Constructicons
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The Constructicons (known as Buildrons in Japan) are a group of fictional characters from the Transformers universe. They were perhaps the most popular of the early Transformers toys due to their unique ability (at the time) to merge into a far larger robot—Devastator.
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[edit] Transformers: Generation 1
The Constructicons, so named for their group job of design, engineering and construction for the Decepticon forces, are particularly notable for their status as the very first combining sub-group of Transformers, able to merge their bodies and minds together to form the gigantic Devastator (Devastar in Japan). The individual members of the team include:
- Scrapper (Construction Engineer) - the leader of the Constructicons (although not Devastator's torso), is a master designer who conceives the myriad structures the Constructicons assemble. Although he's genuinely modest about his work, he's prone to bragging amongst his fellow Constructicons. He transforms into a wheeled front-load shovel and forms the right leg of Devastator. As indicated by a cut line from the original script of the Constructicons' debut animated episode, Scrapper was originally to be named Gravedigger'.
- Bonecrusher (Demolitions) is a brawler by nature and specializes in demolitions work. Under this vicious personality is an underlying motive; he is a perfectionist at heart and wishes to destroy all he deems imperfect, including the Autobots. He would enjoy the extra potential for destruction as Devastator if it didn't mean sharing the same mind space as his fellow Constructicons. He transforms into a bulldozer, and forms Devastator's left arm. Bonecrusher was also in the 2007 live action version of Transformers.
- Scavenger (Mining and Salvage) is an unashamedly pathetic Decepticon. Desperate to prove his worth to his team-mates, he uses his one true gift - his shovel's ability to detect various magnetic, ionic, electrical or gas readings - to locate items of value, although invariably, all he can usually find is junk. He transforms into an excavator, and the right arm of Devastator. Originally to be named Scrounge, this became a derogatory nickname for him from the other Constructicons and Decepticons.
- Mixmaster (Materials Fabrication) might have a few chips loose in his logic center, judging by the cackling with which he undertakes his role of materials fabrication. Although manic and erratic by nature, he is a genius of a chemist, able to mix chemicals in the drum of his concrete mixer alternate mode. (He has also been known to insert solid objects—such as cars—into his mixing drum in order to turn out new building materials.) He forms Devastator's left leg.
- Hook (Warnocker in Japan) (Surgical Engineer) is the team's perfectionist second-in-command, who considers himself far too elite to deal with most of the "ruffians" that call themselves Decepticons. He is excellent at performing tasks which require extreme precision (including surgical operations), but the time he takes to perfect his work and his arrogance are his weaknesses. He transforms into a crane, and forms the head and shoulders of Devastator.
- Long Haul (Transport) is not fond of his role as transport, ferrying construction materials to and from on a Constructicon building site, and although he accepts its importance, he would much rather be a full-time warrior. He transforms into a dump truck and forms Devastator's lower torso. In a children's coloring book, Long Haul is once mistakenly referred to by Scrapper's early name, Gravedigger.
The team's combined form of Devastator is brutality in its purest form—his sole purpose is to destroy anything and everything that gets in his way. It is ironic that the suitably intelligent Constructicons should sacrifice their thinking ability in their combined form, but simple-mindedness is a common limitation of the assorted other first-generation combining Transformers, because Devastator's thoughts and actions are limited to what his six components can agree upon at any given time. Consequently, Devastator seems like a being of instinct, lashing out at everything around him before contemplating the consequences, but he is also slow and lumbering and very easy to trip up. It should also be noted that Devastator is comprised of 6 individual robots, compared to most other combiner teams who had 5 components (the exceptions being Monstructor and Piranacon). The only contradiction to Devastator's lack of a display of intelligence is in The Core, when his components' minds were temporarily controlled by the Autobots. He was able to detach the portion of himself made by Hook and complete a complex surgical procedure on Jazz (which put even Ratchet's skills to shame). When the surgery was complete, Hook returned to Devastator's combined form as if the whole operation was performed by the Autobot-controlled Devastator.
[edit] Animated series
According to the Autobot, Omega Supreme, millions of years ago, the Constructicons were the creators of the beautiful Crystal City on the Transformers' homeworld of Cybertron, which he was assigned the task of guarding. As a friend of the Constructicons, he was hurt the most when they were attacked by Megatron, who, seeking to bolster the forces of his then-small army, subjected the Constructicons to the Robo-Smasher, a device which reprogrammed their minds and turned them into Decepticons. In their first act as Megatron's troops, the Constructicons lured Omega away from Crystal City and demolished it, enraging Omega, who pursued the Constructicons across the planet. Eventually, he succeeded in capturing them and apparently restored their programming to its original state, but as the group returned to rebuild Crystal City, Omega learned that Megatron's reprogramming could never be undone—the Constructicons were still Decepticons, and more than that, Megatron had given them a new power: the ability to combine their bodies and minds into the giant known as Devastator. In the ensuing struggle with Devastator, the Robo-Smasher attacked Omega's mind. He was able to stop it before the reprogramming was complete, only to wind up losing his emotions. Filled with only hatred for the Constructicons, Omega relentlessly pursued them, until they finally fled Cybertron in a spacecraft, which Omega chased across the galaxy.
In 1984, the Constructicons joined with Megatron's forces on Earth, and their first mission was an impressive one - Scrapper designed a machine to transfer the other Decepticons' powers to Megatron, and while he battled Optimus Prime, holding the attention of the Autobots, the Constructicons invaded the Ark to destroy Teletraan I. Unfortunately for them, the Ark was protected by the Dinobots, but by merging into Devastator, they became more than a match for their prehistoric foes. The return of the other Autobots and the discovery of Megatron's deception spelled the end of the battle, however, as Hound distracted Devastator with a gigantic hologram, and Optimus Prime blasted the giant at just the right spot to force the Constructicons to disengage. They and the other Decepticons were then forced into a river of lava.
The Constructicons survived the river of lava along with the other Decepticons and continued to assist in Megatron’s plans of conquest. In the year 2005, Devastator was the Decepticons' primary weapon in the Battle of Autobot City, tearing through the defenses and walls of the city and battling the Dinobots once more. On the return trip to Cybertron, it was Bonecrusher who advocated the "survival of the fittest" policy that saw many wounded Decepticons ejected from the shuttle, among them Megatron, prompting Scrapper to nominate the Constructicons for the new leaders of the Decepticons. Hook took great offense to the notion that the unpopular Soundwave would make a better leader than they would, leading to a mass brawl to decide who would be Decepticon leader. Later, on Cybertron, the Constructicons were blowing trumpets during Starscream's coronation but were cut off due to Starscream's impatience.
In the remainder of 2005 and throughout 2006, the Constructions maintained a smaller, but still present, role in the Decepticon army, lending their talents to the Decepticon/Quintesson alliance by constructing Trypticon out of a populated human city in only one night. Later, they built a planetary engine on an asteroid and battled on the planet Eurythma, aided in the overthrow of Paradron and took part in an attack on Japan. Although brief, the Constructicons even played a part in the battle for the Plasma Energy Chamber in 2007.
The Constructicons' voices were performed by Michael Bell (Scrapper), Neil Ross (Hook, Bonecrusher), Gregg Berger (Long Haul), Frank Welker (Mixmaster), Don Messick (Scavenger) and Arthur Burghardt (Devastator). The individual Constructicons are six of only nine characters to have appeared in all four seasons of the Transformers animated series (the others being Optimus Prime, Bumblebee/Goldbug, and Spike Witwicky), and they would continue to make brief, token appearances throughout the Japanese-exclusive Transformers: Headmasters series. Later, in the single episode of 1990's Japanese Transformers: Zone series, Devastator was among the nine Decepticon Generals assembled by the villainous Violenjiger. The veteran Decepticon was almost immediately defeated in this series, entombed beneath the earth by a river of magma unleashed by Dai Atlas. It's unclear if Devastator was killed or only incapacitated, due to fact that the Constructicons already survived magma's effects in "Heavy Metal War."
One of the most frequent animation errors concerning Devastator is that at some points he has a visor covering his eyes: at others the eyes themselves are visible. This was due to his full-figure profile on the animation model sheet being drawn with eyes, while the close-up head profile showed the visor. Another inconsistency involves the color of Mixmaster's mixing drum, usually seen in purple on Devastator. This is due to toy models (as seen in the 1985 Transformers product catalog) showing the drum as green on vehicular-mode Mixmaster, but in a soft gray (unique only to this unreleased version of Mixmaster) on a combined Devastator.
[edit] Conflicting origins & Load Hauler
The original Transformers animated series is infamous for its slip-ups regarding the Constructicons, presenting at least three apparently-contradictory stories that give different origins for the group. In their debut episode, the Season One finale, Heavy Metal War, Megatron professes that the Constructicons were built on Earth. Yet, in the Season Two episode, The Secret of Omega Supreme, the secret history of the eponymous character and the Constructicons comes out, which reveals their past on Cybertron together, where the Constructicons were formerly not Decepticons, though they still showed the Decepticon insignia, but were turned to evil by Megatron. Scrapper also makes a comment in The Master Builders that he admired the buildings of the Autobot Grapple on Cybertron, indicating a past there.
Interestingly, the official bible to the series originally describes the Constructicons as having "no explained origin." Presumably, this encouraged David Wise, the writer of The Secret of Omega Supreme, to give the characters an explained origin, unaware that it conflicted with the one-line reference to their being built on Earth from Heavy Metal War. Nevertheless, it is not impossible to reconcile these two stories, if one simply assumes that when Megatron said the Constructicons were "built," he was referring to their new Earth bodies after their arrival from Cybertron (ironically, The Secret of Omega Supreme neglected to give the Constructicons redesigned Cybertronian modes, making it appear as if they always turned into Earthly construction vehicles). That said, one would have to assume that the Constructicons did not have their existing bodies modified, but had entirely new structures created, due to their ability to function and even form Devastator when the other Transformers on Earth were suffering from Cybertonium degeneration in Desertion of the Dinobots.
The third contradiction emerges in the third season, with the episode Five Faces of Darkness, Part Four, in which Rodimus Prime witnesses Megatron's creation in a flashback, and the animation shows the Constructicons surrounding him, implying that they were responsible for building him, which contradicts The Secret of Omega Supreme's claim that they were not originally Decepticons. There are two ways of rationalizing this:
- The Constructicons were not evil when they constructed Megatron. Megatron was either accidentally created evil or later became evil. He then later corrupted the Constructicons, as depicted in The Secret of Omega Supreme. And then later, he rebuilt them on earth.
- The scene is a mistake. Five Faces of Darkness is notorious for its flawed animation, and it is entirely probable that these characters were not intended to be the actual Constructicons, but rather either characters who resembled them, or generic robots (that could have been referenced to as some sort of creator or constructor) that the animators simply used the Constructicons' model sheets to fill the roles of. In strong indication of this is the fact that there are eight Constructicons displayed, rather than six.
The presence of a larger than usual number of Constructicons in the Five Faces of Darkness scene was referenced somewhat by the release of Load Hauler, a Constructicon-colored repaint of the Autobot, Grapple, released exclusively by online retailer E-Hobby in 2003. His biography presents him to have once been a member of the Constructicons, before they were Decepticons, who joined up with the Autobots after Megatron co-opted his team-mates with the Robo-Smasher, and accompanied Optimus Prime's crew aboard the Ark. This in itself is a reference to the anomalous character of Hauler, an Autobot clearly based on the Grapple toy who features in the first animated series episode, but never appears again. Orange in his animated appearance, Load Hauler's bio explains this color discrepancy by presenting Load Hauler as a "highly capricious self-expressionist," who frequently changes his coloration.
[edit] Marvel Comics
The origins of the Constructions in Marvel Comics' Transformers series was not nearly so complicated. Seeking to bolster the size of his forces on Earth in 1985, Decepticon Commander Shockwave arranged for the construction of six new Decepticon bodies, which were then infused with life by the power of the Creation Matrix, tapped from the head of the imprisoned Optimus Prime. Thus, the Constructicons were born, and were immediately put to work building a massive radio transmission dish that Soundwave used to beam a message to Cybertron. When the Autobots attempted to interfere, the Constructicons revealed their hidden power and merged into Devastator to fight them off, allowing the message to successfully go through.
The Autobots, intrigued by Devastator's unique combining power, attempting to replicate it with the construction of Omega Supreme. But as Omega was composed of only three (non-sentient) components, unlike the six Constructicons that made up Devastator, the Autobots conducted a raid on the Decepticon base, luring out Devastator so that they could gather data on him. This allowed them to accomplish the construction of the new combiner team, the Aerialbots, capable of forming Superion, whom Devastator battled during the Transformers' adventure alongside G.I. Joe.
Although the United Kingdom's exclusive Transformers comic series shone the spotlight on the Constructicons when they were charged with hunting down Buster Witwicky, and again when the time-travelling Galvatron co-opted their services to build a gigantic laser cannon, the team's special talents were not required in the US title again until they and the Predacons stole large amounts of rocket fuel and raw materials, with which the Constructicons rebuilt the Decepticons' mobile island headquarters as a spaceship. With the entire Earth-based Decepticon army aboard the ship, under the command of Ratbat, they attacked an Autobot congregation on the moon, and while the battle raged, the Constructicons penetrated the Ark and recovered the deactivated bodies of several Decepticons defeated in an earlier clash with Omega Supreme.
Although the Constructicons did not appear again in the US Transformers title, they were not among the Transformers deactivated by the Underbase-empowered Starscream, and briefly appeared as part of the Autobot-Decepticon Alliance, both in group shots and as part of their last stand against Jhiaxus' forces. In the alternate future universe of 2008 featured in the UK Transformers comic, Mixmaster was briefly indicated to have ascended to leadership of the Constructicons. (This had, in fact, already been implied in the present day UK story "Second Generation", in which Mixmaster is seen viewing the transmissions from Buster Witwicky's mind alongside Shockwave and Soundwave.)
[edit] Action Master Devastator & the New Constructicons
In 1990, the final year of the Transformers toyline in the US, an Action Master figure of Devastator was released, with a transforming partner named Scorpulator. Two years later, in 1992, the Constructicons' toys were re-released (exclusive to Europe), now in a yellow, purple and grey color scheme, with no individual names for the individual toys and lacking the additional pieces that allowed their original releases to combine into Devastator. A story published in issue 264 of the UK's Transformers comic is often cited as an attempt to explain both releases, but since the "new" Constructicons wouldn't be released for another two years, the only toy the story could actually be based upon would be the Action Master version of Devastator. In the story, it was revealed that that the Constructicons had lost the ability to combine and were attempting to rebuild Devastator as a singular, separate entity. The Autobots Ironhide and Bumblebee arrived on the island to investigate, and Ironhide was able to bypass the security grid and plant explosives to destroy the site, and Devastator with it.
[edit] Fun Publications
Based on the Transformers Classics toy line, the Timelines 2007 story is set 15 years after the end of the Marvel Comics story (ignoring all events of the Marvel UK and Transformers: Generation 2 comics). Megatron survived the crash of the Ark on Earth, reformatted himself into a new form and now leads Ramjet, Skywarp, Soundwave, Starscream and the Constructicons. Optimus Prime has also returned to Earth commanding Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Grimlock, Jetfire, Mirage and Rodimus (formerly Hot Rod).
When the Cybertronians Skyfall and Landquake arrive on Earth unexpectedly Megatron attempts to destroy them, but Optimus Prime and his Autobots are able to drive Megatron away.
[edit] Dreamwave Productions
In Dreamwave Productions's 21st Century re-imagining of the Generation One universe, it was revealed gradually that the Constructicons were responsible for pioneering the Combining process through a series of experiments on themselves, thus creating Devastator. The plans to Devastator's combining process were eventually stolen by the Autobots and refined, resulting in Superion as a counter. This in turn led to more Special Teams being built by both sides.
In the initial Transformers: The War Within series, the Constructicons were responsible for activating Cybertron's planetary engines, under the command of Megatron eight million years ago. When Megatron disappeared into the depths of the planet fighting Optimus Prime, Starscream temporarily took command and had Scrapper prepare a process for the resurfacing of Cybertron, which would transform it into a mobile war-world. Scrapper cautioned against such an action, but Starscream ignored him, and prevented him from stopping it when the process was underway. 1.5 million years later, when Megatron and Optimus Prime were thought to have died in an early test of the Space Bridge transport system, and the Autobots and Decepticons splintered into several smaller factions, the Constructicons broke the treaty that had downgraded the combining teams to non-combat status by siding with Ratbat's Ultracons and battling Defensor. The various War Within series showed that the Constructicons' alternate modes were the Cybertronian variants of their Earth designs.
It is apparent that the Constructicons were not aboard the Ark when it crashed on Earth four million years ago, but they did eventually find their way to Earth and joined Megatron's forces there after they awoke in 1984. All the Transformers were rendered inactive in the explosion of the Ark II in 1999, but when they reactivated in 2001, Devastator was the main weapon in Megatron's attack on San Francisco. Rampaging through the city, he battled and defeated Superion, but was defeated by Optimus Prime through a point-blank blast to the face, which toppled the giant. His remains were recovered by the Earth Defense Command, and dissected and studied in their underground base. The ultimate fate of Devastator was not revealed, however, as a result of Dreamwave's closure.
[edit] iBooks Trilogy
The Constructicons also featured prominently in the iBooks trilogy set in the Dreamwave universe. Siding with Starscream after Megatron's disappearance, Devastator acted as Starscream's muscle, destroying Sideswipe at one point, and helping his new leader to take over Las Vegas. When Megatron returned, Devastator helped Starscream to force him into submission, but subsequent battles against the Keepers, a powerful race of aliens responsible for Megatron's disappearance, left the Constructicons unable to separate from their combined form. Eventually Devastator was taken out for good when Megatron's reprogrammed Omega Sentinel, turned good by exposure to the Matrix, sacrificed both itself and Devastator to close the Keepers' warp gate. Later, Devastator's body was found floating in space by the humans—setting up the events seen in Dreamwave's Generation One ongoing series.
[edit] Devil's Due Publishing
The Constructicons would also put in an appearance in the pages of Devil's Due Publishing's G.I Joe vs the Transformers crossover. They were seen as part of the force of Transformers under the control of the terrorist organization Cobra and were used for labor on the Cobra Island base. However, when they broke free they began to manufacture energon cubes for Megatron. When the Autobots and G.I Joe attacked the Constructicons merged to form Devastator and killed Hound. He was then mobbed and taken down by Wheeljack, Bumblebee and various members of G.I Joe. Unlike many of the other Transformers, the Constructicons were not reformatted into Cobra vehicles.
[edit] IDW Publishing
After Dreamwave's bankruptcy, IDW Publishing was awarded the Transformers comic book license. In their rebooted Generation One universe, the Constructicons would first be seen in The Transformers: Megatron Origin prequel miniseries. Set long before the Transformers arrived on earth, they possess Cybertronian modes very similar to the designs used in the War Within series. The Constructicons are tasked with building the gladiatorial stadiums in which Megatron and others battle. According to The Transformers: Spotlight issue featuring Optimus Prime, the only Transformers gestalt is currently Monstructor, meaning the Constructicons cannot combine into Devastator yet, but the series is ongoing.
Although the actual Constructicons have yet to appear in the "present day" ongoing storyline, Spotlight Ramjet introduced the Mini-Constructicons, robotic bubble headed helpers to Ramjet in the colors of the actual Constructicons. These had become infected by human radio transmissions, causing them to talk like rappers. Two were killed by Ramjet after they asked for a reward. Ramjet also talked of Micro-Constructicons, nanobots that would be used to subjugate Earth by injection into human bloodstreams - but Ramjet was killed by Megatron before this could go any further.
[edit] Transformers: Generation 2
When the Transformers: Generation 2 toy line began a few years later, the Constructicons were again released in a yellow and purple color scheme, this time all over the world, and including the combining pieces (although for their sparing appearances in Marvel's Generation 2 comic, they retained their original green and purple appearances). Rare orange and purple variants were also released and sold in Walgreen's stores. While these Constructicons were included with elements allowing them to form Devastator, various connection points and launchers were sealed and made inactive (such as the missile launcher found in the rear of Mixmaster's drum and the purple boxes that made up Devastator's lower arms). Such changes made their transformations more difficult than their bright green predecessors. (This is probably due to Hasbro using the modified British Constructicon tooling for the Generation 2 variants.)
Despite Generation 2's usage of the yellow and orange Constructicons, a pair of "Construction Green" Decepticons were released in 1995. These two were called Auto-Rollers. (Autobot military vehicles named after Optimus Prime and Hound were planned, but never released.) The Auto-Rollers (which transformed by rolling forward into robot mode, and reversely into vehicle mode -- once a safety switch was released) were named Roadblock and Dirtbag, and due to their forms as green construction vehicles (Roadblock a dump truck; Dirtbag a scoop loader), both were considered by fans to be "honorary Constructicons"[citation needed].
Following the same logic, seeing as they are green construction vehicles with no other connection to the Constructicons whatsoever, some fans have declared Crush-Bull and Mixing from the 1992 Japanese Micromaster combiner Sixbuilder to be "honorary Constructicons". The other four aren't, though - they're the wrong colour and so cannot possibly be "honorary Constructicons".
[edit] Transformers: Robots in Disguise
The 2001 series, Transformers: Robots in Disguise, featured the Build Team (Build Masters)—four Autobot construction vehicles that could combine to form Landfill (Build King). Their toys would later be recolored as the G1 Constructicons (see below).
[edit] Transformers: Armada
Though technically not classified as a Constructicon, the Constructicons would be reborn in Transformers Armada in the form of Scavenger (Devastor, in Japan - the Japanese name of Devastator). In addition to being named after one of the G1 Constructicons, he sported their familiar green and blue color scheme. The most striking difference between Scavenger and his G1 counterpart was the fact that he was an Autobot.
This was not initially apparent, however, as Scavenger made his first appearance in the show as a bounty hunter, offering his services to Megatron. He confronted Hot Shot in a battle after the young warrior had acquired the Star Saber. It seemed that Scavenger was a dangerous rogue who was in alliance with the Decepticons, but this was called into question when he later saved Hot Shot from being destroyed by the Decepticons. The truth was finally revealed, and it turned out that Scavenger was, in fact, actually spying on the Decepticons.
Scavenger was known for his harsh personality, which was contrasted by his tendency to sleep when off-duty. He trained the Armada incarnation of Optimus Prime, as well as Blurr and (over the course of the series), Hot Shot. Scavenger transformed into a bulldozer, and his Mini-Con partner was named Rollbar.In a flashback, Scavenger is seen fighting alongside Optimus Prime, wielding G1 Devastator's solar energy rifle. (Optimus is using his familiar Generation 1 rifle also.)
He did not re-appear in Transformers Energon. However, he was recolored as Treadbolt, another character in that line. (In the Energon comic—a continuation of Armada's series—Treadbolt was illustrated and addressed as a version of Scavenger, repainted/upgraded during the 10-year story gap.)
Bonecrusher appeared in the series as well, but this character is different from his G1 counterpart, as he is a Mini-Con and transforms into a gold battle truck.
[edit] Transformers: Energon
In Transformers: Energon, a combining team of five robots similar to the Constructicons exists, who form the giant robot known as Constructicon Maximus (Buildron in Japan). The animated series does not refer to any of the components by name - in it, only the central body is intelligent, and the limbs are drones. The five robots transform only from vehicle mode into combined mode, never into their individual robot forms (apart from one out-of-continuity episode). The team consists of:
- Steamhammer (Scavenger in Japan), the leader of the team who forms the central body of Constructicon Maximus. His toy's bio presents him as dark and stoic, with a primary function in communication and espionage, a job that he performs well due to his ability to jam transmissions and his talent for breaking codes. Although he is a powerful warrior who can literally flatten his enemies in his excavator alternate mode, he actually prefers to avoid getting involved in combat. Steamhammer's toy bio is ignored for the animated series.
- Bonecrusher - Scoop Loader
- Duststorm (Glen in Japan, the Japanese name for Hook) - Crane
- Sledge (Scrapper in Japan) - Scoop Loader
- Wideload (Long Haul in Japan) - Crane
[edit] Animated series
Constructicon Maximus was one of four combining Transformers sealed away in stasis beneath the surface of Cybertron to guard a hidden reservoir of Super Energon. Megatron, guided by Unicron, set out to search for it, and destroyed one of the immobile robots in his rage, only for the reservoir to then reveal itself. As the guardians awakened, Megatron immersed himself in the Super Energon to upgade himself into Galvatron, and Constructicon Maximus and Bruticus Maximus immediately swore fealty to Galvatron as the one who had awoken them. However, their "brother," Superion Maximus, refused, recognising Galvatron's evil and siding with the Autobots.
Constructicon Maximus added plenty of firepower to the Decepticons' side, and he and Bruticus Maximus had several clashes with the "traitorous" Superion Maximus, until the time for their final battle came, set against the backdrop of the struggle to stop the Unicron-possessed Galvatron out in space. Constructicon Maximus was deactivated by Superion Maximus, who then had his limbs destroyed by Bruticus Maximus, but transferred Constructicon Maximus's limbs to himself and used them to defeat Bruticus, along with a little help from the ghost of the "brother" Megatron had destroyed. Constructicon Maximus was voiced by Don Brown.
[edit] Toys
The name "Steamhammer" was later recycled as the name of a Mini-Con in Transformers Cybertron. Also, another homage to the original Constructicons was seen when Demolishor was reformatted into a new form by Megatron. His new alternate mode was that of a massive dump truck colored bright green in the style of the original Constructicons.
The molds of Constructicon Maximus have been reissued as a Wal-Mart Exclusive gift set sometime late 2006/2007 under the Classics Line. The combined form is be named Constructicon Devastator for trademark reasons, and the individual names are Duststorm, Wideload, Bonecrusher, Sledge, Divebomb and Steamhammer. It will be in a bright green and purple deco similar to the original G1 Constructicons.
[edit] Transformers Animated
The Constructicons appear in the Transformers: Animated. Composed of Mixmaster (Jeff Bennett) & Scrapper (Tom Kenny), they are Construction vehicles brought to life by Allspark fragments. Unlike the classic versions, the Constructions don't combine and are not offical Decepticons, though bribed into their service. Their personalities resemble that of New York construction workers, complete with Brooklyn accents. Unlike the original versions, they have yellow and black color schemes.
[edit] Animated Series
In their first appearance, "Rise of The Constructicons", the Constructicons initially befriend Bulkhead, but are later hired by Megatron after his Decepticons tricked the two into helping them steal supplies to construct a Space Bridge. After drinking contaminated oil provided by Bulkhead, the two lost all their memories of the previous events.
They return in "Sari, No One's Home", following a trail of oil spilled by Bumblebee to the Autobot's base. They are eventually scared off by Sari, and run into Blitzwing, who offers them Decepticon oil, and tells them "There's more where that came from."
[edit] Transformers: Universe
In 1992, a combining Autobot Transformer named SixBuilder was released exclusively in Japan, comprised of six Autobot Micromasters, who, by coincidence or design, shared alternate modes with the six original Constructicons. When this figure was reissued in 2003, a chase Destron (Decepticon) variant was available in a green and purple color scheme intended to evoke the Constructicons. Eventually, the individual components were released in the USA in 2004 as part of the multi-universe-spanning Transformers: Universe toy line, exclusively available from KB Toys stores, with improved paint applications to even closer match the original Constructicons' colors.
Released under the group name of the Constructicons once again, the team's combined form was named Constructicon Devastator, and its members included:
- Buckethead (payloader, formerly Gran Arm in Japan)
- Quickmix (concrete mixer, formerly Mixing)
- Hightower (truck crane, formerly Iron Lift)
- Scavenger (steam shovel, formerly Digger)
- Bonecrusher (bulldozer, formerly Crush-Bull)
- Long Haul (dump truck, formerly Treader)
In Europe, the Micromaster Constructicons were released in Energon rather than in Universe packaging.
As Hasbro had lost the rights to the names Scrapper, Mixmaster and Hook, the above substitutions were applied, respectively. While "Buckethead" is a new Transformers name, "Quickmix" was the name of a 1988 Autobot concrete mixer, and "Hightower" the name of a 2001 Autobot crane. The individual pieces required to combine the figures together (fists, feet, chestpiece, etc) can be linked together to form a jet that the figures can pilot.
In addition, a redeco of the Build Team, a quartet of construction vehicles from the Transformers: Robots in Disguise series, was released in 2006 in the form of two Target exclusive two-packs, namely Bonecrusher/Scavenger and Long Haul/Hightower. These four also have the ability to combine into Devastator (just as the Build Team could combine into Landfill), and the change of "Hook" to "Hightower" is consistent with this release as well.
With this set, Wedge, Heavy Load, Grimlock, and Hightower become Bonecrusher, Long Haul, Scavenger, and Hightower.
[edit] Transformers: The Game
Scrapper and Mixmaster names returned again for 2 transformable battle droids. Scrapper becomes a forklift and Mixmaster remains a cement mixer truck. All this because of the results from the poll for name the Transformers from official game website.
[edit] Other media
Devastator appears in the Robot Chicken episode, "Dragon Nuts." He is one of the robots who falls ill and is kicked far by Optimus Prime.
Bonecrusher and Devastator appear as two separate characters in the 2007 Transformers movie. They are both Decepticons loyal to Megatron, with Bonecrusher's alternate mode being a Buffalo mine-clearing vehicle with a larger front claw and Devastator's alternate mode being a tank based on the M1 Abrams (similar in appearance to G2 Megatron's alt-mode). In the end, they are both destroyed by the Autobots. However, the use of the name "Devastator" was incorrect, as the character is referred to in all other media (toys, video games, etc.) as Brawl and is clearly modeled after his G1 namesake.
