Slugslinger (G1)

Slugslinger is aDecepticonTargetmasterfrom theGeneration 1continuity family.

His name is fun to say.

If you askSlugslingerto describe himself, he'll tell you all about how he'll never turn down a chance to duel anyone, because he knows he'll always win. That is, assuming hisNebulanpartner,Caliburst,still has some ammo left for Slugslinger to use to gun down his opponent from a distance. Take that away, and suddenly he's not such a tough guy after all.

Funny, that.

Fiction

The Transformerscartoon

Voice actor:Peter Cullen(English),Kenichi Sakaguchi(Japanese),Albert AugierthenMichel Barbey(European French, "The Rebirth, Part 1" ), Unknown (European French, "The Rebirth, Part 2" )

Grass grows, birds fly, sun shines, and brother? I slaggin' hurt people.

Slugslinger was under the command ofScourgeandCyclonuswhen they attackedAutobot Cityas part of a division while the Decepticon Clones stole the Key to thePlasma Energy Chamber.After Scourge successfully activated the chamber onCybertron(and inadvertently sent a shuttle full of Autobots and the key halfway across the galaxy), Slugslinger attempted to restrainGalvatron's anger towards the prone Scourge. When he arrived on the distant world ofNebulos,Slugslinger defiantly shouted about leaping into battle... though the actual "leaping" was delayed becauseTriggerhappykept standing in front of him. Yeah, that's it. However, he did extol Trigger's battle cries. Lucky Autobots. He'll get them next time.The Rebirth, Part 1

Despite the Decepticons managing to capture several Autobots, when their friends arrived with their new-fangledHeadmaster technology,the Decepticons had their asses handed to them. Slugslinger got a lucky break, being a jet, when the Decepticons met up with theHive:Cyclonus didn't offer their new partners his head. Instead, he was partnered withCaliburst,a Hive member who claimed to have never missed a shot in his life, which Slugslinger pointed out was because he had never taken a shot before. Not that he was scared, mind you. He's just an honest sort. Yeah, that's it.The Rebirth, Part 2

Slugslinger and the other Targetmasters returned to Cybertron just in the nick of time to save Galvatron from the remainder of the Autobot forces. They may have done better to stand aside, for when Galvatron learned about the Hive, he was on the verge of scrapping them right there. But Slugslinger wasn't worried.The Rebirth, Part 3

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Headmasterscartoon

Voice actor:Ken Yamaguchi(Japanese),John Culkin(English, Omni Productions dub)

Slugslinger was a Decepticon aerial warrior partnered withMisfireandTriggerhappy.Their campaigns typically took place far away from recognizable worlds such as Cybertron, Earth, andChaar,battling againstPointblankand other Autobots on deep space missions. In 2011, Slugslinger and his men allied themselves withScorponokjust before his siege of the planetMasterbegan. When a group of six refugees fled the planet seeking aid, Slugslinger, Misfire and Triggerhappy joinedSixshotin pursuing them. They crossed paths with theBattleship Maximusand their old foes Pointblank,SureshotandCrosshairsout in space. As the fighting raged outside, the refugees befriendedFortressand volunteered to dispose of theplasma energybombs aboard the battleship. As the refugees flew out in their starship to take the bombs to a safe distance, Slugslinger led his men to intercept them, but they were blocked by Pointblank's forces. The bombs exploded early, washing over all the Transformers present.Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 1)

Sixshot retrieved Slugslinger and his partners after the explosion, bringing them back to Master. The plasma energy had somehowbinary-bondedeach of the Decepticons to one of the refugees. A permanent link now existed between Slugslinger andCaliburst,who could transformed into a powerful weapon for his new Decepticon master. Slugslinger and his Targetmaster partners rejoined the battle for Master at Scorponok's side. Their Targetmasters weapons were the equal of Pointblank and his men, who had also become Targetmasters in the plasma explosion.Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 2)As the Decepticon Targetmasters mingled with the Headmasters, Slugslinger demonstrated that he (much like his Autobot counterpart Pointblank) is a humongous tool. His braggadocio quickly got on the nerves ofWeirdwolf,leader of the Headmaster regiment. During a fight for data on theMaster Sword,Slugslinger callously knocked the Headmasters aside as they got in the way of his shot.The Master Sword Is in Danger!!

Slugslinger and his partners got into another fight with Pointblank's trio, and believed the Autobots were dead after triggering a flash flood that washed them out of sight. Slugslinger's self-congratulation rankled Weirdwolf even more, especially after his fellow Headmasters started gushing over the Targetmasters' skill. Luckily for Weirdwolf's ego, the Autobot Targetmasters later turned up alive and well.The Zarak Shield Turns the TideWith the Zarak Shield fully reforged out ofG-Metal,the Decepticons began making preparations to leave Master for Earth. Caliburst alerted Slugslinger that the Autobot Targetmasters had uncovered their location, and Slugslinger flew out with Sixshot and the Targetmasters to confront Pointblank's crew. They also unleashed massive devastation on a Master city when MegaZarak emerged from beneath it.Operation: Destroy the Decepticons

As Scorponok's ship touched down onPallasfor repairs, Slugslinger and the Targetmasters defended it against Autobot attack.Duel on the AsteroidAt the North Pole, they were involved in the final battle against the Autobots, fighting their Targetmaster counterparts. After Fortress Maximus was tricked onto the platform ofcrysmagnetal,Slugslinger and the other Decepticons fled out into space.The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)

Legendscomic

Stationed onEarthin the 1980s, Slugslinger participated in the battle for theTransform Super Cogwhere he impressedMegatronwith his cowardly but effective strategy of shooting opponents in the back, and even blastedStarscreamfor looking down on him. None of the Decepticons foresaw Slugslinger's true depravity, however, because as soon he got his hands on the Super Cog he took control of Megatron's firepower by forcibly fusing him in gun mode to his arm, declaring himself the nextDecepticon leader.His ambition came to an end when his arm was severed byOptimus Maximus,and he fled into space with Misfire and Triggerhappy to avoid Megatron's revenge, avoiding the Decepticon army for years until he learned thatGalvatronhad been defeated.Slugslinger's Ambition

In2021,Slugslinger devised a plan for the Decepticon Targetmasters to bond with the Autobots' Targetmaster partners as well through exposure to even more plasma energy. They confronted their Autobot counterparts and captured their partners while Scorponok was attempting to draw out plasma energy by detonating ablack hole,but contrary to expectations, the explosion instead shrunk their bodies and caused all the Targetmaster partners to disappear.Targetmaster Chapter PrologueSlugslinger and his mates converted their heads into small Headmaster forms and traveled to theLegends World,where they coercedAlpha Trioninto teleporting their partners to them. The Targetmaster partners were supercharged with plasma energy, however, and Trion was forced to scatter them across the Legends World for everyone's safety.Mutant Targetmaster Birth Chapter

Slugslinger eventually recovered Caliburst and, finding he had mutated the ability to fireanti-electronsthat could disable any Transformer, felt his ambition to be number one returning.Slugslinger's AmbitionHe then struck a deal with an impostorSpike Witwickyto destroy all other Transformers in the Legends World in exchange for atranstector.Targeting Autobots and Decepticons alike, he coldly attacked even Triggerhappy and Misfire so that he could steal their Targetmaster partners, who he then combined with Caliburst into thePlasma Energy Chambergun. He attempted to use its plasma energy blasts to finish off the incapacitated Transformers, but was stopped byShaoshao Li,Sue Faireborn,andWhite Lune,who broke the Plasma Energy Chamber apart. Hit by Caliburst's anti-electrons in the confusion, Slugslinger was knocked out and thrown in jail.Bonus Edition Vol. 55

Broken out byFlywheelswhen Scorponok arrived, Slugslinger protested against his leader's plan to remodel Caliburst and the other Targetmaster partners into plasma energy bombs only to be tied up for opposing his wishes.Legends World in Imminent Danger! Part OneAfter being freed, the Targetmasters set out to stopMindwipefrom placing the bombs only to find him under the control ofDevil Z,who warned them that it was too late to defuse the bombs and offered Slugslinger power in exchange for joining him. As he'd rather have Caliburst back, Slugslinger ignored his offer and joined the Autobot Targetmasters in executing a plan to expel the plasma energy from the Targetmaster partners, which saved their lives but led to the destruction of the Legends World.Legends World in Imminent Danger! Part Two

Marvel Comics continuity

MarvelThe Transformerscomics

Slugslinger participated in a raid on an Autobot city on Cybertron, ending with its incineration. Several prisoners of war were captured by his squad and as they were forcefully marched towards their doom at thesmelting pools,Slugslinger engaged in some banter withTriggerhappy,openly mocking their prisoners' fate. The procession was interrupted by an Autobot ambush led byFortress Maximus,and Slugslinger was quick to take to the skies to avoid the enemy's fire. The rest of his team was swiftly overwhelmed, and their commander,Scorponok,ordered a retreat.Ring of Hate!

Of all their opponents, the Autobots led by Fortress Maximus were the greatest rivals Slugslinger's group had faced off against, and so they were more than a little perturbed when their favorite sparring partners vanished into the night. A foolish interstellar phone call fromZarak,though, led the Decepticons to them onNebulos.Learning that several of the Autobots were holed up inKoraja,Slugslinger participated in a full-scale assault on the city. In retaliation, Fortress Maximus and four other Autobots emerged, having underwent abinary bondingprocess. Thanks to the newfound power this upgrade afforded them, the AutobotsHeadmasterssent the Decepticons into a panicked retreat.Broken Glass!

Nonetheless, the Decepticons quickly managed to take Zarak and his people hostage, and began laying waste to the planet. Scorponok managed to replicate the Headmaster procedure and applied it to his own men. He didn't make Slugslinger a Headmaster but, for some reason, when he was choosing warriors who might need a boost of confidence from becoming a super-charged, gun-slingingTargetmaster,Scorponok did think of him, and Slugslinger was binary-bonded to the Nebulan Caliburst. Slugslinger tested out his newfound might when the Autobot Headmasters, who had previously been taken captive, broke out of their cell. The battle was brief, as the Autobots soon fled to rejoin the rest of their forces.Brothers in Armor!!After capturing the Autobot Targetmasters, Slugslinger and the other Decepticons ambushedChromedome,Hardhead,BrainstormandHighbrowso that Scorponok could capture one of them to examine the Headmaster process more closely. However, while Scorponok busied himself studying Highbrow, the remaining Autobot Headmasters were able to free their Targetmaster comrades and turn the tables on the Decepticons.Worlds Apart!

Thanks to a bug previously planted in the Autobots' headquarters, the Decepticons learned that their enemies had manufactured a fuel convertor that would allow them travel toEarth.They put together a plan to steal it. Slugslinger, Misfire, and Triggerhappy approached Fortress Maximus under the pretense that they had a message to deliver: Scorponok wanted to challenge him to a death match, and whoever emerged victorious would be declared triumphant in the greater conflict. Maximus accepted, unaware that the duel was merely a distraction. As it raged, Slugslinger snuck intoBrainstorm's lab and made off with the fuel convertor. Once this was done, the duel came to a premature end, the Decepticons made their way off-world, and the Autobots were forced to follow.The Final Conflict

Not long after, the Decepticons left Nebulos behind, chasing the Autobots of theSteelhaventowards Earth.Brothers in Armor!!

Slugslinger remained on call with Scorponok's forces after they arrived on Earth.WhenHighbrowmanaged to decapitate Scorponok and escaped with his head, Slugslinger was among several Decepticons who pursued, catching up to him just as he neared the Autobots' spaceship. As they forcefully retrieved their leader's head, the Decepticons witnessed several Autobots materialize from the future, leading to some infighting among the Autobots' ranks. Irritated over being left out of the battle, Scorponok's Decepticons were about to join in, only to be temporarily shunted off toLimbowhenSoundwave's troops from the year2009arrived in1989.Time WarsHe later battled with a group of Autobot fliers after they had been lured to the Decepticons' Arctic base byStarscream.Dark StarSlugslinger also stood up to Scorponok with his fellow Decepticons to challenge Starscream's place in the army.The Primal Scream

Transformers '84

Some time after theArkandNemesishad been lost, Slugslinger was one of the troops underScorponok's command and took part in a bombing run againstFortress Maximus's forces.Secrets & Lies #3

The Headmasterscomic

Slugslinger and the Decepticon Targetmasters attempted to disrupt the Autobots' efforts to put out a blazing fire on Earth. The Autobots' split focus left them vulnerable, until the Battleship Maximus extinguished the entire fire in one sweep.RicochetandArtfirethen turned their full attention on Slugslinger and his allies, driving them from the scene.The Headmasters #7

Transformers in 3-D

Slugslinger took part in an attack onTau-Ursa,picking up one of the locals as a threat, while Galvatron obtained a vital component for hisNullification CannonfromMonitorus.Afterwards, he and the other Decepticons pretty much destroyed the entire city, just to show the Tau-Ursans who was Boss. Their next stop was Cybertron, where Galvatron used his new toy to nullify the planet'senergonsupply. WithOptimus Primeapproaching, GalvatronthrewSlugslinger at him, prepared for Slugslinger to die in order to facilitate his own escape. Prime decked Slugslinger, resulting in the Decepticon clinging to the edge of a precipice and pleading to Optimus to save him. Apparently unaware that Slugslinger's alternate mode was a space fighter, Prime stopped to help him, allowing Galvatron to escape. Slugslinger laughed that the Autobots were doomed, and was probably promptly slapped in a detention cell.The War Against the Destructons, Chapter 1 of 3

Ladybird Books continuity

Slugslinger was among the Decepticons who traveled toNebulos,but soon grew dissatisfied and announced they needed a proper plan. This led to the Decepticons trying to tap the cosmic energy beamed to the planet from a pulsar. Unfortunately that resulted inScorponoksinking into the ice at the planet's pole after the Autobots melted it.Decepticons at the Pole

When the Decepticons suspected that the Autobots were up to something, Misfire and Slugslinger joinedCyclonuson a reconnaissance flight, successfully locating an oil pipeline the Autobots had built. After sabotaging the pipeline, they made an attempt to ambushKupandHighbrowwho came to fix it, but the two Autobots got away when the Decepticons slipped over on the spilled oil.Autobots Strike Oil

DreamwaveGeneration Onecontinuity

Slugslinger was a member ofStarscream'sPredaconfaction by the end of the Dark Ages. He participated in the attack on the peace treaty atTyger Paxalong with the other Predacons, but was quickly overrun by the combined Autobots, Decepticons andUltraconswho survived their first bombing run.The Age of Wrath

2005 IDW continuity

First appearance:Megatron Origin#2

Back before the war, Slugslinger appeared among the crowd in theForgewatchingMegatron'sfirst pit fight againstCy-Kill.Megatron Origin #2

After the Chaos War, Slugslinger was among the Decepticons living on Cybertron with the Autobots and theNAILs.When Megatron returned from the wilderness, the Decepticons began rioting in the streets.City on FireHe flew by the Autobot prison just before the Decepticons stormed it and freed Megatron.The VergeWhen Megatron was free to lead the Decepticons in the conquest of Cybertron, Slugslinger participated in a strafing run on the defending Autobots.Plan for EverythingHe was fightingSwoopin the skies around the time the Decepticons were defeated.Heavy Is the Head

Sometime later, Slugslinger acceptedSoundwave's offer of a place atSanctuary Station,the new Decepticon commune orbitingJupiter.He andSky-Bytearrived aboard thePeace Without Tyranny.AphelionSlugslinger and the Decepticons pulled their guns onCosmoswhen the Autobot arrived upset that his friends were missing, but Soundwave ordered them to lower their weapons.LagrangeHe was still on board the station when Soundwave learned Galvatron had ordered a new invasion of Earth without his knowledge.PerihelionAngered by his actions, Soundwave announced to Slugslinger and the others that they were turning on Galvatron.Once Upon a Time on EarthHe was present asOptimus Primevisited Sanctuary Station to forge an alliance with Soundwave against Galvatron.The Medium and the Message

There were script problems from day... okay, there was no script.

Soundwave's Decepticons traveled toEarthand joined the Autobots in attacking Galvatron's underwater base, theNemesis.During the battle, Slugslinger was forced by Galvatron's mastery of theEnigma of Combinationto combine with some of his allies intoSky Reign,forming the combiner's right leg.It's Beginning To And Back AgainAfter they were separated and the battle was won, Slugslinger and the other combatants rested up on raftsWhite LightuntilEarth Defense Commandstarted attacking, at which point they retreated onSky Lynx.White Heat

Slugslinger returned to Sanctuary Station in an effort to find peace. He still had trouble trusting Autobots or Earth, however, and withheld information from Cosmos and Thundercracker when they were conducting an investigation on behalf of the Prime's forces.Primeless, Part 2He played a part inRumbleandFrenzy's action movieDark Invasion,which bombed in Earth theatres.Starscream: The Movie

United

Yes, I'm there. Look harder.

Anano-virusthat afflicted most Autobots save theTargetmastersand theHeadmastersrequiredRicochetto lead a team toNebulosfor an anti-virus. However, the nano-virus was merely a ploy by the Decepticons to draw out the Targetmasters and Headmasters to abduct theirNebulanpartners, so when the Autobots arrived on Nebulos, Slugslinger and several other Decepticons were waiting for them! Slugslinger and the others quickly fell into disarray, unfortunately, when their leaderStraxuswas singled out and defeated.The Fierce Fighting on Planet Nebulos

TransTech

During the conflict between theScreaming Eaglesand S.K.A.R. inPrimax 806.30 Gamma,Slugslinger was binary-bonded toWreckage,a prototype super-soldier who had been augmented with tech from theI.R.O.N. Army.The Decepticons and their human allies were ultimately defeated bySgt. Savage'sScreaming Eaglesand the Autobots.Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News, 2016/05/01

Transformers: All Spark

WhenMegatronreturned from a previous defeat, Slugslinger was among his new troops.Looming Threat

2019 IDW continuity

Slugslinger was a member of the terrorist organizationMayhem,working to sabotage theSpeedia 500race onVelocitron.He carriedThunderblastover the race on a bombing run, but was ultimately punched out of the sky whenAileronair-droppedHot Shotonto him.Tread & Circuits Part 3Later, he and Thunderblast participated in the assassination attempt on the newFirst SenatorKnock Out,but Slugslinger was kayoed byRicochet.The entire ordeal turned out to be a ruse perpetrated by Mayhem, and they framedMinervafor the attack, with Slugslinger and his comrades triumphantly standing behind the Mayhem-aligned Knock Out in the end.Tread & Circuits Part 4

Commercial appearances

When the Transformers' war resumed its course onNebulon,Slugslinger could be seen fighting alongside his fellow DecepticonTargetmastersagainst their Autobot counterparts, whileFortress MaximusandScorponokgrappled in the distance.Headmaster comic book commercial

Games

The Transformers(PS2)

The Transformers

Transformers Legends

Toys

The Transformers

Actual Twinbee from a Twinhive.

• Slugslinger(Targetmaster,1987)

• Takara ID number:D-90
• Accessories:"Caliburst" Targetmaster partner/ "automatic machine gun"

Released in the fourth year of Hasbro's USThe Transformerstoyline (third year in Europe and in Takara'sFight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformersline), Targetmaster Slugslinger transforms into aCybertronian twin-cockpit space fighter.As typical with some of the larger 1987 toys, Slugslinger has decent articulation with elbow joints and lateral shoulder movement, as well as hip and knee joints (though the latter is mainly to facilitate his transformation sequence).

His packed-in Targetmaster partnerCaliburstattaches to a5 mm post holeon the dorsal hull behind the cockpits.

Like the other 1987 Targetmasters, hisTakararelease lacks arubsign,though Slugslinger alone among them has a small but significant change from hisHasbrorelease: Takara Slugslingers have gold chrome circles on the robot abdomen rather than the Hasbro silver.

• More information on Slugslinger at TFU.info

Titans Return

But does he turn into anarm or a leg?

• Caliburst & Slugslinger(Deluxe Class,2017)

• Accessories:Rifle, double-barreled cannon, "Caliburst"Titan Master
• Known designers:John Warden(Hasbro)

The only new figure in the sixth and final wave of theTitans Returnsubline ofGenerations,Slugslinger is a heavyretoolingofTriggerhappy,only reusing the legs, shoulder joints, biceps, and Titan Master robot mode with everything else being newly-molded. He once again transforms into a Cybertronian twin-cockpit fighter jet. However, neither of those cockpits areTitan Mastercompatible; instead his pack-in Titan Master partnerCaliburstmust sit in a compartment in the jet mode's main body behind the cockpits.

As Caliburst now forms a robot-mode head, Slugslinger has two blasters that can combine to form an approximation of Caliburst's original Targetmaster gun mode. The double-blaster has a set of foot-pegs to mount a Titan Master (or similarly-compatible tiny robot). There are also footpegs on the jet-mode's thruster casings, just above the robot-mode ankles.

Although he is in his original toy colors rather than the much darker color scheme he had in "The Rebirth",his head is based upon the one he had in that cartoon, making this release" accurate "only to hisMarvel comicsappearances.

The legs of this mold were also used forMisfire.

Legends

• Targetmaster Slugslinger(Deluxe,2017)

• Release date:December 30,2017
• ID number:LG55
• Accessories:Headmaster unit, "Caliburst" Targetmaster

Released in the twenty-fourth wave of TakaraTomy'sLegendsline, "Targetmaster Slugslinger" is a redeco and slight retool of the aboveTitans ReturnDeluxe figure in a deco more accurate to his appearance in theHeadmasterscartoon.He has a new 5 mm hole centered behind his twin cockpits, plus he features the crotch-piece fromTitans ReturnMisfire for reasons unknown.

He comes withCaliburst,a new-mold Targetmaster figure who replaces the two blasters that came with theTitans Returnversion of the toy, thus the new centered weapon-mount point.

Age of the Primes

• Sandstorm vs. Slugslinger(Multi-pack,2025)

If you build it, they will play. Thistoys & merchandise-related article is astub. You can helpTransformers Wikibyexpanding it.

Notes

Targetbastards.

• Slugslinger's design is used as a "generic" Decepticon inLinkagePart 5,in a flashback showingRedlineandFlat-Out's former Decepticon masters. This fits in with the general theme of using Generation 1character modelsas unnamed extras in theArmadacartoon.His actual appearance fits in with artistHirofumi Ichikawa's perference of using thetoysas a visual reference rather than the character models used in animation; that is not Slugslinger's animation design.

Foreign names

• Japanese:Slugslinger(スラッグスリンガーSuraggusuringā)
• French:Lance-Balle(Canada, "Sling-Slug" )
• Mandarin:Diàosuǒ(China, dây kéo, "Sling" )
• Spanish:Skull(America)
• Italian:Proteus