Snarler

Snarler is aDecepticonPretender Beastfrom theGeneration 1 continuity family.

Pay no attention to the suggestively-placed warthogs.

"What's in it for me?!" isSnarler's battle cry, and he gives it with gusto. A self-interested opportunist, Snarler will never do anything for anyone unless he gets something in return. Oddly enough, this often translates into being a champion of the Decepticon cause and an adequate soldier, as he knows it's better to be protected as a part of the Decepticon army than to be on his own, or worse, an Autobot. Still, Snarler's practical use for Decepticon membership won't stop him from throwing his fellow soldiers into the line-of-fire ahead of him, if that's what it takes to survive.

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

MarvelThe Transformerscomics

(left) Too busy to step on a human that's 5 inches away?

In the wake of theTime Wars,Snarler andCarnivacwere hired to make an assassination attempt onFortress Maximus'shuman-selfSpike WitwickyforScorponok,receiving their new Pretender shells in return.After location the boy's Headmaster control helmet in a junkyard, they tracked him to a ski slope, where Spike was enjoying a vacation with his friendClifford Dietz.The two Decepticons gave chase, but their prey was able to use the terrain to his advantage, and evaded his pursuers until he was able to summon the body of Fortress Maximus from the orbitingArkby mental command. Without his head component however, Fortress Maximus was sluggish. Snarler and Carnivac enjoyed blasting him and the environs, until Spike retrieved his helmet and once rejoined with the massive Autobot. Once more in full possession of his mental capacities, Maximus sent the two Decepticons running.The Man in the Machine!

Shortly afterward, Carnivac and his other partnerCatillareunited with their former allies from the Time Wars, the surviving AutobotWreckers.Carnivac stated that they had been cut off from Cybertron, effectively abandoned on Earth without resources by their superiors back home. Carnivac had formed a warrior's bond with the Wreckers' leaderSpringerduring the Time Wars, and owed him a debt of honor. Because of this, he proposed a sharing of resources with the remaining Wreckers, who had similarly been abandoned on Earth by their Cybertronian leaders.

Heavily armed, just in case somebody actually fell for the gargantuan warthog disguise.

Snarler was violently opposed to this, and declared Carnivac a traitor for even considering such an idea. Once the Wreckers went off to rescue a fellow Autobot and got themselves in hot water, Springer radioed Carnivac for assistance. Snarler offered Carnivac a chance to redeem himself by just letting the Autobots die, but instead Carnivac and Catilla left and actively saved the Wreckers from death, forming a new group with them known as theSurvivors.Survivors!

Furious, Snarler eventually made his way back to Cybertron and reported the situation to High Command. They gave him leave to form a newMayhem Attack Squadto act as executioners for the two traitors. Gathering his team, Snarler preppedSpinister,Needlenose,Bludgeon,Stranglehold,andOctopunchfor battle in a hard-light holographic arena. After the new field leader, Spinister, declared they were ready for action, Snarler and the Mayhems returned to Earth to hunt the traitors.The Hunting PartyThe Mayhems caught up with Carnivac on the outskirts ofDallas,Texasafter setting loose aHellhoundto lure do-gooders to themselves. Snarler was thrilled that his main target was the first on the scene, and promised him a quick death if his former-teammate didn't make too much of a fuss. Carnivac decided to fight back instead, much to Bludgeon's delight.Way of the WarriorSnarler goaded Bludgeon on as he attacked, but the Decepticon traitor managed to injure his attacker, necessitating the rest of the group to gang up on their target. The confrontation was then interrupted by a human military unit, who had intended to take in Carnivac themselves. Carnivac escaped while the Decepticons scrapped against the humans, though the latter were dealt with in short order. The Decepticons then caught back up with Carnivac, and resumed their attempt to execute him.Survival RunSnarler explained his hatred for the traitor as he attacked; he saw Carnivac's defection as an instigation for more rebellion within the Decepticon ranks, a cancer that had to be made an example of before it spread further. He then watched on as Spinister readied to carry out the killing blow, only for Carnivac's group to come to his rescue in the nick of time. Though the Decepticons were forced to retreat, Catilla was successfully executed by Bludgeon before they did so.A Savage Place!

Earthforce

After Catilla's death, the Mayhem Attack Squad retreated to an island base, fortifying themselves for Carnivac's inevitable attempt at revenge. During the wait, Snarler and Spinister came upon Stranglehold, Bludgeon, and Octopunch standing over Needlenose, at the ready to off their teammate. Snarler interrupted the attempt, demanding an explanation. Turns out, Needlenose had faked an emergency alert in order to time how quickly his compatriots would come to his rescue. Snarler chided Needlenose for his lack of discipline, but diffused the situation otherwise. Little did the group know that Carnivac had already managed to avoid their defenses. He cornered Needlenose in the latter's quarters without anyone else being the wiser.Cry Wolf!Carnivac raised a ruckus when attacking Bludgeon, though, and Snarler arrived with the other Mayhems to chase him through the base. Spinister destroyed Carnivac's wolfen shell with a single blast, leading the Mayhems to believe their mission was finished.Wolf in the Fold!As they dispersed, Snarler stayed behind to gloat over Carnivac's body. He caught on too late to the fact that the shell was empty, though, and was crushed dead by a massive weight dropped onto him from above by the true Carnivac.Where Wolf?

Transformers Comic-Magazin

Snarler and the Decepticons attacked Nevada Alpha, a human storage facility for nuclear missiles. They were opposed by Optimus Prime and assorted Autobots."Save Nevada Alpha"

Classics

Twenty years after the battle of Klo, Carnivac and Snarler had joinedGigatron's Decepticons on Earth, and were present when Gigatron's team attacked the Autobots'Ironworksheadquarters for their hiddenRarified Energonreserves.Invasion Prologue

Not long thereafter, though, Snarler and the others returnedin defenseof the Ironworks when it was stormed byUltra Magnusand the evil Autobots of thenegative polarity universe.Invasion

Regeneration One

Carnivac, Snarler, and Roadblock assembled atSoundwave's command as the Mayhem Attack Squad on Cybertron. The Autobot communications officerBlasterhad discovered Soundwave's subliminal agitator signal in Cybertron's undernet, and Soundwave needed him silenced. The Mayhems moved to eliminate Blaster while he recovered at theGarage.When they struck, however, the Mayhems were overwhelmed by Blaster and his fellow patients, allowing Blaster to spread word of Soundwave's deception.Destiny, Part Two

DreamwaveGeneration Onecontinuity

During theDark Ages,Snarler and Carnivac worked forStarscreamand hisPredacons.They attempted to disrupt the peace treaty between several of the other factions, but wound up biting off more than they could chew when the united Autobot,Ultracon,and Decepticon forces turned against them.The Age of Wrath

A Tale of the Pretenders

With other Decepticon Pretenders, Snarler was active in ancientJapan.One day, they came across threehumansiblings and threatened them. The oldest managed to escape and bothIguanusandCarnivacpursued the remaining two while the other Decepticons followed. They were about to do bad things to the humans whenMetalhawkleapt to the rescue. Other Autobot Pretenders soon followed and the Decepticons were fought off.A Tale of the Pretenders

2005 IDW continuity

After the return ofMegatron,Snarler was among the Decepticons who rioted in the streets of new Iacon.City on Fire

Last Bot Standing

Snarler was among the many Decepticons who fought against the Autobots as both sides drained the universe of its resources.Last Bot Standing #2

Commercial appearances

Some of these frames are uncomfortable.

Snarler and Catilla battled in their robotic beast forms, with Snarler tackling down Catilla and transforming into his robot mode while pinning him to the ground. The two opponents then leaped apart and enveloped themselves in their Pretender shells... only to emerge from them once more.Pretender Beasts and Pretender Vehicles commercial

Toys

The Transformers

First one to say "Hakuna Matata" gets gouged.

• Snarler(Pretender Beast,1988)

• Accessories:Wild boar Pretender shell, tail, left & right shell shoulder armor, "programmable explosive shellrotary cannon"
• Known designers:Masakatsu Saito(concept artist)

Released in the fifth year of the originalThe Transformerstoyline (fourth year in European markets), Snarler transforms into a robotic boar with a drill instead of a snout and two smaller drills as his tusks. His bestial outerPretendershell is modeled after a more realistic organic wild boar with mechanical armor... well, realisticallyshaped,at least, the blue color kinda is only "natural" amongBeastformers.His rotary cannon (misidentified as a "canon"in hisbio) can be attached to the shell or robot in any mode.

Unfortunately, the aqua-blue color of the flexible plastic used on the tusks, tail, and shoulder pads tends to fade over time.

No version of this mold or character was released in Japan.

• More information on Snarler at TFU.info

Notes

• Snarler'scharacter model(shown here on left in Carnivac's colors) bears little resemblance to his actual toy and seems to transform entirely differently. While the toy's beast head is positioned over the robot's back, the character model shows the beast head folding down to become the robot's chest. The spikes on the shoulders are also missing on the toy. The origin of the character model's design is unknown.
• Snarler's commercial appearance offers a second glimpse at Snarler's presumptivecharacter model,since his robot head matches the character model copied byJosé Delboin "The Man in the Machine!".

Foreign names

• Japanese:Snarler(スナーラーSunārā)
• Italian:Verros( "Boaros" )