The special "eagle eyes" in Birdbrain's Pretender shell allow him to target and distinguish his prey in extreme detail from great distances... sometimes. The rest of the time, this talented warrior is led astray by the shell's defective sensor package, causing him to attack the wrong target entirely. He's not dumb or incompetent by any means, but his powerful outer Pretender shell just doesn't work the way it's supposed to, much to his frustration. If it could ever be fixed, he might gain respect from his fellows, instead of their mocking laughter.
He can combine with his fellow Pretender Monsters to form Monstructor.
- French name (Canada): Linotte
- Italian name: Avvoltoio
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Generation One
In an alternate future where the Decepticons had conquered much of Earth, Birdbrain and his fellow Pretender Monsters were led by Galvatron to the remains of New York City in an attempt to root out the last remaining vestiges of Autobot and human resistance. All they managed to find, however, was a human-made booby trap that buried Icepick under tons of debris.
Not much later, he and the others rejoined the Decepticons to defend the Decepticon Powerbase against an Autobot attack. Rhythms of Darkness!
Dreamwave comics continuity
Millions of years ago, Birdbrain was a member of Ratbat's Ultracon faction on Cybertron. He was among those who arrived at Tyger Pax to sign a peace treaty with the various other factions, shortly before the return of Megatron. The Age of Wrath issue 1
Devil's Due G.I. Joe vs. Transformers comics continuity
Birdbrain was among a group of Decepticons who made a deal with Cobra-La, receiving power-enhancing organic shells in exchange for defending Cobra-La's underground kingdom. They attacked a trio of Autobots aboard the submerged Arc II, then as Monstructor, defended the kingdom against surface attack by GI Joe. Black Horizon, Part 2
IDW comics continuity
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Long millennia ago, Monstructor was the first gestalt, constructed out of the individual Pretender Monsters. Created by Jhiaxus under the direction of Nova Prime, they were intended to be the ultimate fusion of mind and body, a vast amount of intellect combined with unparalleled strength. Unfortunately, they were driven into insanity by the merging process and became monsters. After Nova Prime departed Cybertron in the Ark, Omega Supreme locked them in a dimensionally displaced prison to live out the rest of their horrid existence. Eventually, they escaped and tracked down and attacked Omega Supreme, but were defeated by Optimus Prime and split apart into their individual bodies. Despite Omega Supreme's protestations about the dangers of gestalt technology falling into Decepticon hands, Prime had them taken into custody in an attempt to repair their shattered minds. Spotlight: Optimus Prime
The attempt was failing, despite Jetfire's best attempts, when the Decepticons launched an assault on the Garrus-9 penal facility to capture the combiners. Despite the release of the dangerous Arcee, the Combaticons successfully captured the Monsters, including Birdbrain - Arcee is now tracking them. Spotlight: Arcee
The breakout of the "Monstructor Six" eventually made its way to the Autobot Orbital Command Hub, and from there to Optimus Prime. Although Earth was currently facing the threat of Megatron and Sixshot, Prime decided that they couldn't risk allowing the Decepticons to gain gestalt technology, and ordered Prowl's team to abandon Earth and head to Garrus-9. Devastation
Toys
Generation One
- Birdbrain (Pretender Monster, 1989)
- Team ID number: PM6
Adorable death-beaked wolf thingy.
Birdbrain's Pretender shell is a feathered, black bird-monster. His inner robot transforms to a beaked four-legged beast, and folds up somewhat unconventionally to form the lower torso of Monstructor. His simple transformation to beast mode is similar to that of Bristleback. He comes with his shell, shell plate, a small gun, and Monstructor's waistplate.
Notes
- For whatever reason, Birdbrain's handgun appears to be a tiny version of the gigantic dual cannon mounted on top of Roadblock's vehicular shell or vice versa.