User blog:Sclera1/Predacon

The Predacons usually refer to several fictional Decepticon-like teams led by Megatron; however, in Transformers: Armada, Predacon is the name of a single character.

Transformers: Generation 1
The Predacons (the Animatrons in Japan) are a team of five fearsome Decepticon hunters, able to transform into wild beasts and combine their bodies and minds into the giant robot, Predaking. The team includes:
 * Razorclaw He transforms into a lion. He forms the head, massive torso & thighs of Predaking. The leader of the team, who despises the unnecessary expenditure of energy and resources. He is preternaturally patient, always waiting for the best moment to strike. Voiced by Joe Leahy.
 * Rampage He transforms into a tiger. He forms the right arm of Predaking. He is a little more than a raging psychopath, in a constant state of anger that leaves even the other Predacons afraid of him. Thankfully, there is one way of keeping Rampage under control; he is easily distracted by mindless television entertainment. Voiced by Laurie Faso.
 * Divebomb He transforms into an eagle. He forms the left arm of Predaking and his wings also become Predaking's wings. He is a loner by nature. He only combines with his teammates when he has no other option. On his own, he amuses himself by destroying objects from the air for the sheer joy of it. Voiced by Laurie Faso.
 * Tantrum He transforms into a bull. He forms the left lower leg of Predaking. The fueler of the Predacons, always using brute force to see things through, even when it is not called for. In reality, he has severe anger problems and releases his anger by destroying anything unlucky enough to get in his way. Voiced by Philip L. Clarke.
 * Headstrong He transforms into a rhinoceros. He forms the right lower leg of Predaking. He is unbelievably stubborn and does not take advice from anyone. However, he is probably the weakest of the team, and extremely insecure about it. Voiced by Ron Feinberg.

Although most of the combiners are little more than lumbering brutes who use sheer force to obliterate their enemies, Predaking is different. Where some of the other combiners have trouble thinking due to the mismatched minds of their components, all the Predacons are focused on the thrill of the hunt. Because of this, Predaking moves with increased speed and grace rare for a being his size, merely reacting to threats rather than actually thinking about it, no matter how small. He seems to act almost on pure instinct, which often manifests as sheer overpowering brutality. As a warrior, he has no equal. As a weapon, there is no defense against him.

However, despite this, he suffers many defeats in the animated series (often called on to defeat very large and powerful enemies) as well as in the Marvel comics.

Released in 1986, the Predacons became a popular seller, and came in two variants - entirely plastic, and with die-cast metal parts, the latter version being the most sought after. Unlike the other combiners released that year, Predaking was substantially larger and did not follow the same basic so-called "Scramble City" design which allowed his component limbs to be swapped freely; each arm and leg could be interchanged with each other, but an arm could not form a leg, and vice versa. Illustrating this point are the various depictions of Predaking's limb arrangement - his instructions and toy box art depict Divebomb as the left arm, Rampage the right arm, Headstrong the left leg and Tantrum the right, while his cartoon and comic book appearances perform a straight swap of this.

Marvel Comics
On the planet Cybertron, some time before the departure of Optimus Prime and Megatron's crews and their subsequent four-million-year exile on Earth, the Dinobot-to-be Swoop went by the name "Divebomb," but when he was defeated in battle by an aerial Decepticon ace, the villainous victor claimed the name for his own - now, this Decepticon was Divebomb, and he eventually became a member of the Predacons. This particular piece of back story, however, would not be revealed until after the Predacons made their Marvel Comics debut, in the United Kingdom's exclusive Transformers comic, which interspliced its own unique material between reprints of the U.S. title. Here, the Predacons were summoned to Earth in 1987 and fitted with animal modes by Megatron in order to hunt Optimus Prime. Prime went against the Predacons alone (separated from the Autobots as part of a plan of his own to test their ability to function without him), using all his skill and ingenuity to survive, but as Megatron watched, the Predacons attacked him, having been ordered to do so by Megatron's rival for power, Shockwave. The Predacons then absconded, leaving Prime and Megatron to finish each other, but when Megatron transported them both to Cybertron, Shockwave dispatched the Predacons to find them. The team arrived back on Cybertron a little too late, as Megatron and Prime had returned to Earth, but an encounter with the Cybertron local Decepticon commander, Lord Straxus, had left Megatron with amnesia, unable to remember the Predacons' treachery.

The stage was set for the Predacons' appearance in the U.S. title, and appear they did, shortly after Optimus Prime perished in a virtual duel with Megatron. Megatron himself had begun to descend into paranoid insanity, and Shockwave summoned the Predacons back to Earth and had them pose as Autobots, planning to have them hunt Megatron as part of a scheme to once again seize command of the Decepticons from Megatron (the UK comic rewrote some of the dialogue in its reprint of this issue to make it appear to be the Predacons' second trip to Earth). The plan did not go smoothly, however, as Megatron defeated them all, even in their combined form of Predaking. Realizing that Shockwave was to blame, Megatron was about to kill him when he revealed that he had duplicated his mind to disc to guide the Predacons in their mission. Believing (accurately as it turned out) that this was how Optimus Prime had survived, Megatron apparently killed himself by blowing up the interdimensional spacebridge while standing on it. Shockwave was left as Decepticon commander, and the Predacons were absorbed into his Earth-based Decepticon army.

The U.K. title shone the spotlight on the Predacons again when they attacked a circus, and the news report covering it revealed to Swoop that his old foe Divebomb was now on Earth. Divebomb himself was growing disenchanted with the lack of challenges on Earth, so when Swoop ambushed him, he relished the chance to have a battle that tested him. Neither he nor Swoop, however, were particularly pleased when the other Predacons and Dinobots intruded on their private conflict, but when Grimlock almost killed Divebomb, Swoop stopped him and allowed the Predacons to go, so that when they next met, it would be on his terms.

The Predacons and Constructicons were soon dispatched to collect rocket fuel and raw materials with which the Constructicons converted the Decepticons' island base into a spaceship. Not long after, the government organization the Intelligence and Information Institute (I.I.I.) captured a group of Autobots called the Throttlebots. In response to intensive Predacons raids ordered by Shockwave, I.I.I. publicly threatened to destroy the Throttlebots as a perceived ultimatum. Not realizing that their captives were in fact enemies of the attacking robots, the I.I.I. were forced to destroy their bodies as planned. Decepticon co-commander and fuel auditor Ratbat led the Predacons on a mission to inspect the corpses. Discovering that the Throttlebots brain modules had been placed in toy cars by Triple I's sympathetic operate, Walter Barnett, the Predacons pursued them, demolishing a mall in the process.

Later, when the treacherous Decepticon Starscream manipulated Ratbat's Decepticons in fighting the forces of Scorponok, the Predacons were at the forefront of battle, with Rampage taking on Apeface while Tantrum was scrapped by Scorponok himself. But when Starscream's scheming resulted in his acquiring the cosmic power of the interstellar databank, the Underbase, the Predacons aided in the defense of Tokyo, but were among the legions of Transformers deactivated by the villain.

The Predacons remained deactivated for the remainder of the U.S. series, until it was rejuvenated as Transformers: Generation 2 a short time later. Although the Predacon toys were not re-released for the Generation 2 toyline, the characters were functional again for the comic book series - although that did not last long for some of them. Tantrum was destroyed in a head-on collision with Optimus Prime, while Razorclaw - attempting to kill Decepticon-turned-Autobot Manta Ray - was destroyed by his fellow defector, Leadfoot.

Animated series
"Like the untamed forces of nature, the Predacons are ferocious animal robots who lash out with fury. Swift, savage and always relying on animal instinct, the Predacons explode into action. There's Divebomb, the eagle who can spot a target from a mile up in the sky, Rampage, the tiger who can leap 500 feet, Headstrong, the rhino whose horn can puncture 8 feet of solid rock, Tantrum, the buffalo who loves to use brute force, and there's the Predacon commander, Razorclaw, whose claws can rip through steel. Together, they combine into a hair-trigger horror, the giant robot Predaking. As a warrior, Predaking has no equal. As a weapon, he has no known weaknesses. He can lift 500 tons without even straining a circuit. With the help of the Predacons, no planet is too wild or untamed for the Decepticons to conquer. The Autobots are forced to find new defenses against the mechanical menace, Predaking."

The Predacons made their debut in the year 2005, as the Decepticon/Quintesson alliance began its attack on the Autobots on both Earth and Cybertron. The Autobots Blurr and Wheelie and the human Marissa Faireborn are stranded on Io, one of Jupiter's moons while attempting to deliver the transformation cog that would allow the Autobot battle station, Metroplex, to fight and transform as needed. Communications officer Blaster attempts to contact Cybertron for reinforcements, revealing his allies' plight. The transmission is intercepted by the Quintessons, however, and upon learning the location of the cog, they dispatch the Predacons to Io to ensure it will not reach Earth. After an initially poor showing in their individual robot and animal modes, the team merges to form Predaking. They are confronted by the massive Autobot Sky Lynx and bested, leading to an enmity between the two.

The Predacons are in their element for their first mission in 2006, operating in the wilds of the planet Dredd, where they again battle Sky Lynx and several other Autobots. They are defeated when they are buried in an avalanche created by the planet's native Chaos monster. Later, they participate in the invasion of Paradron, with Divebomb pursuing escapee Sandstorm and Razorclaw co-ordinating the shooting down of the Autobot reinforcement vessel he returns with.

Later the Quintessons strike at the Transformers by animating the dreams of Daniel Witwicky. Having penetrated Cybertron's defenses for an unspecified mission, the Predacons attack Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus and Springer. Soon the whole group are attacked by monsters conjured from Daniel's subconscious. All on scene are forced to work together to survive. Razorclaw and Springer are captured by a dragon and are forced to team up to defeat the creature and escape, while the others face the threat of a giant Galvatron who injures Headstrong. With Daniel rescued, the damage sustained by Headstrong prevents the team from combining into Predaking, forcing them to flee.

While en route to Chaar at a later date, Predaking intercepts an unusual Quintesson signal and tracks it to a jungle planet, where the team comes upon a group of Autobots who have done the same and discovered an electronic journal recording Quintesson military transactions. The team merges into Predaking, who immediately targets Sky Lynx among the group, seeking revenge for his past defeats; Sky Lynx outmaneuvers the Decepticon, but, rather than best him in combat, has to get his fellow Autobots to safety. When the Decepticons then acquire the journal, Predaking is reluctant to retreat until having finished off Sky Lynx, but stands down in the face of Galvatron's wrath.

When the ancient genius Primacron unleashes his energy-absorbing creation, Tornedron, on the universe, Primacron's assistant seeks to foil his former mentor by amassing a team of "Primitives" - Transformers with animal instincts that can hopefully thwart Primacron's complexities. The Predacons are among the Transformers summoned from a battle on Earth's moon to a dead world at the center of the universe, where Tornedron confronts them. Refusing to run from him, the Predacons form Predaking and battle Tornedron, who takes the shape of a giant warrior, absorbing all energy Predaking throws at them until he has been drained of life. Of all the Primitives, only Grimlock survives, and is subsequently able to stop Tornedron and Primacron, restoring the Predacons and the others to life.

After participating in the Decepticon attack on Japan, the Predacons are among the Transformers infected when the madness-inducing Hate Plague sweeps the universe. The animosity bred by the plague does not prevent the Predacons from combining into Predaking and pursuing the uncontaminated Galvatron, however, only to be forced to retreat by a squad of uninfected Autobots led by Optimus Prime. When Prime subsequently releases the power of the Matrix, the plague is cured.

In English releases, the Predacons were voiced by Joe Leahy (Razorclaw), Laurie Faso (Divebomb, Rampage), Ron Feinberg (Headstrong), Philip L. Clarke (Tantrum) and Bud Davis (Predaking).

Transformers: Headmasters
The Predacons continued to put in short appearances in 1987's Japanese-exclusive spinoff series, Transformers: Headmasters, usually fighting alongside and against the other combiner teams in various battles.

Transformers: Zone
In 1990's Transformers: Zone, Predaking was one of the nine Decepticon generals in the service of the mysterious insectoid Violenjiger, and met his end when Autobot leader Dai Atlas cleaved his body in two (somewhat bizarrely revealing what appeared to be an organic brain within him).

Manga
In the Transformers Manga #5 Galvatron and his Decepticons attacked the Prime Energy Tower. Galvatron ordered the Decepticons to form Menasor, Devastator and Bruticus and attack. Rodimus Prime counted this move by ordering in Superion, Omega Supreme and Defensor. Galvatron then ordered in Predaking, knowing that Sky Lynx was elsewhere and couldn't counter them. Rodimus ordered the Omnibots to attack Predaking's legs. Tripping up the giant he fell into the other Decepticon giants, winning the day for the Autobots.

Dreamwave Productions
Dreamwave Productions' 21st century re-imagining of the Generation 1 universe had little time to focus on the Predacons before the company's closure.

With the exception of Tantrum, who made a brief appearance as part of Shockwave's attack on Iacon, the Predacons would not make an appearance in Dreamwave's Generation One Universe until late in the series. The five team members were once warlords on Cybertron who were cast into exile in space. Settling on Planet Beest, home of the Battle Beasts, the Predacons sank into a feral state and lived as inhabitants of that world for untold years, until Megatron arrived. Having been jettisoned into space by Starscream and restored from the brink of death by Wreck-Gar, Megatron now had his sights set on reclaiming the Decepticon leadership, and required the Predacons to bolster his army. Abandoning his personal weaponry, Megatron pursued Razorclaw through the jungle and soundly defeated him. Subsequently, he re-engineered the Predacons to give them the ability to combine into Predaking.

Taking the Predacons to Cybertron, Megatron put Shockwave in his service again while the Predacons dealt with his Triple Changer minions; Razorclaw was forced to destroy the resistant Blitzwing. The group then headed to Earth to deal with Starscream, where Predaking defeated Bruticus. The players were now all assembled... but Dreamwave's bankruptcy and cessation of publication left future stories of the Predacons untold.

Additionally, the Dreamwave universe visited the notion of "Predacons" being more than simply a sub-group, but an entire faction unto itself. After Megatron and Optimus Prime vanished in a spacebridge test 7.4 million years ago, the Autobots and Decepticons splintered into several smaller factions; Starscream established a faction named the Predacons. Whether or not Starscream intended any connection with the Predacon warlords, or whether or not that group predated his faction, is unknown. They first appeared when Grimlock's Lightning Strike Coalition stole a substantial amount of Energon from them. Later, they attacked a peace conference between the Autobots, Decepticons and Ultracons, hoping to eliminate the Autobot leadership. They succeeded in eliminating most of the Autobot High Council and gravely wounded Grimlock, but were stopped when the other three factions united to stop them. After Megatron's return with an army of Seeker clones the Predacons were reabsorbed into the Decepticons.

Devil's Due Publishing
The Predacons would return in the third Devil's Due Publishing crossover between G.I. Joe and the Transformers. Without Megatron or Shockwave's steadying influence, the Decepticons had fallen apart in a series of internecine conflicts. One such was the Predacons taking on the Seacons. Hunting Nautilator, the Predacons were unable to prevent him calling for backup - Piranacon. The Predacons merged into Predaking and defeated their foe. Preparing to finish him off, Predaking was interrupted by a strange, tiny figure: Serpentor, a human military cyborg built with Megatron's memories. Using these memories to convince both combiners to join him, they then participated (along with the Stunticons) in the ambush that killed Bumblebee. They were then Serpentor's principal weapon, along with Piranacon and Menasor, in the attack on Capital City, where the three of them defeated Omega Supreme. They were among the Decepticon reinforcements that countered the G.I. Joe/Autobot jailbreak. Rampage was taken out by Grimlock. Razorclaw and Motormaster were the ones who stopped Prime's attack on Serpentor, beating him to near death. They were then slain by the Cobra Commander-controlled Serpentor.

IDW Publishing
The Predacons made their first chronological appearance in issue #3 of The Transformers: Megatron Origin, where all five were seen as part of Megatron's group of gladiators and insurgents that would eventually become the Decepticons. A conversation between Razorclaw and Grimlock would reveal a rivalry between the future Predacons and the Dinobots.

They would receive a brief namecheck in The Transformers: Spotlight issue on Shockwave. When attacked by the Dynobots, Shockwave was surprised that it was they, and not Megatron or the Predacons, that had come. Shockwave listed them as one of Megatron's "tactical assault units."

The Predacons themselves appeared in The Transformers: Stormbringer, alerting Megatron on Earth to the reemergence of Thunderwing. Ordered by him to destroy Cybertron (and Thunderwing with it) if all else failed, the Predacons observed a futile effort by the Wreckers to hold Thunderwing back. Impressed by their bravery, Razorclaw sent two Decepticon teams to assist the beleaguered Wreckers. After Thunderwing was finally stopped by Optimus Prime, Razorclaw aborted the firing procedure to destroy Cybertron. Here, Divebomb was shown to transform into a Cybertronian jet, while Headstrong transformed into a treaded assault vehicle.

Beast Wars: The Gathering
The Predacons would also receive an unusual reference in IDW's Beast Wars: The Gathering mini-series. In Razorbeast's flashback to Magmatron's briefing in a Predacon chamber, symbols seeming to represent the beast modes of the original Predacons are displayed prominently, as well as a statue of what appears to be Divebomb, indicating a link between the original Predacons and their Beast Wars namesakes.

Transformers: Titanium
A 3-inch-tall non-transforming Predaking toy was released in the Transformers: Titanium line.

Transformers: Timelines
The 2006 BotCon tale would expand on the reference in the Gathering, indicating that not only did the Predacons have something to do with the founding of the faction, but that they had been working behind the scenes in order to advance their own cause. Divebomb is revealed to have been responsible for reformatting Laserbeak, Buzzsaw and Ravage into Predacons. He also ensures the success of Megatron's history-altering plan to steal the Golden Disc. Later, after Megatron's death at the end of Beast Machines, Razorclaw announces his intentions to actively lead the Predacons to victory once again. It is interesting to note that the Predacons' robot modes here resemble more organic versions of their original robot modes.

Toys

 * Generation 1 Predaking
 * A new mold.


 * Generation 1 Predaking Reissue
 * A reissue of the original G1 Predacons gift set by Takara Tomy to commemorate the Transformers 2010 series (season 3 of the original series) in Japan. The set was released in late november 2010.

Beast Wars
Predacons are a faction in the fictional Transformers universe created by Hasbro. Previously the name Predacon had been associated with the Transformer group which combined to form Predaking. The faction made their first appearance in the Beast Wars toyline and animated series, and have been represented in various Transformers animated series, comic books and toylines since. A Predacon is most commonly represented as a Decepticon descendant with a new smaller, more energy-efficient body. Though the Decepticons and Predacons share many similarities, several important differences exist, such as leadership and ideals (for example, choosing a pretense of peace with the Maximals rather than maintain a war at all costs). It is not completely known as to how the faction gained predominance over all the other various Decepticon factions, although the comic book miniseries Beast Wars: The Gathering has provided hints that their heritage may be found in the original combiner team Predacons, hints confirmed by the subsequent Timelines: Dawn of Futures Past, which confirmed that Razorclaw, Divebomb and the other Predacons had been working behind the scenes.

Due to the similarity in circumstances between Megatron, Ravage and the Tripredacus Council and Kurtz, Willard and the American's presence in Vietnam in the film Apocalypse Now the writers of Beast Wars used the classic line, "Terminate, with extreme prejudice" in the similar context.

Animated series
The Predacons first appeared in the animated series Beast Wars in a transwarp equipped ship known as the Darksyde. Megatron (named after the original Decepticon Megatron who became Galvatron), the leader of a small group of Predacons, stole the Golden Disk from Cybertron in an attempt to travel back in time and locate pre-historic Earth so that he might acquire a large amount of energon and destroy the Autobots before the Great War began, leading to history being re-written with the Decepticons as conquerors.

Megatron reveals as early as the second episode that though the Maximals and Predacons have been at peace for some time, the Predacons have merely been biding their time, waiting for right moment to begin a new war and reclaim Cybertron as their own. During a story arc called The Agenda a conversation between the members of the Tripredacus Council reveals Megatron is acting as a renegade, and though he plans ultimately what the Council intends to carry out itself, he is acting without their authority.

At first all Predacons had beast modes (usually reptiles, insects or arachnids) which made the link to the original Predacons simply that of name and appearance (that is, both had animal alternate modes). However, as time has passed it has been seen that Predacons are actually another faction, meaning they may have vehicle, or any other number of possible modes and the link to the original Predacons may be more than simply a name but in fact that these Cybertronians are the direct descendants of this Decepticon faction, later confirmed in the comics by IDW Publishing and Fun Publications. It is implied that not all Predacons are descended from the Decepticons, as Tarantulas claims that he and the Tripredacus Council have different origins.

In this series the Predacons used the activation code "Terrorize" to transform.

Ravage made an appearance during the series and though reformatted into a Predacon body still maintained a loyalty to the Decepticons as well as Starscream's Spark inhabiting Waspinators body.

Alignment
The BotCon tale Alignment, written by Simon Furman and following on from Transformers: Generation 2, would reveal the origins of the group as a splinter faction that had arisen after the death of Galvatron in battle with Optimus Prime. Seemingly even in the absence of an outright defeat this faction argued that a peace with the Autobots, then destroying them from within was the only way to win the war. Although the group was regarded as an annoyance, events beyond their control proved their way was the only way. The Liege Maximo and his second generation Transformers attacked the Decepticon homeworld, forcing a resurrected Megatron to destroy the world itself. The subsequent battle to destroy the Maximo cost them so many resources, as well as Megatron himself, that the Predacon solution became the only way that the Decepticons and their descendants could win. obtaining peace through the Pax Cybertronia, downsizing into smaller, more energy-efficient bodies and biding their time. However, this tale may not be canonical with the overall Transformers universes.

IDW Publishing
In IDW Publishing's Beast Wars: The Gathering miniseries it was revealed that many Predacons other than Megatron were dissatisfied with the slow wait for victory plotted by the council. One of these, the Predacon general Magmatron, managed to recruit a group of followers supporting his ideals. He led them to prehistoric earth, ostensibly to apprehend Megatron, but mainly to reprogram Maximal protoforms as Predacons to create an army.

It is revealed in the series that the Tripredacus Council have minimal influence on Cybertron, with the Maximal Council of Elders the leading body on the Transformer's home planet. Though Predacon representatives exist in a joint council the Predacons have little political power and Predacons are treated as second-class citizens, many not choosing to live on Cybertron. It is also hinted, through symbols seen in Magmatron's time-travel chamber, that the original Predacons were involved in the formation of the Beast Wars era Predacons.

Beast Wars II
The Predacons were led by Galvatron. As this show is not exactly canon with the first Beast Wars show, it is unclear whether Galvatron was a renegade like Megatron, or whether he was operating with the Council's tacit approval, but Galvatron also recruited his own army of followers, including his brother Megastorm. Unlike Megatron, Galvatron waged open warfare on the Maximals, clashing with Maximal commander Lio Convoy.

Beast Wars Neo
The Predacons were led by Magmatron after Galvatron's death. Again it is unclear whether Magmatron had gone rogue at this time, although if the events of The Gathering are set in continuity with Beast Wars Neo it is likely. Magmatron had a rivalry with Big Convoy and engaged in open warfare with his Maximals. However after Unicron was reborn Magmatron joined with the Maximals. After the Chaos-Bringer's defeat the Predacons and Maximals joined together to rebuild Cybertron.

Beast Machines
After the survivors of the Beast Wars returned to Cybertron, Megatron unleashed a plague on Cybertron, leaving only Optimus Primal, Cheetor, Rattrap and Blackarachnia functioning. While the Maximals were reformatted and so took on a new insignia, Megatron, disgusted with both Maximal and Predacon alike, created a new solely technological faction known as the Vehicons. Most Vehicon transformers are actually drones rather than sentient beings. Consequently, the Predacons did not make an appearance in Beast Machines (except for Waspinator and Megatron himself), though the Tripredacus Council and Predacons not on Cybertron may have existed elsewhere. However it is most likely that they were destroyed (or captured) as well (as indicated by Beast Machines editor Bob Skir on his FAQ page).

Transformers:Timelines
The 2006 BotCon comic would confirm what The Gathering had implied - that the original Predacons had a hand in the creation of the new faction. Apparently unhappy with the direction the Council was taking, Divebomb was responsible for reformatting Ravage, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw into new Predacon forms, although Ravage later left. Seeing an opportunity to rewrite history when Megatron's plans became apparent, Divebomb dispatched the two former cassettes to covertly assist him, ensuring they departed to Earth, Later, seemingly after the conclusion of Beast Machines, Divebomb reported to his true master - Razorclaw, who announced that it was time to take back Cybertron from the Maximals, seemingly indicating that Maximal and Predacon will clash again in the post-Beast Machines future.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise
Set in a Transformers universe unique to this series the Predacons were organiform (but not necessarily technorganic) transformers led by yet another incarnation of Megatron and used "terrorize" as their activation code. They were led to Earth by their universe's version of Megatron in a quest for power; in this case, they were in search of the Autobot battle station, Fortress Maximus, only to meet opposition in the form of a team of Autobots led by this universe's incarnation of Optimus Prime. Like his Beast Wars predecessor, this Megatron also kept his true goal hidden from his followers, dispatching them to acquire energy from Earth's natural resources while he used the mind and research of Doctor Kenneth Onishi to search for Fortress Maximus and the keys to his rebirth.

Megatron recovered the protoforms of six Autobots that had crashed to Earth some time before looking for Fortress Maximus. Scanning them with vehicle modes at a military base and infusing them with a fraction of his spark energy to ensure their new loyalty, the first five became the Commandos. But when Megatron tried to scan a tanker truck as an alternate mode for the leader Scourge, Optimus Prime was also scanned, resulting in much of Prime's personality being scanned as well. With an infusion of Megatron's spark energy to complete the concoction, Scourge was born, emerging from his pod as a dark twin of Optimus Prime, who proved that Megatron's programming had over-ridden any Autobot goodness within him. Appointed leader of the new "Decepticons", they quickly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with.

The newly created Decepticons would try many schemes over the course of the series, including attacking various dams and faking their defection to the Autobots. But their leader, Scourge, had grander ambitions in mind. The copy of Optimus' personality had been warped by Megatron's evil influence, but the individuality of Optimus remained and Scourge now wanted to control both Predacons and Decepticons. He would seize his chance when Fortress Maximus was awakened, directing him to destroy Galvatron. The attempt failed and Galvatron took a terrible revenge - he stripped the Decepticons of their individuality, turning them into little more than drones. After Galvatron was defeated by Omega Prime, the Decepticons and Predacons were captured and returned to Cybertron for trial and imprisonment, save for Sky-Byte, who renounced his Predacon values and, as such, he was allowed to stay behind on Earth, to live in the planet's oceans.

Although Megatron/Galvatron often appears to be the ultimate Predacon authority, it is revealed late in the Robots in Disguise show that he had been sent to Earth by a Predacon Council. The Predacon leadership hierarchy is unknown beyond this.

Transformers: Armada
2003’s Transformers: Armada introduced a first for the Predacon name—it was used not for a group, but for a single character.

When Predacon and his Mini-Cons were released their characters were somewhat of a mystery. No tech spec or biography was given in the box or on the official Transformers web site.

Dreamwave Productions
With no biography offered for the character on his packaging or on the company website, it was not until Dreamwave Productions created one that Predacon had any characterisation. Dreamwave’s profile for the character presented him as an unpopular member of the Decepticons due to his unnatural philosophy of blending synthetic organic tissue with Transformer bodies - with himself as a living example. Most Autobots and Decepticons view him as either a fanatic or a lunatic. Despite this he has some followers due to his charismatic oratory and leadership in battle, and attempts to convince more to join him through his rhetoric. The Dreamwave bio would attempt to give him a hint of mystery by noting that not even his most devoted followers knew his true motives and nature, but the comics would never touch on this.

The characters only appearance in fiction was in a flashback in Dreamwave's Armada sequel comic, Transformers: Energon, where Predacon was among the troops led into battle against the Autobots by Scorponok. He was seen working with Armada Terrorsaur, who also had a beast mode, so it's possible Terrorsaur was one of Predacon's followers.

Any possible other appearances were cancelled due to Dreamwave's bankruptcy and Hasbro's Transformers print license being transferred to IDW Publishing.

Toys

 * Armada Predacon with Side Burn and Skid-Z
 * Predacon is a redeco of the Beast Wars Transmetal Megatron toy, which was remolded with dead Mini-Con ports, and came packaged with the Mini-Cons Side Burn and Skid-Z (respectively recolors of Backtrack and Spiral).
 * Some bonus pack versions of Predacon came with the Armada Destructon Mini-Con team members Buzzsaw, Drill Bit and Dualor in addition to his normal 2 Mini-Cons.

Transformers Animated
The Predacons appear the Transformers Animated episode "Predacons Rising". The team consisted of two former Autobots Elita One and Wasp, who become Blackarachnia and "Waspinator".

Animated Series
In "Predacons Rising", Blackarachnia kidnaps Wasp and changes him into "Waspinator" resulting in a short-lived alliance When Waspinator betrays Blackarachnia, she attempts to destroy both him and herself. It turns out that she and Wasp survived, however Waspinator is heavily damaged while an undamaged Blackarachnia encounters a group of animals that reference several Maximals, the Beast Wars Predacons enemies. The two characters are not referred to as Predacons in the episode itself, only in the title.