The name or term "Bludgeon" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Bludgeon (disambiguation).

Bludgeon is a Decepticon Pretender from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Bludgeon is a ferocious warrior, skilled in the ancient Cybertronian martial art of Metallikato. He and his blade can cut through the battlefield as if everyone else is operating at a minimal speed setting. Bludgeon's feats in battle seem nearly supernatural, which is probably the effect he's going for, if he doesn't believe his own hype. Utterly vicious and aloof, Bludgeon is also highly religious, adhering to an arcane code of honor. Though his beliefs fuel his single-minded bloodthirstiness with dogmatic precision, they also cause him to be rather superstitious.

Bludgeon's confidence, skill, and grand words have often catapulted him to the upper ranks of the Decepticons. Who wouldn't fall in line behind him? He's charismatic! The Mayhem Attack Squad is his usual host of cronies, but he's also been known to fill in as Decepticon leader if a power vacuum presents itself.

Bludgeon is (obviously) a Pretender who has adopted a shell which takes the appearance of a skeletal samurai. His signature weapon is an energo-sword, though he also carries a shield and a high-voltage electric cannon. In accordance with his martial arts motif, generators in his shell's legs can create disorienting clouds of smoke, and he can generate electric fireballs from the torso of either his body or his shell.^[1]

Sometimes Bludgeon combines with some of the members of the Mayhem Attack Squad to form Thunder Mayhem.

Contents 1 Fiction 1.1 Marvel Comics continuity 1.1.1 Marvel The Transformers comics 1.1.1.1 Marvel UK future timelines 1.1.1.2 Earthforce 1.1.1.3 Another Time & Place 1.1.2 Marvel Generation 2 comic 1.1.3 Fleetway Generation 2 comic 1.1.4 Classics 1.1.5 Regeneration One 1.1.6 Transformers '84 1.2 Dreamwave Generation One continuity 1.3 Dreamwave Armada continuity 1.3.1 Ask Vector Prime 1.3.2 Dreamwave Armada comic 1.4 G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers 1.5 2005 IDW continuity 1.6 Mini Mayhem! 1.7 A Tale of the Pretenders 1.8 Kre-O online manga 1.9 Kre-O bio 1.10 Transformers vs. G.I. Joe 1.11 Of Masters and Mayhem 1.12 Precursor World 1.13 Prime Wars Trilogy marketing material 1.14 2019 IDW continuity 2 Games 2.1 Transformers Legends 2.2 Angry Birds Transformers 2.3 Transformers: Earth Wars 2.4 Transformers Online (2017 video game) 2.5 Transformers: Forged to Fight 2.6 Transformers: Bumblebee Overdrive 3 Toys 3.1 The Transformers 3.2 Revenge of the Fallen 3.3 Kre-O 3.4 Combiner Wars 3.5 Power of the Primes 3.6 Legacy 4 Merchandise 4.1 First 4 Figures 4.2 G.I. Joe and the Transformers 4.3 Transformers Trading Card Game 4.4 e-HOBBY 4.4.1 Transformers Character Card 4.4.2 Rubber strap series 4.5 ULTIMATES! 4.6 Flame Toys 5 Notes 5.1 Foreign names 6 References

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

When Decepticons Catilla and Carnivac defected to the Autobots, a new Mayhem Attack Squad was formed which included Bludgeon, his Pretender cohorts Stranglehold and Octopunch, Needlenose, Spinister, and Snarler. After a solid light simulation of a mission in Slaughter City, their prey was authorized—they would hunt down and kill Catilla, Carnivac, and their new Wrecker friends. The Hunting Party They found Carnivac outside Dallas, Texas, and Bludgeon, promising him a warrior's death, led the charge. Way of the Warrior However, Carnivac managed to draw first blood, injuring Bludgeon's shoulder. The confrontation was then interrupted by the National Guard, and Carnivac escaped Bludgeon and the other Mayhems while they were distracted by the new arrivals. Survival Run After dealing with the fleshlings, the Decepticons tracked Carnivac down to Los Gravos, Mexico. Spinister was about to deal the killing blow, when Catilla rescued him. However, Bludgeon threw his sword into Catilla, killing Carnivac's savior. As the rest of the Autobots arrived, Bludgeon ordered a withdrawal. Carnivac swore that Bludgeon and the other Mayhems would pay for killing his friend. A Savage Place!

He later took on the leadership of Thunderwing's new Mayhem Attack Squad, sent to slay the newly resurrected Jazz, Bumblebee, and Grimlock. Alongside the Rescue Patrol, the Classic Pretenders were due to be teleported to Earth, an operation Bludgeon attempted to interrupt by shoving his blade through the transportation machine. Instead, he and the Mayhems were transported with the Autobots to the center of Cybertron. Yesterday's Heroes! Here, the Mayhems found the Autobots being told the story of Cybertron's origins by the Keeper. Despite being on holy ground, Bludgeon and his compatriots attacked, with Bludgeon gaining the upper hand against Jazz until Bumblebee managed to sneak up on him. Bludgeon was lured into a nearby canal, where Seawatch grappled him and hoisted him away with his boat mode. In his absence, the battle inadvertently awakened the slumbering Primus. Ultimately, the transportation was completed, and the Mayhems were sent to Earth along with the Autobots, The Primal Scream where they told Scorponok of Unicron's coming and joined his Decepticons on Earth. When Optimus Prime surrendered his Autobots to Scorponok in order to facilitate an alliance against Unicron, Bludgeon helped the other Decepticons imprison the surrendered Autobots. Surrender!

Bludgeon fought on Scorponok's side during the subsequent Decepticon Civil War ...All This and Civil War 2 and was transported with all of them to Cybertron by Primus. Primus (speaking through the body of Emirate Xaaron) told them of the history between himself and Unicron, while Bludgeon cleaned his sword. He was there also to quell the sudden Unicron cultist uprising, remarking that to a master of Metallikato, their moves were like slow motion. The Void! When Unicron himself arrived, though, the superstitious Bludgeon ran like hell. On the Edge of Extinction! Thankfully, Optimus Prime's sacrifice saved them all, and Bludgeon was there standing over Prime's body with a few others as he died. The Autobot/Decepticon alliance that emerged was shaky and the Decepticons leaderless, so Bludgeon and Krok discussed a plan of their own. Still Life!

Tensions came to a head when Blaster discovered that Cybertron was tearing itself apart in the aftermath of the Transformers' victory against Unicron. While Bludgeon openly kept the peace (like keeping Fangry in line at meetings), he and Krok began to worry that some of the Decepticons were in favour of peaceful alliance and plotted to break it up. New Autobot leader Grimlock almost gave them an opening by beating the tar out of Fangry, until Prowl stopped the fight; Bludgeon quickly exploited the situation anyway, demanding the full details of the Autobots' plans.

Now knowing they intended to start anew on another planet and live in peace, he sabotaged the Autobot ships and assumed command of the Decepticons. He gave the troops a rousing speech, condemning the Autobot plan as weak and advocating a return to conquest as was the Decepticon way. Having risen from the ranks to light their darkest hour, he was cheered on by the Decepticons. Exodus!

With his Decepticons eager for conquest, Bludgeon randomly selected the planet of Klo as their first target. A Savage Circle The peaceful inhabitants of Klo were easily (and violently) subdued, and Bludgeon thought this planet did not meet the challenges befitting their warrior race. In turn, Krok pleased him with news that their ships were bugged and that they should be expecting the Autobots to be arriving soon. The Last Autobot?

Indeed, when the Autobots arrived, Bludgeon's Decepticons were ready for them, luring them into an ambush—only five Autobots escaped their purge, and Bludgeon sent a small hunting party after them. Ultimate victory was snatched from Bludgeon only by divine intervention. The Last Autobot arrived with a resurrected Optimus Prime and the Neo-Knights. Bludgeon rejected this development on religious grounds; the Last Autobot, according to his beliefs, was the Ultimate Warrior, who was bent on conquest. He ordered his troops to attack the "unbelievers". Ultimately, the Decepticons were defeated. The Last Autobot was able to revive the fallen Autobots at will, and Bludgeon was forced to admit defeat and withdraw. As he and the Decepticons retreated, he promised a "solitary exile" to the Autobots—while saying that they were fleeing to fight another day to his subordinates. End of the Road!

Marvel UK future timelines

In an alternate 1990, Hot Rod was captured by the Decepticons and freed by an agent placed within their ranks. Megatron accused Bludgeon of being the culprit, and Bludgeon demanded the chance to prove himself through Trial by Combat. He was released and chased by Octopunch, Stranglehold and Warmonger. Bludgeon easily dispatched the former two but was caught from behind by Warmonger, who couldn't bring himself to kill in cold blood. Realizing who the infiltrator was, Megatron destroyed Warmonger, then reflected that it would have simply been easier to kill all four of them. Aspects of Evil!

Earthforce

Following Catilla's death, the Mayhems set up a base on a deserted island, where Needlenose decided to test their response time in an emergency. Enraged, Bludgeon threatened to tear him apart, but was stopped by Snarler. As Needlenose returned to his quarters, he was ambushed by Carnivac, who had snuck in during the chaos caused by his "drill". His calls for help were ignored by Snarler and Bludgeon, who thought that their comrade was once more lying about the emergency. Cry Wolf! Carnivac decided to pick off Bludgeon next, finding him meditating. Bludgeon sensed him coming and took him on, and the other Mayhems responded to the commotion. Bludgeon wanted to finish this traitor with his blade as well, but Spinister decided to end it summarily by slagging Carnivac with his blaster instead. Wolf in the Fold! Angry at losing his kill, Bludgeon was pleased to find Earthforce attacking them, in an attempt to rescue Carnivac. He and his fellow Pretenders were defeated, outnumbered by the Autobots. But before they could be executed, a shell-less Carnivac appeared and told the Autobots to spare them, denying them a warrior's death. Where Wolf?

Captives of Earthforce, Bludgeon and his Pretender partners were held in a cell together. To get free, Bludgeon arranged a most subtle escape attempt with his cellmates. At first, they all remained completely silent for an extended period of time, partly to unnerve their guard, Inferno, but also to give Bludgeon time to make mental contact with his katana, locked away in the property vault. Once he found the weapon and began summoning it back to him through the hallways, Bludgeon signaled Stranglehold to begin pounding frantically on the floor. This sudden activity spooked Inferno into opening the cell door to pacify the prisoner, only to wind up with a floating sword in his backside. The Pretenders then simply walked out over his leaking body. Shut Up!

Afterwards, Bludgeon and the others hooked up with Megatron and Shockwave, the deposed leaders of the Decepticons, and took on a bounty to assassinate their betrayers, Starscream and Soundwave. Assassins Though the Pretenders were only meant to eliminate whichever of their targets had survived an orchestrated battle between the pair, they found both Starscream and Soundwave functional upon their arrival. Unperturbed, Bludgeon and his teammates surmised that they could ask to be paid double for the hit once it had been completed. External Forces! The assassins outnumbered their prey, but they hadn't counted on the Autobots intervening on Starscream's behalf. It seemed the Dinobot Snarl was dying, and could only be saved by a systems boost from a compatible Transformer, namely Starscream. Swoop and Sludge joined the fight on Starscream's side, and the Mayhems were defeated. The Lesser Evil!

Another Time & Place

After the defeat on Klo, Bludgeon decided the Decepticons needed some "old blood" back in charge. He traveled to Earth and retrieved the deactivated body of Megatron from the wreckage of the Ark. Then, he seized upon an opportunity to follow Grimlock and the Dinobots to Hydrus Four, the source of the miraculous energy known as Nucleon which had supercharged the Dinobot commander. Slipping ahead of the Dinobots as they made their way to the medical facility, Bludgeon and his Decepticons set up a Holocaust Trigger to trap the Dinobots, disabling them without firing a shot. Unfortunately for Bludgeon, he ignored Fangry's cries of "Let's just kill them already!" and instead planned on keeping Grimlock and the Dinobots alive long enough for them to witness the triumphant resurrection of Megatron. That didn't mean, however, that he kept his fellow Decepticons from aggressively torturing their fallen captives.

In a matter of hours, a full scale Autobot strike force had tracked the Dinobots down to Hydrus Four and assaulted Bludgeon's position. Fearing his rag-tag team of Decepticons wouldn't be enough, Bludgeon accelerated Megatron's revival, sending the half-mad, half-living monstrosity at Optimus Prime. He had no time to gloat, though—the heavily injured Dinobot known as Swoop had dragged himself to the control module for one of the medical machines in the area, setting its spidery arms to work on Bludgeon, disassembling him in seconds down to his core components.

Bludgeon didn't even have time to scream. Another Time & Place

Marvel Generation 2 comic

Optimus Prime considered Bludgeon a defeated threat. When the Empire was discovered, he considered if "Bludgeon had lied about his plans" but decided that this was too advanced an operation. War Without End!

Turns out Prime was dumb as what Bludgeon had actually meant by "solitary exile" was "build a slag-off big planet-like spacecraft called the Warworld and attack vessels for their cargo across the galaxy". Old Evils He also battled Optimus Prime and the Autobots over a store of ancient alien weapons, but an alien entity drove him off. Ghosts After that, he went back to stealing resources—and finished the construction of a new generation of Decepticon warriors, who just needed the Matrix to come back to life. That meant luring Prime to him... Old Evils

To lure Prime out, Bludgeon launched a full-scale attack on Earth and did succeed in drawing Optimus Prime to Earth's defense, but not before Bludgeon was confronted by the newly rebuilt Megatron, who wanted command of the Decepticons for himself once more. Tales of Earth Part One Bludgeon destroyed Megatron's gun with one swipe of his blade, but neglected to realize how enhanced the new Megatron was—the former Decepticon leader ripped Bludgeon's Pretender skull off with one hand. Undaunted, Bludgeon proclaimed himself an agent of chaos and transformed into his little-used tank mode to confront Megatron on his own terms. He briefly drove back Megatron, but ultimately the Decepticons' founder proved to be too much for their current leader, and his new railgun destroyed Bludgeon utterly. Tales of Earth Part Two

The victorious Decepticon leader subsequently displayed Bludgeon's severed head in the Warworld, though he did muse that he might have spared Bludgeon's life if he'd known how much the guy had achieved and envisioned with limited time and resources. The Gathering Darkness Later on, the Decepticons would try not to say the word "bludgeon" around Megatron (even with the "to hit things" meaning) just in case it annoyed him. New Dawn

Fleetway Generation 2 comic

Intending to draw out Autobots to Earth and steal the Matrix to bring a new generation of Decepticons to life, Bludgeon attacked Earth in force—specifically London. Unfortunately for him, the Autobots were already there, and attacked just as his troops were low on fuel. Bludgeon fought Optimus in direct combat and lost. War Without End When Megatron turned up afterwards to fight Optimus, Bludgeon's men actually attacked Megatron just in case it was Bludgeon he was stomping: Rage bluntly said that the Pretender was their boss, not the old guy.

Bludgeon sneaked away War Zone to try exactly the same tactic again. Tales of Earth Part One—and learned if at first you don't succeed, Try #2 will get you killed by Megatron. Tales of Earth Part Two

Classics

Optimus Prime was reluctant to prolong the war by following Bludgeon and his followers across the galaxy, but Grimlock was more than happy to. Grimlock, Ultra Magnus, and a crew of others searched and fought Bludgeon's Decepticons in the fringes of known space, but to no known resolution. At some point the mysterious Decepticon, Bug Bite, joined Bludgeon's Decepticons, and Bludgeon put him in charge of his own subgroup. Games of Deception

As Bludgeon became aware of Megatron's re-emergence, he began to prepare his forces to repel an attempted coup by the former Decepticon leader. Bludgeon and his Sub-Commander Snaptrap were readying their battleplans when Darkwing brought to his attention their plans may have been compromised from within. They apparently identified the traitor working for Megatron, Hun-Gurrr of the Terrorcons, and so Bludgeon confronted him with the Seacons. A fight broke out between Abominus and Piranacon as a result, but Bludgeon's loyal gestalt won, and so they returned to battle preparation. In the war room, Bludgeon became so intent on watching for Megatron's next move on the monitors that he failed to notice Seawing removing his sword. Only after the Seacons had formed Piranacon again did Bludgeon finally realize he had miscalculated. Piranacon's mass compression cannon destroyed the Pretender completely, leaving room for Megatron to swoop in and claim full leadership of the Decepticons. At Fight's End

Regeneration One

Bludgeon felt his warrior's honor was deeply tarnished on Klo, when he faltered and retreated instead of fighting to his death. The various conquests and victories the Decepticons achieved since then did nothing to remove that stain. Deep in meditation, Bludgeon received a vision of his own glorious death at the hands of a worthy opponent back on Cybertron, and he began plotting to bring this future about. Destiny, Part Three

Twenty years after the defeat at Klo, the Autobots unaware of his location, Bludgeon was finally ready to take his revenge. He contacted Soundwave at the secret Fort Scyk base, revealing he had agents on Cybertron and even in the Neo-Decepticons, and requested Soundwave retrieve a valuable resource for him in exchange for aid against the Autobots. Loose Ends, Part 1 The moment came when Optimus Prime and many of his warriors were occupied on Earth. Soundwave contacted Bludgeon as his men eliminated another bio-mechanical species on Torkulon, telling him to expect delivery soon. Loose Ends, Part 3

Soundwave successfully retrieved the Matrix-infused remains of Lord Thunderwing, the "spark" Bludgeon needed to bring life to his Blitz Engines—adaptable, self-regenerating war machines of tremendous power. Natural Selection, Part Three The spark was lit, and Bludgeon and Soundwave observed a successful field test of the Engines' power on Cresta Superior. Destiny, Part One Soundwave returned to Cybertron and used his Neo-Decepticons to orchestrate the total blinding of Cybertron's long-range sensors, allowing Bludgeon and the Warworld to come within striking distance unnoticed. Destiny, Part Two

As the siege began, Bludgeon dropped Blitz Engine troopers all over Cybertron, devastating Autobot defensive measures. The Warworld was transmitting Matrix-energy to power the Engines' sparks, and so it needed to be close to the assault, but Bludgeon initially refrained from bringing the Warworld's more awe-inspiring weapons to activation. Something needed to be left of Cybertron to rule, after all. Still, at his troops' encouragement, Bludgeon agreed to a symbolic strike. Hacking the Autobot surveillance feed, he made them watch as the Warworld's city-killer armaments were brought down on top of a single target: Ultra Magnus. (Miraculously, Magnus survived by using the body of Galvatron as a super-dense shield.) Destiny, Part Four

Bludgeon sent his soldiers to join the Neo-Decepticon forces on the ground, but remained on board the Warworld in anticipation of his final battle. He easily dispatched the Wreckers commando unit sent to disable the Thunderwing link to the Blitz Engines, and was prepared to deliver the killing stroke to Kup when his fated opponent arrived: Rodimus Prime, freshly empowered by an alternate Creation Matrix and ascended to the name of Prime. Unimpressed at first, Bludgeon learned otherwise when Rodimus Prime caught his blade in mid-strike. The battle after that was swift but certain, as Rodimus threw Bludgeon out of the Warworld, letting him hurtle uncontrollably into the planet's surface below. Less Than Zero Destiny, Part Five

Adding insult to horrible, horrible injury, Rodimus found Bludgeon's still smoldering frame after the battle. Bludgeon lived, barely, and insisted Rodimus finish the job. Instead, Rodimus Prime refused to grant Bludgeon his "glorious death", and ordered Autobot medics to make sure Bludgeon survived to suffer the ignominy of imprisonment. The War to End All Wars, Part 1 His imprisonment probably didn't last long as he was most likely turned into a shadow-leech along with nearly every other Decepticon, presumably an even more ignominious end. The War to End All Wars, Part 5

Transformers '84

When Straxus took over leadership of the Decepticons, he greatly increased their efforts to eliminate every surviving Autobot on the planet. Bludgeon was at the forefront of one of these brutal purges. Secrets & Lies #3

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

During the so-called Dark Ages of the Autobot-Decepticon conflict, Bludgeon, alongside Bugly and Mindwipe, formed the Chaos Trinity, a group that sought to harness the dark forces of the universe and use them to their advantage. During one of their ceremonies in the Orbital Torus State of Kalis, they were interrupted by the mysterious being known as The Fallen, who applauded their amateur theatrics while mocking the lack of substance behind their words. He offered them power beyond measure in exchange for their servitude, a proposal that Bludgeon at first boldly refused, then agreed to once The Fallen changed the term for which they would be referred to. The Fallen tasked his new "disciples" with capturing a number of Transformers in order to perform a bizarre ceremony called The Unbinding in Cybertron's core. Fragmentation Soon, Bludgeon began to chafe at being ordered around without any tangible reward, so The Fallen gave him a glimpse of the dark power, ensuring the Decepticon's loyalty. While the Wreckers and Ultracons busied themselves with their civil war, unaware of the events unfolding, Bludgeon formulated a strategy to capture two of their targets: the Trinity would exploit Grimlock's twisted sense of justice and have him deliver himself and Jetfire into their trap. Escalation

When Jetfire met with Shockwave in the Neutral Territories to discuss their suspicions about an outside force influencing the current conflict, the Trinity sprung their trap, attacking the Decepticon Commander. Bludgeon declared that once he would have never dared face Shockwave in battle, but he had been given new insights into the dark science and his ability to see the bigger picture, the latter no longer stood a chance. Once Shockwave was taken care of, the Trinity captured Jetfire, but noticed that Grimlock hadn't taken the bait of Jetfire's supposed treachery. As they prepared to leave, Grimlock jumped them, forcing The Fallen to step in. Revelation

With two of the targets secured, The Fallen ordered the Trinity to capture Hot Spot, leader of the Protectobots, while he would take care of the fourth target personally. In the ruins of Iacon, while the Protectobots were discussing their problems with maintaining their control while combined as Defensor, Bludgeon and the Trinity attacked, taking down the other Protectobots with ease and capturing Hot Spot. Confrontation

While The Fallen used the four prisoners to unlock the Seal of Primus, Bludgeon and the others were forced to defend the access shaft to the underground chamber against the Decepticons. Though Bludgeon stood resolute, ordering his comrades to fight on, with the faith that they would be rewarded for their loyal service, his resolve soon crumbled when the Autobots and the Lightning Strike Coalition joined forces with Shockwave and eliminated Bugly and Mindwipe. Bludgeon escaped underground to seek his master, only to be gunned down by a teleporting Skywarp. Conflagration

At some point, Bludgeon in his Pretender shell faced off against Banzai-Tron in presumably training or a tournament. This moment was recorded into Vector Sigma. More than Meets the Eye #8

Dreamwave Armada continuity

Ask Vector Prime

In a universe ultimately destroyed by Unicron, Bludgeon joined Galvatron's team of Heralds of Unicron to serve the Ultimate Warrior. Ask Vector Prime, 19/09/2015

Dreamwave Armada comic

Bludgeon, Galvatron, Dirge, Thunderwing, and Scourge were sent to prepare this universe's Cybertron for Unicron's arrival, starting with capturing the Decepticon Command Headquarters. Worlds Collide, Part 1 of 4 After the group had activated all the space bridges in the space bridge nexus in order to destabilize local space-time, Bludgeon was left to guard the nexus while the other three went to Earth. Worlds Collide, Part 2 of 4 He attacked Jetfire's unit when they arrived to investigate and put up a formidable assault (as Dropshot could attest), though the Autobots eventually realized the secret to his technique and forced him to retreat, leaving behind his Pretender shell. Worlds Collide, Part 3 of 4 He returned when Jetfire attempted to use the space-bridge portal, but like the rest of the Heralds was shortly blown up when the Autobot detonated the entire base. Worlds Collide, Part 4 of 4

G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers

Eons ago, when Optimus Prime was given the Matrix of Leadership, Bludgeon attempted to kill him, but failed.

Along with the Pretender Monsters, Bludgeon traveled to Earth, seeking to be present at the planet's destruction by Unicron. The group was shot down by the Chinese Air Force, however, and damaged in the process. An alliance with the underground kingdom of Cobra-La provided them with life-sustaining Pretender shells in exchange for protecting the kingdom. He was responsible for the death of Atomic Man in 1978, when the Adventure Team came snooping too close to Cobra-La's hidden lair in the caves beneath Tibet. Black Horizon, Part 1 of 2

Decades later, Bludgeon engaged Optimus Prime in battle as the Autobot attempted to infiltrate Cobra-La's caves. After being burned by Bludgeon, Optimus ripped the chest from Bludgeon's Pretender shell. In his anger, Bludgeon lost his edge and fell off a cliff. Although Optimus had caught him, Bludgeon chose to fall, standing by his philosophy of "merciless death and destruction." Black Horizon, Part 2 of 2

2005 IDW continuity

First appearance: Transformers: Stormbringer #1

In the earliest days of the war, Bludgeon was ordered by Megatron to capture Alpha Trion so that the Decepticons could use him to find Metroplex. To this end, he kidnapped Ratchet and organized a hostage exchange in the Rust Spot, knowing that the Autobots would have to use Alpha Trion to find their way through the area. The plan worked up until that point, but Alpha Trion escaped his clutches thanks to the efforts of Orion Pax, one of the hostage exchangers. As payback, Bludgeon had him strapped to a shuttle programmed to crash into the nearest settlement, and though Orion tried to stall for time by telling him he'd go far in life only to overreach and become a symbol of failure, Bludgeon didn't really care and launched his captive into the sky. Omega's Conundrum

Following Metroplex's departure from Cybertron, Bludgeon continued his hunt for the Titan using the starship Empirion. One of his subordinates, Thundercracker, tracked their prey to a desolate planetoid inhabited by some pesky aliens, so Bludgeon commenced planetary bombardment to get them out of the way. The assault attracted the attention of a group of Autobots who rammed and crippled the Empirion, forcing Bludgeon to abandon ship and fight them until Thundercracker reported that Metroplex was nowhere to be found. As the Decepticons retreated to continue their hunt elsewhere, Bludgeon had Thundercracker transferred out of his unit for seemingly having led them into an Autobot trap. The Hunting Party

During the war, Bludgeon formed an army of "deviants and half-forms", an event that would be remembered as one of the most horrible things the Decepticons did. Life After the Big Bang

Bludgeon was the leader of a team of Decepticons (including Iguanus, Finback, Skullgrin, and Bomb-Burst) who were assigned by Megatron to look into what Shockwave's various projects were when he disappeared. Spotlight: Shockwave Megatron also sent Soundwave to spy on them. Shockpoint During this time, Bludgeon discovered Shockwave's work on Regenesis. Eventually, however, they discovered the remains of Thunderwing, the Decepticon scientist who became the cause of the Cybertronian cataclysm. Bludgeon came to believe that Thunderwing was an avatar of the apocalypse, and became bent on restoring the wasted Cybertron to its former glory by resurrecting him. He and his team of Decepticons believed that in reawakening Thunderwing and turning him loose, the mass sacrifice of worlds would allow the rebirth of Cybertron. They also delved into the outlawed polydermal grafting experiments pioneered by Thunderwing, in an attempt to create super-shells of their own.

In 1984 they went to Earth to extract a load of Ultra-Energon, establishing a base within Mt. St. Helens. Soundwave naturally followed them. He eventually came to them asking for a cut of their profits, believing that they meant to sell the energon, but when he realized that they meant to resurrect Thunderwing he tried to stop them. They used one of Shockwave's devices to lock him in his alt-mode, then caused a volcanic eruption and returned to Cybertron via an orbital bounce. Spotlight: Soundwave

Twenty-three years later, Jetfire and the Technobots, detecting the Ultra-Energon from orbit, went to investigate, and were taken by the cult, planning to use them as raw materials for their shells. Stormbringer #1 Bludgeon wanted Jetfire to witness Thunderwing's awakening, to make him see that Thunderwing had been right to experiment, but Jetfire eventually annoyed him too much. Connecting his mind to an axis cradle that controlled Thunderwing's blank neuroscape, Bludgeon sent Thunderwing to destroy Nebulos, then engaged the auto-drive to inspect his own shell's progress. Stormbringer #2 When Optimus Prime and the Wreckers attacked Bludgeon's base on Cybertron by surprise, Iguanus escaped to the bio-graft chamber to find Bludgeon—only to find the cult leader having donned full polydermal armor. However, in Bludgeon's rush, the shell was not mentally aligned, causing a psychic backlash that took down the Decepticon before the Wreckers even found him. It was unclear at the time whether Bludgeon's mind survived, though it was believed to be in torment if it had. Prime felt that he got off lightly for having unleashed Thunderwing. Stormbringer #3

After the defeat of Thunderwing, Bludgeon was transferred to Garrus-9, where Fortress Maximus stored his extracted spark in the Rig. Spotlight: Arcee However, during Nemesis Prime's attempt to bring forth the Expansion, Bludgeon was reactivated inside his cell by Jhiaxus to stop Jetfire from attempting to take control of Thunderwing. Spotlight: Doubledealer The remote-controlled Bludgeon sliced its way into Jetfire's lab and Jhiaxus planned to have it kill the Autobot. However, multiple fronts of Autobot resistance at each Nega-Core kept Jhiaxus from focusing his full attention on controlling Bludgeon, and he was forced to abandon his effort to kill Jetfire. Cloudraker and Fastlane arrived and quickly disarmed the now-inert Bludgeon, and Jetfire borrowed the Pretender's sword to go aid Optimus Prime in his fight against Nemesis Prime. Bludgeon's body was presumably returned to confinement afterwards. Spotlight: Sideswipe

Somehow freed from Garrus-9 and again in possession of his full faculties (such as they were), Bludgeon was given command of the Torment, a Decepticon warship crewed by the Monstructor Six. Still displaying cultish fanaticism and a cruel streak a mile wide, he urged his crew onward in pursuit of the maverick Autobot Hot Rod. Downing the Autobot's shuttlecraft, Bludgeon had his ship land and crew disembark to sacrifice Hot Rod for the greater purpose of restoring Cybertron. With the untimely arrival of the crew of the battleship Trion, Bludgeon ordered his acolytes to form Monstructor and crush the Autobots. However, his forces were put to rout by a precise shot from Perceptor's sniper rifle, which hit the vulnerable connecting joint of the large combiner. Appearing to realize what he was up against, Bludgeon sounded the retreat. Lost & Found In actuality, he was leading the pursuing Trion to Cybertron, where several Decepticon battlecruisers staged an ambush, sending the Autobot craft plummeting to the planet below. All Hail Megatron #5

With Bludgeon still in command, the Torment later arrived in the nick of time to rescue Shockwave from the Decepticon Justice Division, who opted to retreat rather than face him and the Monstructor Six. The Ties That Bind

Several years later, learning that Jhiaxus had returned and was the captive of Hardhead and his crew, Bludgeon, following the orders of Shockwave, put into motion a plan to liberate him. Taking Monstructor to the planet Arduria, he sent out a phony distress call that lured Hardhead's crew—joined now by Orion Pax, formerly Optimus Prime—to the frozen world. While Monstructor kept Hardhead and Orion busy, Bludgeon penetrated their ship, easily cutting his way through Garnak and Wheelie and liberating Jhiaxus. Together, the villains set off to track down the other planets that had been targeted by the Regenesis program crafted by Shockwave, who had been Jhiaxus's greatest student. Syndromica (1)

Bludgeon arrived on planet LV-117, which thanks to the Regenesis missile that had landed there, existed in a constant state of chronal flux. After they both separately came in contact with the time machine aboard Turmoil's stolen ship, Bludgeon and Orion Pax were sent adrift across different eras of the planet, moving in opposite directions through time in relation to each other. Bludgeon managed to steal the device that allowed LV-117's inhabitants to control their planet's journey through time and slew Wheelie's friend Varta in the process, before he and Jhiaxus escaped aboard Turmoil's ship. Syndromica (2)

The villains tracked down Waspinator, one of Bludgeon's old Titan Hunter subordinates, who had once managed to control a Titan. After duping Orion Pax into raising a deactivated Titan on Gorlam Prime, they used Waspinator to seize control of it. The Titan's space bridge was used to teleport it back to Cybertron, and Jhiaxus' group followed in their own ship. Homecoming They arrived on Cybertron to join with Shockwave shortly thereafter. The Dead Are Not Enough Bludgeon watched silently as Jhiaxus prepared to undertake Shockwave's master plan. Finis Temporis The completion of the chronal drive came just in time for the invasion of Cybertron by Shockwave's allies, the Ammonites. The Becoming

Bludgeon began expressing some small doubts of the plan, as he came to realize that his master, Jhiaxus, was actually subservient to Shockwave. Still, he remained at their side, striking out against the Autobots and Decepticons who invaded Crystal City to stop Shockwave's plot. He struck down Waspinator and laughed at Skids and his copied Metallikato moves. As he prepared to execute Ultra Magnus, however, Bludgeon was blasted by Optimus Prime, as the Autobot leader and his team re-emerged from the Dead Universe. Black Planet Bludgeon was last seen as Ultra Magnus checked the fallen warrior for signs of life, but ultimately left him behind. ...And the Damage Done

Managing to escape from the Crystal City before it was consumed into a singularity, Bludgeon set up residence in the Sea of Rust, and in the following months, he discovered that the hot spot in Alyon had reignited with Sparks. He proceeded to perform horrifying experiments upon some of them, including placing some of the sparks within the remains of fallen Sweeps and mutant Turbofoxes, as well as messing with the corrupted energon emanating from the fallen Trypticon.

Upon discovering a convoy protected by the Dinobots which contained sparks from the colony of Caminus, Bludgeon set some of his Sweeps upon them, but when they were driven off by a second group he instead had them followed. Taking advantage of an attack from the Badgeless, Bludgeon attacked the truck himself, destroying it, Barricade and the sparks. Easily disregarding the attack from Strafe, Bludgeon hurled her into the corrupted energon, curious to see what it would do as it began mutating her. However the equally distraught Swift, upset at Barricade's death, damned him for robbing himself of his "future" by destroying the sparks. Disgusted with the amoral scientist, she pushed Bludgeon over a cliff into a pool of the contaminated energon, only narrowly saved from joining him when Slug caught her by the wrist. Doubting that Bludgeon had perished, Strafe and the Dinobots decided to seek him out and make sure he suffered. Redemption

Bludgeon did indeed survive his plunge, altering his outer shell and putting a new plan into action. Having discovered that Trypticon was in fact a Titan, Bludgeon intended to use the beast's internal space bridge to conquer the galaxy in the name of Cybertron. He used the corrupted Sweep sparks to reactivate Trypticon's brain module, which he then took control of using a replica of the Void Scepter said to have created the Titan. Next he raided the Alyon hot spot, killing the Badgeless guarding it and only leaving Sandstorm alive before harvesting the remaining sparks, intending to use Trypticon's energon to corrupt them into an army under his control. As he demonstrated Trypticon's power by having the monster march on Iacon, Bludgeon was confronted by the Dinobots, and while he had expected Sandstorm to keep them busy, Sandstorm instead joined forces with them and destroyed the Void Scepter. His control over Trypticon broken, Bludgeon found himself forcibly teleported out of the vengeful Titan, who melted his body with a powerful beam from his mouth. Unbeknownst to most however, he survived, though not without grievous injuries including losing most of his limbs, and was secretly taken into custody by Starscream, who held an interest in his spark experiments. Salvation

Starscream eventually locked the crippled Bludgeon up in a back room and gave him a repaired Void Scepter with which he would carry out Starscream's bidding. After the Seeker had lent Slug to Optimus Prime so they hunt for the missing protoforms, The Dead Come Home, Part 2 he had Bludgeon control the Dinobot via the Scepter. When Slug reunited with the Dinobots, Bludgeon had him attack his friends, The Dead Come Home, Part 1 to make ready the coming of his "master". Starscream eventually caught wind of this and shattered the Scepter. Though Bludgeon tried to goad the Seeker into killing Optimus, Starscream refused to bite and reminded Bludgeon of his house arrest. Though disappointed at how things turned out, Bludgeon was confident that these events would not impede his master's return. The Dead Come Home, Part 2

Anticipating a large existential threat, Starscream eventually repaired Bludgeon and sent him out into the galaxy so that he could gather all the Decepticons who had failed to return to Cybertron following the war's end. Bludgeon readily accomplished this task, forming the Decepticon Vengeance Division, a massive fleet of Decepticon capital ships capable of destroying whole planets with ease. Though Starscream, Stranger Eons and Shockwave each believed they commanded Bludgeon's loyalty, Road's End Bludgeon's fetish for the apocalypse had already led him to pledge loyalty to Unicron. When the Chaos Bringer began attacking the Cybertronian colonies, Starscream dispatched the DVD to G Nebula 89 to destroy him, with Bludgeon duping Starscream and his troops into believing Unicron could be felled by their firepower and a dud stasis web. In reality, Bludgeon had brought the fleet to Unicron as part of their plan. After its combined firepower failed to damage the monster planet, Unicron unleashed the Maximals onto Bludgeon's Worldsweeper, warping the Decepticons into Maximal-like forms. Unicron then teleported to Cybertron, bringing the DVD and its converted Decepticon crews along to act as his heralds. Stranger Eons

As Unicron began attacking Cybertron, Bludgeon commanded his ship to open fire on Carcer, crippling the Titan. His attack drew the attention of Victorion who attempted to kill him and destroy his ship. Anticipating this, Bludgeon unleashed Monstructor who defeated the Camien combiner. Our Finest Once Unicron had destroyed Cybertron, the fleet quantum jumped to Jupiter, Bludgeon loudly proclaiming their loyalty to Unicron as the fleet destroyed Sanctuary Station. Road's End

After Shockwave had located the errant Talisman, he contacted Bludgeon, ordering him to have the device retrieved and used to slay Unicron. Bludgeon chose that moment to inform Shockwave of his loyalty to Unicron, dispatching his troops to retrieve the device... only so it would pose no threat to Unicron. When Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp charged the fleet, Bludgeon casually ordered Monstructor to slay the Decepticon leader, before Metroplex and Trypticon space bridged in and unleashed an army on the DVD. Assembly

Caught off guard, the DVD fell to the Titans with only Bludgeon's ship surviving the attack. As the Worldsweeper descended into Earth's atmosphere, Shockwave tried to reassert control over Bludgeon to no avail. As the warship rained destruction on the Eastern seaboard of the United States, it was boarded by the Dinobots who stormed the bridge. Though managing to slay Snarl and Sludge, Bludgeon soon found himself locked in mortal combat with Slug. Their battle caused Bludgeon to lose control of his Void Scepter, sending the Worldsweeper crashing into the White House and killing both Bludgeon and Slug. Ceremony

Mini Mayhem!

After Bombshell asked him why his Pretender shell had a skeleton's face, Bludgeon explained that it once looked human, but its face was melted off after witnessing the opening of the Ark of the Covenant. The incident totally ruined his chances at being that year's prom king. Mini Mayhem!

A Tale of the Pretenders

With other Decepticon Pretenders, Bludgeon was active in ancient Japan. One day, they came across three human siblings and threatened them. The oldest managed to escape and both Iguanus and Carnivac pursued the remaining two while the other Decepticons followed. Bludgeon found the entire thing beneath their notice, but was rebuked by Octopunch, who desired to play with the humans. Octopunch was about to step on the two when Metalhawk leapt to the rescue. Impressed by this apparent human, Bludgeon challenged him to a duel, but he ultimately proved lacking. Despite the rescuees trying to defend Metalhawk, Bludgeon was about to go in for the kill when other Autobot Pretenders appeared and fought off the Decepticons. Bludgeon and Metalhawk continued their duel, which Metalhawk managed to end by sending Bludgeon falling into a lava pit. A Tale of the Pretenders

Kre-O online manga

Bludgeon was tasked with leading a group of Decepticons to find the legendary Red Bucket, which they did. While he was bragging about how the Decepticons would use the bucket to conquer the world, Bluestreak appeared out of nowhere and kicked him in the chest, shattering the armor passed down to him by his ancestors. Bludgeon retaliated by having Dirge tip the bucket over on Bluestreak and Jazz, burying them in blocks, but the Autobots were able to use the blocks to build a giant robot that neutralized Bludgeon by picking him by one leg. Treasure Competition! Defeat with Block Power!

Kre-O bio

A proud practitioner of Metallikato, Bludgeon lived by the code of Brickshido and regarded the other prattling Kreons as fools. Especially Bumblebee, whom Bludgeon intended to attack with his energo weapon. Transformers: Kre-O Character Encyclopedia

Transformers vs. G.I. Joe

The otherworldly guardian of the entrance to the Matrix, Bludgeon blocked the path of Optimus Prime and Grimlock's souls on their journey to the great beyond, demanding they present the "key to Vector Stigmata" before they could pass. While Prime revealed the key and was granted passage by the gatekeeper, Grimlock could not produce one and was refused entry until Prime let him have his key. Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #12

Of Masters and Mayhem

Bludgeon's Mayhem Attack Squad was selected by Shockwave to form the ultimate combiner, Thunder Mayhem. Their power amplified and the combiner's personality solidified by the Matrix of Malice, the Mayhem Attack Squad's destructive ability proved uncontrollable. The Squad captured Optimus Prime and restrained him within their ship, forcing him to watch as Thunder Mayhem went on an apocalyptic rampage across Cybertron, nearly driving the Cybertronian race to extinction. Deadly Aim Lively Pursuit Pandora's Gift

Years later, Bludgeon and the rest of the Mayhem Attack Squad were drawn to a cavern on Earth by a Decepticon signal, finding upon their arrival that the extra-dimensional Ramjet was the one broadcasting it. Though other members of his team were eager to simply off the stranger, Bludgeon allowed their new acquaintance to speak first. Ramjet was quick to comment on the dark energies he sensed within Bludgeon, who rebutted that if Ramjet was simply after his Matrix of Malice, it would not be easily pried from his frame. Ramjet reassured him that he had no interest in the artifact, and instead made a quick demonstration of his power to convince the Squad that he would make a valuable ally. Impressed by Ramjet's eldritch energies, Bludgeon and his team agreed to join forces with him, and together they begun to plot the destruction of the universe. History

The Mayhem Attack Squad turned Thunder Mayhem loose on the city of Merida. Divination They were confronted by Metalhawk's team of Autobot Pretenders and the exiled Optimus Prime himself. Pandora's Gift Thunder Mayhem had little trouble keeping them at bay, but when the Wreckers arrived and unveiled their new combined form Wreckage, the Mayhems had a true fight on their hands. The superpowered human Elizabeth fired an energy blast that damaged Thunder Mayhem's chest, allowing Wreckage to expose the Matrix of Malice. Together, all parties focused their fire and destroyed the Matrix, causing the Squad to de-combine and ending Thunder Mayhem for good. In the aftermath, the Wreckers took the Mayhem Attack Squad into custody when they left the planet. Finale

Precursor World

In an unknown location, an enigmatic Bludgeon observed different scenes throughout the multiverse with Soundwave, taking special note of Magna Convoy joining forces with Convobat as the awakening of the "Blue". With the warriors who inherited the "Seven Lights" from The One beginning to play their parts, Bludgeon declared the coming of a new era. Cybertron Magna Convoy

Prime Wars Trilogy marketing material

Bludgeon was a Prime Master who housed the spark energy of Quintus Prime. Power of the Primes Decepticon Bludgeon / Quintus Prime online bio

2019 IDW continuity

A rumored assassin with personal beliefs (delusions, some said) rooted in the supernatural, Bludgeon was placed in punitive stasis no less than four times over the years. Somehow, he always managed to be released, escaping more serious consequences for his alleged crimes. Thunderwing hired him to act as his chief enforcer on the asteroid colony of Hexagon. After Vigilem docked at Hexagon, Thunderwing provided him with repairs, and Colonial Security arrived aboard Lodestar shortly thereafter to apprehend the renegade Titan. The Technobots boarded Hexagon and were greeted by Bludgeon, whom they weren't too pleased to see up-and-about. The tension only grew as the Technobots met with Thunderwing and he begrudgingly allowed them to inspect his colony. Bludgeon stayed at Thunderwing's side, with the two of them being guarded by Afterburner while the other Technobots had a look around. When it became clear that Thunderwing was engaging in illegal operations, communications between the Technobots were jammed and Bludgeon attacked Afterburner. The two engaged in a running battle across Hexagon, with Bludgeon nearly overwhelming his opponent. However, Bludgeon was defeated when Nosecone unexpectedly burst through a wall and pierced the assassin's armor with his drill bit. Light/Star

Games

Transformers Legends

Early in the war, Bludgeon was to meet with the Autobots Orion Pax, Alpha Trion, and Nightbeat to perform a prisoner exchange for the safe return of Rack'n'Ruin. This turned out to be a Decepticon ploy, however, and the Decepticons ambushed the group, capturing Alpha Trion in the process. Orion's Gambit Bludgeon and Darkwing attempted to revive Thunderwing, but when Thunderwing proved uncontrollable, the pair had to cooperate with the Wreckers to defeat him. Stormbringer

Bludgeon was later part of Thunderwing's squad of Decepticons. They attacked a Sun-Farming facility run by Sideswipe, only to discover that the Autobots were more formidable than they had counted on. Bludgeon headed for the main building, fending off Fastlane and cleaving guards with his Energo-Sword, until he was able to secure the Energon stored inside. The Autobots subsequently retreated. Revalation Bludgeon was among a group of Decepticons who joined a time-displaced Galvatron in attacking the fused-together Ratchet and Megatron, but were fought off by some Autobots. Savage Circle

Angry Birds Transformers

Main article: King Pig#As Bludgeon

Bludgeon appears as one of the first unlockable Characters. He is portrayed by King Pig. Angry Birds Transformers

Transformers: Earth Wars

Mysterious, stealthy, and deadly, Bludgeon is a master of the ancient Cybertronian martial art of Metallikato, a combat style that borders on the mystical.

The consummate assassin, Bludgeon locks on to his victim like a silent guided missile, and won't stop or deviate until he's claimed his scalp. A master swordsman, Bludgeon hides his true robot self behind an outer shell designed to strike icy dread into his victims.Bludgeon character bio

Bludgeon was brought through the Space Bridge by Starscream, and he had a transmission for Starscream from Megatron: Get Megatron to Earth, or be stuck on the dreary mudball for eternity. Seeing as Starscream didn't want to be abandoned with Bludgeon and Autobots, he and Bludgeon got a crystal powerful enough to get Megatron through. Get Megatron! Campaign

Bludgeon received orders from Megatron to spy on and observe Starscream. Starscream headed to the Space Bridge and brought out Hook and Scrapper. Bludgeon followed the trio to an Autobot outpost, where Bludgeon stopped them from getting another piece of the Fractal Map to make sure Starscream didn't get any credit and would be humiliated by Megatron. Which Starscream was. Power Play Campaign

Bludgeon helps out in the final battle for the Codex Key, helping to destroy the opposing Autobot outpost to the ground. The Codex Showdown Campaign

He then witnessed the creation of Devastator. Combiner Wars Campaign

When Scourge arrived and complained about Space Bridge travel being unpleasant, Bludgeon noted that the Bridge's calibration was way off.

Bludgeon heard of Cyclonus's movement and scouting in the Frozen wastes of the Arctic. Bludgeon was oddly missing from the battle for the Frozen Fortress, even though prior to, Megatron orders him to rally the troops to attack. Maybe he was assigned baby sitting duty of the outpost to ensure Autobots didn't randomly attack. Arctic Saga

• Class: Warrior
• Lowest Star Rating: 1 star
• Weapons - He targets a building with his gun, then engages and slices it with his sword.
• Ability: Rush in- Rush into combat smashing walls along the way and dealing damage to the target.
  • Cost: 3 ability points +2 for reuses.

Bludgeon at Transformers: Earth Wars Wiki

Transformers Online (2017 video game)

Even Bludgeon was impressed by Brawn's mastery of warfare in contests of strength. Transformers Online ^[2]

Transformers: Forged to Fight

Bludgeon was one of the Decepticons pulled from his universe by the Quintessons and forced to fight. He eventually joins the Commander. There are at least a few of him running around! Transformers: Forged to Fight

The Way of the Blade

The Game Full of Death and Suffering...! This character article is a stub and is missing information on their video game appearances. You can help Transformers Wiki by expanding it.

Transformers: Bumblebee Overdrive

Bludgeon commands the fourteenth Decepticon base destroyed by the Autobots. He appears once the player reaches 15,800,000 points. Transformers: Bumblebee Overdrive

Toys

The Transformers

• Bludgeon (Pretender, 1989)

• Accessories: Pretender shell, helmet, "laser rifle" (large gun), tank turret/shield, "electric cannon" (small gun)
• Known designers: Tetsuya Ikeda (TakaraTomy)

Released in the sixth year of The Transformers, Bludgeon's inner-robot transforms into a green and lilac quad-tread tank of undetermined, possibly-made-up model. Oddly, unlike most Transformers tanks, he does not have wheels inside the static tank tracks for any sort of rolling movement. The main tank turret separates into two separate pieces; the turret section can form a shield for the Pretender shell, while the barrel of the tank becomes the robot mode's "electric cannon". Like all of the 1989 Pretenders, the "electronic cannon" can store inside the shell in a port located in the leg. Alternatively, one can copy his Dreamwave character profile artwork, and have the entire combined turret mounted on the arm of his shell—which is pretty kickass! The shell itself is also armed with a white "laser rifle".

Speaking of the Pretender shell, it continues the Decepticon trend of monstrous or war-like shells, being an orange and maroon humanoid samurai with a human skull for a head. Removing the helmet reveals great attention to detail on the skull, with cranium fusion seams and well-defined teeth, among other sculpting. Unfortunately, Bludgeon does not include a katana accessory like the one depicted in the Marvel comics.

No version of this mold was released in Japan.

• More info on Bludgeon at TFU.info

Revenge of the Fallen

• Decepticon Bludgeon (Voyager Class, 2009)

• TakaraTomy ID number: RD-20
• Accessories: katana, tantō

Released in the sixth wave of Revenge of the Fallen Voyagers, Bludgeon transforms from a green and orange Japanese Type 90 tank into a skeletal samurai robot mode which homages his original Pretender shell, in colors that homage both the shell and the original inner robot. Bludgeon features a flexible plastic sword which is made out of a portion of the barrel of the tank's main gun as well as a smaller dagger. The dagger can be stored in a sheath which is revealed from inside the tank turret, and both blades can be slotted in holes provided on the robot mode's left hip guard. Additionally, the dagger's handle can fit in the base of the sword's handle, forming a double-bladed weapon. He has Mech Alive gimmicks in his thighs and turret: Sculpted cylinders in his thighs rotate whenever his lower legs are rotated, and that pulling his turret open makes a gray sculpted "disc" at the center rotate while a scabbard for the tantō hinges over to the side and props itself up for use.

The vehicle mode is one of the very few Transformer tank toys with rubber components to its treads. Portions of the tread links can unlock, allowing them to hang from the robot mode, while the wheels of the treads are integrated separately into the robot mode form itself. The treads still do not function realistically; small plastic wheels on the underside of the treads help the tank mode roll, as is standard with nearly all Transformer tank toys.

There is a paint application error on Bludgeon's rear wheels/thighs, wherein the black paint operations, which were meant to help blend his rear wheels in with the black center wheels, are placed on the wrong side, keeping them out of sight in vehicle mode, and behind his thighs in robot mode. The ratcheting hip joint is also flipped 180 degrees from what it should be, with two further ratchet divots on top of the hip than inside of it, meaning the mechanism in the upper leg is trying to click into a smooth surface. The toy seems to have been originally designed to feature light-piping in the head, though this feature is rendered useless with it being cast in the same solid gray plastic used for his arms, weapons, shoulders and Mech Alive features.

The TakaraTomy release of Bludgeon has a different instruction sheet that actually labels the weapons as a katana and tantō, whereas the Hasbro release doesn't label them at all.

This mold was redecoed into Hunt for the Decepticons Banzaitron, and retooled into BotCon 2012 Gigatron and Generations Megatron.

• More information on Voyager Bludgeon at TFU.info

Kre-O

• Decepticon Bludgeon (Micro-Changer, 2012)

• Bag number: 22851 51
• Accessories: Stand brick, sword
• Known designers: Ed Masiello (Hasbro)

Part of the first normal wave of Kre-O Micro-Changer Kreons, Bludgeon is a blindpacked-bagged mini-figure, though a stamped ID number can be found on the back of the bag, top-right corner. He comes with extra parts which turn him into a kinda-sorta-tank. He also comes with a 2x4 block stand with the Kre-O logo on the side.

He uses Megatron's helmet.

• More information on Bludgeon at TFU.info




• Bludgeon (Kreon Micro-Changer, 2016)

• Collection: 1
• Accessories: Logo plate, sword

In 2016, Collection 1 was re-released in a whole new production run for Dollar General stores in the US as part of a large collection of re-released Kre-O sets. But where most of these releases are nigh-identical to the originals, the re-released Micro-Changer blind-bags use the almost-entirely-retooled 2015 Kreon, with slightly-differently-hued plastics than the originals. (It is possible for some of the add-on pieces to be in the older hues.) Blugeon's torso tampograph has also been reworked to be slightly more detailed, and the formerly-bare legs now have extra detail tampographing on them.

Sadly, this release has no individual-identification code on the bag, requiring you to use the feel-through-the-bag method or just buy blind and hope.




Combiner Wars



The samurai skeleton look was going out of fashion.
• Bludgeon (Voyager, 2016)

• Accessories: Twin "high-voltage" cannons, 2 "cyber-blade" swords.

Part of the Figure Subscription Service 4.0, Combiner Wars Bludgeon is a retool of Voyager Class Onslaught with a new robot head, a new combiner head, and two additional swords from Go! Optimus Exprime. Being a Combiner Wars Voyager, he can combine with any four of that line's Deluxes, though he is meant to combine with his fellow Mayhem Attack Squad to form Thunder Mayhem. Like other Combiner Wars Voyager Class toys, Bludgeon's head and torso kibble is incorporated into the toy itself, rather than being add-on parts. Bludgeon's two rifles combine into a longer rifle for the combined robot, which can also wield the twin swords.

Unfortunately, Bludgeon features misassembled knee struts, but the backs of his feet can flip out heels to provide better support.

Bludgeon's mold was originally retooled from Hot Spot, who was retooled differently as Pyra Magna.

Combiner Wars mold: Hot Spot
Version 1: Hasbro: Combiner Wars Protectobot Hot Spot TakaraTomy: Unite Warriors UW-03 Hot Spot Hasbro/TakaraTomy: Power of the Primes Inferno Version 2: Hasbro: Combiner Wars Onslaught Onslaught (Generation 2) Fun Publications: Combiner Wars Bludgeon TakaraTomy: Unite Warriors UW-07 Onslaught UW-EX Dolrailer Version 3: Hasbro: Combiner Wars Pyra Magna TakaraTomy: Unite Warriors UW-EX Megaempress




Power of the Primes



Uh, nevermind.
• Quintus Prime (Prime Master, 2018)

• TakaraTomy ID number: PP-20
• TakaraTomy release date: August 25, 2018
• Accessories: Decepticon Bludgeon decoy armor, kanabō/gun
• Known designers: John Warden (Hasbro)

Part of the third and final wave of Power of the Primes Prime Masters, Quintus Prime comes with Bludgeon decoy armor, visually based on the original Pretender's inner robot and shell. Quintus Prime/Bludgeon is a partial tooling of Vector Prime/Metalhawk, swapping that toy's grey sprue for yellow parts with new detailing. The new weapon piece is modeled after a kanabō (a metal stick), and uniquely can be wielded as such with the alternate 3 mm plug on the end.

This toy has identical features to the other Prime Masters in the line. The decoy armor has a weapon piece which can fold out to create a weapon mode, or detach and be held in the armor's 3 mm-compatible hand. The Titan Master-like robot can store inside the decoy armor or ride Legends Class figures in vehicle mode, and is fully compatible with toys from the previous Titans Return line. The "Power Swap" gimmick means its spark form can plug onto any decoy armor's weapon form (which has a 5 mm post to be held by larger figures), Deluxe Class figures' chest armor, Voyager Class figures' bucklers, Leader Class figures' Matrix (in place of their Matrix core), combiners' torsos (in place of their Enigma of Combination), or the Scepter of Sparks. With the power of your imagination, this bestows the Prime Master's unique power on the larger figure.




Legacy



Honor died on the beach! The Khan deserves to suffer!
• Comic Universe Bludgeon (Voyager Class, 2023)

• Accessories: Tank turret base, 2 tank barrels, sword
• Known designers: Mark Maher (Hasbro), Yūya Ōnishi (TakaraTomy)^[3]

Part of the seventh wave of Legacy Voyagers, Legacy: Evolution Bludgeon is a redeco and new-head retool of Legacy Tarn, based on his appearance in the 2021 IDW comic annual, transforming into a Cybertronian tank. Like Tarn, Bludgeon's tank turret can detach as part of the Evo-Fusion gimmick, and the barrels can split off and peg into the turret itself to make an extra-long fusion cannon. His hands feature hinged knuckles, allowing them to open and close, but are unfortunately exposed on the tank mode's rear end. Unlike Tarn, Bludgeon includes a new sword accessory, which is based on the sword from Don Figueroa's Stormbringer design for IDW G1 Bludgeon to add samurai action, with a 5 mm post that allows for storage in both modes.

In an undocumented feature, Bludgeon’s smaller back turrets are removable.^[4] Detaching them reveals two 5 mm ports at the base and beginning of the turret, allowing them to be held as small guns or batons respectively. Doing this can be quite difficult given how tight they are in the back, so exercise caution when removing them as his backpack is made from very thin clear plastic and can snap easily.

Bludgeon's antennae are a bit too long for the head to fit easily into the torso cavity during transformation, and it may take quite a bit of finagling to avoid this (pushing the head to either side of the cavity is particularly helpful). Exercise caution when transforming.

The original version of the mold was redecoed into Cyberverse Universe Tarn, retaining Bludgeon’s sword.

• Designer commentary on Legacy Bludgeon from Mark Maher on Instagram






• Decepticon Bludgeon/Decepticon Rukus (Multi-pack, 2024)

• Accessories: Tank turret base, 2 tank barrels, sword
• Known designers: Mark Maher (Hasbro), Shuhei Umezu (TakaraTomy), Yūya Ōnishi (original tooling), Don Figueroa (original concept)^[5]

Part of the Amazon exclusive Doom 'n Destruction subline, Decepticon Bludgeon is a recolor and retool of the figure above, giving it a new head, chest, and waist armor based on Don Figueroa's Stormbringer design. Additionally, all the transparent clear plastic parts have been replaced with regular opaque plastic, making the figure more sturdy overall and less prone to breakage. Unlike other figures in the Doom 'n Destruction line, Bludgeon lacks a Mayhem Attack Squad insignia.

Bludgeon is packaged with Decepticon Rukus. The 2-pack was first spotted on display at San-Diego Comic Con 2024 on July 25, 2024.

• Designer commentary on Stormbringer Bludgeon from Mark Maher on Instagram

Merchandise

First 4 Figures

• Bludgeon (2006/2007 unreleased)

Intended for release in First 4 Figures' "Generation One" series, this would have been a full body resin statue of Bludgeon. When his digital sculpt was shown to ASM website staff at New York Toy Fair in February 2006, they specifically noted that he included his sword.^[6] First 4 Figures allowed BigBadToyStore to solicit him for sale the same month.^[7][8]

Unfortunately, Bludgeon and the rest of the "Generation One" series were casualties of the general discontinuation of First 4 Figures' Transformers output, which was attributed to a challenging market and a lack of retailer support.

Proceed on your way to oblivion. This item has been canceled, with no current plans for release.







G.I. Joe and the Transformers

• The Epic Conclusion! box set (2013)


"To a master of Metallikato, your kung-fu grip is slow-motion!"

• Accessories: kabuto (helmet), dō (breastplate), jinbaori (cloak), daitō (long sword), shōtō (short sword)

An exclusive release for San Diego Comic-Con 2013, this is a 3.75" figure depicting Bludgeon in his Pretender shell. He's constructed from the torso, waist, and upper legs of 2011's 30th Anniversary Storm Shadow, the lower legs and feet of the 2012 Retaliation Red Ninja, new arms, a new robo-skull head, and various rubberised bits of samurai armour such as his helmet, breastplate, cloak, and a non-removable haidate (thigh armour). (Interestingly, this means he's only a head and kabuto away from being Retaliation Budo and, given that the Retaliation toyline had to be reshuffled when the movie was delayed nine months, it's uncertain which samurai was designed first.) He is armed with two swords derived from his original character model in two different lengths, as was the style at the time.

The set also includes a retooled Sky Striker as Jetfire, a G.I. Joe VAMP redecoed into Hound, a new Snake-Eyes figure bearing an Autobot symbol, a Baroness figure with Ravage on a leash, and an Autobot Blaster boombox accessory with cassette pieces representing Steeljaw, Ramhorn, and Eject.

The box set was announced via a USA Today article on June 5, 2013, along with Hasbro's other Comic-Con exclusives.

• More information on G.I. Joe and the Transformers Bludgeon at TFU.info
• More information on Bludgeon (v1) at YoJoe.com




Transformers Trading Card Game



• Bludgeon, Electric Warrior (2020)
  • Wave 5: Titan Masters Attack
  • Rarity: CT
  • Card Number: T09/T46
  • Stars: 11

Bludgeon, Electric Warrior is one of forty-six double-sided character cards released as part of Wave 5 of the Transformers Trading Card Game, Titan Masters Attack.

The card features original artwork for both modes, with lines by Dan Khanna. The Alt Mode artwork is based on the Revenge of the Fallen Bludgeon Voyager-class toy, while the Bot Mode artwork is based on Bludgeon's idiosyncratic appearance in the e-HOBBY comic Cybertron Magna Convoy with a new color scheme to marry the two.

This card's set was originally scheduled for an April 2020 release, however due to the global COVID-19 pandemic the release was pushed back to May 29, 2020.




e-HOBBY

Transformers Character Card



• Bludgeon & Stranglehold Set (March 14, 2022)
  • ID number: 09 & 10

Released as part of the second wave of the e-HOBBY exclusive Transformers Character Card series, this pair of holographic trading cards depict super-deformed art of Bludgeon and Stranglehold along with character profiles and tech specs.

• Translation of Bludgeon's Transformers Character Card




Rubber strap series



• Bludgeon & Stranglehold & Octopunch Set (January 2023)

Released as part of the first wave of an e-HOBBY exclusive series, this trio of rubber keychains depict super-deformed art of Bludgeon, Stranglehold and Octopunch.




ULTIMATES!

• Bludgeon (ULTIMATES!, 2023)
  • Accessories: Toy-style head with removable helmet, comic-style head with removable helmet, severed neck wires, tank turret, tank cannon, katana with working sheath, wakizashi with working sheath, gun, 6 hands

Part of the second wave of Transformers ULTIMATES! from Super7, Bludgeon is a 7-inch-tall non-transforming action figure. Despite his retro look, he has way more articulation than the original, including multi-directional joints at the neck, shoulders, wrists, hips, and ankles; plus swivel biceps, elbows, knees, and a bit of ab crunch. His hands pop out at the wrists so they can be replaced with his additional spare hands, some in sculpted martial arts poses. He includes a tank turret that can be worn on his arm as a shield, both of his traditional swords that can plug into their sheaths, as well as two different styles of heads and helmets (comic- or toy-accurate), and a piece to represent the tangled wires left on Bludgeon's severed neck after he was decapitated by Megatron.

Preorders for Bludgeon (and the rest of Wave 2) opened on July 29 2021, and closed on August 27, with the toys slated for shipping in summer 2022, but wound up delayed by a full year.

Flame Toys

• Bludgeon (?)

To be released as part of the Furai Model line by Flame Toys.

This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.

Notes



Like a Rosetta Stone, but for samurai skeletons.
• Bludgeon's color scheme in the Marvel comics was based on a non-final prototype toy (as seen in the 1989 Toy Fair catalog and various toyline photography), explaining the absence of grey down the sides of his torso. This alternate color layout was far more noticeable on his rarely-depicted inner robot, revealing the origins of his differently-colored tank turret and the random patch of color on his chest in "The Last Autobot?". The shape of the prototype inner robot's head also aligns more closely with how Andrew Wildman and other artists drew it than the finalized toy design.
  • While Bludgeon's Pretender shell prototype did have shoulderpads that matched its front "skirt" (visible on the pack-in flier and cardback photo), the angle and lighting of his shoulders in the Toy Fair catalog rendered this area's colors indistinct, which might explain why Bludgeon's shoulder armor was often the same color as his chest in the comics.
  • The Toy Fair prototype was furthermore armed with a copy of Apeface's sonic boomer gun painted white instead of the mold's normal pistol, but this doesn't appear to have affected any of his media portrayals.
• Like Stranglehold and Octopunch, Bludgeon's character model portrays him with a specialized melee weapon. Bludgeon is consistently drawn with the character model's sword, which has become a trademark, despite his toy lacking one. Thus far, Bludgeon's San Diego Comic-Con release is the only toy to include this design. The character model also seems to include a scabbard for the sword, though that is not included nearly as often. Why all three of these characters are given weapons that don't exist is unknown.
• The only time we see his character model is when it's copied faithfully by José Delbo in "Yesterday's Heroes!". (However, Robin Smith takes another crack at it in Fleetway's Generation 2 series, but a tiny few liberties were taken, style-wise.)
• The sword in his character model has unique detailing at the base of the front of the blade. In Delbo's rendition, it looks kind of like a dong. Elsewhere, not so much. Thankfully.
• Bludgeon's outer shell is a "Warrior-Grade Pretender Shell" equipped with an ambient stealth field.^[9]


• Clamor for a new Bludgeon toy – in part caused by appreciation of the character in fiction – led to him nearly seeing a new release in the mid-2000s. Firstly, a figure was alleged to be planned for the Titanium Series line, supposedly a 6" "Cybertron Heroes" toy,^[10] though for his part, the line's designer Don Figueroa does not remember working on one.^[11] What Figueroa did work on was a concept for a Unicron Trilogy Bludgeon toy, which he submitted way back during the development of the Energon or Cybertron toylines. The concept wasn't put into production as a toy at the time, so Figueroa used it as inspiration for his IDW Publishing Stormbringer rendition of Generation 1 Bludgeon.^[12] Hasbro considered releasing a Bludgeon in the Universe line, but put it on hold because of the large number of tanks and tank-like vehicle modes being released at the time.^[13] This plan was evidently resurrected for the Revenge of the Fallen Bludgeon toy. Figueroa notes that his contribution on this toy is very small, as his work on it ended when he submitted the concept to Hasbro way back when.
• Bludgeon's e-HOBBY appearance is a "virtual redeco" composed of a veritable rat king of references.
  • His body is Titans Return Deluxe Class Hardhead.
  • His head is Titans Return Titan Master Throttle.
  • His sheathed sword comes from 2016 Robots in Disguise Warrior Class Windblade.
  • His projection drone, meanwhile, is modeled on the vehicle partner of Titans Return Titan Master Terri-Bull.
  • Finally his actual color scheme is patterned after his original Generation 1 Pretender shell, but with the white shoulder stripes of 2003 Robots in Disguise Destructicon Bludgeon, while his drone and Titan Master partner are both in the colors of his tank inner robot.
• The 2019 IDW continuity incarnation of Bludgeon (at right) was broadly patterned by Alex Milne on the Cyberverse animated design, itself inspired by the 2017 Robots in Disguise toy.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Bludgeon (ブラジオン Burajion)
• French: Ossement (France, "Bones"), Gourdin (Canada, "Club", as in the beat-you-up-with kind)
• Hungarian: Husáng ("Stick", as in the beat-you-up-with kind)
• Italian: Teskior ("Skullor")
• Mandarin: Wùyǐn Ànzhàng (China, 雾隐暗丈, "Shadow Elder Hidden in Mist"), Léi Zhèn (China, 雷震, "Thunder Quake")

References

1. ↑ Bludgeon's More than Meets the Eye profile says the electric fireballs are fired from either of his torsos. His original toy bio said they're fired from between his shell's antennas.
2. ↑ Brawn on the Transformers Online website
3. ↑ June 20, 2023's Hasbro Pulse Transformers Fanstream on YouTube, with Ben MacCrae, Mark Maher, Evan Brooks, and Rich Pellegrino
4. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CuktZlULApl/?hl=en
5. ↑ Design notes on Doom 'n Destruction Bludgeon from Hasbro designer Mark Maher on Instagram
6. ↑ "First4Figures Limited Transformers Statues and Busts Info!" at ASMzine.com (archived)
7. ↑ "Update from BigBadToyStore.com: Transformers and G.I.Joe Statues and Busts!!!" on Seibertron.com
8. ↑ BigBadToyStore's listings for First 4 Figures' statues (archived)
9. ↑ Transformers: The Ultimate Guide, by Simon Furman
10. ↑ Cancelled Titanium Bludgeon Revealed in TFW2005 Toy Database
11. ↑ "I don’t remember Bludgeon being on the docket, but I might have used his Stormbringer design albeit tweaked a little"—Don Figueroa, Twitter, 2022/08/24
12. ↑ "An unused #Doncept of Bludgeon which elements from it eventually ended up in a produced toy. Also the base for the #Stormbringer version #Transformers"—Don Figueroa, Twitter, 2022/06/24
    "Finally found the Alt-mode😛"—Don Figueroa, Twitter, 2023/03/26
13. ↑ Bill Rawley in an interview for the Transformers Collector's Club magazine: "One that comes to mind right away is Bludgeon. We even started early design sketches for him but the fact that he would transform into a tank, in a line that had a lot of tank-like vehicles in it, meant that he would have to be put on hold... for now."