Insecticons
- For other uses of this name, see Insecticons (disambiguation).
The Insecticons are a Decepticon subgroup whose members transform into robotic Earth insects.
Contents |
History
Animated Series
Originally, the Insecticons were three Decepticons that Megatron had left onboard his ship, the Nemesis, which was pursuing the Ark, as back-up. When the Nemesis crashed on Earth, the trio evacuated in an escape pod, which crashed in an Indonesian swamp. In order to survive, they scanned the forms of the surrounding area's insects. The insect forms they adopted enabled them to extract energon from organic life and metals, though they still ingest fossil fuels and energy-based matter (electricity, energon cubes, etc.) as well. Because they took on the forms of insects the size of Transformers, the three Insecticons caused terror for any humans living nearby. They even developed the ability to make clones of themselves out of any metal.
They were eventually found by Megatron centuries later and were re-recruited back to the Decepticons. However, they became more independent as a result of their long absence, making them loose cannons: their relationship with the Decepticons proper was one of betrayals and counter-betrayals. Originally appearing in "A Plague of Insecticons", they were discovered raiding human crops. They quickly joined up with the main Decepticons: unfortunately, the Insecticons swiftly decided this wasn't to their advantage and devoured Megatron's store of Energon instead, resulting in a battle breaking out between the two sides. After this, the Insecticons entered into a free-lancing relationship with the Decepticons, helping Megatron if they had something to gain from it. They were tricked by Mirage into attacking the Decepticons, later using Bombshell's cerebro-shells to control him and lure the Autobots into a trap. Another deal, with Decepticons and Insecticons working together to raid a military power plant, went awry when they overheard Megatron planning to betray them. Munching on a nova power core, they grew in size and strength. They then controlled all the Decepticons bar Megatron with cerebro-shells, forcing the Decepticon leader to team up with the Autobots to stop his mind-controlled troops. Using Megatron in gun mode, Optimus fired the antidote needed to restore the Insecticons size and prevent the nova core they ingested from overloading. However, even the Insecticons' rebellious streak was overlooked by Megatron, as the Insecticons could create clones of themselves, thus creating an instant army.
The Insecticons took part in the Battle of Autobot City in 2005, but were badly damaged, and were tossed out into space along with the injured Megatron, Skywarp, and Thundercracker. These discarded Insecticons, along with Skywarp and Thundercracker, were used by Unicron to create new Decepticon troops for Galvatron, with Bombshell possibly becoming Cyclonus (although the issue of whether Cyclonus was a recreated Bombshell or Skywarp is unclear or Skywarp may have become the armada of Cyclonus because of Unicron announced their names as he did so, "Cyclonus the warrior and his armada"), and Kickback and two of his clones became the Sweeps. Later in the film, the clone question comes into play when Shrapnel harasses Daniel Witwicky alongside Scavenger (during a battle that also included Cyclonus and the Sweeps). In the third season of Transformers, the Insecticons were still displayed in marginal roles, although their third season appearances are usually dismissed as animation error.
Marvel U.S., Marvel U.K.
The Decepticon warriors Bombshell, Shrapnel, Kickback, Dirge, Thrust, and Ramjet were seemingly high-ranking officers under the command of Lord Straxus, Lord High Governor of Polyhex. Shrapnel served as Straxus's Executive Officer, and was presented as a cruel, sadistic being, with no notable sign of a speech impediment. It was he that supervised the technicians who received—and eventually decoded—a transmission from Soundwave on Earth, and later he who was given the distinctly thankless task of assisting Straxus in the management of the space bridge project. The six appeared to serve as Darkmount's security in some fashion, since Shrapnel personally captured the Autobot Scrounge and brought him to Straxus—and, later, after Blaster had been deliberately taken prisoner, it was Shrapnel who brought him before the tyrant in the space bridge construction hangar—only to be assaulted by a less-than-grateful Decepticon leader. Later, all six were observed flying into battle against Autobot intruders.
Dreamwave
IDW
Overview
Members
In other media
Television
Video games
- In Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, the Insecticons appeared in the setting of the video game. When Cybertron's core shut down to purge itself of the Dark Energon corruption, the Insecticons and other creatures of the depths were left deprived of sustenance. With nowhere else to go, the swarms began migrating to the surface, where they came into contact with the Autobots and Decepticons. Shockwave continued his experiments using Insecticons as test subjects, creating new breeds such as Bruisers, combining Autobot source code with Insecticon physiology, and Spitters, which were based on alien insects viewed through the space bridge. The Insecticons served under Shockwave during the last days of the war on Cybertron, particularly after the loss of Megatron and the half-baked rise of Starscream. The majority of Insecticons were easily controlled and guided by Shockwave. The trio of Kickback, Sharpshot and Hardshell were intelligent enough to think for themselves and potentially guide the Insecticon swarms in a new direction, so Shockwave deliberately courted their favor.
- In Transformers: Devastation, the Insecticons appeared in the setting of the video game. The ancient starship Proudstar contained a swarm of Insecticons as part of its terraforming system. Upon encountering a potential world, the swarm would work in concert with the ship's plasma energy to transform the world into one capable of supporting mechanical life. While Nova Prime initially only terraformed barren worlds, after a stop on a strangely sinister planet, a dark influence led him to begin wiping out populated worlds to reshape into copies of Cybertron. When Megatron activated the Proudstar's systems, he unleashed the swarm upon the Earth, who spread out and . The Autobots were forced to venture into the crashed ship, where they defeated three large Insecticons and accessed the ship's systems to shut down the swarm.
Appearances
- The Transformers:
External Links
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