Straxus
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Lord Straxus is a fictional character from the Marvel Transformers comics. He is not part of the toyline or the animated series. His name may have been taken from Russian strakh = "fear".
Straxus was the Decepticon governor of a province of Cybertron known as Polyhex. There in his fortress known as Darkmount he operated a giant smelting pool where the Decepticons melted down captured Autobots and Empties (the closest thing to Transformers civilians, a group of old battered and discarded robots who eke out a living in a slum known as Dead End), and used the metal to produce new Decepticons.
In robot mode Straxus wields an axe-like weapon which is engulfed in energy when used in combat. He is not shown to possess any ranged weapons in robot mode, but a single blow from his axe can cut several Transformers in half, and so he is a formidable opponent in mêlée combat. Straxus transforms into a large flying cannon; in this mode his firepower seems to rival both Megatron and Shockwave and he can knock out large groups of enemies with a single shot.
Straxus was eventually killed by Blaster. When the over-confident Straxus charged at him with his axe, Blaster dodged out of the way and gave him a kick in the rear. Straxus then stumbled into a region of unstable trans-dimensional space on an unstable space-bridge and was completely disintegrated.
In the UK continuity, Straxus' head was preserved following his fight with Blaster, and he continued to lead the Cybertronian Decepticons in a reduced capacity (literally, as he had no body). When Megatron temporarily returned to Cybertron, Straxus had a device constructed which allowed him to transfer his mind into Megatron's body. This exacerbated Megatron's existing mental problems, giving him something of a split personality. It seemed, though, that he was able to suppress Straxus.
In issue 99 Marvel U.K. Transformers comic, a story called Under Fire has Optimus Prime arrived on Cybertron, only to be captured by Ultra Magnus. Thanks to misinformation fed to the Autobots by Megatron, they believed this Optimus Prime to be an imposter and Decepticon spy. Ultra Magnus was about to have Optimus Prime executed by Springer, Roadbuster and Twin Twist when Outback intervened and freed Optimus. Ratbat reported the escape to Megatron, who was goaded for his failure by the head of Lord Straxus. Megatron then ordered Octane to have the Decepticons hunt down Optimus and leak word that the Decepticons were hunting down their failed spy. Ultra Magnus and three Guardian Units hunted down Optimus and Outback. Although Optimus defeated two of the Guardian Units, they nearly killed Outback during the fight.
Straxus was not finished yet. Unbeknownst to all, Straxus had a copy of Megatron's body created by rebuilding a regular trooper in case his plan to possess the real Megatron failed. This Megatron, with a copy of Straxus buried in its mind, was sent to Earth over the spacebridge and buried in London. However, it was activated too soon by an attack by G.I Joe, Grimlock and the Mechanoid Centurion, and was dumped in the Thames while fighting Centurion. Retrieved by Richard Branson and stolen by the Decepticons he was taken to Shockwave, who believed he was the genuine article and wished to use him to battle Galvatron, who posed a threat to Shockwave's leadership. After exposing him to a psycho probe that restored his sanity by killing Straxus' personality, he was sent to battle Galvatron. However, instead of killing him he teamed up with him and participated in the Time Wars. Disgusted by his future self's insanity, he journeyed to Cybertron with Ravage and killed the local Decepticon commanders. But the real Megatron, displaced by a spacebridge explosion soon arrived, believing a Straxus-controlled Megatron to be too great a threat. The two battled, with the truth coming out as Straxus' personality tried to take control of the copy once again. Desperate not to become Straxus, the copy then killed itself, ending the menace of Lord Straxus.
Straxus would make a cameo appearance in the Generation 2 comic as well.In an issue 3 flashback, Jhiaxus talks of the Decepticons abandoning Cybertron, leaving only petty tyrants behind. One of these tyrants, although not named, is clearly Straxus.
[edit] External links
- The Transformers Archives synopsis of issue #17 & #18 of the Marvel Transformers comics from 1986
- List of Transformers comic issues featuring Lord Straxus
