Shokaract

The name or term "Hunter" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, seeHunter (disambiguation).

Shokaract is aPredaconfrom theBeast Warsportion of theGeneration 1 continuity family.

Once a low-level Predacon Warrior known as theHunter,Shokaractchanced upon the Dark Essence ofUnicronhimself. Recognizing Unicron's unrivaled power, Shokaract used the Chaos God's life force to create theMatrix of Conquest,a twisted version of theMatrix of Leadership.With Unicron's dark power at his fingertips, Shokaract now pursues only one goal: to become Overlord of the Universe.

“	Foolish,doomedcreatures! The fires of a livinggodbeat at my dark heart! The end of everything is upon us; thelong nightofoblivionbeckons—for youALL!....and you in particular.	”
—Shokaract to the army against him, and then toSandstormspecifically, "Terminus"

Contents 1Fiction 1.13H comics 1.22006 IDWBeast Warscontinuity 1.3The AllSpark Almanac 1.4Wings Universe 1.5Ask Vector Prime 1.6Beast Wars: Uprising 1.72005 IDW continuity 2Games 2.1Transformers Roleplaying Game 3Toys 3.1Beast Wars 3.2Timelines 3.3Generations 4Notes 5References 6External links

Fiction

3H comics

At the dawn of time,Primusforesaw the eventual rise of Shokaract, and sired the twelve Transformers of theCovenantto lay in wait on distantProtosand hone their skills for the day they would eventually face the tyrant. They, however, considered Shokaract to be the name of an event.Covenant

Some point in the future,Megatronhad conquered Cybertron and a Predacon soldier called the Hunter had grown pretty complacent about being able to vape randomMaximals.When the Maximals made a greater fight back, he was left stranded on a backwater planet and, to his shame, running and hiding from the MaximalSkyblades.Hiding in a cavern lined withethmiumto block detection, he found himself in the presence of theDark Essence.ParadoxThe Hunter changed his name to "Shokaract" and fashioned a housing for the Dark Essence, dubbing it theMatrix of Conquest.Shokaract's toy bio

By the 32nd century C.E.,TerminusShokaract had completely enslaved Cybertron and half the known galaxy. (Though he made sure to giveJ'nwana wide berthParadox) From his citadel atCorumkan,he directed hisHeralds,AntagonyandCataclysm,to exterminate uncooperative alien races and break and demoralize the few scattered Cybertronian resistance fighters.

One of the few beings who could truly offer a decent challenge to Shokaract's reign wasHorus,ruler of theArgos Cluster.After losing two Heralds, sixteen divisions of Reavers, and five million drones to the sun-channeling warlord, Shokaract sent Antagony and Cataclysm todeal withHorus. He was not disappointed; Cataclysm destroyed the star from which Horus drew his power, allowing Antagony to destroy him for good. Upon the duo's return, Shokaract commended them both for their joint attack, unaware that the Heralds had actually worked independently, each hoping to gain an advantage over the other by bringing down Horus.Herald

Soon, Shokaract began to sense a corruption to his timeline, one that had occurred in the far distant past and posed a threat to his very existence. He sent first AntagonyHeraldand then Cataclysm back in time to find and safeguard the Dark Essence on prehistoric Earth. However, the resistance spawned thePredacon/Maximalhybrid warriorWindrazor,who stopped Cataclysm from reaching the ancient past and arrived there in Cataclysm's stead.Schism

But Shokaract himself followed the interloper back in time, handily routing Windrazor and theMaximals.As the battle progressed, dozens of Maximals and Predacons from various timelines and realities would materialize on prehistoric Earth and join the fray, only to be more or less instantly and effortlessly disintegrated by Shokaract.

Roused from their seclusion inJ'nwan,legendary ancient Transformer heroes and villains would also arrive to fight the dark lord, and they had somewhat better luck. But the battle was finally decided when the Covenant converted themselves into raw energy and entered the Matrix of Conquest. In that alternate plane they were able to sever the link between the Dark Essence of Earth's ancient past and the Dark Essence of Shokaract's future,Terminuserasing Shokaract's origin and causing his immediate nullification. The surviving Transformers who had fought him managed to teleport back to their dimensions of origin just before the Predacon tyrant's existence went *POOF*.Departure

The lowly Predacon grunt who otherwise would have found the Dark Essence and turned into Shokaract was last seen continuing to be a lowly grunt, of no importance whatsoever. He still fell into a cave where the evil energy once resided, but all he found in it was an empty pit and the vaguest whisper of a voice on the wind.Terminus

Later, on Cybertron, Apelinq would retell the story of their battle against Shokaract to Optimus Primal, who had lost all memory of it in the aftermath of the paradox. But then theOraclewiped Primal's mind of this incident, so Shokaract's just doomed to be forgotten.Departure

2006 IDWBeast Warscontinuity

Once a lowly Predacon soldier, Shokaract found capsules of a strange energy source while on a routine scouting mission. Attempting to analyze them, he had little time to react as the energy invaded his body. He laid dormant and non-functioning for many stellar-cycles while inside his body the energy raged and tried to make him its puppet. His will proved superior, and he was able to direct the energy towards reformatting his damaged body. His final mastery of the substance he now knew to beAngolmois Energycame with the forging of a container for it, an object he called his "Matrix of Chaos".Thus empowered, he exhibited many new abilities, including interplanetary teleportation and weather control.Beast Wars Sourcebook #3

Upon returning to Cybertron, he gathered malcontents to his cause, includingAntagony,theCyborg Beasts(well, three of them), and the Unicron cultists known as theBlendtrons.Shokaract sent these new followers out to gather Angolmois and use it to facilitate his ascension to demigod status. Within the temporal limbo he was consigned to,Magmatron's astral self witnessed the end of this terrible chain of events, Shokaract's revitalization of Unicron and drawing of the Chaos-Bringer to devour Cybertron. Having been trapped in a loop of endlessly watching Cybertron die, the Predacon general resolved to find a way to prevent this.The Ascending #1

AsBig Convoybegan to investigate a series of Angolmois-related incidents on Cybertron, it was revealed that these events were beginning already, Shokaract's power growing with each application of the energy source. However, Shokaract was being manipulated by Unicron and the Blentrons to act as a "vessel" of some sort. Unicron stressed that Shokaract was not to know of the part he would play in the dark god's plans.The Ascending #2

Shokaract raised a monolithic structure from the substrata of Cybertron to serve as his tower fortress. Big Convoy followed the trail of the Angolmois incidents to this fortress, and Shokaract decided to show the Maximal leader's task force his newfound power. He was warned by the Blendtrons that his ascension was not yet complete nor stable, but he ignored this and engaged the Maximals. Though Shokaract easily dispatched even Big Convoy, Magmatron threw a monkey wrench in this victory by manipulating the timestream so thatLio Convoywould return to Cybertron in time to prevent Big Convoy's death. However Shokaract had allies of his own, as hisHeraldsreturned with more Angolmois. The time of his ascension was at hand!The Ascending #3

His minions distributed Angolmois to the public and provoked widespread violence, creating negative feelings that fed hisAnti-Matrix.He was able to fight off a Maximal strike team but was defeated by the machinations ofMagmatron,who had himchronally displacedso he could see he was merely a pawn of Unicron. Aghast by this, Shokaract tore the Anti-Matrix from his chest, killing himself in the process.The Ascending #4

The AllSpark Almanac

Shokaract was one of ten figures that made up theCybertronian zodiac.His associated aspect was "hunter" and assignedorbital cyclewasInrituneon.His constellation formed a crab.The AllSpark Almanac II

Wings Universe

Hunter was an always-snarling, mostly unintelligible, and entirely unremarkable Cybertronian. It is true that he spent his formative years fighting in the gladitorial pits buried within Cybertron, where he let his more bestial nature take over, but there he was still largely forgettable.Pirate Hunter's profile card

In search of his destiny, Hunter became the "pet" of a scoundrel, who took Hunter to different worlds likeTetra Gar.Hunter's fortune changed when he became the wager for a card game againstCannonball,who won by both cheating and killing his opponent. Hunter was unfazed by this turn of events and joined Cannonball'sStar Seekersfor the opportunity to "hunt".Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur

Cannonball recruited him for his muscle and bloodlust, two qualities Hunter was pleased to demonstrate, but Hunter really joined because he had an unshakable feeling he was missing something unknowable that he must be searching for to make himself whole.Pirate Hunter's profile card

Meanwhile,Apelinqwas having visions of a shadowy entity named "Hunter" and a crisis to come, though eventually that entity shed that name for another...Apelinq's personal logs

One of Cannonball's daring plans involved stealing aspace bridgeand jumping throughtranswarpto a Cybertron at peacetime to plunder theirenergonresources. But these things were irrelevant to Hunter, and he tended to mostly try to eat his crewmateSquirm.While the crew was commandeeringUnicron's discarded and forgotten head, Hunter stumbled across a spy in their midst—the formerWreckerand currentKnightDevcon,who was reporting to his team about Cannonball's plan. Devcon would have been devoured if Hunter hadn't suddenly been distracted by their stolen space bridge portal and drawn to it. On the other side of the portal was a canyon on prehistoricEarth,and a powerful voice offered him theMatrix of Conquest."Take it, Hunter. Become power. Become strength. Become Shokaract!" Suddenly, he had a voice and knew his destiny:Omega Point.Hoist the Flag

His true identity now realized, Shokaract reminisced on the path that had led to his ascension and planned to go forth and strike upon Cybertron, knowing the world could never properly prepare for his return.Legacy

Ask Vector Prime

Shokaract joinedBio Ranger Iga'sThirteen Great Demon Generals.Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/27

Beast Wars: Uprising

Shokaract was a warlord who seized power for himself in the region ofHyperiousduring theGrand Uprising.After the war ended, Shokaract's reign was officially recognized and Hyperious was granted a seat in the newCybertronian Parliament.Shokaract forced his chiefs Antagony and Cataclysm to fight in theHyperious Arenafor the right to represent him. To the relief of many, this Game was not to the death, but Antagony claimed victory after seizing Cataclysm's tail-whip as a trophy and took her place in the Parliament.Derailment

2005 IDW continuity

One ofOnyx Prime'sMaximals,Shokaract^[1]participated in the final battle inEarthorbit, attempting to defendUnicronagainst allied forces.Ceremony

Games

Transformers Roleplaying Game

Shokaract was a fearsome warlord who commanded the loyalty of minions such asCataclysm.Technorganic Secrets

Toys

Beast Wars

• Shokaract(Ultra,2000)

• Accessories:Spring-loaded triple-barrel missile launcher, 3 missiles, rifle

ABotCon 2000exclusive, Shokaract is an extensive brown, blue and tealredecoofBeast WarsRampage.He came in packaging superficially resembling late JapaneseGeneration 1toy packaging. He andApelinqwere limited to 1200 pieces.

Shokaract transforms into aTransmetalking crab with a third all-terrain tank mode. Inbeast modeShokaract features fully-articulated crab legs and pincers that can open and close and be posed in a variety of angles through the use of ratcheting joints. His tri-barrel Gatling missile launcher was stored on the underside of the beast mode, with its barrels flipping to the front duringvehicle mode.In this tank mode, the crab legs fit together to form a road wheel network for Shokaract's rubber treads to be fitted over and roll upon. Rolling the tank activates the wheel in the missile launcher, having up to three missiles fire off.

Inrobot modeShokaract is an imposingly large figure, with a decent level of articulation due to his ball joints, but because of the fact he wears most of his beast mode as a sort of backpack, he is quite back-heavy. His (very) small laser rifle and his triple barrel launcher can be held in both of his hands.

In the years since his release, many fans have grown leery of transforming or even excessively handling Shokaract due to the amount of"chromed"paint that totally covers his crab carapace. This material has proven to be extremely brittle, prone to cracking or chipping, which reveals the underlying plastic colors as a very obvious visual blemish. This is irritating enough on standard retail releases, but on a very limited convention exclusive figure it can make people downright neurotic. Particularly worrisome is that Shokaract's tank mode is held in place by chromed pegs fitted into chromed sockets.

A blurb at on the back of his box claims Shokaract features the following: aplasma cannon,spark seeking swarm missiles,Electric Current DispersingGalva-conductorsand Maximal-crushingGalva claws.

• More information on Shokaract at TFU.info

Timelines

• Pirate Hunter / Brimstone(Souvenir multi-pack, 2014)

• Accessories:Quantum Fusion Cannon

TimelinesHunter is a redeco of 2014'sTransformers Collectors' ClubRampage,transforming from robot intohovering tankmode. He comes with a cannon, which can either be held with his hands in robot mode, or peg onto his jet mode by folding the handle in and pegging it behind his exposed, peeking head, or peg onto his right forearm.

He was only available in a "souvenir set", bagged with fellow PirateBrimstone,atBotCon 2014.

This version of the mold was originally used forTransformers: PrimeMegatron.

• More information on Hunter at TFU.info

Generations

• BotCon Legacy Collection(Multi-pack,2015)

• Accessories:Quantum Fusion Cannon

"Pirate Hunter" was repackaged with fellow BotCon 2014 toysFlareup,Ape-Linq,andFlamewarin theGenerations"BotCon Legacy Collection", which also had thepack-in comic"Legacy".

Notes

• One of3H Enterprises' original ideas for Shokaract's color scheme was to make himblack with a red X.
• Simon Furmanconceived of Shokaract's name.^[2]
• As told at the BotCon Restrospective Panel atBotCon 2014,a redeco ofAnimatedBlackoutas Shokaract was originally part of a pitch for anAnimatedBotConbox set beforeHasbrotoldFun Publicationsthat molds that hadn't seen North American release were unavailable that year.
• His backstory of living an easy Predacon life under Megatron's dominion is wildly at odds with theBeast Machinescartoon, which had a preview airing atthe same conventionthat "Paradox"was written for. This is due to authorSimon Furmanlikely not being privy to all of the finer details of the upcoming show, aside from Megatron ruling Cybertron. AFox KidsFall 1999 press release had been released onFebruary 9,five months before the convention, which featured a brief story treatment for theBeast Warscartoon's sequel, named "BeastHunters",where Megatron has" hordes of Predacons "under his command. It is very likely that Furman used this early treatment as the basis for his crafting the Hunter's backstory, unaware the show would be quite different. (Similarly,Windrazorrecognises Megatron's dragon form on sight and is aware of the Beast Wars because he's from this presumedBeast Huntersfuture)

References

External links

• Shokaract's BotCon: Beyond profile on the BotCon Online archives