Headlock (RID)

Headlock is a Decepticon from the Robots in Disguise portion of the Aligned continuity family.

"Look at the fancy box. Look at the size of this instruction manual. You don't think they would have gone to all this trouble if the game was any good, do you?!"

Listen up, ya bum. If you wanna win, you listen to Headlock. This old 'bot may be small and decrepit, but he knows a thing or two about life inside the fightin' arena. With him in your corner, you can't lose! He won't let you.

Having been the "manager" of the massive Groundpounder for a long time, he knows that it takes more'n just raw power. You gotta put on a show to get the crowd on yer side, but never get too cocky or you're gonna get blindsided. You gotta know your enemy's weak points, and you better exploit 'em. But, well, if you can't... then he will.

Hey, you can call it "fighting dirty" or "cheating", he calls it "winning".

Fiction

2015 Robots in Disguise cartoon

Voice actor: Eric Bauza (English), Jin Urayama (Japanese), Mario Scarabelli (Italian), Tobias Lelle (German), Frédéric Meaux (French)

"You're only reading this because you're bored!"

Headlock managed the goliath Groundpounder in the gladiatorial pits of Kaon, making him a reigning champion... until they were both accused of cheating and kicked out of the gladiator circuit. Enraged by the accusation, Groundpounder went on a destructive rampage, requiring the deployment of the Elite Guard. Eventually, both he and Headlock were arrested. The Champ Both of them were placed in stasis pods aboard the prison ship Alchemor, but were freed when the ship crashed on Earth.

The two Decepticons hid out at a construction site outside of Crown City, while Groundpounder began a new training regimen at Headlock's request. Upon seeing an advertisement for the Rumbledome, he decided he needed to prove he could take on the human-built monster trucks. Forcing his way into the arena, he challenged the current champ to a match, and the Rumbledome manager promptly agreed. Though Crusher Casey and her Mechanosaurus put up a good fight, Groundpounder eventually put her rig out of commission... with the help of Headlock's sabotage. The manager, believing the two Cybertronians to be human-controlled robots as part of an act, offered them a permanent spot in the show.

For their next show, however, Groundpounder discovered his opponent was another Cybertronian—the Autobot Grimlock, aiming to bring down the crooked duo. Headlock stepped in when it looked like Grimlock was winning, zapping the Dinobot with his welding finger to keep him distracted as Groundpounder pummeled him. Fixit, who had been a fan of the pair's matches and didn't believe they had cheated—up until he saw Headlock cheating in the match against Mechanosaurus—stepped in and eventually brought Headlock down in a surprising display of combat skill.

As Grimlock finally knocked Groundpounder down for the count with his favorite cannonball move, the recovered Headlock made a break for it... only to be stopped immediately by Strongarm. The Champ

Headlock's stasis pod was later taken back to Cybertron by Optimus Prime, Windblade, and Ratchet. Decepticon Island (Part 2)

Notes

• Headlock is a broad homage to Michael "Mickey" Goldmill, the crusty old trainer from the Rocky movies. He's even got a robotic knit cap!
• In the Japanese dub Groundpounder calls Headlock "Ottsuan."

Foreign names

• Japanese: Headlock (ヘッドロック Heddorokku)