Insecticon (G1)

The Insecticons are a Decepticon subgroup in the Generation 1 continuity.

The Insecticons are an individualistic, greedy, arrogant group of troublemakers that have an on again/off again affiliation with the Decepticons. The Insecticons also display a wide array of unique abilities including eating both organic and inorganic matter for energy, creating clones of themselves, weather control, and cerebro-shells.

Japanese group name: Insectron Italian group name: Mini-Insectors

The known Generation 1 Insecticons are...


 * Bombshell
 * Barrage
 * Buzzclaw
 * Chop Shop
 * Dirge
 * Kickback
 * Ransack
 * Salvo
 * Shothole
 * Shrapnel
 * Venom
 * Virulent Clones
 * Zaptrap

=Fiction=

Animated continuity
Shrapnel, Kickback, and Bombshell escaped from the Nemesis as it crashed after shooting down the Ark. Landing in a swamp, the three gained alternate modes based on local insects, and may have gained their strange abilities from a few millenia of independant evolution on a strange world.

Eventually reunited with their Decepticon comrades, the three warriors put their powers on full display, as well as their willingness to "eat and run". The Insecticons would frequently become a part of one scheme or another, and then would betray/be betrayed by Megatron resulting in fighting between the two factions.

After the Battle of Autobot City, the three Insecticons find themselves battered and broken, and on the wrong end of the "weight" jettisoned from Astrotrain. All three are reformatted by Unicron into new bodies with some debate over who became who. However, the Insecticons were often seen in the Decepticon army throughout 2006.

Marvel Comics continuity
Events recounted in the UK Comics only are recorded in italics.

The Decepticon warriors Bombshell, Shrapnel, Kickback, Dirge, Thrust, and Ramjet were seemingly high-ranking officers under the command of Lord Straxus, Lord High Governor of Polyhex. Shrapnel served as Straxus' Executive Officer, and was presented as a cruel, sadistic being, with no notable sign of a speech impediment. It was he that supervised the technicians who received- and eventually decoded- a transmission from Soundwave on Earth, and later he who was given the distinctly thankless task of assisting Straxus in the management of the Space Bridge project.

The six appeared to serve as Darkmount's security in some fashion, since Shrapnel personally captured the Autobot Scrounge and brought him to Straxus- and, later, after Blaster had been deliberately taken prisoner, it was Shrapnel who brought him before the tyrant in the Space Bridge construction hangar- only to be assaulted by a less-than-grateful Decepticon leader. Later, all six were observed flying into battle against Autobot intruders.

At this point, the Insecticon trio transformed into forms which appeared to very closely resemble their later Earthen modes- albeit without any visible shifting of mass (i.e. Shrapnel is still the same size as in his robotic mode, as evidenced when he seizes hold of Scrounge). Later, during the attempt to assassinate Emirate Xaaron (itself in reality bait for the Wreckers Operation:Volcano), Kickback does apparently reduce in size, so it's possible that the Insecticons already have this ability, but that it is optional, in the same way that Soundwave appears able to decide on a whim what size he wishes his alt-mode to be on any given day.

After the fall of Darkmount and the crippling of Straxus, the trio continued to be influential figures in the Cybertronian Decepticon Army, and were part of a battle unit regarded by the Autobots as being ten of the Decepticons' deadliest killers- specifically, Bombshell, Shrapnel, Kickback, Dirge, Thrust, Ramjet, Astrotrain, Blitzwing, Octane, and Macabre - so much so, in fact, that Emirate Xaaron planned the dangerous Operation:Volcano to lure them into a deadly trap, believing that the extermination of these ten would deliver a great psychological blow for the Resistance.

''Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on one's allegiance, after Roadbuster had tricked a doomed traitor Autobot into passing on fake information to a typically murderous Shrapnel, Operation:Volcano began to fall apart as a result of events on Earth. First, Ultra Magnus was removed from the Wreckers' strike force to travel to Earth, and second, after Kickback had completed reconnaissance, Megatron himself contacted the Decepticon attack group and ordered the Insecticons to report to Earth- immediately. Nine of the ten, unwilling to risk disobeying Megatron, returned to Polyhex. Macabre, however, determined to kill Xaaron, went on alone, and was killed after taking the life of the Wrecker leader Impactor. His status as a possible Insecticon remains unconfirmed.''

Significantly, during these events, the trio are twice referred to as Insecticons by name, suggesting both that Cybertron does possess insect life, and that their forms are indeed already based upon it- an implication absent in the US strip.

The three Insecticons were sent to Earth via a repaired or rebuilt Space Bridge, where they fell under the command of Megatron, who altered them making minor modifications in order to allow them to transform into the likenesses of Earthside insects. Megatron intended to make use of the Space Bridge to revitalise Cybertron, by connecting a vast drilling pipe transdimensionally between Earth and a massive turbine and generator complex constructed on Cybertron, and drilling through Hoover Dam to do it. To this end, he utilised the Insecticons' unique talents- Bombshell used one of his Cerebro-shells to take the mind of one of the Dam's technical staff, Ricky Vasquez, Shrapnel's electrical powers were used to remote-operate the Dam's electrical machinery, and Kickback kicked a door down.

When the Aerialbots on their first mission intervened, both the Insecticons and their three Strike Plane comrades, also having travelled to Earth, fared badly against them. Shrapnel's antennae were twisted, courtesy of Air Raid's torque rifle, and ultimately Ricky Vasquez' free will and love of his daughter were enough to allow him to overcome Bombshell's cerebro-shell entirely, pulling Megatron's trigger and destroying the drill. Battered, Shrapnel and Kickback somewhat unceremoniously carried a still fulminating Megatron off into the distance. Meanwhile, however, Bombshell, having seen an opportunity in his small insect-size, attached himself to the Aerialbot leader Silverbolt, and returned with him to the Ark in secret.

Bombshell planted a cerebro-shell in the head of Optimus Prime, current head of the Earthbound Autobots. The shell failed to take full effect for unknown reasons, but did permit Megatron and Soundwave to tap into and monitor Optimus' thoughts- including the Creation Matrix. Thus, Bombshell was indirectly responsible for Megatron being able to give life to the Stunticon group- and- possibly but unconfirmedly- also the Combaticons.

At what point he left the Ark is unknown, but the trio continued to make sporadic appearances amongst the Decepticon forces until the Underbase saga. Shrapnel notably used his electrical powers to remote-control the bridge of a cargo ship at one point, but beyond that, the trio seem to have faded into the background. Although not seen to be deactivated or destroyed by Starscream during this conflict, they may have been taken out of action at this point, or possibly during the preceding inter-faction fighting. It is also possible that they simply chose to lie low for a while.

''A further group of Insecticons'- Ransack, Barrage, Chop Shop, and Venom, although not specifically identified as Insecticons at any point in this continuity, were part of the Decepticons' original Mayhem Attack Squad, which was sent to Earth in fragile alliance with the Wreckers to hunt down and destroy Galvatron in late 1988-early 1989. Predictably, few of either group survived the encounter with the future Decepticon, and all four of this particular group of Insecticons were apparently slaughtered- either by Galvatron or by the clone of Megatron with whom he had formed an alliance.''

The three original Insecticons were among the Decepticons recruited- and possibly reactivated- by Megatron on Earth while Scorponok and Optimus Prime were attempting to forge an Autobot-Decepticon alliance on Cybertron (to counter the approaching threat of Unicron), during the Decepticon Civil War. Although initially loyal to Megatron, they were bested in combat by Starscream- then theoretically under Shockwave's command- when he infiltrated Megatron's base. Starscream subdued the trio using an electrically charged flyswat known as a Rustbug Hoop- thereby proving the existence of Cybertronian insect life- and more or less blackmailed them into joining forces with himself and Soundwave in their plans to reunite both Earthbound Decepticon factions by disposing of Megatron and Shockwave and taking their place.''

Bombshell's cerebro-shells, now apparently grown somewhat more reliable, were used at least twice during this period- once to drive the Aerialbot gestalt Superion into running amok, and later to rewrite the memories of journalist Irwin Spoon, ensuring the continued success of Soundwave and Starscream's smear campaign against the Autobots.

''The fate of the Insecticons after this point is unknown. Shockwave, Soundwave and Starscream were all eventually returned to Cybertron, where they appear to have extremely grudgingly temporarily submitted to Optimus and Scorponok's leadership, while Megatron at least was recaptured and imprisoned in stasis in the Ark.''

The Insecticons did not appear during the Unicron war, or during the later battle on Klo. It is possible that they, like Megatron, were deactivated inside the Ark as prisoners, or they may have been destroyed, or simply escaped once more.

During one alternate future, Shrapnel and Scavenger attempted to kill Daniel Witwicky on the planet of Junk in the year 2006, but this particular timeline was rewritten when Galvatron time-travelled back to 1987 to escape Rodimus Prime. --HoliPrime 09:50, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

Timelines: Descent into Evil continuity
By the time of the events of Descent Into Evil, the remnants of the Decepticons had been widely dispersed, apparently lacking access to their cloning abilities. The Decepticon general Deathsaurus, seeking to provide the Decepticon-Predacon Alliance with the means to return the balance of power to their favor, established a research facility on Ceti Alpha Seven. In this lab, the surviving Insecticons Buzzclaw and Dirge were analyzed, and their genetic cloning ability unlocked once more. The resultant Virulent Clones fought against an Autobot team sent to destroy the base, but were ultimately destroyed along with their base, and possibly Buzzclaw.