The Energon Pub

[Dr. Caelus]

So, I have a 3rd party Tarn figure preordered that, supposedly, will be available to ship soon. Unfortunately, while I think Tarn as a character *needs* his Decepticon Justice Division, I can't imagine spending the money to collect the other five characters. The DJD was supposed to have a rotating lineup, though, so really, I just need to pick five guys from the rest of my collection to be his new recruits. Unfortunately, that's proving harder than I expected, and I need help deciding who to place under his command.

Here are my desired criteria:
- Ardent devotion to the Decepticon cause.
- Good team player.
- /Not/ part of a combiner team.
- Either a psychological predilection towards sadism or demonstrated talent for torture - or just scary AF.
- Looks good scale-wise next to a Voyager-sized Tarn.
- Alternatively, characterization in media has been so thin/shalliw it's easy to project the necessary qualifications onto the character in head canon.

Like any job interview, not every candidate needs to check all the boxes, but those are the general guidelines.

The two I've got so far are Reveal the Shield Lugnut (loyal, heavyweight fighter) and Cybertron Menasor (he just looks like he belongs in the DJD). I might also add Quillfire as their hypeman, or something. A fanatically loyal Decepticon who specializes in mind altering chemicals would be useful, despite his shortcomings.

[Rodimus Prime]

So, I have a 3rd party Tarn figure preordered that, supposedly, will be available to ship soon. Unfortunately, while I think Tarn as a character *needs* his Decepticon Justice Division, I can't imagine spending the money to collect the other five characters. The DJD was supposed to have a rotating lineup, though, so really, I just need to pick five guys from the rest of my collection to be his new recruits. Unfortunately, that's proving harder than I expected, and I need help deciding who to place under his command.

Here are my desired criteria:
- Ardent devotion to the Decepticon cause.
- Good team player.
- /Not/ part of a combiner team.
- Either a psychological predilection towards sadism or demonstrated talent for torture - or just scary AF.
- Looks good scale-wise next to a Voyager-sized Tarn.
- Alternatively, characterization in media has been so thin/shalliw it's easy to project the necessary qualifications onto the character in head canon.

I think IDW's version of Shockwave fits all those except the last one and maybe the 2nd one, even though Shockwave would want to be team leader if he were to work with others. But I think the last qualification is a must. Ironically, he was on the DJD's list.

[Dr. Caelus]

It had never occurred to me but, yeah, the DJD's beef with Shockwave was odd. Was it just because he went AWOL fighting the Dinobots on Earth, leaving him a presumed deserter, or was there some other offense Megatron uncovered? I remember he had Bludgeon scouring through everything he left behind.

[Rodimus Prime]

It's been a while since I read the IDW books, so I don't remember. I just know Tarn was very fixated on getting Shockwave. I have another candidate for you: Prime Skyquake. Again, the last qualification is a bit of a stretch, but he's good for the others. (Also he's 1 of my favorites. )

[Dr. Caelus]

It's been a while since I read the IDW books, so I don't remember. I just know Tarn was very fixated on getting Shockwave. I have another candidate for you: Prime Skyquake. Again, the last qualification is a bit of a stretch, but he's good for the others. (Also he's 1 of my favorites. )

I don't have a Skyquake, but Dreadwing might make it into the roster. Kind of wish I had Botcon Megaplex, but the mold is fragile enough I don't want to spend too much on any iteration...

[Evil Eye]

One idea I had was taking some Decepticon stickers to the various DOTM HA scouts (the ones with the weapon modes) and having them be Tarn's fellow DJD members, turning into handheld torture devices for him. So for example:
>Whirl as Vos (His weapon mode being a long ranged weapon of some form)
>Reverb as Tesarus (That "fan shield" could easily be a hand blender)
>Backfire as Helex (Less mobile smelting chamber and more triple-changing heat gun)
>Sandstorm as Kaon (Kiiiiiinda looks like an electric chair in emplacement mode)

But if we're talking about straight-up alternate members...
>Animated Oilslick, being a fan of 'orrible chemicals would probably relish the opportunity to test his latest concoctions on prisoners
>RTS Lugnut, being as he is fanatically loyal, perfect dumb muscle and probably all too willing to beat the snot out of traitors.
>Movie Payload (AKA the most underrated of the offscreen movie molds IMO) whose massive claw of GET OVER HERE and sinister armoured truck mode would make him ideal for DJD ops, along with his permanent lenshead pokerface.
>ROTF Recon Ravage, redesignated as Deceptifemme Chromebite. Unswerving in faith to the Decepticon cause, and as vicious and savage as her appearance would suggest, she is equally well suited to tracking down quarry, interrogating them and executing them at hunt's end.

[Dr. Caelus]

Alas, Tarn got delayed to December, but now I've definitely got to dig out HA Whirl and see if he can hold him - that's brilliant.

RTS Lugnut definitely fits. Oil-slick may get a touch of paint to see if I can bend his aesthetic to fit.