Skullgrin

Skullgrin is a Decepticon Pretender from the Generation 1 continuity family.

When you encounter Skullgrin, just who you're meeting depends largely on what he happens to be wearing at the time. The Cybertronian robot at his core is intelligent, logical, coldblooded, and vain. He tends to put his own interests above the Decepticon cause and is easily distracted from missions and even direct combat should something of interest catch his optic. He finds Earth in particular quite interesting and is eager (in a decadent and mercenary way) to learn what it has to offer him.

Should you meet Skullgrin inside his Pretender shell, however, you'll find yourself facing a whole different beast. When he's encased in its monstrous hide, a new personality takes over: he becomes a snorting, snarling, sinister sick-o. Low on brains but brimming over with boundless, unstoppable rage, this Skullgrin is the kind of warrior you just point in a certain direction and let fly. Mindless destruction is his favorite pastime, and he won't stop snarling and fighting until everything before him has fallen.

The disconnect between these two personas can lead to some rather erratic behaviour on his part. The two disparate personalities attempting to reconcile themselves within him can make who and what Skullgrin is like on any given day a toss-up, and should the coin come down wrong, a potentially deadly one for anyone nearby.

Contents 1 Fiction 1.1 Marvel Comics continuity 1.1.1 Marvel The Transformers comics 1.1.2 Transformers Comic-Magazin 1.1.3 Marvel Generation 2 comic 1.1.4 Classics 1.2 Dreamwave Generation One continuity 1.3 2005 IDW continuity 1.4 Prime Wars Trilogy marketing material 1.5 2019 IDW continuity 1.6 Velocitron Speedia 500 2 Commercial appearances 3 Games 3.1 Transformers: Battle Tactics 3.2 Transformers: Bumblebee Overdrive 4 Toys 4.1 The Transformers 4.2 Generations 4.3 Power of the Primes 4.4 Legacy 5 Notes 5.1 Foreign names 6 References

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

After commandeering a genetics research lab on Earth, Scorponok was able to create the science of Pretender shells using synthoplasmic chambers constructed by himself and Vorath. Skullgrin was one of six Decepticon volunteers transformed by the process into Pretenders. But soon after the process was completed, the Decepticons took notice of a digital eavesdropper. After tracing the intruder to Alternate Reality, Inc., Scorponok sent out his newly recreated troops to test their might against the spies. But, having gained access to the Pretender process themselves, the Autobots were able to manufacture heroic counterparts to Scorponok's goons. A digital copy of Optimus Prime proved to be a superior tactician against the Decepticons, tipping the odds in the Autobots' favor. Skullgrin and his kin were soon driven into a retreat. Pretender to the Throne!

Skullgrin was sent to Earth alone by Scorponok to construct a fuel depot in secret for his Decepticon comrades, the belief being that his organic shell would arouse less suspicion than a normal Decepticon would due to the increasing public hostility towards giant alien robots, fanned by the Z Foundation. Skullgrin caught the attention of Rollie Friendly after Bigfoot-style sightings of him in North Carolina appeared in the gutter press, and the film director offered him a movie role. The Pretender agreed in exchange for being paid in fuel. When the public and press went wild over him, Skullgrin began to like being a movie star. But while his Pretender shell had fooled most people, robot hunter Circuit Breaker suspected his origins. When Skullgrin revealed his true form to the movie's leading lady, the robophobic Circuit Breaker attacked and destroyed both the film and his movie career. Monstercon from Mars!

Scorponok's troops, Skullgrin included, met with Ratbat's forces. Distrust between the two leaders led to an all-out battle between the two groups, till they realized that Starscream had manipulated them both to battle while he made his escape to acquire the Underbase. Cold War! Both Decepticon camps united, only to be once more distracted when they detected the Autobots approaching their location. Skullgrin and his teammates were ordered by Scorponok to "crush every spark from their bodies." This too was realized to have been a ruse by Starscream, and the Autobots formed a temporary alliance with the Decepticons to go after him. After Starscream gained the power of the Underbase, Skullgrin was part of a wave with the other Decepticon Pretenders and the Predacons that tried to take down Starscream. His power was too much for the Decepticons and the Predacons were destroyed. However, the Pretenders were spared thanks to their syntho-flesh Pretender shells, rendering immune to Starscream's blasts. Dark Star

Along with Iguanus and Bomb-Burst, Skullgrin hijacked the Keeler Oil Terminal in the Gulf of Mexico to convert the oil into a more refined form of energon with a transmuter. As he completed the device, however, they were ambushed by three Autobot Pretenders and battle ensued. While Cloudburst and Bomb-burst prevented a human jet from crashing and destroying the rig, Skullgrin and Iguanus were subdued and captured by Landmine and Splashdown. The Chain Gang!

Following the destruction of their mobile starship headquarters, the Decepticons established a new base hidden under the New Jersey dumps. Shortly thereafter, Iguanus was chosen by Scorponok to spearhead a new energy-collecting endeavor with his fellow Pretenders. When Skullgrin expressed displeasure at being left with guard duty while the other Pretenders had more exciting roles, Iguanus taunted that it was because movie stardom had made him a softhearted fleshling-lover. When Iguanus captured a human snooping near the base, Skullgrin attempted to convince his fellow Pretender not to immediately terminate her. This resulted in a brawl between the two of them that would be interrupted by the arrival of Mudslinger. He battled the Off Road Patrol, but failed to prevent them from destroying the equipment he was guarding. King Con! Skullgrin later saw Zarak's return to the Decepticons' base and was ordered by him to contact Cybertron's Decepticons for soldiers to battle Roadhandler in a wrestling match. The Interplanetary Wrestling Championship!

He later partook in an attack on the Autobots at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. As he was exiting his shell to assist Scorponok, Prime smashed a jet in his face. The Resurrection Gambit! When Starscream appeared just as that battle ended, Skullgrin was quickly defeated alongside Hot Rod. Skin Deep

When the Autobots surrendered to the Decepticons, Skullgrin and Bomb-Burst made sure to remove Cloudburst's armor to assure he wouldn't use it to rebel. When Optimus Prime, Kup, and Hot Rod escaped and invaded Zarak's quarters, Skullgrin was among those who came to their leader's rescue, but ultimately saw the beginning of an Autobot-Decepticon alliance, only to end up buried as a new civil war began with the destruction of the Decepticon base. Surrender! After digging himself out, he joined Bludgeon, Soundwave, and Octopunch in an assault on Starscream, Mindwipe, and Runabout. ...All This and Civil War 2

Transformers Comic-Magazin

Skullgrin was present when the Decepticons unleashed a robotic hell-beast known as 'King Con' on New York; however Optimus Prime rented a helicopter to fly a banner announcing huge raw oil deposit finds in the Rocky Mountains. After a short hesitation, the Decepticons retreated to pursue these findings. New York — A City Sinking in Terror At another point, Bomb-Burst, Skullgrin, and Submarauder attempted to stop the Race Car Patrol and the Off Road Patrol from joining a mission to stop Decepticons from gathering spilled oil in Alaska, but they failed in this task. Headmaster of the Dimensions The trio were also part of a wave of Decepticon attacks on oil refineries, but their raid was cut short when the Autobot Pretenders chased them into an ambush by other Autobots. He Who Laughs Last ... Skullgrin, among others, was discussed as part of simulation accidentally triggered by Goldbug. Memories of Bumblebee

Marvel Generation 2 comic

Skullgrin was sent out with five of his fellow Decepticons to explore Fahl space, and their ship was attacked by the Cybertronians. Skullgrin alone survived long enough to try to return to Megatron, and exploded in re-entry attempting to warn his leader. New Dawn

Classics

Twenty years after the battle of Klo, Skullgrin had joined Gigatron's Decepticons on Earth, and was present when Gigatron's team attacked the Autobots' Ironworks headquarters for their hidden Rarified Energon reserves. Invasion Prologue

While observing Ironworks with Gigatron and the rest of his troops from afar, Skullgrin and the others received word from Spinister that strange Transformers from another dimension had invaded the Autobot base. Gigatron decided the time was ripe to make another play for the Rarified Energon while the Autobots were distracted, and the Decepticons moved in. Octopunch and Skullgrin tried to sneak into Ironworks from underground, but encountered two alleged Autobots instead. Scoop proved more than a match for Skullgrin, first destroying the shell, then defeating the inner robot. Invasion

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

Skullgrin was a brilliant and methodical field commander for the Decepticons. However, nobody likes intelligence in the Decepticon Empire, so his superiors put a shell program in his Pretender shell's circuitry that drove him nuts and made him virtually useless in a leadership position. And everyone lived happily ever after. More Than Meets The Eye #6

2005 IDW continuity

First appearance: Stormbringer #1

Skullgrin was one of the cultists under Bludgeon attempting to resurrect Thunderwing. Spotlight: Soundwave When Jetfire and the Technobots came snooping around Thunderhead Pass, Skullgrin and the other cultists attacked and captured most of the Autobot scientists. Stormbringer #1 When Jetfire attempted to escape his confinement, he bashed Skullgrin into a wall. Stormbringer #2 Later, when Optimus Prime and the Wreckers arrived, Springer blew Skullgrin up with a grenade. Stormbringer #3

Skullgrin survived the encounter and was taken to Garrus-9. After Overlord took control of the prison, he freed Shockwave, who selected certain Decepticons to take with him. Like the rest of Shockwave's companions, he was on The List, and had been intended to be handed over to the Decepticon Justice Division in exchange for the former Senator being allowed to go free, a deal Tarn rejected. The Ties That Bind

Prime Wars Trilogy marketing material

Skullgrin was a Prime Master who housed the spark energy of Liege Maximo, able to grant trickster abilities to other Transformers. Power of the Primes Skullgrin / Liege Maximo online bio

2019 IDW continuity

Skullgrin was a member of Mayhem, a terrorist group operating on the Cybertronian colony of Velocitron. They denounced the colony's practice of choosing their First Senator using the Speedia 500 race, and promised to disrupt it. For effect, Mayhem murdered an upcoming racer named Electrons on a live broadcast. Tread & Circuits Part 1

During the race, Skullgrin tried to bury the racers with explosives triggering an avalanche. Mayhem bottle-necked most of the racers in a mountain pass, attacking the participants. An Ascenticon named Knock Out made it through the commotion and won, but Skullgrin and most of Mayhem escaped capture. Tread & Circuits Part 3 At the swearing-in ceremony days later, Mayhem assaulted the Velocitronian Senate. Skullgrin fought with Thunderclash, leader of the Wreckers stunt team, but was beaten unconscious. Only later, after the Wreckers had departed, was it revealed that Mayhem and the Ascenticons had collaborated from the beginning. Knock Out's ascension to First Senator had been planned, and now the Decepticons ruled Velocitron. Tread & Circuits Part 4

Velocitron Speedia 500

Skullgrin was one of many spectators for the Speedia 500 race on Velocitron. Velocitron Speedia 500 Part 2 He remained for the second week of the race, where he was infatuated with Axlegrease. Velocitron Speedia 500 Part 3

Commercial appearances

Shortly after the Autobots developed Pretenders, the Decepticons learned to duplicate the process. Their own foray into this technology yielded Skullgrin, Bomb-Burst, and Submarauder. The Decepticon Pretenders forced their way into the Autobot research lab that birthed their heroic counterparts, where they proved just as capable of splitting from the shells to fight on two fronts each. Skullgrin faced off against Landmine in the ensuing fight. Pretenders commercial

Games

Transformers: Battle Tactics

Skullgrin participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was an Uncommon character who could be recruited after collecting 75 units of Cybermetal and 36 units of Transmetal. Transformers: Battle Tactics

Transformers: Bumblebee Overdrive

Skullgrin was in command of the eighth Decepticon base attacked and destroyed by the Autobots during a series of raids. He pursued the invaders in tank mode launching several bombs and missiles against his target, but foolishly ran over his own bombs and blew himself up. Transformers: Bumblebee Overdrive

Toys

The Transformers

• Skullgrin (Pretender, 1988)

• Accessories: Pretender shell, "vibro-sword", left & right "lasers", belt
• Known designers: Masakatsu Saito (concept artist)

Released in the fifth year of the original The Transformers toyline (fourth in European matkets) in the first assortment of Pretenders ,Skullgrin turns into a Cybertronic "assault tank", with two built-in cannons in addition to Skullgrin's own guns that can be attached to the sides. The tank has three wheels on the underside to allow him to roll. The built-in cannons can be swung out of his arms easily in this mode, while his side guns can either be attached to his knees or held in his fists. The guns themselves can also be combined into a single "double slagmaker laser", though the large size means it suits his Pretender shell better.

Skullgrin's Pretender shell is a humanoid monster with a demonic ram's skull. The top of the skull is molded in softer, rubberized plastic, like most shell accessories. The lower jaw of the skull is molded into the chest of the shell itself and even includes a tongue. Because the lower jaw is unpainted it becomes almost invisible, giving Skullgrin the appearance of having no lower jaw at all. Which is admittedly kind of wicked-cool.

Unusually, his belt actually works like a belt, looping around the shell and fastening together. While this may be more realistic or may look better, it also means one needs to unfasten the belt every time one opens the shell, which can lead to splitting if done a lot. The shell is armed with the vibro-sword and the double gun.

Skullgrin was sold in Japan as Dauros.

• More information on Skullgrin at TFU.info

Generations

• Skullgrin (Deluxe Class, 2010)

• Accessories: Pick-axe/cannon, missile launcher, machine gun, smoke grenade launchers
• Known designers: Bill Rawley and Joe Kyde (Hasbro), Andrew Scribner (deco artist)

Part of the fifth wave of Generations Deluxe Class toys, Skullgrin is a retool and redeco of Generations Darkmount with a new head, transforming into a half-tracked self-propelled artillery vehicle inspired by the South African G6 Rhino, and a tripod-mounted howitzer platform.

In vehicle mode, the turret can rotate and the barrel can raise. Initially it was planned to have the sculpt interact with Scout Class figures who could man his "fortress mode". The remainders of that idea are the otherwise pointless handlebars that end up on his knees in robot mode.^[1] In robot mode, the cannon barrel becomes a pick-axe weapon, while his smaller weapons are equipped with C joints and thus can clip onto various compatible rungs, bars and tubes sculpted onto the vehicle or robot. Just like Darkmount, Skullgrin's head was designed with a light-piping feature, but it is not utilized due to the red paint covering his eyes and the usage of opaque plastic for his piping.

This mold was also used to make BotCon 2012's The Bard of Darkmount.

• More information on Generations Skullgrin at TFU.info

Power of the Primes

• Liege Maximo (Prime Master, 2018)

• TakaraTomy ID number: PP-02
• TakaraTomy release date: May 25, 2018
• Accessories: Skullgrin decoy armor, claw
• Known designers: John Warden (Hasbro), Robby Musso (concept artist)

Released in the first wave of Power of the Primes Prime Master toys, Liege Maximo is a tiny robot (the same size and general construction of a Titan Master) that comes with a "decoy armor" based on Skullgrin's Pretender shell, which can transform into a large weapon-mode which can be held by other toys. The flip-out claw part can also detach from the armor and be held in its 3 mm-compatible hand.

The inner Prime Master robot can store inside the decoy armor or ride Legends Class figures in vehicle mode, and is fully compatible with toys from the previous Titans Return line. The "Power Swap" gimmick means its spark form can plug onto any decoy armor's weapon form (which has a 5 mm post to be held by larger figures), Deluxe Class figures' chest armor, Voyager Class figures' bucklers, Leader Class figures' Matrix (in place of their Matrix core), combiners' torsos (in place of their Enigma of Combination), or the Scepter of Sparks. With the power of your imagination, this bestows the Prime Master's unique power on the larger figure.

Depending on the individual copy, the peg holes on Liege Maximo's legs varies from normal size to near-shallow, which the latter makes him somewhat prone to falling off from the decoy armor's weapon form. Unlike every other Titan Master/Prime Master, Liege Maximo and his fellow first wave Prime Masters feature backpacks/symbols secured by pins instead of screws.

Though designated for a first quarter 2018 release, Liege Maximo's wave reached U.S. store shelves in November 2017. While not a shelfwarmer, Liege Maximo could still be found among future waves of the Power of the Primes line, and even among figures of the following War for Cybertron: Siege line.

Liege Maximo/Skullgrin was retooled with a new Prime Master sigil and decoy armor front as The Fallen/Bomb-Burst.

Legacy

• Skullgrin (Deluxe Class, 2022)

• TakaraTomy ID number: TL-18
• TakaraTomy release date: February 25, 2023
• Accessories: 2 swords, 2 blasters, connector/tail unit
• Known designers: Mark Maher (Hasbro), Hisashi Yuki (TakaraTomy)

Part of the third wave of Legacy Deluxe Class figures, Skullgrin, like his fellow Pretender Iguanus of the same line, transforms from a robot mode that hybridizes elements of the shell and inner robot of his original toy into a Cybertronian tank that bears only a vague resemblance to his original vague alt-mode. In robot mode, his tail is articulated. Cute! The white nylon frames in the legs are quite thin, which can result in the treads detaching during transformation.^[2]

He includes four weapons (which are based on his original weapons both hand-held and built-in), which can combine together into a sword/cannon hybrid. The instructions suggest that Skullgrin's swords can plug into the 5 mm ports on his sides as shields, and his cannons can be plugged into his back in robot mode. Amusingly, the cannons are carved to look like there are fists folded into them, as this was how the original Skullgrin toy appeared... though if you want to get super nitpicky, and of course we do, these faux-fists are not at the same angle as those of the original toy.

Mark Maher's commentary shows a skull attached to a piece that forms the front of the tank mode on Skullgrin's component diagram, but this was cut from the final toy. As with every other figure but the original, Skullgrin's face is once again missing a lower jaw, however Maher intended for there to be one until very late in the process bucking the usual trend of it just going unnoticed that Skullgrin ever had one in the first place.^[3] Skullgrin’s stock image shows him with purple paint on his chest, however the actual release has him with burgundy paint on his chest, the same as elsewhere on his body.

This mold was retooled to make the Buzzworthy Bumblebee Troop Builder Pack Cybertronian Trooper, and more extensively retooled into Legacy: United Quake.

Notes

• Skullgrin's character model in the Marvel comics is based on Takara concept art by Masakatsu Saito, rather than a Marvel Productions/Toei-original model.
• Bob Budiansky originally wrote Skullgrin's profile sometime in 1987, well before giving the character the spotlight in issue #45 of the Marvel Comic in mid-1988. Skullgrin's depiction in this story doesn't match up with the profile; his bio describes him as having a "split personality"—rational while in robot mode, but a feral beast while inside his shell—yet he spends nearly the whole comic inside his shell, and is largely coherent throughout. When the profile was printed years later in 1990's issue #72, it was amended after the fact to insert an explanation for Skullgrin's behavior in the earlier issue, blaming his "two disparate personalities trying to interface on the same level".
• Skullgrin initially appears in Stormbringer using a new mechanical design mostly based on his classic Pretender shell before dying in Stormbringer #3. This leaves a separate Cybertronian inspired by the inner robot design alone to be Skullgrin's Japanese counterpart, Dauros. Bomb-Burst and Blood share a similar pattern in this continuity. However, Skullgrin reappears in Lost Light #14, drawn according to the inner robot design. He then makes a final cameo appearance in Optimus Prime #20 drawn according to the Pretender shell.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Skullgrin (スカルグリン Sukarugurin)
• French: Crânien (Canada, "Cranial")
• Italian: Korno ("Horn")
• Mandarin: Shānyáng Guài (山羊怪, "Goat Monster")

References