Slag (G1)


 * Slag is an Autobot in the Generation 1 continuity family.



Slag is the Dinobot most likely to live up to the team's bad reputation. Slag is surly, mean-spirited, nasty, and disturbingly violent, to the point where it really is a wonder he's not a Decepticon. Slag will fight anyone, over anything, at the drop of a microchip, and fight dirty. Slag enjoys nothing more than reducing his enemies (and he's more than willing to include annoying Autobots on that list) to pools of molten metal. He'd swim in the pools to celebrate if he could.

None of the Dinobots really like Optimus Prime, but he and Sludge share an especially intense dislike for him. But it's not just Prime's orders he questions. He'll even mouth off at Grimlock every now and then, which would get anyone else munched on. Slag's bad attitude means the rest of the Autobot forces are unlikely to come to his aid when he bites off more than he can chew.

"Me Slag no like anything."

- Slag on Life, the Universe, and Everything


 * French-Canadian name: Scories
 * Italian name: Tricex
 * Hungarian name: Salak

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

 * Voice actor: Neil Ross (US), Toshiro Ishii (Japan)



Slag was developed, along with his fellow Dinobots Sludge and Grimlock, after the Autobots discovered dinosaur bones in their volcanic headquarters. Inspired by the power of the prehistoric beasts, Wheeljack and Ratchet built a trio of Dinobots to add firepower to the Autobot forces. The Dinobots proved too dangerous at first, and Optimus Prime ordered Wheeljack to abandon the Dinobot project. Wheeljack continued improving the trio of titans in secret, crafting memory components that made them smarter and easier to control. When the rest of the Autobots were captured by the Decepticons at the Great Falls hydroelectric power plant, Wheeljack dispatched the Dinobots to free their comrades and destroy the Decepticons. The Dinobots succeeded in forcing a Decepticon retreat and were welcomed as members of the Autobot team.

Later, when the Dinobots were sent to Cybertron after trying to secure Cybertonium, Slag rammed Shockwave, and then tried to turn him into a chew-toy. For this, the logic-driven Decepticon altered the Dinobots' memory circuits and put them to work in the Cybertonium Pit. Two squishies ended up saving them.

During the Battle of Autobot City, the Dinobots battled Devastator. Slag was the only one that managed to get a hit on Devastator ramming into him at full speed. After evacuating Autobot City in the wake of Galvatron's attack, the Dinobots, along with Kup and Hot Rod, were shot down and crashed on Quintessa. The Dinobots searched for the two Autobots, with Grimlock believing they were close by, but Slag disagreed. They started hurling insults, and it may have turned violent, had Wheelie not appeared and pointed them in the right direction. He and Sludge broke down a door as Sharkitcons prepared to execute the Autobots, giving a belated "Excuse me!" to a Quintesson prosecutor&mdash;who was being crushed under the combined wieght of Slag, Sludge, and the door.

Slag was one of the Primitives who were called by Primacron's assistant to battle Primacron's newest creation, Tornedron. When Grimlock was believed destroyed when Trypticon crashed on him, Slag took command of the Dinobots. He came up with the best strategy possible&mdash;lead the Dinobots away until he got a better idea. After Tornedron dispatched the other Primitives, Slag and the Dinobots attacked him, only to have their energy sucked from them. Fortunately, Grimlock survived Trypticon's weight and destroyed Tornedron, fixing everything.

The Headmasters cartoon


In the year 2011, Slag, along with his fellow Dinobots, was deployed by Wreck-Gar to deal with the sudden invasion of the Decepticon forces. Slag and his team attempted a resistance but were quickly disabled by one of Mindwipe's hypnotic spells, which forced them all to fall asleep.

Slag was adorable. (Rumor has it the animator of this scene was later found horribly mauled and burned to a crisp...at least, what they found of his corpse)

Dreamwave comics continuity
Slag was chosen by Grimlock to join his commando unit, and was with them in the Dark Ages when they split off to become the Lightning Strike Coalition. When the Fallen and his agents began systematically attacking various factions, the LSC were forced into a temporary alliance with Shockwave's Decepticons to rescue Grimlock and the others.

Despite the truce, Slag still decked Shrapnel. Nobody cared.

Later on, after returning to the Shockwave-controlled Cybertron, Octane poked him in the head and called him a "primitive".

Octane doesn't have a body anymore.

IDW comic continuity
Slag appears to be Grimlock's go-to tech specialist, originating the idea of organic beast modes as a defence against energon overload.

Generation 1

 * Slag (Dinobot, 1985/1986/1991/1992)
 * Japanese ID number: C-28


 * Slag was released as part of the second series of Transformers in 1985. The toy transformed into a robotic Triceratops, and came with a missile launcher that could fit in the shoulder socket of both the robot and dinosaur, a red sword, a silver "electro blaster" and three silver rockets. Like many Diaclone-era toys, Slag had a conspicuous driver compartment contained in his chest.


 * Slag was later re-released in the European-markets "Classics series. In Japan, he and the other Dinobots were offered as mail-away items during Operation Combination, at a cost of 2300 yen (his original retail price) and two robot points.

Generation 2

 * Slag (Dinobot, 1993)


 * The original Slag toys went through several iterations in the Generation 2 line. First, he was re-released in the original silver base color without his missile launcher; the only notable difference in the toy proper is the inclusion of the "AUTOBOT" tampograph on one of his robot-mode legs.


 * The toy then had its silver changed to red, and then changed again to dark green. The final green coloration is the most common, while the red and silver variations go for a little more on the secondary market.

Trivia

 * Slag's original toy was originally a Diaclone Dinosaur Robo Triceratops. In the Diaclone lore, this dinomech was a pilotable vehicle that could travel at speeds up of to 250 kilometers per hour and was designed for grasslands operation and melee combat. It also had a slightly different color scheme for its robot-mode bits.


 * The European exclusive Action Master Decepticon Charger cribs Slag's quote, his function, much of his bio and tech spec numbers. Whether there was any relation intended between the characters or if the copywriters just got lazy is unknown.


 * Apparently, Slag's name is also a popular Cybertronian expletive. That just seems right, for some reason.