Skold

Skold is aPredaconfrom the2021 Beast Warsportion of theGeneration 1continuity family.

A young and loyal warrior,Skoldbelieves that the risingMegatronwill lead the Predacons to glory. She's the strongest of all his henchmen, but suffers from crippling self-esteem issues that have seen her get looked down on by her teammates. Worse,Terrorsaurwants to keep her insecure for fear of Skold fully realising her strength andbecoming more important than himtaking over the Predacons.

Contents 1Fiction 1.12021Beast Warscomic 2Notes 3References

Fiction

2021Beast Warscomic

Born in the era succeeding theGreat War,Skold had originally dreamed of becoming an artist only to be harshly rebuked by Maximal prejudices. After running afoul of a trio of bullies atIacon'sSculpture Garden,Skold was recruited byGalavar.Thicker SkinWhen the ambitious Predacon agent—now going by the name "Megatron" —launched a plan to steal aGolden Diskheld within the MaximalScience Ministry,Skold joinedTarantulasandWaspinatoras they commandeered the Maximal warshipDarksydefrom theGreat ShipyardinVosand sabotaged the other transwarp-capable ships to cover their escape. The deed done, the Predacons fledCybertronaboard their stolen vessel. While spooling theirtranswarp drive,however, they came under fire from the Maximal science shipAxalon.Using the coordinates encoded on the disc, their trip throughunspacewarped them across time and space, and the subsequent ship-to-ship combat ended with both sides shipwrecked on a primitive,energon-rich world. TheDarksyde's computer brought the Predacons back online with newbeast modesobtained from the local wildlife, and Skold awoke as a snapping turtle.Savage Landing Part 1

While trying to get the lay of the land, Skold assisted Tarantulas as he conducted a geographic survey, but when she accidentally scanned the ship she discovered a number of unspace anomalies in theDarksydeitself.Savage Landing Part 2

Following the capture of the MaximalNyx,Skold took part in her torture before Dinobot rebelled and destroyed theTransformation Lock Lens.After he'd defeated the others, he offered Nyx the chance to defect with him, claiming that Megatron was only using her, before she found her beast mode used as a frisbee against Megatron, knocking him back into theDarksyde.Before the Predacons could regain their wits, Dinobot activated the ship's lockdown protocols. Though Skold's raw strength managed to ding the heavy doors,Savage Landing Part 3the Predacons were trapped until the next morning, when Tarantulas managed to hack into the security. When Megatron ordered a hunt for the traitor, Skold was compelled to point out that their numerical advantage hadn't been much help last time, only to be shushed by Tarantulas.Savage Landing Part 4

Tracking the traitor to theAxalon,the Predacons began a forward assault, distracting their foes enough for Tarantulas to sneak into the crashed ship and unleash chaos. In battle, Skold faced off againstRhinoxbefore Dinobot dramatically entered the battlefield.Savage Landing Part 5Paying no heed to this, Skold continued her contest of strength against the Maximal before the ship'sforce fieldactivated and ejected all Predacons from its perimeter. With Dinobot ejected alongside them, the Predacons began beating him before they were scared off by theAxalon's point defences.Savage Landing Part 6

As tempers flared at theDarksyde,Skold volunteered to be part of an energon scouting mission butScorponoktold her to remain behind and guard the base. When she retorted with his own claim that Maximals wouldn't attack,Terrorsaursmugly said that she was "too slow" to keep up, a sentiment she validated by failing to grasp his meaning. He later claimed to Waspinator that he had done this to lower Skold's self-esteem and negate the possibility of her turning her frightening strength against them.Pod Part 1

When new recruitBlackarachniaarrived at theDarksyde,she revealed that just over half of the now descended stasis pods had been reprogrammed into Predacons. When Skold offered to team up with Blackarachnia to find the pods, the arachnid contemptuously brushed her off, noting that the fliers could find them faster. Going out for a mope, Skold chanced across one of the pods at the bottom of a lake. Bringing it ashore, the pod finished its sequence and birthedRazorbeast.When the Maximal bonded with her, Skold indulged his curiosity about her past before they were beset byironwolves.While Skold's mighty strength was able to best the beasts, Razorbeast was left injured. Aware that she couldn't take him to theDarksyde,Skold instead brought him to theAxalonto be healed but she once again refused Dinobot's offer to defect, noting that Predacons were at least honest about their cruelty.Thicker Skin

After a particularly bad day, Skold was tricked into theDarksyde's cell by Terrorsaur. Though despondent at her failure, Skold was soon cheered up by the captive MaximalPowerhugwho encouraged her to have more self-confidence. Bolstered, Skold promptly decapitated Powerhug and fished around his internals for what she needed to override the cell door.Skold's No Good, Very Bad Day

The Predacons, confident that the Maximals would not strike, later conducted a team building exercise, one that was interrupted when the Maximals attacked.Maximals Strike Back, Part 1In the following battle, Skold found herself facing off againstOptimus Primalbefore Razorbeast intervened, pointing out to Skold that the Maximals had hurt no one and simply wanted the Golden Disk back before he was grabbed by Terrorsaur. To Skold's horror, Terrorsaur carried her friend to the nearbyflying mountainand dropped him atop theenergon crystal,detonating it. When Terrorsaur later mocked the Maximal, a furious Skold tore the flier'ssparkout of his chest before going off to rouse Waspinator, telling him simply that the Predacons had lost Terrorsaur.Maximals Strike Back, Part 2

Returning to the battle, Skold engaged Rhinox once again, even using Scorponok as a bludgeon, but Rhinox, seeing her distress, refused to fight back, offering himself as a punching bag so she could work through her trauma. Overcome by emotion, Skold ordered Rhinox to leave.Maximals Strike Back, Part 3

In a later battle that took place on a field ofenergon crystals,Skold and Rhinox engaged in another contest of strength.The Speedway of Central Consciousness

When Megatron began repairing theDarksyde'sTranswarp Drive,Skold held up an engine component for him, having her holding skills criticized.Primal Rage

When the Maximals and Predacons joined forces to fight off theVok,Skold was assigned to theAxalon,helping Nyx brainstorm how to disrupt an energy being. As she noted that the Vok could be watching them, she remembered picking up unspace signatures following the crash. Finding those same signatures on Optimus, Skold passed on her theory on how to track the Vok to the Maximal leader before a distress call in from theDarksyde.The Beginning of the End

Leaving Rattrap and Waspinator to repair theAxalon,the rest of the group made for theDarksyde,finding it under attack by theChildren of the Vok.During the battle, Skold was struck by a stun blast, leaving her vulnerable to the reanimated Terrorsaur only to be saved by Rhinox before the Vok arrived. Deeming all Cybertronians to be too disruptive to their plans, the aliens immobilized all combatants before they prepared to fire theirreversion device.As the superweapon built up its charge, the Vok were fired on by the repairedAxalon,being dissipated by the unspace blasts before another blast displaced Megatron in time. Though Optimus Primal proposed an extension of their truce, the Predacons refused. As the Maximals flew off, Skold questioned interim leader Blackarachnia about her plans to repair theDarksyde,the arachnid deciding that they would help themselves to the remains of the reversion device.The End

Notes

• The name "Skold" derives fromsköldpadda( "shield-toad" ), the Swedish word for "turtle".^[1]
• Skold's pre-beast vehicular form is heavily based onBeast MachinesTankor's first toy.^[2]For her Earth body,Josh Burchamused elements ofSnapper's body-type and adjusted the design to analligator snapping turtleatErik Burnham's request.^[3]
• Burcham mulled the idea of "casting" Kate Mulgrew as a possible voice actor for Skold, based on Mulgrew's performance as Red Claw inBatman:The Animated Series.^[4]

References