Skalor

Skalor is a Decepticon Seacon from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Steeljaw hates him.

Skalor stinks, and that's not so much an insult as it is a declaration of fact. Skalor suffers from what humans would call a "glandular problem": small amounts of odiferous lubricants and liquids seep out through his joints and pollute the environment with his putrid stench. While his fellow Decepticons have pleaded with him repeatedly to have his noxious ailment looked at by a professional, Skalor just shrugs their gasping cries off with a "Not my problem".

Skalor can combine with his fellow Seacons to form Piranacon.

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

When Shockwave's Earthbound Decepticons established their new undersea base, Seawing and the Seacons were summoned from Cybertron to work on the base's fortifications, as they were uniquely suited for underwater activity. They got more than they bargained for when the super-Decepticon Galvatron came a'calling. In the battle, Skalor struck first, insisting that no one bad-mouthed him and survived to tell the tale. Galvatron proved him wrong by casually batting him aside. In the end, even the combined might of Piranacon couldn't beat Galvatron, and the Seacons were left lying unconscious on the sea bed. Enemy Action!

Skalor's so small and cute... for a slob.

At some point, the Aerialbots shot down Dreadwing over the ocean while he was carrying a vital power source. Optimus Prime and the Autobot Powermasters descended to retrieve it but were ambushed by Skalor and the Seacons, who had the upper hand in their home environment. Skalor attempted to tackle the Autobot leader himself, only to be knocked away with a single punch. He moved on to easier prey afterwards, going after Joyride. Prime then ordered Hi-Q and the other Nebulans to take the power source and return to the surface, but with that gone the Seacons decided that rather than press their advantage against the Autobots, they couldn't afford to let Hi-Test and Throttle drown and rescued them instead. Dreadwing Down!

Aw, Skalor gets his own death panel.

After Shockwave was deposed, the new commander Ratbat kept the Seacons on retainer for another mission. The Seacons were commissioned to hunt down a sunken shipwreck in the water around the Decepticon undersea base, a wreck which supposedly contained two Autobot cassettes with valuable information encoded on them. They successfully obtained the treasure chest containing the cassettes and, despite a brief theft by the Autobot Blaster, managed to recapture the prize and return it to their leader. Club Con! Unfortunately for them, this led to a sequence of events whereby the treacherous Starscream acquired the power of the Underbase for himself. After the arrival of Scorponok's band of Decepticons, which Skalor and the other Seacons "greeted" as Piranacon, the two bands of Decepticons erupted into Civil War. Cold War!

But after the Autobots also arrived, the two Decepticon groups united against them. Ultimately, once all sides realized they had been duped by Starscream, the Autobots and Decepticons were forced to unite in order to stop him from seizing ultimate power. The Seacons attacked Starscream in unison in the waters around Manhattan, but the other five were destroyed in a single energy discharge. Skalor was spared, but only momentarily. Starscream quickly destroyed him as well, while also ending the life of Jetfire. Dark Star

Earthforce

Sometime later, Megatron traveled back in time and possessed the body of Seacon leader Snaptrap during the Underbase Saga, in an attempt to save them in the past to bolster his troops in the present. He failed due to the intervention of Prowl, and the Seacons met their fate as before. Flashback!

Transformers Comic-Magazin

The characteristics of Skalor and the other "Small Targetmaster Seacons" were reviewed by Optimus Prime and Bumblebee in a simulation watched by Goldbug. Memories of Bumblebee

Classics

When Bludgeon detected an apparent traitor in his organization, he assembled Snaptrap, Skalor, and the Seacons to face the betrayer. Unfortunately, their target was Hun-Grrr, leader of the Terrorcons, and Terrorcons stick together. Literally. As Abominus formed inside the Decepticon armory, Skalor and the others took aim at the giant's weak points, but were unable to break up the combination robot. The Seacons then switched tactics, forming their own giant warrior, Piranacon. Overbite remained separate from his fellows and, after the initial bout of grappling and melee, leapt into the fray in his stormsurge cannon mode, blasting Abominus in the face with a foot-wide blast of corrosive fluid.

The enraged behemoth continued fighting back, knocking Piranacon to the floor. Nautilator slipped free from the combination form and joined Overbite behind Abominus. The smaller warriors were beneath Abominus's notice until they concentrated their firepower on his lower leg, bringing him down. As Overbite and Nautilator reconnected with Piranacon, the latter shifted into weapons mode and further disabled Abominus with a blast from his torpedo cannon. One final swipe from Piranacon's coral blade, and Abominus was finished.

Believing the imminent battle with Megatron's Decepticon forces was compromised, Bludgeon summoned the Seacons to his command centre to prep for the attack. Bludgeon was so enthralled with analyzing the attack pattern of Megatron's incoming ships that he failed to notice the Seacons merge once more. The real traitors, they formed Piranacon and obliterated Bludgeon using their mass compression cannon before alerting Megatron's forces that the area was secure. At Fight's End

As the universe was obliterated, Skalor was aboard the Talon which was pulled into an alternate universe. The Talon crashed on prehistoric Earth where the ambient energon radiation required the Seacons to adopt experimental energon-absorbing armor. Shattered Time Skalor was with Megatron when the Decepticon leader activated three new Decepticons from stasis pods. He and the others were blasted by Ultra Magnus after the newcomers failed to terminate the Autobots. Shattered Expectations

The Decepticons pursued the Autobots to a chasm, where they watched Megatron take on Ultra Magnus and be defeated. They climbed to the bottom of the chasm to retrieve their fallen leader and found a giant face hewn into the rock. It cheered Megatron up immensely once they dug him out of the rubble. Shattered Paths Skalor and the others watched Megatron utilize the equipment in the cavern they'd found. The Seacons later attempted to retrieve the "Maximal" energy purifier, and merged into God Neptune so they could fight off Magnaboss. Shattered Hope The Predacons including Skalor accompanied Megatron as he used the giant mech he'd built to try and claim the matrix the Maximals had found. Shattered Balance Combining into God Neptune once more, the Seacons battled the Maximals until they were all sucked into a dimensional rift thanks to Ultra Mammoth. Shattered Destiny

Regeneration One

Following his demise at Starscream's hands during the Underbase Saga, Skalor was reanimated and lobotomised by Megatron to form part of his zombie army. Skalor's unit included Octane, Razorclaw, Bugly, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Thrust, and Ratbat and they were ordered to hunt down and exterminate a convoy of escaping humans, including Buster and Jesse. Less Than Zero

In 2012 after Megatron's defeat, all of the deactivated zombies were piled into a large pit by the Autobots and obliterated from orbit. Natural Selection, Part One

G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers

In the form of Piranacon, Skalor and the Seacons battled Predaking in the Gladiator Zone before joining Serpent O.R.'s new army of Decepticons. The Art of War #2 They proceeded to capture a few Autobots and Joes and participate in an attack on an Autobot peace ceremony, during which they helped take out Omega Supreme. The Art of War #3 Piranacon was then defeated when Sixshot was thrown into his face. The Art of War #4

Hearts of Steel

Like his fellow Seacons, Skalor was woke from his slumber on the bottom of the ocean by an Elder God's servants and brought to their underground city. Infestation 2: The Transformers #1

Commercial appearances

Skalor and the Seacons attacked a M.A.R.S. Industries submarine deep underwater. They then combined into Piranacon to wreak havoc in a city, with Skalor swapping positions with Seawing from being the gestalt's gun to his right arm during the attack. Seacons commercial

Games

Transformers: Battle Tactics

Skalor participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was a Super Rare character available as a reward in the "Piranacon Hunt" event. Transformers: Battle Tactics

Transformers Roleplaying Game

Skalor was a member of the Seacons. Decepticon Directive

Toys

The Transformers

From robot to fish to fishstick.

• Skalor (Seacon, 1988)

• Team ID number: SE4
• Accessories: left & right dual crustation rifles[sic], tripod rifle, connector, weapon stand base

Released in the fifth year of the original Transformers toyline (fourth year in the European line), Skalor transforms into a robotic coelacanth with arms and legs. He also features a cute little opening fish-jaw, awww. His dual crustation rifles can be mounted on his fish mode back on opposite sides of his dorsal fin. He also has a third corrosive slime-shooter Targetmaster mode,^[1] which can be mounted on the weapon stand formed from the "Tripod Rifle" and other accessories.

As a "Scramble City"-style combiner, he can form an arm or leg to any compatible robot combination, or the hand-held cannon to any combiner equipped with Piranacon's unique fists (minus the whole tripod-rifle assembly, of course). The instructions that come with each Seacon show him as Piranacon's right arm, but the majority of his media depictions have him as the right leg.

This toy was concurrently sold in Takara's Super-God Masterforce line as Gulf.

• More information on Skalor at TFU.info

• Piranacon (Gift set, 1988)

• Accessories: left & right dual crustation rifles, tripod rifle, connector, weapon stand base

Skalor was also available in the Seacon box set, along with his teammates Snaptrap, Overbite, Seawing, and Tentakil. Nautilator was not included. All of the toys were identical to their individual releases.

Because Nautilator is now missing, his instructions put Overbite in his place as the right leg. But the box-front illustration shows Overbite as the right arm, with Skalor as the right leg, the configuration shown in most media.

Beast Wars

"The piranha have not yet arrived... But I assure you, the koi are ravenous."

• God Neptune (Multi-pack, 1998)

• ID number: D-21

Coelagon was repurposed as Skalor in Beast Wars Shattered Glass.

A redeco of the Generation 1 Seacon Skalor, Coelagon transforms into a robotic four-legged fish monster, with many features suggestive of a coelacanth. However, he lacks the rifles and stand-pieces of the original version of the mold. Since he uses the "Scramble City" style of combination, he can form the arm or leg to any combined robot of similar construction, but his nominal place is as the left arm of God Neptune.

He was available only as part of the God Neptune gift set with his teammates Halfshell, Scylla, Sea Phantom, and Terrormander.

For unknown reasons, a great number of unboxed God Neptune sets—lacking all of their accessories, including combiner parts—ended up available on the secondary market. These went for considerably less than the "complete" releases, naturally.

• More information on Coelagon at TFU.info

Timelines

I was going to be a new guy, but now I'm old me!

• Piranacon (Multi-pack, 2008)

• Accessories: left & right blasters, long rifle, connector, weapon stand base

A redeco of the original mold above, Timelines Skalor was available exclusively as part of a Transformers Collectors' Club exclusive set, containing all six Seacons in new color schemes. His Targetmaster weapon mode is now a "slimespray rifle". Noteworthy is that Skalor features a black paint wash which may represent that he is a filthy, filthy machine.

The toy is packaged with a reproduction of the original Piranacon instructions, which show Skalor as the right arm, Seawing as the left arm, and Nautilator as the right leg. However, the box art and on-package photos show Nautilator as the right arm and Skalor as the right leg, while the accessory layout gives the right fist to Seawing and the left fist to Nautilator. Confused yet?

This toy was originally intended as an exclusive set of Energon-series Terrorcons, but was shelved due to a lack of retailer interest. The team were going to be called the "Piranhacons" with heir combined form as "Piranhaking"; Skalor was only ever identified with the tongue-in-cheek placeholder name "Archerbot" (as Hasbro had not yet secured the trademark for "Skalor" at the time of the presentation).

• More information on Timelines Skalor at TFU.info

Transformers (2010)

• Decepticon Piranacon (Multi-pack, 2010)

• Accessories: left & right blasters, long rifle, connector, weapon stand base

All six Seacons were released as a "shared exclusive" for several online toy merchants (BigBadToyStore in particular), in... well, close to its original colors. Unlike the previous 1988 version gift set, the set now includes all the Seacons: Snaptrap, Overbite, Seawing, Skalor, Tentakil, and Nautilator.

Most of the aqua-blue plastics have been changed to a more greenish seafoam color, but Skalor and Tentakil retain their original aqua colors (or close enough). The stickers, now pre-applied, also appear to have been remastered after a fashion, as new highlights and gradients have been added to almost all stickers, as well as just being remarkably crisp and vibrant in general. Previous screwed-on connectors have been changed to riveted points.

Just like the previous use of the mold set, certain degradations of the mold are very obvious, although the 5mm holes and pegs have been readjusted somewhat from the much degraded state they were in on the Timelines release. The pegs and holes on all figures still are not exact fits in all cases, however.

The set is packaged in a way reminiscent of the Hasbro Masterpiece-style transparent display box. The toys are fully combined in Piranacon mode, holding Overbite's Targetmaster mode in his right hand and Snaptrap's newly-chromed incendiary sword in the left. The set also includes seven metallic-finish bio cards (the seventh being for Piranacon).

The set is packaged with Nautilator as the right leg and Skalor as the right arm, a combination also reflected in the new packaging art, box photo and instructions. However, the Piranacon card included with the set reuses the original box art, which depicts Skalor as the right leg and Nautilator as the right arm. Confused yet?

• More information on 2010 Skalor at TFU.info

Kre-O

"I brushed my teeth properly this time mum, can I go swimming now?"

• Decepticon Skalor (Kreon Micro-Changer, 2014)

• Collection: Age of Extinction Collection 2
• Accessories: logo brick, 2 scoped pistols

Part of the sixth regular assortment of blind-bagged Kre-O Micro-Changers, Skalor is a Kreon mini figure that can be rebuilt into an aquatic creature. He sports Hound's helmet in robot mode, and Mirage's in beastie mode. You can also attempt to work him into the Piranacon 4-Kreon set if you want to.

Unlike prior Micro-Changer assortments, this series does not have any sort identification code for the bags' actual contents, meaning you'd best be good at the feel-though-the-bag method.

This assortment was originally slated to be a Toys"R"Us exclusive, but US stores dropped the line before its release. It was still available in Canada, Australia, and Chinese/Asian markets. In 2015, the Collection appeared in US Dollar Tree stores, with a price tag of a whopping $1 a pop. They didn't last long.

Generations Selects

Uh oh! Stinky!

• Seacons Gulf (Deluxe, 2020)

• Release date: January 25, 2020
• Hasbro ID number: TT-GS04
• Accessories: 2 laser guns, sword, combiner hand/gun mode handle, hand gap filler, double-barrel blaster.

A TakaraTomy-initiated addition to the Generations Selects series, "Seacons Gulf" is an extensive retooling of Power of the Primes Deluxe Class Terrorcon Blot, transforming into a robotic coelacanth-monster. With the exception of the fists, all of the prominent bright and dark pink parts are paint applications, so uh, be a little careful with him.

Just as with his original toy, he is able to form any limb for any Combiner Wars-style super robot, with his nominal place as the right leg to King Poseidon, plus he also retains his artillery mode, which can again be used as a hand-held cannon by compatible combiners. Like the other Generations Selects Seacons, Gulf has newly-tooled combiner hands with individually-posable fingers, which also form the base of the Targetmaster-style gun mode, with the handle being a Combiner Wars styled port that plugs in to the hand provided in this set. The hand can be plugged into the back of the tail in beast mode, or as the back of the feet in the combined mode, whilst Turtler's feet components are at the front. He also has a new sword, which combines with the other Seacons' melee weapons to form King Poseidon's oversized trident-sword.

Gulf was released as a TakaraTomy Mall exclusive in Japan, as part of the first of three mini-waves of Seacons alongside Turtler. The Seacons were also available via Hasbro Pulse and other online retailers in the U.S. and Canada.

This mold was later redecoed as Coelagon.

Notes

Foreign names

• French: Écailleur (Canada)
• Mandarin: Mí Jīn (China, 迷津, "Bewildering")^[2]

References