills in the blanks that we finally learn how they came to be one! Rack and Ruin were individual robots who turned into “mini-jets” before they needed an operation to fuse them together and save their lives, although it rendered them unable to transform. They’re not the most well-developed characters in the comic, but their unique appearance certainly makes them stick in your mind until they’re finally destroyed in battle with Galavtron during Time Wars!

 

#9: The Triumverate

Artwork credit: Sullivan / Place

Despite this being a trio of Decepticons, Legonis, Octus, and Seizer are so synonymous with one another that they only merit one entry on this list. Besides, they only feature in the one story – The Fall and Rise of the Decepticon Empire – before being summarily dispatched by their own troops after Megatron (or at least he looks like Megatron…) causes an uprising. Still, the image of three lazy, self indulgent Decepticons shunning the way of the warrior to have their minions wait on them hand and foot whilst they enjoy a string of obscene gladiatorial contests is certainly a striking one, and these three manage to remain in the memory long after their rule is over.

 

#8:Maccadam

Artwork credit: Wildman

This one is a bit of a cheat, as technically it’s the business this ‘bot is responsible for running that’s the memorable bit! Maccadam’s Old Oil House is first introduced in Target:2006 and features a few times throughout the original comic’s run before becoming a widely accepted and reutilised piece of Transformers lore, even cropping up again in Transformers: Animated, the IDW comics and Cyberverse, amongst others. Strangely though, the bar’s proprietor only appears in one story, the B-plot tale, Out to Lunch!, and even then he’s only in about two panels’ worth. Still, his name is certainly noteworthy indeed, as is that rather incredible moustache!

 

#7: Flame

Artwork credit: Smith / Peters

Flame is an Autobot with a extremely loud-and-proud design. You wouldn’t necessarily think it to look at him but he’s a scientist, and at one point worked alongside Xaaron before losing his funding due to insane plans to convert Cybertron into a giant spaceship. Instead he went underground and hatched a plot involving robot zombies (because of course) in order to continue his research in secret. He was very nearly successful before taking a shot through the head from one of his own reanimated army, putting an end to his diabolical scheming.

Artwork credit: Smith / Peters

Despite being a scientist, Flame was packing a fair bit of firepower too, transforming in a rather jazzy tank form complete with a whopping great flamethrower on top. Bet that comes in handy in the lab.

 

#6: Triton

Artwork credit: Smith / White

In the year 2510, after millennia of war, the Autobots have finally defeated the Decepticons. Except that’s not quite true as one of them remains in the Autobots’ midst as an undercover operative. As the last remaining Decepticon, Triton sets about trying to usurp the fragile peace effort by quickly stirring tensions within Rodimus Prime’s ranks, ensuing that the ceasefire doesn’t remain for long. He ends up being killed in the process (meaning that there are now really no Decepticons left), but the damage is done as the Autobots turn on each other and war breaks out all over again. It never ends, indeed!

 

#5: Primus

Artwork credit: Senior / Yomtov

Quite the notable entry this one! Yep, Primus is indeed the creator of all life on Cybertron, having originally been an astral being who came into existence shortly after the beginning of the known universe. He is the brother of Unicron, although the two became embroiled in a cosmic battle of order vs chaos before Primus eventually traps them both inside separate planetoids, thus bringing a temporary end to their conflict. Before long, Unicron was able to morph his new prison into an almighty metal form, capable of transforming into the gigantic robot mode that we all know. By contrast, Primus formed his prison into Cybertron and eventually populated it with a race of robot beings that he hoped would one day act as the ultimate defence against the chaos bringer. He gave them a portion of his power within the Creation Matrix and promptly went for a nap. A very long nap. Well, until he was eventually discovered by a small group of Autobots and accidentally awakened, thus alerting Unicron to his presence.

It’s no understatement to say that Primus is one of the most well-known original aspects from the Marvel Transformers run, having gone on to become a prominent presence in a significant portion of the franchise’s supporting media in the years since. And no, I don’t know why he has a “H” on his chin, either.

 

#4: Straxus

Artwork credit: Perlin / Williams

That’s LORD Straxus to you! This chap is one of the most notorious Decepticon warlords on Cybertron, and his cruelty is matched only by his level of ambition. He crops up relatively early on in the US story, where he quickly proves the depths of his depravity by destroying Scournge’s special arm! He tackles Blaster and a number of other renegade Autobots before his body is destroyed in a Spacebridge explosion. In a bit of an unusual twist, Straxus’ apparent demise is arguably when his story gets really interesting, as it turns out that his head has been retrieved and is now encased inside a life-support bubble. It means he’ll never transform into that rather imposing battle cannon mode again though!

Artwork credit: Perlin / Williams

He enacts several plans to acquire a new body, one of which involves taking over Megatron’s mind and assuming control, although he is ultimately unsuccessful. Instead, his consciousness flees to a clone version of his rival instead, which begins one of the most notoriously complicated tales of the entire UK comic’s timeline. Suffice it to say, it involves two Megatrons running around creating havoc and a fair bit of healthy debate about which of them ends up becoming Galvatron. Either way, Straxus isn’t a name you forget after reading it!

 

#3: Tusks

Artwork credit: Smith / Burns

An employee of Maccadam’s Old Oil House when it first features in Target: 2006, Tusks only appears for a few panels but makes a big impact all the same. After all, he’s a Transformer who turns into a piano! Just look at his adorable little form there, even if it is getting kicked all over the place by big bully, Fang. Seriously, third party companies are always looking for inspiration and you’re telling me no-one has brought us a version of this guy yet? For shame.

 

#2: Impactor

Artwork credit: Smith / Burns

Impactor is another of those characters whose biggest (ahem) impact has realistically been after his original appearance. He first crops up in the classic Target: 2006 (yes, again – just read it, already!) as the leader of the Wreckers. His no-nonsense-tough-guy attitude makes a big impression and puts him in regular conflict with Xaaron, despite their obvious respect for one another. Sadly their mission ends fatally for Impactor, who sacrifices himself to ensure Xaaron isn’t caught in the line of fire, thus going down as the hero he was in life. He crops up again though, coming back in zombified form thanks to the machinations of Flame before being the one to fire the killshot against the Autobot scientist and subsequently sacrificing himself a second time to save the day. What a guy. Since then the character has become even more well-known as a key player in the IDW comics and has even finally made it to toy form on a couple of occasions.

 

#1: Death’s Head

Artwork credit: Senior / Halfacree

He makes quite the entrance, yes? Just don’t call him a bounty hunter! Yep, this… ahem, “freelance peacekeeping agent” first appears in the pages of the UK Transformers comic (well, technically…), and whilst he’s very definitely not a Transformer it is exciting to have his origins intertwined with the franchise considering what a popular presence he would go on to become throughout Marvel lore. His first role was tracking down a bounty that had been placed on the missing Galvatron’s head following the events of the 1986 animated movie, although he soon becomes a regular presence in the comic and even has the infamy of destroying Shockwave. Ultimately, bigger things beckoned in a whole host of other Marvel titles, as he became known as taking on the likes of the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Iron Man and even Doctor Who!

To avoid any claims of ownership by Hasbro, Transformers UK writer, Simon Furman first had Death’s Head appear in a strip called High Noon Tex, which was then printed in a range of Marvel titles (including Transformers) before he made his full debut in the main storyline. Good thing too, yes?

 

So, that’s our list! Do you agree with our choices? Let us know if not and of course feel free to suggest your own!

TTFN