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Predaking
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Predaking is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. Transformers: Generation 1 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. Components The Predacons Predaking consists of are: * Razorclaw Predacon Leader He transforms into a lion. He forms the head, massive torso and 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 Gunner 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 Aerial Assault 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 Fueler 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 Ground Assault 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. 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. Animated series 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. 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. 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. 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. Toys * Generation 1 Predaking (1986) :A new mold. 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. * Generation 1 Predaking Reissue (2010) :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. * Titanium Predaking :A 3-inch-tall non-transforming Predaking toy was released in the Transformers: Titanium line. Kre-O Transformers Predaking is part brick, part four different jungle animals. A creature of instinct, there's almost nothing he likes more than the hunt. Almost, because the only thing he enjoys more is catching his prey and then messing with them by putting their legs on backwards and watching them run around. He especially hates Trailcutter, because Trailcutter cares about nature and Predaking doesn't. Sometimes he is also known as Predicus. Toys *Kre-O Transformers Predaking w/ Razorclaw, Torox, Headlock, and Divebomb Kreons :One of the first Kreon Microchanger combiner sets. The four component Kreons can be rebuilt into their alternate modes. They can also be rebuilt into Predaking by taking them apart and combining their pieces. Transformers: Prime Predaking appears in the 3rd season of Transformers: Prime entitled "Beast Hunters". In this incarnation, he resembles a Cybertronian dragon and was bred in Shockwave's laboratory and cloned from fossilized remains. He was the first Predacon cloned in present day and is the leader of the Predacons, according to the toyline. He did not transform into robot mode or spoke outside of animal-like sounds until the episode "Evolution". Though the other Decepticons had believed he was an unintelligent creature, especially Starscream, Predaking had shown signs of intelligence when he was able to memorize how to bypass the Nemesis's satellite's security measures by watching Starscream operate the device. Animated series Originally referred to as the Predacon, Predaking is formerly introduced when Shockwave brings him to Earth in "Prey." After explaining Predaking's origins to Megatron and a shocked Starscream, Shockwave sends Predaking to hunt down Wheeljack when he escapes capture by the Decepticons. This leads Predaking to confront Wheeljack when he regroups with Bulkhead and Miko (who mistakes him for a dragon, much to the Autobots' confusion) and chases them relentlessly until they are saved by Ultra Magnus's ship. Wounded from the resulting aerial combat, Predaking returns to Megatron's fortress with Shockwave tending to his wounds while growling at Starscream's insults towards him. In "Rebellion", Predaking is unleashed again as he is tricked into a Space Bridge to the arctic where he freezes before freeing himself in "Chain of Command" and returns to the Nemesis with Starscream placed as his keeper. Starscream tries to get Predaking to go into his kennel and ends up nearly burned. Starscream tries to use the Apex Armor to get Predaking back into the ship which doesn't go well, with Predaking humorously beating Starscream around like a chew toy. Starscream is then ordered by Megatron to lead Predaking to one of the Decepticon excavation sites when the Vehicons there haven't reported back. Predaking attacks Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and Ultra Magnus at the excavation site. While Miko climbs to safety, Ultra Magnus, Bulkhead, and Wheeljack fight Predaking until an attempt by Wheeljack to bomb him goes horribly awry. Predaking escapes out of the rubble and finds a sphere that is a Predacon fragment, which he brings to Starscream after experiencing a suppressed memory. Megatron then orders Starscream into having Predaking bring him the Predacon fossil while Starscream deals with the Autobots. Predaking then leaves to deliver the Predacon fossil to Megatron. In "Plus One," Predaking had damaged the communication system where Knock Out was unable to get through to Megatron on getting a Ground Bridge for him. While Starscream attempts to repair the damage, Predaking watches intently quickly learning how the Decepticon computers work. Predaking is then seen accessing some controls on the deck of the ship to look into the Project Predacon files, revealing his growing sentience. In "Evolution," Predaking arrives in Shockwave's laboratory without being summoned, and Starscream tries to use a rod to get Predaking back in line. Predaking transforms and then tells Starscream that if he strikes him again, he will bury that rod in his spark. Predaking then moves towards the Predacon tubes, while Megatron questions Shockwave about Predaking's abilities. Shockwave reasons that the Predacons must have been capable of transformation, but that no records existed to indicate the ability. Predaking explains his gradual realization of his abilities, and how he has started to wonder about his past. Megatron considers Predaking a unique Predacon experiment. On the Nemesis, Predaking petitions Megatron to allow him to lead the Predacons as Predaking. While meeting with the other Decepticons, Megatron fears that Predaking will have the Predacons eradicate the Decepticons and plans to eradicate them first. Allowing the Autobots to discover the lab's location, the Decepticons then inform Predaking of the intrusion, and he leaves to defend his brethren. Following the destruction of Shockwave's lab, Predaking attacks Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus in a rage. The two of them do a combination attack on Predaking. Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack even try collapsing a large stalactite on Predaking which doesn't work. Predaking defeats Wheeljack, crushes Ultra Magnus' right hand, and breaks the Forge of Solus Prime. Optimus Prime arrives in the nick of time, stunning Predaking before getting Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack away. Predaking later visits Megatron who tells him that the Autobots will pay for what they did to the Predacons. In "Minus One," Predaking states to Megatron that he should resurrect the Predacons from the fossils for the ones that were destroyed were a squadron. Megatron later has Predaking head to Antarctica to attack the Autobots in his beast mode. Optimus Prime fights Predaking while the other Autobots keep the Decepticons from securing the target technology. Predaking manages to knock Optimus Prime out of the sky. In "Persuasion," Predaking lands near Optimus Prime and transforms in order to finish him off. Optimus Prime gets up and continues to fight Predaking. Predaking reveals his name to Optimus Prime and states that he will never bow to him. After Predaking knocks Optimus Prime down, Megatron contacts Predaking that their objective is at risk and to secure it. Predaking enters the building and escapes with Shockwave and the technology. When Ratchet is brought onto the ship, Predaking speaks against this only for Megatron to tell him that he will have Ratchet when Cybertron is restored. In "Synthesis," Megatron throws Ratchet to Predaking after Ratchet had served his purpose of perfecting the Synthetic Energon formula. Predaking begins his attack on Ratchet on the roof of the Nemesis. When Ratchet is beaten down, he states to Predaking that Megatron had the clones that were made by Shockwave destroyed and that he didn't know that the Predacon clones were being made. Ratchet claims to Predaking that Megatron fears him. Predaking then turns his attention towards Megatron while Ratchet makes contact with Optimus Prime. Predaking then confronts Megatron about the extermination of the Predacon clones. Megatron confirms that he was indeed responsible for ordering the annihilation of Predaking's brethren and regrets not exterminating Predaking himself. This results in a battle between Megatron and Predaking; Predaking proves to be more than a match for Megatron with his sheer power and quickly gets the upper hand and is about to finish Megatron off, but Starscream shoots Predaking in the back, greatly wounding him. Megatron opens an airlock while he is wounded and shoots Predaking out of the Nemesis. In the final episode "Deadlock", Predaking is shown to have stayed latched on to the Nemesis. He witnesses Cybertron's restoration and leaves to go live on his newly restored homeworld. Predaking will return for the finale movie "Predacons Rising". Toys * Prime: Beast Hunters Cyberverse Commander Predaking w/ Cybervenom Rocket (2013) * Prime: Beast Hunters Cyberverse Commander Predaking (Predacons Rising) (2013, coming soon) * Prime: Beast Hunters Voyager Class Predaking w/ Hydrafire Blasters (2013): New Voyager Class figure which shares similar orange and black coloration to his G1 counterpart. Can attach missile launchers to dragon mode to form a third hydra mode slightly similar to Cybertron Scourge. * Prime: Beast Hunters Voyager Class Cryofire Predaking (2013, coming soon): A blue recolor of Voyager Class Predaking, possibly a homage to Cryotek. * Prime: Beast Hunters Cyberverse Commander Predaking (Predacons Rising) (2013, coming soon): Recolor of Cyberverse Commander Predaking, homage to "Robots in Disguise Megatron/Gigatron". * Prime: Beast Hunters Ultimate Class Beast-Fire Predaking (2013): New, giant sized figure with 3 foot long wingspan. 
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